Return to Meghauli Airport

Shivani Air vehicles from the hangar.

Yeti Air Twin Otter departs for Kathmandu.

Crowded bus. Very typical!

Here is a young neighbor of Prakesh's seated in the one table "restaurant". What a bright and interesting face. I don't know who the old guy is behind but he appears to be guarding the cold beer in the fridge over his right shoulder.

Church at Meghauli.

Corn drying in the sun. Very common.

It is TUE and word is that no flying through WED. That may be optimistic. I am told that the problem is that enough bribes are not being paid for signatures on our aircraft's Airworthiness Certificates. That pisses me off but here I sit. I could have used this time for a nice holiday if I had known it would extend this long. Oh well, come back tomorrow.

Bribes are the way business is done in this part of the world. That pisses me off. Shivani Air, despite all its many faults, is a business that employs many people and contributes mightily to the local economies. But not if these delays continue. These "do nothing" bureaucrats exist in every part of the government. That pisses me off. Perhaps these folks will one day make demands of me in person and I will have the opportunity to make them aware of how I feel.

Anyhow, yesterday, I decided to revisit Meghauli Airport. I had made some copies of some of the photos that I had taken during the first visit. These pictures were a big hit and drew the entire village over to view. It was another hot day (105 degrees) but the road was in much better shape so I was able to make much better time and was much more comfortable.

Just as I was asking about the old Christian lady, she came walking by. I had to ask, how in this Hindu land did you become Christian and where is your church? The answers were illuminating. She had the misfortune (in this part of the world) of bearing only 3 daughters, no males. The rules of inheritance were not in her favor, so, she said to heck with that and became a Christian. She then went and got her Bible, written completely in Nepali. The church was near by so I got the nickel tour. Met some other Christians there and got an invite to SAT's services. The lack of any statues or pictures puzzled me. I did not ask. These folks knew a lot about Shivani Air, even way out here. I had a nice ride back so the no fly day was not wasted.

So, maybe fly on THU. We shall see.