I have arrived! Towards the end of two full days of flying, layovers, time changes, and a lot of mental disorientation, I awoke from my last plane nap and saw the Himalayas standing before me. Their pure white jagged peaks poked through the clouds on the horizon, towering over the lush green mountains and valleys below.
The Vajra Varahi clinic is outside of Kathmandu, in the much smaller and less chaotic town of Chapagaun. The lower level has a reception area and treatments rooms, and the two upper levels are bedrooms for staff, as well as a common area and shared kitchen. The rooftop terrace is beautiful, with resident feline friends and amazing views across the valley.
The streets are alive with a ceaseless flow of people, bikes, motorcycles, cats, dogs, goats, chickens, ducks, cows, and the occasional water buffalo. To my surprise, apparently the rooftops are alive as well, with visiting monkeys clambering across the terraces to sample the herb garden, and steal whatever else they can get their hands on.
Nearby is a Vajra Varahi temple, one of four temples in Nepal built for the Buddhist goddess Vajra Varahi, where I had my first introduction to the style of worship of Nepal's 3300 million gods.
The dusty narrow streets in the surrounding area are filled with concrete houses intermingled with corrugated tin huts that were constructed after the earthquake. Residential areas quickly give way to sprawling farmland and rice paddies.
But so far, the most beautiful aspect of being in Nepal is being surrounding by such amazingly resilient and open people. The generous warmth that shines through their radiant smiles truly nourishes the soul.
I look forward to getting to know them, through the help of my interpreter, and feel very honored to have the opportunity to treat them in the clinic when it opens for business this week.