The ailing oldsters continue to miss out on some of the fun times. Judy more than Jon. But we rallied for the capstone event – the reason we made this trip in the first place – the Maitri One Year Celebration party.

We missed out on the nightclub outing on Friday. I’ve included some pictures the goers took.

And we missed out on the tour with Paras on Saturday, a real disappointment. Only three ended up going due to work commitments the others had: Rebecca, Sammy and Kori braved historic rain and flooding. They toured Paten’s Dunbar Square and the Boudha stupa – the big one that we saw on our first day but that the three of them had missed.

Paras designed the day to minimize outdoor time since Kathmandu and all of Nepal suffered an unbelievable rain storm country-wide. More than 30 people died. Transportation was disrupted. Monsoon season has traditionally ended by now but, nonetheless, down came the rain.

Judy and I stayed behind and drank Paras’s prescribed balm: hot tea with lemon, ginger and honey. It does the trick. Try it next time you have a head cold or whatever else ails you.

The fear was that many Maitri employees wouldn’t be able to make the party due to the storm, but the skies parted mid afternoon and the turnout for the party was just fine.

The party started with a musical group made up of employees: three flute-like wooden instruments and a guitar. Julie and Jeff made speeches thanking the employees for all they’ve done to make the company a success. Hor d’oeuvres were served, the bar was open and a buffet dinner was available.

The guests of honor were folks from the Himalayan Children’s Charity, many of whom we had met earlier in the week. One of the girls danced traditional Nepali dances in costume. A real crowd pleaser, judging by the attendees’ reaction.

But what everyone was waiting for was the dancing. DJ music – Nepali and Indian tunes – fueled a frenzy of dancing by everyone, even the stick-in-the-mud westerners. Those Maitri kids really know how to party!

A lot has changed in Nepal since we were here ten years ago. Judy reflected on the changes we saw this week. Here are her thoughts:

It has been 10 years since we were in Nepal and we have seen major changes!  Nepal today is like most major cities are today, bustling, busy traffic and all lit up!

Ten years ago I remember going to Pokhara for the week-end with the Deerwalk employees.  As we left Saturday morning the van picked up the employees at their homes on the way out of town.  On Sunday evening we were returning, and it was dark. As we were driving, I kept looking for us to come into the city.   Where are the city lights?  Next thing I knew we were dropping people off.   I remember saying I was looking for the city lights and someone behind me said we do not have any lights.  The city was pitch dark! The following week-end we had gone to Chitwan and when we returned they had installed the first street lights in front of the Annapurna Hotel.  Ten years later, no more dark streets, the city is light up like any other city!

Ten years ago the streets were much narrower, mostly two lanes.  At the time I remember seeing the front 10 feet or so of housesbeing taken down to make way for the road to be widened.  I remember feeling badly that these people were having to lose several feet off their houses but today the streets are all wide and bustling with traffic.  Back in 2014 the traffic was all directed by traffic cops in a center platform at the intersections.  Today they still have much of the traffic directed this way but there are also some streetlights to direct traffic.

In 2014 the power grid was very poor.  The power would go out many times each day and most shops had generators out on the sidewalks.  Ten years later we did not see any generators on the sidewalks.  We did have the power cycle in the hotel sometimes but nothing like it was ten years ago.  

As I am writing this, I am thinking the Katmandu of ten years ago is no longer.  It is now a large bustling city that is all lit up and has leapt forward into the 21st century.

We left the party around 10:30 PM to finish packing. Our van left for the airport at 11:15 and now, as I type, we’re in the Qatar Airline lounge here in Doha. Fourteen and a half hours more of flying and we’re back home! Except for poor Reagan and Dino who have another leg from Boston to California.

It’s been a great trip. Thanks again for traveling along with us. And thanks, too, to our on-the-ground traveling companions for putting up with us ain’t-getting-any-younger types – Julie, Dino, Zach and Peyton and Rebecca, Sammy, Jeff and especially Reagan. Reagan was our companion, guide and luggage toter though both India and Nepal. Everyone bent over backwards to slow down, grab our bags and make sure we didn’t fall off the curb. It was sometimes comical to see them fighting over our suitcases to see who’d get to carry them. And I wasn’t always a gracious recipient of their aid. I was fighting them for my bag; I’m not always aging gracefully and tend to deny my infirmities. But we survived and had a blast and can’t wait to do it again.

We keep saying we’re going to stop doing these long-haul trips. We’ve been saving ourselves to do Europe and the USA in or dotage. But we keep finding reason to doing the long shots. Jeff will probably be having annual anniversary parties, we’ve only seen a snippet of India, Doha looks easy to explore on a long layover, we never did make it Viet Nam . . .  As long as we can swing for those lay-flat seats I guess we can keep going for another couple of years. Right now, we’re glad to be home. But tomorrow or next week? We’ll see!

I finked out. So did Judy. We’re old and ailing is the bottom line. What we’re missing is visits to two of the top nightclubs in Nepal and right up there in world rankings. Purple Haze is first, “one of the best rock bars in town,” with good food and drinks. Two hours there and then to Lord of Drink, a new club that ranks in the top 100 in the world. Lots of famous bands and DJs plus great food.

I must admit I wanted to go for bragging rights but my appreciation of modern rock is limited. Oh well. Ah to be young again.

Our first stop was at Deerwalk Holdings, the parent company of the Deerwalk software firm where Julie, Jeff and Rob worked. Deerwalk was purchased by Cedargate. The three partners left Cedargate to found Maitri one year ago.

For Julie, Jeff and Rob, and for Judy and me too, it was fun to see the campus. Today the main activity at Deerwalk Holdings are two schools: the Sifal School, a K-12 school with upwards of 900 students and Deerwalk Institute of Technology with 400 students studying mostly information technology.

Jeff, Rob and Julie saw several former colleagues with whom they have an enduring friendship. For us, the campus had changed greatly with new buildings and attractive landscaping. Tea and coffee were served in the traditional Nepalese way of treating visitors but it threw us somewhat behind schedule.

Lunch was next at a restaurant owned by a former Deerwalk colleague, Manesh. We traveled with Manesh when we went to Pokhara 10 years ago. I showed Manesh pictures from that trip including one where he, Jeff and several others were playing the card game Marriage. The restaurant’s name is the Forth Floor, pant, pant. The food was great – a selection of appetizers for 11 – as was the view of the Monkey Temple, our next stop.

The Swayambhu Stupa is known to folks from away as the Monkey Temple because monkeys have the run of the place what Westerner can pronounce and remember the Nepalese name.

The monkey temple is located on a hill in Kathmandu with a commanding view of the valley. Great view, that is, if it weren’t raining cats and monkeys today. Normally one can walk up the stairs at the bottom of the hill to the top but today the stairs were literally a running waterfall. Our driver took us to near the top, leaving us with maybe a fourth of the climb. No other tourists to speak of; monkeys outnumbered us two to one.

Swayambhunath Stupa dates back roughly 1,500 years. It has been rebuilt and modified 15 times in that period. It is most holy to the Newar Buddhists, who we saw in Kirpitur the other day. It’s the second holiest to Tibetan Buddhists, second only to the Boudha Stupa we saw upon our arrival in Kathmandu.

Swayambhu is also a holy site for Hindus. Mixed in with the Buddhist stupas are a number of statues, shrines and prayer wheels associated with Hindu gods.  Most holy sites in Nepal are that way.

Buddhism, after all, is not a religion that worships a god or gods. It’s a way of leading one’s life so as to increase karma, eventually achieving a state of nirvana after many reincarnations. Hinduism is the worship of many gods. Pleasing those gods through prayer and right living is its goal.Both believe in reincarnation. Buddhists reject priests, gods, rituals and the caste system.Buddhists believe karma is gained through meditation.

So the two belief systems go hand-in-hand. There are lots of Christian Buddhists in the world for a similar reason.

The rain didn’t let up for even a minute so traffic to our next destination – the Maitri office building – was brutal. At the office we had a tour of the three floors occupied by Maitri and then were given a reception by all the Maitri employees. There was lots of spirited singing by employee musicians, cake for those celebrating birthdays in September and snacks. It’s a regular monthly event made to coincide with Jeff, Julie and Rob’s presence along with their families.

In many respects, this was the highlight of our trip: to see the miracle the three Maitri founders have created. Eighty five engineers, brought together over 12 months to form a cohesive team. It says a lot about the Nepalese worker and Jeff, Julie and Rob’s ability to work with them to achieve the results we saw today.

The trip from office to the Marriott was even worse – flooding and heavy traffic caused the trip to take almost two hours. That cut into the buffer between arrival and the clubbing expedition.

In the end, everyone but Judy and I went. We had to face reality, something hard for us intrepid travelers to admit. We are sick. Flu, picked up who-know-where.

The monsoon brings on the flu season earlier than ours back home. Judy first, then me came down with a hacking cough. She has intestinal distress, not so much me. I have a low-grade fever; she doesn’t.

We had the hotel doctor come in last night to check us out. He says Judy is on the road to recovery but I have an “angry” throat. He prescribed a medicated lozenge for me. I asked about Tamiflu for me, since the onset of my symptoms was lest than 72 hours ago. He shrugged and said, “I don’t know how much good Tamiflu does for you. Go ahead if you want.” In the end, the hotel sent a driver out to get these non-prescription drugs. Total cost; 1,100 rupees or about eight bucks. I believe the doctor’s visit will be $60. All without leaving our room in the hotel.

So now here we sit Saturday morning. Only three hardy travelers have ventured out with Paras. Our van driven by Ashok is hopelessly stuck in the flood waters. Paras’s friend is driving them instead.

Our goal right now is to get better enough to attend the Maitri party here in the Marriott and then beat feet for the airport and our 2 AM departure to Doha and then Boston. Thank goodness for lay-flat business class seats. Signs are positive so far, Hopefully Judy will be strong enough to struggle into her sari for the party. I just have to wear a cool hat, thank goodness.

I won’t have time for the final posting today so I’ll try to get to it when we’re home, jet lag permitting. Thanks for traveling with us. It’s always great to know we’re not in this alone.

A slow day today. Breakfast at 8, massage for Judy and archery for me at 9. Then time for settling the bill and getting on the bus at 11:30 to the Chitwan airport. No big delays although we were cordoned off in a section of the departures waiting room to make a corridor for the former prime minister of Sri Lanka. A dozen or two uniformed officers formed a passage way from the front door to the VIP lounge – a distance of maybe 100 feet.

My Sri Lankan politics is a bit shaky but there was a popular uprising in 2022 that forced the president and prime minister to quit and go into self-imposed exile for a few months. The new guy got sworn in today, it turns out. His party holds three seats out of 200-odd so he’s dissolved parliament and they’re holding snap elections soon. The former PM walked right by us. That’s our brush with fame for today.

We’re back home at the Marriott. We had a 3 PM lunch and are chilling for a few hours when some of us will leave for the Himalayan Children’s .Charity It’s a place Reagan and Carter visited six years ago and to which we donate money each year. Zach has visited too.

While waiting, I took a few pictures looking out our hotel room – buildings and houses within easy range. I’m always curious to see how people live. And while this is a small snapshot, I find it interesting. And besides, I don’t have many pictures to post tonight.

The Himalayan Children’s Charities is an organization aimed at kids without a home. Here’s their mission statement:

“Himalayan Children’s Charities creates paths out of poverty for vulnerable children and at-risk youth. Through investment in quality education, innovative mentorship and a loving family environment, we help build lives of leadership.”

HCC focuses on youth in Nepal who have lost homes and families. We met upwards of 20 kids tonight at their home. All were studying at university and many had called HCC home for 10 to 15 years. It was clear that they were living in a happy family environment, albeit a large family. There are two facilities in the area; a third is under development. Currently there are 40-some kids in the program. HCC has supported over 500 children. A truly effective program.

Jeff and I spent some time talking with Beena, a girl who tomorrow will complete her university program, graduating with a degree in tourism. Her final research paper was on rafting. She has lots of interests. She’d like to be a professional tour guide but is also interested in owning and Airbnb. She also mentioned some sort of police work. Someone as outgoing and enthusiastic as Beena will go far no matter what she decides to do.

Beena is also a poet. She told me that sometimes she has an experience or thought that she simply must put on paper in the form of a poem. In one poem she shared with me she expressed her desire to be free, something she finds hard to do in the face of societal norms. Here is an excerpt from one she wrote:

            That little place inside me

            Where I can feel free

 

            Without the wall

            Without the chain

            Without the gate

 

            Holding me back in this deep rooted culture

            Where men’s fruits are preferred

She goes on to talk about the caste system in marriage:

            Parents want their daughter to be married early

            So she can’t elope with someone from a lower caste

            It matters your caste

            A lot

            If you marry a lower caste, your parents abandon you

            They want to keep their prestige in society

            If you marry a higher caste, your in law control you

Several of the kids are studying Information Technology. Jeff and Julie are interested in potential internships with those near graduation. They plan to have them come to Miatri for a tour next time they are in town.

So what started as a slow day ended with a real eye opening and rewarding experience.

A busy day in the jungle today: another jeep safari in the morning, an elephant encounter mid day and a river boat trip in the afternoon. Unfortunately, that generated a whole ton of photos that, miracle of miracles, downloaded flawlessly while we slept.

There was a steady drizzle for the jeep ride but clear weather for the rest of the day.  But hot? I never saw a thermometer, but it must have been well north of 90 and humidity readings to match. The ride in the rain wasn’t quite as hot but when the sun came out you could fry an egg. . . Maybe poach an egg.

Animal wise, we encountered a mother jackle and her baby wandering down the road. I’d always thought of jackles as being fierce, but they looked like something you’d want to take home as a pet.

We saw another species of deer – the hog deer, so named because they like to crawl under things rather than jump over them. The big treat was to watch a male rhino first munch his lunch in an open area and then see him swim across the Rapti River. He actually waded since the river isn’t very deep. Did I mention that this river becomes the Ganges River when it crosses into India  

Later, back at our room, I looked out our window to see a rhino floating in the river, not going anywhere, just floating. Some say I’m crazy (multiple reasons are cited) but I swear it was floating on his back  Center of gravity issues may make it tough for a rhino to stay inverted but there was no question in my mind that the animal was there to chill, both thermally and relaxologically 

Someone asked our guide, Mehesh, what his favorite animal is. He said, “I really prefer birds.” His lifetime list is almost 1,000 species.

He’s another local boy made good. Mehesh was born, raised and educated here, went away to university, spent 11 years working in a tiger reserved in India and came back home to guide tourists in his boyhood playground.  Much of what he knows he learned from his father and older brothers as they spent time in the jungle.

Actually, we didn’t travel in Chitwan National Park – it won’t open for another week or two when the monsoon season has passed and things have dried out. Rather, we were in a buffer area surrounding the park that is a mixed use area. People are allowed to gather wood, pick fruit, etc. and animals are free to travel back and forth to the park per se. Hunting, of course, is strictly prohibited.
Mehesh is not married and, since he’s over 40 is unlikely to become so. All the women his age have been married off my anxious mothers by now.

You can see in the pictures what the elephant encounter entailed. Suffice it to say you needed to wear a bathing suit. We actually ran across the elephants in our jungle safari as they walked to our lodge. Riding elephants through the jungle as a tourist activity is no longer allowed. It’s too hard on the elephants and too dangerous to the handler and tourists. Judy and I did such a trip 10 years ago.

The canoe ride was a four o’clock affair. Very pleasant float down the river. We spotted the back side of a couple of crocks but I didn’t get the money shot: full monty crock with its mouth wide open. Maybe next time.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are gourmet affairs, delicious and varied. It’s a set menu and included in the room price. But last night all but a few opted for the Jeff Special pasta dish rather than the exotic fare.

So now it’s an afternoon flight back home to the Marriott in Kathmandu. Judy has a massage scheduled at nine and I’m going for archery practice I need the practice since I haven’t hefted a bow in anger for well over 50 years.

Talk about your nail biter. Rebecca and her boyfriend Sammy were scheduled to fly Chicago-Doha-Kathmandu, arriving 2 AM today, Tuesday. (Rebecca was at the American Diabetes Association meeting.) Our flight to the Chitwan National Park was scheduled to leave Kathmandu at 10:15 AM. Plan was, they would come to the hotel, catch a few Zs and we’d all head out for two days in the jungle at Chitwan. Safari, Elephants, Canoe Ride, more Safari.

Problem was, their flight to Doha was late and the connection to Kathmandu was on time so they missed the flight. No problem, they could hang out in the Qatar lounge, get a shower, some food, some Zs. Not a bad way to spend 8 hours. Second problem: their flight got to Kathmandu OK but then circled again and again, probably due to weather in the area. Finally they landed. Jeff met the plane, discussed the situation with the Buddha Air folks (diplomatic relations may need a few days to heal) and at the last minute, onto the transfer bus they came. All’s well and we’re all ten of us in Chitwan at the Taj Safari resort.

This Taj hotel is part of the Taj group, which is largely owned by the Maharajah of Jaipur, India, where we visited just last week.

The resort is magnificent. Individual cabana-style cabins complete with outside shower and an individual front-porch infinity pool. Our unit overlooks the Rapti River where crocodiles will appear in the late afternoon. There’s a rather flimsy looking wire fence between us and the river to keep the rhinos where they belong.

Lunch was a four-course sit down affair – soup, fish, chicken noodles, rice, vegetables in a curry sauce and a bunch of stuff I enjoyed but can’t remember.

The big event today was a 4 PM safari by jeep. Our naturalist gave us a thirty-minute slide presentation of what we might see. The big deal here is the tiger. One with two cubs has been spotted recently in front of the lodge but they are rare. Rhinoceroses are more common. Spotted deer are just about everywhere. But of course there are no guarantees.

In the end, we did see lots of spotted deer. We saw a peacock and several other birds, including a red headed ibis, similar in shape to the ibis we see every day in Florida. We saw the head of a crocodile floating in the Ripta Rive. And, at the very end of our journey, sure enough, we found a rhino and her baby. Quite a thrill.

Dinner tonight was outside and included entertainment by a troupe of dancers from the local community. I didn’t follow all of the explanation but the gist of it seems that the local tribe, the Tharu people, dance these dances to keep their culture alive. Some seemed to be stylized war dances. The grand finale had us all up dancing a variety of moves, all to the beat of drummers and a chorus of women singers chanting who-knows-what. The dancing was inserted between an elaborate appetizer course (multiple items served individually) and the main course that had something to do with chicken and a lot of other items served with little illumination. But it tasted good and will hold us to breakfast.

Breakfast will be served in the jungle. We report for another round of safari tomorrow at 7:30 AM