Unsuccessful flight, take 2

Chris and I have been excited, getting ready for a short trip to a nearby city in Nepal to end our time here.  

My last day at the hospital was yesterday.  Initially the plan was to do an overnight shift with Reena, but, we were both pleasantly surprised to learn (at the last minute), that instead we would be headed back to the same hotel where the week prior we had gone to a conference.  Yesterday's session was to discuss the results from a pilot study on initiating a medical termination (aka, taking a pill instead of having surgery) access program across Nepal.  Unlike the week prior, where the conference was geared towards Nepalese providers, and thus few of the talks were in English, this workshop was geared towards making new nationwide policies for access, protocols, and monitoring, and in addition to local physicians, there were also members of the World Health Organization, Ipas (a US based organization focusing on international women's health), as well as several other NGOs in attendance.  The presentations were all in English, and there were some great small group sessions to listen in on, as these leaders in gynecology tried to establish some ground rules for incorporating a new process into the existing system of care.  Plus, I got to meet a few Americans who have dedicated their lives to women's health around the world.  Pretty cool.

After Reena and I exchanged contact information and said our goodbyes, I headed back to the hotel.  Chris and I hit the town to do the last of our shopping, and got dinner at a great Thai restaurant, accompanied by a Corinne, a British teacher who is staying at our hotel.  The plan was for an early AM flight to Pokhara, so we tried (not too successfully...) to get to bed a little early.

This morning, with our bags packed for an overnight stay in Pokhara, we headed to the airport.  Pokhara is a smaller city, with a population of around 200,000, that is located about 6 hours away from Kathmandu by bus or car.  It is located on the second largest lake in the country, and on a clear day is reputed to have some incredible views of the Annapurna mountain range.  Many of the long term guests that we have met have been to Pokhara, and all strongly encouraged us to check out this lovely town.  Given that we would have only one, or at best two nights to stay in Pokhara, we decided it would be worth the expense to save time by flying.  Also, the roads will occasionally be blocked due to strikes, and, while we've heard that tourist buses are usually allowed to pass with no issues, we still thought the safer route would be to brave Nepal's air transportation system.

As we set off, the weather in Kathmandu was overcast with a light drizzle.  We arrived in the airport, and there were crowds of people waiting, many for mountain flights that had been delayed.  (Chris and my attempt to see Everest had been on a much clearer morning, and yet the plane had still been forced to turn back because there were too many clouds around the highest peaks).  Despite announcements being in loud, static-filled Nepali, we were able to figure out that our own flight was also being delayed by around an hour, but since we'd brought our sudoku book, were able to keep ourselves occupied.  Once we boarded, the plane was filled with a mix of tourists from around the world, as well as locals either returning home, or headed to Pokhara for business.  

About 20 minutes after take-off (on what was scheduled to be a 26 minute flight), the pilot announced that weather conditions on the ground were too rough to land, and so he turned the plan around and brought us back to Kathmandu.  Chris and I were pretty disappointed that our trip to Pokhara was unsuccessful, but I guess this means we'll just have to return to Nepal one day so we can try again.  Fortunately, it seems that the policy here is that if your plane has to turn around and can't make it's destination, you get a full refund.  

It was still rainy when we got out of the airport, but we decided to at least hit one tourist site today.  We decided to go to the Buddhist stupa at Bodhnath.  This is the largest stupa in Nepal, and if not also the largest in the world, is very close to it.  It is surrounded by a ring of shops and restaurants, as well as a cluster of Tibetan monasteries.  They are pretty incredible structures, with each part representing a different natural element - the base is the earth, the dome is the water, the spire is fire, etc.  as well as representing elements of Buddhist symbolism, with the Eyes of the Buddha, etc.  The stupa is surrounded by prayer wheels and other smaller temples, and prayer flags (which send their prayers with the wind) are stringed up to the top from around the periphery.  The stupas themselves are reputed to contain Buddhist relics, and Bodhnath supposedly contains buried within it a bone from Buddha himself - this plus it's size make it a particularly revered site.

This has otherwise been a pretty lazy afternoon.  We got in a nice nap, and the sun has finally come out, so we will likely enjoy a quiet evening around the hotel.  Now that we have two more unexpected days in Kathmandu before finally setting out on Monday, we may try to get in another day trip with more sightseeing, but it's also tempting to use this time to kick back and relax - after all, it is summer vacation!