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beautiful elephant
she looks like she's smiling, but I don't think she's very happy Well, the altitude and dehydration caught up with me. I was eating dinner at a restaurant and I knew I was going to pass out. I made eye contact with a guy a few tables away and as he got up, I went down. I woke up to him and two other people trying to make me drink water. I must have been delirious because I told the guy (he's Israeli) that he looked like an angel! They helped me back to my hotel and I spent 3 miserable days with some type of stomach bug and I was weaker than I've ever been in my life. I actually got a little scared for a minute...being alone on the other side of the world when you are sick is not fun! There was a little old lady who must have known I was sick because she brought me white rice a few times. She also brought me a cold washcloth. She didn't speak a lick of English, but she was very nurturing and sweet. At least I got to catch up on some reading. I started to feel a little better and I walked a few blocks and spotted a
my "nurse"
this is the woman who helped me when I was sick. she's so tiny! can of pringles. I ate almost the whole thing and knew I would be fine soon.
Being that this is my first trip to a developing country, I wasn't really sure what to expect. One thing I have realized on this trip is that we take for granted having adequate clothing, food, shelter, and health care. Some of the families don't even have close to that. Children here still die from measles, mumps, and even diarrhea. I can't imagine watching my nephew David break out in Dengae fever or the mumps and not be able to do a damn thing about it to make him better. I saw a man who was dying from Lepracy. Yes Lepracy. There was a "hospital" that I visited where Mother Theresa has spent sometime and it was very unsettling to be there. It is basically a large hut that has dying people in it. Some even from tuberculosis. It just doesn't seem fair that I can pick up the phone anytime at home and see a doctor and be healthy again in no time. And I don't have to worry about the diseases they have to worry about because we are all immunized
as kids. It's not that people have any type of pity on themselves, though. I'm generalizing, but people here seem to enjoy life with what little they have. I'm sure part of it has to do with the Buddhist way.
On a lighter note...I spent the past 2 days in Chitwan, which is near the border of India. the heat was unbearable. It's in a lower altitude, so instead of the mountains being prevalent, it's jungle. Once again, very beautiful! I slep in a lodge with a mosquito net, although I didn't see any mosquitos. What I did see were bugs the size of my fist! One night when I got back to my room I opened the door and there were 2 of them on the floor. I screamed and the 2 men working there got a laugh and swept them out of my room. I just loved that mosquito net.
I saw wild black rhinos and peacocks and strange looking deer. It is ideal to see a tiger, but I guess that is rare. I saw a man play a flute for a cobra and it danced like how you see in the movies. I was
traffic jam
notice the buses going all the way around the mountain pressured to go on an elephant ride. I wasn't too happy about the way they are treated. The guide was relentless so I went on the first ride, but not the second. We went through the jungle and at one point the elephant decided to sit down in a river to cool off. We came close to getting soaked. It was pretty funny. That night I went on a sunset tour and then to a cultural show. Most of the tourists who I ran into were from India. Apparently, they come to Nepal to get a break fromt the heat of India. I can't imagine that there is a place hotter than where we were! The Culture show was really cool. Men and women danced with sticks in crazy outfits. Then in the morning I went bird watching.
On the bus ride back to Kathmandu from Chitwan we got stopped by a huge traffic jam. Buses were backed up for miles winding around the mountain. A bus went over the side of the mountain. Rumor has is that there was a wedding party on the bus. Very sad. We had been sitting for about 2 hours and people were
getting on and off the bus to stretch legs and stuff. I had to go to the bathroom so I ventured to find a hole in the ground. I was gone for maybe 6 minutes and when I came back there was a space in between the buses where my bus used to be. I was in a panic! I looked around and yelled, "My bus! My bus!" This local guy laughed and imitated me and pointed down the road. I could see the dust from my bus as it was going on the "shoulder" of the road past the other buses. I have never run so fast! All I could think about was that my backpack was on top of that bus. I ran for what felt like forever. Luckily, it got to a point where it couldn't go any further and it had to stop. Drenched in sweat and out of breath I got back on the bus. I said to the driver that he left me and he said, "so you run a little" like it was no big deal. The other people on the bus said that they were yelling at him to stop because I
wasn't back yet and he just kept going. Most of the people I encountered in Nepal were so accomomdating, but not this guy!
I'm back in Kathmandu now. I met a girl from Finland and we are going to grab some food.
I hope all is well back home!
love,
nikki
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