Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic (Number 11)

No End in Sight

We've been hunkered down for over a month now. It's been a bit more than "social distancing" but a bit less than total isolation. On one hand, it's terrific to be retired because we can stay home. On the other hand, we're in that demographic that is over 65 and more prone to die from the COVID-19 virus. 

In North Carolina there have been 3,221 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 46 deaths. Most confirmed cases have been in the 25-49 age group with 42 percent of the total. So far, only 7 percent of that group has died. The over 65 age group is third in confirmed cases (the 50-64 age group ranks second in confirmed cases at 29 percent). The over 65 group currently accounts for 20 percent of total confirmed cases. Unfortunately, the over 65 group has 80 percent of the deaths with 3 men are dying for each woman. 

As we move forward this week, our leaders are claiming that this will be a week of peaking and that afterwards progress of the contagion will "flatten" out. They seem pretty sure of themselves, but their accuracy for predicting anything having to do with this pandemic has been less than confidence building. There are many densely populated areas that do not seem to be anywhere close to peaking. 

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• "Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to 'flatten the curve'” by Harry Stevens, The Washington Post, March 14, 2020
  https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

Kathmandu

Bodhnath Stupa

Seems a good idea to get back to the wonder of virtual travel. Climbing out from under the shelter of our isolation, we find ourselves back in Kathmandu nearly 25 years ago. 

Today we go exploring, and find ourselves at Boudhanath Stupa (one of the biggest Buddhist Shrines in the world).  There we can visit the surrounding monasteries and perhaps join the monks as they chant their daily mantras.

Built hundreds of years ago, allegedly just after the passing of the Buddha, along a trade route passing through the area with the hope of gaining converts. Although popular locally, it wasn't until the 1950s that it became a center for Tibetan Buddhism as refugees from China came to Nepal. 

We walked all around the shrine spinning prayer wheels and feeling the enlightenment.

Pushupatinath Temple

A couple of kilometers west, in the direction of our hotel, we visited the most famous Hundu temple in Nepal, Pashupatinath Temple. Legend has it that the temple dates back to around 400 BC. The temple complex includes over 500 temples, buildings, and structures. The main temple is designed as a pagoda structure. Located along the Bagmati River, we see Hindu holymen (or Sardhus), pilgrims bathing, and occasionally funeral pyres burning on the ghats (there were actually several on the day we visited).

The Bagmati River is considered the source of Nepalese culture. It originates from the convergence of three rivers coming out of the Himalayas but its flow comes more from monsoon rainfall than from melting snows. The Bagmati flows gently through the Kathmandu Valley and ultimately south into India. At one time, it flowed directly into the Ganges River but now passes through a number canals and tributaries before joining the Koshi River at Badlaghat in India.

After returning to the Hotel Shanker, we explored the shops in the nearby commercial district but didn't do any purchasing. The following day we would head west on a 5-6 hour drive to the Tibetan Refugee Camp in Pokhara.

 

To be continued . . .