Namaste Nepal

Nepal is a truly addictive place.
From the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu, to the sheer scale and beauty of the Himalayas and so many other places around the country, and of course the warmth of local people toward visitors – there is so much enjoy.

Despite both falling ill whilst there, we will miss the place and will certainly return one day.

I hope in the meantime Nepal remains a peaceful place.

Elections take place next week and it seems extreme Maoist groups (who refuse to partake in the process) are determined to make sure that it doesn’t run smoothly.
The country is in the midst of an eight day transport strike (called by a splinter Maoist group and supported by a number of other parties). And extremists are trying to enforce the strike by targeting innocent people who are ignoring it and going about their daily business.

Vehicles have been torched and petrol bombs thrown at packed buses at various points this week.

Businesses were also targeted during Monday’s general strike (called by same lot).

On our way to the airport this morning we drove across a bridge, where yesterday a small roadside bomb had injured innocent people.

There were big queues in the departure hall today.
So many people depend upon tourism in Nepal. It would be a disaster if the country descends into the kind of violence seen in years gone by.

The trip continues

Today is a good day!
Not only do the latest tests show that Bee is now back to full health, but we have received confirmation from our insurer that they will continue to cover Bee’s medical element of her policy for the rest of our trip.
The Nepali clinic narrowed the tropical disease she had down to one ‘probable’ type. But they didn’t have the facility to test to provide a certain diagnosis. To try and achieve that they send blood to France, but there is a two/three month wait for results.

In the meantime Bee’s diagnosis remains as ‘pyrexia of unknown origin’.
Because of this uncertainty the temptation was there for our insurer to deem her too big a risk/cost to keep travelling. In their eyes, we feared, she may have had one of many things and because of that they may decide to not cover her if she contracted near enough anything moving forward.
At many points during the last two weeks it looked like our trip, which we had planned and saved for for years, was coming to an abrupt end (as we believe it too big a risk to travel without insurance). This experience taught us just how costly it could have been had we not had cover.

But after a solid two-weeks of liaising back and forth from Kathmandu via email and phone, presenting them with regular medical updates as we returned to the hospital time after time, they have decided that her full cover remains until the end of our journey.

Her latest medical reports showed that all her internal organs had returned to normal, so this was the right decision. The clinic narrowed it down to one thing, which was successfully treated. It was just that their facilities weren’t advanced enough to prove it.

This has all been a learning curve for us. When in this situation obviously the most important thing is that you get better and that care is paid for by your insurance, but additionally you need your doctor to provide as specific a diagnosis as they can. If they can’t narrow it down there is a real temptation for an insurer to cancel your policy outright, or put so many medical exemptions in place that it is a risk to keep going.

Luckily for us the right decision was made.

Gym in Kathmandu

After recovering from illness, today I got to experience my first taste of a Nepali gym.
Tucked away on the edge of Thamel is an old school weights gym called Globo Gym (off Jayatha Tole). I changed into my gym gear before I got there – which saved me having to use the changing wardrobe!
Lit by skylight by day and by strip lighting by evening, the tinned roof warehouse has all the weights related kit you would find in a western gym – except it’s a lot older and in places – rustier.
Gym entry is a remarkably low 100 rupees – around 60 pence. I could get used to that kind of pricing for my gym membership!
This is a very local place, but as anywhere in Nepal; the regulars here are incredibly friendly – curious to ask me questions about where I was from, and keen to ensure I knew the ins and outs of using the kit. One guy even decided that he would personal train me for half an hour and I also had up to six people gathered round to teach me to speak Nepalese.
It was a great experience and I’ll definitely be heading back there before we leave Nepal.

Picture courtesy of The Fit World Traveller.com