At 12.30 on April 25th 2015 I was in Thamel, Kathmandu, when an 8.1 earthquake hit Nepal killing 10 000 people. I spent a night in the rain sleeping in the open then a week holed up with 140 other people in the Australian embassy before the Australian government sent Australian Army C-130s to get us out to Bangkok. I decided to stay in Nepal. This is my story.

Part 1

Tapping away at my laptop I knew immediately - it was an earthquake!

It’s become habit when living and traveling in Asia to bolt my door from the inside where possible to ward against the unscrupulous should I fall asleep Now with an 8.1 earthquake building to crescendo through my first floor room with increasing violence, I struggled to grab the bolt keeping me locked in the room as the guesthouse started to toss me from side to side. I could hear concrete and bricks starting to fall crashing into the lanes of Thamel along with overwhelming roar of tectonic plates below me as they groaned, growled and heaved in protest at the lava miles below trying to force its way to the surface. I put myself in a three quarter crouch securing my mass against the floor and wall as the building dance violently, and with the third attempt my fingers gripped and pulled the bolt free releasing the door and myself.

My first floor room opened out toward reception where I saw Deepa a young staff member sat frozen with fear. “RUN. EARTHQUAKE!” I yelled at her, but she seemed not to hear me, she just looked straight ahead stuck to her chair. as everything now around us just bucked and heaved violently. I yelled at the young woman again as I made my way to the top of the stairs that were my escape, the receptionist sat unmoving paralyzed by fear. In hindsight I should have dragged her with me, but my sense of self preservation was extreme.

The two flights of ten or so stairs had to be descended to get me to a corridor that lead outside. With the building now protesting wildly I thought this was it for me, my time was up. I only managed the first flight of stairs before the wall slapped my right shoulder sending me spiraling to the bottom of the steps landing on my knee.Pain shot up my leg. i knew it was pain, but strangely it didn't register as pain as adrenaline kept my focus firmly set - GET THE FUCK OUTA HERE BEFORE IT FALLS!!

I lifted myself up into a sprinter’s ‘starting position at the base of the stairs in a state of heightened awareness I’ve never experienced before or since . I could see down the corridor to the open door outside six or seven metres away where bricks, pot plants and concrete debris fell into the skinny Thamel lane in front of me. Fuck!!Instantly I decided to take my chance outside rather than risk being buried under the rubble of my guesthouse should it collapse which seemed a very real possibility. I burst into the lane glancing upward as I went should I need to avoid falling objects as they fell from the sky.

And just like that, it stopped, the ground stood still. The slight swaying of electrical cables that snaked their way overhead down the lane could have been the result of a strong wind, but if you moved your gaze downward to ground level however, it was very obvious what had just happened with piles of rubble and concrete blocking the lanes, thick dust in the air and people running terrified, screaming looking for open sky. Thamel with its crammed spaces of poorly constructed buildings was not the place to be. I knew the integrity of all the buildings had been affected dramatically , and I knew an aftershock was coming that could flatten everything that remained, and me with it, I had to get out of there. Now! I ran like everybody else.

Not knowing how long the first aftershock would take to arrive I ran to an open planned restaurant perhaps fifty metres away. Here I knew the space was relatively free from danger as the surrounding buildings were low and there was a huge area of open sky above far from within a buildings drop zone. There was also a huge tree at its centre, the massive girth of its trunk ideal to barricade myself against with a table should I need to. I found I wasn’t the only person with this idea.

Tom was from California and this wasn’t his first rodeo. When I met him he’d already laid tables at the ready against the tree and was compiling a list of things he would need as he was going to “bug out” on a flat piece of land outside Kathmandu after the initial aftershocks had passed. Tent, food, water, batteries....his list went on.

There were others at the restaurant. A monk stood shaking uncontrollably in shock, local women and children huddled in fear crying under tables, a group of Japanese women seemed completely unaffected by current events, some Australians kept drinking with the word "fark" being repeatedly used, and stoic staff kept serving. Ten minutes later the aftershock hit.

It’s a bizarre phenomena to see and feel the ground roll and undulate like thick water as liquefaction takes effect under you. It’s all very surreal and frightening. As the aftershock hit Tom and I dived against the tree pulling the tables over us. The poor monk was so distressed he just stood there crying, women and children screamed still huddled under the tables, one of the Australians could be heard saying “Fuck sakes”, the Japanese girls were alert but calm, and the staff froze in their positions. The sound of deep rumbling and falling debris again assaulted us all.

When the shaking subsided one of the staff pointed behind us where two stone towers in the distance once dominated the skyline to the west. They were gone replaced by huge plumes red dust. A building immediately adjacent to the restaurant had a three inch crack that ran the complete length of one of its walls, dust rose up and surrounded us. The air was full of cries and panic of Nepalese people. It seemed to me they were far more traumatized by the event than others. I watched with interest as the monk sat crossed legged and entered into a meditative state and composed himself.

I thought now of my belongings in the guesthouse that lay open to anyone who would like to take them, but wondered how I’d get up the courage to enter the building. What happened to Deepa the receptionist at my guesthouse. is my guesthouse still standing. I had to get out of Thamel, Should I join Tom and bug out?. How the fuck do I deal with this? I had to make a plan.

End of Part1