Gro's blogg: Nepal 2015...and a few days in Abu Dhabi and Dubai

I felt that the wrong way at JFK was the right way for me!

I have put together this video of photos from the trip to Nepal;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_bJ-UMyXbQ

It was with butterflies in my stomach that I entered the plane in New York that would take me to Dubai. Yay! It was not because I was going to Dubai but rather the fact that it was my first time in the A380! Unfortunately, first class was a little above my budget(so no shower before arriving Dubai) but with 3 seats, a good book and some wet wipes life was good. The service onboard was great and I guess part of the reason was that I had 2000 white "balls" in my hair from my broken pillow (yes, you know the type filled with styrofoam). After 13-14 hours my butt was pretty happy to get off that plane again... Couldn't get off fast enough since I knew that Carolin was there to meet me! It was way too long since we had seen each other!
After 2 great days with Carolin in Abu Dhabi, I headed to Dubai and Hege. As always it was a pleasure to see Hege and the boys! (Note to self; stay longer next time : ))

When I was in Nepal in 2012 it was with Ellen, my sister in law, who passed away last summer. I knew that going back to Nepal would bring back a lot of memories and it did. But since it was only good memories it was fine (but also sad). I really wished that Ellen could have been on this trip with me. And in a way she was since she is always in my heart and thoughts. I must travel for both of us!
At 3600 m (11 800 ft) we put up prayer flags in remembrance of her. And Dil, our guide from last trip to Nepal sung a song that he had sung with Ellen, it was very beautiful and touching. The flags was put on a place with a spectacular view to Langtang Lirung (7227 m ) and the mountain range. It was also possible to see a village in Tibet. I know that Ellen would have been so happy for this!

We started our trip with a few days in Kathmandu. I have to say that my favorite place in Kathmandu is at the Boudhanath Stupa(UNESCOS World Heritage Site), one of the holiest places for Buddhists in Nepal and built on the ancient trading route from Tibet. Due to the earthquake in April they had taken down the top(the eyes) of the Stupa to renovate it. The good thing was that the life around the stupa remained the same as last time I was there. It is just so nice to see the monks and the Buddhists walking around the Stupa. Such a peaceful place - even with a lot of people!

After a few days in Kathmandu it was time to get to the mountains and it was with a great pleasure and relief we left noise and dirt behind us. I am sorry, Kathmandu, but you will never be a favorite city to visit.
Since I have this idea that it is SO dangerous to go by plane we had decided to go by car. I have to admit that I am not too sure anymore about the safest way to travel in Nepal...my stomach is almost turning just thinking about our trip back with the "coolest" guy in the valley as a driver.

We started our trekk in Syabrubesi and our first stop was Gatlang, a beautiful village with a lot of wooden houses. On our way to Gatlang we met many locals on their way to a festival, very nicely dressed. I actually assume that they wear this clothes everyday since we later on saw people dressed the same?
Unfortunately, we could see that the earthquake had done a lot of damage in Gatlang. Many houses were empty but we were told that most of the people survived since they had been on the fields working when the earthquake occurred.

We walked from teahouse to teahouse(a very primitive house), so no need to bring a tent or food as we did on my previous trip. These teahouses had a surprisingly large menu, but I am not sure that we would get what we expected if we ordered pizza. We, the girls, tried to order the same to make it easier for them. We basically ate a lot of vegetables, which was fine. Most of us had - only I had manage to bring a filter that not fitted to my bottle(shame on me) - devices that could clean the tap water. It was possible to buy water along the route but what they did with the bottles I prefer to not think about....so it is a shame to buy water and sodas, but we(or should i say I) still did.

Our next stop was Tatopani, a small, colorful village with hot springs. And yes, we took a dip! If we were cleaner after the dip? I don't think so but we felt refreshed! And in my memory it was almost the highlight of this trip with Ann bathing in her thermal leggings - still laughing when I think about it!

From Tatopani we made our way to Naghtali (3200 m) Another beautiful place! And the view to the mountain range was just STUNNING! From Naghtali we walked up to the top at 3600 m. It was hard, but not too bad. I could of course feel the altitude but it could have been worse. The route was very green with a lot of trees and some flowers on our way to the top.

From Naghtali we walked down to Thuman. It took us 2-3 hours and it was really bad for our knees!
In Thuman we were so lucky to see some traditional dance in their Gompa(monastery) and we were also lucky(?) enough to taste their alcohol with butter on the rim of the cup : )

From Naghtali we walked back to Syabrubesi where we slept the last night before our Jeeps picked us up again and took us back to Kathmandu.

I can highly recommend Dil and his company if you should ever travel to Nepal!

http://www.peacefultrek.com