The
Trail to Mount Everest
Practicing
Medicine at the
World’s
Highest Hospital
Chapter
4
The
Commute to Work
Seattle
to Kathmandu
After an absolute frenetic month of preparation which included completion of the Out House (aka Pole Building, aka Martin’s [new] 30 x 50 foot Doghouse), a new sidewalk and elevation of the front porch, Sue and I departed 4144 Highway 104 for SEATAC at about 0840 on 11 February 2003. It was an emotional time for both of us. We had celebrated an early Valentine’s Day. Four months is a long time. Katherine Kat, as always, sensed something was up. Were they leaving her by herself again? Don’t these people ever stay home? Sue was to stay over with Lani and care for grandson Beau the next day.
Instructed to arrive 3 hours early for a 1305 takeoff, we did just that. Sue elected to go on to Lani’s and as it turned out, that was a good idea because there was almost no one at the Northwest counter. I was first in line to check in for “my” first class seat. On standby status! Because of daughter Lani’s employment status with Alaska Airlines, I was flying on a pass the entire way to Kathmandu. 90% off the Northwest fares and 75% off the Thai Airways fares. For a few dollars more, I could fly first class. When I listed myself for the flight 2 days previously, there had been 20 seats available on the Seattle-Narita flight and 30 seats on the Narita to Hong Kong leg. I was told at the counter that the Seattle flight was well overbooked in coach and that there were only 5 seats now in first and business class and that my name would be called if there were a seat available. My luggage, well over the 60 kg weight limit, was checked through all the way to Kathmandu without questions or penalty. I cleared security with no problems except for the little surgical clamp in my brief case that triggers the X-Ray viewer every time. But the clamp was allowed and 15 minutes after I kissed Miss Sue good-bye, I was seated at Gate 9 in the south satellite. At 1245 the agent started calling names. Mine wasn’t among them. Allegedly I had been the only non-revenue standby out of Seattle but all of these names were being called. And I couldn’t find out why. Were they moving those oversold passengers in coach up to Business or First Class and taking “my seat” or what. At 1245, I wandered up to the desk. Almost everyone had boarded. There were two seats left. A Northwest employee took one and I got the final First Class seat on the aircraft. I rushed to the phone to call Sue but didn’t have $.50 in change and I couldn’t remember the MCI pin number so I boarded knowing (hoping) that she would figure it out.
The albatross started to lift from my shoulders as I slid into a seat that reclined to the horizontal. Before we were at cruising altitude, I was asleep. But not before watching Port Gamble and the Hood Canal Bridge slip from view in the distance as we climbed over the Olympic Mountains.
Tokyo Narita’s Northwest Terminal is a familiar place to Sue and me and has not changed since we transited there numerous times while in Guam in the early 90s. I had just a little over an hour layover but was pleased when I was immediately given a boarding pass for the flight on to Hong Kong. We took off at about midnight Port Gamble time and landed about 0500 but it was only 11:00 PM in Hong Kong. The newly completed Hong Kong terminal is truly state of the art. I was fortunate enough to fine a full couch at a closed snack bar and slept for two hours. I awoke at 0300 to answer the call of nature. No one was moving nearby. The terminal was as quiet as a mouse and I watched for about 10 minute before making my dash. I debated whether it was worth the small chance of losing my bed but off I went. And when I came back, some lucky guy had found a pre-warmed bed on which he could recline. Drats! I tried again to call Sue from Hong Kong but Visa was not accepted.
At 0630 Hong Kong time (now the 13th due to crossing the International Date Line) I was in line at Thai Airways and given my boarding pass. As I went through the departure gate, a petite little Chinese lady challenged my carry on. She carefully tried to squeeze it into the pre-measured box but it would not go. The wheels made it 1.5 inches too long and my Nepal reading material made it 1 inch too wide. “I am so very sorry sir, your bag exceeds the limits for the Hong Kong airport and is too big to carry on.” So it was back to the Thai Airways counter where I had to check Sue’s favorite carryon bag. $121.00 additional from Hong Kong to Kathmandu. Inside was my camera bag and in the end, when I arrived in Kathmandu, the microphones had been snapped off the video camera. On Thai Airways, I did not have an option to upgrade. The flight to Bangkok was in the back of the bus and the bus was designed for very petite south Asians.
I landed in Bangkok at 1010 with departure for Kathmandu scheduled for 1045. I dashed to the transit counter and was given a boarding pass. I asked if my luggage would make it. The very pleasant Thai agent gave me a very pleasant Thai smile and said “I think so!”
Having been asleep, mute or reading Nepal medical literature on the first three legs of the flight, I sat next to the Head of the World Health Organization for Nepal on the final leg in to Kathmandu. He has been in Kathmandu for eight years and we talked about water programs, polio vaccinations and so on. And he gave me his impression concerning the assassination of the Nepal King and royal family that had taken place 2 years ago. And then the glorious Himalayas came into view through my starboard window. Everest was easy to pick out, as were Choy Oyu and Lhotse. We landed on time and I paid $30.00 for my tourist visa, and then went to baggage claim. And waited, and waited and waited. But not to fear. The lady with the pleasant smile was correct. All three bags appeared and after clearing customs, I went outside where there was someone supposed to be there to meet me. I had told them I would wear my light blue Mariner’s ball cap and sure enough, there, in a mass of humanity, I spotted a sign for “Martin and Sue Wilcox.” Bhuwan Acharya ushered me to a waiting car and we were off for the Hotel Garuda. It was 50 degrees outside but the hotel was not heated and it must have been 35 degrees in my room. As I sit here typing this as night falls, I can see my breath in the room. I will sleep in my down sleeping bag tonight.
And Sue, the room isn’t a whole lot different than the one where we stayed in 1996. And the street sounds are a cacophony of barking dogs, honking horns, people yelling and the likes of a busy third world city. With the aroma of spices and incense.
I unpacked and started looking at some of the goodies I bought and need to learn about. The tripod is together and I found the manual for the new D-100 Nikon Digital camera. I could have sworn I had seen it before, in English. But it is now in Spanish.
And my fingers are too cold to continue so I am going to get out my zero degree sleeping bag and check it out early.