I'm sitting in our sweet hotel room at the Club Himalaya in Nagorkot, Nepal. Our time in Nepal has been fantastic!
Kendra & I have had fun remembering Bolivia through the different things we have seen & done here! I guess that is just how it is with developing countries. Our trip (7-8 hrs) from Kathmandu to Nagorkot reminded us of the trip from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba. The roads are very windy, the drivers are fast & honk before going around corners to warn oncoming traffic ( because of course, they are basically in the other lane and there are no shoulders), there are kiosks around practically every bend, and the scenery - tropical!!! I have loved looking at the luscious green hills ( some of us would call them mountains, but that is the prairie girl in me) ferns, rice fields, & flowers! It's been a little cooler here than China, but still not jeans weather. I did wear a long sleeved shirt with shorts to supper! :)
Life has been a little slower here than in China. We picked "monsoon"'season to travel Nepal, so with that has come changes to our trekking plans. But, in general, Nepalis live life at a more relaxed pace. Anyway, we had wanted to take a small plane from Nagorkot to Jomson for 5 days of trekking, but were thwarted by the rains & cloud cover. We did get up ridiculously early two mornings in a row in hopes of flying, spending a total of 10 hours waiting in the over priced airport restaurant. The positive thing about this was that Zal had a lot of practice walking and can now walk unassisted!! It's so cute watching him; he's loving the praise & attention. I was afraid that we were slowing his development by having him in a stroller so much, so am glad that he's having more time to move now that we are in Nepal. :)
We have spent about a total of 2 days in Kathmandu (capital of Nepal). The people are so beautiful ( I love the kirtas that the ladies wear), the buildings colorful & a couple stories high, the roads are narrow & all feel like back alleys, & the Indian & Nepali food we have had has been great. I tried giving Zal some curry chicken last night, but he made a very sour face & chugged a bunch of water. We saw one of the ancient kingdoms (Patan Dhurbar Square) which was filled with Hindu temples, people, and pigeons! This was when I really felt like I had stepped into a whole new world. We also visited Swayanbanath, a Buddhist stupa on the top of a hill; the views of the Kathmandu valley were fantastic & the colorful prayer flags, beautiful.
Water in Nepal is scarce. While in Kathmandu, we have had to recycle any water we have used for washing hands or showering for the toilet. As well during all of our travels in Nepal, we can only use filtered water for drinking or washing Zal's bottles. Even bought water is not considered clean enough, so we have had to use drops to purify the water.
Souvenir shopping in this country is fabulous. Have bought a few things (slippers) & have my eyes on a few more items I want to pick up before going home.
We did go to Nepali church on Sunday, which was really sweet! Loved hearing the singing in Nepali & watching the sanskrit from the PowerPoint. Understood the occasional hallelujah & amen & recognized a few tunes. Also received some inspiration for the VCA Christmas Program. :)
We are currently an hr from Kathmandu in a town called Nagorkot. Yesterday we crammed a 6 hour trek into 8 hrs. We saw incredible scenery & a lot of small villages. Zal did very well; he enjoyed our rest stops & has decided that rocks make the best toys. The stray dogs that accompanied us kept him entertained. :)
Today we are going on some short hikes. Mom K. has offered to stay back with Zal. Tomorrow it's a 6 hr trek to Dhulikhel where we will spend the night. Then it's a van ride back to Kathmandu for 2 more days of sight seeing & shopping before we begin the long journey home!
We have had a lovely time being together as a family. After 2 consecutive months of family, Zal will have a lot of unlearning to do. What will he do when it's just him & me all day? :) He's already changed so much in this last month: more opinionated, very mobile, better at communicating, busier, etc....
But until that time, I will continue to drink in the beauty of the present. More fresh mango juice anyone???
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