Sathi ho, After reading this thread, just thought about sharing my purano experience with RNAC. I had posted in Sajha a couple of years back. As per my initial plan, I checked out of the hotel the next morning. I went back to the same little eatery I had visited the previous morning. This time I opted for some piro piro rice noodle. I tried the Thai way of eating from the spoon (supposedly it is considered very barbaric to eat using the fork) but I gave up. I followed the conventional western way. Since I was a "farang" (bideshi) in the area, I guess it was ok. Chamcha le kasari chauchau khana saknu ta. Once again I crossed the overhead bridge to the bus stop. My destination was Wat Arun. As I waited for the bus, I realized that the traffic looked worse than it did the previous morning. Once I boarded the bus, it again started moving at a snail's pace. I started becoming concerned that if the traffic were to continue that way, then I would miss my flight. Since the Hulampong Station was on the way (that was where I was planning to return to catch the train to the airport after visiting the Wat), I simply decided to abandon my original plan and go straight towards the airport. Without too much difficulty, I found the train that I was to take. Although I was disappointed for not being able to visit Wat Arun, I was at least relieved to be on my way to the airport without having to worry about the traffic jam. It was a local train with lightly padded seats. An elderly Buddhist monk started chanting as the train pulled away from the station. The initial part of the trip passed through the slum area with little huts lined parallel to the track. Later on, it passed through the industrial area before reaching the township of Don Muang, from which the airport is named Don Muang International. The next stop was right across the street from the airport terminal. There were many sano tino pasals on the platform. After crossing yet another overhead bridge, I was inside the air-conditioned terminal building. I had about three hours before departure. I immediately checked one of the overhead monitors, and to my relief the RNAC flight was listed as on time. (Flashback: When I was booking my ticket two months earlier, the travel agent had asked me about my choice of airline advising that both RNAC and Thai operated flights that day. Although I was aware of the jet leasing chaos and the unreliability of RNAC, I still decided to give it a try. I had made that choice partly also because of the fact the RA flight left 4 hours later than the TG flight which allowed me to spend additional time in Bangkok. Tespachi po I started panicking about my decision. I feared that RNAC may be left without a leased aircraft and therefore my flight would be affected. I also started fearing that due to some flaw in the computer system, my reservation may be cancelled. I was also praying that ?aru je sukai hos tara tyo din samma chahi RA bankrupt bhaera banda nahos.? Every week or so I called the RNAC office (1-800-26-NEPAL) to make sure the schedule had not changed and my reservation was still intact. My last call was prior to boarding from O?Hare Airport, approximately 53 hours before the scheduled departure. Fortunately everything looked ok then.) After reclaiming my baggage at the luggage hold area, I walked towards the RNAC check-in counter. Unlike other airlines counters that were staffed with good-looking staff, a kaali fat Thai lady who was working at a kachuwa pace staffed the RA counter. One Nepali guy right behind me on the line requested me to carry some of his items because of overweight; I politely refused it stating that my baggage itself was close to being overweight. Check-in was done manually and an oversized boarding pass with a handwritten seat number was handed to me. I still had a little over two hours time. I decided to have some lunch at the Rajthanee Food Mall, on the 3rd floor of the terminal building. It was a fancy looking place and many pilots in their uniforms seemed to be patronizing it. I ordered a Thai style seafood meal. The service was slow and the food was not as good as I had the previous evening. My seat overlooked the runway and it was nice watching the aircraft movements. Just before I was ready to leave, I saw an RNAC jet land with its red and blue stripes across the fuselage up to its tail. Filled with the excitement of boarding that jet to land at gauchar, I impatiently cleared the immigration and security to reach the boarding gate. I was curious to know whether I would be flying on Karnali or Gandaki. Karnali parecha. The Boeing 757 aircraft, which used to look so grand in gauchar beside the older 727s of RNAC and 737s of Indian Airlines looked dwarfed because of the 747s and other large aircraft parked on adjacent gates. After impatiently waiting for the boarding announcement, I was finally on my way inside the Karnali. chipledhunga Posted on 16-Mar-03 08:36 PM RNAC ko airhostess ko baray ma ta ke kura garnu, sabai budhi budhi. Some were dressed in blue khaddar ko dhoti with laligurans imprints. A few were wearing the Sherpa ko jasto chuppa. Nobody was seated beside me. The interior had light imprints of pagoda roofs. Due to inadequate cleaning, it had a light yellow tinge. As the stewardess started distributing newspapers, I secured myself a Gorkhapatra. Ramailo lagyo Nepali patrika padhna paunda ani Nepali ma announcement haru sunna paunda. There were no video screens, so the safety demo had to be done manually. There was not any audio entertainment either. The flight left right on time and was soon over the hazy skies of Bangkok. I started talking to a young Japanese couple seated behind me. It was their first visit to Nepal. As the beverage service began, the Japanese lady requested some wine but the stewardess refused it stating that it would be served only with the main meal. Kyaa thees lagyo. I opted for beer. Carlesberg serve garyo, paani jastai po rahicha. It was the only time I had that beer. The menu card was already in the seat pocket. ?Turkey linu huncha ki fish linuhuncha? bhanera sodhdai budhi mau haru auna thalay. I chose the fish. It was cooked in Thai style with coconut milk gravy. It turned out to be one of the best airline meals I have ever had. Macha sanga alikati wine khana paryo bhanera I requested some red wine, the stewardess came with the glass about one-third full and apologized saying ?sorry hai yeti banki rahicha hernus na.? Kasto laazai lagyo bhandekhi tyo bela. Later during the flight, paikhana janu paryo. I walked towards the rear of the aircraft. One Indian looking dude was munching on what looked like several packets of peanuts poured over the cover of the in-flight Shangri-La magazine. Out of the two toilets, one was blocked by a steel bar apparently due to being out of order. As I was waiting for my turn, I noticed in the galley that the cabin crew was packing some beverage containers into their bags. I wondered if that included any red wine. Toilet ma pani haluka Nepal ko jasto gandha audo rahicha. I also noticed a sign in fading red ?kripaya flush garnu hola.? It was not long before the approach to Kathmandu began. Soon the mountainous terrain came in sight. The Himalayan peaks were obstructed by the clouds. As the aircraft descended, I started becoming more and more charged by excitement. Pretty soon it became evident that we were over the valley, marked by haphazardly constructed houses lined along narrow unpaved roads that penetrated khetbaris. Considering the approach path via Bhattedanda, it must have been the scene of rural Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. The only landmark I could identify was the brick factory at Jagate. Within a minute or so, the aircraft touched down at gauchar. Part of the landing announcement was ?the local time is 36 min after 4 pm in the afternoon and the outside temperature is 26 degree Celsius.? I wondered why didn?t she simply say 4:36 pm. Aba bharyang bata orlinu paryo haina, air-bridge hamro kaha hunu. Kasto sheetal feel bhayo dhoka bata niskinda. Right below the cockpit there was a Visit Nepal 98 logo. I was overjoyed as I stepped on the tarmac. While waiting to board the Sajha ko neelo Mitsubishi bus, I turned my eyes towards the hills of Phulchowki, Chandragiri and Shivapuri. The Japanese lady commented, ?It?s so beautiful..so much cooler than Bangkok.? After an impatient series for waiting and queuing for about an hour, I was finally outside the terminal with my family