Tucson

We were supposed to fly back to Kathmandu around 9:20AM. Rather than hang out at Hotel Yeti, we decided we would skip breakfast and go to the airport around 8:00AM which was early. In Nepal, 45 minutes is enough time to arrive before a domestic flight. When we checked in, they said our flight would be delayed 30 minutes. No problem. At 1:00PM, we were still in the Pokhara airport. Our frustration was visible, especially Megan's. This was her last day in Nepal. I at least had all day tomorrow. Our flight had a mechanical problem. No one bothered to update us. No information was provided. No announcements were made. This is the way in Nepal. So we waited. Our flight finally arrived around 1:30 and we made the short 45 min flight to Kathmandu. Nabin ... read more

Up at 5AM to make the 45 min trek up to Poon Hill. In the past, I have been so disappointed by anything that required me to get up so early. I have yet to see a sight that was truly worth getting up this early. It had poured rain the day before, but the weather was clear this morning. I wasn't really sure what we were supposed to see from Poon Hill. I thought we were supposed to watch the sunrise, and while we started out in the dark, the sun soon rose and we were only 15 min into a crowded 45 min trek. I struggled with the uphill in the beginning. A lot. And I was secretly wishing I'd just stayed in bed a while longer. I soon understood why so many people ... read more

Time for some trekking! Well, after some breakfast and some driving. Woke up at 6AM after a terrible night's sleep. Dog barking. Super hard bed. Hard pillow. Had a nice breakfast of hard boiled eggs and muesli and yogurt (called curd in Nepal). Perfect breakfast before a 4 hour trek on the Annapurna Circuit. A short circuit. There is a big circuit that takes over 2 weeks to complete. We were doing a short one that takes just 4-5 days to complete. We piled in the tiny taxi, the five of us, and first went to the village of Naya Pul where our trek would begin. After a trip to the toilet, we were on our way. We were trekking as far as Tikhedhunga today, just a 4 hour walk. In Naya Pul we got our ... read more

Last summer a friend asked me if I'd be interested in going to Nepal. 'Of course,' I said. Who wouldn't be interested in going to Nepal? So we planned this trip for April and I have finally arrived! I arrived last night after an uneventful flight. I waited in line for almost an hour to get my visa (25USD). Ravi, my tour organizer, met me at the airport with quite an entourage - himself, a driver, and my guide, Nabin. (www.adventurediscoverytreks.com) Only I didn't know Nabin was going to be my guide. I was taken directly to my hotel which was in the tourist area of Kathmandu called Thamel. I saw a lot of stuff I'd like have while looking through the window of that car. I think my hotel was called Hotel Buddha. It was ... read more

We were up at 7AM ready to tackly Varanasi's Old City. Or so we thought. We took an auto rickshaw from our hotel to the Old City for 100Rs. I think it should cost more like 50Rs, but we didn't really care. One dollar each? Okay, I'm not going to haggle over 50 cents. When we got dropped off in the Old City, we didn't really know where to go. We wanted to have breakfast at Brown Bread Bakery which is recommended in Lonely Planet. One young man showed us the way through the small alleys and when we arrived, he didn't want money but begged us to come to his father's shop. But there was a serious flaw in his plan. He didn't tell us the name of it and we had no idea where ... read more