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| Fun Fact: The Nepal Flag was officially adopted on December 16, 1962 and it is the only national flag that is not rectangle or square |
Our trip to Nepal had many challenges along the way, (only 6 hours of electricity and during the hours
you never needed it, no hot water, beds harder than the ground, etc.) but was very rewarding for the
picturesque scenery and views it has to offer.
Friday morning we took a 4.5 hour flight via Malaysia Airlines from Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu, Nepal
and planned to stay exactly a week seeing the towns of Kathmandu, Bandipur, Pokhara, Sarangkot,
and Bhaktipur. Our hotel was only 6 kms (3.5 miles) from the airport and took over 30 minutes to get
there due to the heavy traffic and crazy drivers. My first thought of the city was “what on Earth did I get
myself in to??" Being a developing country, there is little to no waste facilities, so the streets were lined
everywhere you looked with trash. People lined the streets to sell their fruit, wares, name brand knock-
offs, or anything else to make money. Street dogs were everywhere (reportedly 50,000 in Kathmandu
alone) and cows, which are sacred to the Hindu religion and therefore not eaten, roamed freely and
were dare not disturbed.
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| Nepal is located to the north of India and the south of China |
stopping first at the Buddhist stupa - Bouddanath.
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| Prayer flags colored for the 5 elements: Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, Sky |
temple Pashupatinath. The temple was on the (insert name) river and was the most popular
crematorium in Kathmandu for the Hindu religion. Interesting was not the first thought that came
to mind, but more of morbid. The families of the dead waited and watched as their loved ones body
burned for close to 4 hours. The crematories were along the banks of the river and had about 7 to 8
bodies burning at a time. The odd part was that anyone and everyone could stand by and watch as the
families mourned the death and prayed during the very long 4 hour process. Needless to say, I am glad it
is not done that way in the U.S….
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| Mounds of wood placed over the deceased body to help burn |
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| People gathered to watch their loved one being prepared for cremation and others just enjoying the show.... |
Saturday we woke up and had a 200 km (120 miles) drive to the town of Pokhara with a stop in
Bandipur. Now 120 miles would normally take the average driver, on decent roads, about 2 or so
hours. But in Nepal, it takes 7. Yes, that’s hours. Cars that drive into oncoming traffic to pass a local
bus stopping every 10 minutes and driving up switchbacks around the mountain (passing cars on blind
corners as well) made for a very stressful drive. That and the fact that Kaes had to hunch down in his
seat just to avoid hitting his head in the mini compact car, made for a long trip.
Sunday we had a more relaxing day sightseeing around Pokhara and started the morning off at Devil’s
Falls waterfall and the cave it disappears into below.
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| Men and women both work very hard carrying materials in large baskets |
Our next stop was about 5 or 6 hours to the Australian Base Camp.
Below is a picture of the Annapurna range. The holy mountain of Machapuchare, which means “fishtail”
in Nepali, is the center peak. It is revered by the local population as particularly sacred to the god Shiva, and hence is off limits to climbing.
Our $8 USD/night digs at the Australian Base Camp :) It had a hot shower and a bed comfortable enough for us to crash on after our arduous climb
Tuesday we woke up and could barely move. The sunrise from the mountain we were on was breathtaking and we enjoyed the serenity before our onward journey down the mountain. The only thing that kept us going seemed to be the fact that instead of climbing up, we were heading down, so that had to be MUCH better. BUT...It wasn't. In fact, it was way worse than the day before.
Wednesday we left our View Top lodge in Pokhara to head to the airport and fly back to Kathmandu.
After checking back into our hotel in Kathmandu, we walked around the town Thamel to stretch our legs. Luckily, after doing a bit of shopping around the town, we came upon a spa that catered to people who had been trekking. For $18 USD each, we both got a full 1-hour Ayurvedic massage with hot oil, following by time in the steam sauna. Although a bit painful through the process, it was just what we needed to relax after our few days of intense hiking.
Thursday was Valentine’s Day and we started the day off early leaving our hotel at 6:00 am for a sunrise flight over Mt. Everest and the Himalayas. The flight was breathtaking and unfortunately the pictures do not begin to do it justice. We flew over the Annapurna range, the Langtang range, and Sagarmatha National Park that is home to Mt. Everest.
After our flight, we went to visit the old historic town of Bhaktipur known for its ancient architecture
and the generations of families that have lived there for hundreds of years.
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| Local lady dyeing the pottery and laying it out to dry |
night. The Shambaling Hotel in Bouda was a perfect ending to our vacation. Hidden away from the
hustle and bustle of the main town in Thamel, our hotel was quaint, quiet, and helped you forget where
you were. The customer service was impeccable and probably the best we have ever had in all of our
travels. The food was delicious, we had a wonderful hot shower, and the most comfortable bed (even
with a heated blanket) we had the entire trip. I would highly recommend it to anyone travelling to Nepal for the perfect relaxing end to your trip.
Nepal has many beautiful wonders of life to see and we were glad to check it off our list. It also made me appreciate our customs as well as the "things" we take for granted such as hot water, steady electricity, and heating.
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