Mom's WORLD JOURNAL - Nepal It is 2:00 a.m. and we are sitting in the Cairo airport awaiting our flight to India and a connecting flight to Nepal. Mark just informed me that we have been bumped from our flight because they say we did not confirm the flight, which we did twice! Max fell asleep on the airport floor while Mark worked on his sob story for the manager of the airline. While Max was sleeping, the airport crew swept up the cigarette butts and other trash around him, careful not to wake him. At the last minute, the manager gave us some boarding passes and told us to hurry. We ran to the plane only to find that he had upgraded us to Business Class! A great treat since the flight would be 7 hours to India, a 7-hour layover in India and another 2-hour flight to Nepal. I was loaded up with new colored pencils, drawing paper and snacks for the long journey but Max seems quite content to make paper airplanes or just chill. ELABORATE Mark and I fell asleep in India waiting for our flight, I fell asleep first and reminded Mark to watch Max but he fell asleep too. When I woke up and saw Mark sleeping I panicked wondering where Max was but he had "picked up" two college chicks with his backgammon board and they were mid-game. We arrived in Kathmandu and the hotel sent a driver to pick us up. It was about 10:30 P.M. when we arrived and the city was completely dark. We were staying in a top-end hotel, $30 a night compared to $5, and I was eager to check it out. The dark, narrow streets looked deserted and the stores had their metal doors secured, bomb shelter style. We stayed at the Utse Hotel, a sparse but clean hotel where, with the right timing, you can actually catch a hot shower! We slept until 11:00 the next morning, travel hangover following our 20-hour ordeal from Cairo, and all I wanted was a great cup of coffee. I found this little joint that served a great cup of java along with an Eric Clapton CD playing in the background, a perfect setting for some people watching in Kathmandu. In the café we met a woman from Denmark traveling with her 12-year old son, Winni and Sigourd. We enjoyed their company and decided to travel with them on a 2-day rafting trip. The people of Nepal are beautiful with dark skin, bright white smiles and perfect teeth! The women were dressed in colorful tunics over light slim pants and everyone was very friendly. Outside the rickshaws, stray cows, cars, taxis, buses and bikes competed for a spot in traffic. The horn honking was obnoxious and the pollution so thick that after the first day I had developed a bad sinus and chest infection. Many people were wearing surgical masks to avoid breathing the fumes. We walked past rows of tiny shops with bogus trekking gear, seconds from China, very cheap and unpredictable. One man complained that the soles fell off his new trekking boots and he had to wrap them with duct tape to complete his trek. Bummer! Kathmandu is filled with Stupas and Buddhist Temples, most in disrepair. One temple we visited had rats climbing on the Buddha and bird droppings everywhere, disgusting. We hired a site seeing guide in Kathmandu's Durbar Square, the center of town. Clustered around the central square is the Old Royal Palace, several interesting temples, Kamari Bahal (The House of the Living Goddess) and Kasthamandap, Kathmandu's namesake. Kasthamandap, or House of Wood, dates from the 1th century and the legend states that it is made from a single sal tree. The Kamari Bahal is a white three story building that houses a young girl, the Kamari, who is selected to be the towns living goddess until she reaches puberty at which point she regains her mortality. Unfortunately the goddess didn't show herself but even if she did, photographing her is strictly forbidden. After visiting the many temples in the square, we set out to visit the Buddhist temple of Swayambhunath. The walk took us through some of the more impoverished areas of Kathmandu and more clearly revealed to us the conditions that the Nepalese people live in. After 30 minutes of walking through this new reality we arrived at "The Monkey Temple." Building on this site began in 460 CE and has become one of the more recognizable symbols of Nepal. The three Buddha Eyes peering through the waving prayer flags is the picture you most often see of Nepal. The monkey temple is high on a hill and you must climb 400 steps to reach the top. The temple is beautiful with wild monkeys, stray dogs and kids running around and playing everywhere. We heard a prayer drum and followed the beat to the prayer session where we were invited to stay and watch the young monks in their saffron colored robes pray. They chanted, blew horns, sang songs, gonged the large drum and ate while they sat in the lotus position. There were several young monks, age 6-12, who sat and giggled in the back just like normal kids! A great experience! At one small temple, a lady made an offering to the Buddha after she said a prayer; she put a meatball in the statues mouth. Immediately after she left a 5-year old boy stole the meatball and ate it with a big smile. Each morning the Buddha statues are covered in red from a mixture made from flowers. Also covered in red are the stray dogs noses from sniffing the variety of offerings. On the way back to Kathmandu, we crossed a river that summed up the economic position in Nepal. In one snapshot you can capture the issues facing Nepal's people. There were mounds of smelly trash piled high on the riverbanks with pigs and cows rooting through looking for food, women washing clothes and wool in the polluted water, children bathing and people defecating all in the same place. The stench was so bad you had to cover your mouth yet it was difficult not to stare. Coming from America, it is very difficult to digest such a scene. Animals seem to be treated with much respect and often the venders can be seen throwing corn down for the pigeons. All traffic stops for a cow and we all got whiplash when our bus driver stomped on the brake to avoid a baby goat. And still the people smile. Rafting Trip Our 2-day rafting trip on the Seti River was spectacular! To get to the river we took a 5-hour van ride to Pokhara. The road was completely dark with hairpin turns and washed out mountain roads. Everything was very bumpy when after 4 ½ hours it suddenly stopped and the driver motioned to us that the van had broken down. He looked under the hood, checked all sorts of buttons and gauges when finally he realized he was out of gas. So we pushed the van to the nearest gas station, which was closed. Lucky for us the owner sleeps at the station and we were once again on our way. Imagine asking the owner of a gas station in Miami to wake up and "fil'er up." I don't think so, but this is Nepal and the rules don't apply here. When we finally reached our hotel there were two boys sleeping outside in the street covered only by plastic sheeting for warmth, they were about 10-years old. The hotel was very nice though and for $10 per night was a bargain. The next day we spent another 2-hours traveling to the Seti River by bus. This country is amazing. The seven highest snow covered peaks in the world surrounded by tree covered mountains, lakes, waterfalls, green and yellow rice fields, wooden footbridges that shake when crossed and thatch-roofed villages barely visible from the river. Max had never been rafting and we had limited experience. The river had several rapids with grade three being the most difficult. I was nervous about having Max on the raft but he did great! He asked over and over "when is the next grade three rapid". There were two rafts in our river tour, which meant "extreme water fights" with the bail buckets. We were soaked! At night we camped on a small beach surrounded by lush green peaks near a village with no electricity or running water. When we beached the rafts, the village kids ran out to meet us and then just stared. The guides and crew set up the campsite and laughed out loud when I asked where the toilet was. They just opened their arms and said take your pick. The night was spent chatting with our rafting friends around the campfire. We watched the crew prepare our meal of "Dalbhat" a typical meal consisting of rice and lentils. You have to be careful of the food here in Nepal and especially the water. It was later when I realized that they washed our plates in the river, the same river where we had seen a dead dog floating by the raft and a dead cow hanging on a rock in the river. Not to mention that they burn their dead relatives in Nepal and dump the ashes in the river. When we woke up in the morning the clouds were hanging low over the jungle and the views were beautiful. We were on the banks of a beautiful river that ran through a jungle in the middle of nowhere. River rafting was a definite highlight! Trekking We headed back to Pokhara for one day prior to leaving on our 8-day trek. Pokhara is a quaint trekking town with stray cows everywhere, trekking stores and restaurants. The main road is still a muddy dirt road. It was difficult to prepare for the trek since we had never trekked before. I did not have any hiking boots because I did not want to carry them for 4-months to use for 8 days. So I "rented" used hiking boots for $3.50 for 8 days, which I had to get repaired before we even left town. I had that "bowling shoe-I don't know whose been wearing these shoes" feeling the entire trek, but they were more comfortable than breaking in new ones. We chose the Annapurna Panorama Trek as It took us right in among the mountains in the Annapurna range. Trekking was more demanding physically than either of us had imagined, especially for Max. We hired a guide to show us the way and a porter who carried our backpacks. The first day we trekked for six hours through rice patties and tiny "three house" villages with no problem to Tikedhunga at 1525 meters. As we trekked we were passed by flocks of sheep making their way to slaughter for the upcoming festival, mule trains carrying goods to the villages with big bells hanging from their necks and colorful headdresses, and "porters" carrying more on their backs than can fit in a small Chevy truck. There are no roads or cars, only trekking paths to get goods to the villages. The porters are often young kids, age 15 or so, and they carry the goods by a strap around their foreheads. They wear only flip-flop sandals on their feet and trek the terrain at an unbelievable pace. We arrived in a small town and stayed at a Tea House, small family run houses that are a "small" step up from camping. The walls between rooms are often made of plywood and there is no heat or electricity. We underestimated how cold it would get at night and I was glad to have purchased polar fleeces in town. We all slept in our pants, layered shirts and polar fleeces in addition to our down sleeping bags. Although we were tired, Max quickly recovered to play with the local Nepali kids in the village. He taps them on the arm and then runs away smiling to incite a game of chase. Max taught his new friend, Neema, how to play checkers and Mark got all the kids in the village to sing songs when they saw the video camera. The digital camera also got a lot of attention since we could immediately show them the picture. We would take the photo and the kids would practically knock Mark down to see the image, and then break into laughter! When I told Max, "five more minutes before bed", his new Nepali friend who spoke limited English said "ten!" They were so cute I couldn't resist, ten it is! When we awoke the next morning we had no idea how challenging the day would be. We left at 7:30 a.m. and walked straight up steep rock stairs, straight down, and up again until we reached the next Tea House at 4:30 p.m. We walked up 3500 stairs before noon, ate noodle soup, and back on the trek. Max was struggling, and we were too! But he managed to pull it off with few complaints and kept his sense of humor. I was amazed at his tremendous inner strength. It was so difficult for Mark and I and Max's legs are a lot shorter. It was so steep at the very end that Max looked teary eyed for the first time that day so I bribed him with "anything he wanted to eat" when we reached the top. That helped and he enjoyed a snickers bar and hot chocolate. After a short rest, he told us he was proud and couldn't wait to see the snow covered mountains in the morning. In all we had trekked straight up another 1200 meters and the air was getting thinner all the time. The next day we woke up at 5:00 a.m. and immediately trekked up another 400 meters to the top of Poon Hill to see the sun rise over the Annapurna mountain range. I thought I was going to die and Mark was equally frustrated. My thighs and butt were killing me from the prior days trek. It was like being on the Stair Master for 8 hours and getting up the next morning and doing it again. The honeymoon was definitely over. When I woke Max up and told him it was time to see the giant mountains he was so excited, but failed to realize that he would have to trek an hour first. He stopped several times shaking his head "no", like he just wasn't going anywhere. The guide gave him a piggyback ride for the last 10 meters. Max arrived with a big smile laughing with our guide. We were lucky, No Clouds! Dhaulagiri, the 5th highest mountain in the world, and the peaks of the Annapurna Range were spectacular and a sight I will not soon forget! As the sun lit up the range you realize that this is as close to heaven as you can get, and I couldn't help but think about my brother Tom who died last year. On the way up there was a memorial dedicated to a woman who died at a young age that read, " This place meant so much to us. I must travel a new path now knowing that our love is so strong I will never have to say goodbye". It really touched me and it summed up the process of moving on after loosing someone so dear. If not for Tom, I am certain that we would not be here in this moment, spending a year together just enjoying each other and exploring the world as a family. We stayed on Poon Hill for an hour, trekked back down, had breakfast and prepared for another 6 hours of trekking that day. The day started out difficult but offered some flat areas through the woods where we were delighted to see three different tribes of monkeys jumping from tree to tree. Still suffering from a lung and sinus infection, the walk through the cold damp woods combined with sheer exhaustion created a perfect setting to get worse…and I did. When we arrived I immediately went to bed but could not get warm. My head was pounding; I was having significant trouble breathing and had a bad stomach. I could not remember a time when I felt worse. The Tea House had no heat so the staff brought be a bucket of coals to heat the room but the fumes made breathing more difficult. I have never wanted to be at the Hilton more in my entire life. You quickly realize that there are no pharmacies, no clinic or doctors in these tiny villages and how difficult life must be for the Nepali people. One day I saw a porter carrying a large basket on his back with a very sick old man in the basket. I felt so bad for him, but there is no other way off the mountain unless you can afford a helicopter. We decided to descend to Gandruk, a village three hours away, skip a day of trekking and just rest. Gandruk was the perfect village to rest in. We found a great Tea House called Snow Land Lodge with a great mountain view and comfortable rooms. We were hungry and Max wanted chicken "momos", similar to steamed dumplings, but the cook said we had a minimum of three orders. Mark said "what are you going to do, kill that chicken over there for lunch" and the cook nodded "yes". I have eaten chicken a lot but have never seen one running around prior to being my lunch. We ordered a combination of chicken dishes, waited for the cook to kill, pluck and fix the chicken, and was served our meals about two-hours later. I could hardly eat when it arrived and for the rest of our trip in Nepal, became a devout vegetarian. We had a wonderful much needed rest while Max played board games, went swinging in a makeshift swing that looked like poles set up teepee style with a basket for the swing, and chased the local kids in the village. Gandruk also had a historical museum, which demonstrated the way they used to live, and ancient tools used for farming. The odd part was, they were still doing everything the same way and the ancient tools were the same as the "modern" tools used today. We paid 30 rupees each to see the same things we had seen every day on our trek. Funny! We decided it must be a time capsule, not a museum. When we arrived back at the lodge, they had slaughtered some poor animal on the patio. The meat still had the hooves attached and blood was everywhere…another good reason to be a vegetarian. I woke the next morning at 4:30 a.m. to a baby screaming in the village. The baby cried and cried and seemed so sick. I went to the house and offered the family some Children's Advil, which they refused politely saying, "Not sick, just crying". But babies don't cry like that for no reason. Since I was wide-awake, I chatted with man who spent eight years as a Buddhist Monk and waited for the sunrise over Fishtail, Annapurna South and Annapurna III mountains. The monk told me of his uncle who is the only man to climb Mount Everest without oxygen, and he did it twice. Last year his uncle climbed the deadly peak with oxygen in only 16 hours and slept at the top for 21 hours, which has never been done before. His uncle is now in America writing a book. I woke Max and Mark to see the sunrise and Max said "Is it right outside or do I have to climb somewhere to see it?" He was relieved to find it right outside. Max has become really creative as a result of having few toys. With his walking stick he says he can play hockey, baseball, weight lifting, pole vaulting, fishing, and tons more. One morning he found a moth that stayed with him for hours. It danced on his face and sat on his nose for the longest time. He loves nature and is easily pleased with small pleasures, a definite change since we left home. He has a great disposition and his spirit gives Mark and I so much pleasure. Mark and I could endlessly watch him play with these beautiful Nepalese children. And they were very good to him. Even though he was going through the learning curve necessary when learning new games they all wanted him on their team. Three days and two nights left on our trek through some of the most beautiful country in the world. We had an easy journey to the last village, compared to the first few days, and enjoyed the scenery. They locals were celebrating a festival today and the local kids were singing songs for money. As we trekked, they would form a human chain with their hands, sing loudly and not let us pass until we paid. Sometimes Max and I would run as fast as we could to break the chain and they would giggle and try to catch us. We arrived at the last village and Max befriended a couple of Tibetan refugee women who were selling their crafts. The women gathered the kids in the village for some playtime and Max taught them all how to play "Duck-Duck-Goose." Also, that night at the village Mark started a rumor that there was going to be a disco dancing for the festival. He would ask the Tibetan vendors, "Which way to the disco" and they would get all excited and ask "Is there dancing tonight". He would walk by other tourists and say "Big party for the festival tonight" and walk away. Later that night several people showed up at our lodge looking for a party and dancing. Gee! I wonder why! The Tibetan woman grabbed the cassette tape player and this awful dance music and started the party. They were so excited and Mark had made their day. The owner of the lodge, a beautiful young Nepali woman, danced wildly around the patio. They said she never dances and were shocked to see her enjoying herself so much. It was great! The next day was not so easy but it was our last day. Trekking was very challenging yet very rewarding. I am not sure that Mark and Max would be eager to repeat the journey, but are both so pleased with the experience. Me, I will definitely trek again and hopefully in Nepal. I loved the physical challenge, scenery and beautiful people. Max learned the lesson of "turning lemons into lemonade" and forced himself to persevere when challenged by using his sense of humor, a great lesson at age nine! We returned to Pokhara, and took a 4-hour crowded bus for the Chitwan Jungle, where we would spend the next three days. Chitwan Jungle It took us most of the day to get to our Island Resort via busses, canoes and a short walk. Over the next three days we rode elephants through the jungle, took a canoe ride down the river, Mark and Max bathed with the elephants in the river, went on a nature walk and saw leopards, rhinos and monkeys in the wild. The elephants were great! They would respond to the voice commands of the trainer and pull down entire trees with their trunks to clear the path. We learned that the locals smoke "Rhino dung" when they have chest colds and eat the bark from trees for other ailments. During the nature walk I got a leech in my shoe and had a fit! Leeches are so nasty! I am not much of a jungle lover myself. Too many creepy snakes, leeches, bugs and stuff for me. I much prefer the mountains and was glad when the experience was over. Mark reminded me about the jungles in Thailand with a smirk, our next stop. Prior to leaving Kathmandu, we took an airplane ride on Buddha Air to see Mount Everest and it was incredible. They fly right along the Himalayas where 7 of the highest peaks in the world are located. We flew to Mount Everest and turned towards it. The pilot gave everyone a turn viewing the peak from the cockpit and we flew back along the mountain range. The landscape is so dynamic! We also visited the river in Kathmandu where the Hindus publicly cremate their dead relatives. I was not sure I wanted to witness any cremations and thought that Max was too young to understand, but luckily for us nobody died while we were there. The ceremony takes place prior to the cremation with the family circling the cremation stone. Then they discard the person's clothes and throw them in the river. They place the naked body in between piles of wood and set them on fire with the family wailing in the background. There are steps on the other side of the river where you can view the scene, one man witnessed a cremation earlier that day and said it smelled like barbeque. All around the temple were interesting Sadus, wandering Hindu devotees with long dreadlocks and interesting talents. You have the Sadu who can put both legs behind his head, another who claims to be able to lift a 40-pound rock with his penis, and one who owns a cow with five legs. All will charge you for a photo or video, but we decided to pass…although the rock lifter was tempting. Nepal was a great experience and one we will not soon forget! These people have nothing when it comes to modern conveniences and material possessions and yet they are ALWAYS smiling. You cannot pass them without saying "Namaste". There is a sense of community and kindness that should be, if it isn't, the envy of the world. There are many lessons to be learned from a visit to Nepal. On to Thailand!