But the planes from Pokhara to Kathmandu weren't flying, grounded by heavy rain and low cloud cover, making it dangerous to fly over the mountains. So onto plan B; I hired a driver. I could have taken a tourist bus for less money, but I opted for the more comfortable, faster car.
But it makes no difference what kind of vehicle you're in when the one narrow road to Kathmandu is blocked by a landslide. Things had been going along smoothly and surprisingly quick until everything suddenly came to a stop.
My driver, who spoke little English, and I and hundreds—maybe thousands—of our closest friends sat, stood, paced, and sweated on the road for hours. (Stupid me, Miss Preparedness, neglected to bring any food, but thankfully I'd remembered bottled water.) We finally moved. A few feet. And then we sat, stood, paced, and sweated for more long hours. At one point, mud started to slide not far behind where our car was stuck in the long line of vehicles, but luckily that slide didn't turn into anything major.
I started to wonder if we might spend the night, even days, stranded on that road. But just when I thought I might lose my marbles in the midst of all those laid-back Nepalis who didn't seem to care about our predicament, things began to move. We crept along for a couple of hours until we passed the major slide, the road still covered with a foot of mud, and then picked up speed, passing trucks and buses on sharp curves just in the nick of time, time and time again.
About 12 hours after I'd left Pokhara, I made it back to Kathmandu in one piece and famished. After dumping my stuff at the hotel at Boudha Stupa, I made a beeline for Saturday's Cafe. It felt good to be on my own—anonymous—for a change. I was ready for some quiet time in the crazy city, just me, myself, and I, and a lot of people-watching as I began to process all that happened in the past two and a half months.
Nepal is a fascinating place filled with fascinating people and cultures, and I've had an amazing experience, but I'm more than ready to be home with friends and my own search and rescue teammates. It will take a while to organize all of my notes, recorded interviews, thoughts, and experiences and begin to write what turned out to be much more of story than I'd anticipated when I first left on this trip.
