32 Days Post Nepal

32 Days Post-Nepal

Dec 15, 2006 Penang (1318hrs)

It has been more than 30 days since I first stepped my size 6M boots in Nepal. Yet, I still suffer from (no, not Altitude Mountain Sickness), but from I-wish-I were-still-on-holidays sickness. Perhaps it’s the time of the year again where soon my mailbox will be flooded with emails “Subject: I am out of OFFICE …” and I wish I am the one sending than receiving. Perhaps because I still wish I am still in Thamel? I have this list of reasons … help me choose which one is number ONE Reason!

Top 10 Reasons Why I still have Hang Over from the Nepal Trip

(10) At least a dozen of NAMASTE greeted by total strangers.
(No, the Tibetan sheeps were not trained to greet trekkers with Namaste!)

(9) The chance to wear The-NORTH-FACE gears.

(8) I got to ask Are-We-There-Yet question to our guide Binod. (most of the time I am forced to be the one answering that FAQ)

(7) The best milk tea I ever tasted, even better than the penang teh tarik (pull-tea).

(6) Relaxing, sipping warm ginger tea under the sun without worrying about the heat and did-I-have-my-SPF30 on. (I come from a country where the sun shines almost 365 days/year)

(5) Excellent mutton curry at Shalimar Restaurant, Thamel.

(4) Dhal bhat! Dhal bhat! Dhal Bhat!

(3) The rare opportunity to shower with icy cold water (well, it may be chilled water to some, but it definitely was iced water to me)

(2) Having smiley-Kamal to carry our 20 odd-kg loads with zero-complaint

(1) A total cholesterol level that drops from a 3-year average of 5.3mmol/l to 4.76mmol/l! (I can’t believe it myself!)

Day 2 without Luggage

Day 2 without the Luggage

Nov 12, 06 (SUN) 0805 Thamel, Nepal
Having living in a humid scorching hot Malaysia, we shivered in Thamel morning breeze. Nonetheless, the friendly smiles of the Nepali and Newari (the indigenous group of Kathmandu’s valley) warmed us. Not to mention the warm dust aired from the street walk and carbon monoxide fumed from the compact cars of Daihatsu Charade & Suzuki Maruti alike. But hey, these are all for the spirit of being in Nepal. And heck, I don’t really mind!
Taxi in Nayapul
Latest info from the airport guy alerting us that our luggage was in Germany. Hmm… it traveled even further than we did. We decided to postpone our trip to Pokhara and wait for our luggage to arrive (crossed all my fingers and toes hoping that the luggage will show up at Tribhuvan Airport by tomorrow).
Since we have an extra day in Kathmandu, Binod took us around the world heritage sites in Kathmandu. As we traveled around, I noticed one unique characteristic of the Kathmandu’s drivers. And I must say, the horn is the second most important ‘part’ in the car after the break. Everyone is honking everybody, almost everywhere. Some trucks even have signs “HORN PLEASE” printed on the back. So, what does that tell you then? Their ways of saying HI? Perhaps yes!

Nepal, anyone?

Nepal, anyone?

Traveling to Nepal, a thought that has been occupying my mind for more than a year. For a person who never really plans for her holiday trips, 14 months are really long. I finally made it to Nepal last November. So, here I go.. my very first blog on a journey that I have dreamed on for months. Hopefully, I will finish this blog before I forget all the fun-adventurous-are we there yet-tiring memories in Nepal. For those of you who are yet to seek similar adventure in Nepal, well perhaps this sharing would help.

Nov 11, 06 (SAT) 0850 Bangkok local time
Suvarnabhumi Airport (mind you.. it is pronounced as Suwanapoom) : An airport that was finally opened last September after numerous delays. Obvious signs that the airport is yet to be fully completed but somehow is quite hectically ‘occupied’ by frantic-eager travelers. Another obvious thing – the wireless access points are everywhere, at least 10 meters apart from one another. Good news for those who suffer from the can’t-live-without-internet syndrome.
Sitting at the bench waiting for our flight to Kathmandu, we can sense Nepal in the air. Guys with same-same but different t-shirts (of course it doesn’t make sense to me then, not till i read a note in lonely planet-Nepal); ladies with fleece jackets; elderly men with dhaka topi. Nepal, here we come!
Nov 11, 06 (SAT) 1225 Nepal local time
We arrived in Tribhuvan International Airport Kathmandu, noon, local time only to find out that our luggage is LOST! This is definitely one of the nightmares that every traveler would want to avoid, at all cost. We waited for more than 45 minutes; talked to the airport guy, and finally had to swallow the hard fact “Sorry madam, but there was no more luggage from flight TG390. What we can do now is for you to file a report .. blah blah… perhaps tomorrow.. blah blah”. The good thing was, there were at least 4 other people/couples who shared similar fate. Not that I was clapping hands for them. At least we know it was not just our luggage that was lost. I was hoping that the chances of recovering the luggages are higher, when there was more than just one lost case.
The bad news was .. that luggage contained most of my clothings. Yikes!
My first instinct (ok, perhaps not my 1st) was to go out of the arrival hall and look for our guide, Binod Mahat. Wouldn’t want to ‘lose’ him too. Being tall, and having seen his photo from his website, he was easy to spot! Lucky for us, Binod has been standing there smiling from far, perhaps anxiously waiting for us.
So we left the airport with heavy heart, but with lighter luggage before we took off this morning.
Lesson learnt: (1) always split your clothings into 2 separate luggages (2) make sure your guide is tall enough for you to spot him (ok, kidding!)

Traffic Jam in Tikhadunga, Nepal

Nov 14, (TUE) Tikhadunga, Nepal I can’t begin to describe how it feel to have trekked for hourS today (mind you the bold-capital S). It was definitely a lonnggg 6-hour trek. Even the 8-hour walk in the shopping mall with my gal-friend doesn’t resemble any of the pain that I experienced.
I know, I know.. I should not compare trekking (rather walking up) the stainless steel escalators to trekking these man-made paves.
A few days earlier, we were stuck in a bad traffic jam from Kathmandu to Pokhara. There was a couple of road accidents along the highway.  And surprise, surprise we faced another heavy traffic that we had to stopped trekking. I guess god really has a great sense of humor. Back home, I had always gotten stuck in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam.  Who’d have thought we’d get stuck in a same-same-yet-different kind of bumper-to-bumper traffic. But this time, it was a pleasant experience (see photo attached, you know what I mean).