After two more plane rides totalling 15 additional hours of travel, not to mention a few interesting snacks, we finally arrived at our destination in Katmandu, Nepal. Jenna’s excitement was obvious. Her smile was from ear to ear. Her eyes sparkled with something special. But me? I couldn’t think over the loud noise coming from outside the plane. I threw my big green house that was my backpack over my shoulders and followed Jenna off the plane in silence. I was in my head thinking about this big adventure. Or, mistake? I wasn’t so unsure anymore. The sounds intensified, both in my head and out.
“What is that noise?” I asked Jenna.
“I dunno. But, it’s non-stop. I can barely hear myself think”.
Thank goodness, I thought to myself. The only place scarier than a new country at night was being stuck inside my head.
Then we both saw the sign. “Car horns are used frequently.”
“Car horns?” We said in unison.
“Omg, this is insane.” The sounds were a consistent murmur in the background.
We followed the group of people to customs. I could actually taste the smoke and dust it was so thick, and were still only at the airport. The long terminal hallway was lined with signs about horn usage. So strange, I thought to myself.
We turned the corner and I stopped in my tracks. My eyes opened wide as I gazed upon the huge semi-automatic rifle the customs officer was carrying. I turned left-rifle. Right-rifle. Everywhere I looked, I saw a rifle.
“I’ve never seen an semi-automatic rifle before. They’re so intimidating.” I wispered to Jenna. The guards were expressionless. It looked like they were ready to kill anyone who got out of line.
“Dude, let’s go.” Jenna said to me waving me back in line. I didn’t realize that I froze when I saw the officers. Back in Canada my brother was a Queen’s Guard. He had a long fuzzy hat, so I wasn’t scared of approaching him. These guards made me want to get back on the plane and fly home. I shivered and huddled back in line.
Jenna was ahead of me in line. Everything was moving smoothly until an officer holding one of the huge scary guns pulled her out of the line. She turned and I was able to see her face, her expression said ‘I don’t know’ and they took her behind a closed door.
“Jenna. JENNA!” I screamed while I chased after her. Two men on either side of the door crossed their guns preventing me from going after her. I bit my lip and backed away. ‘Shit. Shit Shit. Shit!’ I kept repeating through my head. I went back in line, now very nervous that I was next to be called into that little room.
“What if she isn’t allowed into the country?”
“What if I can’t see her?”
“What am I going to do?”
“Is she safe?”
“Shit! Shit!” Thoughts overloaded my brain.
“Next.” The customs officer said to me.
I approached the desk looking meek and nervous. I handed him my passport.
“What is the purpose of your visit?” He said.
“I’m backpacking and hiking to Everest basecamp before I go to India.”
“Tourist visa, yes?”
“Yes.” I replied.
“Do you have any contraband or illegal substances on you?”
“No.” I said confidentially.
He flipped through my passport and saw that I had been nowhere outside of North America. He scanned me up and down. It was late as it was 2 am. He must be tired from working all day. I looked tired and probably smelled from being shuffled between here and Canada for 31 hours. I smiled at him, he stamped my passport and gave me my 30 day tourist visa.
‘THANK GOD.’ I thought to myself. I didn’t want to seem too eager. I lifted my shirt to put my passport with my visa into my little carrier. I dropped my bag on the conveyor belt so it could be scanned. Another officer waved me through the scanner and used the wand on me. He nodded at me, which I took as ‘you’re clean, you can enter now’.
I grabbed my bag, threw it on my back and started looking for Jenna. I didn’t see her come out of the room. The airport was tiny. I was starting to get nervous. It was almost 2:30 now. Less and less bags, people and guns were out in the terminal. It was almost deserted. The sounds of the horns outside were loud and making my head spin.
‘Is this seriously happening? What do I do?’
Then I saw it. A red backpack bopping up and down being carried by someone with long blonde hair. She was waiting by the exit.
“Jenna.” I yelled. “Jenna. Over here.” She smiled when she saw me. “Are you ok? What happened? You got your visa?”
“Yeah. Everything was fine. They brought me to the room because I fit the description of someone they were looking for. Who, coincidentally did a tonne of travelling like me. When the officer saw my passport full of stamps he called the other guys over.”
“Omg!! Were you scared?”
“Naw dude. I knew I’d be fine. Let’s ditch this Popsicle stand. Krishna’s waiting for us.”
“That’s it? It’s no big deal?” I was concerned that being dragged by armed men at an airport didn’t faze her.
‘What am I getting myself into?’ I wondered.
Jenna and I walked out of the airport into pure chaos. My senses were on overload. The bright street lights made me think that I was on a stage. Men, cab drivers and dogs-DOGS were everywhere. I felt like I couldn’t breathe as each time I inhaled I swallowed a gallon of dust. A man grabbed my bag and tried pulling it out of my hands to help me.
“No, it’s okay. I can carry it.” I said politely. He yanked harder. “No.” I said while pulling it back towards me. He looked puzzled.
“Me carry, me help.” He said in broken English.
“No.” I said a little more stern.
“There!” Jenna said while waving at a tall Nepali man. ‘That’s Krishna.” She turned around to see me playing tug a war with this random guy. “What the heck?” She said walking towards me.
“NO HELP.” I screamed in the man’s face while I pulled harder on my green home. He let it go and I went flying. I landed on my back with a ‘woof’, and landed hard. My bag flew into the air and Jenna dove to catch it. Everyone watched in horror as my bag landed on the ground. A buckle broke and tampons littered the street.
“Oh my god” Jenna yelled. “It’s like they wanted out” She said through laughter.
The man who was just offering to help looked mortified. My tampons were now lying on the dusty ground and he was just trying to help me carry my bag.
I turned around to see what Jenna was yelling at and what made the face of this man become instantly deformed.
“Tampons,“ I said under my breath. A small giggle somehow escaped my lips. I wasn’t sure if the giggle was because the scene was funny, or because naturally I would get to Nepal and instantly make a fool of myself.
The mortified man repeatedly said “Sorry madam, Sorry.” He stretched out his hand and helped me. I dusted myself off and gave him a smile. I hope he took that as ‘it’s all good’. I turned to shovel my belongings back into my bag.
Krishna came running over and threw the sign that had our names on it to the side.
“Are you two ok?” He asked concerned.
I looked at Jenna waiting for a confirmation that we knew this guy.
“Ahh, we’re ok. Everything is fine we’re in NEPAL!” Jenna said as she threw her arms open wide to hug Krishna. I smiled and introduced myself. It felt good to know that we had a place to stay for the next few days and I didn’t have to lug my bag around everywhere.
Krishna escorted us to a car and opened the doors for us. I sat down and it’s like all the stress from the night finally escaped. I was in Nepal. This was real. Krishna started the car and began our journey to his house. I sighed again. It was as if Jenna knew I was in my head. She poked me, winked and smiled.
“Here we go.”
“What is that noise?” I asked Jenna.
“I dunno. But, it’s non-stop. I can barely hear myself think”.
Thank goodness, I thought to myself. The only place scarier than a new country at night was being stuck inside my head.
Then we both saw the sign. “Car horns are used frequently.”
“Car horns?” We said in unison.
“Omg, this is insane.” The sounds were a consistent murmur in the background.
We followed the group of people to customs. I could actually taste the smoke and dust it was so thick, and were still only at the airport. The long terminal hallway was lined with signs about horn usage. So strange, I thought to myself.
We turned the corner and I stopped in my tracks. My eyes opened wide as I gazed upon the huge semi-automatic rifle the customs officer was carrying. I turned left-rifle. Right-rifle. Everywhere I looked, I saw a rifle.
“I’ve never seen an semi-automatic rifle before. They’re so intimidating.” I wispered to Jenna. The guards were expressionless. It looked like they were ready to kill anyone who got out of line.
“Dude, let’s go.” Jenna said to me waving me back in line. I didn’t realize that I froze when I saw the officers. Back in Canada my brother was a Queen’s Guard. He had a long fuzzy hat, so I wasn’t scared of approaching him. These guards made me want to get back on the plane and fly home. I shivered and huddled back in line.
Jenna was ahead of me in line. Everything was moving smoothly until an officer holding one of the huge scary guns pulled her out of the line. She turned and I was able to see her face, her expression said ‘I don’t know’ and they took her behind a closed door.
“Jenna. JENNA!” I screamed while I chased after her. Two men on either side of the door crossed their guns preventing me from going after her. I bit my lip and backed away. ‘Shit. Shit Shit. Shit!’ I kept repeating through my head. I went back in line, now very nervous that I was next to be called into that little room.
“What if she isn’t allowed into the country?”
“What if I can’t see her?”
“What am I going to do?”
“Is she safe?”
“Shit! Shit!” Thoughts overloaded my brain.
“Next.” The customs officer said to me.
I approached the desk looking meek and nervous. I handed him my passport.
“What is the purpose of your visit?” He said.
“I’m backpacking and hiking to Everest basecamp before I go to India.”
“Tourist visa, yes?”
“Yes.” I replied.
“Do you have any contraband or illegal substances on you?”
“No.” I said confidentially.
He flipped through my passport and saw that I had been nowhere outside of North America. He scanned me up and down. It was late as it was 2 am. He must be tired from working all day. I looked tired and probably smelled from being shuffled between here and Canada for 31 hours. I smiled at him, he stamped my passport and gave me my 30 day tourist visa.
‘THANK GOD.’ I thought to myself. I didn’t want to seem too eager. I lifted my shirt to put my passport with my visa into my little carrier. I dropped my bag on the conveyor belt so it could be scanned. Another officer waved me through the scanner and used the wand on me. He nodded at me, which I took as ‘you’re clean, you can enter now’.
I grabbed my bag, threw it on my back and started looking for Jenna. I didn’t see her come out of the room. The airport was tiny. I was starting to get nervous. It was almost 2:30 now. Less and less bags, people and guns were out in the terminal. It was almost deserted. The sounds of the horns outside were loud and making my head spin.
‘Is this seriously happening? What do I do?’
Then I saw it. A red backpack bopping up and down being carried by someone with long blonde hair. She was waiting by the exit.
“Jenna.” I yelled. “Jenna. Over here.” She smiled when she saw me. “Are you ok? What happened? You got your visa?”
“Yeah. Everything was fine. They brought me to the room because I fit the description of someone they were looking for. Who, coincidentally did a tonne of travelling like me. When the officer saw my passport full of stamps he called the other guys over.”
“Omg!! Were you scared?”
“Naw dude. I knew I’d be fine. Let’s ditch this Popsicle stand. Krishna’s waiting for us.”
“That’s it? It’s no big deal?” I was concerned that being dragged by armed men at an airport didn’t faze her.
‘What am I getting myself into?’ I wondered.
Jenna and I walked out of the airport into pure chaos. My senses were on overload. The bright street lights made me think that I was on a stage. Men, cab drivers and dogs-DOGS were everywhere. I felt like I couldn’t breathe as each time I inhaled I swallowed a gallon of dust. A man grabbed my bag and tried pulling it out of my hands to help me.
“No, it’s okay. I can carry it.” I said politely. He yanked harder. “No.” I said while pulling it back towards me. He looked puzzled.
“Me carry, me help.” He said in broken English.
“No.” I said a little more stern.
“There!” Jenna said while waving at a tall Nepali man. ‘That’s Krishna.” She turned around to see me playing tug a war with this random guy. “What the heck?” She said walking towards me.
“NO HELP.” I screamed in the man’s face while I pulled harder on my green home. He let it go and I went flying. I landed on my back with a ‘woof’, and landed hard. My bag flew into the air and Jenna dove to catch it. Everyone watched in horror as my bag landed on the ground. A buckle broke and tampons littered the street.
“Oh my god” Jenna yelled. “It’s like they wanted out” She said through laughter.
The man who was just offering to help looked mortified. My tampons were now lying on the dusty ground and he was just trying to help me carry my bag.
I turned around to see what Jenna was yelling at and what made the face of this man become instantly deformed.
“Tampons,“ I said under my breath. A small giggle somehow escaped my lips. I wasn’t sure if the giggle was because the scene was funny, or because naturally I would get to Nepal and instantly make a fool of myself.
The mortified man repeatedly said “Sorry madam, Sorry.” He stretched out his hand and helped me. I dusted myself off and gave him a smile. I hope he took that as ‘it’s all good’. I turned to shovel my belongings back into my bag.
Krishna came running over and threw the sign that had our names on it to the side.
“Are you two ok?” He asked concerned.
I looked at Jenna waiting for a confirmation that we knew this guy.
“Ahh, we’re ok. Everything is fine we’re in NEPAL!” Jenna said as she threw her arms open wide to hug Krishna. I smiled and introduced myself. It felt good to know that we had a place to stay for the next few days and I didn’t have to lug my bag around everywhere.
Krishna escorted us to a car and opened the doors for us. I sat down and it’s like all the stress from the night finally escaped. I was in Nepal. This was real. Krishna started the car and began our journey to his house. I sighed again. It was as if Jenna knew I was in my head. She poked me, winked and smiled.
“Here we go.”