Two days later and we are geared up and ready to go! Went to get our trekking permit and remaining gear yesterday. Today, we bought our bus ticket, rented our sleeping bags and took out all necessary cash for the next 25 days (there are a handful of ATMs at bigger villages along the route but we’re told they often do not work!). Finally we can relax a bit and enjoy our last night in Kathmandu for now… we’ll be back after our trek to collect the rest of our stuff (the things we’re not taking with us on the trek) and try and see a few of the more cultural sites.
We’ve really enjoyed meeting other travelers here at our hotel… Dawn from Croatia… a woman who hiked Annapurna 10 years ago (and 3 times since) and now comes back to Nepal every year for other various treks. And Rajel and Eveh (sp?) from Switzerland, also returning to Nepal after a tour of the south pacific for the past 2 months. We’re going out to dinner with our Swiss friends shortly… no, nothing at all ethnic, but to a pizza place that we found a couple nights ago (Jen’s really excited to go back). We figure we’ll have 3 weeks of nothing but native Nepalese foods, so a little western familiarity won’t hurt for now. :)
Bus tomorrow leaves Kathmandu at 7am and arrives Dumre at about 1pm. From there we catch another bus to Bhulbule where we’ll spend the night and start the trek the next day. We *should* have internet access there and will try to post once more before we set off.
Skype
We were able to catch my brother (and family) on Skype and Jen’s parents as well. It’s surreal to be able to talk (and see video) of your family sitting half-way across the world (for free!). For anyone else who has skype, add ‘sjwyckoff’ to your contacts and send us your skype ID… it’d be great to chat with more people if we happen to catch you online.
More street life in Kathmandu:
These women would fill the basket with bricks and then carry it on their heads up the street to a construction site!
Our Swiss neighbors at the hotel
Starting point of our trek… Bhulbule, Nepal (north of Besi Sahar)
Such awesome adventures! I'll have you know that we met some friends during our honeymoon in Costa Rica and we've remained friends with them to this day. It helps they live in Indiana and we can visit with them regularly!
ReplyDeleteNilsa - it was great to talk with you! take care until the next time :-) tell Dan hi!
ReplyDeleteLove your pictures and I'm sooooo effin' jealous of this trip. You will have to come over and show me ALL your pictures...and don't spare the details. Stash may get borded, but I won't!!! Stay safe and healthy!!!
ReplyDelete-Patty-