Hello to you all,
I have been so busy with the projects and with connection that I have been unable to blog, leaving aside being ill yesterday being flat on my back apart from visits to the loo to throw up. I felt dreadful, but I am feeling a somewhat better today. I thought that I would spend my other sick day as I have a connection updating you all. Today is the 26th so I am nearly 3 weeks into my visit. I will try to replicate my trip you will note that there have been a few sick days, I think I am getting old. Next year I will come at a warmer time of year I am sure that the cold has something to do with it, the loss of comforts is difficult, but being cold is just no fun!
I was in Kathmandu for 5 days as my first blog. We travelled to Besishahar a long and unpleasant journey I have to say. By the time we reached our destination , I felt quite ill. I got to bu phu school that evening and was greeted by Captain RB. My room was still there but had not been touched since leaving. Many children came to seem me, one had a white mouse in his pocket and was very proud of it! I was feeling so poorly though and just sorted out a few things and fell into bed.
The following morning being Saturday I thought I would get organised, my stomach had been very unhappy after the journey was still not good I felt a little better. Binod went to Khudi to collect the twins Karen and Arjun. We had planned to take them to Pokhara the next day. I proceeded to clean my mouse ridden room. The clothes that I had left had all been eaten apart from a pair of trekking trousers. So much for thinking I had stuff. I cleaned the place as thoroughly as possible. I thought I had heard scratching the night before, but ignored it as my imagination, no the mice were coming in under the door. I rectified this by putting a blanket into the gap they never came in again.
The following day we travelled with the twins to Pokhara it was an uneventful journey, we hired a cab with another guy, it was quite a squash I have to say, the twins Binod and me in the back. The twins never having travelled very much were continually sick. Not pleasant, we went through 8 plastic bags! When we arrived in Pokhara we went straight to the hospital to check in. I had a chat with a Nepali doctor he was very pleasant. We booked in to come back for the HIV tests the following day.
I have been trying to get a Gratis permit to go into the Lamjung area. The Lamjung area where HiCap works is a protected area. I have trouble every year visiting the project area visiting the supported familes and schools. I have to leave my passport at the check in point in Bubulla I never really feel happy about this, as the Nepalise are not very organised and the check in people change. I have been told that I can get this permit to allow me into our area free. Normally tourists have to pay a fee because the area is a conservation area. We went to the Acap office in Pokhara after the hospital to try to negotiate this we were there for many hours, and finally managed to get some sense out of the officials there. We need a letter from the ACap Lamjung official to say that I should be allowed in the area without a permit because we were helping the community. This was easier said than done. Rather than bore you with the detail the following day I did get a permit but just for 7 days, pretty useless. As the people all know me there we decided that I would just carry this permit all the time I was in the area, there was never an inspection, and as the Acap people know me there would be little chance of a problem, such is the Nepali organisation of such things.
We also went back to the HIV tests, our twins screamed the hospital down I held them down for the tests with Binod and another man helped us. It was a really awful experience for me, but it had to be done. Later that day we went back for the results and it was all worth it, the twins were NEGATIVE! What an amazing result the chances were 1 in 100 so the sun shined on our twins. We took them shopping and bought many clothes from donations that had been made for them. We went to the Lakeside in Pokhara and walked along in a sort of odd peace!
Back to Besishahar the following day to take the twins back their residential school.
Much more to come – the village visits.