KATHMANDU

Kathmandu airport had similarities to a paddock or a country airport in Australia. We went through two security/customs screenings. At the first the red light flashed …..but the only customs official was talking to someone else so ignored it. At the second one someone else was already going through so the guard waved us to walk around the screening gate and out. We were met, ripped off by someone carrying our bag and bundled into a car.

Then our world changed! Conditions on the street were just from a different world. No amount of describing what we saw can fully explain it. Movies about the end of the world portray a better scene then what we saw. People were sorting through piles of rubbish heaped on the side of the road. There were beggars and everyone was dirty. We were scared, and didn't know what we had let ourselves in for. No house seemed livable, As we reached other traffic we realised there were no road rules, nor even lanes. The most essential part of the car was the horn, and motor bikes, rickshaws and bicycles dodged in and out. We came to another area that was just as chaotic but there were stalls and 'shops'. Roads were just a little wider than the cars and there were no footpaths. We were happy, and relieved, to reach our motel. In the lobby a hose was draining water into a drain in the middle of the room. Our room was very basic, there was no hot water and only one light worked, the TV didn't work and the toilet seat slid off in pieces. We met another Australian girl, Sarah who was also doing the program, and a Canadian, who had just completed an all women trek. The Canadian, Sheila, had been there a while so showed us a place to eat that first night. We ate at the Electric Pagoda, the electricity went out twice so we were dining by candle light.

The next morning, woken early by dogs barking, I went for a little walk. So as not to get lost I stayed in the one straight street.....I got lost! I found the river. It was the filthiest drain of a river you could imagine. Grey water and full of rubbish. Cars were already everywhere. All manner of cars. Many looked like lawn mowers hooked up to carry a load behind. And school children were already on their way to school...all immaculately dressed in uniform and tie. Australian students should hang their heads in shame. After a good breakfast we had a language lesson and then in the afternoon a visit to two temples, including seeing a living god....though she did look a little bored.

We have been here a few days. Nothing is as bad as the area around the airport. Having said that it is still a different world, very confronting. It is extremely crowded. Pedestrians, bicycles, cars, dogs and the odd cow all compete for the roadway. Every building is dilapidated, run down and covered in dust. There is rubbish everywhere. On the piles of rubbish you can see the odd dead rat, and there are mangy dogs wandering around or just dropping down anywhere and sleeping. Every imaginable building material is used in the houses. Every nook and cranny seems to be a shop or work space. Men squat in the most primitive of conditions, with rubble and dust all around them and using very basic tools turn out carved table legs.