a week later.....

We are settling into a routine.  The church quilt dons our bed. Our groceries were delivered on the back of

a very short man last week, a woman this week!  Our 'di-di'  bakes a loaf of bread twice a week, does our laundry by hand, and cooks us a meal.  A little bit of cleaning is thrown into the last few minutes. We try not to use much water, showering less, and then  in a washbasin that is used to flush the 'loo'.

The electricity is fickle here, also.....but there is a backup generator for the frig and a light or two.  I leave the ceiling fans on so I can tell when there is electricity.  I took my ironing pile to the guest house this morning, but couldn't do it then.....when the fans come back on, I'll go back.  And the tabletop oven is electricity, so my long-awaited bread pudding will have to wait.  I am finding cooking to be a drag!  The tomato sauce is a lot of red food-coloring!  I made goulash with the hamburger that needed to be used.  I had the elbow macaroni even......but the sauce is pretty important.....really makes or ruins it.  Without chili powder, I used dried red chiles.....but the sauce looked and tasted terrible! We sliced off some of our Tillamook Cheese loaf to help it out.   And of course, there are lots of leftovers!  Ugh.  Tonight I signed up for dinnera at the Guest House.  Hope it's not a curry.  I'm getting a bit tired of curry dishes after this many months of eating it.  

The water line from the truck to the tank...hospital buys
water to keep functioning.

If you look at the overhead picture at the begining of the blog, you will see the long, narrow buildings as the hospital, many levels underneath those roofs.
Clustered around the hospital are the local shops and hotels for the families of patients.  Families need to stay to take care of the needs of the patients, like meals.  So, the families hang out in the wards, bringing food  for them.  Then they sleep elsewhere at night.
those of who work and live around the hospital use the
local  grocers for some of our needs, and often our 'di-dis' go there to get it for us.  Otherwise, it is a 2 km. trek to Tansen to get anything not sold here.  I made that trip twice last week -  once to shop, once to church.....on Saturday.  In Nepal the day off is Saturday.  So, we attended a Nepali church with Theo and Beth Beels.  There are two Nepali churches in town, so they try to divide attendance up to support both.  We who needed chairs, are sitting in the back two rows.  Everyone else is on mats on the cement.  Eventually the women's side overflowed into the men's side...attendance-wise.  An hour of singing, led by the band, then gave way to praying and a sermon.  Everyone prays at once...outloud.  Children had their own program elswhere. Two hours and we were walking home.



That afternoon, the missionaries had an english service in the Guest House meeting room, followed by fellowship and dinner together...good old spaghetti.  Over a dozen children, some a bit older than others.

This is the main entrance to the hospital.  The newer section you see is only a few years old, being built, mainly, to enlarge the emergency room capactiy.  Jon will work on photos and a cyber-tour of the hospital for a future blog here.

On  Sunday, Beth suggested we walk to town to buy some fabric for me to have outfits made.  She promised to walk slow.   We found many fabric shops, and bought two sets....one for dress, and one for everyday.  But we brought them home to wash before leaving them with a tailor.  It looks like Jon will go with me tomorrow(his day off) to find the tailor.  Beth has been sick all week since.  I wonder if eating lunch out at the only restaurant in town is what did it?


I'll leave you with construction sites.....the road we were walking on was flanked by oportunistic builders, taking a postage stamp spot and raising a house on it.  No running water.  Electricity can be strung in.  And you have view property!  Zoning is unknown here.

Needless to say, the trip up the hill home was a bit slower and more tiring.  The temps are in the 80's these days.  I think twice about going anywhere, as I know I will have to come back up....and I spent the next three days doing just that......next blog.

Scenes from the City

 We had one day of sightseeing in Kathmandu which is too good to pass up.  There is NOT a photo of Marita folding herself into the Susuki taxi, a number of times!  We did not try these Rickshaw-type buggies, either.

Taxi's waiting for business to arrive.....

Swayambhunath Stupa

Kathmandu  has a 2,000 year history in a country that has been ruled by several dynasties, but is presently The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

They have always remained independent, never colonized.  The largest city of Nepal has a population of one million, but the valley has five million.

Hinduism accounts for 80+% of the population, while Buddhism has 11%.  Muslim comes in at 4.20%, Christians at .45%.  There are also small percentages of Krats, Jains, and Sikhs.

Our destination this day was the SWAYAMBHUNATH , A FAMOUS STUPA PERCHED ON A HILL 2 KM. WEST OF THAMEL.  Tantic Buddhists consider it a chief power point of the Valley.   We had the taxi driver deposit us at the top of the hill, so we wouldn't have to climb the 400 steps!  This man was playing the native instrument, the Sarangi.....a 4-stringed instrument played with a bow.  The young woman was singing a chant.

Stationary PRAYER WHEELS circled the base of the stupa.   They have mantras written in Sanskrit on the outside of the wheels, along with other meaningful symbols.  Spinning the wheels has the same meritorious effect as orally reciting prayers and are used to accumulate wisdom and merit (good karma) and purify the bad karma.  There are hand held prayer wheels, as well as those turned by water, fire and wind.  The modern adaptations are electric, digital, internet-operated and prayer wheel apps!

This was Saturday, the day or worship for the

Nepalese.  Worshippers were bringing plates of food to offer to the gods and were lighting butter lamps, which could be purchased there.  The flame of the lamp sympbolizes the hope of reincarnation....as the lamp burns, it changes, as does the flame....neither is the same.   I was very aware of how we tourists were interfering with their practices....especially taking pictures!  They must be used to it, as they ignored us.

This woman is receiving the 'tika' after her offering.  It is a mark worn on the forehead that symbolized the 'Third Eye' (mind's eye) with the idea of meditation and spiritual enlightenment.  It is most commonly made of a red powder or paste mixed with yoghurt or water.....or sandalwood paste, ashes, clay, etc.  

Other things were going on, also.  This young  Tibeton student was hungry!  Watermelon is a fine treat here in Nepal.

The women below were working....carrying bricks on their backs for some construction project.  Notice the prayer wheels on the walls.

Near the top

Many prayer flags were flying around the stupa.  Printed on cloth, from woodcuts, are ancient Buddhist prayers, mantras, and symbols.  It is believed that,                                                                                         coupled with the natural energy of the wind, they quietly harmonize the environemnt, impartially increasing happiness and good fortune among all beings." We commonly associate them with climbers of the Nepal Mts. whose Sherpas  carry them to appease the local gods and spirits of nature. 

It was now time to descend the 365 advertised steps.  I counted them....400.  Who is off?   It kept me going.  Fortunately, there was a rail most of the way.   I took a rest now and then, which usually attracted more of the 'hawkers' who desperately wanted us to buy their wares.  They don't give up, either!  And if you talk to them at all, they follow you a long way.  Jon thought he'd bought a singing bowl for 5 rupees, then discovered it was 5 euros the man was counting on.  We'll get a bowl somewhere else.

These women were dressed alike for some good reason, I'm sure.....would it be like the 'purple' or 'red hat' groups of the US.   After hailing another taxi, we ended up in Thamel, the more western shopping area of Kathmandu.  My first concern was a western toilet and iced coffee....which we found at The Himalayan Coffee Bar.....I'm grasping Jon's chocolate Ice-Cream shake, also.  A milkshake is just that....milk.




Once we recovered our body temperature and pulse, we set out across the street to the GARDEN OF DREAMS. Our housemates had told us we must see this little piece of peace in the city.

The neo-classical historical garden  was created in the early 1920's by Marshal Kaiser Shumsher Rana.  It was considered one of the most sophisticated private gardens of that time.






After the demise of Kaiser Shumsher, it was handed over to the government of Nepal, but neglected until recently when the Austrian government took on this project of Eco-Himal.  It is about half the size of the original garden.  The size of the garden is 6895 sq. meters, including three pavilions, amphitheatre, ponds, pergolas, urns and combinations of gardens.  We saw it was THE gathering place for amorous couples, mostly young ones.  A  restaurant, tea salon and bar were doing a lot of business on a hot day. This little boy was eager to feed the fish something.

I think this is a Banyon tree gone amok.  It's roots seem to have wandered a fair bit.  I was watching fair-haired children from some Scandanavian country chase each other around a nearby fountain.



Now, for a saunter thru the shopping district.....THAMEL.    This is where everything and anything Nepali, and then some, can be found.
When it comes to buying an item, you ask the price (which means you are interested, and almost obligated to follow through with buying it) then divide it in half and start the bargaining from there.  Of course, the merchant is aghast and only comes down a smidgen.  Depending on how badly you want it, you keep at it, hopefully creeping closer to each other's desired price.  It doesn't hurt to begin walking away as many times as you need to to get the price, also.

 This may, or may not be Yak Wool.  There is no guarantee on anything.  Again, I was handicapped with a anti-shopping husband and limited space for taking things back home.   These paper lanterns seem harmless enough, so, I hope at some future date to get some.

Need a snack?  Fruit stand....

 The streets seemed to go on and on, but our energy waned early.  It WAS late afternoon!  So, we found another Susuki taxi and went home.

We felt like the smile on this gate at the end of the day.

Tansen

     A short prop-plane ride delivered us close to the Indian border at Bhairahawa where a 'buck' driver loaded our things into the back and we drove off thru the farmland.  No scooters here!  It's tractors!  And Brahman cattle in the street.....standing, walking, lying down.  Sacred as they are, everyone detours around them!  Greasy machine shops lined the streets, to fix all the trucks and tractors.  We're not sure what all is grown there, but probably some of the vegetables we eat here in Tansen.


     After one hour of travel, at slow speed because of cattle and traffic and people, tall hills loomed ahead.  It reminded me of the Applachian range in Kentucky  - how it takes off almost immediately in some places.  We entered the canyon and climbed, climbed, climbed.  The road hugs the side of the hill.....a cliff is on the other side.  Two vehicles could pass each other, with care. Drivers just flash their lights to inform any vehicle around the corner of their presence.  What buildings were perched on the edge of the road had to be on stilts.  The river was at the bottom of the canyon.  After another hour of this, we turned a corner and saw lights sparkling from top to bottom of a hillside..like stars.  Tansen was just ahead.  Of course, the hospital is on the upper end of the town.   And then we had a bit of a walk uphill to get to our residence. Some dinner had been saved for us, so we tackled that right away before unpacking a bit and going to bed.

Our rooms are at the far end

We are impressed with how thorough they are in welcoming us and orienting us!  Ganesh is the Nepali in charge of the Guest House, among other things.  Jason, from UK, is Hospitality Co-ordinator and spent the morning with us, going over the 'book' we need to study further about culture, security, Jon's duties, community, etc. This was after we had started off the day with an hour's language lesson!   We then had a tour of the hospital.....Wow!  What a busy place!  It is on        many levels as it's been added onto over the years and crept up, or down, the hillside.   Talk about view property!  We've got a corner on it.  Right now the haze seems to dull the view, but we are impressed with the scope of the countryside before us.  We are eating at the Guest House, just up the hill from our 'suite,' for a couple days.  And we're welcome to sign up for any meal.

See the bread in the little oven?  I love Chandra's smile!

Tressa, in charge of in-home workers, brought our 'di-di' to us this morning ...ready to start working immediately!  So Chandra, veteran of 18 yrs. with expats, will come two mornings a week, unless we need her more.  She scoured some of the dirt we had noticed on everything.  She did our little bit of laundry....by hand!  She went to the hospital bazaar and bought basic ingredients for baking.....and made us a loaf of white bread!!  We can use our tabletop oven when the outside source of electricity is working.  Otherwise we are on a generator and only the outlets for the frig and a lamp will work.
We have switches for every socket...on, off.  Turn on the water heater(wall type) for shower 20 minutes
ahead.  No hot water in kitchen, except for what you boil.  A water purifier on the wall works only on outside electrical source , so we store drinkable water in bottles for the other times.  We bought iodine today for soaking veg. and fruit that don't peel.  It will be wonderful to have her help!

Beth and I walking to town.

Beth Beels stopped by after lunch to meet us and offered to take us to the bazaar!  So, I rested up a bit before she came and then we walked, climbed down, climbed up, walked........maybe a couple kilometers to Tansen bazaar.....on rocky ground.  I'm glad I have my cane, as it gives me some stability on all this uneven ground.  Rocks of all shapes are used for walkways......instead of concrete?  So, I have my work cut out for me......NOT tripping on the rocks!   Of course, the cane gets me a lot of attention from the locals.  Ugh.  And not being dressed like them, yet, brings stares.

Shopping on Straight Street

There is one restaurant in town, and we started there, in their outside atrium, with a cold drink, sharing our ideas of what we needed to find.  This is the place in town with the 'western toilet,' which is important to know.  Very restful atmosphere....we'll be back.  Beth then led us thru a narrow passageway that became a tight tunnel and opened up on Steep Street.....because it is steep!  Up a ways, we turned left onto Straight Street, because it is....straight, and level.   Everyone knows Beth, so she stopped over and over to greet people and visit a minute.  Namaste is the word of greeting said with both hands held in front of one, as if in prayer.
    Jon found his electrical adapter, a squeegy for the bathroom-shower floor, a wastebasket, a scrubbrush.....and we bought groceries at Kurien's Shop.  If he doesn't have it, he will find it.  I was surprised at how much he crammed into a little shop!  We couldn't carry it home, so he will box it up and send tomorrow to our door.  And, I'm told I can just call him up and order my groceries...to be delivered!  This beats home...having a 'di-di' and groceries delivered!  And our housespace has doubled!  We have a living space, a bedroom, and a bathroom!  Room for guests in the living space, as the twin bed is our sofa.  We have better internet reception than ever!  WE can skype from our room.  So blessings abound!

Marita takes a rest while Kurien adds up the bill.

There is a TV/video room at the guest house, or we can bring DVD's home to watch on computer.  What more do we need?  oh, we can put TP in the toilet, too, because we flush by dumping our shower water into it.  Water is scare here, so it all needs to be recycled.  So, we stand in a basin to take our bucket shower.  There is a dribbly showerhead, if that suits.  Enough about living conditions.

Beth was perceptive about my stamina on this trek, so she asked her tailor if he knew someone with a car who could come take us back up to the hospital......oooooh-la-la.....our own personal driver!  Just in time for dinner.  And now we're glad to sit and hear from friends at home.  Your e-mails are so precious!    We are interested in your lives, indeed.  We may be doing the adventurous, odd things, at the moment, but we cherish you......friends we've known over the years who have enriched our lives over and over.  Thank you for engaging with us.

The Work of Travel

   The best thing about Bangkok was it's airport!  Isn't it beautiful?  Jon caught this image as we waited for our luggage.  Actually, I need to apologize for my earlier statement that Bangkok had little green spaces.  I've seen more of the city and there are beautiful areas.   Airports in these large cities turn out to be fantastic shopping malls, as well as an epicurian's delight.  Maybe that is to balance out the work of travelling.  Long gone are the days when we could rush to the airport at the last hour and make the plane!  International travel?  even more so!

I like the idea of being 'carried' and that illusion keeps me going toward the plane.  It's a day of just following the leader, doing what you're told, very few decisions, etc.  And, maybe getting a good meal (International flights still feed you!).   But, with terrorism changing our world, air travel is now more work than fun.  Here are some of the trying things we've encountered in our travels:

......unequal requirements for amount of luggage allowed on various airlines, requiring hefty fees when you get to the smaller airlines who want to let you on with only one bag, or a smaller poundage total.

......multiple requests to check your carry-on bags before boarding the plane.....just where could I get something not allowed into my bags after entering the airport?

.....waiting, and waiting, and waiting....in security lines and in countries where visas are applied for upon arrival at the airport (as in Nepal). 

.... Free, acessible internet would be helpful, but Seattle was the only airport where that happened for us on this trip.  Dallas, London, Dubai, Bangkok, New Delhi...none had free wi-fi!

....seats that fit the expanding 'bum' of the average tourist.  

....climbing stairs into a plane is NOT OK!

We are thankful for safe travel, even if sometimes uncomfortable; arrival of all our bags at all times;  resources enough to tip all the young men that NEED to help us, and give one no choice in the matter, with our many bags; comfortable and adequate shelter at all stops; enough english language understood worldwide to get by and very little ill-health.  I've had a cold this last few days, but am sure to mend.

Flying into Kathmandu, the haze prevented any view of tall mountains, but we could see the colonial
influence of the architecture....where did that come from?

WE flew Monday JET AIRWAYS thru New Delhi airport.  Having a  long wait, we found the Food Court and ordered Dominos Pizza for lunch!  McDonalds seemed to have the long line, but we had a yen for pizza.  Of course, as soon as the plane was airborne, we were fed another lunch, late as it was.  That followed two breakfasts!  

Upon arrival in Kathmandu, we all gathered around kiosks and filled out visa applications then qued-up.  An hour and half later, we neared the exit only to find the promised Nirmal was not there.  He had sent his driver, who did his best to inform us what was happening.  We were sent to an alternate guest house which seemed to be unattended.  It took a long 

time to find someone to let us in.  Jon prevailed upon Ram, the driver, to take him to get some food and a phone card.  We could not get the internet to connect, which made us feel even lonlier.  The other lone occupant of the guest house came in late and left early....haven't seen him since.  The manager came to see us the next morning and we found the internet does work, but only in the common room, on the coffee table.  Nirmal will return tomorrow from wherever he went.  Hopefully, we will be able to get our proper visa on Friday as Saturday is the day the gov't is closed down.  Sunday Jon will go before the licensing board and then we're scheduled to fly out at 4 pm to Bhairahawa where a vehicle will carry us 2 hrs. north to 

Tansen.  Our luggage will go ahead with a hospital van this Saturday......see if we can avoid more overweight charges.

Jon and I have used this alone time to sleep, rest, read, talk and walk.  Both yesterday and today we've explored our neighborhood, Pulchowk.  The streets are narow, but all vehicles are compact and acually pass each other.  The scooters, or cycles, outnumber the cars or trucks and move in swarms.  Traffic rules seem to be the same as Afghanistan......go wherever there is an open space.  Walking is rather risky without proper sidewalks.  

We;ve noticed the same PUD nightmare Bangkok had. Wires swarming together all over the buildings and poles and across streets.

The nearby grocery store is alot like the FINEST we liked in Kabul.....very modern and rather clean.   And it's closeby, which helps.  We have not braved hailing a taxi, tiny ones here, but hope to see some of the shrines, etc. when Nirmal comes back.  This is the Shalom Guest House and I am on the balcony, having walked home alone so Jon could wander further afield. Getting through all the locked gates, doors, grills, etc. is daunting.

So, this is where we are until Sunday....tonight it's 

spaghetti.  Good thing we have a gas stove...electricity is off more than it is on.   And, we get to watch another movie on our computer tonight.....ah, luxury!

Rabbit Resort in Pattaya

We leave Rabbit Resort in a couple hours.  It has been a fitting-end to our Thailand vacation.   Pattaya is a large city on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand, but I found a sweet little resort tucked into ten acres of  Palm Trees and the like, on the beach, no less!  It is named after the owners, not the wildlife.  With two beautiful swimming pools, we hardly needed the beach, as both were similar in temperature.  But, the beach was nice for evening repose.  Otherwise it filled with umbrellas over lounge chairs.

Our room is off a winding brick path, in the 'woods' of tropical plants.  Orchids were always present on our freshly laid bed.....the bikini absent....sorry, folks.  We liked the Bar and Grill's food so well, we ate there every meal.  Breakfast was complimentary and a buffett of grand proportions.....we made it the daytime meal, around 10 am.

Below is our shower room!  We never figured out what the barrel of water was for...unless  the other


water-source failed....remnants of our Kabul days.

Outdoor seating borders on road and beach.

Salt and Papper Rabbits

Internet was free, but could be accessed only near and around the office.....which included one swimming pool and the outdoor area of the restaurant.   None of this was air-conditioned like our room was, so our communiques have come with great sacrifice.......sweat!  Last night the connection was not working at all so we had to go

to our room and watch another rerun of a TV show.  This is the most TV we've gotten all year, so we splurged....largely news, so we know what is happening in Asia mostly....BBC second....US?
Just a blip on the horizon.

                                                         Our pleasure here has been a massage-a-day for Jon....and two days for me.  for $20., or less, we have had hour massages at a rather nice salon...The Relax Spa.  I even got a pedicure and manicure my first day.....and then went around the corner and across the street to get a drop-in haircut!    I found the uncertainty about the haircut easier to live with than the brow-shaping exercise!  She painted my brows

dark brown....all of them....I asked if that was going to come off  and leave some hair on? " Oh, yes," she said.

                                                                            But it didn't.  I have a new look now, temporarily, I hope.  It doesn't take long in this heat and humidity to not care what one looks like!  I did my obligatory dip in the pool in the dark last night (kiddies pool)  and sat on the beach in the setting sun (not a sun person). 

  Oh, yes, my second massage was from a different lady and about did me in.......I asked for back and shoulders and feet.  Well, I got more than that....on the mat on the floor.  I warned her
not to press hard on my left hip as I was
expecting her to start walking on me.  She did            
pretty well with that, but my sore shoulders are
even sorer now. So, I did not return today.
I need recovery.
I do not seem to like massage from anyone but my favorite, Joe, in Anacortes.  I keep wishing the therapist would do the moves I know how to do...and they don't.  Maybe I can teach Jon?

Well, I'll leave you with a couple flower photos

and say farewell for now.  We will be flying to
Kathmandu early in the morning, after taxiing to
Bangkok shortly.....reclaiming our luggage in
storage and  some sleep.  thank you for coming along with us!