first days in Kathmandu

so here i am now in kathmandu! the real kathmandu, not the store kathmandu which sells all the camping and trekking equipment..

im here for the first part of my medical elective and the funny thing is i havent even started anything medical yet..the whole experience so far has been from the perspective of a tourist..

we got here on saturday and the airport itself was packed filled with people, many of them who approached us asking us to stay at their hotel or join their tour or watever..it was all kinda new for me..but the surprising thing was it was hot! i was expecting kathmandu to be slightly chilly but we got there in the aftn and it was boiling with burning sun..we were greeted by 2 men who were in charge of taking us to the guest house which would be our accommodation for the next 4 weeks..there were 4 of us girls and the 2 men and somehow we managed to fit into this little white hatchback, including each of our 20kg+ luggages plus handcarry luggage..4 of us girls squeezed in the back with a backpack over our laps..it was all very funny at the time..

the streets here are chaotic..there are no road rules and no traffic lights..everyone is beeping and horning..but apparently it's to let ppl kno u're coming..not meant to be offensive..it's also very dirty and dusty..very much polluted..to the point where im starting to get a smoker's cough from all the dust..i reckon my lungs may be very tar stained after 4 weeks..sigh..

the place where we are staying is amazing..the rooms are decent and clean and even has an ensuite bathroom..amazing! beds are hard but tolerable..getting used to it eventually..the thing dats been the hardest to get used to are the power cuts..power is only on for abt 8 hours a day..which means we can only have hot showers during these hours and use the internet for only those hours..the power cuts also mean there arent any fridges..altho we did see a man carrying a fridge on the street (?!?)..but anyways we've been really careful abt wat we eat..so far no diarrhoea but i think we are all anticipating it..haha..we've all turned kinda vegetarian tho..and even tho we only eat veg, the food has been really good! i havent had any cravings for any food back home yet..my fav food so far has to be momos, which are like dumplings..very similar to chinese dumplings..

so the first few days has been spent with morning language and cultural classes plus sightseeing in the afternoons..been to lots of temples and the temple buildings have been very beautiful..also been exploring a bit..shopping ard..practising my bargaining skills which are very rusty but they werent dat good in the first place..haha..but things here are pretty cheap anyways..hehe..so orientation again tmr and we finally start our medical elective on thu..at kanti children's hospital..so dat should be another new experience..will write more as i go along..but im def keeping a handwritten journal just cos cant use the internet for too long..internet is also pretty slow so may not be able to upload pics till i leave kathmandu..

but so far so good! enjoying myself and eating lots!