Friday, October 24, 2014
We ate at 7 AM and checked out of our hotel and departed
about 8 AM. I was very pleased this time with the hot water shower, which
makes anything else seem quite insignificant. There were a few things
that needed fixing. The Internet was very slow, but I attribute that to
the fact that there are so many people visiting the country, that so many are
visiting relatives in their villages because of the holidays, that this hotel
is the best one in Besishahar where many might want to stay. The place
was nearly deserted the last time we were there so the Internet was fast.
This time it was only fast in the middle of the night, but since I often wake
up then, it is a good time to get some work done, but I don’t recommend it.
What I do know is what a bargain both hotels were that we stayed at out
of town. The food was plentiful and cheap at both hotels and any eating
establishment away from this big city. For the cost of a fruit drink
here, you could have a grand meal there. The room costs were a fraction
of what it is here.
There is always a fantastic view of the Himalayas at
this hotel, but this time I decided to send one with the clouds on it even
though earlier I have pictures of it without them, but I have in the past sent
those, and I still thought it was so beautiful.
Our first stop of the morning was to look at another CHOICE
proposal. We thought after looking around, that they were not needy, and
not needing water either. Their tank that captures spring water was perhaps
a little bit too small and it had a couple of gaping holes in it—one was
towards the top edge, but the other was lower and man-made, so that’s how
people were getting water somehow or other, taping here and there to capture
what they could. The pipe coming out of the tank set below the edge was
leaking badly so that a good deal of water was going into the river instead of
into their pipes to get to their taps. Their homes were large and we saw
water points everywhere, and many had water tanks on their roofs. Jim
told them to order Thorough Seal to stop up the holes in their tanks—perhaps
they could order it from the UK. It works amazingly well, but on the
other hand the tank probably needs to be larger. However, we certainly
have seen much needier communities than this. In all of our travels we
have someone extra with us, and sometimes three more people, stuffed like
sardines in the back seat with no legroom, but then they are used to it and
generally have shorter legs for just such traveling. I don’t think these
people have claustrophobia or a fear of heights.
Jim, Kiran Neupane (CHOICE) and a local water
committee member check out the old tank. You can easily see the hole at
the edge of the tank, and just below it is a man made hole with a pipe stuck in
it that leaks badly, but they manage to get some water where they want
it. They want us to replace the tank and give them private tap stands.
The best part about today was our hike up to the water
tank. I needed a little help from time to time since we were walking
through stream beds, trying not to slip on the rocks and climbing up the hills,
a bit steep. We came back sweaty and feeling good.
That was our last stop other than to eat, coming back to
Kathmandu. On the way we saw the results of two awful accidents—one van
smashed all the way to the back seat; one truck over the side. This is so
common that you’d think they’d take notice and stop driving so crazy—just like
home, everyone is always in a hurry. There is no such thing as a straight
highway unless you count the ones in Kathmandu Valley. Every road out of
town is a curving mountain road, narrow, with no place to go but down, a long
way down. And many roads are about one and a half lanes so that trucks
and buses cannot be side by side with any other car unless the smaller one
moves over to the edge or onto the dirt. They drive like they aren’t
going to meet any vehicle coming the other way. They are skilled drivers
but there is no way to always avoid accidents when they have the habit of
passing on curves.
This is not on a side road but on the main highway.
They are hanging onto the back of a small pickup, and what you can’t see is how
many are jammed into the bed of the truck.
Everywhere we look we see people all over the streets of any
small town, many wearing traditional clothing, getting ready to dance and sing,
and celebrate. We came back to a colorfully decorated hotel, lights
everywhere. I think someone said today was the day of the ox. The
whole month of October is celebrated. They love to party so much that
they even celebrate at Christmastime with the Christians.
There are so many people walking around celebrating
that they create their own traffic jam, as if Kathmandu needed more congestion.
Tomorrow is the Sabbath here , Saturday, so we’ll be going
to church, eating with Wasuita’s, writing reports. They are going to show
General Conference, so we’ll get to watch it again. We meet with Rakesh
on Sunday, finish reports on Monday, and head home that evening, arriving on
Tuesday. So, the hard part is over with, and who knows--we might find
time on our last day to work out in the gym and use the pool; we can only hope.
I am happy that I might even find time to send home some pictures.
We really have so many to share of interesting or just beautiful things.
Love, From Weary Old Travelers
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