Day 2: I woke up quite early in the morning. May be due to the time difference between Japan & Nepal (Japan Time is 3 hrs 15 min. ahead of Nepal Time); I could not sleep once I woke up at about 5 o’clock. After finishing the ‘mandatory’ morning activities including a cup of tea, I went to Basundhara (my friend’s place) with my cousin. My cousin was driving the motorbike. I noticed one thing: the ‘compulsory helmet’ rule for everyone riding the motorbike was ‘changed’. Now ‘only’ the person driving the motorbike is required to wear a helmet. Well, things do ‘change’…& I liked this!
After an early lunch, I was on the way to airport to catch the flight to Simra (Birgunj). I took a taxi; and this time I got a fairly ‘good deal’ (200 rupees compared to last night’s 500 rupees for a distance of 3.5 km). It’s surprising that most of the taxi drivers are interested in ‘bargaining’ the ‘price’ rather than relying on the ‘installed’ meter system.
I reached the airport one hour ahead of the flight schedule. It was a clear ‘sunny’ day and unlike most of my previous experiences, the Buddha Air flight bound for Simra (Birgunj) was ‘on time’. I ‘checked-in’ & entered into the ‘departure area’ of the airport. Though, it was the departure terminal ‘only’ for domestic flights, I was disappointed to see the ‘pity’ state of the available ‘facilities’ & the poor ‘decoration’. The floor was dirty and flower-pots were without ‘blossoms'! I was ‘not’ comparing the infrastructures with any other country’s airport; but, the available facilities, too, were in deplorable state. It seemed that we are lagging behind our own ‘set-standards’.
It took only 20 minutes to reach Simra Airport. The weather was extremely hot & humid. But, I was happy and excited. My younger brother was at the airport to receive me. Soon, we were heading towards ‘Birgunj’. After 30 min. time, I was at my home!
Immediately after I reached there, I found that there was ‘no’ electricity (power) due to some ‘unknown’ reasons. I am not sure about how many of the ‘readers’ are familiar with the ‘typical Birgunj’s summer’ & that too without electricity! It was one of the several ‘non-informed’ load shedding done in the Birgunj area. I have myself worked at the Load Dispatch Center (LDC) for years; hence aware of the reasons behind these several ‘load sheddings’ & power failures in the area.
Though, I had reached ‘home’, most of my family members were at a place about 100 km far from Birgunj since last week, with a purpose to celebrate a ‘traditional’ family ceremony. It’s a small village named Matsari situated in the Rautahat district. We are ‘originally’ from this village and we often ‘visit’ this place, especially during occasions of traditional & cultural celebrations.
After spending little over 2 hour time at my home in Birgunj, I decided to proceed for Matsari. We (I was accompanied by my cousin) hired a vehicle and started the ‘journey’ at around 5:30PM.
It was around 6PM, we had crossed ‘Pathlaiya’ & our vehicle was running at a speed of about 90-100 km/hr. Suddenly, we saw a queue of vehicles creating a ‘traffic jam’ (blockade). A truck loaded with ‘goods’ had toppled at a place on the ‘highway’ and efforts were being made to clear the road. We had to ‘wait’ there till 7:30PM before the vehicular movement was finally ‘resumed’. It was, indeed, very frustrating time.
We once again ‘started’ our journey hoping & praying that there be no further delay. But, after we crossed ‘Chandranigahpur’ & entered into the ‘Chandranigahpur-Gaur’ sector, the ‘road’ was in ‘extremely bad’ state. The vehicle speed dropped down to 10-15 km/hr.
After an early lunch, I was on the way to airport to catch the flight to Simra (Birgunj). I took a taxi; and this time I got a fairly ‘good deal’ (200 rupees compared to last night’s 500 rupees for a distance of 3.5 km). It’s surprising that most of the taxi drivers are interested in ‘bargaining’ the ‘price’ rather than relying on the ‘installed’ meter system.
I reached the airport one hour ahead of the flight schedule. It was a clear ‘sunny’ day and unlike most of my previous experiences, the Buddha Air flight bound for Simra (Birgunj) was ‘on time’. I ‘checked-in’ & entered into the ‘departure area’ of the airport. Though, it was the departure terminal ‘only’ for domestic flights, I was disappointed to see the ‘pity’ state of the available ‘facilities’ & the poor ‘decoration’. The floor was dirty and flower-pots were without ‘blossoms'! I was ‘not’ comparing the infrastructures with any other country’s airport; but, the available facilities, too, were in deplorable state. It seemed that we are lagging behind our own ‘set-standards’.
It took only 20 minutes to reach Simra Airport. The weather was extremely hot & humid. But, I was happy and excited. My younger brother was at the airport to receive me. Soon, we were heading towards ‘Birgunj’. After 30 min. time, I was at my home!
Immediately after I reached there, I found that there was ‘no’ electricity (power) due to some ‘unknown’ reasons. I am not sure about how many of the ‘readers’ are familiar with the ‘typical Birgunj’s summer’ & that too without electricity! It was one of the several ‘non-informed’ load shedding done in the Birgunj area. I have myself worked at the Load Dispatch Center (LDC) for years; hence aware of the reasons behind these several ‘load sheddings’ & power failures in the area.
Though, I had reached ‘home’, most of my family members were at a place about 100 km far from Birgunj since last week, with a purpose to celebrate a ‘traditional’ family ceremony. It’s a small village named Matsari situated in the Rautahat district. We are ‘originally’ from this village and we often ‘visit’ this place, especially during occasions of traditional & cultural celebrations.
After spending little over 2 hour time at my home in Birgunj, I decided to proceed for Matsari. We (I was accompanied by my cousin) hired a vehicle and started the ‘journey’ at around 5:30PM.
It was around 6PM, we had crossed ‘Pathlaiya’ & our vehicle was running at a speed of about 90-100 km/hr. Suddenly, we saw a queue of vehicles creating a ‘traffic jam’ (blockade). A truck loaded with ‘goods’ had toppled at a place on the ‘highway’ and efforts were being made to clear the road. We had to ‘wait’ there till 7:30PM before the vehicular movement was finally ‘resumed’. It was, indeed, very frustrating time.
We once again ‘started’ our journey hoping & praying that there be no further delay. But, after we crossed ‘Chandranigahpur’ & entered into the ‘Chandranigahpur-Gaur’ sector, the ‘road’ was in ‘extremely bad’ state. The vehicle speed dropped down to 10-15 km/hr.
Finally, at around 10:30PM, I reached to my destination. It took 5 hours to cover around 100 km of distance! Anyway, now, I was surrounded by my family members: happy & satisfied. I forgot all the hassles and problems that I encountered during my entire trip. The feeling was ‘great’…& I have ‘no’ words to express those moments!
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3 Comments:
Dear Deependra,
It seems that you have mentioned mostly the pessimistic side of the present situation in Nepal. Though 'realistic' i suppose. hope to read some encouraging & optimistic things as well. By the way, I appreciate your narration skill.
Enjoyed this sequel! I hope more is coming.
Dear 'anonymous' friend,
The way I have reported the events might give you a pessimistic impression. but believe me, I am myself very disappointed to write the 'hopeless' ground realities.
Basantji,
Thanks for your interest. I will try my best to 'write' my experiences in 'New Nepal' gradually...
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