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Epic Trip to Nepal

April - May 2017
A 31-day adventure by Janet Read more
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  • Janet TaylorEpic Trip to Nepal

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    April 10, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    It's the day before we leave for our "Epic Trip to Nepal" and I can hardly believe we are finally here. I've had a countdown going on my phone for many days and it felt like the days were crawling by. Jon and I have talked about doing this trip since we first met when we were 20 years old. Between careers, kids, life and health issues it has taken us 37 years to get to it. A year and a half ago I honestly didn't think this trip would ever happen but we are are all packed up and ready to go.

    There have been many, many details involved in planning this trip, most of which were taken care of by Jon. For my part, my "to-dos" are all done, I'm sitting relaxing with a cup of mint tea, I'm going over last minute details in my mind and wondering if I'll sleep at all tonight!!    Read more

  • Janet TaylorEpic Trip to Nepal
    Day 1

    First Leg of the Trip!

    April 11, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Well I was right! I didn't sleep much last night. But no matter. We have a long journey and it's best if I can spend some of it sleeping.

    Our good friend, Colleen Landa, picked us up at our home to take us to the airport. Our son, Eric, met us there to say goodbye as we hadn't seen him in a week or so. We had a little visit and now here we are sitting on the plane to Toronto. The only incident was losing my brand new body butter from the Body Shop! It was a 200 mL container and the limit is 100 mL. Such a rookie mistake.Read more

  • Janet TaylorEpic Trip to Nepal
    Day 1

    End of the First Leg

    April 11, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    After an uneventful flight to Toronto, we boarded the UP Train to downtown Toronto to meet up with my mom and dad and my Auntie Cathy at her lovely apartment on the lakefront. My cousin and his children also joined us and we had a great visit even if it was too short. Cathy had made us a delicious meal which we enjoyed while catching up. I have a wonderful family but they all live too far away so I don't see them nearly enough. And I forgot to take pictures!!

    We jumped back on the UP Train, made it back through security with no problems and are now enjoying a beverage in the Maple Leaf Lounge while waiting for our flight to London, UK.    Read more

  • Janet TaylorEpic Trip to Nepal
    Day 2

    Second Leg of the Journey

    April 12, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We were quite comfortable on the flight to London. We were in small pods with seats that lie flat so we were able to get a few hours of sleep. We landed at about 10:30 am London time and found an Air Canada lounge outside security in Terminal 2. We had showers and put on some fresh clothes then jumped on the Underground and took the Picadilly Line to Covent Garden.

    We wandered around the Covent Garden area and found a pub on a corner where we had, of course, fish and chips!! It was such a beautiful, sunny day that all the doors and windows were open so it was like eating outside.

    The Internet is quite amazing and has made the world seem so much smaller. A few weeks ago I was surfing around and found a women's lingerie/clothing website that carries specialty clothing for women of my "shape"!!! This company, Bravissimo, has a shop in Covent Garden which was very close to where we had eaten lunch. We found it easily and Jon went exploring while my own personal fitting assistant helped me shop. I found some lovely things which fit perfectly and which were a really good price.

    We started meandering back along the street on the Picadilly Line. It was very crowded and busy in the whole area. We heard lots of people speaking German, Italian, and French and we saw lots of families with kids. We wondered if it was Easter Break in Europe and if everyone was on holiday. We got tired of dealing with the crowds and jumped back on the Underground.

    We are back at Heathrow in the Air Canada lounge waiting for our flight to Delhi. We are both tired from only sleeping a few hours and from all the walking. Although this will be a long flight, (about 8 hours) we have the lie-flat seats again so are hoping to get some sleep. We want to be rested for the chaos that awaits us in Kathmandu!

    PS - Sorry about the uninspiring pictures. I'm a little out of practice.    Read more

  • Janet TaylorEpic Trip to Nepal
    1
    Day 3

    Third Leg

    April 13, 2017 in India ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    Well we made it to Delhi but we won't be leaving the airport as we catch our plane to Kathmandu in about 30 minutes.

    Our flight from London was very comfortable - they actually gave us pyjamas to change into! I slept like a baby but I have no idea for how long. We've gone through many time zones so my poor body has no idea what's going on. It doesn't matter, I'll get sorted out in Kathmandu as we have three days before our hike.

    I heard from Elizabeth and Reig, our intrepid travelling partners. Their flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems. Qatar Air put them up in a hotel in Philadelphia for the night and they will hopefully be flying out today at the same time as their original flight. They will arrive in Kathmandu a day late but Jon purposely scheduled the extra days before our hike for just such hiccups!

    Once again, lame pictures but I hope they improve.    Read more

  • Janet TaylorEpic Trip to Nepal
    Day 3

    Fourth Leg and We Made it!!

    April 13, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We have arrived and Kathmandu is an assault on the senses!! As we descended to our landing we discovered that the city is enveloped in a smokey haze. As soon as you step off the plane onto the tarmac you are breathing in this smokey haze and the surgical masks that you were advised to bring but didn't, make sense.

    The first challenge is to get out of the airport. It's chaos but we were among the first ones off so we got through in reasonably good time. The hassle is that you have to purchase a visitors permit before you leave the airport. Once the immigration officer gave us our visas we went to collect our bags. We had to show a security officer our luggage tickets and then we were officially in Nepal!

    Outside the airport it's a crowded mess of people wanting to take your bags and drive you somewhere. Jon spotted the sign for our trekking company, our luggage was deposited in the trunk of a beat up old car, we were deposited in the back seat of said car and we were on our way.

    The first thing the driver did was to drive forward over a sidewalk and right into traffic all the while honking his horn. I knew we were in for a wild ride and our driver did not disappoint. My first impression was that it was very similar to Peru or Mexico but much more crowded and intense. The electrical system is insane with big clumps of wires hanging all over the place. No one seems to bother much about the lanes and what appears as utter chaos actually has a weird sort of flow to it. Motorcycles weave in and out everywhere, vehicles pass each other any which way while brave pedestrians bodly step into this fray. Our driver was amazingly talented and deftly wove through this craziness and deposited us safely at our hotel.    Read more

  • Janet TaylorEpic Trip to Nepal
    Day 3

    Dalai-La Boutique Hotel

    April 13, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    After dropping our bags in our room while our driver waited, he then took us to the trekking company office. We chose Nepal Eco Adventures which had very good reviews. It was literally a two minute car ride. At the office we made our final payment and collected some gear for our trek.

    The idea was that we were to walk back to our hotel. The problem was we didn't know we were to walk back until we got to the office and neither of us had been paying much attention to where we were going. You might be thinking that a person couldn't get lost on such a short walk back but you'd be wrong. We wandered around for a while and then accidently stumbled upon our hotel. All the streets look the same and there are no street signs so we are definitely going to have to keep our wits about us when we venture out alone!

    We were dirty, tired and hungry but hunger won out so we went down to the hotel restaurant for a good meal. Jon actually nodded off while waiting for his dinner. After dinner we availed ourselves of the wonderful amenities in our room and drifted off in our first proper bed in two days to the strains of a very loud band playing in the courtyard right below our room. Thank God for ear plugs!    Read more

  • Janet TaylorEpic Trip to Nepal
    Day 4

    Exploring Thamel

    April 14, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    So I woke up at 2:00 am and could not get back to sleep. I read until it was time for breakfast and then we went exploring. Our trekking companions, Reig and Elizabeth, were delayed due to a cancelled flight. They are arriving later today, one day late, so we decided to do a bit of last minute shopping.

    Thamel seems to be where all the tourists end up so we saw and heard people from all over the world. Most of the shops carry very similar things and most of it seems to come from India. There are tons of places selling hiking gear but most of it is very good fakes.

    We used a map to get around but we quickly got the feel of the place. Well actually it was Jon who got the feel of it. I was too busy looking around at the goings on and would have been hopelessly lost without him.    Read more

  • Janet TaylorEpic Trip to Nepal
    Day 4

    Dog Tired!

    April 14, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    I was determined to stay awake until bedtime but I just couldn't do it. After a late lunch I stumbled off to our room for a nap.

    Reig and Elizabeth arrived at about 5:00pm and after they deposited their bags in their room we hustled off to the trekking company. Reig and Elizabeth settled up and we wandered back to the hotel. We had another lovely meal while we caught up but by 8:30 pm we were all done and ready for sleep.

    And lucky us, another band was playing in the courtyard below our room. I was hoping for a quiet night but I'm getting used to these seranades!    Read more

  • Janet TaylorEpic Trip to Nepal
    Day 5

    Swayambhu Stupa (Monkey Temple)

    April 15, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    I had a great night's sleep and was ready for a day of exploring. We had arranged with our trekking company to have a guided tour of some of the significant sites around Kathmandu. Elizabeth, Reig, Jon and I joined a larger group at about 9:00 am and the 20 of us set off in a large van.

    Our first stop was the Monkey Temple. This is a monument that both Buddhists and Hindus use for prayer. And, you guessed it, it was filled with wild monkeys. The monkeys were a bit disconcerting at first because I wasn't sure if they would be aggressive. We were warned not to bring food as they would try to snatch it away. It turned out the monkeys would get quite close but they weren't aggressive.

    Our guide had a heavy accent so I had a hard time understanding what he was saying about this site. What I gather is that a lotus flower is enshrined in this stupa and has something to do with one of the Buddha's from long ago! Sorry I can be more specific. I'll research this more when I get home.

    Monkey Temple is up high on a hill and has great views of the city.    Read more

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