Last Aapchour visit and Heading Home
Saturday, June 10
Our new driver, Marshall, arrived at the hotel right on time -- 6:30AM. We were expecting a difficult drive
due to overnight pre-monsoon rains so he came in a full size Toyota Hilux pickup 4x4. NICE. We loaded our bags of gear and
headed out of KTM. Saturday is the one day off from the six-day work and school week for Nepalis. The streets were clear. We
made good time to the bottom of the first mountain road and Marshall shifted into 4-wheel drive. The parts of the road that
were usually muddy were now full mug bogs. We saw a few people stuck and everyone was taking it very slow. We made it
through with no trouble. Toyota LandCruiser and Toyota Hilux -- gotta love 'em! Although, looking over the edge of the muddy
road and feeling the tires slip was a bit concerning to say the least. We rounded the top of the mountain and it was completely
fogged in. The pickup truck windows were open and we could actually see cloud vapor drift through the cab of our truck. Cool.
We descended into the next valley, the sky opened up, and the view was beautifully clear. We went even slower going downhill.
60 minutes of bumping around and we were at the Kabilash bridge. It was a crowded market day because everyone does their
shopping on their day off. We headed up to the ex-mayor's house and were welcomed with glasses of hot milk -- fresh from the
cow standing a few feet from us. The milk was not warm from the cow, but hot from being pasteurized by boiling. And, it was
served in metal cups, so....extra hot. Because we made good time on the road, which was reported to be much worse, we had
some extra time to relax and talk. Our contractor, Umesh, was at the pipe factory before it opened and was hoping to get the
order delivered before we had to head back to KTM. The ex-mayor, Madhav Khanal, gave us his notes from last year's project.
He kept very detailed accounting of the dates, tasks, and costs. We could not have accomplished the project without Madhav
Khanal's help. We gave thanks for the hospitality, loaded up the truck and headed for Aapchour.
The river was higher than the last ride. We were glad to be in a slightly higher vehicle - and we had no trouble. We made it
downstream and across the river to the last bit of a climb up to Aapchour. Marhsall drove deeper into the village than we were
able on the last trip. We went as far as we could and then got out and walked the rest of the way to the house of the vice
president of the Water Committee. We were welcomed onto the front porch, but he wasn't home. He was busy threshing the
harvested rice to make room for the well crew to start digging. He was threshing the rice on a foot treadle thresher. Rick walked
down to the lower rice terrace to get a closer look. He tried his hand at running the thresher and then scooped up some rice to
put in his pocket. Everyone was laughing watching the American give it a try. Then, Rick took out his drone and flew a few
passes over the area. He wanted to get one last good view of where the water tank would be installed, the rice terrace where the
water collection well would be dug, and the hill where the pipe was going to be laid. The view was perfect and everyone was
thrilled to see the "flying camera". Rick gave a few people the chance to fly it and even try to land it.
SUNDAY, June 11, 5:30PM
We are sitting in the Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM). We spent most of the morning packing, repacking, and repacking
trying to fit our tools, souvenirs, and clothes into our bags. We took one last walk through the market to buy a few things we
had an eye on. The hotel gave us a late, 4PM checkout and we're very grateful for that. We took showers, repacked one more
time to fit the things we bought, and then Kamal and Prasant arrived in the lobby. We settled our bills, exchanged thank you's,
and made plans to meet again next year. Prasant worked hard to make sure our stay was pleasant. He took us to a nice
restaurant, we met his family, and he arranged a sightseeing trip for us while we were on our R&R. Kamal took a few tools and
fittings to store in his house until next year -- if we're lucky enough to return for another project. We said our goodbyes and said
farewell to the hotel staff. The manager placed scarves on us and encouraged us to return again soon. We piled into the hotel
shuttle van and headed for the airport. That's about it for now. We'll proofread this blog and add more detail when we return to
WPB. We hope you can attend our slideshow/house party sometime after we get back. Thanks for reading and supporting our
Nepal 2017 project.