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Hi there, friends!
I’ve been remiss in my blogging efforts; there’s just too much to do in Nepal and too little time. I returned to Kathmandu yesterday after a whirwind trip to Chitwan Nat’l Park, Lumbini (the birthplace of Buddha) and Pokhara, in northwest Nepal, where I set off on a 5-day trek in the Annapurna region. The 10 days were amazing, filled with lots of cool experiences and great people. I took a bath on the back of an elephant in the Rapti river in Chitwan, saw rhinos, crocodiles and other creatures on an elephant safari, spent a day biking around Lumbini and visiting temples with a 26 yr. old lama, and hiked for five days while gazing at some of the world’s tallest mountains. Not too bad for a week and a half.
I have loads of pictures to post and lots more to write about but it will have to wait ’til I’m back in the States. While I’m certainly sad that my trip is coming to an end, I can’t wait for Christmas festivities and a week or two of relaxing at home. To paraphrase Anna, a Welsh girl I met on the trek - travel is not quite the same as a vacation!
I arrived in Kathmandu yesterday, after a breathtaking flight from SE Nepal (breathtaking both for the views of Everest’s summit peaking through the clouds – awe-inspiring! - and the turbulence which caused our “puddle-jumper” to turn into a cloud-jumper and my heart to relocate to my throat!).
I was fortunate to meet Tapi, an Indian from Arunachal Pradesh - one of the northeast states – in the Chandragadhi airport (the smallest airport I’ve experienced). We chatted while waiting for our (very late) plane and I learned that he was headed to Kathmandu to apply for a permit for an Everest expedition, to be sponsored by the gov’t of Arunachal Pradesh. He’s an accomplished mountaineer and hopes to be the first citizen of Arunachal Pradesh to summit Mt. Everest (around 32 Indian citizens have summited to date). Anyhow, aside from interesting conversation, he helped me navigate Kathmandu upon arrival and even suggested that I try the guesthouse where he stays in Kathmandu (which I did – it’s cheap and comfy, with hot water). He insisted on paying for the taxi and, when I suggested we meet for dinner, wouldn’t let me pay for that, either.
After settling in at the guesthouse, the attendant at the front desk suggested I talk to the trekking agency that the guesthouse works with. NG, the agency’s manager, is my age, and has been working with tourists and trekkers since he was a teenager – as a trek porter, guide and now manager. He was a wealth of helpful information and helped me plan my two weeks in Nepal, despite the fact that I only arranged a small part of my trip through the agency – a package trip to Royal Chitwan Park in Nepal’s south, where I’ll be swimming with elephants in two days! We met up for breakfast this morning at one of Kathamndu’s sunny rooftop cafes, and he told me tale after interesting tale of trekking with foreigners (ranging from wild parties to deaths).
Today, I’ll head to Kathmandu’s Swayanbunath temple (the “monkey temple”) and then perhaps to Durbar Square, former home to the royal palace and current home to one of Nepal’s many “kumaris” or living goddesses. I’ll report on that next time!
‘Til then, thanks for reading!
