This past week there was a Bandh in the Kathmandu Valley. "Bandh" is a Nepali word that means "closing." Bandhs are a form of protest used here in Nepal when there literally is a "closing" of traffic and shops, and usually schools and offices have to close too because of the traffic closing. It was announced that there would "probably" be a bandh, so no one was taken by surprise, although we had to wait until the morning to find out for sure. It happened to come this week on our "Town Day," so we couldn't go to Kathmandu. (This happened once before on our town day not too long after we arrived, and you can read about it early on in the blog. If you missed it, check out the August 2010 post called "Strike!") Our doctors who live in Kathmandu were allowed to travel to the hospital. They were stopped (I heard) but were allowed to pass. Things were normally busy at the hospital.
The newspaper said that medical shops were allowed to be open, but that staff of government offices would not go to work. Some people did have to work though and here's the quote, "...peons, however, went to work."
My friend and I decided to go into Banepa and see if we could find anything open. We saw people gathered in the town square...
... where someone was reading a newspaper out loud to those standing around.
The bus you see here was parked and not going anywhere. (Down this street I was happy to find the shop that sells fresh yogurt open and I bought some. It really is delicious!)
We read that about 25 buses and about the same amount of trucks were stranded (near and about here anyway) that didn't make their destination before the bandh started. Some passengers waited it out with the drivers, and others just walked to where they wanted to go. About three dozen motorcycles were seized for defying the strike, but were returned after it was over.
Well, true to their word, it was a one day bandh, and soon everything was back to normal--except for the fuel shortage Nepal is experiencing. We saw looooong lines (maybe a mile long) of vehicles waiting at gas stations on our way home from Kathmandu the next day. The "lane" on the left is one of these long lines of traffic waiting to get into a gas station.
Oh boy, look at this. The gas station had run out of fuel and is closed. However, these guys aren't going to lose their place in line! They just will stay there all night and wait until fuel comes!
I HOPE that we'll be able to go to Kathmandu next week, but who knows? I'll keep you posted as to what's happening here in the Himalayas!!!
By the way, Happy Labor Day! Here in Nepal it's a holiday for International Labor Day! (However, Ramon is working since some surgeries can't wait! I hope he gets home in time for a walk.) Whatever you're doing today, please enjoy it!
(Update: Ramon did get home late and then had to leave again so we missed our walk today. Since it was raining (we had quite a storm which included hail) we wouldn't have walked even if we had had time. Oh well! Maybe tomorrow.... :))
The newspaper said that medical shops were allowed to be open, but that staff of government offices would not go to work. Some people did have to work though and here's the quote, "...peons, however, went to work."
My friend and I decided to go into Banepa and see if we could find anything open. We saw people gathered in the town square...
... where someone was reading a newspaper out loud to those standing around.
Indeed, the shops were closed.
However, as you can see above, some sidewalk food stands were open. I was also able to buy some fruit at a stand. We did see some people working hard however.
The bus you see here was parked and not going anywhere. (Down this street I was happy to find the shop that sells fresh yogurt open and I bought some. It really is delicious!)
We read that about 25 buses and about the same amount of trucks were stranded (near and about here anyway) that didn't make their destination before the bandh started. Some passengers waited it out with the drivers, and others just walked to where they wanted to go. About three dozen motorcycles were seized for defying the strike, but were returned after it was over.
Well, true to their word, it was a one day bandh, and soon everything was back to normal--except for the fuel shortage Nepal is experiencing. We saw looooong lines (maybe a mile long) of vehicles waiting at gas stations on our way home from Kathmandu the next day. The "lane" on the left is one of these long lines of traffic waiting to get into a gas station.
Oh boy, look at this. The gas station had run out of fuel and is closed. However, these guys aren't going to lose their place in line! They just will stay there all night and wait until fuel comes!
I HOPE that we'll be able to go to Kathmandu next week, but who knows? I'll keep you posted as to what's happening here in the Himalayas!!!
By the way, Happy Labor Day! Here in Nepal it's a holiday for International Labor Day! (However, Ramon is working since some surgeries can't wait! I hope he gets home in time for a walk.) Whatever you're doing today, please enjoy it!
(Update: Ramon did get home late and then had to leave again so we missed our walk today. Since it was raining (we had quite a storm which included hail) we wouldn't have walked even if we had had time. Oh well! Maybe tomorrow.... :))
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