Kathmandu

Pokhara airport is just funny. When I can actually post photos, I will. The single one I did post took about 30 minutes to upload. I've tried multiple times since then, but having both electricity and a solid Internet connection for that long is nigh on miraculous.

Pokhara Airport. The place is deserted. It really looks abandoned-- left somewhat recently, but abandoned all the same. Upon arrival at the Yeti Airlines counter (You may laugh now- yes- Yeti as in Abominable Snowman. This in contrast to Agni Air, which is the airline that I used from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Agni as in Fire. Who flies on Fire Airlines? Those who don't book with the Abominable Snowman.) I digress...

The Yeti counter. There is a handwritten sign-- if only I'd had the presence of mind to take a photo of it-- handwritten in English-ish is a note that due to fog in Kathmandu all flights are delayed for a a couple of hours. This delay was being either too long or not long enough, as sixteen lucky passengers, ended up on a Yeti Charter flight. Sitting down (having literally climbed in and squashed myself into a seat, backpack on lap as there is no stowage even under the seats) I take a look into the cockpit. I can actually reach forward and tap the pilot on the shoulder to see when we are leaving.

There is a fasten seatbelt sign that humors me; I have the feeling that if this baby actually takes off, in the event of an "emergency landing" the seatbelt won't be doing much to help me out. Likewise, there is the universal "no smoking" light. This has less to do with the dangers of second-hand cigarette smoke and more to do with the fact that if someone were to light a match or flick a bic, we'd all be goners since it would surely ignite the noxious, toxic gas fumes that fill the cabin. Our lovely Tibetan air hostess ducks through the cabin with a plate of cotton and hard candy.

The flight from Pokhara to Kathmandu is less than thirty minutes, but it was a very, very long thirty minutes. The nausea could have been from the rocking and hopping or due to inhaling the plane's exhaust. Either way, I was exceedingly happy to land.

***

Kathmandu has changed so much in ten years. There are literally hundreds of guest houses and shops, restaurants catering to tourists (right now lots of Aussies and Chinese), Internet cafes, money changing offices and more all packed into the same narrow, windy streets. It's a bit of a shock coming in from Pokhara, where things are a bit slower and quieter, relatively speaking. After making so many friends in Pokhara, it also feels a bit less friendly, and overwhelming. But as I begin to open up the Complaint Box in my mind, I recognize it's just me...wherever I go, there I am. And it's my decision how to have this experience. So keeping perspective, I bathed in HOT WATER and washed my hair. I've never felt so clean in all my life.

Driving here is ridiculous. With all the tooling around that I've done, I've not seen a single accident or pedestrian fatality. Amazing, miraculous, remarkable-- these are just a few words that begin to describe the phenomenon. There are basically no traffic signals, and when I say that, I am refering to signs, lights, turn signals, of any kind. So instead, everyone uses the horn: to pass, to turn, to let another motorist or pedestrian or cow know that you are there, to announce the fact that you are about to turn a corner or go round a bend, when traffic is too fast, too slow...you get the idea.

So we have masses of cars, buses, auto-rickshaws, cyclists, and pedestrians speeding through the streets with no lanes, no rules, and no common sense. The Nepali people must be used to it, because they step into the street and cross with hardly a glance, and don't bat an eyelash when they are nearly plowed down by someone merging from the far side of the road, across a roundabout, into oncoming traffic. It is, in fact, so completely out of control that I just don't really even watch. Perhaps because I am too petrified or maybe because it is so completely out of my hands that I may as well surrender to the moment.

Just a few more days, it's all going so fast...

Blessings!