Since there is a strike…Hey! Let's travel some more!

To the bridge!

Today we travel to the Karnali bridge. This means we take our very first paved road! Butt is EXTRAORDINARILY happy!

Today the strike is underway. But we are “safe” because we are travelling where….most bombers wouldn’t bother wasting time (aka remote area…fewer cars…less chance of….fun for them…meaning…its not really a great party if your bombs go to waste?)  AND…. we are on a motorcycle (which maybe better to avoid….trouble).  We see almost no one on the road with exception of ambulance and military (both are allowed by bombers to travel during strikes).

Gopal and local kids at the Karnali suspension bridge,
Nepal (Photo: JLewis)

The Karnali bridge is a fairly new Suspension bridge. North of it will be another dam soon (bad news). Dams divide the Ganges river dolphin into multiple small groups who are now genetically isolated from one another. Not only is isolation a problem, but the dams themselves also create havoc for the ecology of the river (e.g. changing the flow patterns of the rivers and increasing sedimentation). There were multiple reasons the Chinese river dolphin went extinct (in 2005) but a major player there was also the damming of the river where they lived. We go here (to the Karnali bridge) to film the river and to get more interview footage of Gopal.

It seems there is at least one thing…I will not eat….again…I hope.

Overlooking Karnali river, Nepal (Photo: JLewis)

Had lunch at amazing location on cliff overlooking river. They made something that looked really good but ….ummmm…..Sadly I could not consume. It consisted of cucumbers and some small extremely bony fish that were cooked whole. Salad is a big no no in Asia if….your not Asian….and well….I’m not.  This is raw veg and raw veg can have….stuff on it. So…..my option was to starve or try the fish…..whole. 
I am a big girl…and I can do it…I said to myself. I started trying to eat them, but the bones were too much. I know…..I have let down all the tough people out there….IT IS MY ONLY VICE ON TOUGHNESS I SWEAR!...So I picked at the fish. I think I disappointed Gopal ….severely……because of this. Oh well….Hey!….did you see how heavy that damn bag is I am carrying? Don’t I get some tough points for that? Yeah I do! :)

Kids are my favorite groupies….again. :)

Everywhere we stop it is the kids that find us interesting. They love the tech, always interested in the camera wanting to see what the pictures look like I take of them and how it works. Kids are awesome!

Kids near the Karnali bridge, Nepal. Purple shirt is storm trooper kid.  (Photo: JLewis)

So today I get a tiny break from filming Gopal….and I walk to a bridge to film some goats below for b-roll. A group of four young boys approach…and …well what do you know…one speaks pretty much perfect English! He starts with what everyone does…Hi…Where are you from? (Too young to know to ask…why are you not married…blah blah…thank god for kids). Anyway…I am of course totally drawn in to this kid as a result. He is wearing a storm trooper t shirt…meaning…super bonus points! Anyway, we only talk for a minute. They let me photograph them and they are off…running along the road to their next destination. Awesome random moment!