It has really affected everyone, at least in Kathmandu, and probably across the nation (at least in accessible areas). My language classes were cancelled because the teachers couldn't make it in. I only found that out after I arrived, which was a bummer, because I'd been considering calling in sick anyways. Just a cold, but I feel a bit miserable. Oh well...I at least got my cultural education for the day, and this is, after all a "Language and Culture Orientation Program" that I'm doing.
For the last bandh I was a chicken and avoided the main road. Today I decided to brave it, because I was curious about what was going on, and I've been assured that it's safe for pedestrians as long as you mind your own business. So here's what I saw:
1. NO civilian vehicles...cars, taxis, buses, motorbikes. Okay, I did see maybe 2 motorbikes away from the main road, but that was it. It actually made the walk to class (or non-class, as it turned out) quite pleasant. No dust, no worries about getting hit by a car or motorbike (on the road or the sidewalk!), no honking and other noise.
2. I did see several ambulances (yes, there are ambulances in Kathmandu, though I'm told that most days you'll get to the hospital faster in a taxi than if you wait for an ambulance). There were also police cars here and there, most carrying armed police officers to their posts. I saw a few UN vehicles travelling in convoy. And there were a couple press vans, which I presume are allowed because they give a voice to the reason for the demonstrations.
3. Almost no shops were open. Definitely none along the main road, and very few, even along the smaller side/back roads.
4. Bicycles are sort of allowed. Along side roads and even the main road away from where people were demonstrating, people were riding their bikes. As they got closer to the demonstration area, most people got off their bikes and walked them. I did see one person riding his bike into the area where they were demonstrating, and several guys with sticks chased him down until he got off.
5. Bicycle rickshaw taxis are something I have not seen in Nepal until today. Apparently there are some but they usually hang out in the tourist area. I saw several on the road today. Most of them, however, were walking the rickshaw, and had no passengers. But further away from the demonstrators there were a few that were carrying passengers and the "driver" was riding the bike.
6. I saw one tourist bus. These have recently been included in the vehicles that are allowed to travel during a bandh, to prevent people from missing flights or being stranded at the airport. If you are a tourist, you can get the tourist bus (it's a big orange bus that says "TOURIST" in big letters on the front window) at the airport, and it will take you to a downtown hotel. From there you have to find your own way (with your luggage). I'm glad there wasn't a bandh the day I arrived! You can also pick up the tourist bus at the hotel if you need to get to the airport.
7. There were lots of police officers out in riot gear, standing mostly in groups at the major intersections. But there are also police officers stationed here and there along the back and side roads. I saw one officer, obviously bored, who was playing hackey sack with some children in one of the out-of-the-way areas. It was kind of cute!
8. At the Bagmati bridge, where a lot of police officers are stationed, I noticed a big grey armoured vehicle that looked like a jail truck. But when I got to the front of it, it said, "Nepal Armed Police Mobile Restroom." That's handy! I'm guessing it goes around to each area where they're stationed and hangs out for awhile.
9. I saw a guy with a big pole with bags of pink cotton candy at the top of it walking in the area where there were a lot of police officers. That made me laugh! I don't think anyone bought any :)
10. There were lots of kids out in the side streets playing soccer or basketball or badminton. You can NEVER play on the streets, so this was a novelty. I'm guessing they also got the day off school.
11. There was a group of demonstrators - no more than 40 or 50 where I saw them - holding red and white flags (which I'm guessing are the party flags) and chanting. That was also where I saw the guy on the bike get chased down.
12. My didi phoned to say she wasn't coming today. It was an interesting phone conversation, because I knew what she was trying to say, but I couldn't quite figure out how to communicate to her that I understood and that it was fine for her to stay home. We eventually figured it out (probably when I said, "See you tomorrow" in Nepali). Just as well that she didn't come...I didn't have anything for her to do anyways. It's a bit difficult finding things for her to do every day. I'm one person and she's here (theoretically) 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. And when she cooks a meal she cooks enough for about 3 meals. She's lovely, though, and a good person to practice Nepali with. And when the couple (soon to be family) that I'm house-sitting for comes back in February with their new baby (at which point I move upstairs) she will have plenty to do, so I'm not too worried!
What I didn't see, but apparently it was happening in a few places in the city, was vehicles being vandalized and set on fire. Kind of glad I missed that sight! I did see one car parked at the side of the road, and its owner had covered it completely with a cloth cover, presumably to show that it wasn't being driven that day. Pretty serious stuff!
All in all, it was quite fascinating to watch/experience. But I can see how this could get old pretty quickly. One of my friends (also a doctor going to Tansen after language study) pointed out that bandhs are probably good for the environment, because of the lack of vehicular traffic. This is very true. On the other hand, the taxi-drivers, bus-drivers, shop-keepers, etc, lose their source of income for that day. And so do a lot of the people (if not salaried) who depend on vehicles to get to and from work. It's no wonder Nepal is still classified as one of the poorest countries in the world (ranked 157 out of 187 countries on the UN Human Development Index Score). It certainly makes it difficult to advance economically when the whole country can be shut down like this.
On another note, apparently load-shedding (lack of electricity) will be increasing to 11 hours/day this week (from 6 hours/day). As the winter progresses it may increase to 16 hours/day or more. Still very thankful for the inverter system here, so that I can have some light even when there's no power.
For my part, given my somewhat miserable state, I'm now ready to do what I was considering doing this morning...staying in comfy clothes, and curling up and watching a movie. Or maybe several movies. And my didi isn't even here to make me feel self-conscious about it. It's not all bad...
