Unexpected holidays

When I heard the rumour at work on Tuesday that Wed might be a holiday, I was relieved. I'd been feeling tired and run down, and a day off what just what I needed. We didn't get confirmation that the holiday was happening until 4:30, which had me fretting, but then as a bonus, we got 2 days off, instead of just one.

Why the sudden holidays? Well, as of last night, Nepal is now a republic. On Tuesday the new constitutional assembly was sworn in, and last night they voted to abolish the monarchy. As a result, Wed. and Thurs. were holidays across the country, so that there could be celebration in the streets. And there was. Definitely there are lots of people happy with the new government, and abolishing the monarchy. However, there was also a sense of people being required to celebrate, but it's hard to tell from an outsider's perspective. There have been some small smatterings of violence, but generally everything has gone smoothly. Now the assembly has to sort itself out and make a government - with only 30% of the seats, the Maoists will have to form a coalition with other parties. We'll see how long that takes. BBC has been covering the events of the last few days closely. Here's a useful summary, with links on it to further articles, if you're interested in reading more.

In any case, everyone got 2 days off, and I've managed to enjoy them by sleeping in and swimming yesterday, and getting up early and going for a great bike ride today, then napping in the afternoon. I like unofficial holidays, since you don't have anything already planned in them, making them easier to relax in. It was also nice that I could be home, as yesterday was Jenni's last full day. A bunch of us went out for dinner last night, and then this morning she flew to Kathmandu, and tomorrow on to China. Her original plans of nursing for medical camps in western China have been changed by the earthquake there, and will probably be doing relief work instead.

Tomorrow there is the farewell program for Dr. Iain at the hospital. After four years there he is heading home to Scotland. There should be good food, but only after many long speeches, mostly in Nepali. I'll be sad to see him and his family go on Sunday, though. Sandra, the new superintendent, is really great - a physiotherapist with 7 years experience working in hospitals in Nepal, and excellent Nepali. I'm really going to enjoy working with her.

Last weekend, a group of us went out to Begnas Tal - a lake about a 20 drive east of Pokhara. It's a popular holiday spot for Nepali's, but because it was raining, we had the place practically to ourselves. It was a lovely day all the same, despite getting wet from riding there on the top of the bus (Jenni and I holding on tight in the first pic below). And after being paddled across the lake and lunch at a nice resort, we decided to try and find the path on our map that goes along the top of the ridge... I'm not sure we ever did find it but we had a nice hike down through the woods. At least, until we realized that leech season has started. Note to self - hiking is going to be a bit more of an adventure until the monsoon is over. We made it down relatively unscathed (I was the only one to actually get bitten), and then had to figure our way back to the road through beautiful green rice fields. A fun adventure.