My fourth trip with Global Dental Relief was to Nepal in October 2014. I had been to the same exact location a year and a half ago, but this trip was entirely different. Last time, I could only participate in the clinic portion of the trip then had to get back to work. This time, I did things a little different! It was on my first international trip that I discovered how un-fun 2 whole days of airports and flying truly is. So IF I am going to spend that much time on a plane, I wanted to really make it count. On this trip, I signed up to trek the Everest trail after working in the dental clinic. I spent 3 whole weeks in Nepal. Here’s my journal and what I took away from this once in a lifetime experience:
Day 1, 2, and 3: DIA to LAX. I met up with a fellow GDR volunteer also headed to Nepal. It was nice to have a travel partner on this trip. We got to LA and had a 5 hour layover. Then 16 hour flight from LA to Hong Kong. We landed in Hong Kong early in the morning. And also had a 10 hour layover. So Mary Anne and I took a tram/subway from the airport to downtown Hong Kong. We walked all around the city, took a moving walkway through the city, and found a free zoo in park on top of the city. It was great to have gotten out of the airport for a little bit, but seeing all of this was pretty great too. We also witnessed a pier, a ferris wheel, alleys full of smells and junk. The zoo was very neat! We could hear it way before we could see it. Twenty to thirty monkeys, different types, in separate enclosures. But when one would make noise, ALL the monkeys would! It was very, very loud. They also had turtles and other strange animals to see. Eventually, we made our way back to the airport. Where we just had to wait longer…our flight got delayed. Another 8+ hours, a quick stop in Bangladesh, and I am finally back in Nepal. Paperwork, photos, visas, and locating your luggage is next. Then out to our vehicle and to the Shechen Guesthouse. Its late, I’ve been sitting for many hours, and its time for bed. My roommate, Rebecca, and I are shown to our room. Night number 1 reminds me quickly where I am. Dogs barking, roosters, motorcycles, and a bell, all night long. Plus, the people walking in the alley sound like they in our room. Oh and it gets real cold at night.
Day 4: Sightseeing and clinic briefing. Because I had seen these places before and it was really early, I wasn’t going to go. But it’s the first day and its always good to get to know everyone! So I went. First we went to Pashupatinath Temple on the Bagmati River. Cremations were taking place and we got to witness maybe 5-10. It’s a beautiful event. Other then that, we witnessed Sadhus, monkeys, and amazing scenery.
Next, we went to Patan Darbar Square. There are so many different buildings, museums, and temples here. I had been before, but we went to a golden palace that I had never been to. Everything was gold. The prayer wheels, the floor, doors. And everything was beautiful. There were 3 priests chanting, butter candles, offerings, and so much positive there. I loved it. We left there, came back to our guesthouse for lunch, then went to the clinic. On this walk, I found that my ‘Life is Beautiful’ wall has been spray painted over with ‘Tupac still lives.’ But you can still see the positive shining through J
Then on the same walk to clinic, I witnessed 2 chickens fighting over an unwrapped condom. This really happened. There are trash bags everywhere, stray dogs tearing into them, and the result is chickens in the trash.
The clinic was good. I got to see familiar faces with the students. We set up for clinic the next day, I’ll be assisting Dr. Sonja. After the briefing, we walked to the stupa. A monk found us and took a group of us up to a beautiful viewpoint. Then he gave us an inside tour of the stupa. Prostrations being performed, womens groups chanting, prayer flags in the wind. Peace. Everywhere. That evening all of us went to dinner at a wood fired pizza type place. And I was in bed by 8:30 pm. Night number 2 of sleep brought weird dreams and me freezing!
Day 5: First day at the clinic!! This is always the fun and exciting part of these trips. We woke up, ate breakfast and had to be out the door by 8:30. It was a very full and busy day enjoying kids, taking pictures, smiling, and laughing. After work a lot of us went back to the guesthouse. I sat on the rooftop and chatted with an amazing women named Susan until I went to bed.
Day 6: Clinic - Day two. We saw a lot of return patients today. That made me smile. Other than that, nothing too out of the normal. I assisted Dr. Sonja again. Things went well. That evening I stayed at the guesthouse for a dinner of mac and cheese.
It was by this night of sleep, I am tired of freezing in the middle of the night. I went to grab all the blankets off of the 3rd bed in our room (why I didn’t do this sooner is beyond me) and I realize my bed only has a sheet and a cover on it. No warmth, no duvet, nothing!! That’s why I was freezing the first few nights. Also, tonight was the first encounter with spiders from Cambodia. HUGE! It was huge and red and very fast! Sleeping after we witnessed this giant spider in our room, was less relaxing. I’ve tried earplugs and sleeping pills. Nothing has helped me sleep so far.
Day 7: Third day of clinic. This morning, Rebecca and I woke up early to go to the puja. Its in the same gated in complex that we are staying in and it is so peaceful and beautiful to see. Listening to the monks chant for a hour is soothing. I do wish I knew what they were saying, even so, I don’t really need to. Afterwards, we got ready for clinic. But clinic day 3 began with all the students and monks in their dress clothes, lined up in an assembly for us volunteers. They prayed/chanted, introduced us all, and gave us gifts. Then the band and kids sang their national anthem. Second time in one day I have been moved to tears. Back to work, I gave some kids sidewalk chalk for doing good. They loved it! Today we had a little girl tell us “slowly, slowly, slowly” as she held up her hands. Ok, ok. So we did. And then she, in English plain as day, chatted with us through the entire procedure. She was handing tools and helping out. By far one of my favorites. The rest of the work day was extractions, fillings, nothing too crazy.
Dinner after clinic was at Dwarikas. Probably one of the most beautiful buildings I have gotten to see in my lifetime. It is the old, huge, amazing hotel with fountains, pools, archways, and wood carvings everywhere. All the pictures I took and any word I could use to describe this place would never do it justice. Dinner was a salad, a most delicious mac and cheese like dish, and an apple crumble dessert. After all that food, I slept a little better than other nights.
Day 8: Sightseeing/day off. We visited Bhaktapur again today. Its so impressive and there is so much to see. Durbar Square, Taumadhi Square, the pottery square. We also visited the paper store, or the Peacock Shop, and the thanka school. Two of my favorite places that I have already seen. There were tons of children there from India on a school trip. All of them were asking to take pictures with myself and Rebecca. So of course, we did. After walking around for a while, we stopped at a restaurant for a snack/drink. Watching people out of the window, I made eye contact with 3 local women sitting outside selling necklaces. The invited me to come eat some fruit with them?? SO I did! They had a peeled bhogate (or pomelo) and smashed it in a bag with hot, chili spices. They were using their hands and just grabbing out some pieces, so I followed suit. Really spicy, but good. The ladies laughed with me, or at me, either way. I bought a necklace and we left. Everyone went shopping in Thamel, I took the van back to our guesthouse and was in bed by 6 p.m. by choice. I needed to catch up on my rest.
Day 9: Clinic day 4. I had wonderful kids to work on, it felt amazing to help, and we were busy today. Its good we have been busy, I’m trying to keep my mind off of the bad that is back at home. Seeing these children smiling through anything helps put things in perspective. After work, those of us going on the Everest trek had a meeting with our guide. We were told what to bring, what to expect, etc. I am getting very excited to see this part of Nepal. Tonight’s dinner was a traditional Nepali meal. They bring you many courses: rice, veggies, curried chicken, wild boar, popcorn, rice alcohol (like moonshine), and dessert. In between courses, there were dancers and musicians. It’s always a wonderful experience. Dessert was yogurt with a pinch of honey. Very fun group! We came back and went to bed. I’m starting to get used to the sleeping conditions here.
Day 10: Clinic day 5: I assisted Dr. Sonja for half of the day today, then I assisted Dr. Ihab. It was a busy day full of extractions! We even left late. After clinic, we had a special goodbye dinner for the staff and students who had been assisting and setting everything up all week. All of the GDR volunteers and SMD school volunteers sit together, exchange email addresses, and spend some non-working time hanging out. We are also presented with a patch and a bracelet. Students and trip leaders played music and sang songs. It is always so wonderful seeing these children and teaching them. After dinner, all of the volunteers and students walked around the stupa. Because there was a full moon, the stupa was completely lit up in Christmas lights. The night just kept getting better and better.
Day 11: Last day of clinic: Today is always a sad day. But today I woke up sneezing and full of snot. I believe I have gotten sick. Couldn’t be at a worse time. We leave to start the trek at 5 a.m. tomorrow. I worked the first half of the day, slept during lunch, and finished out the afternoon. At some point in the day, I handed out about 20 sidewalk chalks to random children. I watched them split the chalks in pieces, share, and then draw hundreds of pictures. They were so proud of their drawings. I tried to get a picture of all of the kids and their work, but I was overwhelmed. It was a very happy moment for me. Making these children smile. J
The children from the school performed for everyone after clinic, but I was so miserable, I went to the guesthouse and went to sleep after work. I woke up for a little bit, had some noodles, and tried to get some more sleep. No such luck.
Day 12: First day of trek. 5 a.m. wake up, get dressed for all day hiking, check out, then go to the airport. I felt less snotty then yesterday, but not feeling 100%. When we get to the domestic airport, it’s a crazy mess of people, trekking bags, supplies, and very little organization. But eventually, we got our bags checked, boarding passes written out, then sat waiting at the gate. (also a mess) None of the announcements were in English, so we were waiting for our guide to tell us when to board. Something happened with the plane.. It turned back or something, so now its running late. WHAT?! I am the worst flyer ever. Around 9 a.m., we could finally get on a bus to take to our plane. Now we are waiting for our plane to actually show up. About 10 am our plane pulls up. People unload, bags are unloaded, then supplies loaded back on. This is a tiny plane. We are outside hanging out while they fuel up. WHAT?! So Im kinda freaking out at this point. Then they say to get in this tiny plane. Once we are sat, one seat on each side of the aisle, the flight attendant brings each of us hard candy and 2 cotton balls. No joke. Oh I was so nervous! But I made it. Beautiful views and it was only about 25 minutes long. After we landed, we were taken to a tea house to prepare for our hike. This was the beginning of my eyes being opened to a whole other life I knew nothing about.
We landed in Lukla. We were given honey ginger lemon tea, met our porter, got our guide, and loaded up for the hike. There was a lot of up and down, zig and zagging, suspension bridges, yak/cows, dust, dirt, breath-taking views. Hot, sweaty, and long. We stopped for lunch of chow mein, veggie fried rice, and some other noodle something. This was the beginning of me understanding that everything that we use or eat has been carried up here. A half of a Coca-Cola was $3.50. So, very full, we continued the hike until the sun was almost set. We stopped and stayed in Monjo for the evening.
After hiking all day, I had no idea what to expect from a “tea house lodge” but I also didn’t really care. We were directed to our rooms, which was two single beds, a private toilet (western style toilet), and a private shower. The main lodge was the only place with heat, food, or drinks. So we dropped off our things, went to the lodge, and sat down. We had hot tea and hot soup for dinner and were in bed early. Now, if you wanted to plug anything in, there was a charge. If you wanted to shower, there was a charge. If you wanted hot water, there was a charge. So we just didn’t shower.
Sleeping up on a mountain was way different then sleeping in Kathmandu. There was still dogs barking, chickens being loud, but now it was also only 20 degrees outside with no heat in the rooms. I went to sleep with 2 pairs of wool socks, 2 pants, 4 shirts, and a ski hat. Every night, it got colder J
Day 13: Second day of trek. 7 a.m. wake up, which meant I could see my breath indoors. 7:30, breakfast of 2 pieces dry toast and a scrambled egg. By 8 a.m., we were off for day 2 of hiking. Yesterday we started at 8,000 feet and trekked for 7-8 hours. Today we only hiked for 5 hours, but it was straight up. Steep, steep. We got a peak at Everest today. Also yesterday, there were tons of little tons to walk through and interact. Today has just been serious hiking, no towns, nothing. We climbed about 3, 000 feet today. We ended today in Namche Bazar at 11,500 feet. What an adorable cute town on the side of a mountain in a valley. Surrounded by snowy peaks, it makes me think I’m in the Swiss Alps. Our tea house was warm and clean. Our room had two single beds. The entire floor shared the restroom. We had lunch. I ate a club sandwich with French fries. We unpacked and then went to the worlds highest dental clinic!!
One female dentist, no reception, no insurance lady, no computer program, no anything fancy. Just one room, fee for service. She saw 12 patients before 1 p.m., she does all the hygiene. People will walk for days and days to get here because it’s the only dental ANYTHING around. This was amazing to me and really got my mind racing. This, this is what I’d like to do! To be able to help in a way like this one dentist is.. Wow! We left there, went to a bakery, walked around town, shopped, then went to a little bar playing “Everest.” We had some drinks, listened to music, played pool. Then went back to the bakery for dinner. I had some spagetti alfredo. Then we went to bed. 2 socks, 2 pants, 4 shirts, hat, 2 blankets, and hand warmers. Horrible evening of sleep.. Freezing and barking dogs.
Day 14: Third day of the trek. Namche Bazar to Khumjung. 7 a.m. wake up and our guide was at our doors with hot tea taking our breakfast orders. We packed our bags for the porters, ate breakfast, and by 7:45, were off to hike. Breakfast was a pancake with honey. Today’s hike was a lot of up, up, up. At one point, an army helicopter landed right in front of us, at about 12,000 feet, and unloaded supplies. We continued hiking to the Everest Mountain panorama something or other. It was a hotel or the top edge of a mountain. It had amazing views of Everest and all the surrounding mountains. We sat on the patio and had a drink before continuing on. I paid $4.70 for a wine glass of Coca-Cola! After the drinks, we took photos with Everest and carried on. Hiked to a stupa for Sir Edmund Hilary then to the town we were staying in for 2 days. THIS is what I expected the entire trip. Small village. Nothing to do, not much to see. But we checked into our tea house. One room, 2 single small beds. Shared bathroom with the floor. Lunch was some potato and cheese spring roll thing. Now its about 1 p.m. and theres not much going on. I sat outside, tried to touch a baby yak, watched locals, and took it all in. Later, our guide took us to a monastery where you had to pay money to look at a yeti skull. I didn’t pay money, so I didn’t look at the skull. Ridiculous. Then we took a tour of the Sir Edmund Hilary school. There were no kids present. We looked at a classroom or two, but mainly it was a play yard and a few hostels. So now its 3:45, and there is nothing to do, the sun is going down, and its getting cold. They won’t light the fire in the main room until 5 p.m. so I’m inside wearing full winter wear.. At around 5:30 p.m., we lost all power. So we ate by headlamps. The only people staying here is us 4 trekkers, the people who live here, and our guide. No one else to hang out with, so we played cards by candlelight until 8 p.m. Then went to bed.
But enough of the complaining, the beauty of waking up and looking out the window to a 25,000 foot snow covered mountain is something only a small handful of people will get to see in their lives. I’m moved to tears thinking about it. That this is real, this is my life, and I get to see and live these things.
Day 15: Fourth day of the trek: 7 a.m. wake up..freezing!!! Breakfast was an omelet with tomato and onion. Today is our “day off” so we decided to go on a day hike around here. This hike ended up being pretty strenuous. We began at one end of the ridge and hiked to the other end. At the starting point, we had a beautiful 360 degree view of Everest and all the mountains surrounding it. This was the most peaceful place I have been to. Along the ridge were prayer flags, yaks, river on one side, Everest on the other, just beauty, everywhere you looked. The highest I got to was about 5000 meters, so about 14,000 feet. From there, it was literally all downhill. After the ridge hike, we toured a medical clinic up there. Then a local women invited us into her home for some traditional foods. Round #1 was yak butter tea. Its like miso soup, but called tea and in a cup. Not my cup of tea ;) Round #2 was 3 plates of small, whole boiled potatoes and “pickle.” You peel the potato and dip it into the hot sauce, or pickle. It was very good, but wow, it was hot!! Round #3 was an entire mug full of Roxie (roski). Its their homemade alcohol, their version of moonshine. Pretty strong. Truly, it was a great experience. By 4 p.m., we were back at our tea house freezing. Tomorrow we start hiking back!! But for now, were in this tea house for one more night. Tonight we aren’t the only ones here. We ate dinner with lighting and then went to bed.
Day 16: Fifth day of the trek: 6:30 a.m. wake up, 7 a.m. breakfast, and a full day hike to Phakding. We hiked until about 10:30, stopped for lunch (ramen) and then hiked more. Once we got to Phakding, we put our stuff in our room ( 2 small beds, a bathroom and a shower) and walked into “town.” We found a reggae bar. It was playing American music, had a pool table, hookahs, Bob Marley on the wall, and soccer on the TV. I tried some of the local apple roski, a whole mug of it. We laughed and had fun. We went back for dinner of Mo Mo’s, mac and cheese, and spring rolls, and were in bed by 7 p.m.
Day 17: Sixth day of the trek: 8 a.m. wake up call. Last day of hiking! Don’t get me wrong, I love hiking and seeing the beauty all around me. But waking up and hiking all day to wake up and do it all over again and again gets exhausting. Today we had a simple 4-5 hour hike back to Lukla. I passed out pencils to children along the way. So much fun. I believe the children along this trail expect travelers to give them candy or who knows, so when I handed them a pencil they weren’t really excited. Well candy is always better than a pencil! But still, they were happy to have gotten something. We stopped for lunch midway. More noodles, carbs, chow mein, and roxie. Then more hiking! We finally got back to Lukla and checked in. One room, 2 beds, toilet shared with the entire floor. And now we obviously had nothing to do. So all of us went to the local Starbucks. On the way there, a yak kicked me in my leg. The whole hike, no issues. We get finished, and I get kicked. I took some ibuprofen and sat at a coffee shop. They had Wi-Fi and we could charge our devices. These are also those opportune times that you meet people. It’s a small world and the lady who runs the coffee shop has a son who went to college in Colorado and runs a restaurant in Golden, Colorado. Crazy! We left Starbucks to go have a goodbye dinner with our guide and porter. Dinner was a Swiss rosti, an entire picture of roxie, pocara, and apple fritters.
Day 18: We had a very early wake up call. Followed by a very scary flight back to Kathmandu. Once we landed, we were taken to get our luggage from the guest house to take it to the Radisson, where we would be staying for the remainder of the trip. We got in early. Once we could get into our room, I took a shower!!!! And then I took a nap J
We had running water and heat and blankets and toilets! I was happy to be back. At 6 p.m., we met up for dinner at a rooftop bar with live music. The band was playing Tool and Coldplay and The Doors and all kinds of music. So it was very interesting. Everyone wanted to go out and about, and I did not. I went back to the room and went to bed
Day 19: Late wake up at the fancy hotel. We walked to Thamel for breakfast and to shop before it got too crazy. Breakfast was the best I have had. Some eggs benedict type deal, so good. I got a couple things I needed during shopping. By noon, I was back in the hotel relaxing. I packed and was ready to leave right then and there. That evening we went to dinner with people we met up on the trek. Then we went back to the rooftop bar and spent our last evening singing karaoke.
Day 20, 21, and 22... I spent 2 days in airports coming home. It was just as exciting as flying here. I made it home safely and was very happy to be home.
What I gathered on this journey: So many things are given to us, and we expect that. Maybe we should be happy with what we have and not expect too much. Coming home and turning on a light switch is amazing! Turning a knob and having water come out, let alone HOT water, is NOT something everyone has. Running water is a very good thing. I witnessed women my mothers age carrying jugs of water up mountainsides to use to wash their children, do laundry, and make dinner with. I want to be happy with what is. Be happy with the simple, with the easy. Most of the stresses in life, we bring on ourselves. I don’t want that. I just want to help, to be kind, to be healthy, and to be happy. Simple.