<Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6>
So there you have it folks!I was safe and sound, on the ground, repeating over and over “Thank god for terra firma, the more firmer, the less terror”.
What? You have no idea what I’m talking about, you say? Well, why not read Parts 1 – 6 first? I have very generously provided links at the top of this page. Go ahead and read them, I’ll wait.
Done?
So there you have it folks! I was safe and sound, on the ground, repeating over and over “Thank god for terra firma, the more firmer, the less terror”. Soon, however, I had to get myself off the nice soft bed and head out into the city to explore it’s streets, it’s sights, it’s sounds, it’s ups and downs for they weren’t a second nature to me now, like breathing out and breathing in. (more…)

It was indeed a DH6 Twin Otter coming in to land, the first of the two. The chaos meter in the check-in area went up past 11. An enterprising and resourceful type ran out behind the terminal building. There was the sound of breaking glass, a brief moment of silence, then he appeared through the office door clutching papers in his hands. Thirty seconds later boarding passes were being issued at break neck speed for both the flights simultaneously.

Sunday morning came bright early and at 8:59 am I was at Everest Travels. <Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 here to get that background>
Less than 5 minutes later I was sitting in the private office of the manager.
“S… Tobacco picked it up. Your ticket is with them.”, he was apologetic. “But I can call my contact at home and find out who has it now”.
He made the call and turned to me.
“He’s coming right over now. Please wait here”.
Twenty minutes later a faintly annoyed man bustled into the room.
“Where were you? I sent the driver to the airport but you were not there. He has the ticket and your hotel reservation with him”.
His tone was accusatory and he brushed aside my attempt to explain that I had waited 90 minutes for someone to show up and there was only one flight in the morning from Calcutta so what the hell was he talking about. (more…)

<The story so far: Our hero, tempted by the prospects of bagging bushels of bullion, has bribed and begged his way into Nepal. He stands now inside the arrivals terminal at Tribhuvan International Airport with wuthering wit and seething senses. Part 1 : Part 2 : Part 3 : Read those first.>

It was a bright clear morning in the fall. The leaves were turning, somewhere in the world. I wasn’t too concerned with them. I was calm. As calm as a person can be who has just landed in a strange city for the first time, has no means of support, knowing no one. Somewhere in the city there lived a person who had my hotel reservation. Somewhere in the city lay a warm soft bed. Somewhere in the city someone had my airline ticket in his pocket. (more…)

<Read Part I and Part 2>
As I walked across the tarmac to the terminal building, I clutched my briefcase a little tighter. Visions of Nepali jails flashed before my eyes in a strange collection of images from various Hollywood movies. All too soon,  I was facing a customs officer.

Pleading no knowledge of the specific clauses of the Indo-Nepal treaty was like pleading before a deaf adder. He was adamant that he was going to deport me back to India on the first flight and he didn’t care if it went to Delhi or Calcutta. My whining went up a few notches and then 30 seconds later he snapped. (more…)

So there we were, barely successful business owners. Tea had given us a hefty start up push <read about it here>, Dettol and Cherry Blossom had given us wings, so when the cigarette company called we were reasonably assured we knew what the hell we were doing. Within a couple of years, a successful relationship with Mr B, IT Manager at the cigarette factory down by the docks had developed into one of mutual respect.

Mr B called one day to ask if I could come down and see him. He had potentially more work for us. The smell of more work had me down in his office less than an hour later. He was smoking again, apologetically, and he had a visitor with him. (more…)