Last time I wrote I ended on a good note, thinking that I had gotten over my illness. Unfortunately, I was wrong and within a few days the toilet and I had become best friends again. So the week was slow going for me. Dehydrated and shattered. Luckily it was a week of language classes and I only had to wander 10 minutes around the corner to get there. They had nice comfy cushions on the floor for me to collapse on (and they excused me nodding off in the afternoons). We had some interesting visitors as well to talk to us about Nepal from a woman's perspective and about the caste system here. It seems here every possible group of people are fighting to be recognised as a disadvantaged group and for their rights to be included in the new constitution (that will be written when they form a Government). The other thing that strikes me is that there appears to be a view that if something is prohibited by law here then it has changed – an example would be discrimination. People seem to think that now the law says this is illegal it will just disappear. There is also the view that the 'intelligent' people (by which I gather they mean the people in Kathmandu that can afford a good education) have already changed their ways and it is for the other people (those in the hills and Terai (flat lands)) to catch up. However, the papers tell stories of children being banned from class because they are HIV+, teachers beating a woman because they believed her to be a witch, etc.
We also visited Nepal's holiest Hindu pilgrimage site (Pashupatinath). I is on the outskirts of Kathmandu and contains a number of temples and shrines. It sits on the Bagmati river which Hindu's believe is the holiest in Kathmandu and for this reason people go there to die, with their feet in the river to purify them. This is also the place where people are cremated and so there are always funeral pyres on the bank of the river and then the ashes are then scattered in the water. The water there was filthy and full of rubbish (and ashes) yet there were still people right next to the pyres fishing and washing dishes! There were also Sadhus at the temple (holy men with dreadlocks) which were an interesting site – have a look at the photos. We also had cooking lessons at school and shared a few songs from different countries.
There was also another trip to the doctor. Turns out the medication had not cured the Giardia and so, after some tests, I was given another dose of the medication and told to come back in a few days. The weekend was awful – the meds made me feel worse than the Giardia and so I spent it in bed.
The following week was the Volunteers Annual Conference, in a posh hotel. The theme was Youth and in Nepal Youth that is defined as 16 – 40. So there were lots of speakers (from the government, political parties and NGOs) arguing that the rights of the Youth had been neglected (seems funny as by their definition of youth that must be over half the population). The main message you get from everyone is that they want equality, access to good education and health facilities and jobs and I think that if they joined together (instead of representing themselves as lots of disadvantaged groups) they would be very powerful.
Tuesday was back at Docs again (they know me by name now when I turn up!). After more tests they discovered that the parasite that I have is resistant to the medication that they had been giving me. Options were to try the same meds again (didn't seem much point if I had tried them twice already) so the only option was to change to a 'really horrible' medication (Doc's words!) for 10 days. The other thing he told me was that my intestines would already have been damaged and so I need to avoid any dairy products until he tells me otherwise. OK so milk and cheese is a little difficult but CHOCOLATE? Will life still be worth living???? Only now do I realise how many foods have some dairy in them AND they did such lovely food and deserts at the hotel where the conference was being held. AND of course no alcohol because of the antibiotics!!
Evening entertainment at the conference was; Monday - a film on inter-caste marriage (with the stars and director coming to answer questions); Tuesday – one of the volunteers was a ballroom dance instructor in a former life so we had class and Wednesday – was the volunteer's talent show! Of course I did a turn! Well two actually. We sang some songs as the new group of volunteers and then 3 of us did a sketch about our time here in Nepal and particularly our experience of VSO (it involved lots of banging our heads against brick walls – I hope the audience got the subtle message!).
After the conference things slowed down for me (lots of days with no purpose) as the other volunteers that started at the same time as me started heading off. Leaving the Guest House, a lot of them leaving Kathmandu and starting their new jobs and lives. Unfortunately I still had to sort out the issue of an Indian visa. Being based in Birgunj, I will be right on the border with India. It is quite a political area and there are always strikes (Bandhs), where the roads are blocked, shops and schools are closed, cars are not allowed on the streets and things come to a standstill. This is particularly powerful in Birgunj as the road from India passes through and this is how Nepal gets its fuel. Of course this sometimes leads to trouble (and curfews) and the road to the airport are blocked. India then is an alternative route out. Unfortunately, VSO here have recently changed their policy so that they no longer provide volunteers with a visa (one of their suggestions was cycling to the airport, 25km in 40 degree heat through the bandh, not for me with my dodgy knees!). Anyway, after some discussions they agreed to provide a visa so we had to go and complete forms at the Indian Embassy and then go back, a few days later, to pay for it and then again to collect it.
As we had to wait around for some days, and with a weekend in the middle of it, 3 of us decided to head out of KTM for a change of scenery (and to keep our sanity). One of the volunteers staying at the Guest House lived out of town and invited us to use her apartment. So we headed off on a 7 hour bus ride. Only thing was our bus broke down (twice) and we ended up sitting waiting hours while they fixed the bus. I think it took us over 10 hours in the end and I was more than happy to peel myself off the seat in Pokhara. We spent a couple of days there and it is a beautiful place. There is a huge lake and lots of greenery, views of the mountains and hills to walk. Everyone had said we would be lucky to see the mountains at this time of year, as for months they are covered by clouds, but we saw them every day. The first thing most people think of when they think of Nepal is the mountains and this was the first time I had seen any – not expecting to see any more for a while as where I am going it is flat! We also walked up to the World Peace Pagoda to get a view of the lake, mountains and the town.
Back to KTM and Indian visa obtained, back to Dr as I was still ill. Another medication try, unfortunately, that one didn't work either. There was another medication they wanted to try but it is not available in Nepal! The latest plan is to send me to Bangkok for some further investigations. I am waiting for a response from VSO in London to this recommendation from the doctor here. So life has been very boring of late – most of my time is spent in my hotel room, means I get to read a lot of books and watch a lot of movies (luckily my brother stocked me up with movies before I left) and not much else. Starting to wish I was back in the UK sipping Pimms with friends in the garden and feeling well..................
