Leaving Nepal III: The Departure

Welcome to my journey from my second home, Nepal, to my first home, the US.

The story begins in 2 parts (The Village // Kathmandu), which left us at the airport, just after parting with my boyfriend, in the first moments of again being a solo traveller.

Reading time: 7 minutes

Recap

So many things had to align for me to successfully make it out of Nepal.

1. Booking and securing a flight ticket out of Kathmandu (KTM) - completed in part 1

2. Finding and securing a car/driver to take us to KTM - completed in part 1

3. Getting to KTM while the country is in lockdown and police are everywhere enforcing a no-drive rule - completed in part 2

4. Being able to get a PCR Covid test the day before my flight, in KTM - completed in part 2

5. Getting the test results before my flight - completed in part 2

6. The test results being negative - completed in part 2

7. Making it to the airport on time - completed in part 2

8. The flight not being banned by the destination country before we arrived there

9. The plane making it out of the airport before midnight, with me on it

We ended our last instalment midday on May 6, arriving at the airport less than 12 hours before the impending flight ban.

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The airport wasn't busy when I arrived, around 1PM on May 6.  Check-in for my 4:00 flight wasn't open yet because it was too early.  I met a solo female traveler from Romania, Simona, who was also on my flight, and we stuck together on and off from then until we got to Dubai.  We began talking because I was crying - I had just said goodbye-for-now to my partner a few minutes prior - and she wanted to make sure I was okay.

The airport wasn't very crowded yet, though people were arriving slowly but surely.  Left: Simona, a fellow solo female traveler on my flight.

Simona and I then waited in line together for the next hour or so, watching the airport become crazier and crazier, more and more crowded.  By the time our flight had begun checking in, the airport was filling up.  There were hundreds of people in line to check in, all at one counter with only 3 attendants.  It took quite awhile.

Airport line friends!  I'm glad I got there as early as I did, I have no idea how long it took for the people at the back of that crowd to get checked in for their flights.  (PS: Tribhuvan is a one-runway airport.  Most of these people were split between just a few flights.  No social distancing when everyone has to flee the country by midnight!)

I was texting my boyfriend Sanam the entire time, and also chatting with fellow travellers.  We were all masked, but social distancing was not possible.  We did our best.

Fortunately, Dubai had not banned Nepali flights at this time.  Singapore, the Philippines, and another country that I forgot had banned Nepali flights in the couple of days prior to my flight.  It was of course a bit unsettling to not know if Dubai would do the same before my flight.  The bans were happening because people were boarding from Nepal with negative test results and when tested on arrival in the other countries, were positive for Covid.  I imagine this was partly due to fraud by testing centers.  I was so grateful that Dubai allowed travel from Nepal this day.

✔ 8. The flight not being banned by the destination country before we arrived there

The airport was quite an entertaining place to be on the last day before a flight ban.  There were all kinds of people trying to get out while they still had a chance.  One group of English teachers from Armenia, who had been heading to China but the border with Nepal closed before they made it there, were very drunk and really enjoying the airport experience... until their flight got cancelled.  They were arranged onto different flights, but only after one of the particularly drunk fellows tried to fight the airport attendants.  He screamed "Who are you?!  How dare you!?" and pointed at one of the airport workers.  Security had to come move him away.  I don't know what ended up happening to that group.  I hope they made it out safely.

By the grace of the airport gods, I made it to the checkin counter, checked my bags, and got my boarding passes.  I was really leaving.

I went through immigration and security with no event.  These places were actually particularly fast and easy because there weren't many people once we got through the initial check-in.  I enjoyed chatting with airport workers in Nepali.  One security guard didn't believe my name is Roxi (Nepali for "alcohol") and tried walking behind me saying "Roxi ma'am" quietly to check if I was telling the truth.  I turned and said "Hajur!" ("Yes!") and we both laughed so much.  I suppose there was a tiny event at the final security check - the agent confiscated my compass because of its sharp tip.  I explained that I am a mandala artist, she complimented my mandala t-shirt and apologized for having to throw it away.  No matter; I didn't end up doing art on the travels anyway, I was busy with my notebook!

I was on the phone with Sanam while I stood in line to board the plane.  We talked while I was on the shuttle to the plane, and up until the moment I ascended the stairs to get on my flight.

 Sanam and I continued texting until I was told to put my phone on airplane mode, around 4 PM.  He and our driver were at the car repair shop waiting for their ride home to be fixed.  The driver didn't end up taking the people who had called him, as they couldn't get a passcard in time and he didn't want to risk getting stuck in KTM.

I was so excited to get a window seat by chance!  Window seats are always my favorite.

My flight was delayed by 2.5 hours due to our final 6 people getting stopped at immigration when the system went down, then weather (see the rain?), then waiting on paperwork.  But finally, at about 6:30 PM on May 6, just 5.5 hours before the flight ban, we were on our way to Dubai.

✔ 9. The plane making it out of the airport before midnight, with me on it

Tune into the next post to find out if we make it to Dubai, and what lush, extravagant wonders may await us there!

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