Wrap up

Like most things in, my time in Nepal had to end. Right now I´m too tired from flying to pontificate as eloquently as I normally do, so I will just highlight.
- We went to a Bollywood film. We were prepared for something insanely ridiculous and were disappointed, since the movie we saw was so good. Om Shanti Om: a tale of love, revenge, reincarnation, and movies. It was very well done, the songs were great, the leads were hot, the plot was original and good. Even though it was in Hindi with no subtitles, we are able to follow it quite well. There was an interval in the middle so we duck into the restaurant next door and grab some momos for 50 cents and then hop back in. Also was great was how every so often the video would dim and then go black and then all the people in the audience would hoot and whistle and it would come back.
- Our 2nd to last day we didn´t have to go to the hospital, so we woke up early and rented a row boat to go out on the lake that stakes its claim in Pokhara. The lake was just beautiful: reflections of mountains, mist clearing off... so niceOn the other side of the lake, we climbed up and got great views of the Himalayan range in the background. Also we met some local kids who invited us to a picnic. Sadly, we couldn´t attend as we had plans with the group for some late-afternoon decadence. Since it was our last day, we decided to treat ourselves to a buffet/day pass at a posh resort. We rented bicycles and rode there, which was also a great experience. I was a little mad I´d never goten around to renting a bicycle and cruising around, since it´s so fun. 10$ bought us all we could eat of decent food, as well as fool access to pool and, more importantly, sauna. We spent the whole day there. That last night we were blessed with a full moon that rose at sunset and was as pink as everything else.
-I had to return to Kathmandu to catch my flights to Buenos Aires, so I took a bus, forgoing the more expensive plane I had taken to Pokhara initially. The bus ride was abour 200-250 km and took almost 8 hours. Pretty amazing, huh? The roads are not, how you say, good over there. Arrived in Kathmandu in the afternoon and did some leg work until I found a room for under 3$. I spent the next day gleefully enjoying being on my own, since I could do and, more important, eat whatever I want. Street momos? Check check and check. I stopped in a little fruit stall and had a freshly squeezed mug of pomegranite and sweet lemon juice, which was out of this world. I also walked quite a bit.
-My last evening I met up with a girl from my program who was doing her hospital work in Kathmandu and at the same time living in an orphanage. I visited the place and it was pretty amazing. The kids were great and cute but the conditions of the place were... well, what you´d expect at a 3rd world orphanage. Perhaps better. We helped them do homework, hung out, had dinner, and then, the best part: activity time. All the kids (77) gather in a room and sit down and do a couple minutes of chanting and then 10 minutes of silent meditation. It was soooooo cute, all these kids sitting cross legged, eyes closed, just thinking to themselves. Since they´re little, some of them started drifting off to sleep and then catching themselves and jarring back up. Also, since it was winter and resipiratory illness season, there was a consistent sound of sniffling about. After meditation, was public speaking. About 7 or 8 kids (pre-arranged) had to get up and tell a joke, a story, or sing a song. This is to maintain confidence and outgoingness and whatnot to enhance social interactions.

Putting the pal in Manipal

Other than trekking and eating, the other thing I do here in Nepal is hang around Manipal hospital: the surprisingly empty and beautiful hospital gracing the hills of Pokhara. It's an interesting thing, actually, since it's Indian owned and most of the doctors and medical students there are Indian. It's a nice hospital and is half empty all the time since most Nepalis assume it's too expensive because it's so nice. Also they don't like Indians poking around inside them.
As part of our course, after our first year exams we have to do a 4-week elective in a hospital of our choice. The point, ostensibly, is to get some firsthand clinical experience, as well as get to learn about a different hospital system/healthcare system and possibly be exposed to problems you wouldn't find in Australia. Ideally students go to a 3rd world country since they can do stuff (assist in surgery, take blood, etc) that they wouldn't be able to do back home. Unfortunately, Manipal is a teaching hospital and thus we haven't really had a chance to do much of that.
Our first week was spent in Community Health. Several days in a free clinic where mothers and their babies come. We also got to see a leprosy hospital and a tuberculosis clinic - both cool since wouldn't see too much of that back home. Nepal is one of the 10 countries left in the world where leprosy still has an incidence of greater than 1/10,000 people. It was interesting to see some patients and learn about this disease that's one of the oldest recorded in human history.
The rest of the time has been spent in surgery. We're given free reign of the surgery ward, where there's usually a couple going on, and as such we can scrub up and wander around. Seen:
-Circumcision of a 27 year old: looked sooo painful. Also, they cauterize the wounds and so we were exposed to the smell of burning penis.
-Kidney stone removal: rarely are stones removed through surgery, but this one was quite big. The hole the doctors made in this poor woman was enormous - you could have fit a burrito in it.
-Cleaning of a wound following an accident: the kid was in a car crash and had some filth in his hand that he was reluctant to get cleaned. After some persuading, he finally agreed to surgery; poking and prodding was done and finally a piece of bamboo longer than an inch and as thick as a pinky was removed.
-Cataract removal: freaky. The 12 year old boy was awake too and once he started whimpering, I had to leave.
-Dislocated hip replacement: we walked in on the tail-end of this one. The position was the bed elevated so that the thigh was at shoulder height, with a huge hole cut at the side. Along the side of the bed, a mixture of blood, saline, and iodine was dripping down. This may not seem important to know until you learn that in Nepal, they wear sandals with no socks in the operating room and so had blood dripping on their toes.
-Below-the-knee amputation of the right leg: this one was significant. It was a 21 year old tall and well built guy (unusual in Nepal) who was hit by a bus while riding on the back of a motorcycle. His foot was dead but he really did not want to get it amputated. He went to Kathmandu for a 2nd opinion and was told the same thing, so he came back to get it removed. As he was sitting in the bed, getting a lumbar block (anesthesia below the waist), the anesthetist was teaching some interns/medical students how to do it and they were making some jokes and giggling as people do and I was struck by how sad the situation was: this guy was about to go to sleep and wake up missing his leg, and these people were laughing about something in a language he didn't even know. The surgery itself was quite interesting. The foot was black and dead and there was a nasty wound on the leg. When they made the first incision there was actual bubbling from the bacteria gleefully colonizing within. Let me tell you, gangrenous necrotic flesh smells a hell of a lot worse than burnt penis. When they got to the tibia, they busted out a hacksaw and went to town cutting away. Then they got to the fibula and since there were some tender areas around, they used a length of semi-barbed wire with handles at each end to saw through. At some point during the arduous sawing process, the surgeon managed to launch a piece of bloody flesh the size of a dime and hit himself right smack-dab in the middle of the forehead. And it stuck! He spent the next hour surgery with this piece of gastrocnemius stuck to his face, unknowing. It was so centered and red and perfect it almost looked like a tika. They removed the leg and foot, finally, and unceremoniously chucked it in a bucket.
This morning, during ward rounds, we were there when they roused the patient, sat him up, asked some questions, checked his chart, made some prescriptions and moved on. I was still paying attention to him, though, when he pulled back his blanket and glanced down at the space where his foot and leg should have been.
The look on his face.

It told so much and I couldn't begin to describe it. The best I could do is grief-full resignation. It was so sad I wanted to cry.
But that's life, isn't it? And this is what I'm getting myself into for the rest of it. C'est la...

Annapurna

/I've just come back from a most amazing experience: a 10-day Himalayan trek. Terrain: rough, formidable, conquerable. Views: snow-capped, crystal-clear, terrace-agricultured. Food: Nepali, plentiful, cheap, delicious.
My 2 friends from UQ, Ben and Fiona, 1 other girl working in the hospital and another that she met took off the 10 days, hired a guide (15$/day) and set off last last Friday to Nayapur, the gateway to the Mt. Annapurna Base Camp trek.
Day 1: Nayapur to Gandruk
This was our first day and it consisted of mainly up-hill climbs and virginal glee and awe at the surroundings. The only marring event was the pathway blockaded by Maoists. Normally, I'm for the pinkos, but anyone who forces me to donate money irks me. After much yelling and annoyance, we each paid 400 rupees (8$) to these men-in-red, got our receipt so we wouldn't be assaulted again, and were on our way. We got our first glimpse of terrace agriculture: the continually-beautiful system of farms that they have embedded in the hillsides over here, like giant steps, filled with millet, wheat, corn, and other stuff. We also got introduced to the highly used pack-mule and even more used pack-human (aka Porter) carrying large and heavy bundles up the steep stairs, yet passing us with their mighty strength. We also saw a kid with a nasty leg wound and cleaned him up and bandaged him. We spent the night in a nice tea house that afforded an amazing morning vista and stuffed ourselves silly, thus setting the tone for the rest of the trip. The tea-houses/lodges are amazing. Built in remote and high-up places, they have government-mandated menus and prices and provide affordable and clean beds and delicious meals as far as we were going to be hiking. It's amazing, actually, how cheap things were considering the captured market and how much they could have charged. A bed would be between 1 and 2$ a night and a good meal (with water to drink) wouldn't be more then 3 or 4$ anywhere along the trek.
Day 2: Gandruk - Chomrong
We woke up and breakfasted outside, just gazing jaw-a-drop at the views of Machhapuchre, Annapurna South, and Hyongtully mountains. The hike started with a decent downhill and a killer uphill. We hiked for several hours, with good rests in between, and got to our teahouse. Had a shower, lots of food, some cards and called it a night. By day 2 or 3, we would predictably be in bed by 8pm.
Day 3: Chomrong - Dovan
This was a very nice day. Woke up and started off the day climbing down 2000 stairs, crossing a river, then climbing back up for great views of the area. The next 2 or 3 hours was "Nepali flat" (rolling ups and downs) through cool jungles. Saw some white monkeys and a bunch of birds and enjoyed the beautiful cool moss-covered foliage. Stopped at the outskirts/ends of the forest, as we'd reached 2500m elevation and the terrain was starting to change. This also marked the change to less-nice accommodation (eg no hot showers) and cold nights.
Day 4: Dovan - Machhapuchre Base Camp
This was a big day as we were due to climb 1200 vertical meters over the course of the day. Over 2500-3000m is when altitude sickness kicks in, so the agenda was walking half the speed at which you're comfortable. Sounds weird at first but once it starts getting more and more difficult to breathe, it makes sense. The terrain changed from jungle to rugged and mountainous, but still quite beautiful. The last leg (1 1/2hrs) was, in my humble opinion, the hardest part of the whole journey. The terrain itself was easy but the altitude and steady incline made it increasingly difficult to breath and then it started to snow. I made it to the lodge, finally, and rejuvenated myself with a hot bowl of garlic soup. Supposedly it's good for acute altitude sickness but I didn't really care since it was hot and garlicky. We were about 1hr away from the next and last leg but decided to stay the night so we could do the leg in the morning and watch the sunrise. I thought this was dumb but boy was I wrong...
Day 5: MBC - Annapurna Base Camp - MBC - Dovan
We woke up at 5am and set off along the dark track. The stars were simply amazing: it was a crystal-clear night, nary a cloud in sight, we were at 3700m elevation and there was zero light pollution. After 10 or 15 minutes of walking by headlamp, we realized that we could make better use of the light of the stars. It was simply magical: starlight glinting off frozen streams and the snow from the tremendous mountains surrounding us as we walked in a valley on a gentle incline. It gradually got a little lighter and as we neared the Base Camp, pink started caressing the tops of looming Goliaths until gold saturated the air and everything around. And it was coooooold.

After sunrise, we had a well-earned breakfast and then trekked back down, which was considerably easier. We walked back through the jungle and ended up back at a lodge we'd stayed at several days prior and the previously cold weather now felt quite warm in comparison.
Day 6: Dovan - Chomrong
Backtracking back to Chomrong was a short and mostly sweet day. We stopped by a river to have a swim and do some laundry, Nepali style. The water was bloody cold. Like it made Lake Superior feel like a warm bathtub - even I, the polar hirsute devil that I am, was only able to submerge myself for a second and then jump right out. The air was warm and sunny, though, so we lazed about for a bit before climbing back up the 2000 stairs that we'd previously climbed. Once we got the lodge, it was business as usual: hot chocolate & rum, cards, and food. Food of choice on the hikes was usually vegetable fried noodles, breakfast food (porridge, eggs, etc) and for me Dal Baht for dinner every night. Dal Baht is a huge plate consisting of a generous portion of rice, steamed vegetables, vegetable curry, a papadam, and lentil soup. The best part about it is that you can get free refills on anything you want! When one is trekking up and down hills, cold when not moving and sweating when, carrying a decent-sized backpack upon shoulders the thing you want more is food that doesn't run out. I had it I think 7 dinners in a row (the first 3 nights I didn't know about the refills).
Day 7: Chomrong - Jhinu - Chomrong - Somewhere - Chomrong - Tadapani
This was a doozy of a day. Ben and I woke up at 6 to head to Jhinu, where we'd heard there was some natural hot-springs pools. We couldn't pass it up so we decided to go early and catch up with the girls later. We walked down a very steep hill and got to the base of the valley where the springs were. What they'd done was set up 3 pools with constant flow of hot water from the spring pools. No sulfur smell either. It was right next to a mountain river, too, so we could jump in the river and into hot pool back and forth. We spent an amazing hour relaxing before 8am rolled around and we decided to head back. It was a big climb back to the lodge, made no easier by our relaxed and loose muscles. We had some breakfast and then headed off. We walked about 45 minutes before we reached a fork in the path ; we were informed that going right would lead us to our destination. The right lead up a steep hill and seemed to be a bit backtracky but we took it anyway. An hour of going up and heading in what was obviously the wrong direction - yet we still persisted, constantly awaiting the sudden turn - we ended up almost where we started. Fuck. It was noon by that time, we'd done a crapload of walking and hadn't even gotten where we were supposed to be. We walked back and found a sneaky climb over a fence that was apparently the path we were supposed to take. Finally, on the right route, we headed to the destination. Along the way were some farms that were very fecund. We noticed that actually a lot of them were growing marijuana and, since fall is harvesting time, the air was sweet with the smell. We were offered some to buy but being the upstanding people that we are, we refused (8$ for a ball of hash the size of a large marble). We got to a cool big bridge and then climbed a ridiculous hill, only to get to a plateau and then climb another ridiculous hill through a forest. It was hard work anyway but given our previous days-worth of walking, we were completely shattered by the time we got to the lodge. It was sad, too, since the walk through that forest was quite beautiful and I even got to get close to frollicking monkeys, but I was too wrecked to really enjoy it. Luckily, the lodge had a hot shower and amazing views.
Sunset...
And starry skies aplenty.
Day 8: Tadapani - Gorepani
Woke up at 6 and watched the sun rise and subsequently greet the day.

Thanks to Allah or Ra or someone, I wasn't sore when I woke up. Breakfast and then hiking. We first went up through the next tier of forest (we were climbing up again) that had a surprising amount of snow and ice along the path. It was very slippery at times and I was glad we were going up and not down, for once. The next level was awesome deciduous forest, reminiscent of the Rockies or something: beautifully sweet pine smell coursing through the air, sun peppered leaves on the ground, mountain peaks in the near horizon: it was one of the nicer walks we'd done. All of a sudden it ended at a clearing on top of a hill and the 360 degree landscape was out of this world. Himalayan mountain ranges on one side, rolling hills and farmland on the other, forest in between. We just stopped and stared for 15 or 20 minutes and attempted to soak it in.The sky was crystal blue and we could see, what seemed like, forever. It was just a short downhill amble to the lodge. It was one of the nicer lodges we'd seen: huge with an expansive dining area with couches and a fire in the middle and even a library (where you drop off a book you just read and pick up a book someone else previously left behind): I was in heaven with my book and a mug of rum hot chocolate. We watched the sunset over some locals playing a high-altitude game of volleyball.Day 9: Gorepani - Poon Hill - Gorepani - Hille
We woke up at 5 o'clock to hike up to Poon Hill (yes, it is quite the name - don't worry, many jokes were made) to watch the sunrise. This time we didn't even bother with headlamps because we knew how illuminating the stars were and how brilliant the rods in our eyes are. There were a surprising amount of people climbing up with us but we passed them and made our way to the top. It's actually dumb for me to attempt to describe what it was like watching the sunrise glimpse over the hills and enshroud the Himalayas in yellow. It did. The video could try to do it justice but it simply cannot.
We descended from the hill. That puts it mildly; actually, I ran down. I was full of energy and it was beautiful and I was happy I wasn't carrying my backpack (we left it at the lodge) so I ran down. Breakfast and then on the way. We hiked for a while and ended up descending 3000-some stairs. Everyone's knees were ruined and so we stopped at a lodge. A little dog paid me a visit.
It was only 1:30, however, and the lunch was pretty ordinary and so we decided we'd be extreme and soldier on for another hour or so until we got to a lovely spot along a river. Ben and I went in for a bit of a refresh and then we settled in the open dining area. We'd reached low enough elevation so it wasn't that cold. We ate some fantastic food and, since it was our last night, decided to celebrate a bit by sampling some fermented drink. Retired to sleep.
Day 10: Hille - Nayapur
We woke up early and started the day by a dip in the river. It wasn't as cold as the other river higher up but this one was still quite cold and hard to stay in for too long. After breakfast we set off for a very easy and nice final walk, only 2 hours or so. Along the way, we saw an awesome waterfall with a perfect pool at the bottom and Ben and I could not resist one final swim before leaving. We got to Nayapur and the guide organized seats on a bus for us to get back to Pokhara. Here, when buses are full people sit on top of the bus: there's a grate and a very short fence that you can hang your legs through. I could not resist the opportunity and thus we ended the trek on a great point: sitting on top of a shaky bus with no shocks and old brakes, going through winding mountain roads that were too narrow, with awesome Himalayan backdrop along the way. I had headphones in, listening to J5, wind in my hair and sun on my back, feeling great.

We got back to Pokhara feeling quite proud indeed.
It was difficult but, honestly, not too difficult. The pace we did was such that I was never really tired nor sore. I must say I am very happy with my body, my genes, and my gear since I didn't get any blisters or sore knees or achy muscles or any other aches. My only physical side effect was constant hunger and that I looked like a ripped mountain-man when we returned. All in all, a most-excellent trip.

Nepalistan

Ah, Nepal. A place among places. Whatever the fuck that means.
I always felt like I had done some 3rd world experience: thailand, vietnam, philippines... all seem like San Francisco compared with Nepal. Not that there's anything wrong with that. This place is crazy. Traffic is a mess of horns and potholes and cows, with some people actually getting from point A to point B, though it takes a long time.
I arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday and met my friend Fiona. She, along with Ben, are the ones I'm traveling with / working in the hospital with. We spent the next day or two walking around and eating a lot. I have been to a Nepali restaurant perhaps twice in my life and never really gave much thought to its cuisine but man is it tasty here. There's all the good stuff of north Indian food, coupled with delicious dal and momos and other shit. Also, it's dirt cheap.
We went on a long walk to the monkey temple: really, it's a temple with a lot of monkey and a decent view of the city. Other things to do around here are eating, as I've mentioned, and shopping. There are also lots of temples, of course. There's a great collection of knock-off hiking gear at prices that make me wish I had an extra bag to check in on my way home. Lots of roof-top restaurants and bars, too, which make relaxing that much easier.
On Thursday we flew to Pokhara, a largish city and, more important, gateway to Mt. Annapurna and the rest of the Himalayas. Rest assured, the view from the airplane was absolutely amazing. We went straight to the hospital when we arrived and proceeded to wait for 4 hours for someone to show up and tell us what to do. Thank krisha that I had the foresight to bring travel Scrabble (more important than extra clothes, if you ask me). We found a hotel right on a beautiful lake to stay for the next 4 weeks, at 5$/person/night.
Friday was our first day in the hospital. We are starting off on the community health rotation and thus piled into a big bus and went to some very poor district and got to the clinic: a shack, 12 ft by 12 ft, filled with crying babies and their moms. Once a month, the interns from the hospital go to a different area and provide free vaccinations and basic checkups as well as basic medicines. It was several hours of upper respiratory infections, diarrhoea, measles, and scabies. We were of completely no help since, obviously, we know nothing, especially Nepali. Very interesting, nevertheless.
The next day started off with a morning swim in the beautiful lake. We went to the hospital and on to the clinic, which was more of the same thing, followed by a picnic with the interns. All of them are Indian, doing essentially what I'm doing: going to medical school in an inferior country because it's easier to get into and cheaper. Ouch, it hurts, don't it? Regardless, they are all very nice to us and fun to be with. We rented 2 paddle boats to go on the lake with several bags of take-out Indian and Nepali food, as well as alcohol. We passed several hours on the middle of the lake/shore, eating and chating and drinking and having a good time. One thing that was really distraughting for us (Fiona, myself, and 2 British girls who were also working in the hospital on the same kind of elective thing) was the littering. Here you had educated smart young people, out on the lake - why the lake? because it's beautiful and nice, etc - and littering like the world was ending tomorrow. Finish a bottle of vodka? throw it in the lake! Leave the bag with plastic spoons and plates on the beach, why not? As I saw an empty bag of Masala Lays floating away, shuddering at the knowledge that the next time I go swimming I will run into it, I couldn't help but feel sad.
In the meantime, the next couple days will be more or less the same - hospital in the morning/afternoon, followed by eating and some drinking and relaxing. Next week, we're due for a big hike - hopefully that comes true!

30$ in 24 hours

That's Australian dollars.

I am in Bangkok with an exact day layover and with only 30$ AUD in my pocket, I make a conversion (924 Baht) and a little prayer.

Let's explain how I got here, though, since it is pretty ridiculous. I had originally booked my crazy ticket around the world through Amber, my STA travel agent. The ticket to Bangkok was from Sydney. She asked me how/when I'd like to get to Sydney and since I didn't know my post-exam travel plans, I told her not to worry about it - that I'd get it. So I did and since it's me, I got the cheapest flight 80$ AUD (with carbon offset) leaving Brisbane at 8:30AM on Sunday morning from the international terminal. I had to wake up at 5am in order to get there on time to deal with the ridiculous rules about checking in (if not checked in 90 minutes before flight-> lose seat; since it's Australia, no online check-in). I get to Sydney, spend 14$ to store my luggage for the day (big backpack and box of medical supplies) and take a train (14$ round trip) to the city. Get there, walk around Farmer's market, chinatown, have some lunch, walk for a long time, then come back at 7pm for my 9:55pm flight. I check-in to my flight and much to my surprise note that there's a layover in Brisbane. What the fuck, Amber? I emailed her (free internet in airport) and asked her if she hated me, then went in for some more waiting around. Took off (delayed), landed in Brisbane, then delayed some more. We finally left Brisbane at midnight. I had paid around 130$ to see the Sydney Opera House. For the third time.

BNE->SYD->BNE->Kuala Lampur (free internet: Amber told me she didn't hate me and that it was a "hidden ticket")->BKK for my 24hr layover.

I've been to Bangkok before, so I knew this could be done. I first leave my bags at the airport and then get a bus to the touristy/backpacker's area (150Baht). When I get there, I immediately tuck in to some famous delicious street pad thai (25Baht) and a freshly squeezed mandarin juice (10Baht). I walk around for about 45 minutes, searching for the cheapest room I could find. After 45 minutes, and 11 guest houses, I've found a room 40 Baht (1$) cheaper than the first one, at 150Baht. Except they require a 500B deposit. Ouch. That left me with 94 Baht to have several more meals and drinks for the day. I immediately get a 5B bottle of water. Walk around for a while and then get to a park and chill. The park was on the river, with nice temple inside and view of a cool bridge. I get peckish so walk to the local street cart and get a basil chili vegetable fried rice (20B) and freshly squeezed guava juice (15B). I sit back down in the park and strike up conversation with a friendly (non-prositute) woman and we chat for several hours. I then go and get 1 more Pad Thai (20B) and a tallie of Beer Chang (34B). Perfect: no money left.

The next morning I get my deposit back, than god, and splurge on a huge amazing smooth (40B) and a plate of some sweet rice cake thingy. I dunno, but it was purple. Then take a shuttle to the airport (120B) and pay for my luggage (200B) and then have 120B left to kill. Have a spicy bowl of soup (100B - damn tax!), a bottle of soy milk (13B) and then I donate the 7B remaining to the charity thing.

Too easy.