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Day 12

On the road to Kathmandu from Chitwan

On the move again. Erin, Shila and I were heading to Kathmandu which was approximately a 6- 7 hour trip. Ramchandra (Shila's husband) ensured we were safely on the bus and we now refer to him as the Happy Banker. He reminded me that he was a Happy Banker to the Poor. With that in mind Erin and I were sorry to say goodbye but grateful that we had time with him. In particular, as he is taking on this new role in a commercial bank. 

The bus trip to Kathmandu was 6 - 7 hours which made for a long day. However, the scenery in some parts is spectacular when the fast flowing river is in full view. Particularly, when one could watch the many rafts that were on the river that day. It is a very popular tourist pass time here. This main road link is extremely busy with buses and trucks.

During one of our bus stops we were parked right next to a market. There were numerous stalls side by side and I was taken with the share volume of variety they have. It is fortunate to have Shila with us as if we need to know something she provides the necessary information.

The great thing about the bus trip was it allowed Erin and I the opportunity to explore ideas about community development and the possibilities we had seen over the last two weeks. It was also the day that we would go separate ways. She was meeting up with Nvari once again and I was joining up with a group in Kathmandu to head off to a Himalayan Meditation and Yoga retreat at the Nagarkot Farmhouse with 7 others including Shila, Nina, Kira and Rafael.So it was a day of mixed feelings  to be saying goodbye to Erin. 

Welcome back to Kathmandu 

Our taxi when we arrived at Kathmandu. There was 3 of us so my bag got sat on the top of the taxi and not tied down so I was swiveling my head as we drove off to the hotel to make sure it did not slide off.

Tomorrow we are heading off to the retreat but will be calling in to see the architects work that I spoke about in an earlier post about rammed earth and bamboo.