21/1/15
I should have known how my vacation was going to go, as the
first leg of it, alone, was difficult and complicated:
Baibang Village to Kathmandu
14/12/14-
I had
planned for this day to be a simple travel day.
I’d travel from my village to Butwal-a long 8 hour journey, but at least
I knew what to expect. Unfortunately,
due to various Nepali circumstances, Plan A was scrapped. Plan B consisted of me staying in our
district capital for a night, then traveling the 12-14 hours to KTM, in one
day. I would go to the opening of the
Farmer’s Market, in Ben’s VDC, then the next day, travel to Ghorhai, spend a
nice night in a hotel, rest up for the long journey. Of course, this was too nice of a plan to
function in Nepal. The Farmer’s Market,
which we’ve been waiting to open, for months, was postponed by a day. This meant that it coinsided with my planned
travel to Ghorhai.
My first
instinct was to skip it, but I decided to be a good little volunteer and
go. I’d walk over, with my family, then
catch a jeep from Ben’s VDC to Ghorhai, in the afternoon-Plan C. Morning found me frazzled and behind. It had rained for days, so everything was
muddy and damp. In the midst of packing,
Danny ran away. I was desperate to find
him, before I left. Ten minutes before
we were to leave, he came back. My host
mother’s sister had taken him with her, to her house, across the river. I was
furious, but had no time for admonitions.
Ama and I took off walking, across the fields, to Ben’s VDC. Half way there, I realized that I’d forgotten
the key to my PC office locker, that had half of my vacation clothes in them.
Of course. I’d just have to hope that
there were extra keys at the office, or I’d be vacationing in my kurta
surwal.
We arrived
in Ben’s VDC, and to no one’s surprise, the event was running late. I guess I’d been (wishfully) imagining something
like an American Farmer’s Market. I was
very disappointed to discover that this was just like all the other stupid
Nepali “programs”: blasting music, a row of chairs set up, for the important
speakers to sit in, no other organization, running several hours behind
schedule. If the event had started on
time (10 am), I could have easily left by 1:00 and been in Ghorhai by
7:00. Instead, it didn’t start until
2:30. When it did, 75% of it was the
usual host of speeches by “thulo manches” (big/important people). It wasn’t until 4 pm that anybody was free to
browse the stalls that had been setting up, in the background. It was wonderful to see so many people buying
and selling fresh produce-something that doesn’t normally happen outside of the
bigger towns. There were also contests
for the biggest/best vegetables, etc. in various categories. Ben’s mushroom group won, as did my family,
for their giant cauliflower. By 4 pm I
was thoroughly over the Nepali “program,” and irritated that I was so far
behind schedule. I had been offered a
ride with the USAID people, who were helping with the event, but that meant
that I had to stay until the very end. When
we finally left, it was nearly 6pm-and nearly dark. I didn’t get to Ghorhai until 7:30. I stuffed myself, then fell about the
business of preparing for a long day to come.
My bed finally found me at 11 pm.
I woke at
5:00, to catch the 6am bus to KTM.
Unfortunately for me, the hotel staff wasn’t up yet. This meant that I was locked in. Eventually (with my huge hiking backpack
still strapped to me), I managed to pry free the rebar that was locking the
metal rolling door in place, and pull it up enough to slide underneath. Dirty, sweaty, tired and irritated, I went
about finding a bus to torture and transport me to KTM. By 6:15, I was on said bus, girding my loins
for the next torturous 14 hours. The
best part of the day was the surprise, when I arrived in KTM (at 7:30 pm), to
find that my friend Matt was also there.
A drink and a falafel later, a bit of the tension dissolved away and I
was feeling optimistic for my trip to India.
Silly Maria.
KTM to New Delhi to Mumbai to Mandrem Beach, Goa
17/12/14
Every flight we had was delayed by at least an hour. This was very stressful, but at least meant
that every time we paniced that we’d miss our connecting flight, we really just
had to wait another two to three hours.
The scariest moment was when Elizabeth was detained at passport control
and I had to run ahead to make sure our plane didn’t leave without us. Despite all the madness, we finally arrived
in Goa-at 3:00 am, nearly six hours late.
18/12/14-25/12/14
Despite my Nepali bank screwing me out of $120 that I had
saved for my vacation, Goa was lovely.
Because I had much less money than I thought I would, I had to make it
really simple. Every day I’d get up, use
the fast internet, eat a delicious breakfast, then spend several hours reading
on the beach. I’d take breaks to swim in
the gloriously warm Arabian sea, or drink out of a coconut, or eat a cheese
sandwich. In the evenings, we’d try
different restaurants for dinner, and I’d talk with friends and family back
home. I didn’t get to do much touristy
stuff, but we did visit some other towns, and one big market. Just getting to be in a bathing suit, in the
sun, in the water felt amazing. To be
clean and warm and healthy. Christmas
was hard. We spent the first part of the day walking along the beach, to
another town. It was weird to be so
disconnected from anything Christmas-y.
Last year, at least, we were all missing Christmas together-we watched Christmas movies, and played Christmas music, and ate Christmas dinner. This year was just like a normal day. On our way back, we encountered a joyous
little puppy. He was romping around with
us, biting at our skirts, running ahead.
In just a flash, he was under the wheels of a moped, with two fat
Russian tourists on it. After the first
tire went over him, they kept going and ran over him wit the back tire. I am ashamed to say that my first instinct
was to fall to the ground, not to run for him.
My second instinct was to run at the men, who’d stopped several yards
ahead. We couldn’t understand each
other, but I could tell that they we surprised that I was angry-I swore that
them like I haven’t sworn in years.
After, I went looking for the puppy.
In his shock, he had been able to run away. I never did find him, I’m sure that he died
from his injuries. I cried for hours and
hours. I still get that pain in the back
of my throat and eyes, when I think about him.
After that, I wasn’t in a very festive mood. I ate a piece of apple pie, with a nice
British man that I’d met, Skyped with my family, and went to bed.
Mandrem Beach, Goa to Mumbai to New Delhi to Kathmandu
26/12/14
The return trip went
much more smoothly, thank goodness. The
only thing that made leaving the warmth and ease of Goa for the cold and smog
of KTM was knowing that my cousin’s were coming in a matter of days. It was sunny, at least, in KTM, when we
returned. I had two days to kill, and
only about $3 a day to eat on, so it was going to be a slow time.
Tyson and Graham’s Arrival
28/12/14
