After a wonderful Greenbelt full of lots of old and new friends, good food, music, dancing, hedge diving, bundles, contemplation and late nights (or rather early mornings) I got to finish off the weekend with a lovely lunch with friends in Cheltenham. The staggered goodbyes having started the evening before, continuing with a Belfast friends chorus of Jayne McConkey to the tune of Danny Boy and the Hokey Kokey and several other hugs, tears, prayers and blessings. The last meal over and down to three we made it to Guildford in time for a five minute turn around, dropping Stevie to the train station en-route to Heathrow. Andy dropped us off and I got the say bye to Mark on Andy’s mobile (having said my emotional farewell to my own mobile earlier in the day). Then there was Nikki and I, and after getting out dollars and buying some leave-in conditioner (the important last minute details) we got to sit down and have half an hour of quality goodbye time before I had to go through the departure gates!

Qatar airways was fine. We got our own personal screens and I watched a movie as I ate my dinner, mostly I slept though. The manic-ness of the past month catching up on me a little. The food was fine, I was sitting next to a tall tanned teacher who was going back out to Dubai where she was starting her fourth year at a private British curriculum primary school. She loves trashy magazines where she keeps up on all the latest gossip on the ‘stars’. They are apparently very expensive in UAE so she had a wee stack of Hello and Heat. Mostly we slept. We arrived in Doha at 6.30am their time and it was 30 degrees already. Getting back on the plane at 8.30am it was hotter already. Midday must be unbelievable.

We circled over the approach to Kathmandu for an hour. A little frustrating though I kept dozing, but he told us on the second attempted approach that there was a red patch on his radar. So we kept circling. Caution was definitely preferable to speed. Especially after hearing upon landing that last Thursday a small plane had crashed killing all 18 on board including 13 Germans, a Brit and an American. There was also a bus knocked over a hillside killing 45 (the first rock came down and killed the driver, the second knocked the bus over), and another at least 50 or so were killed in a landslide that washed almost an entire village away. A bleak last Thursday that helps keep things like an hour delay in a lot more perspective.

Driving through Kathmandu from the airport we passed a lot of familiar places that are the same and also different. It is a strange experience to pass places that are a part of your past and yet somewhat unfamiliar at the same time. Traffic is as bad as ever. Dad apparently commented last week that it is so strange that Nepali’s who are so laid back in every other area of life, get behind the wheel of a vehicle and just have to get in front of the car ahead of them. The Japanese have recently introduced traffic lights. They work!

Mum and dad have a lovely wee flat. I get the guest room for the next couple of months. I certainly slept well there last night. I haven’t gone out yet today. I may just have a sleeping day, but it is good to be back in Nepal. I have a wee feeling of not being able to get around as well as I should. I imagine it will pass after a day or so. I did explain stuff to the visa man in Nepali as it was easier to communicate than in English. It should be a good couple of months!

I will no doubt blog some more soon. I shall head to have a water conserving shower (Kathmandu has water shortages though experiencing the worst monsoon for many years!) and get dressed. It is 2.30 in the afternoon!