Visiting the Himalayas

When we arrived in Kathmandu, we had a hassle at the airport. We thought that it was our fault, or maybe the Indian embassy's fault. Many months ago, Jim started getting visas for the countries we would visit. Three of the four countries we were visiting required a visa for American tourists. Since each country has it's immigration requirements and needed our passports in order to insert their visa, it was a tedious process of sending our pictures, applications and passports with return FedEx packages. It turned out that India had our passports so long, we didn't have time to get visas for Nepal. Luckily, Nepal lets you get a visa when you enter the country. That seemed to be the problem at the Kathmandu airport long on lines, short on immigration personnel. So many people had not purchased their visa that we were in that line for way over an hour. By some quirk of choosing the wrong line, our bags were the only ones left. At least they were still there, two red bags sitting by the conveyor belt! 

We were really the last two out of the airport of the 1000 or more who all arrived at the same time. As it turned out, we are thankful about the visa snafu. At least it allowed us to meet Pramod. He seemed a bit pushy, but helpful. He jumped into our cab with us and convinced us that he was an upstanding, industrious young man who could provide excellent service creating the tours we would be interested in. He gave us ample opportunity to check him and the prices he was quoting us on the internet. He was so right! He knew what we needed to do while we were in Nepal.

Our trip to Kathmandu was far greater than we expected. Between the Mountain Viewing from a small plane to the retreat in the mountains near Namo Buddha Stupa, and our resort in the forest, we couldn't have asked for more. We've already written about the mountain viewing and still think of it frequently almost a week later. What we didn't write about is the fabulous retreat we had at Namo Buddha resort.

There are not enough superlatives to describe this place. First, realize that we are thrifty folk and yet Pramod convinced us that we needed to spend money on a room while we already had a paid for room in Kathmandu! It turned into a bit of an adventure because he also convinced two guys from Singapore to take this trip. So two cars were going to Namo Buddha, which meant that Pramod could bring his whole family too -- with free transportation! I'm sure there was also a perk from the owner of the mountain resort, but the arrangement paid off for all of us.

Every place at the retreat had a panorama of the Himalayas. We could even see them from our bed! For some reason, we got the best cottage. Two stories, two bedrooms with a sleeping loft! 

 

We never really did get the name of the wife but she and "Babu" and Shascha quickly became good friends of ours. We were adopted as the American grandparents. At one point Shascha disappeared into a little shop and returned with a gift for me! She also took my arm to go up the many stairs at the temple because she saw that I was hanging onto the banisters when there were any. (Knees!) At one point we were passing a man carrying a load of bricks uphill. (Sorry I was trying to be discreet and didn't get a good shot.) She said, "He's poor. When I have enough money, I will give it to the poor and they won't have to carry bricks anymore." Pretty generous for an 11 year old. She was stumped though when I asked her how the bricks would get to the top of the hill if there were no poor people to carry them? This is a socio-political question for the whole world, isn't it?

While it was very cold in Kathmandu, it was even colder at Namo Buddha but they have very efficient heaters in the rooms and built a lovely fire where we sat with beer and wine and watched the sun set on the mountains. After sunset, we retired to the dining room where we had the best soup I've ever had and the lovely dinner you see here.

What a place! I would love to stay there for a month to discover who I am or write a book or something inspiring! This place has replaced Esalen as my "happy place!"

Yes, we loved out time in Kathmandu. Our forest resort was also lovely. The food was great and inexpensive. The people were generous and helpful. And the scenery was spectacular. While we never thought we'd want to return to asia, we are now rethinking that idea.

Alas, we had to leave. It was time for the last leg of the journey. We were flying to Mumbai for a few days as our trip-of-a-lifetime ends. The literature (and the locals) said get to the airport 3 hours early, which seemed ridiculous for a 3 hour flight. However, once there, we understood why. We were searched, X-rayed, patted down, and had our passports and boarding passes checked at least 15 times! Once we exited from the bus that took us to the plane on the tarmac, they checked our luggage one more time -- actually opened each bag and went through it! Surely no terrorists have ever left Nepal by plane!

We had one more clear view of the mountain peaks as we fly away from Kathmandu. I've always loved mountains, but had no idea I would be so enchanted with these. Breathtaking!

Luckily, the airport in Mumbai is just as efficient as the one in Delhi. We were out of there in seconds because we've gotten smart and look around for shorter lines. Even so, our luggage was x-rayed one more time as we went through customs. My undies are probably radioactive by now!