So the question is do I restart the numbering of days for our second stint in Nepal or carry on where I left off last time? At this stage I will just state Nepal Revisited… This post will take in the first two days which were spent either in airports or airplanes.
After lying low for just over a couple of weeks back in New Zealand after our withdrawal, as I said before pretty much the first couple of days has been travelling towards, past, and then back to Kathmandu. I have spent time in 6 different airports, in 5 countries, and traveled in 3 planes, and it has taken just over the 40 hours to get from Invercargill to Kathmandu.
Leaving Invercargill was a bit exciting especially as we past through the front that was marching its way up the country. The turbulence was like being on a roller coasters as we were buffeted by the wind. At one point it felt like we fell a few hundred feet in a matter of seconds and we were not only going up and down, but also knocked side to side. Coming into Christchurch was a bit easier but still the gusts played a little cameo.
While in Christchurch I met up with Mike & June for a very brief chat & coffee literally on the run as my name was called over the intercom to get to the Emirates desk pronto, only to find out that they were boarding the plane in 5 minutes. Coffee in tow I scarpered through customs, thankfully I was able to swig it down as I went through disposing the empty cup as I was picking up my scanned items. Then I was on a plane and in the air again this tine the flight was a lot more stable.
We were made aware that in Sydney we needed to disembark the plane, go through security and then get back on the same plane. If it wasn’t for the screens and walls I reckon we would have never lost sight of the plane. I did grab another Mocha while I was there though which was very enjoyable. Before long we were boarding again and winging our way to Bangkok.
While on the flight to Bangkok I tried to get as much sleep as I could, just so that the body clock could make its slight adjustments. Which wasn’t very fruitful as there were quite a few people on the flight so couldn’t really spread out and have a decent snooze. We didn’t spend a lot of time in Bangkok; it was really just a changing of the cabin crew and a quick clean of the airplane, before long we were airborne again. On to Dubai!
Arriving in Dubai was interesting as all the passengers were ushered through security to get to connecting flights, only to find out that I needed to be on the other side, (the side I was before) to get my boarding pass. However, when I finally got my boarding pass and after being told to go through security, again! I was kindly asked by the same burly guard who had helped me previously (Yes I did ask for directions) for my boarding pass so he could help me. I must have looked really lost at this point, or maybe he remembered that I said I was travelling via Fly Dubai. Anyhow this time he took me back through security to get to the other side so that I could wait for a bus to go to the other terminal building, which was about 20mins away.
I still made it to the rendezvous first @ Paul’s Cafe, and waited, and waited for MJ to arrive next. Did I say I waited I had about 6 hours before the next flight! Needless to say I was a bit surprised when Heather came through security first 🙂 As it turned out MJ had been to 3 different Paul Cafe’s in each of the three terminal buildings as she had a bit of fun also working out where she should be. Eventually we were all boarding the same flight to Kathmandu, the last leg of the journey.
When we arrived in Kathmandu it seemed to take forever for the bags to get off the plane, and there were parcels, quilts, TV’s and bags spread across the floor apparently lying unclaimed for now. We brushed through customs and got the first taxi we could. The roads were relatively empty in comparison to when we were here last due to the fuel shortage and it didn’t take that long to get to the house. It was quite surreal walking into it after a few weeks away and not having the other guys, Andrew & Shahzad there.
We got a couple of things squared away and headed down the road for a light dinner and then I headed to bed. I was starting to flag, over 40 hours travelling had definitely drained the reserves, but it was good, the first and second day!
The life and times of Perry... 