Millie & Vikki in Nepal: Well HELLO THERE Kathmandu!

Monday 23 August 2010

Well HELLO THERE Kathmandu!

We are officially in Nepal.
Ohmydays.
After sleeping for about 3 minutes in total having hijacked the sofas in costa coffee in abu dabhi airport for about 8 hours we finally boarded our plane to Nepal. Basically, we've been awake for about 30 hours with intermitent power naps and 2 meals at weird times. So forgive us if this reads funny.
One observation was the weird smokey steam stuff they pumped into our plane at Abu Dhabi. I was seriously concerned. DO THEY NOT REALISE THE CABIN IS FULL OF SMOKE?? But I think it was just stuff to cool the plane down. Abu Dhabi is literally in the middle of the desert and it was 31 degrees at midnight. So very hot.
Anyway, first impressions of Kathmandu. As soon as we got off the plane it was HOT and HUMID. like REALLY hot and REALLY humid. Obviously no airconditioning in the airport so we melted for a good hour while queing up for a visa. Millie then managed to lose hers while trying to buy a sim card. but she found it. So don't panic, Ruth and Kevin. We also both have our passports. Just so you know.
We got an extremely battered taxi which had net curtains as seat covers which took us to the AsmitaGuesthouse. Obviously, our in-car salesman who sat in thefront passenger seat alongside the driver was having none of this, and spent the entire journey trying to persuade us to: Stay in "his" hotel, book plane tickets, book chitwan, have a guide round kathmandu, etcccc. But as headstrong youngwomen we managed to say NO and to getaway without any 40% discounts to dodgey safariparks.Thank you NHS. Again the driving in Nepal is compltely mad. They drive on the same side "apparently" but I'm pretty sure wejust spent the entire hour weaving in and out of near death experiences on either side of the road.
Our guesthouse is really,really lovely, and we acquainted ourselves well by spilling a bottleof nepalese fanta over theguestbook in the first five minutes.
Now we're just passing the time till supper in an internet cafe with a REALLYDODGEYSPACEBAR. But for 60p for an hour we can't complain.
Hope everything is OK back home. We heard it was very rainy last night. Don't start. Monsoon season. It has rained solidly since we arrived and is SO HUMID.
By the way, a weird virus popped up on our screen, so if weird stuff starts appearing on our facebook and this blog, just ignore it!

Lots of Love,
Vikki
xxxxx

2 comments:

Sanchia23 August 2010 at 08:02
PAHAAA I love that you thought that the smoke was to cool the cabin down ... it's insect repellant. Or disinfectant. Or whatever you call it, I'm sure Vikki was carrying some with her anyway ...
Welcome to Asian driving! Glad to hear you made it out alive. Also. Hope you're enjoying the end of monsoon season. Don't drown. :D
Love from Sanchia & Jasmine (& Naidi & Kimberley)
xxxxx
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Alistair Lipp23 August 2010 at 09:47
Still monsooning here. Good meeting with Nicky's social worker. Good pre-interview for my new job. Glad you like the traffic! Dad.
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About Nepal in Need

Nepal In Need work high up in the Arun Valley of Eastern Nepal providing basic health care to the indigenous Rai and Sherpa people. This is an area of steeply forested valleys, rushing glacial rivers and soaring peaks. Immense beauty and enormous logistical problems.In 2008 Catherine Blaiklock and Gyaljen Sherpa funded and set up the Khenpalung Community Health Centre in the Sankhuwasabha district . This is an arduous three day walk from the nearest road. The centre is staffed by two doctors and two nurses. A further health post has now been set up in the Sherpa village of Gontala, two days higher up . Previously, there was no provision for health in the area so sick people had to be stretchered down to the district capital and this took three to four days. Many died especially children and babies. Now for the first time children are receiving innoculations, women are being treated for the many gynaecological problems and antibiotics are being prescribed for TB.

LOGISTICAL PROBLEMS There is no electricity in any of these villages - it took four men, five days to haul a generator up to our health centre: across ragged cliffs, over high passes, sometimes balancing on precarious bamboo bridges and through jungle. 52 porters carried up an x-ray machine, solar panels, drugs and equipment.

FUTURE PLANS We would like to build many more health centres in Nepal. There are thousands of villages in this area alone with no access even to an aspirin. A small health centre can be built and equipped for £5000. A barefoot doctor costs £80 per month. Most generic drugs manufactured in India cost a matter of pence and can save a life. There are schools with no books, no stationary and no pens. There are no maps or posters; the blackboards are painted on mud walls making it difficult to read the chalk lettering. A number of schools have no toilets. We have 70 houses that are 9km from a water source. Can you help us solve any of these problems?