Nepal was good. Considering the trials we went through for a vacation one would wonder how we could say it was "good," but I guess we're starting to get somewhat accustomed to the way it goes in many developing countries. We went to a few different resorts where our Nepali friends, Arbin and Bimala Pokharel, managed to get good deals for us. First we just kicked back for a few days at a resort in Kathmandu, which was the most expensive bit of the trip, but really enjoyable. Then we headed for Pokhara--a touristy city about 5 hours drive from Kathmandu... that is, when the road is open.

Arbin and Bimala took us because their kids were on vacation as well and they also wanted to go, so it worked well to spend the week vacation with them. Yazzie could also play with Alyssa and Nuel, their two kids. The first day we headed for Pokhara and got about two hours out of Kathmandu before hitting the traffic jam. The road was unusually busy (basically a mountain pass not unlike parts of Colorado by the river). Then we sat for a couple of hours. It turned out that a truck lost a wheel on a bridge, so only one lane could pass. Add to that one lane the total chaos of no traffic control and it took forever to get through. Adults and children alike were not ready for another 4 hours, so we stopped at a nice river side resort a bit down the road that's designed for rafters. It has a wonderful pool, which the kids love, and it wasn't a hard decision to stay there for the night instead of driving on.

We left the next morning anticipating arriving in Pokhara after three or so hours. We arrived just outside of Pokhara into a traffic jam. Again there were no alternate routes available. Everyone was milling about on the road outside of their vehicles, looking ready to wait for quite a while. We filled up with fuel and a Nepali man started talking to us. He suggested that while we wait for the jam to clear we go up a side street 6 kms to a mountain top resort that he knew of where we could eat and the kids could swim. It was time for lunch, hotter than ever in the car, and we gave it a try.

We arrived at the Tiger Top resort to find it closed for monsoon season. Nevertheless, we asked to use the bathrooms and take a look around. It's a really cool place, which if we get the chance, we'll go again, but not for long because it's a bit higher end, run by a British fellow, at 95 bucks a day full-package. We ate lunch at the staff quarters below and Bim had been talking to the police on the phone. They told her that private vehicles could get through the jam, which although we weren't yet sure what it was about, knew that the army and the UN were on the scene, and that it was a road block caused by locals. So we tried again, and the police were wrong, so we ended up waiting for about another hour down in the heat with three kids... There's only one way in or out of Pokhara on that side, over a bridge. It turned out that a local young man had been killed in an accident a day or two before. Apparently he was on a tractor on the road that was struck by a bus. In lieu of any trustworthy insurance policy, people take things into their own hands and strike while the iron is hot. (The drivers of buses/trucks in such cases usually jump and run. Staying on the scene means getting beat up at best, or killed by a mob of sympathizers to the victim, even if it's not necessarily the fault of the driver). So, family and friends make a road block by parking trucks cross-ways on the road so only foot traffic can get through in order to enforce their demands for money from the bus company to offset their loss. They blocked the bridge off on one side, and about 3 miles back on the road blocked the other side. So for about 3 or 4 miles there were thousands of people walking along with their umbrellas and gear, having left motor transportation behind. Close to a hundred motorcycles were parked on the bridge, their operators having left them and walked.

We debated about what to do and finally left Arb with the car and starting walking with the kids for the resort taxi, which would wait for us on the other side of the blockade. I carried too much stuff, including Nuel, their 3 year old, and ended up getting sick from dehydration the next day. It took us a bit more than an hour to get through the blockaded road. Usually Arb says, the blockers and bus companies reach an agreement before sundown. If not, people on the road start to lose their patience and they force the blockade out by throwing rocks, etc. Bim was arguing with the police telling them to do something about it, but the guy said to her, "What, did we make this blockade? No, so why are you calling us to do something about it?" We finally arrived at the resort. After about 40 minutes Arb also arrived; the blockade had opened up. So, we expended ourselves in the heat for no reason, but who knew if it would open or not? We enjoyed that place for the next two days and then set out back for Kathmandu, thankfully, with no more adventure than Nuel getting car sick on the way back.

We stayed with Arb and Bim for the next two nights and spent time talking with them and going to church at Cross Way on Saturday morning. They were having water problems, like usual, so we showered and flushed toilets minimally and out of buckets. We saw their new church property, which seems like a really swell place for the church. Now we're back in the Bangla heat and trying to get back into life here. The water is plenteous in Savar, but the electricity is not. The AC doesn't have enough to go on for the first and worst/ hottest hours of the night here, which means lying awake in the heat for expats and Bangladeshis alike. But the breeze is usually good here, so today I'll try to install some mosquito nets around our beds and we'll just open the house up at night. In Dhaka they solve the power problem by cutting the power from sectors for an hour or two. But here it seems that they solve the problem not by cutting power, rather by lowering the voltage available to more people. Fans will still run a bit and so will lights, but the AC can't make a go of it. Yes, living in the developing countries. A lot gets sucked up in the logistics of life, most things we would even call "logistics" stateside.

0 Comments