March 11, 2012 - What goes around...

I am sitting in the Hong Kong airport again. In some ways, it seems as though I was just here. In other ways, it seems like it has been an eternity since I was on my way to Nepal. These past six weeks have definitely had their ups and downs, positives and negatives, good times and bad times. Overall, however, the experience has been a great one and I would not change it for the world.

Now that I’m on my way back home (and have a long layover in Hong Kong), I’ve been able to reflect on my time in Nepal and working at Patan Hospital. Every experience we have, whether good or bad, changes us in some way and helps us grow. It teaches us new lessons about ourselves, our world, and the people around us. The Nepali people have taught me lessons in patience, resilience, determination, and the extreme importance of family. They have shown me that happiness is not determined by what we have, but by who we have that surrounds us. I have been incredibly blessed to have everyone I love most surround me and help me through my time in Nepal - Mike, Katie, Phil, Ailia, Mommo, and Daddo. The experience would not have been the same without them, and their time spent in Nepal helped make my trip even more memorable. Nepal has taught me a lot, opened my eyes a great deal, and changed me in ways that I can’t explain. I only hope that I have been able to give back a small percentage of those lessons in return…

At the same time, I am ready to come home. It’s difficult being away for so long, even when I’ve had amazing visitors for the vast majority of my time here! In recognition of the contrasting feelings I’m having about leaving Nepal, I’ve come up with the following lists:

What I’m looking forward to:

1. Mason!

2. Hot showers separate from the toilet area.

3. Regular toilets everywhere I go.

4. Uninterrupted electricity.

5. Conservative use of car horns.

6. Paved roads.

7. Sleeping in my own bed.

8. Fresh produce, eaten without concern about how it will affect my GI tract the following day.

9. Safe drinking water, straight from the tap.

10. Quiet nights, free from dogs barking (assuming our neighbor dog is quiet…).

What I’ll miss about Nepal:

1. The people. Nepalis are truly an amazing and wonderful people.

2. Getting to the hospital at 8:00 and leaving by 4:00.

3. Chiya, momos, and other tasty foods.

4. Looking out my window and seeing the Himalayas.

5. A laid-back style, free from rushing around.

6. Didi, taking care of me and keeping the house in order.

7. School children in cute little uniforms practicing their English phrases with me.

8. A place where it's cheaper to eat out than cook at home...

March 10, 2012 - Brief overview of my airport fiasco...

After waiting around at the guesthouse for the taxi driver who said he would meet me at the house at 8:30, I ventured out to find a new taxi driver at around 8:40. This was not a problem. We agreed on an overpriced ride to the airport if he would drive me back to the guesthouse so we could pick up my bags. He definitely earned his money by going down our incredibly narrow alley. We crammed everything in the cab and off we went.

The taxi driver was quite friendly and kept trying to talk to me, but was repeating the same questions over and over again. He was also on the phone a lot, stating he was talking with his sister who wanted to know where he was. He took me on a "short cut," which was through incredibly narrow and bumpy backroads, but we ended up near the airport. Then we stopped. I asked the driver what we were doing, and he stated we were waiting for his sister. Oh, ok. That makes sense... About a minute later, a woman gets in the back seat and somehow manages to squish herself in with all of my luggage. We head off again to the airport and arrive without additonal stops or shortcuts. I managed to get my stuff on a pushcart, paid the driver, and thanked him. Only about ten minutes later did I realize that I left my knock-off North Face jacket in the cab. So sad...

After fighting through a crowd of people, I made it to the first security check. While waiting in line, I realized that almost all of the Nepali people either had tikas on their foreheads (Hindu blessing) or were wearing a Buddhist scarf given as a blessing from a monk. Some were wearing multiple scarves (I saw one guy wearing at least ten) and the tikas were especially prominent. I felt like I had missed the mandatory blessing station on my way in...

The first security check consisted of an x-ray and a pat down. No harm done. Then I waited in line for my tickets, which proved to be a challenge of my patience and nerves. I handed over my passport, seeing that everyone else had gotten through quickly, and hoped for the best. Hope failed. The agent was having lots of difficulties and passed my passport around to at least three different people. He then asked me to "step aside and wait a moment" while he went forward with the next customer. I "stepped aside" about two feet so I could watch my passport and luggage and asked how long "a moment" was. I was told about five minutes. Five minutes came and went. I was told to go to another counter after about ten minutes, where another woman tried to figure out the "technical issue." She did a lot of furrowing her brow and biting her lip, which did nothing to calm my nerves. The whole while, I was keeping an eye on my luggage behind the counter. Good thing I was, as they labeled it with someone else's information and tried to send it away on the carousel as I was shouting that it was my luggage. They saved it before it passed through to no man's land. Thank goodness. Crisis averted.

They were finally able to issue the ticket for my first fight and check my bags (appropriately this time) through to San Francisco, but could not issue my second ticket, though they assured me that my seat was confirmed. The agent told me she would keep working on it and would try to get me my ticket at the boarding area. I did not have high hopes, but thanked her for the effort and went on my way.

Next came the second security check. All this required was showing your boarding pass and ensuring you had an airline tag on all carry-on baggage. Why? I'm not sure exactly. But this was essential and you would be sent back for an airline tag if you did not have one on your backpack.

Immigration was the next stop. You had to fill out the same immigration form on the way out as on the way in. These instructions were not explicitly laid out or explained anywhere, so many people made it through the line only to find out they had to fill out the form, so they would have to leave, fill it out, and get back in the line. Thankfully, this was not me. My parents had warned me about this form ahead of time, so I was prepared.

Next step was security check number three. There is, apparently, a male and female line. I was not aware of this and was standing in the very long male line when a nice man behind me told me to get in the "ladies line." Why thank you kind sir, I will do just that. Another x-ray and pat down. They also stamped both sides of the ticket and the oh-so-important airline tags with security stamps.

After that, the next security checkpoint was in about one hundred feet, where you displayed your freshly stamped ticket. And then on you go.

From there, you enter a departure area that is quite uncomfortable and very stinky. Not sure if it was because of the proximity to the bathroom, the clientele in the departure area, or a combination of the two... Luckily, I did not have to stay there long, as they soon instructed all passengers to pre-board through gate 3. This required lots of pushing to get half of your ticket torn off and walking down a hallway. When my turn finally got to the front of the line, my boarding pass for my second flight was waiting for me! The gods were smiling on me, even if I didn't get my mandatory blessing before departure.

The pre-boarding area consisted of an even smaller room, but at least there was no unpleasant odor. We stood around for another half hour, at least, and then the magic curtains opened so we could board our flight. One curtain was for males, one for females. I figured this out on my own this time. I was quite proud of myself. It was here where we passed through our last security check point, which consisted of a final half-hearted pat down. Then it's a free-for-all to the plane, up the stairs, and to your seat. I made it, sat down, and took a huge sigh of relief. I need a strong drink...

And that, in a nutshell, is how you depart from Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport.

March 8, 2012 - Elephant safari, part two...

Because we were staying an extra day at Island Jungle Resort (most people stay two nights and we are staying three nights), we got to go on another elephant ride this morning. But this wasn't just any ordinary elephant ride. Whereas yesterday we mainly stuck to trails and didn't see much wildlife, today we went "off roading" and were able to see/chase down some animals.

We started off the ride by Mike and I getting our own elephant. That was pretty exciting!

It's much easier to see in all directions if there are only two, as opposed to four, people on the elephant. Our guide took us across the river to explore a new area of the jungle.

We were initially on elephant paths, bit quickly veered off after seeing and baby rhino with its mother. Our guide and elephant tried to chase it down (I never realized out quickly an elephant could actually move!), but the rhinos were quicker and more agile and were soon out of sight. We did see another male rhino a bit closer up not too far away, as well. (The following is a picture of the rhino butt. They move really quickly, it's difficult to get pictures!

Soon thereafter, we heard a strange call from the forest behind us and were informed by our guide that this was the call of a sloth bear. So off we went charging in to the trees to attempt to find it. When I say charging, I am not joking. In preparation for the charge, our elephant, Sashatikali, even felt the need to trumpet her horn before setting off. Sashatikali would blaze new trails if none were available, which was the case for most of our trip. We were often whacked with branches and shrubbery as we made our way through the jungle. When a small tree was in the way, no worries. Our guide would just shout an instruction and Sashatikali would tear it down with her trunk. It was impressive. Our guide's and elephant's hard work paid off though, as we were able to hunt out the elusive sloth bear. It was incredible (that's not the actual bear we saw, since it was too quick, but it's an example...).

We saw a few other wildlife during the rest of our ride - barking deer, rhesus monkeys, and peacock - but none were as exciting as chasing down the rhinos and sloth bear. At the very end of our ride, our guide let me "drive" Sashatikali back home.

I didn't really drive, per se, as sit on her neck while our guide yelled commands at her. But we made it back the rest of the way safely, and I like to think it’s because of my brilliant elephant driving skills...

March 7, 2012 - A day in Chitwan

We woke up before dawn again this morning. I'm sensing a pattern I don't like here...

We all have a pretty strict itinerary here at Island Jungle Resort. They wake up everyone at 5:45 in the morning. Tea, coffee, and biscuits is at 6:15, followed by our first morning adventure at 6:30 am. While I originally did not like this schedule much, it makes more sense after being here for a day.

Our 6:30 activity was an elephant ride. How exciting!

Chitwan National Park is known for its elephant rides, as it is a great way to see the park high up and off your feet. We loaded on to a very tight elephant seat with two other people (and out guide sitting on the elephant's head) and headed out in to the jungle.

The ride was a very neat experience, more because we were riding on the elephant than actually seeing anything in the jungle. It was quite foggy this morning and visibility was not great. Needless to say, we did not see any wildlife on our elephant ride except for the intermittent bird. The trees and fog were pretty, though!

Riding on an elephant is quite the experience. It was a very bumpy ride, as the animal is huge (in case you didn't know...). One of our guides told us that they weigh around 2500 pounds. That is enormous! Despite its size and weight, the elephant actually moved quietly around the jungle floor - much more quietly than our tourist group on our walks! Our walk was intermittently interrupted by the elephant farting (quite frequently, actually, and it smells a bit like skunk...), peeing, pooping, and stopping to graze. Our guide would shout at the elephant in Nepali, whack it with a short stick, and off we would go.

Our elephant rise was followed by lunch at 8:30 and our next activity at 9:30. Our second morning activity was bird watching. We went on a walk close to the resort and river and saw some neat birds.

We got back around 11:00 and had a break until lunch at 1:00. Mike and I opted for a nap, since we've been getting up so early. There is a long break in the middle of the day, to avoid the heat and because the animals are most active at dawn and dusk.

After lunch we had another break until elephant bathing at 2:30. This was so much fun! After hauling around tourists and gathering wood during the morning, the elephants get pretty dirty. Their trainers walk them down to the river for a bath and the guests get to help. Really, the elephants entertain us, but we can pretend we help wash them. My elephant kept spraying me with water. It was chilly, but felt nice in the warm afternoon.

Mike ended up on an elephant who thought it was a bucking bull, and kept trying to throw Mike off, much to the delight of his trainer...

After elephant bathing, we went on our last scheduled activity of the day - our jungle expedition at 3:30. We weren't exactly sure what to expect. We walked to the boats, were taken across the river, and boarded a large truck with seats in the back. Then we headed back out in to the jungle. We didn't really see much during the initial part of our trip except a few chickens and a deer. I was beginning to think that the jeep ride was a bit silly. But then we saw four rhinos across the river - two mothers and two babies. Just as quickly as we saw them, they ran back in to the trees and were out of sight. We were all pretty excited to have seen some wildlife, but were all hoping to have a better glimpse. Our wishes came true around the next bend, when we basically came head-to-head with a rhino. It stared us down for a bit, then would go back to grazing. Every time it would start to walk away, our driver would rev the engine of the jeep to gets its attention. At one point the rhino was probably only six feet in front of the jeep. So neat!

Mike would also like to add that he saw a wild boar on his way back from the boat dock to the resort (probably one kilometer or so). He said he initially though it was a deer, but noticed its tusks as it fled back in to the jungle. I can't attest to this, as I wasn't there. I was back at the docks, waiting patiently for our guide and the other boat to cross the river. I would like to add that, although I'm sure it was neat to see the boar, Mike broke the golden rule of the resort. They state that you are never to walk alone in the jungle or without a guide, as animals have been known to come very close to (or even in to) the resort. Boys will be boys. Thank heavens the boar decided to flee and not to charge, although Mike assures me he had a tree picked out...

March 6, 2012 - Chitwan National Park

We got up before dawn this morning, again, to begin our journey to Chitwan National Park. I had arranged the trip through a your agency, and was told that we needed to be waiting for the bus at 6:30 in the morning. Therefore, we got up super early, grabbed a cab to Kathmandu, and arrived at our departure location at 6:31. Pretty good. However, when we got there, the office was still locked and boarded up and there was no one else there waiting. We were a bit confused, but j had confirmed with the travel agent the time and location for meeting, so I figured we just needed to wait for a bit. And wait we did. Someone finally showed up at around 6:45 to open the door to the office. He assured us that our bus would pick us up at 7:00 out front. Then he promtly left. Well, 7:00 came and went, as did 7:05 and 7:10. Luckily, the guy came back and knew what bus to look for and flag down. Finally, at around 7:15, our "tourist bus" finally arrived. The term "tourist bus" is used quite loosely in Nepal. It was definitely not what I expected. It was quite full and not that clean. But luckily we were able to secure seats. That was not the case for a few people we picked up later. They were forced to sit in the aisle on small stools. Talk about a fire hazard...

The road leading out of Kathmandu towards Chitwan is actually pretty new, but you would never know. It's a two-lane highway the entire way, and many parts are washed out, bringing the road down to one lane. It's no wonder it took us over seven hours to go the 140 kilometers from Kathmandu to Chitwan National Park. We also had a couple of interesting "toilet breaks" along the way, as well. Simply by stating the word "toilet" does not mean that an actual toilet will be present, but often something else entirely...

We made it to our initial destination, a hotel in the city of Chitwan, after traveling about six hours. The hotel is owned by the same company as the place we were ultimately headed to, Island Jungle Resort inside of Chitwan National Park. After a tasty meal and a real toilet break, we loaded on to yet another bus to take us the last hour or so in to the park. The bus only broke down once, requiring some of the passengers to push, but otherwise the trip was a success.

The resort is located on an island within the confluence of two rivers, so the bus dropped us off across the river and we hopped in boats to cross.

After crossing, we walked through the heat (it's much warmer here...) for about ten minutes to the resort. It is so peaceful here, with only the sounds of the river and birds chirping. Amazing.

After a brief orientation to the resort and a review of our itinerary for the day, we changed clothes and headed out on a jungle walk. Our guide first stopped to warn us what to do in case of encountering a "furious animal." The run-down is as follows:

Rhinoceros (frequently pronounced "rhinosaur" like a type of dinosaur by our guide): Find the tallest tree and climb up at least 6-7 feet. Make sure you accomplish all this as the rhino charges. If you can't climb a tree, stand behind the largest tree you can find and hope you confuse the rhino. If all this fails and you are forced to flee, run in a zig-zag pattern, as rhinos have poor peripheral vision.

Sloth bear: Despite the sound of their name, apparently these small bears are quite fast. And when they attack, they go for the eyes. Scary. If one should approach, you are to stay in a large group, stand tall, and make lots of noise to intimidate them. I wonder if screaming counts as lots of noise...

Tiger: Tigers are rarely seen by tourists in Chitwan, as they tend to stick to less traveled terrain. However, there is the possibility of a chance encounter. Our guides instructed us that, should we encounter a tiger, we should maintain eye contact to intimidate the animal. Furthermore, don't point, as your finger may be confused with a rifle and the tiger will attack. In case of a tiger attack, we are to hide in the bushes while the guides distract the tiger. We then reconvene on the path and head back to our meeting point. What they failed to tell us, however, is who is going to direct us back to our meeting point as the tiger is devouring our guides...

Thankfully, we did not have to take any of the above-mentioned advice to heart during our jungle walk this evening. It was very peaceful and pretty. And we did get to see some interesting sights, including lovebird ducks, monkeys, crocodile, peacock, rhino, and egrets.

And now we are going to fall asleep to the sound of the river trickling and the crickets chirping outside our window. Sweet dreams. Big plans for tomorrow...

"Out of office reply"

Mike and I will be traveling to Chitwan National Park for the next four days. We will be unavailable to upload new blog posts until Friday, but we'll be excited to fill everyone in on our adventures once we get back! Stay tuned...

March 5, 2012 - Namobuddha and Panauti

After our day in Dhulikhel, Mike and I set out after sunrise from our guesthouse to explore the area south of Dhulikhel yesterday morning.

Our plans were to hike to Namobuddha (known for its small stupa) and then onward to the slightly larger town of Panauti. Despite most streets in Nepal not having any signage whatsoever, our way to Namobuddha was interspersed with signs directing our way. What a relief.

The route to Namobuddha was via mountain paths and small, dirt roads.

It was so peaceful and the views were great. We got a bit lost only at one point, and a very nice Nepali man led us a short way and then directed us on our way from there.

It took us about two and a half hours of up-and-down hiking to reach the stupa.

Not much is known about the stupa at Namobuddha. Legend states, however, that one of the past Buddhas came across a tigress close to death from starvation and unable to feed her cubs near the location of the current stupa. The Buddha allowed the tiger to consume him, thus transporting himself to the “higher realms of existence.” Mike and I couldn’t really figure out what would be considered a “higher realm” when you are already the Buddha, but maybe someone else can answer this question… (post a comment!)

From Namobuddha, we continued on our way to Panauti. The trek was through tiered farm lands and small villages.

We took a break along the way to eat some oranges that we purchased from a local villager. They were delicious!

After about another two hours of walking, we reached our destination of Panauti. The guidebooks weren’t lying when they said it was a small town! Only about a few city blocks in size, but it had some beautiful temples.

And, lucky for us (as we were very hungry!), we were able to find an open restaurant for a bite to eat.

Despite our initial plans to continue our hike from Panauti to Bhaktapur, we decided we did not feel like “hiking” along a busy dirt road. Instead, we had another adventure – we took a local bus! As opposed to paying a comparably hefty taxi fee, we decided to test our luck with a local bus. Nepali buses are a two-man operation. One drives, and the other yells out the destination of the bus every time the bus slows down or passes a person on the side of the road. The shouter also bangs on the side of the bus in a Morse code-type of language that is as indiscernible as Nepali itself. It was not as difficult to navigate as one might imagine, and it was very convenient. After only about an hour, the bus dropped us off just outside of our final destination for the day – Bhaktapur.

Our only goal in Bhaktapur was to find a hotel with hot showers. After hiking most of the morning in the heat and dust, Mike and I both felt pretty disgusting! The first place we went was very nice – the rooms were very clean, and they promised lots of hot water – both from solar and gas heat. However, to our dismay, this last statement did not turn out to be true. So after finding a slightly more seedy (though much cheaper!) guesthouse, we packed up our stuff and moved to our new room, only a few short minutes away. The hot shower felt amazing! And the bed was actually not rock hard, either! We both slept well last night and woke this morning rested and excited to explore Bhaktapur.