Shanghaied to Kathmandu

Tips for traveling to Nepal:

1) If you have a deep desire to spend 3 hours in Shanghai’s immigration “box,” by all means save money and get tickets through China Eastern airlines. Our outgoing flight was canceled the month before, we weren’t notified, so we were placed in time out and monitored by police until they rescheduled us. Yes, the thought of going to jail in China was, to Kendra, a very real fear, but while she was crying about it, Derek fell asleep and was so pale that the officers were looking at him like he might have Asian Bird Flu (yes, they were checking forehead temps of people passing by). Three of our four flights through them were rescheduled.

2) If, after the box incident, you spend another 3 hours trying to figure out where your bags went, how to get a shuttle and a hotel, then that wait is appropriate. No one telling you what is happening? Being straight ignored when asking about anything? Totally normal. Stupid Americans, wanting to know where in China they’re being shuttled to…why can’t they just follow simple point and grunt directions? We were loaded onto an incredibly packed van (yes, that’s how I know I’m in Asia if I’m ever not sure: Is someone on my lap? Yes. Is it a baby that I took willingly? No = In Asia) and sent to a free hotel and handed a baggie of very “unique” looking foods (including Chinese Ramen, which we called our Victory Ramen, and committed to eating it only if we made it out of China). The free breakfast was nice, but having China Eastern eff up once again and this time cancel the flight they JUST re-booked 8 hours before to put us on an earlier flight kind of ruined the digestive process. Bonus – they sent an airline rep to rush us through immigration (no box!) and security, only to find it was delayed (their own airline, and they didn’t know about the delay = professionals).

3) If you have to be stuck in one international airport for five hours, the Hong Kong airport is the place to get stuck.

4) Sit next to an elderly Nepali woman and try to interpret her stories while being repeatedly touched. Give her your number when she asks for it because it’s not like your phone will work for the next month anyway. Watch a dozen B-rated movies that you’d never waste your time on if you weren’t stuck in a seat for the 40^th hour in a row with an inch and a half of wiggle room (*cough - Hot Pursuit and San Andreas).

5) Finally make it out in the Kathmandu airport and go through the metal detector which sounds off constantly without anyone being stopped (the point?). Wait an hour and wonder whether China Eastern actually put your bags on the right flight. Try to change cash at a window marked “Cash Window” and get laughed at because, clearly, they don’t change cash. Finally change cash, ask for a receipt, get told no, point to the plaque above his head that says you have a right to a receipt, still have him say no. Give up.

6) Order a cab ahead of time – avoiding the headache that is caused by those offering taxis when you arrive is worth the premium. Who wants to think about fair taxi prices after you’ve traveled for three days?! Two days? I’m not sure – we skipped a day somewhere.

7) Crash in your bed and wake up four hours later to cat fights, dog barking, spitting, radios, and construction. Ok, so Nepal wakes up with the sun at 5, does it? Makes sense, given the power outages, that maybe alarms aren't reliable. Great. Derek, is your complete lack of sleep going to affect your ability to doctor people in 3 hours? Par for the course – this is actually more sleep than he got in the states!