My last post from (but not about) Nepal

Well, this is it. 87 days after arriving in Nepal, today I fly out. I go first to Delhi, where I have to spend the night, then early tomorrow I head to Singapore. After a three hour , I catch another plane to Sydney, pitching up there at 5:10am on Saturday. I do not anticipate particularly enjoying the next 48 hours.

Last night, Sapna gave me a book to keep me amused on the trip. It's called 'Forget Kathmandu' and inside she has written 'Try not to!' I can safely say that there is a zero percent chance of me forgetting this place and my time here. Right now, I'm trying to reconcile how quickly my time here has flown with just how much I've packed into the last three months. This blog from my time here should give you a sense of that but it doesn't begin to cover every detail and moreover I'm three weeks behind. I still haven't had a chance to post about the trek, and if you got nervous reading about my bungy experience, just wait until you hear about the white-water rafting and the paragliding. Hopefully, once I get to Australia, I can have some solid blog writing sessions and get it all down.

If I had to sum up my stay here in a simple phrase, I'd say it's been a time of contrasts. From the very beginning, I was struck by the fact that Nepal was in some ways far more Westernised than I expected and yet also so obviously a developing country. I have seen devastating poverty and spent nights in five star luxury. I've walked through snow-peaked mountains and sub-tropical jungle. I've worked hard as a volunteer and also had the most adrenalin-raising experiences of my life.

I could not have done better than staying with Sapna and Rabi. They are both absolutely delightful and have made me feel very much at home here. (Aside: whilst I was trekking, Mum took the opportunity to have a chat with Sapna. They had never met or spoken before. Whilst generally agreeing that I was a pretty good kid, at one point Sapna came out with 'sometimes I just have to tell her off' to which Mum replied 'I know exactly how your feel'. How much more at home can I get than that!). Almost everything I have done in Nepal has been thanks to my hosts. It was Sapna who set me up both at MotherCare and Orchid Garden and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity and honoured to have worked in both places. Through Rabi I was able to go on the motorbike excursions and he set up the trek. They have opened up the country to me in a way that most tourists never even get a glimpse of. I totally lucked out with them.

I know several well-travelled people who have been to Nepal and who say it's their favourite place they've visited. This country is full of Westerners who came on holiday and never left. It's a place people fall in love with. I can see why. When I leave, I'll definitely leave a piece of myself here. Of all the great things about Nepal there are two that have made a strong impression. It is an exceptionally beautiful place and its people are extremely friendly. But it's also a country with a long way to go, particularly in terms of the alleviation of poverty and in shoring up its political situation. I don't know to what extent the news from here over the last few days has reached the West, or been paid attention to if it has, but three days ago the Prime Minister resigned after disagreements with both the Army and the President. Nepal is only recently a democratic country, after centuries of autocratic rule then a decade of civil war. Even before the Prime Minister resigned the political situation felt precarious at best. Now no one knows what's going to happen. It's probably not a bad time to be leaving. It's strange to think, though, that once I'm gone, unless I actively search it out, I'm unlikely to hear news reports from this fascinating and turbulent place.

There's no question that I'll miss Nepal and I imagine I'll be back in the next few years. I have many friends here now and I'll want to see how Nishant is getting along. Also, there's a great deal that I wanted to do but didn't get round to, visiting Chitwan National Park and more trekking being chief amongst them. There are also other charitable projects that I'm keen to see and possibly get involved with, for example two village schools that Sapna has recently become involved in supporting. I also only scratched the surface in seeing the work that Maggie, Dr Pradhan and Promise Nepal do with leprosy affected people.

But I also feel ready to move on. Australia beckons. I'm massively excited about getting to spend time with my godmother, Caro, with whom I'll be staying for a week or so after I arrive. And whilst I don't normally consider myself a beach person, right now the idea of a few days of sea and sand is remarkably appealing (Caro and her husband, David, live on the coast).

Although I've written all that I want to say right now, I can't seem to bring myself to end this post. I feel a sadness to signing off akin to the sadness I feel about leaving Nepal. But there will be plenty more posts from the Southern Hemisphere. So, next time from Oz.