Ali came back to Nepal on Wednesday so I had planned to return to Kathmandu yesterday, Friday to meet up again. We had both returned to NI for Christmas and Ali stayed on to spend some more time with the Mummies and Sarah M. So we were looking forward to meeting up again...hence I didn't want to miss my plane from Badrapur in south east Nepal. It is the lowest airport in Nepal at 300 feet above sea level, not a lot seeing it is over 1000kms to the sea.
In Nepal we are coming into the politically active season when there are weekly general strikes from one group or another. The Brahmin Chhetri caste groups had called a strike on Thursday for 3 days. Sometimes they do last for 3 days, sometimes, the calls for a strike are not heeded at all. Anyway, on Thursday, the strike seemed to be followed sort of half heartedly, so I was a bit unsure if I could travel the 55km to the airport the following day, hence elected to leave after dark on Thursday evening.
Arrived at the Hotel Khrishna International in Badrapur beside the Airport. Basic rooms, full of damp and not a few bugs, all the usuals that one gets used to out here....I had booked a room and ordered Chicken Fried Rice for my arrival about 9pm and it was very nice after an uneventful journey...apart from seeing the odd night bird flying across us in the car lights. There are no Tigers in this part of Nepal, but there are wild Elephants.
Well up for breakfast and I ordered my favourite Scrambled Egg, Toast and Coffee. The Waiter went off to the kitchen and returned only to say that the cook did not know how to cook Scrambled Egg! So I offered to go and teach him, the Waiter went and asked and confirmed the deal. So off I went to the kitchen, pretty dull affair, but there were two nice baskets of prepared veg on the table. The trainees gathered around, the Cook, Waiter, the Cook's Helper, the Receptionist and another older guy who seemed to represent the owner!
Two eggs, milk, salt, pepper, a saucepan and a fork were requested and delivered to the table, and within the time it would take to say 'Jack Robinson' (as we used to say in Portadown), the Scrambled Eggs were on the gas burner, beaten, cooked and served on two under cooked pieces of toast. 'Is that all there is to it' they asked - 'Nothing else?' they inquired, 'no that's it', I said. And they were all amazed at how easy it was. I passed the Scrambled Egg to the Waiter and asked him to take it to the customer...he gave a wry smile and I dodged ahead of him to my Table to receive the Scrambled Egg...'oh ho - kuti ramro banayeko' I said (oh what a nice egg...the wry smile from the Waiter grew into a giggle, and I enjoyed my Egg.
After booking into the Airport for my Yeti Airways flight, I was joined in the waiting room by 3 other expats who were working with the Bhutanese Refugees. They said 60,000 had been re-settled to other countries with about 50,000 left to go. Conditions in the Camps were not good, so re-location to third countries would hopefully give them a good lift. However, it was recognised in the conversation that some might get lost along the way. I recalled that it was funny one time sitting waiting for my flight to Kathmandu, when a call for a flight came through for New York! Five flights a day to Kathmandu and occasional other international destinations - via Kathmandu and various other ports along the way....
on walking out the the plane, one walks passed the VIP rooms, and I noticed Colonel Sushil from the local Army camp. What a nice man. We chatted for a bit, he was there to greet some VIP. We had done business together as he send 51 of his troops with a Captain up to our site to the Barracks we made for them in order to guard the Explosive Bunker. So it was nice to see a few familiar faces along the way.
Happily Ali was waiting in Kathmandu at the Airport, the other really familiar face I was eager to see...maybe we will have Scrambled Egg for breakfast!
In Nepal we are coming into the politically active season when there are weekly general strikes from one group or another. The Brahmin Chhetri caste groups had called a strike on Thursday for 3 days. Sometimes they do last for 3 days, sometimes, the calls for a strike are not heeded at all. Anyway, on Thursday, the strike seemed to be followed sort of half heartedly, so I was a bit unsure if I could travel the 55km to the airport the following day, hence elected to leave after dark on Thursday evening.
Arrived at the Hotel Khrishna International in Badrapur beside the Airport. Basic rooms, full of damp and not a few bugs, all the usuals that one gets used to out here....I had booked a room and ordered Chicken Fried Rice for my arrival about 9pm and it was very nice after an uneventful journey...apart from seeing the odd night bird flying across us in the car lights. There are no Tigers in this part of Nepal, but there are wild Elephants.
Well up for breakfast and I ordered my favourite Scrambled Egg, Toast and Coffee. The Waiter went off to the kitchen and returned only to say that the cook did not know how to cook Scrambled Egg! So I offered to go and teach him, the Waiter went and asked and confirmed the deal. So off I went to the kitchen, pretty dull affair, but there were two nice baskets of prepared veg on the table. The trainees gathered around, the Cook, Waiter, the Cook's Helper, the Receptionist and another older guy who seemed to represent the owner!
Two eggs, milk, salt, pepper, a saucepan and a fork were requested and delivered to the table, and within the time it would take to say 'Jack Robinson' (as we used to say in Portadown), the Scrambled Eggs were on the gas burner, beaten, cooked and served on two under cooked pieces of toast. 'Is that all there is to it' they asked - 'Nothing else?' they inquired, 'no that's it', I said. And they were all amazed at how easy it was. I passed the Scrambled Egg to the Waiter and asked him to take it to the customer...he gave a wry smile and I dodged ahead of him to my Table to receive the Scrambled Egg...'oh ho - kuti ramro banayeko' I said (oh what a nice egg...the wry smile from the Waiter grew into a giggle, and I enjoyed my Egg.
After booking into the Airport for my Yeti Airways flight, I was joined in the waiting room by 3 other expats who were working with the Bhutanese Refugees. They said 60,000 had been re-settled to other countries with about 50,000 left to go. Conditions in the Camps were not good, so re-location to third countries would hopefully give them a good lift. However, it was recognised in the conversation that some might get lost along the way. I recalled that it was funny one time sitting waiting for my flight to Kathmandu, when a call for a flight came through for New York! Five flights a day to Kathmandu and occasional other international destinations - via Kathmandu and various other ports along the way....
on walking out the the plane, one walks passed the VIP rooms, and I noticed Colonel Sushil from the local Army camp. What a nice man. We chatted for a bit, he was there to greet some VIP. We had done business together as he send 51 of his troops with a Captain up to our site to the Barracks we made for them in order to guard the Explosive Bunker. So it was nice to see a few familiar faces along the way.
Happily Ali was waiting in Kathmandu at the Airport, the other really familiar face I was eager to see...maybe we will have Scrambled Egg for breakfast!
