Lost in Kathmandu: Cracked buildings and chaos

Ten months ago when I was posted to Thailand as a correspondent, many of my friends made fun of me, saying that I would become the female version of the popular Chinese comedy movie Lost In Thailand. Well, I didn't. But, now in Nepal, I truly am.

To cover the earthquake in Nepal, I took the first flight from Bangkok to Kathmandu on Sunday, 20 hours after the earthquake happened. About a quarter of the seats were vacant on the large jet.

"Journalist? Are you a journalist?" a young Thai cameraman asked, checking with the travelers sitting near him before our flight took off. As many people were fleeing Kathmandu, reporters and UN and nongovernmental organization staff members were racing in.