I’ll start with transversing this country. Julie and I were desperate to get out of the
city. We had been in one megacity or
another for three months and we were ready for some clean air and greenery. So desperate, in fact, that we were willing
to ride a 12+ hour bus ride to and from.
The bus turned out to be wonderful, possibly better than an airplane because
I had gobs more leg room. Anyway, we
went down to the beach, a Bengali tourist destination. We stayed at a guesthouse a little under an
hour away from the beach. This place is
amazing. It is actually a hospital run
by “like-minded” folks and surrounding is like a little town. There is a school, a restaurant, store, and
even a post office. All of these places
are run by Bengalis. The hospital is run
by mostly believing western doctors (some of which have worked in a hospital in
Togo!) and then has Bengali nurses. It
is really a very big area and one of the most peaceful places I have been in a
long time. It was beautiful, quiet, and
very refreshing.
Close to the guest house was a safari park. It had many, many animals, much like a
zoo. We saw crocodiles, Bengal Tigers,
and even an elephant I got to ride!
We also went to the Bay of Bengal Beach and I got to put my
toe in the Indian Ocean! That makes 3
out of the 4 oceans I’ve been in and I really I have no desire to go to the
fourth, the Arctic Ocean. The Bengalis
were fascinated by us at the beach. They
would grab their camera phones and snap pictures of us doing even the most
mundane things…reading, picking up shells, putting our feet in the water. The water was cold and we had to stay dressed
in our Salwar Kamis, so no swimming for us.
Some of the nationals did swim though and they looked like they were
having a good time!
This past week we went back to Nepal. Julie and I about have Katmandu conquered, so we went to all our favorite places…the Mexican restaurant, Thamel shopping center, the “almost” Wal-Mart, Bouda Gate…all the good stuff. Laura and Lindsey, plus a good friend from language school, came with us this time. We had a great time together!
Finally, we moved across town. The family whose flat we had been staying in
is returning from the States in the next couple of days, so we had to vacate
their place. Julie and I moved into the
company guest house clear on the other side of town. It is really nice and we can have meals here
if we want. It reminds me of the college
days. You should have seen us trying to get across town. Kuddos to Julie for fitting all her stuff and
herself in a baby taxi. I couldn’t seem
to do that and had to get a real taxi.
It was a good trial run for seeing how much stuff I actually have. No surprise…I had too much and realized I
needed to get another bag in Nepal. Laura and Lindsey moved into their own
apartment close to the school. It is
super, super nice!
And, if that weren’t enough, yesterday we booked our tickets
to go to our permament South Asian city.
Three more weeks and we will be moving there!!
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