What NOT to do in Kathmandu

Here is the best picture I got during my 6 days in Kathmandu:
Flying into Nepal--

Yep, that's Everest on the left and Makalu right -- # 1 and # 5. It felt like we could touch them.  Actually, we've been much closer on previous trips.
THEN, the plane dips into the Kathmandu valley and all you can see is dust and smog.  Thinking of going to Kathmandu?  DON'T!  It is rated  the second most polluted city in the world...and especially sad as it is  in a valley with mountains all around---but you can no longer see them.  Most people wear face masks...your eyes burn....the river is an open sewer.  The people are nice, though.
So, what NOT to do in Kathmandu?  Get sick.

Brief synopsis:
gastric pain, vomit blood, trip to ER, nasogastric tube inserted (the worst!!),more blood , 2 nights in ICU, bumpy ambulance ride to another hospital (if you weren't sick before you got into the ambulance, you would be by the time you arrived), endoscopy, 10 days of 8 pills a day, and finally  RESOLUTION.  I am now A-OK---and finally I can eat again.  I do not recommend this as a weight loss program.  On the plus side, Rick was with me and a real help.  Another plus:  I was in Nepal rather than Bhutan...and finally, I actually bought trip insurance for the first time before leaving the US in April!  Wow!

My reason for being in Nepal was to give my training programs to READ Nepal, the sister to the NGO that I have been working with in Bhutan.  On the last day, I was able to find the strength to talk to one of their staff, so all was not lost--and some of my work will go forward.
On the last night there, I finally was able to leave the hotel for a brief walk and took this picture of a Nepali woman kissing a sacred statue:

 But ever onward!
On the flight back to Bhutan, I nearly cried when I saw the lush clean Paro valley from the plane window.  It really felt like coming home.
Three days later, I was scheduled to do a two day training at one of the poshest resorts in Bhutan: the UMA.
The irony was not lost on me---here I am at what is reputed to be the best restaurant in the whole country, and I can barely manage to eat at all!  But manage I did--and enjoyed the few bites I could handle.
The trainings went well and as always, I enjoyed it and so hopefully so did they.  At least they laughed in the right places!

The following weekend was our 9th wedding anniversary (well, 9 official years that is---another 22 years of living in delicious sin).  We celebrated in our favorite hotel , the amazing Zhiwa Ling.  You may recall I have written about this place before.  It is summer and rainy season here so the flowers are in riotous profusion.
Take a look:

                                                    This is a view of our balcony!

The King and I....

  Rock climbing OUT, tree climbing IN.

During that weekend, I also volunteered to give a training on womens health to the 11th and 12th grade girls of UTPAL Girls academy, the ONLY all-girls school in Bhutan. (BTW, UTPAL means Blue Poppy in Sanskrit.  The blue poppy is the national flower of Bhutan.).  Although the education system has = numbers of girls and boys in primary school, as they get older, the girls drop out at a disproportionate rate.  This school is an attempt to separate the genders so as to encourage girls to stay in school.  It seems to be working but the Bhutanese govt. does not support it, so the school is struggling.  It is hard to be an entrepreneur here.

 Yikes! Almost 200 girls!

No one really teaches girls here about menstruation...or tampons...or how their bodies work.  Talking about "personal" things is just not done here---so these girls were eager students.  The best kind....

Before we left, the Zhiwa Ling presented us with an anniversary cake! Awwww....

 Before heading back to Thimphu we did a little more exploring in the area.  Up up up on a dirt road, lined with rocks, to reach this lovely monastery.  One could devote one's whole life to visiting all the monasteries in Bhutan, most of them accessible only by foot. 

Monks schmoozing--probably talking about Facebook!

This has got to be one of the weirdest things I have ever seen in a monastery.  It is a stuffed Himalayan black bear, which still live in the mountains of Bhutan.  This one must have died of natural causes as you are not allowed to kill any of the predator animals, unless they threaten to kill you.

I almost felt I should leave my card on the plate!

One final bit:  

I went back to Choki Traditional Art School to talk again to the girls there.  These are young women, most of whom dropped out of school in the third grade.  They come for free to this school north of Thimphu in order to learn traditional painting, carving, embroidery or weaving, for at least three years.  There are boys there; there are girls there---and you know what that means.  So, I come to do my talk on menstruation, fertility and yes, birth control!  Here I am demo'ing how to put on a condom...but sadly the kitchen could not provide me with my usual prop, a banana.  Still, they got the point--or at least they giggled!

My lovely translator is on the right.

So, all is well here in The Kingdom. Stomach recovering nicely.   I like the rainy season (rain/sun/rain/wind/sun/rain in just 3 hours time).
The view outside my window as I write this must contain 20 shades of green, plus trailing white wild roses.
I am already anticipating a sadness about leaving here.
This is a place of happiness for me---but then, so is New Mexico.  No complaints!
We have another 5 weeks here and more adventures ahead.
Love to all!