More on the protests

So far the protests have been peaceful. The Maoists are not burning tires, throwing bricks or beating people. However the police are ready for when they do (even though they may not look like it in this picture!).

Nepal strikes

The Maoists have called an indefinite strike against the government. Today is the fifth day of the strikes. No vehicles are allowed on the road. No shops are allowed to be open. It looks like a war zone here. If you really need to get somewhere you have to walk. Yesterday I had to walk an hour to bring Izzy's stool sample to the doctor and found out that she has a bacterial infection. Through all this mess, she has been sick, but now I have an antibiotic to give her and she is feeling much better today. We are planning to leave to go back to the states in five days. If the strikes have not been called off by then, we will have to walk to the airport. We have so many things to do to prepare to leave and we can not do any of it. We have special ordered things from shops as gifts for people and we may not be able to get them to bring back because the shops are closed. So we are praying that the strikes are called off so we can get things ready to leave and so that we do not have to walk to the airport.