Nepal

Upon arriving in Kathmandu I only had one day to prepare for my two week trek through the Himalayas.  I scrambled around the tourist neighborhood of Thamel to secure a guide and the other things that I would need for an extended period of time in the mountains. 

On the 26th I took the hair raising plane flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. The Lukla airport has a slanting tarmac that sits on cliff and only small planes can land there. It was a great experience to fly in and out of there as well as getting to watch from the outside.  It was so impressive to watch the pilots handle that little piece of asphalt. 

When I landed I met my guide, Don and we immediately started our trek.  Over the next 13 days we hiked up through the Kumbu region staying in Tea Houses along the way making our way to the base camp of Mount Everest on day 8.  We then climbed through a mountain pass covered by a glacier to reach a new valley for our walk back down to Lukla. It was an amazing journey that took me through some of the most incredible mountains I have ever see in my life. Each day held new challenges, but it was incredible to tackle them in that environment. 

After two weeks when I got back down to Kathmandu, I took my first shower since leaving for the trek and ate a meal with plenty of meat. I then went to the local Hindu temple where they perform public cremations. Bodies are taken straight from the hospital to the temple and are burned on a pire for 24 hours and then their ashes are brushed into the river that flows next to the platforms. It was really weird to whiteness and also to see children playing and women washing in the very same water where the ashes were being brushed.

Then following morning I took a bus to the west and the lake side town of Pokhara. It was a nice change from the hectic streets of Thamel and the vibe was great there. 

On our first full day in Pokhara we signed up for some white water rafting. Although it wasn't as crazy as Ecuador, soaring down the river with the Himalaya rang in the back ground was unforgettable. 

On my last day in Nepal we decided to do some paragliding off one of the mountains in town. The weather was amazing and from the sky we could see one if the most famous mountains in the world, Annapurna. The flight was crazy and we landed as the sun was going down by the lake. 

The culture in Nepal was incredible and I wish that I could have see more cities, but as always I must move on, and this time it will be my last country. I will be in the north of India for 10 days and then I fly home for Christmas to end my 7 month trip.