Blogs from Thamal, Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia
A journey to Tibet - The Roof of the world!
Published: April 25th 2012Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu » Thamal
April 15th 2012
April 2, 2012 After a fun and rewarding winter season in Florida, I'm off on another adventure trip. This time a motorcycle trip through Nepal and Tibet. Before leaving Toronto, I had spent some very enjoyable time with my kids and grandkids. Michelle and Travis gave birth to their second child, Lily Naomi, on March 31. She is absolutely beautiful and healthy and is being taken good care of by her big 2 year old sister Maya Sophia. Robbie is busy working full time with Interactive Sports Technologies. He is doing very well, traveling all over the world, most recently a trip to China for the Asian Golf Association trade show. Johnny graduates this month in Business from Georgian College (Way to go Johnny!) There are 2 rumors going around about Johnny, one is that he ... read more
March 10th 2012
Our top 5 'best of' Nepal....here goes.... 1. R.P.- Our hero!! 2. Pokhara- Lake views, leisurely bike rides and breathtaking mountain views. 3. Getting up close and personal with crocs bigger than Mike, baby Rhinos and other jungle beasts on safari in Chitawan. 4. Momo- The meal of champions. 5. Mountain flight, right by Everest! ;) "If a man tells you he is not afraid of dying he is either a liar or a Gurkah" - Sign in Knife shop window... read more
I am standing by the huge pile of garbage....no, the one with 3 dogs, not 4.
Published: January 12th 2012Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu » Thamal
January 12th 2012
Nepal? Awesome. Getting there? Worst. Experience. Ever. I left home on Friday Jan 6th at 8am. After a tearful goodbye, when I clung to my mother like a child on their first day of kindergarten, I sat in the float plane terminal in Nanaimo and bawled my face off. To the joy of all other passengers I did so quietly. After a bumpy ride and a quick shuttle to YVR, I lined up to get my boarding pass. Of course, there was a problem with my tickets. Finally, the little Chinese man threw up his hands and said, "I can only print you as far as Kunmig. Get your other boarding pass the next morning before you get on the plane". Alright, I thought. The plane to Shanghai was fine, for everyone except me and my ... read more
December 14th 2011
We enjoyed our visit to Kathmandu, Nepal. We stayed at the Blue Horizon hotel that was tucked away at the end of a closed street. We had read previously that the number of stray dogs around town had kept other guests awake at night. We did not have this problem. We were very comfortable and felt very safe at our hotel. We spent most of our time walking around town exploring and made a visit to Monkey Temple. While walking through the temple, a large monkey jumped on Mike and tried to steal his orange soda. It was a small game of tug-of-war. Mike won, of course. It was funny. Two were stalking Mike for his soda down some stairs and Sarah had to kick around him to keep them away. It was hilarious. Around Dec ... read more
November 2nd 2011
After checking out of our hotel in Darjeeling, we headed to Chowke Bazaar. Jumping into a shared sumo, we began the 3-4 hour descent back down to Siliguri. Here we wandered the streets in search of the local bus to take us to the border of India and Nepal. Clueless as to where the bus stand was we soon heard 'Nepal, Nepal' being shouted from a moving bus, so with the bus slowing we hopped aboard and took the 1 hour journey to the border. Upon arrival we signed in at the immigration office of India before heading to the other side of the bridge to acquire our visa at the Nepali immigration office. After purchasing bus tickets we grabbed some street food and jumped aboard the bus. The 17 hour bus journey as expected was ... read more
Nepal - Kathmandu and Pokhara, this is when I realised I’m not quite ready for India at the moment and a change of plan was required.
Published: September 27th 2011Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu » Thamal
September 20th 2011
Nepal - Kathmandu and Pokhara, this is when I realised I’m not quite ready for India at the moment and a change of plan was required. After a tentative night’s sleep following the earthquake the night before, the border crossing into Nepal was relatively uneventful, it did take several hours to get across but this is to be expected. The one thing that will stay with me for a long time is the image of the women and families crossing into Nepal with what seemed like their whole life possessions on their back. Women no taller than 5ft were carrying loads in excess of 40-50kg on their back and heads, this really put me to shame when I was complaining about having to keep my 16kg bag on my back because the floor was to disgusting ... read more
April 7th 2011
So after our little jungle adventure in Chitwan, it was time to get back to city life in the lovely Kathmandu. An ideal place to chill on a rooftop and recharge our batteries! There has been a huge choice and variety of delicious food in the Nepali capital, from yummy dhal bhat to wonderful Italian antipasti and gnocchis via great hummus and pita - just what we needed! Add on top of that some pretty amazing cocktails and we were sorted! To try to balance out our sudden binge eating, we decided it might be a good idea to get a little exercise... in the form of rafting down the exciting Bhote Koshi! An early meeting at Equator's office and we were on our way to the river, close to the Tibetan border, a mere 3 ... read more
April 3rd 2011
Monday - March 28 Breakfast on the rooftop restaurant (killer organic coffee in a French press!) then pack up and settle the bill. Puscal arrives to get me to the airport for my 9 am flight to Nepalgunji where I would be met by a driver from the Rhino Lodge Bardia. Somehow bumble my way through check-in and make it to the departure area. The room is an interesting mix of Nepali travelers, a group of monks, obviously on their way to Lumbini, western trekkers in all their finest hi-tech clothing, a group of Asian middle-aged tourists, and me. (The middle-aged Asian-American tourist). I can barely understand the departure announcements and go twice to "Buddha Air Flight Information" in a mild state of panic. My flight has been delayed 2 hours due to weather (I think). ... read more
January 9th 2011
Friday Geesje came to pick me up from home and dropped me at Schiphol, where we met Edwin. After some drinks and chit chat I got a gift from from them. Thanks for those who contributed. Everything went fairy smooth, including customs and the flights from AMS - Istanbul - UAE to Kathmandu. After arriving at Kathmandu Airport the confusion started. Where do I get my Visa, do I need a picture...? And where do I get a picture taken, What you need Nepaleese Rupee only??? Where do I change money. What, I need a different visa for a longer stay, HELP!!! Well in the end everything worked out fine. I got my bag, with everything on it and headded to my pick up. It's good to be back. I missed the smell, colour and noises ... read more
November 16th 2010
Well, sorry for the depressing blog yesterday. The mega-cities in India remain harder for me to travel than i ever expected, but i get one more try in Mumbai this Saturday/Sunday coming. After circling Kathmandu for about an hour, then sitting on the tarmac for another 30 minutes i did make it to Kathmandu/Thamal today. The upside of the circling was excellent views of the big Himilayas! It is greener here, but the smog persists. I noticed my cabbie was using the emergency break to stop his vintage 1980 car, which added some excitement to the trip from the airport into Thamal. I walked the markets until dark and found a restaurant (i think) another traveler told me that i should eat at. Did i mention i lost my travel guide on day one? The one ... read more
