Getting here

Let me just say up front that the trip here is loooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggg!!!!!!!.  Left LAX around midnight Friday night for the 17h 20m flight to Bangkok (BKK).  Thanks to traveling west, the flight gave everyone aboard about 15 hrs of darkness.  Felt like I was hibernating.  First flight I've been on that served 3 meals.  Accommodations with Thai Air were very good and I would highly recommend them.  Arriving in BKK, I was amazed at the modernity and no-expense-spared feeling of the airport.

This is a pic inside BKK airport on the way to my gate.

The flight from BKK to Kathmandu (KTM) at only 3 hours wasn't nearly as tiring, plus it was in daylight.  The service again was very good, this time accented by availability of beer and wine ad lib with lunch, and after lunch, the offering of cognac.  All served up with a pleasant smile.

Upon arrival at KTM the culture shock hit.  Absent were the signs directing to my next gate (although I didn't have those at LAX or BKK, either).  Present were signs in Hindi, narry a word of English being heard, and lots of people trying to make a rupee off of tourists.



This is a pic of the check in area at KTM for domestic flights.  Yes, those round things you see are scales, and anything and everything being checked is weighed.

While sitting in this waiting area to depart to Bhairawana (only a 30m flight), I met Pete and Lynn.  Pete is a internist, and Lynnn is a med tech, and they were on there way to a mission hospital not far from Lumbini, where they would be spending 4 weeks.  Had the feeling of how small a world it is when I discovered Pete and Lynn live in Grand Rapids, MI, which is where I did my ophthalmology residency.  The pic to the left shows, from left to right, Lynn, Pete, me, and my driver during my stay in Lumbini (he has a long name that I still haven't learned how to spell).

Above is a pic of Hotel NANSC, where I will be staying until my departure May 20.  And below is a pic of the view of things across the street from the hotel.

More to come later!