Monday: Travel to Lamjung

Good morning! blog posts may be a bit delayed- we're just knackered! Trying to keep up with all the interesting work we're doing and things we're seeing.

Monday morning we met at the hotel for an early breakfast, and a few of the LWR Nepal team came over for a quick meeting.  The security situation in Nepal is a bit tense at the moment and we wanted to confirm it was still okay to travel.

A quick background on modern Nepali history might help. Nepal had over 240 years of a monarchy when, in 2001 the son of the king at the time, assassinated the entire royal family before killing himself. The lone survivor was the king's brother, who was out of town, and thus inherited the throne. Many people here don't believe that the prince was responsible, but instead that his uncle, the king's brother, was actually behind it, essentially creating a coup.  That's how I recall hearing about the story in fact, when it happened. The kings brother took over the throne, but also inherited a history of political factions and some unrest.  In 2008, despite some years of local elections and parliamentary elections to give political groups more power, the elected assembly voted to dissolve the monarchy entirely and get rid of the king. And they did. So for 7-8 years they had an interim constitution and in September 2015 (this month) they put into place a permanent constitution. But not everyone was happy, and some ethnic groups in the South in particular, which borders India, began to protest over the terms in the constitution. Which is when India got involved, for some reason, and took a stand protesting some of the terms of the constitution. And then started embargoing major imports into Nepal, such as gasoline. Nepal is highly dependent on India for imports, so that became a problem.

Fast forward to this week, where Nepal basically has been cut off from supplies of gasoline and cooking gas, and things are beginning to deteriorate.  There are movement restrictions imposed by the government (apparently tourists are exempt?) and a lot of protests and some violence, especially in the border regions with India (not near where we are).  But as of Monday, many of the petrol stations were out of gas already and people had begun to stockpile. So you can see how the entire country's situation can deteriorate quickly.

We set out Monday with a driver that was rented, to fit our whole team, and swore he had enough fuel to get us to Lamjung, about 5-6 hr drive. The our local partner in Lamjung had already made arrangements to stockpile gasoline so that we were sure to have enough to get back.

Which leads us to our Monday adventure! Turns out the driver lied, probably because we were clearly his last business for a while since it was clear the situation was getting dire, and he assumed he could get a little more along the way. He made it to about an hour outside of Lamjung, Bechisahar is the name of the town, when we ran out of gas. If you follow twitter, check me out at @christiegetman for the play by play of that day. Luckily, our partner, a local NGO named COPPADES, sent a car and driver to pick us up. So after waiting on the side of the road for an hour or so, we were on our way. In a car much smaller, so we creatively figured out how to tie a bunch of stuff on the roof.  Below are some entertaining photos of myself, my coworker Kat from HQ, and my coworker Subhashis from India, and also Narayan from Nepal.

In the end, the views on the drive were gorgeous, photos won't do them justice. We drove into a hilly region but not too mountainous. I don't think we're at an extremely high elevation but we are definitely surrounded by hills. The first picture above is taken from the window in our hotel (glorified guest house really but hot water and local tv!) and is a gorgeous morning view of the Annapurna range.  It's also breathtaking and impossible to do justice in photos! 

Weekend in Kathmandu

The approach to fly into Kathmandu is a tricky one.  The city is hilly and of course Kathmandu is in a valley between some serious mountain ranges. Before the decent you can see them all, towering above the clouds. For sure I saw Everest, but at that level it's next to impossible to know which tip she is. I remember this from the last time I was here, 12 years ago, though that time the pilot tried to have us all look out the window and point her out. Kathmandu airport also only has one landing strip, which was the source of a lot of problems getting relief supplies in after the earthquake in April.  So it was a pretty wobbly landing with a jolt of a stop. The airport hasn't changed a single bit since my last trip- it's quite unique, all dark red brick with a lot of brick columns, and dark wood inside. Almost like you're going into a ski lodge. It's also remarkably small for the number of tourists that must pass through here each year.

I did my usual sigh of delight when I walked out of the airport with the hotel driver. The air was unusually fresh and the temperature was perfect, and as sad as it is to be here without Steve and Griffin (my favorite adventure partners), the sense of adventure, of travel, and of getting out of the office was just so great. As I rode to the hotel, I kept trying to figure out if I recognized it or if the city had changed much, but frankly I couldn't tell. In the 12 years since I'd been here last, I've seen so many cities around the world that they sort of start to blend together. The more I travel the more I think the world, and people, are more alike than they are different. And I think developing country building architects all study from the same textbook and buy from the same cement company. I took this picture below from the roof deck restaurant at a shopping mall near our hotel.

  

On Friday night while waiting for my glasses to be ready, Kat and I grabbed some dinner at that restaurant. Here are a few photos. If you want to know what it looks like to travel 25+ hours and not shower or change your clothes, that would be me below. Thank goodness for a low res camera and bad lighting. But I got my new glasses and we had a great Nepali-Indian meal of butter chicken, palak paneer and naan, frankly both of our favorite dishes we order at home too. But man was it good!

    

Here are a few pictures of the hotel, called the Summit Hotel, which is a super quaint little place that I already adore, tucked away in a quiet neighborhood just a block or two from our office. It is the cutest little garden oasis. The internet doesn't work that well but I think that's somewhat endemic to Nepal overall. They also get CNN, which is not always guaranteed, and although it cuts out here and there from satellite issues, it's always a strange little comfort of home for me. I don't watch it at home (CNN US is nothing like CNN International, plus at home I'm an NPR junkie) but love it when I travel- it's kind of like having old friends follow you around no matter where you are, since the many of the broadcasters have been the same my entire adult career. It's like they're old friends. (that's right, Christiane Amanpour and I meet up regularly for a cold beer). 

Yesterday (Saturday), we went into the office and worked most of the day, planning out the trip, mainly discussing the data collection methods we'd be using when we go to the field. Then I met up with an old colleague from the Red Cross, who is here leading up IFRC's earthquake operation for 6 months, and transitioning out next week.  We both served in Sri Lanka together, when he was leading IFRC's work there, and I was with American Red Cross.  Ironically, we are actually both originally from the same hometown in Lansdale, PA.  It was nice to catch up for a coffee. He was already retired and came out of retirement to run this operation, and it was particularly encouraging to hear him talk about how well the coordination of this operation went. In our lives we hear so many stories of relief (not to mention development) operations that are a mess, and less effective that they can be. So for someone who's pretty much seen it all, it was an encouraging testimonial that maybe the international community is really, indeed, learning. 

In the evening, Kat and I headed to a little touristy shopping neighborhood called Thamel, which is made up of old, narrow windy streets, with lights, lanterns and prayer flags sort of hanging across from building to building. There are dozens and dozens of touristy shops with handicrafts and trekking supplies, mostly. It's the best place to buy North Face and other key brands of jackets, backpacks, sleeping bags, whatever you might need. You could literally show up here with nothing and outfit yourself entirely for a week-long trek in the mountains, no problem. They have really great handicrafts and clothing also. I got a postcard and stamps for Griffin. I sent him one from Niger in January and it only arrived about a month ago. I also sent him one from Brunei in April and it arrived a month or two later. So we'll have to see how long this one takes. Luckily, the shopping, walking and dinner was enough to stave off jet lag, so I was able to stay up until about 10:30pm (watching the Pope on CNN of course) and sleep straight through until 6:30am. Not bad for the second night. Now we're enjoying a sunny, warm, relaxed Sunday at the hotel, working and planning for the field trip.  Well, if we go on the field trip, that is! Stay tuned for more on that! 

$16 and 1 1/2 hours in Kathmandu

After a tweet exchange and some follow up with DHL, Steve learned that their claims of 2-3 days was really an actual estimate of 5 days- next Tuesday! Which they wouldn't guarantee. So he eventually said forget it, which I learned when I transited in Doha.  I survived the flight, checked into the hotel, skipped the shower and change of clothes, and got back into a taxi for the near eyeglass kiosk which the hotel told me was nearby and would still be open. I connected with my colleague Kat who'd arrived a day before, and we ventured off. Two or so minutes in a taxi and we arrived on a little market street, apparently near the eye hospital, with rows of eyeglass shops that were a step above a market stall, as far as they eye could see. (Haha!) and sure enough, for $16 and 1 1/2 hour wait, they were done! I gave them my prescription from home and the lady was like, "no problem (bobble head shake)." Who knew?? *whew* 

Saying Goodbye, then an Epic F*up

Look, if you know me well (and probably don't work with me) then you already know I use some colorful language. So I'll try to be tame because after all this is a public blog. 

I got halfway on the first flight from Baltimore to Philly and realized I'd left my glasses at home. WTF??? After my passport, they're just about the most important thing I travel with. I'm just about legally blind and although my contacts work miracles, I just can't do 36 hours of travel with them alone. Aiyo! (That's a Sri Lankan exclamation btw, though not really a curse word). Griffin made me promise promise promise I'd wake him up early to say goodbye, and the taxi arrived earlier than expected, so I guess I didn't do that last sweep. Nor employ Steve's old standby of "spectacles, testicles, watch, wallet." 

So a panic attack ensues. I rarely panic about anything but with the unusual stress of preparing for this Everest-style field visit, man the expletives started flowing. I held back the tears simply because 36 hours of teary scummy contacts would be way worse. I break FAA rules and start madly texting Steve from the air. We deem it highly unlikely he can drive to philly and hand them off to me before my flight, esp with crazy pope security where I'd have to leave and go back in. So he goes to the FedEx office and I start hyperventilating. DHL delivers to Kathmandu in 2-3 biz days. Yay! It's early Thursday morning. We leave for the field Monday. Not so much. For $130 they refuse to guarantee delivery before Tuesday and even that they're worried about because of customs. For which Steve confirms, being intimately familiar with Nepalese customs. So he pays anyway and I start praying. And tweeting. DHL Twitter answers my tweet and says they'll try to help. I buy a pair of drug store reading glasses at the Philly airport  at (+2.75) which might help my (+7.75) eyes at least see the flight attendant.  And Steve calls the opthomologist and emails me my prescription so I can try to get a new pair in KTM. And the flight to Doha takes off and cross my fingers magic will happen in 12 hours. And for the person who asked, um no the $130 is not a business expense! I work for an NGO remember? That is my own stupidity paying for that. There goes my new fall handbag. 

The good news is that saying goodbye to Griffin at 6:15am went very well. We marked the calendar for 15 days and promised to send lots of videos. No tears just a quick photo and scramble out the door. Here's a picture. Damn I wish I could rewind and run upstairs to get my glasses! ;)

Katmandu Bound

The novelty of new-mom blogging has long since worn off, and one day I woke up with a kindergartener. Still, what I love about our friends in Baltimore is that they're genuinely interested in what Steve and I do for a living, and all the places we go. So despite the fact that the communications team at my office would rather me do travel writing fit for their copy on this trip, I'll see what I can do to instead use this blog to note down the inside scoop. Lucky for me there's someone from the comms team traveling to the field with us. 

I'm headed to Nepal this time. Well, I'm currently sitting on the tarmac in Philly so in theory I'm headed to Doha then Katmandu, Nepal. We will be visiting earthquake survivors from the areas of Lamjung and Gorkha, which are foothill areas before you really reach the Annapurna region. We'll be doing something that's a cross between an evaluation, assessment, and a general field visit. Our first goal is to confirm that the beneficiaries we've been supporting since April are now in a good place to meet their immediate needs themselves- mainly shelter and food. We are confirming our expectation that they are ready to transition to our support that focuses more on longer term recovery and rebuilding, mainly for what we call "livelihoods"- however they make a living normally to support themselves. Likely a lot of agriculture but I'm still getting up to speed frankly and have a stack of background reading next to me here. Shout out to my latest favorite intern Wesley for preparing that! (Side note- if any super rich people are reading this, I dream of creating an intern scholarship fund so that I can forever have a stream of fantastic interns who want to get their feet wet in international development. Some day.) 

Ok anyway. So we're confirming their readiness to transition to longer-term recovery activities. And, secondly, we're doing some beneficiary satisfaction surveys to see how satisfied they were with our delivery of immediate relief items since April. This work has been going on for a while by field staff and partners so we'rejust doing the last batch. And lastly, we're doing the field portion of an "after action review", following some HQ surveys on this, which is our staff and partner staff doing an internal reflection of what worked well and what could be improved. 

And according to our Nepal staff, though the exact field travel itinerary is still being finalized, this will be a roughing it trip.  Lots of trekking into villages, no running water, no electricity at times, staying some nights in beneficiaries' homes. Probably 8 days total outside of Katmandu. I ran my mouth off a whoooole lot when I turned 40 about how I feel so young, but despite being in the middle of a half marathon training program, I'm starting to wonder how much dead weight I'll be on this trip. I've done this before, mind you. Oh yes, Steve and my friend Nora and I did an epic Nepal trek deep into the Annapurna region- narrowly avoiding American hating Maoists by the way- but that was in 2003!! And it kicked my butt then. So my new hashtag is #40isthenew28

I may end up DFL, but I won't be dropped! (Plus I'm supposedly the team lead). 

[insert photo of intimidating mountains here]