Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic (Number 9)

Virtual Travel

Topiary at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi

Memory is a funny thing. Recalling where we've been, how we got there, the time it took, and the physical energy required to get there is not exactly the way that my brain works. I don't remember what the jet lag felt like. I know that it was difficult sometimes but the stimuli of experiencing new places (old places too) far exceeds the stress of the journey. If anything, it makes the arrivals even more special. Sort of a light at the end of a tunnel effect.

Virtual travel eliminates the emotional rush that "arriving" offers us. That's not a bad thing but we miss that special feeling of excitement. No matter how much research was done in preparation for a new place, there is nothing like that first moment of arrival. The experience of the "reveal" is special because it is so sensory. We feel the air, temperature and humidity. The smells. The cacophony of sounds. And it begins even before with our anticipation. 

Kathmandu

Our flight from New Dehli to Kathmandu seemed routine to us, at least the departure, after all we had arrived in India just a few days earlier. However, once over the Himalayas, the view from the airplane window is spectacular and more than we had been imagined.

As a Geography student studying Cartography years before, I had learned that the amount of ink imprinted on the largest sized world globes rose above its surface higher than the highest of the earth's mountains rose above the surface of the earth. When you move your fingers across the smooth surface of a globe, this is hard to imagine. And, as you are flying above the profound terrain of the Himalayas, it seems even more difficult to wrap your brain around.

The approach to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, nestled high in the steep Himalayan terrain, is a remarkable experience. It involves a tight turn between the mountains in order to achieve the least dramatic descent to the valley. The airport is known by pilots as one of the most challenging in the world.

This video illustrates the approach and landing at Kathmandu:

Hotel Shanker

In Kathmandu we stayed at the Hotel Shanker, located near the Narayanhiti Palace, which long served as the residence and principal workplace of the reigning Monarch of the Kingdom of Nepal. The Narayanhiti Palace has a long storied history that is worthy of reading about. 


The Narayanhiti Palace had been home to the country's ill-fated royal family. Now it has become a public museum.

• "A peek inside the palace of Nepal's last monarchy"
  The Guardian, May 27, 2009

Hotel Shanker

The Hotel Shanker had previously been known as the Lazimpat Durbar (and the Agni Bhawan). A palace complex that lies in the heart of Kathmandu, to the north of the Bagmati River. It contained an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. The history of the palace is closely linked with the history of Nepal and its rulers.  

In 1964, Ram Shanker Shrestha bought this palace and converted it into the hotel. When we visited, I don't recall there being the large swimming pool that exists today (it may have been there but, if so, was not operating). The gardens are beautiful, however, and provided an amazingly quiet and peaceful refuge from the bustle of Kathmandu. 

After settling in and enjoying a cup of tea in the garden, we headed off to explore the surrounding area. About a half mile away, in the midst of a commercial area that catered to western tourists, we found some very good pizza for our dinner.

. . . to be continued.

Meanwhile Back in New York State

New York State has just suffered its greatest loss of life in a single day. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in disbelief of the difficulty in obtaining protective clothing for health care workers who are on the frontlines of the battle against the COVID-19 pathogen. 

Half of planet Earth is in lockdown, but only half of the states. Our politician's concerns for the economy and lack of leadership regarding healthcare, may very well be the biggest challenge to the economy. Let's just try to do the right thing and the economy will follow.