After an 8 hour flight to Delhi and another 2 hours to Kathmandu, we have arrived in Nepal – our home for the next 5+ months. Our changeover in Delhi was quite comical, in that we had to pass through security from our arrival gate to our departure gate. I’m not sure what they thought they might find after the first flight. Fortunately we did not have to change terminals and fortunately we had plenty of time because it took almost 45 minutes to get through the check. This was due in part because of our uncertainty as to where to go once we got off the plane. This made us late to the line. Second we had to go back out because we had to have our boarding pass initialed by an “official” before we were allowed through the security check. We weren’t the only ones caught by this detail. A young man in front of us had to go back as well. He appeared to be Nepali and he gave the official a very, very hard time for the inconvenience and silliness of the requirement. The official explanation, “I have been here for over a year and it has always been this way”. I just had to laugh.
As you might expect, we were very tired when we arrived in Delhi but fortunately they had padded lounge chairs that allowed us to lay down, put our feet up, and get a short nap. Not knowing if we could drink the water from the fountains, we hesitated until we could purchase water. Unfortunately we only had dollars and weren’t sure what rate of exchange we would get to purchase bottled water. In the final analysis, I think the water was probably fine and the exchange would have been fine but we waited until we found a Starbucks where we were sure we got a good deal. Easy to measure value when the product is everywhere. I think we’ll get more decisive as time goes on and we aren’t so tired.
The flight to Kathmandu included many children passengers. I don’t know if it was due to all the children but the overall atmosphere of people seemed much more boisterous than flights I’ve taken in the west. I felt like I was on a bus or train to Nepal rather than a plane. A little boy, sitting behind me, was intent on engaging me in play which I enjoyed for a time but discouraged in the end. He played peek-a-boo over and around the seat, dropped things over the seat and tried to shut my window cover. Despite a 30 minute delay, sitting in the plane and waiting for some mystery “repair”, the flight was good and pretty uneventful.
We had major turbulence pulling through the clouds out of Delhi but it was smooth cruising until we finally caught a glimpse of the Himalayas. Due to heavy monsoons the rivers were wide and the land was green where it could be spotted through the clouds.
Landing at Tribhuvan airport, we jumped on a bus from the plane to the terminal and were quickly introduced to the heat and humidity of Nepal. Fortunately the airport was air-conditioned so we could relax and figure out the number of stops for declaring our visit, filling out our VISA papers, lining up for VISA approval and payment, lining up for VISA acceptance, lining up for security check out of the terminal (that one made me scratch my head) and gathering our bags at the baggage stand. 
Interesting that we never were checked by customs for what we were bringing in to the country. I kept waiting for that one.
At long last we emerged from the terminal, passed the rows taxi stands where we were offered rides, and spotted our host, Namaste Shrestha. It was such a relief to see him waving to us from the parking area. Immediately he offered us the traditional garland of Marigolds as he helped us in his car. Fortunately for us we had met and his family at our house in the US. We had moved out to let his daughter Namrata and her husband Ben move in.
Before we left for Nepal, a friend told us to throw away all expectations because we could never anticipate the intensity and character of Kathmandu. While I was prepared to be surprised (oxymoron?) the traffic and activity of the street was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my travels. Think Mexico on steroids. 
Many sections of the street have been excavated for water projects. There was one section that felt like a rocky road in the backcountry of Colorado or Utah. Namaste had to slow down to navigate through it, all the time watching the traffic all around. Through the potholes, a mass of humanity on foot, motorcycle, automobile and bus, wind their way. While I tried to capture it all in a photo, it will take some time and positioning to make a picture do justice to the frenzy of activity. Despite the passing motorcycles and buses, people on foot may use a hand gesture or nothing at all to cross the stream. Perhaps I’ll learn the art before I leave.
Our Nepali experience begins.
