Kathmandu once again

Kathmandu airport doesn’t seem anything like as stressful as first time around.  The journey back to the hotel seems pleasantly familiar.

David is now recovering from his illness, and I have promised I will take him to Pilgrims Bookshop to get some presents.  We set off down the busy streets, stopping here and there to buy souvenirs. David gets a wooden mask and I buy some carved lions. The bookshop is once again haven of peace in contrast to the mayhem of the streets. 

 Four of us want to buy Nepali football tops and Mahesh offers to take us by taxi.  A tiny Suzuki taxi turns up and we have fun trying to fit Willie, Paul Murray, me and Mahesh in the back while Paul Flood gets the front seat.  Somehow we are all crammed in for a crazy journey. I ask Mahesh why the traffic cops seem to be pulling over some cars and not others.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason, and the cynical view is that they pull over those vehicles whose drivers might have cash for bribes. Our first stop produces no tops, so we cram back in and head for a shopping mall, where we are successful in securing the last available tops.  Another crazy journey back to the hotel – jokes fly around that I will be pressing for similar transport schemes to be introduced in Scotland.  I think I can now call my co-passengers ‘close’ friends!

I head off with Angus, and Gael, a Scot who now lives and works in Nepal, to meet a Nepali Professor who studied at Moray House in Edinburgh many years ago.  Before retiring, he has been the Vice Chancellor of the University in Kathmandu, and the Nepali Ambassador in Japan, so he has a wealth of experience. He still has a passion for education, and we discuss developments in Scottish education, as well as the need for education for all to be a higher priority for the Nepali government. We also talk about the political developments in Scotland and Nepal, and once again I feel that our experiences of devolution would be of value to Nepal, given its range of geographical areas with their own language and cultural identities.

Our last night meal is in the famous Rum Doodles restaurant, which is packed with memorabilia from various mountaineers including Chris Bonnington. It’s a favourite with trekkers who sign big wooden ‘footprints’ which are then hung from the ceiling.  We do our bit to record the Who Cares challenge.  The power goes out while we are there, which might explain why some folks got cold food – I did OK with Tofu kebabs, but others weren’t so lucky.  Sheryl was desperate for chocolate mousse and after half an hour and much chasing it arrives only be a big disappointment – ‘minging’  being the best way she could describe it! 

We walk back to the hotel by torchlight as the power is still out.

Everest , Boudda  Nath Stupa and homeward bound

A small group leaves the hotel at 5.45 am for the short Everest flight. I decide to go along on the basis that I may never get the chance again. Several mountain flights are due to take off and we wait patiently to get on the 16 seater plane. We are not disappointed. The views on the 45 minute flight are incredible and the various mountains are identified for us as we pass. Everyone gets the chance to go forward to the cockpit and look out from the pilot’s perspective. And the co-pilot helps us out by taking photos!

Back at the hotel to finally pack, before setting out for our last visit to the Boudda Nath Stupa, an important site for Buddhists. It is yet another incredible sight, rising high into the sky, with massive prayer wheels and colourful prayer flags. I take a walk round on my own, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, and taking photos.

I visit one of the nearby shops to buy some Buddha figures to take back for my son Michael. I want a set of five small figures, showing each of the positions of the Buddha. The shopkeeper eventually finds what I want amongst the hundreds of figures of various deities he has for sale. He jokes that I should keep in with all the gods and gives me a small figure of a Ganesh, a Hindu god, as well for good luck.

Last stop is for a quick lunch when I catch up with Dawn and Sheryl at an organic restaurant over looking the Stupa. I enjoy the incredibly good Chilli Tofu before we head back to the bus. Last purchase on the way is another bangle – this time from a Tibetan shop near the Stupa, where I had earlier seen a small boy who could have been no more than three years old meticulously threading beads as he helped make the jewellery for sale.

Willie has gone along with Sharon and Lynne to see the local school where Sharon worked for a time.  He tells us how much (or rather how little) it would cost for us to sponsor a nursery class there for a year. He is really keen to do this and once again I admire the way he just sees what needs to be done, works out what’s possible and gets on with it.  On the bus, we discuss how we can make it happen.

Off to the airport for the journey home.....it has been an amazing experience for everyone, and we are all determined that this is the beginning of a relationship with the people we have met in Nepal, and the schools we will continue to support, rather than just the end of what has been a successful challenge.  

There are lots more anecdotes and fun times I could describe, and inevitably I will have missed out parts that others feel were important.  But I hope that my personal memories will give you a flavour of this incredible experience. It would not have been possible without the help and support of family, friends, colleagues and comrades. I hope too that you feel your efforts have gone to a good cause. I will be continuing to raise funds for CAN’s work, and awareness of issues where there needs to be political change.

Participants in this Who Cares? Challenge were:

Young people:  Willie, Cynelle, Kirsten, Amy, Leigh, James, Harry

Who Cares? Staff: Heather Gray, Dawn Parker, Lynne Williamson. Kirsten McManus, Janice Burgess, Grant Gilroy (also trek leader)

Who Cares? Board: Angus Skinner, Scott Palfreman, David Dunne (young person Chair of Board)

Local authority staff accompanying young people: Mark David, Brian Docherty, Paul Morrell, Olivia McDaid, Helen McClung, Gillian Dale and Paul Murray

Supportive adults: Sharon McAllister, Sheryl Truesdale, Shelagh Palmer, Paul Flood, Cathy Jamieson

Community Action Nepal / Community Action Treks: Jeff Frew ( trek leader) Sheila West,