Arrived...

A quick note to say that I've arrived in Kathmandu... after a LONG journey from London. The flight from Heathrow was ok - a curry and a film, followed plenty of turbulance and a resulting lack of sleep is probably sufficient description. We met up with Yael, a colleague from WaterAid and Katie, who is accompanying Yael's work in Nepal this week. It looks like there's going to be quite a WaterAid presence in Kathmandu this week. We then picked up Tom and boarded our flight to Kathmandu. The dusty monsoon clouds have started to gather over Delhi which made for a bumpy start into the skies... The short flight was low in the sky, giving us amazing views of mountainous Nepal - particularly the vibrant green terraced farmlands that we've seen so many times in pictures, that we'll be heading out into tomorrow.
A trip through the busy, dusty streets of Kathmandu followed; whole families on scooters, cows in the road, people hanging out along the streetside. Tom pointed out a bridge coming up with a river running underneath.... before he needed to explain any further the smell hit us through the open windows. Open sewers. Small tin houses ran alongside the riverbanks - women were hanging their washing over it and children playing nearby. My first sight of poor sanitation....
We've just arrived at the hotel - it's 16.30 local time so just time for a nap and a shower before our welcome dinner. Much more to tell over the next few days I'm sure...

A xx