Kathmandu, Nepal, Country 17, Stop 42

Oct 29

We leave the comfort of the City Premiere Marina and head to Nepal.

We have no idea what to expect. The Huebners, friends from home, have recommended a hotel they really like so we at least feel a little ok with where we will be staying in Kathmandu. They have also given us the name of the guide they used, Deepak, who will be picking us up from the airport. When we arrive at the airport and head to our gate, it's clear we are in the right place. Most of the people waiting to board the plane are dressed in hiking gear and have backpacks. Oh yeah, we are going to Nepal all right! The flight from Dubai to Nepal is pretty easy for Jack and me. Across the aisle, Dmitri and Mia are not faring as well. Mia is in a middle seat with Dmitri on one side and a baby on the lap of his mother on the other. The baby is not well. He spits up several times and coughs all over poor Mia and invades her personal space something fierce! There is also another child sitting right in front of them who screams for most of the flight.

We land in Kathmandu and it takes a very, very long time to get through the PCR area where you show your negative test, then the line for getting visas (very scammy), then the actual line through immigration. Finally, we make it out of the airport and to Deepak, who is waiting for us with marigold garlands and a hearty welcome.

He delivers us to the Shanker Hotel and we have dinner at the hotel and head for bed.

Um, what kind of people usually stay here that they need to have this in their official literature???

Like Dmitri and me, the Hotel Shanker is also celebrating 50 years!!

Oct 30

We decide to sleep in and start things a bit later in the day. Deepak, who is used to the Huebners who are frequently on the go, seems a bit surprised to hear that we don't want to be picked up until around 10:30 or so. Our first stop is Monkey Temple, Swyambhunath.

***Dmitri: Deepak is pretty aggressive on the scheduling, and is clearly excited to be guiding us. Over the next few days, he will repeat this, explain how in debt he is, and how we're the first clients since the Huebners. It's tragic, but also grating because he keeps on it. We'll pay him well and tip and all that, but if I don't want to go out some afternoon I'm not going out.***

It's a holiday so there are many locals picnicking. We are the only white people there. There are not many tourists in Nepal. It has just opened. There are mostly Indian tourists, with some Austrian and German trekkers starting to trickle in. Deepak says that usually the place is crawling with monkeys but with so many people there, they are making themselves scarce. That's fine. We do see some monkeys and are delighted. Deepak explains that the monkeys like to come to the temples because people leave offerings of food there. There are also usually people around who will feed them. Deepak feeds some monkeys but we keep our distance!

I love this photo--prayer wheels and a monkey!

***Dmitri: Prayer wheels are these dreidel-like things that spin with just a little pressure. At the bottom you can see a little pronged grabber tool to make it easy to spin. There are dozens of these in a row in places and you walk clockwise around a shrine (stupa) and spin them all. The more you spin, the more good karma/fortune/vibes/whatever you are supposed to get. Buddhism is a lot of repetition to induce Zen, and it is pretty calming to just saunter around slowly and spin these things.***

We walk around the temple and go into a store that sells Thanka.

Later we learn we overpaid by a lot but at the time we are fascinated by the beauty and artistry of the mandalas. Apparently if you go into a store with a guide they will charge double or triple the price. Luckily, the prices were not too outrageous and we feel good about buying things in Nepal and putting tourist dollars into the economy. Side note--Deepak pointed out the shop but did NOT encourage us to go in by any means.

***Dmitri: Well, our guide didn't actually say anything about the overpaying, and it's my guess that he got a cut. It wasn't expensive, but I just hate getting scammed by someone who's supposedly helping. We're far from hitting my Egypt trigger, but still. But Cindy's right--we are very happy to put dollars into local's hands, and they clearly need it. It's not charity because the art we pick up is truly beautiful and I would have paid more at home. Each piece takes days or weeks to make.***

***Dmitri: These prayer flags are ubiquitous. Each color signifies an element--air, fire, earth, etc. People pay to donate them and have them strung up at temples and they're just all over. They get scruffy, but there's beauty in them, and in the community constantly contributing to a general sense of well-being.***

***Dmitri: Deepak shared with us that these little fire pots are this neat tradition. Each family will slowly, over many months or even years, make a braid of some kind of fiber in a really painstaking process. When they have it done, they bring it to a temple and then burn it in these bowls. Turning the ashes and fiery pieces over is thought to bring good luck to the family. So we see whole families tending these things, and we're all allowed to help as there is no cap on the good fortune that can be generated.***

We head to Patan Durbar Square and have lunch. Deepak tours us around a bit longer and then we head back to the hotel. We have an early night, as we have to be up early the next morning.

***Dmitri: This is one of the main sights in Kathmandu, and it's a government palace and some temples. We're a bit jaded, but it's not super exciting. Probably the most exciting thing about it was Cindy discovering the honey-ginger-lemon drink they have in the restaurants around there.

The building were heavily damaged by the big earthquake, though most are largely repaired now.

The interesting pieces to me are the mix of Buddhist and Hindu iconography. We're seeing statues of Kali and Ganesh interspersed with Buddhas and bodhi-lotus shapes. The Buddha was said to have been from Nepal, and they are very proud.***

Pretty fancy bath for the king.

Oct 31

I feel like we barely have turned off the lights and gotten into bed when the alarm goes off. We are up incredibly early today because we are going to helicopter up to see Mount Everest.

We head to the airport where we wait and wait and wait while the trip is off, then on, then off again, then maybe, then off, and then back on. Basically the weather needs to be good in Kathmandu, Lukla, and where we land near Everest. If the weather is off in any of those places, we don't go. So the helicopter pilots are on the phone with people in various locations and are consulting the internet. After a delay, it's ON.

We take a shuttle out to our helicopter and head to Lukla. Lukla is considered one of the most dangerous airports in the world! The runway is short, it's at a high altitude and there are mountains all around. When I see the short runway I'm pretty glad we are arriving by helicopter. There are crazy videos on Youtube of planes landing at Lukla and they are worth a watch. We arrive at Lukla (officially called Tenzing-Hillary airport) and get out of our commuter helicopter, which will then be refueled. From there, we get into a different helicopter and head to a stop partway up to the Everest view stop. We have to stop there because we have to head up closer to Everest in two separate groups. We are a group of 5 people and only a max of 3 can go at a time. Mia and I are up first and it is WILD. The ride there is incredible--actually the views from each helicopter hop are just unbelievable. And we arrive and look around and we are so high up that I'm a bit dizzy and it all seems a bit of a blur. But for a brief few moments, we are the highest people on earth--since it's not trekking season and there aren't any climbers heading up to the summit--and we are seeing Everest and it's freezing and WOW.

Mia and I are taken back down and Dmitri and Jack head up. While they are up another helicopter arrives. It turns out that the one we took from Lukla up will be needed in a rescue so the next helicopter will bring us back to Kathmandu.

***Dmitri: The place the heli goes is just above where Everest Basecamp lies. That in turn is on a long glacial ice tongue that sits at the base of the mountain. It actually curves up and then around another mountain to Everest itself, so we're seeing the starting point and then ending point. If you're seen or read "Into Thin Air," you'll know these reference points.

It's super-high up, higher than I've ever been, but we're there so briefly that we don't have to worry about altitude sickness. The regular climbers come up to this point and stay there for weeks to acclimate. For us, it's like rushing out on to our porch back in Michigan to tend the BBQ, then rushing in before the cold hits us.

The view, and the sense of seeing something extraordinary, are both--dare I say it--real highs. I dared.

A point of reference. We were just at the Burj Kalifa, which is the tallest building in the world and sits at 830 meters, or 2722 feet. That building astounded me.

Everest's summit is 8850m, or 29k feet high. That's 11 Burj Kalifas.

We are near Base Camp, which is at 5,300 meters, or 17,600 feet. In other words, it's 6.4 Burj's high, looking another ~5 Burj's up. The brain cannot really grasp these distances, even in person. You know when you're in Vegas, and you think, hey, that casino is really close by, let's walk? And then it's a half hour to get partway there. It's like that, but up on some kind of logarithmic scale.

One last point of reference. We were just at the Dead Sea, in Jordan (blogs are forthcoming!), which is the lowest point on earth, at -430m. So within about 10 days, we did a difference of 5800m, or 19,000 feet (!).***

On the way back down, we stop at Everest View hotel for breakfast and it's delicious. We are giddy and excited and it's a wonderful feeling!

***Dmitri: This is not the highest hotel in the area, but apparently it used to be. From it's outside patio, we can see the peak, which doesn't seem that much higher, but totally is. Having a meal with that view was special.***

Our final helicopter flight is back to Kathmandu and we head back to the hotel and crash HARD. The adrenaline has worn off and we are tired from being up so early.

Mia gets the catbird seat on the way to Lukla.

This was the landing site where we swapped out and did the last leg three-at-a-time.

***Dmitri--So while the others were up at Basecamp, we each chilled in this little valley, avoiding the yak poop.***

Yeah, that is freaking high.

***Dmitri: Here's me and Deepak in the heli. Why is Deepak with us? I still haven't figured that out. He got a free ride to Everest, so good on him. Clearly the tour guides and operators have an understanding of how to work the angles.***

The Lukla runway from above

This is the view from the Everest View Hotel at breakfast. The peak itself is the one in the clouds on the left.

Back on Terra Firma, with a major bucket-list item checked off.

After napping, Dmitri and I walk around Thamel market.

***Dmitri: Thamel is Kathmandu's tourist zone. It's a giant warren of backpacker hostels, shops, restaurants, exposed wires and the occasional monkey overhead. I don't know another area like this. It's a bit like Khao San Road in Bangkok, but much larger, messier and chaotic. I love it.***

We eat at a little restaurant called Little Buddha on the second floor with a balcony that overlooks tuk tuks and mopeds zipping around and people walking and a flurry of activity.

We shop and shop and browse and buy and really enjoy being out and about in Kathmandu with no set agenda.

This sign is absolutely HILARIOUS. It is mostly ignored. By EVERYONE.

Kathmandu is wild and chaotic and I am here for it in a way that I was not in Egypt. Maybe it's because despite the busyness of the place, the people are kind and chill. Buddhism, perhaps? On the way back to the hotel we find a local place that serves chai in these small pottery cups and we are happy and satisfied.

Nov 1

We leave Jack at the hotel today, as he is having an opt-out day. Our first stop is Pashupatinath. Deepak has been telling us about the Hindu cremation ritual and Mia is interested in seeing what that's all about. We head into the temple and see some families participating in this. It's kind of strange and beautiful all at the same time. We feel VERY awkward and keep asking Deepak if we are intruding or being disrespectful but he assures us many times that we are not. Basically, next to the temple is a river that is considered incredibly sacred by the Nepalese. When a family member dies, within 24 hours the entire family takes the body to the river to cleanse it. Then they put the body on a pyre and it takes about 3-4 hours to burn while they sit in mourning. The eldest son lights the pyre. While it was strange and a bit difficult to see, this is the kind of cultural immersion we were looking find in our year of travel so as long as we weren't being intrusive, we were honored to witness it.

***Dmitri: I was moved by the community and family aspects, but really felt intrusive. Also, dead bodies are not my thing. And, the river they are dumped down into is, uh, disgusting? First, it's dirty with all kinds of garbage. Then, they dump the ashes of dead bodies into it. People are in it, fishing around, and I'm pretty grossed out. I'm sure it's spiritually meaningful, but the disease and bacteria factor of this place are too much. I love the cultural immersion, though sometimes this also means seeing it from outsider's eyes--eyes that have also read science books saying "don't do shit like this."

We also learn that this river flows down to the sacred Ganges in India, where the exact same dynamics occur. Later we'll read a story (NYT link) about Indians in Delhi celebrating a sun god ritual in the river, despite massive pollution that turns it all foamy. It's uh, not smart.***

Funeral pyres

Casually walking around town and there's a monkey eating rice

We head to Bouhanath, which is the stupa most people see when they look at pictures of Nepal and Kathmandu. And it is amazing!

Now that's a large prayer wheel!

After an afternoon of culture, we get our*** shopping on in Thamel, this time with Mia in tow. And she loves it there as much as we do! She also loves our chai place!

***Dmitri: You can see that while some areas are hoppin', others are still very shut down due to Covid. No tourists, no business.***

Nov 2

Dmitri has his own opt out day today as the kids and I head to rural Nepal for a hike.

***Dmitri: As always, I have a ton of work to deal with, so I'm usually compartmentalizing it into a day or an afternoon so I can be present for the other things. Owing to two crap knees, a hiking day is a good one to get other things done and there is always a lot--papers to read and edit, letters to write, students to support, and a whole lot of trip planning to keep up with. I'm about 2-3 weeks ahead of everywhere, but it keeps pivoting as countries tweak their rules and we're allowed to go from A to B, but not if we've been to C, etc.

After getting a bunch done, I head out for an afternoon of solo browsing. As an only child, I really like my own time, and just wandering around and exploring is super cathartic for me. I can browse shops and not worry about how anyone is doing. So I go pretty far and see a lot and buy a bunch of random stuff. One particularly fun find was a t-shirt shop where they stitch most of the designs rather than silkscreening them. There's a guy who's been doing it for decades and making these super intricate shirts all embroidered. Rather than $3, these shirts are like $6. It's ridiculous, so I pretend to bargain and then overpay and tip because Jesus H., these people have been struggling for two years. I can't haggle for real.

This same shopkeeper will sew on patches, so I decide to get my backpack a little Nepalese bling with a funky pattern. We all have the same backpack, and we've used glow-in-the-dark tape to tell them apart, but it's largely fallen off. After this, I'll have a pack that will be super obvious. When I get it done, Cindy and Mia like the idea and get them as well. This may seem trivial, but we're picking up and putting down our two bags all the time and having a little visual cue is really helpful. In LA we'd had the foresight to buy colored handle grippers, so our main bags are already sorted: I'm the lime green, Jack is the blue, Mia is the purple and Cindy orange.

On my way back, I hit rush hour. I've never seen one quite like this. Because Kathmandu is a scooter city, it's a scooter jam. There is really just the one lane, and no sidewalk. So, even on foot I'm kind of stuck, squeezing around these bikes and trying to get to a free alley. That was a first!***

Back to the hike:

On the hike, Deepak explains that for the Nepalese, a mountain is covered with snow year round. Everything else is a hill. So we will be hiking a hill. We walk up these very steep steps to start the hike and the kids are shooting daggers at me. Not literally, thank goodness! They are NOT thrilled with the hike. We pass some goats and they are a little happier. We see water buffalo and chickens.

***Jack: The hike wasn't bad on its own. It was actually very nice to see the homes of locals on the hill and how they lived, and the views were nice. It was very hot though, and more than what we bargained for.***

We see a turkey and some cats and a lot of dogs. We see a futbol game in progress. What a view! As Dani Rojas would say, "Futbol is life!"

The kids try to draw a line in the sand and hypnotize a chicken, but the chicken is not cooperating.

We come to a temple with an incredible view and it's so remote that we are the only people there.

Well, us and the people at the little cafe selling ice cream. Mia gets ice cream and Jack gets a milkshake that we are pretty sure is made with goat milk. Just when I think the kids are going to kill me for making them go on the hike, we arrive at the stopping point. The van picks us up and drives us to Bhaktapur. We have mo mo (dumplings) like the locals and three orders--two buffalo and one veggie--and a coke costs about $2 and we tip $.50.

We hop back in the van and see a bus with a goat on the roof. We head back to the hotel and Mia and I hit the spa for head and shoulder massages and facials. Later, a medical worker comes to the hotel to give us our PCR tests.

Nov 3

More Thamel for us and walking around Kathmandu. We pack up our things and have one more dinner at the hotel. There is a very loud and boisterous party next to the restaurant for Nepalese Sibling Day. And just like that, our time in Nepal has come to an end.

***Dmitri: Props to the Hotel Shanker for having the best food we ate in Nepal. It's not a lux place, and our room was a little cramped, but it was clean, safe, cheap and friendly. Yay to the Huebners for the recommendation.***

Nov 4

We have an early morning flight to Sri Lanka. Since Kathmandu traffic is legendary, we leave extra early. And wait. And wait. Turns out our 10:30 departure time is more of a suggestion. Also, we see first-hand white privilege. We wait in a line to get our PCR results stamped, then we wait in another line to enter the airport. A security guard sends us from one line into this side entrance and ushers us right in after we got the PCR paperwork done. We are then sent to a less crowded area in the airport.

***Dmitri: I think it was more tourist privilege. Protect the cash flow! But yeah, they saw us in a line that was almost entirely migrant workers and came and yanked us out. We're getting a lot of experience being the only people who look like us in a lot of places--and Sri Lanka will be no different. It's sometimes uncomfortable to be the thing that's different, but of course this is part of the point of travel. Being the majority race at home, it's a super healthy experience for all of us to feel the opposite side of things.***

When we go to check in the agent asks where our final destination is. We tell him Sri Lanka. And he says, no, the FINAL destination. No, still Sri Lanka. He tries to upgrade us but sadly Dmitri didn’t fully understand until we got on the plane that they were offering two of us first class seats! When we go to take the bus from the gate to the plane, we are told to wait and they have us take a less crowded bus. When we are on the plane, we realize we are the only white people traveling to Sri Lanka on that flight. At one point during the flight I head back to the lavatory and everyone stares at me.

***Jack: I don't even know why my dad rejected the free first class upgrade, normally row 1 is still very nice even if it isn't first class***

One other thing to note about the airport in Nepal. The security queue has separate line for ladies and gents. Since most of the travelers were men, Mia and I got through the line very quickly. One other thing that is pretty hilarious is that during take off and landing and taxiing people would just get up and get bags from the bins or walk around and such. After saying a few times to please sit down the flight attendants pretty much give up since most of the people are ignoring them anyway.

***Dmitri: Yeah, I didn't realize he was going to upgrade us. My bad. I also figured out why the cost of the plane ticket is about 3x what it should be. It's because the entire flight (minus us) is seasonal workers, headed off on Sri Lankan Air to their hub and then on to somewhere else. My guess is Dubai. So, when some rich dude is bringing in the semi-indentured servant labor, you charge him whatever you want. The people on our plane have clearly never been on a plane before.***

Hilarious.

Seems super legit, right?

Another case of "someone help these people out before they finalize the design..."

More monkeys!

Yes, the electrical grid in Kathmandu is comical. It's also perfect for a monkey.