March 18, 2018
We were up at 5 and gone by
6. Rakesh had places to be and then flew
back so there was the four of us plus our driver and his brother in the car. Once again the spoiled child (me) got to ride
up front because of my neck. In my
childhood I got to ride shotgun because my parents didn’t want me to throw up
in the car. I no longer get carsick,
thankfully, and in fact can read if the road is not too windy. Today on the long trip home to keep me from
getting antsy, I read and also played a couple of games on my phone. It seems to help, otherwise it is rather
stressful so it helps to pass the time.
The 7-12 hour window to get home
suggested by Rakesh as to be normal, was quite correct. In fact, if it were not for one thing (our
driver’s flat tire), we easily would have made it in 7 hours, but still, we got
home after lunchtime—we were blessed.
Leaving early paid off as the traffic was light until we got closer to
Kathmandu, and then the city was normally congested with constant stops and
waits with our driver wiggling around to try to get somewhere.
On the way home were able to stop
for a nice breakfast at the Riverside Springs Resort that we always go to, and
then went up to the parking lot to see that our driver was not there. He’d gone out to eat (for local food) and got
a flat tire. When he finally returned,
his brother was not with him. He said he
had gotten another ride. The entire time
he was driving he constantly heard from his family. I could tell because I heard children’s
voices on his phone—so cute. He was a
nice man who is Buddhist and he appeared to be very religious. The majority of people in Nepal are
Hindu.
It was so good to get back. We could tell that the driver really needed a
bathroom! I feel his pain…we all do
after a long jaunt like that! He had
driven as fast as possible as one can in often totally stopped Kathmandu
traffic, and then upon arriving jumped out of the car to use the restroom.
When we got back to Wilkinson’s
house I then discovered what the problem was with my computer--it was their
whacky service there, or just the location.
E/S Pocock who live next door have no problems with their
connections. The Pocock’s have a
daughter and son-in-law visiting who knows a bit about technology so he came
over to try to help Kenney, but in the end it still had a problem. They determined that it must be the location
or the service.
Tomorrow Terry and I will take
the day off. I will stay here and write
reports and she will go to her language school.
Even if they flunk their final test, the really important thing to not
be kicked out of Nepal is to go 80% of the time. The guys are going to check on one project
that we will close as soon as Jim sees it, and a couple of future projects
Rakesh wants to propose in the Kathmandu area.
I was surprised to hear that Kathmandu even extends past where the
highway begins out of the city—it is rather huge. I am
looking forward to a leisurely day here.
We depart for home late tomorrow night.
It has been a good trip, made fun by being with this couple, seeing old
friends we have worked with before, and meeting new ones and having new
experiences.
March 19, 2018
I worked on our Trip Report and
again realized that the e-mails would not go out because of the
apartment/Internet problems here and will send out letters when I get
home. Terry went to her language
class. I had to go to the China Southern
office to find out why we no longer had seats (as shown on the Internet), but
we still had seats—this is good. We
showered and packed and then in the evening went to Pocock’s next door to eat a
meal prepared by the wife of their driver Momo.
He is not yet a member of the Church and neither is his wife, but his
son got baptized recently. I found out
that he is waiting till his father dies so as not to upset him and
tradition. He is very proud of his son
who is learning to play the piano. I
think his boy is around 12 years old; they just have the one son. Momo is such a pleasant young man, always
smiling, and the food his wife prepared was really good as she left out those
Nepali spices that light us on fire. We
enjoyed the evening visiting with Pocock’s and their daughter & son-in-law and
saying our final goodbyes to the Wilkinson’s—they have been such wonderful
hosts and we got along great! Momo took
us to the airport, which is rather close to their apartments.
March 20, 2018
We spent a lot of hours waiting
in airports as many flights had been delayed plus some long layovers. We flew China Southern for the first time this
trip and it was okay except when we have had to wait in the airport. It seems they do have nice places in those
airports, but where we have to wait is very cold and there is no place to
rest. The seats are okay but there is no
place to lay down and the floor is tile.
On the way back in between flights we passed the time by playing Skip-Bo. On this last wait in a Chinese airport there
was no food to be had except in one vending machine. Finally when it got close to departing they
brought us some drinks and a package with some tiny crackers in it. The airline seats on the way here on the long
flight seemed rather uncomfortable, but for some reason, on the way back I was
able to find a comfortable way to sleep, which I did a lot of on the longest
flight. We knew that there was going to
be a ‘touch down’ on the long flight, but we had no idea that we would be
de-boarding the plane. I guess they
needed to clean and restock the essential items for the passengers, so this
took an hour or two more.
When we arrived in San Francisco
our flight home was also delayed as they were late and also had to circle above
the airport, waiting for a turn to land.
We arrived at our home about 10 PM.
It seemed to take forever to get home, but we are home, and all is well.
Any time a plane doesn’t crash, it’s a good day! I managed to unpack and start my wash, and
passed out after midnight when I finally got to bed and slept till 9AM. It’s so good to be home! It’s so good to brush my teeth in the clean
water that comes out of my faucet. And I
love being in a good bed and taking a long, hot shower. Life is good!
We leave for West Africa in a few weeks…till then.
Cheers!
Jim & Karen, E/S Greding, Mom
& Dad
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