The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury. – Charlie Chaplin
As usual when entering a room in the dark, I reached for the light switch after getting back to the little orphanage but nothing happened. The kids smiled and said “no power!”. Yeah right, I forgot. The next morning when I was on my way to visit the bathroom – whereby the term “bathroom” is kind of misleading without going further into details – the children noticed towel and toothbrush and told me “no water!”. Those moment make you pause …
In my world, these things are taken for granted. Electricity and running water are so self-evident that we hardly think about it anymore. It’s the most common thing in the world. We turn the switch and the light goes on. We turn on the tap and the water flows. An evening in the dark or by candlelight is more dedicated to some romantic moments, but not considered for daily life.
Life in Nepal’s capital looks, however, different. Every day the government switches off the power supply to save electricity. Once a day is almost a given, but power-cuts often occur in the morning as well as in the evening leaving the Nepalese for a couple of hours with a blackout. Occasionally the city also lack running water even though the resource is available in abundance. You might picture yourself what this means for the economic development of a country. Just think about it. What would not function in the morning at home and at work if we suddenly would have to deal with a blackout … now make it a general assumption …
Poverty in Nepal has surprised me despite the many months on the road. No capital in Southeast Asia is as underdeveloped and has to deal with such poor infrastructure as Kathmandu. Even Phnom Penh in Cambodia and Vientiane in Laos look significantly better than the capital of Nepal. Dusty streets are causing many people to wear a mouth guard. Although you can watch people in big cities around the globe wearing such masks nowadays, in Kathmandu you will not pose the question “why.” Even I thought about getting such mask …
After I arrived at the airport and the visa was approved, I tried to find the office of THAI Airways. Half an hour later I went to the custom office, where I worked closely together with a local guy to get the bike temporarily imported to Nepal. Another three hours later I received my “package” and by sunset the bike was fully reassembled. I said goodbye to the many people who stood around and gave me a helping hand and left the airport towards Bhaisepati, a southern district of Kathmandu.
The first three nights I spent at the Children Welfare Home, an orphanage for kids. The welcome was so touching … only children can welcome you in such an enthusiastic way. Each of these little creatures has its own story. When I looked into the smiling or thoughtful faces, I often had to ask myself what the parents would say, if they had the chance to look into their children’s eyes. Some of the children were abandoned in the hospital after birth, others have parents who can not afford to care for their kids.
My little “girlfriend” was called Mahyma. She enjoyed climbing on my back when I was sitting on the front steps of the house. But she is only one out of many children, who have found a home – thanks to Maya. Maya Tamata runs the house for many years and is currently fighting for the survival of the small organization. The global financial crisis has also impacted the orphanage and within the last couple of years she lost a great deal of sponsors. Not that it looks very luxurious in the orphanage. There is one small bedroom with bunk beds for boys and one for girls. The shower only works with cold water and meals will be taken on the floor. If anyone does not know what good to do for Christmas, Maya is grateful for any help …
After three days I left Kathmandu. At that time, “Dasain”, the longest and most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar was already in its full swing. Its a 15 days long feast and many businesses and government offices are closed at the time. People return during the festival to their hometowns, visit their families and celebrate the major holidays together.
I left my passport back in Kathmandu in hope that the little service agency located at the gate of the Indian Embassy would get me the necessary visa for India within the next 10 days. In the meantime, I intended to explore the east of the country. However, I shouldn’t see my passport for four weeks and picked it up on a small airfield in the west of the country, one day before my departure.
Although October and November is the best time to visit Nepal, cyclone Phailin which had a strong impact on India, jeopardized my plans and messed up the good weather in the Himalayas too. I had exactly two sunny days after I left Kathmandu before the sky darkened, clouds gathered and some rainy days made traveling little enjoyable. I got stuck in Jiri, a small village from where many expeditions to the Mt Everest Base Camp start, because it wouldn’t stop raining for two full days.
The Himalayas is a paradise for trekking but to get somewhere you will also partly need to use the roads. Nepal has some good roads and many, many not so good ones. Poor road conditions combined with the local driving style and the condition of the vehicles is a dangerous mixture. On my way through the mountains, I passed quite a few scenes of accidents. I saw buses that got stuck in rock faces, overturned lorries and minibuses lay on their sides. Most of the miserable roads in the mountains only allow enough room for one vehicle and fast, reckless bus drivers can make your life so much harder by forcing you into risky evasive maneuvers off the road. However, even on the highway in the south of the country it is not much different. Besides people walking on the road, bicycles and motorcycles, everyone seems to wish driving as much as possible in the middle of the highway. I found this very stressful. More than once a crazy oncoming bus past me so alarmingly close that I intuitively took my hand away from the throttle while pulling the right arm closer to the body. The slogan chosen by BMW motorcycle “sheer riding pleasure” could not always been met on those roads …
When I was back in Kathmandu, I gave Raj a call. He is a pretty active guy and he was very helpful when organizing the necessary permits for the Annapurna Conservation Area. He also invited me to spend the night at his house. The next morning I was asked to join a meeting of the Hope Foundation and met, among others, the 67-year-old Steven, who teaches English in Kathmandu and who has made Nepal his place of residence.
No matter how dusty, poor or simple a place may be, it ‘s always the people you meet, who make all the difference. When I left Kathmandu for good I took some great memories with me.
But the coming days should also remain unforgettable even though I had no clue about it yet. The toughest off-road leg of my journey was waiting for me …
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