The Nepalese Adventure: Day 4

Day 4

Preferably dead!

• Was woken up at 5:30 this morning. I'm guessing you worked out what woke me. Not that I got much sleep anyway – concrete doesn’t get any softer throughout the night. Bad enough that I’m nursing aching muscles from yesterday’s workout on the bus!

• Went off for a "shower". Had to wait half an hour because it seems today was laundry day for a couple of the village women. And yes the laundry is done at the showers. No washboards, just scrub your clothes against the concrete wall to get up a good lather. Oh, and had to remind myself that queuing is quintessentially English and doesn’t exist here after 2 more people just wandered in front of me. Should have mentioned that the majority of the houses hav no water so this is also where they come with their urns and containers to fetch the water, Our homestay does have water. Its a hose pipe that comes along the road and hangs over the balcony with a brass tap attached  to the end.

• No school.

• Breakfast around 10:00 was a couple of sweet pancakes with some curried lentils and a cup of sweet tea.

• Power cut – only 25 mins.

• Lunch (around 12:00) was rice and curry – Dahl Bhat. I was hoping to lose weight whilst I was away but at this rate there is no chance. I need to somehow convey I want less food without causing offence. The other problem is: 

• The Toilet!    Squat toilets.     Obviously I’ve seen them before but never had to use one for anything serious J. Looked up on the internet exactly how to go about it (don’t you just love Google). For the novice it seems that you need to remove all clothing below the waist (but above the waste) to avoid accidents. Now the toilet at the homestay has a sort of door. Pieces of hardboard nailed together (not very well) with a good 3 inch gap all round so no chance of privacy. Even if the door fitted properly, there’s no roof on it and its directly below the café window. It's also the customer toilet. I’ll see if I can hold out till dark, despite the added challenge of having to juggle a torch too.

• Power Cut - 10 mins

• Was invited to play football with the local lads. Turned out it was a tournament of some kind. Managed to dodge that one.

• Lunch number 2 arrived around 3pm. Ate it and went out to sit in the sun. There is no garden so sat on a slab of concrete with a 6 foot drop below and read for a while. Fell asleep reading upright. Just for a second. Could have been dangerous if I’d toppled over. Even more dangerous if I’d dropped my kindle! Its already my third one...Karen would have killed me

• Went to my room and slept. This is the first day I’ve had nothing to do since finishing work, I am so lethargic - feel I could sleep for a week.

• Woken up by a knock on my door asking me to come upstairs for fruit. Arrgh more food!

• Couldn’t put it off any longer…. Minimised my lower clothing (planning is everything) and braved the toilet in broad daylight! Yep – not so bad. Went back for hand sanitizer (no sink or water) and went and ate again. Very pleased with myself.

• Went for a run. Yes – went for a run! A mountain road and the views were just incredible. Would have taken my breath away if I’d had any left at all after 2k! Didn’t stop to take photos because just seemed like too much effort today but will do next time.

• Got back via the shower - no queue! No one home. Place all locked up. No access to toilet. Mmmm - urgent! They've gone round to grandmothers house (mothers day remember) for .... dinner. No option other than to clench up and go join them.

• More food, local wine. Grandma looks to be 100 and is  doubled over - probably from a life of hard labour but more about that another day.  Very old wooden house. One room downstairs with mud floor. The mud is a sort of red clay, swept and rubbed smooth. The same mud is used to coat the walls inside. Again cooking over a wood fire so very very smokey (and after i showered too!). There's a set of wooden steps (more than a ladder - not quite stairs) that lead to an upper area but not sure if this is just a loft space for storing things or if it has a sleeping area. Would love to take photos and share exactly how they live but seems rude to do so. Everything blackened from smoke and covered in dust. The dust gets everywhere! 4 or 5 power cuts (which impacted the single bulb - the only use for electricity that i could see).  Left there and just when i thought we were heading home we stopped into another house. Yep - food. Local wine. Not exactly sure who's house that was...

• Made it home. Just in time!

• Power now been out for over an hour. Battery running low on laptop so better go. Besides, big day tomorrow. Not sure if it's my first day at school or first day in a new job...

 Subha Ratri