from the himalayan kingdom and back

Namaste everyone! It feels good to be in familiar territory. Thanks to all those who send me greetings and well wishes in the time that I was in Nepal- I needed all that luck.

I returned on Sunday night from one of the most unusual trips ever! Imagine a holiday where your hotel was attacked by protestors, the streets were sometimes empty except for the militants roaming on the roads, you flew out on a rescue helicopter and you wake up every morning waiting to discuss your 'options' about where can you possibly go??? For most, that would fall way short of a dream holiday. Yet despite all of that, I left Nepal with a very heavy heart and a determination that I will return again. And soon. In my 7 days there, I've grew very fond of the country, its uniqueness, its people, its mountains, its simplicity, it's steep traditions -it really is a special place. Every Nepalese should feel so proud.

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The above pic was taken from my hotel room on the first day we were there. By this time, the king had implemented a curfew forcing all the locals to shut their stores and stay indoors. Unfortunately, the tourists were not spared either.As the political unrest grew, the curfew would boil over to Chitwan and Pokhara, two other hot tourists hubs.
The next day, our bus was stopped by a group of militants on our way to another hotel. I took this picture from where I was sitting- at the back of the bus. A protest ahead had blocked the roads and we were not allowed to pass through. We had to unload all our luggage, drag it through the protest and to the hotel which was about 15min away.

The walk past the protest was both exciting and unnerving. Somehow, I didn't think the locals would hurt us. They were not after us. Below, the splendid view from our next hotel, Hyatt Regency makes it all worthwhile. We kept our spirits up. (From left, Guan Da, Frida, Marcus and me. Prior to the trip, I had only known Frida. In the time we were in Nepal, we very quickly formed a bond with 4 other tour members. On hindsight, the trip would have turned out very different if not for them.)

We managed a short trek to the stupa- a beautiful temple adorned with colourful prayer flags. The pair of eyes, can be seen from all four sides of the stupa- locals believe that it watches over Kathmandu. In one of the photos, the locals lined up to pass pails of waters to help out in the renovating of the stupa. Talk about teamwork!Meanwhile, the local children playing around the area provided for many kodak moments. Here, a man sits and takes a quiet moment. The stupa is alot to take in!

But not all is well back in the hotel. The next morning, the Hyatt sign is gone, the guard house was smashed and there was no nothing on the streets but rocks and rubble.

On the same day, the group makes a decision to fly out of Kathmandu to the hill resort in Nagakort. Land transport was out of question given the protests and curfew. The helicopter ride was quite an adventure in itself. We arrived on Nagakort, which is about 2,300m(?) above sea level. Even as chaos boil below in Kathmandu, there was none of that in Nagakort. Below, I love the shots of this family- one of the first ones we saw upon landing. Gradually, we even became quite acquainted with them. There was a lovely little motel cum restaurant that we discovered by chance- such a charming place overlooking the valleys. I love their lemon grass tea- it's hand-picked mind ya!A short walk brings us to a charming resort where we had some great, great, local food. In the evening, the temperature drops to 7 degrees- the coldest I've been exposed to. Our solution? We warm up easily to a glass of wine, card games and alot of laughter.

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And I'll leave you for now with these parting shots. In my next post, I'll tell you about Nagakort's sunrise and an upclose and personal encounter with Mt Everest. Cheers!