Kathmandu Quake: 7.9 – A String of Luck Amidst Tragedy
As many of you know, Ryoko and I were in the center of Kathmandu, Nepal during the recent 7.9 earthquake that rocked the city on April 25th, 2015. It’s been a devastating time for the country and my heart goes out to all those affected. Amidst all the devastation, we have to thank our lucky stars because we were among the most fortunate of those in the city throughout the event and the following days.
And all of this coincided precisely on the 1 year anniversary of our engagement.
During the Quake
When the quake struck, Ryoko and I were visiting the Boudhanath Stupa in the heart of Kathmandu, about 25 minutes from where we were staying.
In the moment of the quake, we were in a small shop next to the stupa that sells singing bowls. At the first feeling of the tremor, I moved to the doorway of the building and didn’t think much about it. Then it quickly increased in intensity and some singing bowls began falling. Ryoko acted quickly, grabbed my hand, and led us out into the more open space just outside.
The stupa continued shaking and some of the upper stones moved out of place, but ultimately only a small side pillar fell. No one was hurt in the area where we stayed. Though we were a bit shaken… everything seemed fine in our immediate surroundings.
We stayed near the stupa for a couple hours. All the shops around us closed down, and once things seemed to settle a bit, we took a cab back to our hotel.
The fact that we were at this stupa instead of many of the other tourist attractions turned out to be one of the luckiest streaks we hit throughout our experiences here.
“You Have to Leave”
We arrived back at the hotel and the front gate was locked. We peered in, and the front door was also closed with a chain and lock from the outside, so we knew no one was there.
After a couple hours sitting outside, the owner showed up and let us in. We were the only ones staying at the hotel since that morning when all the other guests had left. And though the power was out, the water tanks were full. So we took a shower and began to relax.
At 6 pm, there was a knock at our door. It was the owner and he said, “you have to leave.” We tried to talk him in to letting us stay. But he insisted. He wanted us to leave because he didn’t want to stay in the hotel, and he couldn’t leave it open and unattended.
He gave us 15 minutes to get ready. When we arrived downstairs, his whole family was there, ready to get out.
They were leaving to an open field and had all the blankets and supplies necessary to wait it out for a while. He said he would come back at 11, which seemed like a long time for us to be sitting out on the street. So finally he agreed to come back and let us in at 9:30.
We stayed in the courtyard of a nearby hotel where there were many other people. We returned to the hotel at 9:30, he let us in, and we waited out the night.
Around 3 am, there were a few aftershocks that made my stomach drop and my eyes shoot open. But none lasted long enough for us to take any action. The morning came, and we went out looking for food.
An Eerily Silent City
The next morning, everything was closed and we were staying in the middle of what is normally one of the busiest areas in the city. Eventually we found a hotel that opened up with a single item menu: two eggs, two pieces of toast, and black coffee or tea for $5.
Funny enough, that (totally reasonable) price was about 3X the usual, so some people trying to pinch pennies actually came in, sat down, and left once they heard the price…. They walked out, indignant, as if they were victim of a cruel joke.
Meanwhile, I just felt a combination of gratitude for the people who were willing to come in to work to feed a bunch of tourists, and disgust at many of those impatient tourists who seemed to think that the worst part of this event was their interrupted vacations.
Kathmandu’s Condition
There was no electricity, thus no internet. So the biggest thing weighing on our minds was just to get information to everyone and let you all know we were still doing fine and well.
We made a friend at breakfast and with him, we walked around to assess the damage near our area and look for food. Several buildings had fallen in our area, mostly those that were very old.
The biggest tragedy in terms of damage to the city was that many of the oldest temples, including world heritage sites had crumbled into heaps. Many people were actually inside buildings there during the event.
In fact, we were in the middle of one of those areas just 24 hours before. Another guy we met was there during the quake, and he reported seeing a man only 10 feet away from him who was struck by a falling brick.
A small shop opened, mostly to assess their own damage. But immediately a number of people in the area started showing and up and thanking them for opening and suppling us all with with food and water. They saw how much everyone appreciated their opening, and though they clearly wanted to be with their families, they stayed.
We were able to stock up on some water and other snacks to get us by in case food really did get scarce later on. Throughout it all, we missed a couple meals and got by on snacks. But we were never without supplies.
The Nepali People
Though it’s impossible to summarize the feelings or the actions of the locals from our limited perspective, one thing we can be sure of is that most people were very scared.
The owner of our hotel and his family were a combination of terrified, uncertain, and worried. They spent most of the day and night, along with many other Nepali people, in big open soccer fields, or out in the middle of large street intersections.
Also, many Nepali people seemed to be quite superstitious about the event. We heard talk of how “this is a sign” and “a bigger one is going to come next.” This belief turned out to affect us later in the evening.
Did Pool Save Our Lives?
Following our walk that morning, roughly 10:30 am, we returned to the hotel only to find it all locked up again…
After about 20 minutes, the owner returned. He said we could get some things but had to leave because they were still scared and didn’t want to be in the building in case there was another quake.
I have to say, through it all I am super grateful that the owner didn’t simply kick us out. He was obviously very scared and wanted to just stay home with his family. We were the only two people there and many of the other hotels did indeed kick everyone out. Some people had no place to go and so they went to their respective countries’ embassies.
Now with rumors among the Nepali people that “the big one is coming at 9 pm,” he wanted to close down shop more than ever.
But this time the Billiards Gods happened to be on our side and graced us with another shot of luck in our corner pocket.
3 days before the quake, Ryoko noticed that the owner was playing a pool game on his smartphone. She asked if he played and he responded enthusiastically. We shared our appreciation for the game, and that night he took us to a local Nepali pool and snooker hall for several racks.
I think this outing was key to what happened next because during that evening, we had some time to build up some good vibes and trust.
So here we were…. 11 am… the owner was scared and wanted to leave. If he stayed to keep the hotel open, it would be just for us…. and with everything in the area closed, we would be left out on the streets.
I took a shot in the dark and asked, “please, we don’t want any trouble. We know you have a lot to worry about. What if you give us the keys to the gate and front door, I promise to lock everything up just like you do, and then you don’t have to worry about us….?”
He accepted, handed over the keys, and we had a comfortable place to stay while most everyone else was getting tossed out of their hotels.
So I guess pool didn’t save our lives, but it did play a role in making sure we had a comfortable bed and shower when most people were sleeping on lobby floors and embassy courtyards.
Bonus luck…. Since we were the only two in the hotel, there was plenty of water for showers and toilets. AND this hotel actually had solar heaters for the shower water… so that second night, when even the nicest hotels that allowed people to stay were out of water…. we had an entire hotel to ourselves, a room full of snacks, running water, and hot showers….
Flying South to Safety
The final hurdle was the airport. Once we arrived, there were huge crowds everywhere. The previous day, all flights to and from India had been cancelled. As a result, some people were camped out at the airport, and many more were trying to buy tickets to get out ASAP.
We actually bought our tickets about 3 months prior. Had we got the tickets for any of the 3 previous days the trip would have been cancelled for who knows how long.
But as it was, we were able to work our way through the crowds. And after a 4 hour delay, we were walking across the tarmac to our plane.
Now here we are, safe and sound in India and getting ready to head north to Dalam Sala.
What a String of Luck
Considering the magnitude of the tragedy and how it affected the entire country, I don’t think Ryoko and I could have been any luckier.
We could have been at any of the other tourist attractions that actually collapsed, but instead we were in an area that was perfectly safe.
We could have been kicked out of our hotel like many of other tourists in our area who were left to sleep on the floors of embassies or other public spaces. But we had food, water, and beds
We were probably two of the only people in the city with hot water come the second night.
Had our flight been later we would have had to endure the city conditions longer, but had our flight been any sooner it would have certainly been cancelled.
Lucky or Unlucky?
So maybe it’s all in how you frame it. I mean we could lament about “how unlucky we were that such a rare event just so happened to occur for the very brief window that we were staying in Nepal.”
But I prefer to consider how incredibly lucky we were that this happened only at the very end of a beautiful month of travel. It affected us only minimally, we enjoyed our stay, and we navigated the event without any real problems. Most important, we made it to India as scheduled perfectly safe.
My heart goes out to the thousands of people who were caught among the rubble and to the nation of Nepal as well. Kathmandu is an old city and almost none of the buildings or infrastructure were designed to endure an earthquake. Several world heritage sites were affected beyond repair. My only hope is that the world will rally behind our collective Nepali family in this time of need.
Thank you to everyone who has kept Ryoko and I in your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate your support, and I apologize for not getting more information to you all sooner. We’ve found our first day in India incredibly relaxing and it’s been an excellent relief just to sit down for bit, unwind, and gather our wits about us. Thank you all again, we love you.
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