100 miles from Everest, Finally!!

Only four short hours from the sunshine of the UAE, Nepal welcomes you with open if a little chilly arms!  On our descent we caught some amazing views of the Himalayas and our first glimpses of Kathmandu itself.

We didn’t have any problems getting on to the flight this time (UAE have a very generous luggage allowance) but arriving at Kathmandu airport was more like arriving in rural Africa and the rules that apply for nationals are often waived for ‘Bedeshi’s’ (foreigners). We were ushered through security checks, and totally skipped customs altogether!

Once we had met the person picking us up we drove through Kathmandu to the UMN head quarters and what will be our offices.  The city is dirty, highly polluted and the air hangs thick with smog, but this feeling is exaggerated by the low lying mist that descends into the Kathmandu Valley during winter and blocks the mountains from view. Once the sun has set, the temperature drops significantly and with houses designed to keep the heat out it is often colder inside than out.  It’s usually around three degrees inside and so layers keep getting added, and hot water bottles tucked down jumpers!  That said, warm food and a good duvet make it all ok.

We are living in a city called Patan, which is right next to Kathmandu, divided by a river, which makes the Thames look drinkable! It is probably more like living in South London and working in the North than changing from one city to another in the UK. We are beginning to get our bearings (although every street looks the same at the moment) after a guided walk around with our link host, showing us the stalls which were safe to buy fruit and vegetables at, and those which were not! There are some unlikely finds down back alleys if you know where to look, like a bakery in a back room of a house at the end of a dirt track making fresh bread, croissants and even pizza!

We are moving into our temporary flat on Saturday, which we will have until June, our freight arrives on Monday (we hope!) and we start language training on Wednesday. There are busy times ahead but we are grateful for the peace God has given us about being here and the friendship and hospitality of the people we have met.