My life has revolved around dental problems since I left home. First an upper molar for which my mum orgnised an appointment for me in Sydney. Turned out that this particular molar had had uncompleted root canal work.

This is a very boring topic but I can assure it such problems can really affect your ability to have fun.

The outcome was that the dentist cleaned out two root canals but couldn’t find the third and then closed it up with a temporary cap. After this treatment it seemed to me that the problem might have been resolved. That was in the morning before my flight.

But this feeling of well being only lasted  until I got on the plane and then all hell broke up. I have sort of been holding myself together ever since then by treating myself with amoxycillon, Hoever when i got here myfirst exploration of Kathmandu involved finding theDental Hospital. As it turned out it was within walking distance of my hotel and Rabin, Chiran’s brother took me there. This is a multi storey building where you start at the bottom and work your way up to higher floors depending onthe treatment. Room 14 was where I ended up which is on the 5th floor. There is a good reason for this way of treatment.

Many Nepalese come to Kathmandu for dental treatment as there are not a lot of options once you are in a rural area except probably to get your teeth pulled. So the first step is the assessment stage where all your month is examined an a report compiled then the appropriate xrays are taken followed by re-examination. All info is written up in a little booklet which you carry around. These steps hopefully eventually lead to treatment. So far my costs have been 50rupees for the examination and 150 rupees for a xray making a total of 200 rupees or say $3aus, However in the end after we followed the pain around my mouth we agreed on amoxcyillin and the wait process.

Kamala the good looking one on the left

In the afternoon I decided it was time to do something else than just playing with my mouth. Chiran thought we should go visit Kamala who lives not all that far away and was actually within walking distance.

So off we went by motor bike and surprised them with our visit. Actually they seem to take it in their stride when we landed in on them. Suburbs such as these are a very noisy affair during the daytime with privacy I imagine at  a minimum.

Kamila’s family are so supportive. When she was very little she was electrocuted when she touched some fallen live wires.As a result she has lost two arms from the elbow down and one leg. In spite of all of this she sings like an angel in english and nepalese. Her singing talents have now led to her making a CD. With these talents she could sing anywhere. Her greatest difficulty is getting her voice out into the public. Gigs are hard for her to get to especially if they are upstairs. But hopefully that’s the next step. When I get back to Australia I will put her music on this site.

The evening finished as a merry affair. Kamala’s sisters and brother came home and I was inite to dinner. Kamala’s dad opened a bottle of whisky and maybe from my point of view is provided more relief than the medicine I had been using. A really nice get together and what a pleasure seeing and being welcomed into Kamala’s family.

Quite a congested city and environmental considerations don’t seem tobe part of everyone’s life yet in Kathmandu. In just a few years all the growing areas around the city have disappeared and at least at this time of year a poisonous haze lies over the city.