namaste!
firstly i am really relieved that there is accessible internet in nepal, if not then i don't know how i'll cope. forgive me for the lack of capitalisation and spelling because internet is charged by the hour (10rs, not expensive) and the keyboard is really crappy.
anyway, en route to thailand as stopover, we met alex, a really interesting guy who in his 60s has travelled to nepal extensively and told us that nepal is a beautiful country and has friendly people. true enough when we land in nepal it was such a shock to the system since there was rubbish everywhere and hordes of people trying to get you into their taxis, and the whole reception was overwhelming chaotic.
finally we met the people who were really out to receive us, and were whisked away to thamel, the major tourist area where the main office to our organisation was situated. it was scary though, how people flock towards you for money/tips, so vigilance was a must. upon arrival at the main office, we met up with ram silwal, who organised this for us, including a host family stay for about 3 weeks and a week of trekking.
that night, we were so overzealous that we went ourt shopping immediately, and i bought some thermal underwear whereas leanne (sciurine) bought a pashmina (like cashmere) jumper, some less revealing clothes and other essentials such as a nepalese phrasebook. the water here by tap is not safe to drink at all costs, and even boiled water is somewhat precarious. we had dinner at a rooftop restaurant that night.
we met Ganesh at a clothing store, a 21 year old salesman who happened to have quite a good commmand of english, and it turned out that he wrote occasionally on the topic of nepalese politics. we jotted down his address and realised that he live close to the hospital at which we are going to do our placement so maybe a visit to his place in due time.
the host family turned out to be the most hospitable people we've met so far, and were already accustomed to having visitors of other nationalities. at present there are two other dutch medical students staying with us, one just came back from trekking due to acute mountain sickness and the other leaving tomorrow. the rooms are well kept and i think the family must be quite well off to live in a such close location to the city. the house is like really really basic penthouse style: downstairs is where the family stays and upstairs, us. they also have satellite tv, which has become a real comfort thing, along with our own magazines we bought from melbourne airport, so that we feel less alienated and alone.
of late leanne and i got acute gastroenteritis, and we're both recovering from it. i got hit worse than she did but we saw a travel doctor and were given antibiotics so we should be fine in no time. i am still having some diarrhoea though, and we hadnt eaten properly. the doctor recommended we eat sweet/salty food like chips to keep electrolytes up, and some juice or sweetened tea. guess we weren't careful enough in our enthusiasm to try out new nepalese food. we are going to report this soon so we can claim it back from travel insurance.
the traffic here is pretty crazy, as is the amount of noise/air pollution. there does not seem to a clear system, especially at intersections, and there is no clear pavement to walk on either. hence we share the road with two lane traffic each in either direction, flanked by people walking along the edges. everyone honks more out of habit than necessity, which can be very annoying when trying to nap. the streets are full of peddlers and tiny shops with equally tiny shopkeepers, either squatting or amid squalid interiors, and we were quite shocked to see, at least in some pockets, people selling whole fish and whole pigs at room temperature, using only a stick and some plastic bags attached to flag away the offending flies.
just so you know, we are also five hours behind australia, so that makes it three hours behind singapore. we've been sleeping non stop ever since we got sick, and the fact that work hours begin at 9 to about 2pm encourage that. haha. the days and nights stretch and overlap over one another; we, very much disoriented, but we're managing to adjust.
unfortunately due to the lack of fast internet i shall not attempt to post up pictures, but i will try and update everyone here as soon as possible. miss you all.
firstly i am really relieved that there is accessible internet in nepal, if not then i don't know how i'll cope. forgive me for the lack of capitalisation and spelling because internet is charged by the hour (10rs, not expensive) and the keyboard is really crappy.
anyway, en route to thailand as stopover, we met alex, a really interesting guy who in his 60s has travelled to nepal extensively and told us that nepal is a beautiful country and has friendly people. true enough when we land in nepal it was such a shock to the system since there was rubbish everywhere and hordes of people trying to get you into their taxis, and the whole reception was overwhelming chaotic.
finally we met the people who were really out to receive us, and were whisked away to thamel, the major tourist area where the main office to our organisation was situated. it was scary though, how people flock towards you for money/tips, so vigilance was a must. upon arrival at the main office, we met up with ram silwal, who organised this for us, including a host family stay for about 3 weeks and a week of trekking.
that night, we were so overzealous that we went ourt shopping immediately, and i bought some thermal underwear whereas leanne (sciurine) bought a pashmina (like cashmere) jumper, some less revealing clothes and other essentials such as a nepalese phrasebook. the water here by tap is not safe to drink at all costs, and even boiled water is somewhat precarious. we had dinner at a rooftop restaurant that night.
we met Ganesh at a clothing store, a 21 year old salesman who happened to have quite a good commmand of english, and it turned out that he wrote occasionally on the topic of nepalese politics. we jotted down his address and realised that he live close to the hospital at which we are going to do our placement so maybe a visit to his place in due time.
the host family turned out to be the most hospitable people we've met so far, and were already accustomed to having visitors of other nationalities. at present there are two other dutch medical students staying with us, one just came back from trekking due to acute mountain sickness and the other leaving tomorrow. the rooms are well kept and i think the family must be quite well off to live in a such close location to the city. the house is like really really basic penthouse style: downstairs is where the family stays and upstairs, us. they also have satellite tv, which has become a real comfort thing, along with our own magazines we bought from melbourne airport, so that we feel less alienated and alone.
of late leanne and i got acute gastroenteritis, and we're both recovering from it. i got hit worse than she did but we saw a travel doctor and were given antibiotics so we should be fine in no time. i am still having some diarrhoea though, and we hadnt eaten properly. the doctor recommended we eat sweet/salty food like chips to keep electrolytes up, and some juice or sweetened tea. guess we weren't careful enough in our enthusiasm to try out new nepalese food. we are going to report this soon so we can claim it back from travel insurance.
the traffic here is pretty crazy, as is the amount of noise/air pollution. there does not seem to a clear system, especially at intersections, and there is no clear pavement to walk on either. hence we share the road with two lane traffic each in either direction, flanked by people walking along the edges. everyone honks more out of habit than necessity, which can be very annoying when trying to nap. the streets are full of peddlers and tiny shops with equally tiny shopkeepers, either squatting or amid squalid interiors, and we were quite shocked to see, at least in some pockets, people selling whole fish and whole pigs at room temperature, using only a stick and some plastic bags attached to flag away the offending flies.
just so you know, we are also five hours behind australia, so that makes it three hours behind singapore. we've been sleeping non stop ever since we got sick, and the fact that work hours begin at 9 to about 2pm encourage that. haha. the days and nights stretch and overlap over one another; we, very much disoriented, but we're managing to adjust.
unfortunately due to the lack of fast internet i shall not attempt to post up pictures, but i will try and update everyone here as soon as possible. miss you all.
06:15Thursday, November 29, 2007
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