Thank You
Let me start with a thank you to those of you who have donated towards the Water Harvesting Project at the village school. I am keeping the school and volunteer organisation appraised of the fund raising and the donations are very much appreciated, both by me and them.
For those of you yet to donate, you can do so by following this link:
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| The Himalaya |
Day 28 - Saturday
- My last full day in Nepal. I received an email from the Volunteer organisation yesterday saying that one of their colleagues, Ms Bijaya, would come to the hotel at 10:00 to meet with me (though I had no idea what for).
- Had a leisurely breakfast and was in reception for the agreed time. It turns out that Ms Bijaya was the lady who took me out on the back of her moped to the Monkey Temple back on Day 2. Basically she wanted some feedback on my experience, the village, the home-stay etc. I had also been asked to complete an online feedback survey which I was yet to do. She asked if I had a laptop in my room to do this and when I said yes, suggested we go up to my room. Took a lot longer than expected to give complete feedback! Due to internet issues.
- Following the "meeting" I wandered out into the local streets of Thamel which is a very touristy area for the myriad of international trekkers who come to Nepal each year. Bought a few small gifts to take home and then headed for a local lunch spot as recommended by my Lonely Planet guide. It was a bit fast foody but a welcome respite from you know what!
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| Garden of Dreams |
- After lunch I headed to the "Garden of Dreams" which is, according to the guide books, "an Oasis of peace and tranquility in the midst of Kathmandu's hustle and bustle", I thought this might be a good opportunity for some quiet reflection time on my experiences over the last weeks. After spending £1.50 to get in, I reflected on how there might have been a saving on that if only I'd booked online in advance! The gardens were lovely but quite crowded and I struggled to find a state of oneness with the world so decided to go sightseeing instead!
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| Statue of Buddha |
- Following the Lonely Planet guide, I started the 2 hour walk from Thamel to Durbar Square which seemed to be a must see place for tourists. I was regularly stopped by locals who wanted to be my guide. Their opening line was quite often "I like your beard"!
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| A "Stupa" (Buddhist Shrine) |
- Once I reached Durbar Square, as a foreigner from a non SAARC country, I was required to pay 10,000 Rs to enter. I was told that this gave me access to the square as well as entry into the museum, What they didn't tell me was the the museum has been closed since the 2015 Earthquake!
- After wandering aimlessly in the square for a while, trying to get my moneys worth and not really knowing what I was looking at, I gave in and paid for a local guide to talk me through it all.
- The guide was very interesting, though very graphic in his detail about the Hindu religion and the relationships between the various gods or goddesses, the male and female genitalia and the importance of fertility and procreation. It's no wonder almost everyone I met in Nepal was one of 5, 6, 7 or even 8 siblings! One of the main takeaways for me was the importance of continuous interaction with those of the opposite sex (flirting) in order to maintain a healthy mind, body and soul!
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| Part of Durbar Square |
- The earthquake damage is quite devastating, whole buildings, hundreds of years old, gone or damaged to the point of being unsafe. There was a large prison, from which I was told all the prisoners escaped during the earthquake once the police and army had all fled the area.
- Note: SAARC is The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of nations in South Asia. Its member states include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- Six hours out and about on my feet in flip flops was enough for me so I headed back to the hotel to pack. About 7:30 I did wander out to look for a restaurant but everything seemed empty. I've not worked out if they eat early or late here so I went and ate in the hotel garden restaurant instead.
Day 29 - Sunday
- I am ready! Breakfast at 6:30 then in reception for 7:00 and at the airport by 7:30 for my 9:50 flight. 2 hours 20 minutes before take off!!
- I hunkered down in a corner with my Kindle and a coffee to while away the time. This is exactly why I hate being at the airport early (or what some people might call "on time"). Coffee was good and book was good. Glanced up at one point to see the board screaming "Final Call" for my flight. Oops!
- Flight from Kathmandu was uneventful though I did have to face a Dahl and Chapatti breakfast.
- Relatively short layover in Delhi before the final flight back to the UK!
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| Delhi Airport - Waiting for UK flight |
- Just before the Delhi - UK flight could take off, a passenger seemed to declare himself unwell. There didn't seem too much wrong with him to me, though I'm not known for my enduring compassion when it comes to people throwing a sicky! There ensued some debate between the passenger and the first officer about whether he should disembark. The passenger seemed to want to debate rather than make a decision so the decision was made for him and off he went. The implications of this were they had to locate and offload his luggage from the hold.Then every passenger had to identify their hand luggage in each of the overhead lockers, presumably to ensure he had not left anything unwelcome behind. I fired up my phone and dropped Karen a text to let her know what was going on just in case anything untoward happened to the flight.
- Arrived back at London Heathrow, about an hour later than expected due to the passenger offload, to a small welcome party. Karen, 3 of the kids (& son-in law) and 2 of the grandchildren. Also a great big "Welcome Home Granddad" sign! How lovely and I was so pleased to see them all.
- Home at last (via Dominoes Pizza). A big homemade "Welcome Home" banner across the front of the house (thanks Dan). My motorbike recently washed and the grass cut - stripes almost straight! what a family!
And so there it is. Over. Well almost. What have I learned? How have I changed? What will I do now? These are just some of the things I have spent time thinking on and know some of the answers to. I'll give a final update on the outcome of the whole experience once the fundraising target is reached. It shouldn't take long. I know there have been a lot of readers out there who have enjoyed the blog so please dig a little deeper and make a real difference in a place where a little goes a long way.
The link once again is:
Comments
Getting used to being back??
Magnificent blog; amazing experience; filled with admiration for you - I couldn't have managed 2 days xx
Glad to have you home xx