Flying High with the Kents: NEPAL!!

Patan Durbar Square: one of the ancient kingdoms of Nepal.

Zal was hanging out with Nana! (Just in case you were wondering....)

I was so intrigued by the architecture and splashes of color that were intermingled with the old...

Going to school? Skipping school?

Kendra took a picture of these cute men, had to show them the pic, and then proceed to give them some rupees! :)

Nepalis are pretty short. Dave is not.

Making a rug...

These women filled their baskets with bricks, put them on their backs, and walked away....who knows how far?

An older brother playing a trick on his younger sister? I guess we'll never know...

Ian's Fancy Shop!

Precious

Swayanbanath: buy your cotton candy while visiting the buddhist stupas...

Monkeys and pigeons...everywhere.

Swayanabanath: overlooking Kathmandu

Kathmandu Valley

colorful prayer flags

On our way to Pokhara (8 hour trip)

Big boy!

Zal, loving his time with family!

...and loving the attention from all of the Nepali ladies!

At our hotel in Pokhara: this is what I did every morning...filled the countless ziplock bags and containers with Zal's goods for the day!

Devi Falls: named after a tourist that fell in and died in the 60's.

Karla, Dave, and IAN!

Karla, Dave, and KENDRA!

Colorful homes in Pokhara

The famous Tata bus (they come in trucks too)

These crazy vehicle contraptions were everywhere!

Dave's new job!

Kendra feels very close to swinging bridges, as Mom had to walk across one, while in labor, to get to the country hospital to deliver Kendra.

Beautiful Young Ladies

The Kent Cliff Diving Spot

The place the Kents used to stay while visiting Pokhara...

Slurpee anyone?

Sweet Sugarcane

Holy cows...hanging out in the middle of town...

Awww

We spent 10 hours at this airport restaurant waiting for our flight to Jomson. This was probably taken at 5 or 6 in the morning.

This is where we wanted to go...the cloud never lifted...we never went.

But while waiting, Zal spent a lot of time walking with Nana and Papa and Auntie Kendra and Uncle Ian, and thus learned how to walk, unassisted!

What to do when one has an extra day in Pokhara (besides buy souvenirs)???? CATAN!

Precious time with Nana


Zal, getting practice walking with Papa!!

Exploring Pokhara

We sat in a restaurant one afternoon and watched a bunch of kids play soccer in the rain.

Back in Kathmandu....at Nana & Papa's house.

A very happy boy...when the water is warm!!

And here he is...walking all by himself! He was sooo...proud of himself. And, of course, we couldn't stop cheering!

Bad picture....but you must notice the goat!

On our way to Nagorkot....looking of our van window! :)

We stayed in a beautiful hotel in Nagorkot...two morning we were blessed with great views of the Himalayas (this was not one of them).

My crazy boys!

My pretty sister!

Commence....trekking!

There comes a time when we all need to chill out!

Loved, loved the tropical foliage!

There were usually a few stray dogs that joined us...Zal was happy!

....and then there were the goats...

These ladies were very curious about our little group.We often stopped and talked to people along the way. The common questions? Where have you come from? Where are you going?

I was in love with all of the terraced rice fields!

Taking a break...

school playground

Apparently our visit caused a scene...

Notice how this little house/store is literally on the edge of the mountain!

Kendra, drawing in the crowds.

I think perhaps the heat had gotten to him!

Beautiful Children

The group sans me!

Thanks for the warning! (Motorbike is unusually large)

Worship Dance?

Picture with random family visiting Nepal

The whole group

We ate at this cute restaurant. It only took an hour 1/2 to get our food!

Bananas! See...so many similarities to Bolivia!

The real reason we went to Nepal....(hee, hee)!

So proud of himself!

This is Mommy's medicine!

Incredible view of the Himalayas!

Enjoying the view...at 6 am!! Zal is happy, I'm happy, Dave is tired. In Dave's defense, he had been trekking with Zal on his back for two days and had acquired some nasty blisters! :(

Our last day of trekking....to Dhulikel. We went down a zillion steps and then UP a zillion steps. Follow the path to see the meandering stairs.

I was quite glad to be on foot.

Rest Stop

Dirty Trekkers (at our hotel in Dhulikel)

Dirty, Dirty Trekkers

Tired Out (doesn't he look so cozy)!

Walking about Dhulikel

Enjoying the Newari wood work

Fakeleys!

The electrical work is somewhat questionable...yikes!

Letting off steam after our VERY SCARY drive down to Bhaktapur. We are pretty sure our driver was high. He had no depth perception and reacted very slowly. One cannot react slowly while driving in Nepal. We were so thankful to be safe and to acquire a new driver!

I cannot express how delicious the mangos were!

Narrow streets....there's always room for one more vehicle or pedestrian. One must ALWAYS be on their guard!

Pigeons and stray dog....we saw a few very sad looking dogs.

Dave and Ian in front of the royal palace. As kids, they always wondered what was behind these gates...now, they are about to find out!!

I was giving the thumbs down, because the royal family was murdered here in 2001. Dave didn't think that was appropriate!

Should we really be this happy?

Zal and Nana and Papa's Didi!

Packed and ready to return to the North!

Guard on duty?

The Kent's first home in Kathmandu

Last stop: Pashupatinath

This was a hard stop: it is filled with Hindu temples along the Bagmati River. Here is where people burn their loved ones who have passed away. Ashes are flying through the air; people are wailing.