First Impressions of Nepal

After a rousing visit in Hong Kong we were ready for the main event. Unfortunately we didn't organize our seats well and I ended up meeting a nice woman from Beijing who worked in foreign policy in developing countries for the 4 hours flight from Hong Kong to Kathmandu. Yarrow and Lauren made the most of the flight and tried to catch some Zs, but their necks ended up in similar shape to the letter Z.

After a sunset stopover in Dhaka, Bangladesh we touched down in Kathmandu. We spent the next hour filling out customs forms and visa applications. We collected our checked baggage while warding off 'volunteers'. As we poked our heads out at the arrival gates we were met with a crowd of strangers, all of which were offering some kind of service except for one. A familiar smile in the crowd was holding a hand made sign with our names on it. It was Bishnu our trek guide. Bishnu helped us with a few bags and helped ward off the other many 'volunteers'.

We loaded into the Suzuki micro van and headed under the cover of night to the Happy Home Guest House on the left side of the road... usually. The traffic was calm but the road was not. I was impressed at the Suzuki's structural integrity. We didn't take Bishnu's advice and thought we could make do with the Happy Home Guest House. Bishnu helped us get settled and made us feel very welcome. He even helped us patch up the holes in the mosquito screens. The room we ended up with was not the one in the picture in the internet! It was in pretty rough shape and hadn't been used or cleaned in a while. We tried not to touch anything and were able to catch a few winks before heading out the next day (which included finding a new place to stay). We ended up taking Bishnu's advice and settling at the Tibet Guest House which is a night and day comparison.

The next morning I woke up early beside my wife in our single bed and crept out to get a look around. I made small talk with the keeper and found out that there was a 'strike' going on. The word strike has a lot more impact in Nepal, especially when it is organized by the Maoist party. I returned to the room and stuck my head out the window to see a long parade of Maoists filling the streets chanting, flying hammer and scythe flags and holding hands in rows that reached from one side of the street to the other. There was a strong comradery between them and they seemed bent on change.

A Maoist 'strike' in Nepal means, in this case, masses gather into the big cities from the countryside and the city to protest about the political situation. It also means that ALL non-emergency businesses and vehicles are forbidden to operate except between certain hours. In this case the curfew was lifted between 6-8am and 6-8pm, which was later revised to 6-10pm. This makes doing anything difficult! If shop keepers or drivers disobey the curfew then they would be met with angry protesters either asking for 'donations', vandalizing their shops or vehicles and in some case vandalizing the shop keepers and drivers themselves! Trying to get 6km across town transforms into a bit of trek. Trying to get shaving cream turns into a carefully scheduled trip to the shops. The streets are still full of people, just people walking and people on bicycles. All the shops that line every square foot of the streets are locked up tight behind the roll down security doors which gives the feel that a bull run might start at any time. The Maoists want the current prime minister to resign and he isn't budging. It's called an 'indefinite' strike but we and the people of Nepal hope it will all be over soon.

Despite the strike I was still able to get out to the orphanage on foot and the girls were able to make new arrangements to work in a hospital closer to town. We've all had the pleasure of wrestling with stomach bugs and both Lauren and I have fought off fevers. I've also ran into a Maoist parade on my way to the orphanage. I ducked into a laneway and tried to make myself inconspicuous. That didn't happen. Almost every parader that passed had to have a look at the 'kuirey' (white guy). I was told later that some may have never seen a white person before.