Welcome to Nepal!

Getting through Kathmandu airport within 40 min is one hell of an achievement and to be sitting in our taxi after passing through immigration in record time as well as our baggage being first to arrive it looked like Nepal had taken a turn for the better.

As our plane left Delhi for it's one hour flight to Kathmandu the excitement from the mass of tourists making their first visit was obvious. Sitting next to us was a young group of doctors from the UK, newly qualified and coming to work at the Kathmandu teaching hospital for a month as volunteers. Behind us was a newly married couple also visiting for the first time who had booked an adventure holiday honeymoon beginning with a few days at the Last Resort on the Bhoti Khosi river for whitewater rafting, kayaking and bunjee jumping!

Our own excitement was unusually high for regular visitors; tomorrow was to see the launch of our new Advanced Programme of teacher training and later in the month an "inspection visit" from our major financial partner.

Two hours later and the euphoria from all parties hit rock bottom with the news that Monday another bandh (strike) had been called by the Jana Morcha political group protesting about the government's proposals for the organisation of new federal states! Such a bandh means road blocks and no vehicular movement rigorously enforced by all violent means possible, so, nobody moves.

And the meaning of all this? Well the newly weds cannot set off for the Last Resort and have lost a day's rafting, the volunteer doctors have lost their day touring the sites of Kathmandu before a short trek then the start of their volunteer work.

And of course NSA cancels it's new programme launch and the conference hotel loses a day's business fee from our booking.

Welcome to Nepal!