in flight

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Well, as predicted, always an adventure in Kathmandu. The bandha was lifted at 4pm, just as we were leaving for the airport. But we decided to go early anyway, because there was talk of a curfew. And according to Deepti, who walked an hour to get to my house in the afternoon, things were bad.

So I said good bye to Sita and her husband, and we set out—Kiran’s son carrying/pulling my suitcase, Kiran carrying my laptop bag, and Renuka and I following behind. The streets were deserted of cars—not even bicycles or ambulances were allowed out, so people were walking everywhere. We (or rather the men) dragged my luggage through poorly paved roads, unpaved roads, and around piles of trash and dog and cow shit. There I was in my purple Northface coat and jeans, walking through back neighborhoods to the airport while people stopped to watch and smile. Renuka said they thought it was funny because even I, whitey foreigner, couldn’t find a vehicle. It was so surreal! I couldn’t help but laugh out loud a number of times.

After walking about half an hour and halfway to the airport, we finally came to a place where there were a few taxis, so we piled my stuff in and Kiran and I headed off. Renuka told me not to forget Nepal, and I said with a laugh, “How could I??” and gave her a hug. The taxi driver charged us a fortune to drive the last 10 minutes, of course, but that’s to be expected.

I was glad I hadn’t ventured out the past couple days—the streets were black from burned tires, and concrete barricades in the roads were overturned. We passed police officers with large guns everywhere, a few of them escorting men who looked exhausted and beat down. Whatever happened out there in the city worked, though, because the government agreed not to raise the price of fuel. That’s one thing about Nepal—people don’t fear the government or the police, but vice versa.

I ended up getting to the airport about 6 hours before my flight was to leave. Tribhuvan International is not the ideal place to hang out, but I didn’t care. I sat there in my heavy winter coat and gloves (it was freezing inside), reading for hours while the electricity flicked on and off.

And now I am 9 hours into my 14 hour flight to New York. Hong Kong airport was so beautiful! Everything was so clean and sparkly and…fresh! I’m told the city is very clean as well. I basically wondered around for the 4 hour layover, getting some exercise, drinking tea, eating noodles and soup, amused by the auto activated flush and water in the bathroom.

I haven’t been able to sleep much on this flight, which will probably hit me like a wall in the next 24 hours. But Cathay Pacific is probably one of the best airlines I’ve flown (or else I’m just enchanted by luxury after being without it for so long). Lots of legroom, my own TV with a huge selection of movies and shows, even a place to plug in my laptop. And the bathrooms on the plane are still spotless—9 hours into the flight. You really start to appreciate clean bathrooms after pissing in so many charpis (holes in the ground, really) in Kathmandu. It’s fascinating how one hour you can be in the middle of chaos and poverty, and the next hour in a completely different world filled with Hermes and Godiva and sanitation.

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Comments

[Bethany]

yeay!
You made it out! And thanks for blogging and letting us know; I probably wouldn't have thought about it until after my vacation!