The Main Drag

As you might guess, the main drag is the road connecting Kathmandu with towns on the periphery of the valley. I have been trying to capture, at least in a small way, the experience of traveling this route. I really don't think I can, in so far as one at least needs video and all the other senses applicable to a potholed road, severe traffic congestion, major air pollution, severely erratic driving habits, etc. All told, it must be as exciting as the rides at the midway of the county fair, depending on one's age. Whatever, here are a few pictures, mostly taken

from the window of the hospital vehicle.

Swinging in Nepal

Three days ago we looked out our window at the hillside about a mile away and saw someone swinging from some kind of device. We are nearing the end of the biggest festival of the year and suspected there was some relationship. Day before yesterday we decided to investigate. Making a large swing is one way to celebrate the festival for the children and this is what we found. The four poles are bamboo trees that have been stuck in the ground in the arrangement of a square then tied together with a cross piece up about twenty feet with a heavy rope making the swing. As I look out my window right now the swing seems to be in constant use and with a little scouting around one finds these swings put up in many locations including one just out side the local temple. Of course putting them up on a hillside simply makes the ride a bit more exciting as the bamboo trees do bend a bit. The following pictures further support how much fun it is and as you can guess the locals insisted, without too much resistance, that we try it too.

The Battle of the Bugs

The battle lines are drawn and we are finally taking taking the offense. We had been aware of apparent bedbugs in the apartment from our brief stay last spring and the management agreed to at least thoroughly clean the premises and spray but there also seemed some uncertainty as to what might be available beyond that. Not long after returning it became apparent this would not be enough and we went to the internet to find professional pest control facilities in Kathmandu. In addition we were able to capture several of the little beasties and preserve them between pieces of scotch tape for confirmation. With this evidence as well as the somewhat characteristic bites the hospital administration was mobilized and went with us to see the professionals of extermination.

Yesterday they came and fumigated the entire 4-plex and locked the main door for 24 hours. They are supposed to open it for a 4 hour airing this afternoon and hopefully we will be back in this evening. I say hopefully since this morning no one seems to know where the key is to the main door and the lock may have to be removed. This is the first time in our 14 years in Asia we have had bedbugs and I can certainly tell you I hope it will be the last. The creatures do not carry disease but the bite incites a severe allergic response with intense itching which tends to last a week to ten days. Two or three bites can be a major distraction and this led to a serendipitous finding. Seeking some kind of counter irritant therapy I tried Vics with little effect and then thought while in the shower to try heat followed by cold on my arm. After a few minutes of water as hot as I could tolerate on the area of my arm affected I then switched to cold and afterwards the relief was substantial and fairly long lasting. Lora tried the same with significant relief as well. We aren't ready to write this one up but it did seem to work and the heat seemed the primary agent.

Assuming we get into our apartment later today we will also run the clothes all through the dryer. This actually is a recognized treatment and other things such as suitcases will be put in the non-ventilated laundry room and subjected to a pesticide fogger. Hopefully the battle will be turning in our favor by the end of the weekend but the pest control people will come back in a week to 10 days and give a second treatment trying for a "clean sweep". Stay tuned and don't scratch.

Carlyle

Branch Sabbath School

I mentioned going to a branch Sabbath School up in the hills previously. Here is an expanded report from the s

ame location along with a few pictures.

We left the hospital about 4:15 pm. You have to keep in mind English Church services finish about 1:30 and by the time everyone was fed and visited it was about that time.The winding rocky rutted and steep road led us to a small village approximately 800 ft higher than the hospital which is at 4750 ft elevation. On the way we happened on a scare crow in a patch of corn. The laundry director who went along to give the devotional said the farmers hope it will also scar the tigers away. Although it is hard to find anyone who has actually seen a tiger everyone believes many lives have been lost over the years from tiger attacks, especially children. Ironically, if you search the net on tigers in Nepal almost all the information is about concern over the

diminishing number of tigers in Nepal.

I think there were at least 40 children listening intently to the stories and health lectures as well as enthusiastically joining in singing. The short term visiting dentist from LLU had found a book with pictures illustrating dental hygiene which had an explanation on the back in Nepali which allowed one of the Nepali teenagers in our group to read the explanation of each picture, then the dentist answered questions through a translator. Two Nepali teenagers from our group (pathfinders) led the whole group in a rousing Christian song in the local language. A picture roll was then used to illustrate the story of creation followed by a devotional by one of the church members from our local congregation. At the close tooth brushes were handed out.

In the middle of the program a goat got loose and managed to get several bites of fresh greens before being shooed away.

Was it worth it? This girl’s smile along with her new friend tells the story. Anna is a pre nursing student at Union College, here teaching in the grade school for a year.

trouble in "river city"

I have been trying to start this blog for the last hour and the internet has been so bad I finally decided to type it into the word processor and when I could get on line do a copy and paste. So, as you might expect, just as I started the page the internet cleared enough to get the the blog spot.

There was a bit of a problem in town (Banepa) today. Apparently this morning sometime the finance minister came and gave some kind of speech and the Maoists political party decided to show a little muscle. My understanding is they have been quite unhappy since their highest ranking political person was dismissed last spring and the country has been functioning at the edge of chaos every since. When Lora went to town this morning there were a large number of police in full riot gear and early this afternoon there was some rock throwing by the Maoists and several injuries. Seven were brought to the hospital including two policemen. I figured everything must be over but when I went for some groceries about 3:30 there were still scores of police in full riot gear lining much of the road passing through the center of town. I discreetly took a few pictures from the shelter of a shop and a truck. Somehow, asking for permission to take pictures of the military did not seem the judicious thing to do.

Walking into town I met my assistant for the outpatient department and he said our area is considered 70% communist. I assume this means there is not a lot of support here for the current government. On the other hand, one should not think of "communist" in the same way as we thought of it 40 years ago. As I understand it, those who take this title are simply convinced the government is corrupt and the people are not being properly served. Whatever be the case, I bought by goods and quietly returned to the hospital, back up "penance path" to the relative quietude of our humble abode.

Carlyle

I am just getting started with blogging and this is actually the beginning of my report on flying to Nepal and should have been ahead of the post first put in.

Mark has insisted we start a blog or journal of our Nepal adventure so here goes:

September 2, 2009

5:30 p.m. Dale Andersen picked us up at 4 p.m. and got us to the airport in good time. Everything went quickly and easily until the security check where Lora had her very tightly packed carry-on bag stopped and completely emptied looking for what turned out to be some talc powder. Now she is trying to get it all back in. And she thought I was going to have a problem with all the gadgets in my bag! Our four suitcases were also fully packed right at the limit of 50 pounds, as well as our carry-on bags being near the limit of forty lb. As it turned out the baggage check in was a breeze. I told the agent all four bags were right at the limit and he joked saying that was too bad since they make their money on overweight charges. I don’t think he even looked at the weight.

At this point we feel good about our arrangements for the house and property. Our good neighbor, Ron Christensen, is very reliable and seems quite happy to help us with both the outside and maintaining the inside of the house. We have also tried to route our business mail that cannot realistically be sent to Nepal to go to Mark, which is most of it. Nevertheless leaving our home at this time of year is a bit difficult in so far as this is undoubtedly the nicest time of year and things look very nice right now.

4:10 am CST (Amsterdam time? near noon)

Flight was smooth, but comfort level D-. The chair in front is so close you can’t lay your head down and the seat leans back so little it is more like trying to sleep sitting straight up. I did see in the SkyMall magazine an add for an inflatable pillow you put on your lap which you can rest your head on for $30.00. As usual, I began thinking how I could make an equivalent mechanical device in my shop at home.

Schipol airport is nice but the WiFi is not free like in Hong Kong. Nearly everyone waiting here at the gate for the flight to Bahrain or Kuwait is trying to sleep. Everyone must be connecting from a long flight like ourselves.

Sept. 3, 2:40 am CST (Bahrain about 10:30 pm)

What a change. This leg, also on KLM, has somewhat revived my faith in KLM. The plane was Airbus 200 instead of the 300 coming from MSP; smaller but considerably better. We also had two seats by ourselves on the outside instead of two seats in the middle of four, but of greater significance was the distance to the next seat ahead and the degree to which the seat leaned back. I was actually able to sleep a little. The food was better also. Even the controls for the in flight screen on the back of the seat in front of each passenger were more intuitive. On the prior flight I couldn’t even find classical music. On this one there were several selections including one of Itzhak Pearlman’s personal selections and his explanations. They included one of my favorites, The Entertainer by Scott Joplin played by Andre Previn and Itzhak Pearlman.

Our newest adventure; Nepal

We stopped briefly in Kuwait but didn’t get off the plane. The cleanup crew came on and just worked around those going on the Bahrain. They followed the same policy in Bahrain but we departed there and encountered a minor problem. Apparently NWA never gave us baggage tickets but they have the numbers printed on the boarding pass which was not initially recognized by Gulf Air here in Bahrain. Several phone calls and discussions later we were finally issued a local boarding pass. This is the first time we have landed in an Arab country since we returned home from Saigon in 1969 and after using the restroom here at the airport I would have to say they need to divert some of their oil money to that area. We are beginning to wake up now but unfortunately here it is the middle of the night and we will not leave here for another hour and a half and then another four and a half hour flight to Kathmandu where it will be 7:30 am when we arrive. Hopefully our four bags will arrive at the same time.

I have switched my watch to Nepali time and it is now Sabbath morning the 5th here and I must complete my travel to Nepal notes.

The concern about our baggage tickets did not turn out to be a problem but what appeared to be a considerable mistake turned out to be quite wonderful for us. Only until we resolved the baggage question were the personnel of Gulf Air willing to give us boarding passes and once we had those, labeled K1 and K2, we only had to wait an hour or so to board. As the waiting area filled it was clear the great majority were Nepali men returning home from work in Bahrain. We asked a few and found they had been in Bahrain for three years and now they were excited about going home. We were just glad to get on the plane. Bahrain international airport is neither extensive or overly sophisticated and we boarded from the tarmac. One of the Nepali men insisted on carrying up one of our carry-on bags; I am afraid my white hair had something to do with it! Lora had said the seat designation of K1 and K2 must mean they number aisles with letters and we would be about half way back. Imagine our surprise when upon entering the plane they directed us to the left, further forward, into the business class section. Then the stewardess motioned us further forward to the first class section of only eight seats with more amenities than we knew what to do with.

K1 and K2 were the first two on the right side. I was about to take the front one when she asked if I wouldn’t like to sit across the aisle from Lora. There was already someone in that seat and she asked him if he would mind trading with me and he agreed. A three course meal followed and although I had to have some help with the buttons, the seats recline fully. Pity the flight was only four and a half hours. Both of us got a short nap and were awakened by the pilot saying we would be landing in less than an hour. We would have been happy to sleep a little longer but he knew better. Sunrise was just coming up ahead over the Himalayan range. About 40 minutes before touchdown they began to appear, glistening white, like pristine islands poking up through a sea of clouds. For at least 30 minutes they appeared first on the left then also on the right. The windows did not lend themselves to picture taking that would do them any justice so I just sat back and enjoyed the scene.

All too soon we began to descend down from the magical splendor of pristine mountain tops, through the broken clouds and into the miasma of human chaos. Ok, it wasn’t quite that melodramatic, but to cap off the experience there was the exodus from the first class section. The few Nepali men rushed for the main exit and as we waited, getting down our heavy carry-on luggage and collecting ourselves, the crew motioned us to come further forward to their section where they were arranging for a separate stair to be brought to the plane. The the large cabin door was opened and we exited in style, albeit carrying our own bags; the only ones to leave the plane from that location. If “every dog has its day”, maybe that was ours.

September 14, 2009

We have now been here almost two weeks so time for some kind of update. Actually seems much longer with all that has transpired. Our shipment is not here yet and we are hoping it will come within a week but no one seems to know. The washing machine that broke down when we were here in the spring was removed from the apartment awaiting new parts and is still non functional. A different washer was put into the shower area since it does not lift the water up to a sink but only drains onto the floor. The floor of course has a drain, in fact two of them, but the floor is not level so pockets of washer effluent accumulates each time you use it requiring scrubbing the floor. As you may perceive, we really don’t want the washer in the shower and are still hoping to have it moved out. There is another doctor in the building whose washer is also not working and we are sharing the remaining working washer located in a vacant apartment. Ironically, it will drain up into a tub but it is now also located in a shower area and emptying onto the floor. The light switch in the bathroom was finally replaced today so no more shocks.

The biggest problem however is vermin; we think bedbugs. The place was fumigated just before we got here but only the mattress was replaced and not the bedspring. We are thinking this is going to be on on-going issue. We have been in to the capital and found the trip tedious at best with the bad road and traffic so we are trying to find more of what is really needed here in Banepa.

The most interesting patient so far is a 12 yr old boy reportedly bitten in the neck by either a tiger or leopard. The villagers insist this same animal is responsible for the death of six adults over the last several months. Actually I have a hard time believing it was a tiger. The boy is small and one bite I would think would have killed him immediately since it was on both sides of the neck. This happened about five miles from here. Other less exciting cases include hemorrhoids, anal fissures, perianal abscesses, appendicitis and cholecystitis. It seems everyone has peptic ulcer problems and Tb is very prevalent.

I joined a group holding a “branch SS” Sabbath afternoon. This amounted to a one hour hike to a small village nearly 1000 feet higher in the hills. There does not seem to be much concern to doing this kind of evangelism but it is still recommended you develop some relationship with people before trying to hold a meeting. There were nearly as many of us as those in the audience. Local young people from the hospital church family translated. A brief presentation was made regarding dental health and the pediatrician for the hospital gave a talk on the importance of the Bible and a number of songs were sung. I’m not sure how it all came across but we certainly got some exercise.