Back at "home" in Mukdahan, Thailand

We made the return trip to Mukdahan on Wednesday without any problems.    I will post a few pictures of the Himalayan Mountains and the cities as we were leaving Katmandu and landing in Narayangarh.    We were on a small twin engine Yeti Airlines plane on the way to Narayangarh.

Katmandu is a large area situated between mountain ranges.   They are in the distance as you travel through the congested city.   Shops and small homes are packed in tightly.    Many tourists come here for tours to see the mountains.  We saw groups from China and Japan and many individual European or American tourists in the airports and hotels.  There are flights into the mountain regions and helicopter trips as well.   There are always clouds and fog so the chances are great that you won't get as good a view as you were hoping for

Arriving in Narayangarh, you immediately see a difference in the housing.    Most buildings are 2 or 3 stories.   Our workers may rent an entire floor of a building for their housing.   Many families will live in the same building.   Some are very beautiful buildings; others are run-down and need a lot of repair.   They all have nice tile floors inside.  Mountains also surround Narayangarh so there is always early morning fog.  It never gets below freezing for any length of time but it does get cold in these winter months.    Many trees were flowering and flowers blooming everywhere, including a bush of double poinsettias at the small guest house where we stayed.  

From the airplane window, the clouds and mountains almost blend but what you see in the distance is the ridge of mountains.  

On the entire trip, we only observed two people coughing.    Many were wearing masks in fear of the virus because at least one case has been reported in Nepal.    The airport in Katmandu and Bangkok were checking everyone's temperatures and upon arrival they point a thermometer toward your forehead to check for a fever.

Waiting in the Narayangarh airport to return home.

We are settled in our room again and Ron is going to the jobsite each day for part of the day to be sure things are going well.    They are now laying blocks for the walls as the foundation is completed.  They cannot make blocks as fast as the workers are laying them because the blocks have to "cure" three days before they can be used.    Ron's biggest problem now is keeping enough money on hand for purchasing materials and paying the labor workers.    He also groans about the petty cash reports keeping receipts for everything and identifying everything properly for accounting purposes.

Our days will be routine until the middle or last of March when we leave for a week in the Philippines and then a return to the U.S.   The picture above is the new house at the Casa Esperanza of Angels orphanage in Tanjay, Philippines.     It should have the roof on and more progress made by the time we get there to see it.    It is designed to house 24 girls.