Trek day 2 - Seybrubesi to Lama Village

Ok so I was a little apprehensive about our first day of trekking, having done nothing in the way of exercise for the last few months but I'm happy to report that although our first day resembled the Grouse Grind six times over, neither Betty nor I keeled over and we made it (relatively in one piece) in five hours to our first guesthouse in Lama Village (and we were even told we were speedy!). Our day consisted of us hiking up a beautiful trail through a valley, across a few suspension bridges, alongside a beautiful turquoise river, stopping for lunch at a guesthouse with riverside view (where I drank local water from a rubber tube and used the first of my water purification tablets) up to 1496m, aka Lama Village, where we seriously stretched (who knew what our muscles would do tomorrow morning!) and then relaxed for the rest of the day, washing our "slightly scented" hiking gear in a tub beside the guesthouse and hanging it to dry on the clothes line (this place has everything, talk about glamping! :) Ready for day 2!

Guesthouse View 2: Seybrubesi

Trek Day 1: Kathmandu to Seyabrubesi

Ok so the first "day" of our trek was actually a travel day but it was definitely an adventure. We opted for the local bus (being the cheapies we are) and so spent 9 luxurious hours in broken seats with springs sticking out bumping along windy "roads" that were often no more than dirt, boulders and the occasional creek bed (again I was wrong about what I thought was a piece of junk, our bus was a beast! How it made it to Seyabrubesi I will not know, but I was so happy it did. I closed my eyes for a good while there and may have been praying. Looking out the window and seeing no ground between the edge of the bus and the edge of the mountain does not inspire confidence. Thank god for talented bus drivers!). When I did have my eyes open, the scenery was spectacular: we saw so many villages, people in colorful dresses and hats, drove past army checkpoints and saw hundreds of rice patty terraces. Our bus even had live chickens and goats on the roof along with about 10 people. It was incredible! And the guy puking out the window just added to the adventure lol. Happy to be safe and sound in Syabrubesi :) Trekking day 2 (real trekking) begins tomorrow!

Swayambhunath, Nepal

Probably the best part of Nepal (though we've only been to Kathmandu) so far. Durbar Square in Kathmandu was nice, the one in Patan was also pretty, but the monkey temple (they seem to have these everywhere - though there were far fewer monkeys at this one and quadruple the people) was by far the highlight. We took a cab there for 150 rupees and it dropped us off half way up a hill just outside of Thamel. From there we walked up thousands of steps underneath millions of colorful prayer flags to the to of the little mountain. At the top was this massive stupa where people walked around (counter clockwise) spinning the prayer wheels and saying prayers. The view of the city from the top was amazing, there were even a few monkeys.

Our Trek!

We booked our trip! Betty and I are off on an adventure in the Langtang Region if Nepal. We will trek from Syabrubesi to Kyanjin Gompa and then up to Kyanjin Ri and back, staying in tea houses (and getting in fabulous shape) along the way :)

Found You!

Soy Latte - Himalayan Java, Thamel Nepal :)

Camels, turbans and 50 degree weather - Part 2

The first day of our safari was spent meandering through the desert (in 50 degree heat - thank goodness for my safari gear :) checking out a little village in the middle of nowhere, lounging under a tree for three hours (waiting for lunch and then digesting lunch - why don't I ever do this at home??), riding to an "oasis" (translation: a well with a trough) and then finally making camp around 6pm where after resting and stretching our sore muscles, drinking warm (but satisfying) Pepsi we rolled down the sand dunes and then watched the sun set and the dung beetles go about their business (they are massive!). Our guides cooked us curry with rice and roti for dinner, set up our bedding (lounge chair like bed platforms with blankets that I'm sure had never been washed) and then left us. We were alone in the desert (they even took the camels!). One of the guys on our tour had brought his guitar and he played random cover songs and sang until we fell asleep. Of course I was the last one to fall asleep and I lay there letting my imagination digest the fact that I was alone in the desert and thinking of all of the creepy/scary things out there that might want to eat me (thankfully we were off the ground and so safe from snakes/mice/dung beetles). I woke up around 6:30am, still in one piece and realized I was the first one up. I watched the sunrise over the dunes from my bed and thought of watching the sunrise on Hornby.

Our guides arrived and made breakfast and hot chai (so choked all chai here is made with milk!) and then we set off on another camel trek across more amazing sand dunes and it occurred to me that this is the most peaceful place I've been in India. Points for Jaisalmer. We spent another afternoon relaxing under a tree in the shade, were fed an awesome curry lunch and then shipped back to our hotel in the city. A perfect end to our time in India :)