We departed from Spectrum on Thursday afternoon, after completing a mad rush to get the costumes washed and packed from Wednesday's dress rehearsal in Tacoma. But we made it! Down to the last second Doris Black-Dance was stuffing little bits of fabric and lengths of thread into my suitcase, just to be sure we had everything we might possibly need on the other side of the world! Thanks Doris!!
We shoved our stuff into a way-too-small Shuttle Express and embarked on our journey. After an hour and a half delay at Sea-Tac, the wheels on our 747 lifted, and we said goodbye to the West Coast and the Western World for a month. I planned ahead, dutifully, and washed down my ibuprofen, tylenol, melatonin and muscle relaxers with a glass of wine. Needless to say....I woke up in England. I think I might have finally figured out this international travel thing!
In Heathrow, we sat in the airport, drank what would probably be our last Starbucks for a few weeks, and tried to catch up on some work. Once our gate was assigned, we walked past all the wonderful English shops (too much packed and not enough space on this trip to buy anything extra this early on), and arrived at our gate only to learn about another short delay. Well, when dancers have been on a flight for 9 hours already, and are looking ahead to another 8 hours of sitting still....this is kinda what happens:
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Our plane eventually departed, just in time for the sleepy to set in again, and another 4 hours of zzzz's, 2 movies, and some pretty intense turbulence later, we touched down in India. A first for us all, and quite the change of scenery. Not much to tell about India. We were behind schedule after our 2 delays, so we basically sat at the International Transfer counter, then ran through security and to our gate (twice, because it got reassigned mid-rush).
But I was able to snap this picture as we headed out, much to the dismay of the plane-side agents...who apparently don't like you to take pictures of their planes? Nepal here we come!!!
Arriving in Nepal was like entering a whole other world. We could see the city as we flew in, and it reminded us all of how MUCH we weren't in the U.S. anymore. It might not technically be a third-world nation, but it's probably the closest most of us have been to. I'll let the pictures pretty much speak for themselves. We got through customs without any problems, and were in and out of the airport in less than an hour–thanks to the help of our very handy Embassy officer Cain Harrelson. 15 of 16 bags made it, including mine, another first! Unfortunately, that meant we had to get 15 dancer-sized pieces of luggage into our van...but we made it work, and headed out into the busy streets of Kathmandu.
I use the term "streets" lightly. The roads here in Nepal are more like trails than "Western" streets. Mostly unpaved, very narrow, and very crowded. The day we arrived, Saturday, is the one weekend day here in Nepal, so the traffic was "light" we learned. We also learned about a street widening initiative that had been put into action. Because of this, a large majority of streets were flanked by debris. Buildings that have been torn down to make way for the wider roads, houses that honestly looked like they had been cut in half, businesses that were all but covered by piles of bricks and rubble. Definitely a sight. I guess it can be compared to road construction by U.S. standards, but on a whole other level. All of this is amplified by the fact that there are little to no traffic laws in Nepal. They technically drive on the left side of the road...but only when there's room. Other wise, it's pretty much a free-for-all. And the scariest thing is that cars, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, and pedestrians all share the same narrow paths...no sidewalks or bus lanes here. You quickly learn that the expectation of safety and the concept of "personal space" are much different here.
So imagine our surprise when, after traveling through the chaos for about 30 minutes...we turned the corner, and all of a sudden, we're right back in America! The Radisson hotel is an American hotel by any standard. Other than the very polite men in military uniforms greeting you at the door, and the Nepali cuisine served in the buffet restaurant...it's pretty much just like home. I think we all felt a little silly walking into such luxury after driving across town. It's a very humbling experience to see how Nepalis live. I'll be honest, it's nice to have a wifi connection, and hot water for showers. I probably wont use the flat-screen TV or break into the mini-bar....but, hey, all the comforts of home right?
So, that's the story of how we got to Nepal!! Stay tuned for lots more pictures and videos from our trip. Sorry it's taken me so long to get any of this up, but even in the American hotel, internet is a little unreliable, and there are only so many hours in the day. Here are some final pics of the view from our hotel on the day we arrived. Welcome to South Asia Spectrum Dance!! Namaste.
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