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Walkabout Nepal

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    • Coos Bay to Tansen
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      • Day 8
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    • Pokhara / ABC Trek #1
      • Day 15
      • Day 16
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      • Day 17, Trek-1
      • Day 18, Trek-2
      • Poon Hill, Trek-3
      • Day 19, Trek-3
    • ABC trek #2 / Pokhara
      • Day 20, Trek-4
      • Day 21, Trek-5
      • Day 22, Trek-6
      • Day 23, Trek-7
      • Day 24, Trek-8
      • Day 25, Trek-9
      • Day 26
    • Kathmandu and 7.8 Earthquake
      • Day 27
      • Day 28 – Quake!
      • Day 29
    • Return Trip
      • Day 30
      • Day 31
      • Day 32
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Apr 29 2016

Day 32

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The McCullough Bridge is a welcomed sight.
The McCullough Bridge is a welcomed sight.

The Maucks treated me to another wonderful homemade breakfast, we visited a while longer and after thanking them for all their wonderful service and hospitality I loaded my gear in the car and drove out for Coos Bay, Oregon.

At 4:15 pm I reached what is a welcoming landmark for all true people of Oregon’s bay area, the McCullough Bridge.

Reunited with Eileen after 31 days!
Reunited with Eileen after 31 days!

And at 4:30 pm …I was home! I hugged Eileen, dropped my stuff in a pile, pulled off my shoes, and sat down.

God is good, and I’m thankful for many things.

(I will be posting an Epilogue page with some final thoughts.)

Peace, ya’ll!

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Written by Pete Schaefers · Categorized: Return Trip

Apr 28 2016

Day 31

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The airport shuttle in Guangzhou.
The airport shuttle in Guangzhou.

Touching down at a little after 2:00 am local time in Guangzhou, China, we disembarked and loaded on to a shuttle bus to the terminal. From there we went through customs, were lead to where our baggage was held (in case we needed something out of it), and then were taken by bus to a hotel for the the night. This is an advantage of a layover longer than eight hours, ours was twelve – personal service and a free hotel stay.

Going through customs.
Going through customs.
Checking into the hotel at 4:00 am.
Checking into the hotel at 4:00 am.

The bus ride to the hotel was longer than we expected, about half an hour. We actually wondered if the driver was lost at one point, but I’m sure he wasn’t, we just assumed the hotel would be close by. At 4:00 am we checked into the hotel, and I was amazed at the size of everything – large! The country that had provided me with such tiny size-L thermal bottoms sure had a contrast to that when it came to construction!

The view from my 23 floor hotel suite.
The view from my 23 floor hotel suite.

We were told to meet the bus at 11:00 am and that breakfast was provided in the morning. I was noticing the room numbers being assigned to people ahead of me, and they were fairly low floors (ninth, etc.) so I was surprised when I was assigned to the 23rd floor!

When I got up to my room, I decided “room” wasn’t the word for it, “suite” was more fitting! It was actually five rooms, including two bathrooms. It was huge! Everything in it was electronically controlled. The culture shock between there and Nepal was immense, way beyond flush toilets, in fact it would have been a culture shock between there and my home in the US! I took a quick shower and crawled into my gigantic bed with the alarm set for 10:00 am.

When I got up in the morning I caught up on email with Adam and Nora, both of whom had been wondering where in the world I was for a couple days! (Interesting note: China blocks Facebook, so no posts happened there.) Next I explored the balcony (required removing one bolt, he he) and took a quick documentary video of the suite before hurrying down to breakfast. Even rushing it, it took over two minutes to show everything…

A tour of my suite on the 23rd floor.

Getting down to the lobby for breakfast I discovered it to be three stories high, with huge marble pillars. Breakfast was on the second level, where I was seated and given a menu. I expected a little better English capability at a hotel used by the airline, but we muddled through, and I ordered dumplings and water – so she brought me tea (that’s water, right?). I was surprised that smoking was allowed, fortunately it wasn’t that close to me. The people eating there were all very well dressed and I felt pretty out-classed.

The hotel lobby from the second level.
The hotel lobby from the second level.

None of the others I had been traveling with were there, so I was concerned about the time, but the dumplings finally arrived and I quickly ate them. The next thing to arrive was the check. Check?! Uh-oh… I tried to explain that I was to be comped by the airline but that didn’t work. I wasn’t about to hand them my US credit card, which hadn’t been working internationally anyway, so I pulled out a US $20 bill and hoped that would cover the fancy dining. But they couldn’t make change there and I was escorted down to the front desk. Apparently there was a complimentary breakfast buffet in another area, the rest of my had eaten there, but I never saw that and ended up in the main dining area. Oops! How was I to know that…? So I handed the front desk the $20 and hoped it was enough. They didn’t have enough US currency to make change and handed me Chinese juan and some coin. I had no idea how I had come out on the deal, but I took it and got on the bus to go back to the airport. Later, in the airport, I had someone at a shop convert my Chinese change and, to my surprise, the breakfast had been only $4.00!

On the bus ride back to the airport.

On the way back to the airport.
On the way back to the airport.
The airport terminal at Guangzhou.
The airport terminal at Guangzhou.
The PNW-5.
The PNW-5.

Once inside the airport I again realized the Chinese affinity for largeness. I joined up with four others who were also heading to the Pacific Northwest, a single guy from Seattle, a woman from Nepal who lived in Alberta, Canada with her husband and children, and a couple from (I believe) the Seattle area also who had been trekking in Nepal. I dubbed us “The PNW-5.”

Getting checked in.
Getting checked in.

We went through the process of finding our gate, getting boarding passes and dealing with red tape since we were off schedule. Some were getting upset and a little freaked (earthquake trauma?) because things were messed up, but I knew it would be ok. The Nepali style “make it work” attitude kicked in and before long we were boarded and ready for our twelve hour flight to Vancouver, Canada.

On the tarmac in Guangzhou, ready to depart for Canada.
On the tarmac in Guangzhou, ready to depart for Canada.

4-28i Once I sat down on the plane I didn’t get up again for the next twelve hours! I don’t know why, but through two full meals, and all of that time, I never once had the desire to get up, or even go to the bathroom. The later was a huge blessing from God because I still had an intestinal bug of some sort, but it took a 48 hour vacation while I was traveling!

4-28jThe flight over was very turbulent! The captain kept climbing higher and higher in an attempt to get above it, but to no avail. It was kind of fun though, watching the entire fuselage of the plane flex as we bounced along. From my seat near the rear I had a very good perspective on that. I also enjoyed the view of the clouds below us.

Flying over the Pacific.

Landing in Vancouver, Canada.
Landing in Vancouver, Canada.

We arrived in Canada at about 10:15 am local time, which was really strange since we had left China at 2:00 pm the same day! Even stranger was that (again) at 2:00 pm the same day I would be leaving Canada for Portland, Oregon. Gotta love the time zones!

Dealing with Air Canada was a pleasure because they sorted out the ticketing and luggage mess that China Southern had created. They said “that always happens with them” and they kindly got me and my baggage back on course, without any additional charges.

 

On the plane for Portland.
On the plane for Portland.

Once aboard the small turboprop for Portland the length of the trip began to really hit me. It felt like the end of a marathon (though I have never run one) where you are exhausted but know you are so close you will definitely make it. I bobbed in and out of sleep the whole hour plus flight.

Landing in Portland, Oregon.
Landing in Portland, Oregon.

At 3:16 pm, my own home time, the wheels hit the tarmac in Portland, Oregon!

Arriving in Portland on a typical PNW gray day.
Arriving in Portland on a typical PNW gray day.
Back in Portland!
Back in Portland!

After collecting my baggage, and taking the “carpet pic,” I called Eileen, the Maucks (my ride and where I was staying for the night), and posted my arrival to Facebook.  Once at the Mauck’s house they fed me an amazing meal (thanks Bonnie!) and then we talked… or I should say, I talked! The excitement of the month, coupled with very little conversation over the past two days, caused me to spill until about 1:00 am!

So, from 4:00 pm Nepal time on the 26th until 3:15 pm on the 28th, with the time zone corrections, I had been traveling for exactly 60 hours!

…and I went to sleep.

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Written by Pete Schaefers · Categorized: Return Trip

Apr 27 2016

Day 30

Monday, April 27, 2015

I spent my last night in Nepal here... and I miss it in a way.
I spent my last night in Nepal here… and I miss it in a way.

I woke up at 5:00 am after very little actual sleep, cold and aching from the hard floor and drafty hallway. I gathered up my stuff and wandered around. At the security check-in area people were sleeping on folding tables, so I joined them on one of the tables for a short nap. Getting up again I wondered if my flight would be in that morning, I thought about food (all I had eaten since lunch the day before was some trail mix), and I wandered around some more.

I saw Peter and his wife, whom we had trekked with (I thought I had caught a glimpse of them the night before), but we didn’t talk nor did our eyes even meet. He was on a  mission to catch up with an official, and I was feeling antisocial. What a small world we live in! I didn’t see him again, but we exchanged emails with pictures a month or so later.

"Hotel KTM," people wandering, trash building up quickly...
“Hotel KTM,” people wandering, trash building up quickly…

I stopped by the terminal snack-bar. There was really nothing there beyond odd Asian/Indian packages of junk food, and bottled water. The cooked food had sold out the night before. Bottled water was brought in some time in the morning but nothing else. There were also waters stations brought in to the waiting areas.

Something that I again noticed with pleasure was that Nepalis didn’t price gouge. Bottled water remained 50NR throughout my time there, even when it was in short supply, and food was the same as it was in the “outside world.” Contrasting this, a liter of bottled water in the Vancouver airport was $5.00! Shame on us…

I staked out a claim on a chair in the waiting area for my gate. The FIDS (flight information display) didn’t show my flight, and soon we heard that the flight was delayed until around 11:00 am. As people continued to wake up, and more were let in from outside, the room quickly filled. It was possible to determine who was waiting for the same flight or airline by the messages to which they paid attention. I formed an alliance with a European couple near me which allowed us to check on flight information and visit the bathrooms without losing our seats. (It’s the little things…) As the hours slowly ticked by it became evident that nothing was happening for me at 11:00 am. The truth turned out to be that my flight had been diverted the night before because the flight crew was required to get sleep before they could continue in service. (I was ok with that!) They had been diverted to a neighboring country (I don’t recall which) for a layover and we were told to expect them mid/late afternoon.

The packed waiting area where I spent my last 12 hours before flying out.
The packed waiting area where I spent my last 12 hours before flying out.

While sitting there the main entertainment, besides people watching (and there was plenty of that), was scrutinizing the FIDS board. Flights would pop on, move down, disappear again, and reappear later. There was a pattern to the chaos of it, sort of… Announcements were made through a crude PA system that consisted if a microphone on a table in the hallway. Anyone could have grabbed it and said whatever they wanted. (Yes, I considered it. ha!) The benefit to us was that we could see who was talking, and they were the airline employees, so we knew who to corner and ask questions of when the announcement was about a flight or airline we cared about.

An airliner on the runway.
An airliner on the runway.

When each flight actually was on the tarmac passengers for that flight would be called to the gate via the PA. If anyone was missing from the flight manifest they would be paged by name. We then would play game called “Pick Out the Straggler” as we looked for someone pushing their way through the crowd. There would usually be one or two last calls for that person. At one point after a third “last and final call” had been made for a woman, we finally saw her being escorted rather abruptly by airline personnel through the crowed room. I realized that the entire flight (and each one after it) was being delayed, in this case for over half an hour while they searched for her throughout the terminal. To me this seemed highly inefficient – better to leave one and re-book them than to create a greater backlog. But I wasn’t consulted on that one.

One of many aid flights entering Nepal that afternoon.
One of many aid flights entering Nepal that afternoon.

Meanwhile there were 10-12 flights circling above waiting to land. The KTM airport only has enough room for 10 (I think) jetliners at a time, so it gets crowded, and with the disaster relief flights starting to show up, passenger flights had to take turns.

In early afternoon everything came to a complete stop… not flights boarding, the FIDS board stopped updating, and we all just sat waiting. After about an hour a flight was updated on the FIDS board and the entire room erupted in applause! It’s funny how fixated we had all become on that display, so much that there was a spontaneous reaction when it moved again.

A Chinese military jet.
A Chinese military jet.

The reason for that long delay was political and diplomatic. There were international heads of state arriving and being welcomed by Nepali heads of state. India, China, in particular where some that I saw. When the Chinese military jet arrived, it pulled up directly in front of us. The jet engines were very loud, and they were close, maybe a bit too close.

Chinese and Nepali diplomats.
Chinese and Nepali diplomats.

The Nepali military was there, armed and in jeeps, escorting vehicles off of the tarmac. Watching this unfold gave us all something to do, and a reason to move about.

Meanwhile the time ticked on, the trash piled up everywhere, and people were getting tired and hungry. When I say trash piled up, I mean literal piles of paper and plastic or foil wrappers, mainly from food and drinks. They were still out of food, but were vending drinks like there was no tomorrow. Everything just ended up on the ground and trash cans were overflowing. The bathrooms were beyond what I will describe here! It also was hot, and stinky might I add? Eventually a team of didis came in with large trash bags and hand brooms made from straw, and they began sweeping (more like raking) the piles across the room, around the people in chairs and on the floor. When the pile became too large to move they would bag it and move on. They were our heroes at that point and I was happy to move for them and help a little. One woman in particular caught me attention because as the sun was dropping lower in the sky she had moved out onto the tarmac and was sweeping the dust up off of it with her straw broom. It had the appearance of an exercise in futility and a sacrifice of love all at the same time. I wish I had taken a picture of that.

At about 5:00 pm something wonderful happened… fresh food was delivered to the snack-bar! Was there a stampede, elbowing and pushing (beyond the Asian standard), price gouging? Nope, not at all. Those poor workers though! The three of them were so maxed out as they sold food to us. I bought some chicken mo mos! I was so thankful for that and it refreshed me because the trail food had run out hours ago, and it was my first real meal in about 30 hours!

People waiting...
People waiting…

As I sat there eating I became aware of an older Chinese couple behind me. The husband was leaning on the back of my chair at times and it was annoying when his hand touched my shoulders but I didn’t let it bother me because I felt compassion for them. The seat opened up next to me and his wife took it. When I finished eating I offered him my seat, which he declined at first, but once I insisted and put him in charge of the bag under my seat he accepted. I was fed, free (sort of), and thankful for the stretch.

As evening approached there continued to be confusion and frustration with flight schedules. I was amazed that no angry incidents had taken place so far. The closest we came was when a man confronted an Arab airline employee about something, exactly what I couldn’t tell. Suddenly several others stood up and joined in the argument. This was directly in front of me and before long the employee was surrounded by 20 or so men, none of whom seemed too pleased. About the point when I was deciding what to do next one man waded into the group, waving his arms in a “calm down” manner, and speaking loudly. He continued for a couple minutes and slowly the group dispersed, and the airline employee looked relieved. That was it! Pretty amazing for the degree of angst and duration of time we were all there that it stayed as calm as it did. I should point out that we were all basically prisoners of the airport, not allowed to leave security for any reason, not having a plane to get on, no sleep and not much food. It was hot, loud, stinky, and a crowd comprised of people from all over the world with many different cultural norms. On top of that we had all been through an earthquake, some people were bandaged and hurting, and the aftershocks continued to remind us about that.

In all I would be there inside the airport for about 28 hours. It was awful. It was wonderful.

Our group moving out onto the tarmac.
Our group moving out onto the tarmac.

Finally my long awaited flight number reappeared on the FIDS board! I cautiously put some faith in that. Many “phantom flights” on China Southern had done the same thing throughout the day. But by 6:00 pm it appeared that this one was indeed my flight, that it was indeed on the tarmac, and that I would be boarding said plane.

Sitting next to the Chinese military jet, awaiting clearance to take off.
Sitting next to the Chinese military jet, awaiting clearance to take off.

Once on the plane we sat for a very long time on the runway, waiting for clearance to take off, I assumed. Eventually we taxed past the Chinese military jet and took off!

Kathmandu at night.
Kathmandu at night.

At 7:56 pm I looked out my window at the now dark city below and took one last picture of the lights of Kathmandu.

About four hours later I was in Guangzhou, China, where I had a 12 hour layover due to the rearranged flight schedule.

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Written by Pete Schaefers · Categorized: Return Trip

Apr 26 2016

Day 29

Sunday, April 26, 2015

4:15 am as we try to sleep amid aftershocks.
4:15 am as we try to sleep amid aftershocks.

The first night after the earthquake was long and sleep wasn’t easy to get. I remember one particularly alarming aftershock in the early hours of the morning that felt like a bomb going off. If you have ever lived near a train yard, you know the sound of trains being assembled and the reverberating sound when they connect one section of train cars into another by ramming them together. That’s what this was like, a sudden lurch, a sound like a bomb, and then silence as the sound echoed throughout the city of Kathmandu. Once again I had that sensation and realization that as far as I could imagine, the whole earth had jumped sideways! When it happened, all of the Nepalis jumped up and began talking loudly, in half panic. I remember someone speaking up above the noise, telling them to be calm, and they slowly settled back down again.

She was not ready to live indoors just yet.
She was not ready to live indoors just yet.

It seemed to me that daylight would never come again, and I couldn’t wait for that. I was tired, but laying around trying to sleep was driving me crazy. I was thankful when it finally did start to become light, and I was up and ready to go back to the guesthouse by 6:00 am. The aftershocks were slowly getting further apart, and decreasing in magnitude. That was a hopeful indication that the fault line was stabilizing again, though we had no real assurance of that at the time. Back at the guesthouse we went about assessing damage and collecting ourselves. I remember one younger worker simply wasn’t going to move back in, and moved a couple chairs outside to sleep on. The picture shows a smiling face, but she was serious. Throughout this ordeal one of the things that struck me about these Nepali Christians was how they could smile in even the worst of times.

Newspaper headlines about the quake.Later when I compared the amount of lateral movement during the quake (3-4 meters) to the number of years the fault had been locked, multiplied by the distance the plates are moving per year, I estimated they were about the same distance. To me this indicated that the potential energy had been released – we should have no more large earthquakes here for a while. Precisely 80 years to be exact, in Nepal. This fault is the most regular and predicable on the planet! It erupts about every 80 years. In the coming weeks geologists would study the fault line and determine that only one section of it had released, which is a good news/bad news report. The good news is that if it had all gone at once it could have been a magnitude or two higher; the bad news is that western Nepal is still due for a similarly large earthquake.

Newspaper article about the quake.Whenever the internet was up we would collect what information we could find on the earthquake and relief efforts. Someone bought a paper and we got some information from that. Eventually we heard a jet land at the airport, which gave me some hope that my flight at 11:15 pm might be able to make it in and back out. But as far as getting any real indication from someone… that wasn’t going to happen. Phones were working, but no one was answering in most cases. The US embassy wasn’t much help, nor was the airport itself. I was able to check in with Nora a little via internet but that was spotty. I knew her group was safe in Pokhara though. The bigger Concern was about aid flights getting in to Nepal. If KTM was shut down that would be a real problem because it’s the only international airport. It had been shut down for four days in March of 2015 when a Turkish jet ran off the runway and it took international support from India to get the airport reopened.

Newspaper before pictures. Newspaper after pictures.

Reports began coming in about various buildings and shrines that had collapsed, mostly old ones. We saw pictures in the paper of some of them. I decided to walkabout and see what things were like near us. I saw many buildings that were partially destroyed, people living in the streets and some in buildings, but every time there was another aftershock they would jump up and move to the center of the road again. I found an open grocery mart and went inside. I came out with a 2-for-1 special on ice cream bars, and ate them both! Comfort food…?

People were gathered in open fields and tents.

In less than 24 hours people had begun to clean debris from streets.
In less than 24 hours people had begun to clean debris from streets.
The entire front of this building failed.
The entire front of this building failed.
Apparently this was a fire station.
Apparently this was a fire station.
That's a firetruck in the rubble.
That’s a firetruck in the rubble.

At one point there was a large group in the middle of the street around an older woman who appeared to be unconscious. They didn’t look like they knew what they were doing so I circled around trying assess what was going – whether she was hurt or had merely fainted. In a moment an ambulance showed up, which amounted to a minivan with stickers on it, and two men grabbed her by the legs and shoulders and literally tossed her into the van! The ambulance then sped away. It would have been comedic under other circumstances.

A little further along another aftershock hit, and a building near me partially collapsed. I had my phone in hand and flipped on the video. Even though the shaking has just stopped, you can see things swinging. Everything moving in the clip below (trees, wires, birds) is because of the aftershock, there was no wind blowing. It gives you some idea of the amount of movement even an aftershock caused.

A moderate afteshock the day after.

I saw this on a wall between two closed shops... Pray for Nepal!
I saw this on a wall between two closed shops… Pray for Nepal!
The road to the airport.
The road to the airport.

By mid afternoon we had heard many planes land and take off, so I decided to go to the airport at 4:30 pm and wait there for my 11:15 pm flight. I had my doubts because we had heard that one of the problems was that with each aftershock the employees would run outside and refuse to come back inside. I said my good-byes, not knowing if I would be back later or get a flight out, walked my baggage a few blocks to Jawalakhel Chowk and flagged a taxi.

People lining the roads.
People lining the roads.

Everywhere we drove I saw people milling about in the streets. When we neared the airport, about a mile or less from it, I saw a line… hundreds, maybe two thousand people, literally lined up to get into the airport. They were wanting out of the country. At first I thought I was sunk, but I got dropped of inside the parking lot and went to the entrance where I saw military personnel on guard. They were checking to see if people had already purchased tickets, and if they had then they were allowed to go inside to the airline counters. Fortunately I had my ticket information with me and was allowed inside.

Everywhere you looked there were people just standing around.
Everywhere you looked there were people just standing around.

Once inside I joined several hundred others, all of us looking to check in at our airline. I couldn’t even find a China Southern counter. Everything seemed at a standstill. I resolved to wait and see what would happen, so I found a corner to hole up in, near what I thought would be a structurally sound area of the building that still offered an escape route. Some us us took turns watching each others baggage while we went out to look for our airline counters, use the bathroom, etc. Every so often I felt the ground shake. Eventually I noticed a tiny white piece of paper with my flight number on it (the display boards were mostly off all day). I hurried back to get my baggage, approached that counter. I was second in line, though most lines were very long! I checked my (overweight) bag, and got my boarding pass. I thought I had it made as I passed through the next military checkpoint at the foot of the stairway to the waiting area outside of security. They were only allowing people with boarding passed past that point.

Inside the airport, at the ticket counters.
Inside the airport, at the ticket counters.

Once in the waiting area I wanted to find internet so I could let people know of my progress but everything was closed. So I found a metal bench, interlaced my bags into my arms, and took a nap. It was still several hours before my flight and the room was almost empty, and was quiet – no crowds, like I had been fighting for the past hours! A couple hours later I woke up to a room full of (noisy) people! The waiting area had filled up, and about an hour before my flight a man called everyone on my flight to quickly line up at security. I joined the line and thought to myself that it was going much better than I had expected, and I was looking forward to going inside security where things would be better still. Not…

I went through security and rounded the corner to a long hallway that lead to the gates. Shock hit me when I saw an immense crowd of what I estimated at about 1000 people! It turned out that while they were pushing people through, very few flights were going our. Most places were wall-to-wall, all seats were occupied, even the open floor was crowded with people, sitting or laying on blankets and such. We had to force our way through just to get from gate to gate. I looked for my gate, but it wasn’t clear where it was because the gate numbers were all messed up. There was more than one Gate 1, etc…. I made several trips back and fourth, surveying the situation and finally decided I had found the right gate/area in the terminal. And I waited…

Travelers loading on to a shuttle bus to their flight.
Travelers loading on to a shuttle bus to their flight.

As 11:15 pm approached I began asking about the flight and received conflicting responses. I was told it was there, it was not there, it was coming – no one knew, it became obvious. At this point I was actually out on the tarmac with many others, all looking for our flights. Shuttle buses would come and go, and it was really hard to know if it was the right one until you got right to the door and an airline official would look at your ticket (and then send you away).

Waiting out on the tarmac.
Waiting out on the tarmac.

This went one for a couple hours, way past my flight’s scheduled time. At one point i got a little panicked myself and got in the face of an airport official, and made him understand what flight I was looking for. His response was to calmly pat the brick wall next to him, as if to say “just settle yourself down here and wait, it will be here.” At that point I changed my thinking, from one of an entitled traveler to one of a large group, all doing the best we could to make it work. So I sat…

About an hour later we were told our flight was not coming until about 8:00 am the next day. Well, at least I had some sort of answer. I went inside, found my very own piece of cardboard and laid down, joining many others on the cold, hard marble floor of the hallway coming in from security. At this point I had been there only nine hours. Surely tomorrow would be smoother.

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Written by Pete Schaefers · Categorized: Kathmandu and 7.8 Earthquake

Apr 25 2016

Day 28 – Quake!

Saturday April 25, 2015

[This was a hard post to write…]

Patan Church.
Patan Church.

This day started out normally for me, though I was a bit sick with an intestinal bug that seemed to be going around. (I don’t think it was just me finally reacting to Nepal because a lot of people were feeling something also.) I went to a church that got out at about 10:00 am. I was there by myself, and the service was nearly 100% in Nepali, so I got very little of the message, but was able to make out enough (a few) Nepali words, and scriptural names, to figure out that it was about Abraham and having faith.

The entrance/exit of Patan Church.
The entrance/exit of Patan Church.

Just sitting on the dirty rug in a room full of people who I know to be believers in Jesus was still a great joy. When it was over we flooded out of the two story building (they had closed circuit TV between the floors) into a courtyard which very quickly was crowded with people, probably more than 200 – shoulder to shoulder. The entrance was via a 100 foot long alleyway with walls on both sides, like a cattle chute, and we slowly moved in that direction. In this culture (and other Asian cultures) you learn to “push” your way through, because if you don’t you get nowhere and everyone pushes around you. On the way out I passed the pastor who was speaking that day, shook his hand, and greeted him.

The festival was in full swing as I returned from church.
The festival was in full swing as I returned from church.

I finally made it out to open space, and started walking back to the guesthouse. The festival was still going strong and the streets were filled with people. When I got back to Goshen House I think I made myself some lunch, but I don’t remember for sure. My plan was to go out shopping in the afternoon in preparation my departure the next evening. No one else was around, the YWAM group was out in town, and the Australian missionaries I met on the way into Nepal were still at church. I was on my iPhone, Facebook messaging with Eileen. It was about straight up noon.

I was in the common living room when I heard what I thought was a jet flying over (we were on the flight path for the KTM airport, the only international airport in Nepal). The “jet” got louder and the walls started to shake a little. In the next one to two seconds my mind went through the following progression: that jet is really low. Is it going to crash? Maybe it’s not a jet, but an earthquake. It can’t be an earthquake. It’s an earthquake! It can’t be “the big one.” Yes, it’s a major quake!

Immediately after the shacking of the quake had stopped.
Immediately after the shacking of the quake had stopped.

At that moment one of the house workers came in the room. Everything was shaking violently at that point and we had to yell to be heard above the noise of the shaking. We were near the front door and I decided that being out in the open was best, and we both shot out the front door. I paused before moving out from under the porch to make sure nothing was falling, then darted into the front courtyard, which was about 15-20 feet wide and bordered by an eight foot brick wall and the guesthouse. There we were joined by two to three other workers from the guesthouse. One man (in blue in the picture) ran back in and came out with family members. Their living quarters were on the third floor! There was a lot of yelling and chaos. All together there were seven of us there – or so we thought.

Many walls collapsed.
Many walls collapsed.

The shaking continued “forever,” about one and a half minutes, and as it continued you could feel waves in the ground in addition to the shaking. It felt like standing on a dock when there are waves, and it made me feel seasick. I stood there, braced to keep my balance, constantly swiveling my head, watching for anything that might be falling – the building, power poles, wires, brick walls, anything nearby. Nothing near us collapsed! There is a form of prayer that takes place at a time like this that doesn’t require words, at least for me, where you just know God’s presence and have the knowledge that you will live through this. The idea of people screaming in terror to God at a time like this seems wholly unfitting to me… Slowly the shaking subsided but the waves kept coming. As the sound quieted you could hear the echos reverberating throughout the city. Birds were freaking out as they flew through the air, but otherwise there was an eerie silence.

A destroyed storefront.
A destroyed storefront.

We all just stood there and looked at each other for a moment, then some started nervously laughing, another got on his cell, and I took a picture… Yes, I had my phone with me, and not one frame of video was taken. (I get a pass on that, I know, but still…) We just sat out there a bit, not knowing the condition of our building, and feeling the tiny waves in the ground under us. Suddenly a young girl, one of the YWAMers, walked out of the building! We had no idea she was there, but she had stayed behind to sleep when her team went out earlier. She was the one who was sick the day before, and had been sound asleep when the quake hit. She just rolled off of her bed and rode it out on the second floor. She was in a daze when she came out and joined our little group. We collected our thoughts, and before too long the first big aftershock hit! The main quake eventually was determined to be a 7.8, and the larger aftershocks were probably in the 6.x range. There was this sense of “here we go again” constantly reasserting itself on us.

This entire wall collapsed; one of many such.
This entire wall collapsed; one of many such.

Before long Daniel and Rosemary (from Australia) returned from the church were they had been preaching that morning. Their story was much worse. Where we were located was apparently on more firm soil and rock, so damage was light. Buildings were cracked, but no collapses in our immediate area. The 1000 liter water tank on the roof ruptured a pipe and drained out, but that was the worst of it. Where Daniel and Rosemary had been was different. People were unable to stand, bricks rained down on the metal roof causing a horrendous noise! On the way back they were in between two brick walls when the first aftershock hit and had to avoid the collapsing walks.

The upper floor collapsed onto the roof below.
The upper floor collapsed onto the roof below.

The internet was of course immediately down, and Eileen went to bed when we were cut off. It was midnight at home and she just assumed the usual service interruption had happened. It wasn’t until the next morning that she heard the news. By then I had been able to get word out that I was safe, and so was Nora. The next couple hours were spent assessing the situation and riding out aftershocks. Nora was still in Pokhara and while the damage there was lighter, the shaking was about the same. It was about two hours before the internet came up for a short time the first time, and I got word from her that she was ok.

Thousands out in the streets and in open fields around Jawalakhel Chowk.
Thousands out in the streets and in open fields around Jawalakhel Chowk.

Eventually we made some quick trips into the guesthouse. I was nearly packed so I grabbed everything from my room, which was near the front door, and brought it out. I figured the first-aid kit, trail food, and UV water purification pen, along with warm clothes would be best if they were outside with us. On one trip inside there was a pretty big aftershock, and the didi looked at me and said “It comes, it comes!” with terror in her eyes. I told her it was ok, and was just an aftershock, and she relaxed – but we still quickly went back outside. It was then that I noticed that they were looking for someone to tell them whether they would be ok, or if a larger one would come and destroy them completely. Scientifically the possibility of a larger quake was a very real possibility, yet I had a confidence that we were not going to see that, so if nothing else I could be a calming factor for them.

Jawalakhel Chowk with people "camping" in the center.
Jawalakhel Chowk with people “camping” in the center.

By the evening, the decision had been made to not spend the night inside. There was a party venue a couple houses away that was set up for a wedding, and everyone from the area spent the next couple nights there. Due to the majority of structures in Nepal being masonry, everyone was literally sitting in the middle of the street all over Kathmandu. It was the safest place to be. The concept of standing in a doorway that much of the world adheres to could be a death sentence in Nepal!

People just wandered the streets in the hours, and days afterward...
People just wandered the streets in the hours, and days afterward…

At this point I should stop and talk about God’s amazing grace in this disaster. If there was ever a “good time” to have an earthquake in Nepal, noon on Saturday was THE time! Schools are closed, many businesses are closed, Christians are in church instead of stone houses (many of which we were told did collapse while they were at church), non-Christians are out in the fields instead of in their houses. Any other day, any other time of day, would have been much worse, and it was bad enough, with the death toll quickly climbing from hundreds to thousands.

Taking shelter at the party venue.
Taking shelter at the party venue.

As evening fell we packed up blankets and headed to the party venue for the night. There were periods of light rain but fortunately there were awnings up that kept us mostly dry. We made beds of chairs and eventually tried to get a little sleep. Sleep didn’t come easily though, with periodic aftershocks, and everyone’s nerves being on edge, it wasn’t easy.

At one point late at night, around midnight, I decided it was time to venture out. I had the desire to see if the internet was back up so I could make better communication with people back home, and I had another need… let me delicately say that the squatties and lack of adequate toilet paper were becoming a real problem as my intestinal bug has raised its ugly head with a vengeance!

The guesthouse workers.
The guesthouse workers.

The guesthouse workers felt a real sense of responsibility for us, and kept us on a short leash, so to speak. So I ducked out the gate when I had a chance and walked back to the guesthouse, used the backroom (while making plans for a fast exit if necessary), scavenged toilet paper, and best of all, found that the internet was up for just a few minutes while I was there. Using my phone I got a message out to Nora’s sister who (I think) was online at the time, and left a message for Eileen. Then the internet went down again… When I returned they were all relieved because apparently I had been missed. Oops… But it was awesome, because we all sat together and prayed, and I felt so close to these dear brothers and sisters in Christ!

Daniel and Rosemary posed with me - we look happy, no?
Daniel and Rosemary posed with me – we look happy, no?

As we laid there and the night went on, I was struck by several things about earthquakes. First of all, you hear it before you feel it! Still to this day a year later, when I feel/hear a large truck rumble by or some other such event, I get a little alert going off in my head. It’s not a bad trauma, but it’s there. Second, I realized the everything, as far as I could imagine, had been shaken! Everything had moved! It wasn’t some local event, like a huge explosion or building collapse, it was bigger! Every aftershock, some of which we quite sudden and violent though they might have only lasted two seconds, made that abundantly clear. The loud bang, followed by reverberations was very sobering, and would cause people to panic all over again. The third thing was the realization – which you could feel – that everything had actually moved! …a lot during the initial earthquake, and in smaller amounts during aftershocks. It wasn’t just shaking, it was a lurching movement. It was later determined that Kathmandu had dropped about one meter in altitude, had moved to the north three to four meters, and Everest was one meter higher!

Regarding injuries and death… Injuries to our immediate group were very light. Even a few blocks away it was not that way – whole buildings had collapsed. The worst situations were far enough away that we weren’t immediately aware of them, or the needs. I went out the next day to see what needs could be met, but most of our area was coping fairy well by then at least. I was frustrated by the fact that I had a 30 day visa and had to leave soon (if I had a plane to get on the next day). My heart was, and is still, broken for the people of this small, poor country, struggling to make it in the best of times.

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Written by Pete Schaefers · Categorized: Kathmandu and 7.8 Earthquake

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