After two months in Myanmar and Nepal, we returned home on Thursday, November 15th.
During the last week in Nepal we prepared for our return and had several good conversations with Ben and Linda. In contrast to the Netherlands, in Nepal, Saturday is the day to go to church and it’s good to meet with Christians on the other side of the world. Special again!
We did some shopping in the tourist center of Pokhara, the base of mountaineers and backpackers, and bought some presents for our grandchildren - you cannot come home empty-handed, can you...? As we also wanted to take the opportunity to see the high snowy mountains of Nepal, we went to a hotel on the top of a mountain for two days, from where the snowy Himalayan mountains could be seen in clear weather! In clear weather....., unfortunately that wasn’t the case for these two days. We saw almost nothing of the mountains. But what we have already seen over the last few weeks from afar is really gorgeous! And so, we took two days on the roof of the hotel, in the weak sun, to brainstorm about the follow-up after this orientation trip.
To return to the Netherlands, we had to go to the capital, Kathmandu, we left on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. by bus. A distance of 200 km, 7 hours’ drive. You can also do this leg in 20 minutes with a domestic flight, but since that costs 125 € pp while the bus costs only 4.50 € we chose the latter. We don’t have any income anymore and have to watch our wallet, money goes out fast!
In Kathmandu, we slept one last night in a local guesthouse (Lumbini Heritage Guesthouse, really nice) and we walked around in long pants and t-shirts during the day. It will be winter here, but for Dutch 22 degrees Celsius (72 Fahrenheit) is no reason for a sweater, coat and warm cap. For Nepali, it is…
Wednesday evening, we boarded the plane and Thursday afternoon we landed safely at Schiphol, where we were met by family.
After two months, it is nice to be in our own home and it is great to see our children and grandchildren again and to talk with them about this orientation trip and our thoughts and feelings for the future. Something they are very curious about.
We want to thank everyone for the interest in our trip! It was nice and fun to share with you all the experiences and the feelings and thoughts that came up. Both countries have touched us, and we have decided that staying in the Netherlands is no longer a choice for us. Independently we both feel that we want to focus our attention on Myanmar and start something in the tourist sector, one of the government's spearheads (see the business blog).
At the moment we are considering setting up a guesthouse / small hotel with a training center, educating people who currently have little prospect of a job and help them find (or create) a meaningful job. The ‘how-question’ is still open and it will be quite a challenge. We realize very well that the legislation in the country is complex and certainly for foreigners it is not easy to start a business activity.
Therefore, our two-month voyage of discovery was only the beginning. We will keep you informed....!
Thank you all,
Albert and Judy
Comments