March 12, 2023


I lost a day somewhere! LOL 

I arrived in Kathmandu at 9:30am Saturday March 11, 2023. I was met by a dental friend of a friend named Dash and his two young girls Megan and Myra. It was a quick (and rather frightful) drive to Dhulikhel. I no longer will complain about drivers in St. Louis let alone any other state in the US. While there are roads, it is pretty much every man for himself. Lanes don't really matter.  There are no laws governing seat belts or speed. I saw a family of five on a motorcycle! Pretty impressive actually. Only wealthy people have cars. Semi-wealthy have motorcycles.  And the rest walk or ride a bus. 


The hotel I'm staying at is awesome. I have a suite with....hot water! They have a restaurant and cool infinity pool but it's quite a  HIKE! (like 75 steps!) We enjoyed a nice Nepali beer overlooking the village. My work friend Karl has been here since November on Fulbright. I had the opportunity to meet many of the Nepali dental students. They are mostly women enrolled here. Dental school for five years is roughly 30K USD. Considering most families here make less than 10K a year that is a lot of money for education. The students live in hostels without heat or hot water.  I will get a chance to visit the dental school later this week. Tomorrow I will spending my day at the local hospital with the sisters (nurses). 







We (Karl and two of his former dental students from Baylor along with Dash and his daughter Megan) took a long walk to town to see how the local live and learn about their neighborhood temples that appear to be EVERYWHERE! At one location a local group of young students was providing meals to elders in the village. The elders were so interested in our visit and NAMASTE greetings were continuous. This is pretty much the only hot meal the receive in a week. The living conditions are difficult to see. I will never again complain about the bed in a Hilton hotel. 









I found this picture of telephone wires interesting. 



Water is located in the barrels on top of the buildings so that some level of water pressure can be created. 


During the walk we encountered a dance/street concert.  (Not sure if the video actually uploaded)




My body is getting used to the instant Nescafe coffee and plant based diet of lentils, beans, and rice.  They have lots of fruit and vegetables in their diet. The chickens running the street have a death wish. 

There is a bit of smog today but this was the view from my patio of the sunrise. 





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