Just Wow!

So we took our first trip to the far West of Nepal.  We were all very excited because this would be a dream come true.  Our first time as a family to meet all the kids in the Family Home.  We decided to rent a jeep and a driver for the long trip.  Little did we know what awaited us.  However, I have to say that the boys did an amazing job at being patient and having good attitudes. 

The first day was a 6 hour drive from Pokhara to Butwal.  This trip is through the foothills of the Himalayas.  So in other words 6 hours in S curves.  David didn't feel great, but we made it to Butwal without anyone throwing up!  Major success!

One of our many stops.

Although it was a very hard drive, the scenery was amazing.  I do not regret the drive just to see what we saw.

One of the towns that we went through on the way.

When we finally got to Butwal we decided to take a walk.  This city is large, but not touristy, so we were stared at the whole time.  The boys really didn't like it, but it is just one of those things that you get use to here. I thought that the foothills would go into rolling hills and then flat.... but it was foothills and then absolutely flat.  You can see the mountains in the background.

A view of the sky from our hotel.

The first day of travel was relatively uneventful, and that is a good thing because the next day was more eventful.  We had a nice meal and a clean place to sleep.  For that I was grateful.  The next day we actually had rain as we were making our way from Butwal to Dhangadhi.  What was meant to be a 7 hour trip, but became an 11 hour trip. 

We drove on flat land for a while, but there is a mountain range that comes down into Nepal, so as we were making our way up the mountain something broke on the jeep.  It is a little unnerving to hear metal hitting the underside of the car.  Thank the Lord for a good driver and handyman. 

This is were we stopped to fix the jeep.

 We stopped at a roadside restaurant.  Not one that we could eat at, but we had cover from the rain and a toilet to use.  Not really anything more was needed.  As I was shown downstairs to the toilet the pictures below unfolded in front of me. 

These homes were made from wood and clay inbetween. It was not warm and there is not heat pumps.  Open fires were what kept people warm and dry. Not to mention ingenious stoves made from clay.  I am constantly amazed by the ingenuity of the Nepali people.  They are truly amazing. 

After the first fix, which actually included a piece of wood, we made it down the mountain.  A bolt had come out of the shock system, so the ride was really bumpy...  especially for me who had a bruised rib!  We made two other stops on the road  to try and fix things. On one of the stops we took a small walk.  This roadside town had never seen anything like our family.  We were followed and at one point a woman asked me about my kids.  After sign language, broken Nepali and English, they realized that we had adopted our boys.  One woman reached over and tried to give me her son.  He would have nothing to do with it.  (Don't worry it was all a joke).  The second stop fixed our problems and we were off.  We made it through Bardia National Park (without seeing a Tiger...bummer) to the other side which has this bridge.  It is a very unique bridge here in Nepal.  I believe it goes over the Kanali River. I had been here one other time in 2013 with Andreas' father.  I was thankful to see this bridge because there is actually a restaurant we can eat at on the other side.  Everyone was hungry and ready to eat. 

Picture was taken from the restaurant

 After eating we had 3 more hours of driving, but it was done in the dark. Nepali people are not afraid of the road (which I think they should be).  As we were driving along in the pitch black there were people riding bikes and walking with no lights.  Again, we were very thankful for our driver Suman.

Nepali Terai Homes, mainly of mudd.

Finally in Dhangadhi we were met by Delindra (Family Home Father).  All tired and bumped out we headed to bed.  It was the next day that we would finally see the Family Home kids.  To be continued...