Best of the East

There is an unmet need for tow trucks in Nepal. 

That was our conclusion yesterday after a crazy day that didn't include any babies, but did involve visits to temples, a surprise reunion with our New Year's Eve party crew, and our car breaking down on the middle of a mountain.  

The day started off with driving to Dharan, a city about an hour away (as we would learn that day, an hour here means anything from 60-180 minutes). We stopped by B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) to see the outside. BPKIHS is a large referral hospital that receives the babies that are too sick for Koshi Zonal. Since Dr. Kusum was busy, we planned to visit the next day when she could join us. In the meantime, here are your two favorite bloggers posing in front:

We hopped back in the car with Binita and her family to visit two nearby temples. Nepal is predominantly Hindu, and it shows through the tikka-dotted foreheads and the temples scattered around the streets and mountaintops. 

Our next stop was the top of a mountain to get a view of the Eastern Region of Nepal. We drove up a steep mountain, with our little van straining next to the Jeeps passing it on either side of the single-lane road. When we stopped to let cars pass us, the van failed to restart, so we got out and walked the rest of the way to the top. Hooray for "trekking"!

After climbing a tall staircase, we reached the top and found this incredible view:

The fog had gotten so thick that everything we could have seen was obscured by the cloud that surrounded us. Disappointed, I jokingly put on the sunglasses I brought and professed hope that I still might need them. Amazingly, five minutes later, I did! The sun started to come back out as we walked back down the stairs, and just as we were about to leave, I asked if we could run back up again. This time, the view was amazing. 

We asked someone to take our photo at the top, and they decided to be artsy and tilt the camera, but it's still a nice photo if you tilt your head the right way. 

We returned to a wonderful traditional Nepali lunch made by Binita's family. It was the best food of the trip so far! 

As we were heading towards the car, a group of people called out to us and started waving. We thought we didn't know them, but it turns out, they were some of the people from our New Year's Eve party! We were surprised to see them 2 hours away from our hotel!

We got into the car to leave, only to discover that it still wouldn't start. Wes was there to give them a hand, and we were soon rolling down the hill again- for the time being. 

The van stalled a few minutes later, and after more unsuccessful pushing, it seemed to be that the car was out of gas, or petrol, as they call it here. We waited for another car to come by to drive up the mountain to bring back petrol for us. It arrived in a 2-liter soda bottle, which isn't traditional, but seemed to serve the purpose. 

The bottled gasoline worked for a very short while before the car rolled to a stop for good. A little before 5:30, we were told another car would come to rescue us in an hour. As the minutes ticked by, and the sky grew darker and foggier, we passed the time by learning Nepali. We can now count to ten (butchering the words for six and four because the sounds don't exist in English), and most importantly, can ask our favorite question for the caregivers we've interviewed- "Kina?" which means, "Why?"

The other car showed up nearly three long hours later, and we all piled in, only to realize that the biggest problem remained unsolved- what would happen to our original car? Turns out, the answer involved a single rope and something never covered in my driving exam. It was too dark and rainy to get a photo of our new car towing the other car, but it was a pretty funny sight. 

Unfortunately, we couldn't pull the car up a hill, and had to leave it there with our driver. Don't worry- he made it back later that night, pulled to safety by another van. We arrived at our hotel exhausted, with cramped legs from sharing the back of the car with four other people, but happy to be back. 

A tow truck would have rescued us much faster, but we also wouldn't have the story to tell. It's constantly an adventure here, and we're thankful to be a part of it.