WET WET WET

Well.. I know its the monsoons but my lord, I now know how it feels like to be in Bangladesh... I had to walk 5 km to get to my hotel and I kid you not half of it was in water close to my knees. This was in the main streets of Kathmandu, Completely covered in water not a little, a river full!.. Clearly Kathmandu does not have a proper system to deal with rainwater disposal, it was amazing, It was like a river was roaming all through the city.. AND then the LIGHTS went off!..

No light, none whatsoever, here I am walking with no idea anymore where I am heading, every 2 minutes I am asking for directions.. and in the dark I am lost as to the direction to my guesthouse, all the landmarks are gone in the black city I now was in. Whats worse is that I know there are potholes all over the streets and as I walk on water I cant see any of them,and Im thinking "Thats great, I will be in a hole soon".. So I just followed people right behind them, making them the sacrifice...

After walking/swimming for 30 minutes I reached my alley where I live. Its part of hundreds little alleys not big enough to get a car inside. I always get lost inside them, but I know this one way inside this maze of alleys to find my guesthouse. And as I entered the alley system from the main road, i realised the alley was flooded, but really what can I do I know other way, so I step into it and ahmm.. First step water is to my waist, and it was dark as dark gets.. As I though well sinc eIam already init I might as well walk, a guy shouts and says STOP!.. and points that water get nearly to your neck after a few steps.. and I thank god for sending this man, and take a step back and come back to the main road.... And then begins my expedition to find a new way back to my guesthouse (Who's name I have forgotten!). roaming the alleys(Gali's) of kathmandu I spend another 40 minutes going in circles and finally i end up at my guest house, I dont know how.. I just do..... Wet, very very wet..

Long interesting night it was indeed!

Hello from Katmandu, Nepal

Namaste,

I have been here for nearly a week now, the weather is pretty good, and compare to NZ where storms are over the country it has been great here. T-shirt and short temperature, and not too hot. I am living at the heart of the local working class area, away from the regular tourist crowd, its an experience in itself, feel like one of the locals.. Kathmandu as a city has not really developed as much as it should have due to the political instabilities in the last 15-20 years, and it shows. It shows everyday when I am taking a shower and after I lathered myself well and good, and I open the shower and nothing comes out, and I have to wipe off with a towel. I kid you not it happened 3 times, 3 times!!.. So yesterday I decided I will soap myself in small parts and test to see if the water is coming… But in all honesty I cant really complain, its free accommodation and the people are really nice. As my colleague said, its like 5 star accommodation compared to the village I shall go to soon.

I am currently working on building a VOIP (Internet Phone) server, so that we can manage calls from the villages to the main centres. Since there is no phone line in most villages, the NGO has setup wireless stations that allow internet to be accessible in those rural local villages. We use the internet for phone communication with the rest of the world. Very important, as in case of emergencies most of the villages are days away from the road and the only way communication is if someone walks to the nearest town.. remember the 1800’s J

Its amazing that there are quite a few locals working with the NGO’s for no money, its really commendable.. There are people doing intense work 6 days a week for sheer goodwill. I have to say in Asian countries people are strangely very friendly and want to help. As they say “the lesser the people have the more they want to give”.

All else is well, looking forward to going to the village, and more I hear about it, the long trek seems more and more painful.. But it will be well worth it, if I make it…

Still Alive n well, All thanks to this guy :-) (he wanted 500 Rupees for that picture, I clicked and walked :p)

Anukool

Off to Nepal I go....

Hello All,

I have departed for my journey to Nepal as of last week. I am currently in India stocking up on the necessities for my travels. I am carrying some Laptops, & Internet -Phone related equipment with me from NZ that is needed by my project co-workers. Luckily the customs didn't create a fuss regarding the goods in India, so hopefully neither will the Nepalese side. I will be in Kathmandu for a week helping set these phones in the hospitals and then will head out to the village. At the moment there is some issue with accommodation, as there is none for me :-), but all will sort itself out, as it always does..

It is hot in India and Nepal, and monsoon season is still around.. so rain will be my companion for the coming month. I am following an advise given by a great man, "If it rains, you get wet' ... so there is no problem anymore..

Thanks to all of you for your contributions, hopefully I will put them to good use...

Will update you later on any progress...

Anukool