Curry for breakfast........we have arrived.

Our flights, first to Delhi and onwards to Kathmandu flashed by as our thoughts were filled  with goodbye’s and expectations of events to come. Jet Airways were fantastic, not batting an eyelid at our blue barrels and slightly excess weight that they waved through with a smile.  Jude feels perhaps she should have chanced packing the guitar after all.

We were met at Kathmandu airport by Sushila and Krishna from VSO, who drove us to the Pacific Guest House where we will be staying for the next few weeks, whilst we do orientation training.

The very rough, narrow roads and alleys are full of motorbikes, over loaded mini buses, and cycle rickshaws. The many pedestrians pick their way over piles of brick rubble and broken concrete that hem these thoroughfares.  However, this is a place of bustling activity, despite the limited infrastructure with the sound of car horns filling the dusty air.  Small stalls selling everything from vegetables to repaired umbrellas abound.

We’ve arrived at the start of the monsoon with most of the rain falling in the evening, accompanied by harsh lightning and thunder that nobody seems to notice. The other noise that we find unusual is the sound of dogs barking, mainly at night. But despite this and the temperature of 25degrees with humidity of 75%, surprisingly, sleeping that first night was not a problem----let’s hope it continues. Woke the next morning and had curry, fried flat bread and kaalo chiyaa (black tea), all eaten with the right hand.  Trying to reduce to two meals per day which will be standard once we are in Jumla. 

The few people we have met are really friendly and happy to lets us try our language skills on them. Thank God for sign language!  Ventured out with my camera under wraps, was again warmly accepted when I asked if it was ok to us it.  Surprisingly, even greater happiness when I showed people the results.

 

Jude busy looking at our map for an eating place we can visit this evening with our fellow volunteer, Aleth, who also arrived yesterday, from the Philippians.  She will be involved with a forestry/marketing project. All this once we have watched the Nepali World Cup being played out in the street opposite our rooms.