Hey Hubski! So I mentioned in this week's Pubski that I was in Kathmandu. Now that I'm back in the US with a laptop, I can actually share a few (25ish) of my pictures. I'm planning on making a long blog post about the trip on my website, as well as making a video of highlights (like swimming with elephants, trekking and paragliding) but that will take a few weeks. I literally have 6,000 plus pictures to go through, ha! So for now, feast your eyes on Nepal!
Overview of the trip:
- Flew into Kathmandu, met up with a good friend who is Nepali (came to the US when he was 19) and acted as our host.
- Traveled to Pokhara, learned it's my favorite place on the planet and that I want to stay there forever
- Poon Hill trek around the base of Annapurna/Machepuchere/other absolutely giant Himalayas. Saw a metric shitton of goats and water buffalo due to festival. Got licked by a baby buffalo and bit by a leech. Fun times!
- Hang gliding in Pokhara
- Traveled to & explored Bandipur
- Traveled to Chitwan NP, searched for Rhinos, found monkies and hogs. Swam with elephants. Got entirely too hot
- Back to Kathmandu and visited our host's family for day 10 of Dashain. Got decked out in tika and SO much food
- Visited 3 of the 7 world heritage sites in Kathmandu Valley. Found out that smiling at baby monkeys = threatening the monkey. Got chased by monkeys.
- Headed back to the states!
I'm happy to answer questions about the trip here, but like I said I'll share with you guys my long blog post + video once those are done =) Namaste!
How long were you in Nepal? Was it too long? Too short? Was having a friend from the area necessary, or could you have gone without? Did you have everything you took in a backpack, or did you leave things places (hotel, friend's home)? Nepal or specifically the Himalayas is a place I want to see. I hope you'll link your blog here when you post it.
I'll be sure to link the post(s)! Working on getting stuff written down right now, next step will be sorting through lots and lots of pictures. =) How long were you in Nepal? Was it too long? Too short?
We were there for just over 2 weeks, trekking the first week and sightseeing the second. It felt just about right for that sort of trip, though I would have been happy to go back out and trek more. The route we did was one of the shorter ones, only took 4.5 days, so I'd be happy to try some of the base camp treks that can take two weeks or longer. Our guide is an international mountain guide, and said he would be happy to take my fiance and I climbing in the future for trips a month or longer (usual on the larger mountains). Honestly I could flat out move to Nepal, so I think any length of time will feel too short for me ;) Was having a friend from the area necessary, or could you have gone without?
I'd say knowing a local or having a local guide is pretty necessary unless you know Nepali, the culture, and either know the cities you're heading to or are good at asking directions in Nepali. There are almost no street signs, and many dont have names, so getting around can be tricky since people tend to just use landmarks to navigate. Most young people learn English in school, but many people we met barely spoke English (and we barely speak Nepali) so having our friend to translate for us was crucial once we left Kathmandu. Nepalis are super nice though, so it's not that people wouldnt try to help you out, it's just that it would be quite a headache. They dont even use arabic numbers half the time on things like signs and license plates, so there's an added layer of confusion. For example the Nepali 1 looks like a 9, 4 looks like an 8, and 7 looks like a 6. I kept trying to pay the wrong amount the first couple days because I'd pull out the end of the bill that has the Nepali number and misread it ha.Did you have everything you took in a backpack, or did you leave things places (hotel, friend's home)?
We both carried everything in our 60L backpacking packs. Conveniently, they were both under the weight limit (10kg) for our airline for carryons despite their size, so we didnt even have to check them! But yeah, everything we had fit on our backs. We got laundry done halfway through the trip since our trekking clothes were stinking everything up, but that was cheap ($1/kg).
You've gotta be kidding me. I love that all the man-made colors in your photos-- clothing, buildings, signs-- are pastel pinks yellows greens and blues. Would figuratively kill for an opportunity to trek Nepal.para-glide off of the summit of Everest
Right! Look up Lakpa Tsering Sherpa. After we landed I got his autograph. Definitely one of the coolest unexpected experiences I could have imagined! The colors in Nepal are goregous. Hell, just about everything in Nepal is gorgeous. Part of the reason I took so many pictures is because it's like walking around in a National Geographic magazine. You should go! It's not too expensive; we spent ~$3k for two people for everything, including airfare.
This is a reckless disrespect and general rudeness towards gravity.
How are Pokhara and Kathmandu recovering after the earthquakes in 2015? I heard there are still lots of ongoing problems. I think everyone gets chased by monkeys. Spent 9 days in Nepal, with a 3 day trip to Nagarkot - one of the best places I've ever visited. Lots of walking and flying kites with the locals. Your picture of the swing looks identical to one at Nagarkot, on the edge of a narrow, winding mountain path. Scared the living crap out of me because it's tall and rickety and although you swing moderately high, at the peak when you look down you can see aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the way down to the bottom of the valleys below. Loved watching the clouds rise up from below. I could watch that forever. Had a mystical experience there one morning which has stayed with me ever since. Heard Nagarkot also suffered damage and landslides in the earthquake and lost buildings and several hotels - their main income. I can't imagine the cheap, dilapidated "huts" that we stayed would not have survived. Got chased by monkeys.
Traveled to Pokhara, learned it's my favorite place on the planet and that I want to stay there forever
We never made it to Nagarkot! Next time. We found our swing outside Bandipur, and played on another on a hillside just outside Kathmandu. I do love those swings though... how many weird looks wpuld I get for building one in LA next to my apartment? Haha. Did you get to see/ride one of the wooden mini ferris wheels? Those things can go FAST! So much fun.How are Pokhara and Kathmandu recovering after the earthquakes in 2015? I heard there are still lots of ongoing problems.
Pokhara didnt seem to be hit as badly as Kathmandu, the surrounding valley, and Bandipur. Repairs are in the works, but it's super super slow. Most of the locals we talked to linked it to corruption in the government, where money that should be going into road repairs, fixing older buildings, etc is going into people's pockets. I'm sure things will get put back together (it mostly was short of some of the world heritage sites taking an understadably long time to regroup and rebuild) but it will be a while. The flooding near Chitwan earlier this year didnt help with disaster relief funding, though from what I saw Chitwan at least has mostly recovered.
Nepal is roughly the same area as Arkansas, so not all that big. While cities aren't generally that far apart, it took us 7 hours to drive the 60ish miles between Chitwan and Kathmandu because the roads are so windy and unkept. We hired a driver recommended by my local friend, and I wouldn't suggest trying to drive yourself unless you're familiar with driving in 3rd world countries... i.e. no signals and any signs/lines on the road are suggestions ;) If I went again I'd fly between cities (most have flights with very small planes); however, I'm really glad to have had the experience of seeing all the roadside villages, sights, and random herds of animals.