My flight into Nepal was inspiring. The mountainous views got me excited about my upcoming week. Snow-capped peaks surrounded by valleys of rice terraces made for a grand entrance.

Before heading to Nepal, I took a couple days of a break in Bangkok. My brother unexpectedly met me there because he had some extra time. He wanted to visit me, and he wanted to take advantage of their extremely affordable custom/tailored suits. We spent the day walking around Bangkok through back alleyways. We took a water taxi down the river and visited the Golden Mount (Wat Saket). From there we visited the Jim Thompson house (Wikitravel: “a CIA-operative’s mansion assembled by combining six traditional Thai-style houses”). It was great to see Jacob and great to speak to somebody that understood me so well. The poor guy…I probably talked his ear off.

So I was sad to leave him, but the views in Nepal quickly got me over that. I arrived in Kathmandu’s airport and was immediately approached by a kind but aggressive man wanting me to use his taxi service. I had to go through my standard checklist (ATM, map, and SIM card) before I got into the taxi. He was fairly patient, and showed me where things were. He convinced me that SIM cards were cheaper in the main town which I found out later they were the same price. He was just trying to get me to hurry. When I got in the cab, another gentlemen got in the front seat. He was clean cut and friendly, and he started trying to make friends with me. I figured the sales pitch was coming soon. When he showed me the options, I told him I’d consider it. That evening I walked through Kathmandu in the Thamel neighborhood. The city was packed, slightly reminding me of what India might be like. It was extremely dusty as well, but Thamel had neat cashmere and knickknack shops along the way. In each country, I’ve been buying a small souvenir that I can easily convert into a Christmas ornament. I thought it’d be a good way to have the memory but not add junk to our house. I stumbled upon an actual Christmas ornament for a couple dollars to represent Nepal. It was hand painted and made from rice paper.

I found a place to sleep, a cheap one room with electricity only during certain times. Everywhere I stayed in Nepal after that was this way, so it must be normal. The next morning, I took a small propeller plane to the town of Pokhara. Pokhara is a beautiful city surrounded by the Annapurna Mountain Range and Lake Pokhara. I was worried I wouldn’t see the mountain peaks because I was visiting a bit too early (a couple months later has better weather), but I was very lucky and had some fantastic views of the mountains. During my time here, I saw Devi’s Falls, World Peace Pagoda-Shanti Stupa (a week prior it had a major landslide that took out a guesthouse), Gupteswar Mahadev Cave, and Gurkha Memorial Museum. The area is also famous for paragliding, so this would be a great place to go for my first time. In the paragliding shop, I met two very nice french girls. We later had a late lunch and great conversation. They were from New Caledonia (French island near Australia and New Zealand). We talked about their country, and I want to visit there someday. For the paragliding, we drove up a steep mountain to the viewpoint where I was supposed to see the sunrise that morning (but cancelled due to rain). I was partnered with a paragliding pilot, and together we took a steady run off the mountain. Being in the air gave some stunning perspectives of the landscapes. I never felt afraid, and it was actually quite peaceful and slow. We raised high enough to be in the clouds, and we ended the 30 minutes with some acrobatic moves. Again I wasn’t scared, but I was trying hard not to spew everywhere. Since my adult years, I’ve not been great with motion sickness. Paragliding was no different for me. I knew very quickly I could never be a performance pilot for the Blue Angels. Once I felt better, I had the Nepalese lunch of momos, a meat or vegetable stuffed dumpling.

Back in Kathmandu, I had a tuk tuk take me to a different part of town near the Kathmandu Durbar Square (UNESCO site). I had a place in mind to sleep, but I found out it no longer exists. I found a another newly built guesthouse nearby. I booked it and then made my way to tour Durbar Square. It was an interesting area full of ten or so temples, locals, and the Hanuman Dhoka (a complex of structures with the Royal Palace of the Malla kings). According to Wikitravel, Kathmandu was the 2013 “top travel destination on the rise” in Asia and number three in the world. It started to rain, and I felt very exhausted. I spent a bit of the afternoon in the hotel resting. At dusk, I took a taxi across town to visit the famous Swayambhu (aka Monkey Temple) and see a view of the city. The taxi ride took forever because a car was broken down blocking the street. People, cars, tuk tuks, motorbikes, and animals all fought their way to the same spot.

Someday I would like to do the Mount Everest base camp trek. It’s a ten day hike, so I didn’t have the time to do it. Plus I thought it’d be more enjoyable with another person instead of being alone. Next time!

After Nepal, I made my way to meet Jenna. I’d booked the leg of my flight earlier from Bangkok to help us plan. It made for a long day of air travel. I woke up at 5:00 AM and took Jet Airways through the following cities: Kathmandu, Nepal—New Delhi, India—Bangkok, Thailand—Mumbai, India—Colombo, Sri Lanka—Male, Maldives (via Sri Lankan Airlines).  I met Jenna in Sri Lanka, and we arrived at our hotel around 10 AM the next day.