Christmas and final countdown

Long time since I've posted, spent part of last week in Pokhara for Christmas celebrations with other volunteers. It's so wonderful to return there and I really plan to return for another trek or just relaxing there in the future. Spent a lot of time scootering around the town and surrounding area and even ended up with a tan! It's so nice to go to a place where you don't feel cold constantly (ie. Kathmandu and Banepa!). Christmas day was a bit odd because this is the first time I've spent Christmas away from family and in a warm place. Had a roast chicken dinner which was OK, nothing like turkey at home. And the cake was no comparison to my dad's wonderful christmas log which I've been dreaming about the last few days. Also have never spent Christmas day dancing in a club, definitely a memorable Christmas holiday! Jan and I decided to fly back from Pokhara instead of enduring the 6-7 hour bus ride back to Kathmandu. The plane was delayed 2 hours but the flight lasted a total of 25 minutes! When I returned to Banepa I found out that all the shops were on strike. Supposedly, the night before, 6 burglars (there were many break-ins over the last few weeks) were apprehended by locals and then were taken to the police. Over the course of the night, the burglars paid the police off and were released quietly. So, there was uproar over this corruption and everyone went on strike. Not sure if the burglars were caught again.
I am also in my last few days in Nepal. I really never thought I could love this place when I first arrived. I was so overwhelmed by the noise, smells and pollution that I was initially put off by the country. However, after doing all the travelling over the last months, I have grown to love it. It's a beautiful country rich in natural beauty of the Himalayas and varied landscapes and wonderful hospitable people. I have met so many interesting people who are doing such good work to raise the people out of the hardships many Nepalis endure here. I cannot wait to return back here in a few years and see how much this country has changed. In the meantime, I'm just trying not to be too sad about leaving while keeping myself occupied by thinking of my next project in Cambodia!
Happy new year everyone!

Scoliosis camp

Today was a field trip day!! We asked to attend the scoliosis camp which is basically a scoliosis screening program in several parts of Nepal. We had to travel for about 1.5 hours outside of Banepa along a really narrow and bumpy road in a really decrepit bus. At one point I thought we would bump off the side of the cliff. But we had wonderful views of the valley and of the Himalayas. I will really miss seeing mountains daily when I leave Nepal. We finally arrived at the school and then we had to screen approximately 600 students of all ages for scoliosis. They are conducting an incidence study of scoliosis in schoolchildren. So far, the rate is quite low. But I think these screening camps are great because they are able to catch other things. Many of the students today leaped at the chance to talk to a doctor about their aches and pains and it was a good thing for some because the doctor suspected osteosarcoma in one and in another had to figure out if it was leprosy or not. I really enjoyed this camp although it was over too soon! I really wish my placement involved more community based evals and treatments.
Only 5 more days until Christmas!!

Banepa

Started in a new home, new housemates and new volunteer placement on Monday. Was a bit of a sad day because my good friend and roomie for the last 3.5 months left for home and also had to say goodbye to my host family. But the new changes have been lovely even though they're only for a short period of time. Housemates are so super warm and welcoming, the food is really good, and the rooms are really clean and big!! It's really luxury here (well, relatively).
The hospital I'm working at is the HRDC, a pediatric orthopedic hospital. The hospital is situated on a hill overlooking Banepa and is really a bustling lively place. They see so many patients here and perform a lot of surgeries. On my second day, it was surgery day, so basically I could just watch surgeries all days. Got to see an Achilles' tendon release (the sound of tendons being cut is quite distinctive!!), a part of a spinal surgery and a tib. ant. tendon transfer. If anyone is looking for a good place to do some volunteering, this is a great place because so many people are willing to teach you things if you ask.
Read an email from Cambodia office today, they're having dinner on the Mekong river tomorrow! I'm really sad to leave Nepal in 2.5 weeks but when I read things like that, I'm really excited to go to Cambodia!! So conflicted!

Parasites!!

hmm.. seems like my postings are not working right now.
anyways, keeping it short, i have giardia intestinalis. really uncomfortable and gassy. am now on tindamax, hope this is the right treatment (medical friends, please give me your advice!!).

for all my Jewish friends, happy hanukkah!!

Parasites!!

ARGH!! After almost 21/2 months of feeling totally fine, I've finally been stricken with parasites!! Specifically Giardia intestinalis which can live in the body 2-6 weeks and symptoms can manifest almost 2 months after infection! I really think I got it after Dasain when I drank really nasty water which I knew not to drink but was stupid enough to drink anyways. Then I got sick again before Tibet which was really horrible but it went away after I just took strong antibiotics (not too smart to self medicate but I had no choice). However, the symptoms came back today (and they are not nice... really nasty burps for one) and it seems that many of the volunteers have those symptoms right now and I went to the pharmacist and was told I had Giardia. I am now on Tinidazole 500 mg, for all my medical friends out there, I hope that's a good treatment. I really don't want this bug living in me any longer, it's really uncomfortable.
Enough about my intestinal problems.
And to end this post:
For all my Jewish friends out there, Happy Hanukkah!!

Tibet

Arrived in Kathmandu yesterday in a jampacked public bus (cost only 160 rupees!!) from the Tibetan border after a 10 day trip to Tibet. The way to travel in this land was by landcruiser because there are serious scary parts on the way to Lhasa. We stopped in 3 cities before arriving in Lhasa on the 5th day. Many of the towns had huge monasteries (Shigatse and Gyantse) which were partially destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and now are controlled by the Chinese government. In one monastery, there used to be 6000 monks, now there are only 1500 monks and these are picked by the government. It really is sad. At the Potala Palace in Lhasa, it is a silent monastery, no life really, just lots of old relics that people cannot worship anymore because of the government. The city of Lhasa has exploded into a Chinese metropolis. If you read Pico Iyer's account of his travels in the 80's, you can really get a good sense of the huge change that this city has undergone. Most of the shops are run by the Chinese, you can basically get by with Mandarin and eat only Chinese food (which is all good, but in Tibet, it's more sad).
We stayed in luxury hotels during the tour but had to returen to the ghetto life after the tour ended and stayed in a fairly good dorm hotel, Tashi Targyel near the Jokhang temple - the holiest temple in Tibet. This temple was by far my favourite because of the sheer amount of pilgrims coming to this place in the morning and evening. I felt like a horrible tourist when we bypassed the line of hundreds waiting to get in when this place had no real significance to me. It's really uplifting to see the hundreds of people prostrating themselves at this temple even after so many attempts to stifle their culture and way of life.
Lhasa also provided many Western comforts, hot showers, movie theatres (saw Die Hard 4.0 finally) and ate fast food. Had a bet whether there was a McDonald's and lost, but there is the equivalent called Dico's - good chicken burgers, shitty chicken nuggets, and gross hot Fanta.
On our way back from Lhasa, we had a grueling 14 hour drive in a cold LandCruiser, really happy to get out of a car at the end.
Highly recommend going to Tibet before it turns into an indistinguishable Chinese city.

Annapurna Circuit Trek

It's been a really long time! I've been on the most fantastic trip over the last month. Starting in the lovely town of Pokhara with the rest of the volunteers and then starting a 21 day trek through the Annapurna Circuit. Our group of four (Nina, Jan, Germ Anne and I) decided that we would do this trek on our own and also carry our packs ourselves instead of hiring porters and guides. If you see the amount the porters carry on their heads for others, it makes one feel guilty for making them do such grueling tasks. Anyways, it's more of an accomplishment when you say you've carried all that weight for ~220 km for 21 days!!
The first part of the trek was quite tropical in climate and involved (too) many hills and descents. I have to say, I am the least fit of the group and many times, the other three had to wait up for me. We met a few people along the way but I'm proud to say the nicest ones were Canadian!! We kept of bumping into the same people along the way and even bumped into another by chance in Kathmandu when we got back! The name "tea house trek" certainly applies to this trek because all the lodges we stayed in were really nice, with relatively comfortable beds, clean sheets, fair sized rooms and all you can eat daal bhat which the boys loved.
As we ascended towards 3000m I started to get short of breath so I had to take more stops. The scenery became more evergreen resembling parts of Canada in the fall. It really made me a bit homesick. We had decided on a side trek to Tilicho Lake the highest lake in the world at about 4900m. We made the trip in 3 days but it was a hard long walk along many landslide areas, snowy areas, hills. The lake was worth the hard work though, the waters were a deep turquoise and it was so quiet up there, it seemed like the area was just insulated by the mountains. As we continued to ascend towards the pass, the land became colder and more arid. There were also more and more people on the trails (some were in groups of 50 including porters!!). The pass day was made much easier as Jan decided to relieve me of my heavy backpack for the day and I carried his much lighter pack. Note to self: will not pack so many clothes next time as I only really wore one set of clothes for 21 days (yes, I was THAT disgusting and THAT stinky)
The pass was much easier in my opinion than Tilicho Lake, but for some others it was probably quite difficult as we heard that one French woman had died 2 days earlier while attempting to reach the pass. There were others that had to ascend with horses because they had acute mountain sickness. On the other side of the pass, you could see the differences in the trekking routes. The Jomsom trek is much more commercial, mostly because it's accessible by plane and there were fabulous hot springs and the more "luxurious" accommodations. All along this half of the trek, we ate great pastries, mostly chocolate rolls and apple pie hence the second nickname of this route, the "apple pie trek". We stayed in a lovely medieval town called Kagbeni where we came across many surprising and interesting statues and walked the old streets. Within a few days we reached Tatopani, literally "hot water". I had no expectations for this town because I heard the springs were a bit disappointing, however, it was the best therapy for us after 17 days of trekking. We stayed in the springs for about 2 hours in the morning and decided to stay there an extra day. We then headed off towards Ghorepani which took us 2 days. From Ghorepani (about a 30 minute walk), you should definitely go to Poon Hill, even though it's so touristy but it's that way for a reason. The views of the mountains are incomparable and just so beautiful at sunrise.
All too soon the trek was over and the best way to round off the trip was a few days back in Pokhara. We had great times, with great food (a great French bakery near Lakeside, called the Real Baguette), great weather, great time on scooters (I almost crashed one, no good can come of me on a motor vehicle), great views... ahhh, I love Nepal.

Canyoning

I went canyoning for the first time ever this weekend. It involves rappeling down slippery rock faces while waterfalls are falling all over your body. It was really wonderful, we went down 7 waterfalls and I think mid way I was rappelling pretty much on my own! It's a beautiful area near the Tibetan border and you can just see the steep hills on either side of you and the roaring river beneath you. The same day, we went rafting in the Bhote Kosi river, I had expected non stop paddling but it wasn't so. Regardless, it was loads of fun and the views of the valley and rapids during sunset were gorgeous. The only thing that was kinda icky was the fact that we rafted near small towns and there was sewage coming down into the river when we rafted pass, it was not very pleasant smelling.
I've finally finished my placement and I'm free! I have 6-7 weeks of vacation and next week I leave for my 3 week trek on the Annapurna circuit. After that, my trekking friends want to bike from Lhasa to Kathmandu. I'm not sure how fit I am and whether I can make it. I would like to think I'm a superathlete though so I am currently in on that plan. However, the main problem is still the visa. It is proving to be a huge headache.

Marathon superstars!

My trekking group are superstars! Today, they took part in Nepal's biggest marathon without proper training and basically on a whim! They had a great finish although the race was poorly organized (they got lost) and they were so dehydrated because there weren't enough water stations. In addition, one of the guys got hit by a motorbike as he was asking for directions to get to the finish! The girl in the group, Nina received a 350 USD prize for her finish! All in all, it was a great day for them although their bodies are showing the effects of the day. I am slightly ashamed to be in their trekking team because I am in really poor shape since I don't go to the gym and I don't walk to work everyday. Basically I'm a sedentary slob. Not good since I'll be going on a 3 week trek to the Annapurna circuit which requires uphill climbs over 1000 m possibly on some days. However, I'm going to get my butt into gear and start doing more active things, starting with hiking back from work, doing more stairs, walking faster, maybe eating less... maybe.
Had plans to go to Nagarkot to see beautiful sunrise/sunset but plans are now postponed. Seems to be the case lately. I am very glad I'm travelling for so long so that I have the luxury of postponing trips.

I am so upset!!

Our plans for Tibet have been thwarted by a incompetent agency and the Chinese government. Supposedly there was a threat of some sort regarding some person with a British passport with a certain description and there happened to be someone matching that description submitting an application this week so they decided to deny all visas until Oct. 6. It is maddening. I had looked forward to this trip for so long and it's so disheartening to have those plans fall through/postponed. Added to that is the horrible weather we've been having (5 days of rainfall) which makes the roads so muddy that it's hard to walk around to sightsee, and I see little kids fighting for glue to sniff at all the corners. It makes me really sad.
I'm going to have a good dinner tonight and hopefully a warm shower to cheer me up.

I Heart Elephants

I just came back from the most fantastic weekend. I am so sad that I'm back in Kathmandu. We went to Royal Chitwan Park in the south of Nepal. It's in the Terai region which is a hotspot for the Maoists. Our volunteer organization was so worried and repeatedly told us not to go because of the recent Maoist activity in Nepal. However, we didn't feel that we would be at risk because usually the activity is focussed on locals and government not at tourists. So, we signed a waiver and then set off early Friday morning.
It was a long busride through the many hills and valleys. We got to the plains of Terai and it was boiling hot!! We watched the sunset over the river the first night and got prepared for an eventful next day. The next day we took a 3 hour hike through the jungle and I was so glad we had guides because they usually heard unusual noises and made us wait until they figured out if it was safe or not to proceed. I made a fool out of myself at one point because at the beginning they told us the best way to avoid rhinos was to hide behind a large tree because they are relatively stupid animals. So, during the hike, our guide hid behind a tree and said something, but because I'm also a bit deaf I started imitating him and hid behind a tree as well. My friend started laughing at me when she saw me doing that because the guide was taking a leak and not hiding from a rhino. Anyways, afterwards we went bathing with the elephants which is so much fun. They just blow water on you when you're on their backs and they try to flip you in to the water. Great fun after a long, sweltering walk. Late afternoon we had a 3 hour elephant ride through parts of the park. It is so beautiful especially when you reach the grasslands and the setting sun reflects off the water and the white elephant grass. It is spectacular. We also saw rhinos during the ride! They are very cute, but didn't seem like the brightest animals.
I am so sad as a write this right now, I wish I could live there for the next few months.

same same but different

Thought I'd keep it short this time and just reflect on a few differences between Nepal and home:
1) Men are VERY affectionate with each other here, lots of handholding, fondling of earlobes, quite a difference from home
2) Traffic is mad, road rules do not apply here
3) Schedules during work are only loosely followed, punctuality is not really enforced (although I try with my patients)
4) Political situation here is very volatile, Maoist party has threatened to leave the parliament. This makes for much more interesting politics and watercooler talk than back in Canada.
5) Lots of rice consumed, in different forms! puddings, beaten, cooked, fried..

I'll think of more, my time is running out at the internet cafe.
Oh! another interesting thing, I rode a motorbike for the first time yesterday! Very weird coincidence, meeting random people in Kathmandu. Anyways, it was an exhilirating experience, you all should try it! Especially in crazy traffic during rush hour!!

Swayumbunath and Teej Pt. 2

Wow, it feels like such a long week! I'm basically living on 20 minutes of sleep at this point. I will elaborate later. Yesterday I tried to get to work but couldn't so ended up going to Pashupatinath to see the celebrations for Teej (women's festival). It was really lovely and we got special treatment because we had a volunteer pass so we bypassed all the lines to get onto the temple grounds. When we got near the gates all we saw was a sea of red saris, it's really quite the sight, all the women are lining up to get into the main temple. Unfortunately I wasn't wearing red that day, I felt out of place.
We had a great dinner at a very posh hotel (Dwarika) and the food was just fantastic. Definitely worth the 800 rupees (equivalent to approx. 12 USD). I wish I could go back more often! At the spur of the moment I was swayed into going to the the Monkey Temple at sunrise meaning I had to spend the night in Thamel. We ended up renting this really dirty room infested with roaches the size of a mini chocolate bar! Needless to say I was absolutely disgusted and appalled. We tried to kill as many as we could but one was burrowing in my bed. Therefore I had no sleep all night worrying about roaches crawling into my hair/mouth/ear etc. Really, you should see the size of them.
At 4AM we set off to go to the Monkey Temple which is about a 40 minute walk from Thamel. It's really different to walk the streets of Kathmandu in the middle of the night, it's so peaceful, the air is so much cleaner. There are supposedly 365 steps up to the temple and you have to climb all the stairs for good luck... which I did... very slowly and breathlessly. There are a surprising number of people who are at the temple at this time of day and the number of people exercising as well. We watched the sunrise over smoggy and cloudy Kathmandu and was satisfied. I am now craving a warm shower and clean comfy bed.

3M: mice, mould and mites

Our house that we're living in is infested! After being warned of mice in our rooms 2 weeks ago, we've finally had our experience of out in our room!! Actually it was Louise, my roommate who had one sitting on her foot in the middle of the night. I sleep in fear every night. Also all our clothes and sleeping bags smell of mould and I'm sure that's not helping with my respiratory problems.
Enough complaining, I have a day off today!! I was planning to go to work but the street that I normally take was blocked off and no buses were going up there. Also it's women's day (Teej) and I really am not supposed to work anyways!! Yay! We're going to go to Pashupatinath to see all the women dressed up at the temple today. It is only a 10 minute walk away from where we live which is so great! Another volunteer arrived today from the States so it's getting to be a crowded house which makes it more lively! I like how you get to meet so many different people when you travel and work in a different in a city and really get to know them. Tonight we're going to a fancy dinner at the Dwarika hotel for a buffet bbq!! I'm really excited to eat charred meat, I don't think I've eaten meat for a week. This hotel is so beautiful, it restores old Newari architecture and incorporates it into their hotel. I will definitely post pics as soon as I can.

Teej and Pashupatinath

Today I wore my first sari ever! The coordinators at Projects Abroad organized this get together at the HIV centre to celebrate Teej, a women's festival. It's not really a feminist friendly festival. Women all over Nepal get together during this festival to pray for the success of their husbands. They fast (the men don't) and this will hopefully ensure the future happiness of the husband! If you're unmarried, you fast and pray as well in hopes of ensnaring a wonderful husband. Not quite the type of festival we would normally have in Canada. However, it's quite fun because of the dress (all women have to wear some red/pink) and supposedly it's going to be so busy at the temples on Friday (national holiday).
After the celebration at the centre, decided to go to the holiest temple in Nepal - Pashupatinath. My housemates see this place everyday because they walk to work. I can't walk because I work so early so I have to resort to the microbus. This place is definitely one of my favourite places in Kathmandu. It's kind of magical and you feel like you are in another time and place. Upon entering the area, I first encountered a show in front of the ONLY elderly home in Nepal. They had beautiful folk music playing for the residents and I had a great commentary from one of the staff in the home. Then I entered the actual temple grounds and observed the cremation ceremonies amidst the old temple buildings. It was one of the most touching things I have ever seen. It's really an experience you all should experience, I can't really put it in words and as I think about it tears well up. Am definitely going back.

Sunglasses at night

so. there is a massive outbreak of conjunctivitis in Nepal. Supposedly 20% of the population has it and pretty much all the members of my host family has had it or is having it. scary. You can tell the infected by the fact that they wear sunglasses all the time. not sure how effective it is in containing the virus except to ward people off. am always making mental notes not to touch my eyes and to always use purell. hopefully that works.
Just finished my first week of work, it was an unusual week because of the spinal cord injury conference and there really wasn't real work done because of all the presentations etc. My head of department is 25, a new grad and is a male chauvinist who likes to assert his power. He keeps on asking me if I've read his rules, and I kinda nod and then ignore him. I figure the best way to deal with him is to smile and nod and then ignore him as best I can. He is also a poor therapist, he gives all his patients standing hip ex and then expects them to stand on one leg. He is not hands on at all. Personally I would fail him if he were my student. Yes, that bad!! Then today he tells me I have to do 2 presentations on SCI syndromes and proper management. I think it's more because he's not sure what to do. I thought I was done with presentations! Plus I have to work 6 days a week!! on another note, this conference was really cool because I met many interesting people. There's this Bangladeshi doctor who seems quite amazing, he is a neurosurgeon/urologist/plastic surgeon/neurologist/physiatrist all in one!! How cool!! And his son goes to York university so I think he took a liking to me (being Canadian and all). And!! I met this really cool PT who is involved with Handicap International who basically implemented this SCI network in Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand. He is so interesting and has accomplished so much in the time he's been there, and he's invited me to come visit early next year when I'm in Cambodia and he'll take care of my visas and all!!
I'm slowly getting over my culture shock, it has taken a while which surprised me because I thought I was pretty easy going and all. But all the pollution, dirt, throngs of people, noise and bustle really got to me. Added to the fact that I may have sinusitus and feel like crap. So, if anyone has good remedies for this problem, please let me know becasue I don't trust the doctors /chemists here in giving me the right meds.
Whew, long post. Will hopefully have pics up soon!

Start of work week...

Went to Bhaktapur yesterday to look at the old town and the temples and carvings. The craftsmanship is really amazing. However, i think the Lonely planet guide is dated because this town is getting much more touristy (not the untouched city as it's described to be) and it's really only in Durbar Square (very small area) where there are no vehicles, otherwise, you are still honked at and many many vehicles around (although not like Kathmandu). Getting back was quite an adventure, bad one because i was feeling very sick at this point because of all the pollution around and lack of sleep (the host family's dog was whining and barking all night, giving me only 3 hours of sleep ahhhh!!!).

Started "work" today to find out that there is a spinal injury conference going on the next 3 days. Thought I would join in and get to see differences between approaches. Interesting thoughts: mechanisms of injuries are usually due to falls (into wells), falling off poles/ladders (oftentimes, poorer people climb up to the electricity poles to steal electricity and then fall causing SCI), falls off overloaded buses, trains, cars. Couldn't really stay much longer because volunteer coordinator wanted us all back to our host families' home by noon because there are strikes and road blocks today. There were 3 bombings yesterday but I don't think we were around those areas. We'll be avoiding public buses for teh time being though and resort to taxis and walking.