First impressions ...

So. I arrived safely at Kathmandu airport.

My friends, Kathy and Gary describe the city as being peacefully chaotic.  This is pretty accurate. The population of Nepal is over 30 milllion, and growing. That number doesn’t include the odd cow that is found foraging in the streets, or the multiplicity of stray dogs that seem to be common in Asian towns and cities.

The city is still recovering from the devastating earthquake that struck the region 3 years ago. There are also major road and infrastructure improvements being undertaken at the moment. This, together with new building and maintenance work explains the appearance of the front of my hotel.

Fortunately, my room is at the rear and the view of the swimming pool from my bedroom window is very inviting.

The shower is a bit challenging because the floor slopes slightly away from the drain. I have found that the best way to remove the pool of water that collects, is to repeatedly sweep it towards the drain with my left foot while using the sole of my right foot to intermittently act as a pump over the drain in order to unblock it. This action is a bit like giving CPR: alternating between sweeps of one foot and pumps of the other foot. Instead of pumps to the chest and blowing into the lungs

I will spare you from a photograph of the procedure.