Kathmandu - Saturday 9/21; Hong Kong

Long but uneventful flight to Hong Kong.  The seven of us on the team are together now - two PACU nurses, ICU burn specialist nurse, hand therapist, circulating RN, team coordinator, and me.  Very qualified teaching team; ought to be gratifying.

We are leaving for Kathmandu tonight; just in time to miss the "Super Typhoon" heading this way:
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1312965/super-typhoon-usagi-worlds-strongest-storm-2013-heading-hong-kong











Arrival:

The flight into KTM was uneventful, but it was full.  At least the people in my area seemed a bit pushy, and all the overhead bins were filled with backpacks and other extra items.  Usually as we travel further into the hinterlands, the crowds become more uniform and English more rare.  I suppose because of the attraction to trekkers, there were many nationalities and languages.  Occasionally a very tall man with waist-long dreadlocks and a large torso would loom over the crowd with his backpack of water bottles, sleeping equipment, and climbing gear.  Luckily my bag fit under the seat in front of me, so I didn’t have to battle for overhead space.

When we arrived, I was so hustled out of space by the guy next to me trying to get out to about eight travelers he was with, that I had to climb onto my seat with my bag.  We walked down a long covered gangway to buses that came to pick us up.  It took about four busloads to get us all to the terminal.  I sense the concept of space is not the same as what we are used to.

Walking into the terminal there were many trivia signs overhead – “Nepal opened its borders to the outside world in 1950”, “Nepal has over 250 mountains that are over 6000 feet tall”, and so on.  Very proud images of peaks and valleys, maps, and lists of famous trekkers.

The terminal has not been modernized, and had one long looping baggage carousel with rubber flaps at one end where the bags would appear, and at the other end where they make another round to the outside.  For some reason many of the bags had been brought in by hand and were piled in the middle of the floor, so we had to watch the carousel as well as sort through the pile.  I found my bag upside down on the floor with the red flap covered, so it took me awhile to recognize it.  There seemed to be a limited number of carts, and I can only imagine that arriving with a quantity of bags and boxes would be a challenge.

To enter the country, we each needed our passports of course, but also a small slip of paper with our information on it as well as a larger visa application.   We all got copies of a visa form to fill out, but the one at the airport was a different one.  With this paper work in hand and $25 US, we stood in one line to pay and get a receipt and then another to be processed and admitted.  There were three men in a row on each side of the entry way, and they stapled and shuffled papers in a very slow process.  We did not mention anywhere that we were a medical group, but rather individual tourists/visitors.  This saves potential snags that could be complicated and also unnecessary as we are really functioning as medical educators rather than providers.

There was one place to change money inside the terminal area, but we didn’t need any local currency at that point.  There was another outside the baggage area on our walk out.  I don’t think anyone changed money at this point.

Huge crowds as we often see were swarming at the airport exit.  There are some sloping areas to the sidewalks and some narrow areas that made it a big hard to maneuver bags and carts, but we made it out to an open parking area where we met our host, Shankar.  We all piled into a van and off to the hotel.

Hotel Tibet International is nice enough; the lobby was a bit dimly lit and once we all checked in and made our way upstairs all the lights were turned out.  It was about midnight, but clearly it was not an area where we could spend time.  There is internet service, but it must be purchased separately.  I went into the lobby and used a computer to send a quick message home.  I had asked if it was for general use and the manager said yes, but when I went down I noticed the desk said “travel agent” so I kept it quick.

There is bottled water for us in the room, as well as a water boiler and some instant coffee and tea.  But who has the desire?  Off to bed for me.