The wake-up call came at 5 a.m. But, the bed was so much more comfortable than it had been the last few nights so did sleep better. After quickly getting ready we went down to the lobby to meet the rest of our team. It was so quiet in the lobby with only the Reception desk clerk there. And, it was quite chilly going outside to get into the bus that Dan sent to take us to the airport. Yes, back at the airport this morning but we aren’t leaving Kathmandu just yet. We have tickets for a tour plane to see Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world! Apparently lots of other people do also as the airport is very busy. We made our way through the various security screenings and pat-downs into the waiting room for our flight. We were on flight #403. Our flight was scheduled at 7:15 a.m. Several other flights were also scheduled and every 20 minutes or so another one is called out for people to line up and go through “gate” 2. The first time I looked at the one and only digital screen announcing flight departure time I see flight 403 for 7:30 a.m. Then just before 7:30 it was changed to 7:50. The fog is beginning to settle upon the airport. Then just before 7:50 it was changed to 8:20. Just before 8:20 they called out our flight to exit out doorway #2. The fog is lifting. It is the same size plane as we rode on from Dhanghadi. But there are just enough people on each flight so that each person has a window seat. And, this time we have assigned seating. We are joined on our flight by a group from Poland. We load on a bus at the “gate” and are transported to our waiting Yeti plane. I am in seat 3C and Sam in 1 C…..right across from the propellers! We taxi down the driveway and lift off. Almost immediately the Himalayas come into view on Sam’s side of the plane. We fly parallel to them getting closer and closer. The stewardess opened the cockpit door and allowed each person time to step inside where we could see the view from there. The co-pilot pointed out Mt. Everest way in the distance. Finally we got a closer and the pilot turned the plane to directly face the mountain then turned to where the mountains were on my side. We were significantly closer, in fact, nearly right on top of some of them. Then the plane pulled away and made its way back to the airport. It was a really neat experience!
We were taken back to the airport where Dan and his wife, Cheryl met us. It was now about 10:30 and none of us had eaten breakfast. So we rushed to our rooms to freshen up with plans to meet back in the lobby at 11 a.m. They took us to this little restaurant that is nearly brand-new. It looked really nice and quite out of place in the neighborhood. The name was “Southern Comfort”. I think Dan said it was owned by an American. It was so nice inside that one would have truly thought they were in any little restaurant in the U.S. And the menu was totally American! We ordered hamburgers…real beef hamburgers. We were told by Cheryl that yes, beef is sold in Nepal. But it cannot be butchered in Nepal. It is butchered in India who then sells it to Nepal. But, I do not believe the Hindu eat it so it is mainly for others. Before we ate we prayed together. We were all alone in that part of the restaurant. The waiter stood there with us. After the prayer he brought us our menus and told us he was so happy to hear us pray as he was a Christian also. We asked his name. He told us he had changed his name from a Hindu one to Simon after he was baptized. The indoor temperature of this restaurant is rather on the cool side. Cheryl told us that normally houses and buildings are not heated. In the summer months it can get into the high 90’s and low 100’s with 100% humidity. That is also the rainy season. But in the winter, although it gets 60-70’s during the day the nights get rather cool. But, electricity is very expensive and not reliable. It is usually off 12-18 hours a day. Many places have their own generators. She said people will stay outside most of the day and then in the evenings will build little fires in their yards or on the housetops. I also asked Cheryl about medical care availability. We had seen several buildings that were named “hospital”. She said most are not good quality. Medical care is available and getting better but is on a pay as you go basis. She told the story of one of their “adopted” kids who needed heart surgery. But before the surgery was scheduled they were given a long list of supplies they needed to purchase. So they went out shopping for gauze, tape, sutures and even the heart valve needed!! All the supplies were placed in a metal box that was locked and placed under the girl’s hospital bed before the surgery. Cheryl said that they had to sleep on the floor next to the bed to make sure the supplies stayed safe until they were to be used.
After eating we got back on the bus where we were taken toward the outskirts of the city to Dan and Cheryl’s house. It is up on a hill with an absolute beautiful view of the surrounding low mountains with some of the snow covered Himalayas peeking up behind. We were shown some of the jewelry Dan designs so we could purchase some if we wanted to. They buy hand blown glass beads, polished designed bone pieces and other items from Nepal and India and then hire and pay some of the area women a fair wage to make all the jewelry. The finished jewelry is then packaged up and sent to a supplier in the States where it is marketed and sold online. The proceeds then are returned to them to support the small microenterprise and support the two large children’s homes they have. So, yes, we bought a few pieces. They then took us a short distance down the hill to a valley where we were shown the small piece of property they have with a community center (where the jewelry is made) and the two homes. We didn’t go inside the homes but there were a few young children playing around. The older ones had gone on a hike for the afternoon. Apparently, Sundays are a work/school day in Nepal. Saturday is church day as that is the day the Hindus are off work.
We then got on the bus and headed back toward our hotel. Close to the hotel we stopped and did a little shopping. It is close to 5 p.m. already. We had walked a couple of blocks and we back at our hotel…only on the opposite side of the street. To get to the bus we have to cross through all the traffic….and they don’t wait for anybody! So we followed Dan’s direction and weaved in and about quickly hoping we wouldn’t get hit. All safely made it across to the van. We were then taken just a few blocks away to another unassuming restaurant, which when we entered was completely different than I expected. It was very modern inside, just like a little Italian bistro. There were several rooms set with little tables/chairs and couch areas. Each room also had portable propane powered heaters. Here we enjoyed pizza and coke! And, we celebrated Mike’s birthday with molten hot chocolate cake and ice cream. Yummy!
Several times during this meal Darrell’s cell phone rang. Dilli was wanting to know where we were. We were supposed to join him and the local JF team at a showing. Darrell told him we were nearly done and to go ahead and start the film without us. As soon as we finished eating we quickly arrived back at the hotel where we picked up jackets and met M who was waiting for us to show us the way. We make our way up onto one of the surrounding mountains to the site of a church/community center. This is apparently also where M lives. We then walked a short distance down a very narrow brick path to the site of the film showing. It is right in the midst of where there are several brick making kilns. There were no chairs for us there. We either had to stand or sit on a mat in the midst of everyone else. I chose to sit. There were some little brick huts around us where some of the people lived. In some people stayed in them talking, laughing and smoking. But, toward the end part of the film it became silent until the film ended. Making our way back up the hill to the bus was easier as we were led a different way along a road. Then back to the hotel for bed.
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