NB New Direction - 10. NB ND Chapter 10

For the next two weeks, we had an awesome time exploring the national parks, and it was an amazing experience to see Mt Everest, up close, and in a way, it was sad as we boarded a bus that would take us to the border into India, crossing over the Mechi River. From there we travelled north east, to check out the Jorpokhri Wildlife Sanctuary, then continuing south east to Fulbari, where we planned to get a connecting bus, to take us 42 km’s East to Jalpaiguri, on the banks of the Teesta River, in West Bengal, India.

Seb had booked us on a 42-hour, 142 km long, river cruise down the river to Kaunia, a little way upstream of the junction of the Teesta and Brahmaputra Rivers, where there is an airport, to fly us to the Bangledesh international airport at Dhaka, to take us home. Well that is what the plan was, but unknown to us, things were about to change quite dramatically.

Once we had settled into our individual cabins, having to leave the wheelchair folded up, as all the doorways were too narrow, I had to rely on Kyle to get me around, which tired me out very quickly, so I elected to spend most of our time on the river boat either in my cabin or sitting on a chair on the balcony.

We were supposed to depart at 3pm, but did leave till two hours later. Because of the difficulties of movement for me, we convinced the stewards to serve our dinners in my cabin, and we chattered about all of our adventures over the past few weeks, and that it wasn’t long before we are flying back home to Australia. Kyle helped me to shower and change for bed, and once settled, Kyle went for a walk around the riverboat, before retiring for the night.

When Kyle woke me the next morning, I realised that the river boat was not moving, “Come on sleepyhead, we have to show our passports, we are at the border to Bangladesh” Kyle said as he quickly helped me to dress, then helped me out of my cabin, to present my passport. It was while this was happening, that a large number of birds suddenly rose out of the trees and flew off, and a few moments later there was a large rumble sound.

“That didn’t sound very good” Kyle said to me, as the passport control officer called his office, to find out what is happening, and he came back to finish processing our passports. “Welcome to Bangladesh, I am sorry to inform you that the river boat will not be going any further, as we have just had a major earthquake, and there have been landslides further downstream” the passport control officer informed us.

Once we were cleared, Kyle returned me to my cabin to get my luggage packed, while he went in search of a steward, and he returned a few minutes later. “Right, there is a bus stop not too far away, and the next bus is in about one hours’ time, so let’s get cracking, and get packed and off this tub so we can get on that bus” Kyle said to me, and I pointed to my packed suitcase and backpack.

Kyle laughed and went next door to his cabin to pack his stuff, and less than twenty minutes later, we had arrived at the bus stop, thanks to a local man giving us a ride in his small vehicle, with Kyle giving him a sizable fee. When we arrived at the bus stop, there was no one in sight, so we sat down and waited for the bus, which didn’t arrive.

About twenty minutes after the due time of the bus, Kyle loaded the luggage onto my lap and pushed me further into town, in search of some information, and eventually we came across a small hotel, but the lay at the front reception desk knew no English, German or Italian, so we went in search once again. When we came across a small café that had just opened its doors, both Kyle and my stomachs rumbled, which made us both laugh, as Kyle wheeled me inside, and we sat at a table about half way in.

There was a menu at the table, but it was written in a lot of little scribbles, which we presumed was their written language, so when a lady came to our table, Kyle mimed a cup of tea and food. “You want tea and breakfast” the man said in clear English, and Kyle sighed loudly, “Yes please, a cooked breakfast if you can manage it please, and two black teas, no sugar” I replied with a big smile.

“Have you come off that river boat a little while back?” the lady asked, “Yes, we have just finished three weeks travelling around Nepal, and we were doing a little sight-seeing in Bangladesh, before we fly home to Australia” I explained.

“I see, well you are stuck here until the river and roads are open again, who knows when that will be, the news so far is that a lot of villages have been wiped out by landslides, caused by the earthquake” the lady explained, as she set off to prepare our order. Once our order was delivered, the lady sat in a chair near us to chat some more.

“It isn’t very often that we get foreigners stopping by in our little village, and if your wondering what I am doing here, I married a local man, and we have lived here in his home village for the past six years, I am originally from Victoria, Canada” the lady explained to us, just as the Sat phone rang, and I fished it out of my backpack. “Hello, Huon speaking” I answered even though I knew it would be Sebastian calling to check that we are ok.

“Hey buddy, I am just checking to see if you are both safe, I have just had a phone call from Annette, who was very worried when she heard the news of an earthquake in Bangladesh” Seb said to me. “Yes, we are both fine, we were on the riverboat at the time, and had just passed through into Bangladesh, but the riverboat is not allowed to go any further, because of landslides, so we are stuck in this very small village, just south of the border on the Teesta River” I explained to my cousin.

“Well at least you are both safe, now listen up, as I have some other news. I had a call from my lawyer in Switzerland, just before Annette called, he heard about the earthquake, and suggested that we put the Ocean Explorer into good use, he has already contacted Doctors without Borders, and has offered the ship as a floating hospital. I want you and Kyle to join the ship when it arrives, in just over five days’ time.

Just by chance, the ship left the Maldives yesterday, so it diverted northwards to Bangladesh about twenty minutes ago, and will dock at Chittagong, before sailing upriver to Chadpur about 185 kilometres up the Meghna River, at the intersection of the Padma River” Seb explained to me.

“Seb, I have a Canadian ex-pat here, which will be a great help, I will see if I can employ her to assist, I will keep in touch and let you know when we get to Chittagong, bye for now” I said and ended the call, then smiled to the lady, who was listening in. “By the way, my name is Huon Davenport, and this is my best friend Kyle Davies, and we are from a small town called Toodyay, in Western Australia” I said making the introductions.

“Hi my name is Judy Chakma Patwary, my husband is Jai Chakma Patwary, and he is away at the moment, for work, so I keep myself busy with my little café” the lady – Judy explained. “Well it is a pleasure to meet you, so tell me, what did you do in Canada, before moving here?” I asked curiously, I was an engineer, before I married, and my husband is a doctor, we met while on a retreat in Nepal, and have been together ever since” Judy explained.

Kyle smiled and just listened to the conversation, unaware of what was said in the phone call to Seb, and I placed the Sat phone on the table in front of Judy, “Please use this to call your husband, I am sure you are both worried about each other” I Said to Judy, who smiled and picked up the phone. Speaking in Bangladeshi, when the call connected, and we saw her smile, as she learnt how her husband is.

She stopped talking for a moment, and looked at me, “Excuse me Huon, are you in a hurry to get home, as we can accommodate you in our home till roads and rivers are cleared to use again, my husband, is in Rangpur, just 3 hours away on this side of the river, so he will be home tonight, once he has finished his clinic” Judy said, “that would be wonderful thankyou for the invitation” I replied, and Judy began to chat to her husband again.

Once the phone call had ended, Judy put the phone down on the table and looked at Kyle and then at me, “Now your turn, during your earlier call, you mentioned me as a Canadian ex-pat, and that I maybe be able to be employed to assist with something?” Judy said to me, and Kyle chuckled, when he started to realise what was about to happen.

“My cousin, who I spoke to earlier, and I are major shareholders in a large company, and we have at our disposal, a large multi-purpose ship, which happens to be in the area, and is heading full steam for Chittagong as we speak, Sebastian, my cousin has spoke to the Australian office of Médecins Sans Frontières, and they have accepted our offer of the ship, to be used as a floating hospital.

They are currently preparing supplies, equipment and personnel to be transported to Dhaka, then down to Chittagong, to meet the ship when it arrives. With you knowing the local language, plus having medical training, I was hoping that maybe you and your husband may be able to assist us” I said to Judy. “Well this is totally unexpected, and I guess this is what you call being at the right place at the right time” Judy responded.

“I will employ you and your husband, as representatives of Wagner International Investments, so you will be working with but not under the control of the MSF” I said, “Do you mean that big ship, that does the world’s longest ocean mail run?” Judy asked, which made Kyle laugh, and I chuckled softly. “Spot on there dear lady, and she is a beauty too” Kyle said before I could reply. “Well, that is something I wouldn’t mind checking out for myself, let me see if we can get us all down to Chittagong, within five days, to meet this big iron lady of yours” Judy said to me with a big grin, as she stood up and disappeared to the back of the building, returning a few minutes later with a I-pad in front of her.

Judy continued to tap away on the screen as she returned and sat down. “Well it appears, that a lot of the damage has been on the banks of the Brahmaputra River. The epicentre of the earthquake was 110 kilometres from here, near Dhubri, India, just upstream from the Bangladesh border, and it has caused landslides on both sides of the river, sending everything that was destroyed down into the river” Judy informed me.

“So, is there any more damage?” I asked, from what information I can get from the media reports, most of the villages in India and Bangladesh, within 20 kilometres of the epicentre, have been nearly totally destroyed, and a lot of the riverbank side villages downstream from Dhubri, have been partly or seriously damaged, due to landslides, and rubble coming down the river” Judy said.

“That doesn’t sound too good, is there anything in the way, or a way to slow down the rubble coming down the river?” I asked, “Yes there is actually, the very long Bangabandhu bridge, that crosses the Brahmaputra River, just down from Sirajganj, a large town that is 68 kilometres upstream from the junction with the Padma River, and it is low enough to start creating a large dam” Judy said, looking worried.

“That may be a good thing, can you get us down to a large riverside town far enough downstream from that bridge, as soon as possible?” I asked, “Well yes I guess we could borrow some Tuk-Tuk’s, they are quite handy when there are road blocks” Judy replied. “What the hell is a Tuk-Tuk?” Kyle asked looking confused, which made me and Judy start laughing, and I indicated to Judy to explain.

Judy made some searches on her Apple tablet, then turned it around to show Kyle a picture of a Tuk-Tuk, “Oh I see, I saw some of those when we were in Kathmandu, they would be fun to ride in” Kyle said happily. “Jane can you bring up a map of the area please, I need to see what is downstream from the bridge” I asked, as I pulled out the sat phone and dialled a number I knew by heart.

“MV Southern Explorer, 1^st Officer James Andrews speaking” I heard when the call was answered, “James, this is Huon Devonport speaking, what is your current speed and location at the moment?” I asked, “Good morning Mr Devonport, we are currently at cruising speed of 19 knots, and still 5 days and 3 hours from Chittagong” James replied.

“What is your safe maximum speed?” I asked, “That would be 24 knots, sir, but I need authorisation from the captain to go to that speed” James replied, “I am overriding his authority, go to 24 knots immediately, get to Chittagong as quick as you can, as there are more problems that what the media is broadcasting” I said, and I ended the call. Less than five minutes later the sat phone rang.

“Huon speaking” I said when I answered the call, “Hey cousin, what’s this about you overriding the captain’s authority to increase the ships speed? Seb asked me, “Hi cousin, the Canadian ex-pat that I mentioned before, is a qualified engineer, and her husband is a doctor, we have been doing some observations and discussions, and we may have a large problem, which will cause even more damage and injuries to locals, we need the Southern Explorer here as soon as possible” I replied.

“Ok, I will authorise the increase in speed, but I suggest that you ask me in future please” Sebastian said before ending the call. “Well that went well, my cousin didn’t sound too happy” I commented, and Kyle just chuckled. “Sirajganj is 260 kilometres south of here, which is a 7-hour drive” Judy explained, interrupted by the sound of the Sat Phone ringing.

“Huon Speaking, what’s up Seb?” I answered, “Political red tape is what’s up, our offer of assistance has been refused, and the ship will not be permitted to enter Bangladesh waters” Sebastian replied, “I suggest that you get them to keep a very close eye on the Bangabandhu bridge, that crosses the Brahmaputra River, because a major disaster is about to happen there” I said in reply.

“Oh, I see, well I will pass that on to them, via the Australian Embassy, in the mean time the Southern Explorer has changed course and is now heading to Singapore, where it will wait to collect you, so get to an International Airport and get out of there” Sebastian said to me. “Ok, you are the boss, I will get our new friend here to assist us with that, bye for now” I replied and ended the call.

“That was Sebastian, plans have changed, the Bangladesh government has refused any assistance from us, Seb will pass on the information about the bridge, and we have been ordered to leave as soon as possible” I informed Judy and Kyle. “Well I am sorry to hear that, anyway, let’s get you two to the nearest airport, so you can fly home” Judy said, and she began doing some searching on the tablet.