Lukla? - July 17

We finalized our flight to Lukla, which was for 6:30AM on the morning of the 17th. We left the hotel while it was still dark out and slightly drizzly at 5:20. We got to the airport and checked in, security being refreshingly insecure after a bunch of US and International flights. We didn't have to show any ID at all and, while there was one X-Ray machine and metal detector of questionable age and quality, we didn't set anything off. The only other rigorous check was the man before the waiting room who asked if I had a knife and gave me a very quick pat-down. I supposed to his credit he did ask twice just to make sure. As you may have already guessed the domestic airport is very small and it is a little confusing what flights are boarding when. There was only one gate in use and the easiest way we could tell to figure out if we were supposed to be boarding was to look at the boarding passes of all the others who had gotten up. If it didn't look like ours, we didn't have to go. Also helpful was watching the Nepalese man who checked in right behind us and waiting until he made his move toward the gate since we were pretty sure he was on our flight. He was, and when he got up it was time to bard! Only an hour late! There were about ten of us for the flight and we got on to a bus and were shuttled out to the plane. At the plane, however, they told us not to get off the bus quite yet. Apparently they were deciding whether the weather along the flight path would allow them to fly. Apparently at that point it wouldn't so back we went to the waiting area: delayed until 8:30 they said. There were already two flights that day which had left for Lukla, and I believe they were waiting to see how those panes fared until they made any further decisions. Around 8 or 8:15 when passengers from the second of the two flights came back through the gate into the waiting room things weren't looking good. After another hour and a half of waiting in the ridiculously uncomfortable chairs with no real information and not much to do, they finally announced the cancellation of our flight. The process then was to go get the ticket re-validated, get the airport tax refunded, go home, and try again the next day. That is what we'll do! On the bright side, it gives us a chance to pick up some handy non-essentials we had forgotten to buy; Salt for the leeches in some areas, a phrasebook, and some other odds and ends.

Katmandu - July 13-16

On leaving the airport there is a hotel desk where one can make reservations with any of the numerous foreign guesthouses in the city, and we made reservations with a fellow who happened to be there offering $5 a night rooms and a free lift to the hotel. It was a decent deal especially since we later found out that the hotel we had originally wanted to stay at was charging at least $15 a night. Hotel Poon-Hill, apart from having faucets that don't really shut off and hot water that takes about 30 minutes to get warm (never hot), it pretty nice. It is set in off the street a little and has very friendly staff. So far in Kathmandu we have spent most of our time planning our trekking and relaxing a bit. We went out the first night to a hookah bar with live music which was pretty busy. We shared a table with one guy who was already there and it turned out that he was a real live Kazakhstani (yes, it really IS a country, who knew?!). He had, in fact, seen parts of Borat and thought it was pretty funny even if all the Kazakhstani politicians did not. We talked to him for over an hour until he was tired and left to get some sleep. Much to Rob's amusement he would every once in a while start a sentence with 'in my country" although he did not, in fact, speak any polish. If, at this point, you have no idea what I'm talking about you have likely not heard of 'Da Ali G Show' or seen the movie 'Borat'. If you are out of college this if forgivable and you would likely not find them amusing anyway. A little while after he left some Italian women joined us at the table. They were in Nepal doing research for a masters (or something equivalent to that) in the area of forestry and sustainable logging techniques. We talked to them for quite a while also before we decided to head out.
When we left the bar the monsoon was in full force with torrential rains and although it wasn't terribly warm it was quite amusing to wade through the middle of the street and get a feel for the power of the deluge. The next day we went to the monkey temple which (aside from being a very cool temple on top of a large hill) is filled with monkeys! The monkeys, which I really enjoy taking pictures of, are even more fun this time of year since there are still a lot of babies which are cute and make for even better pictures. The next night we went out to dinner at a steak house which was surprisingly delicious aside from being slightly undercooked. It was also a very large fillet for only about $7 per person. Most of the rest of our time was spent working on the trekking plan and picking up some extra gear we would need and had forgotten or not thought to bring.

Arriving in Nepal - July 13

At the end of our stay in India our driver dropped us off at the airport and to ruin what would otherwise have been a fine time with him demanded an excessive tip before he would drive the last mile or so to the terminal. Being that I had a serious need to find a bathroom I didn't care to argue and made a mental note for the next time to not give any sort of tip until we were all out of the car and to also keep myself more thoroughly drained. Arriving in Kathmandu we discovered that the visa process is quite possible the most confusing thing ever, especially if you are unprepared for it and have not brought a suitable amount of money in at least two different currencies. To begin with, you must fill out not only an entry form but also a visa application. Unfortunately we didn't realize we needed a visa application (there were none left) until we got to the counter. After you get the application you find out that it needs a passport photo which you can get from the conveniently placed photo booth. Unfortunately the man there does not have any small bills, and so if you don't have close to 220 Nepalese rupees or 200 Indian rupees, you must go to the conveniently places currency exchange counter. Finally when you think you are ready to get your visa and leave, you discover (possibly to your dismay) that the visa costs US$30 and can be paid in neither Indian nor Nepalese rupees. There are, in fact, only a select number of currencies from more developed nations which are accepted for this fee. If you do not happen to have the necessary amount in one of the allowed currencies and not enough rupees to change at the exchange counter, you must go to the inconveniently placed and intermittently function ATM. To get there you must walk all the way through customs out the airport and down the street a little ways past the waiting line of taxis. To do this you are supposed to leave your passport at the visa counter but seeing as how no one checks anything on the way out and the counter was mostly chaos this is hardly a required step. Anyway, if the ATM is not functioning you will have to take a Taxi into the city (perhaps ten minutes) to find another one which will hopefully not only be working but also accept your card. The better option at this point is to borrow the money from a friend who fortunately (though unintentionally) just happens to have $60 on hand. After I got Rob the money and we had both procured visas, we went through customs and left the airport with nobody in security giving us so much as a glance.

Traveling in India - July 10-13

Our original plan was to hang out in Delhi for three or four days with a side trip to the Taj Mahal. After talking a little with a travel agent who was recommended by the hotel and seemed a bit more reputable we revised the plan to do a day each in Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra. We got a driver who took us around to all the best historic sites, and restaurants where we were less likely to get any sort of food poisoning (and he got a free meal for taking us). Some of the places we visited in Delhi were: Qutab Minar, Baha'i Lotus Temple, Hamayun's Tomb, the India Arch, Parliament House, Jama Masjid (a mosque), and Lal Qila. In Jaipur we saw the City Palace where the Maharajah of Rajistan still lives, and an old hill fort outside Jaipur. In Agra we spent most of the day at the Taj Mahal which is absolutely spectacular. Unfortunately one of the best reflective pools was not filled with water and the sky was rather bland so my pictures were not quite what I had hoped for. Rather than try and describe everything, I'll try and upload my pictures to give a good idea of everything we saw in India. One thing I will say since I didn't take any pictures of it, is that I was surprised at the level of poverty and dirtiness. I had been expecting something like China, where I spent a year studying abroad, with fairly developed urban areas at least in the major cities like Delhi but it seems as if India is still years behind the kinds of changes and development china has had.

India - July 10

Back to arriving in India (on the 10th)! The weather was drastically different from both Seattle and Munich; it was unpleasantly hot and very humid. Add to that the hour long wait in the customs line with two hundred other people and no air conditioning or even any circulation and I was ready to be just about anywhere else. On the plus side Rob and my bag were both waiting right outside customs, so we went right out to try and find a taxi. According to the Lonely Planet, it was easier said than done to find a legit driver, so after a while of trying to figure out what was going on and asking at the pre-paid taxi counter, we went with the first guy who had come up to us. Legit or not (we were leaning towards the not side) once he got us in the right area he said he was lost and took us to a travel agent to ask directions. Asking directions is actually a term which means Rob has to listen to a bunch of bullshit about how you should buy their travel packages and that the hotel you want is not picking up their phones while I wait in the car and make sure the driver doesn't run off with our bags. After about 30 minutes the agent finally came to the epiphany that we were not going to be purchasing anything from him and magically came up with the location of our hotel. Amazingly it was about two and a half blocks from the travel agent and when we got there we didn't have to pay the taxi driver any more than we had already agreed on. Once he left we were able to check in and unpack a little without any problems.

The Beginning - July 8-10

We've been 2 full days in India now (As of July 12) and I might finally be able to get on a normal sleep schedule after being asleep by 6PM yesterday. We met up with no problems at the airport, rob was waiting just outside customs when I finally got through after waiting an hour or so in line. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't been at the very back of the plane and the last one in line. The flights over weren't as bad as they could have been, or maybe as bad as I'd feared they were going to be. I booked a ticket through Expedia on US Airways, mainly because of the arrival time in Delhi. The flight got in about 45 minutes or an hour after Rob's flight, which made it easy for us to meet up. About a week after I made the flight and a few days before I was scheduled to leave, I picked up a consumer report to look at the ratings on new digital cameras. While I was flipping through trying to find the camera section, I happened to notice a rating of most of the major airlines and wouldn't you know it, coming in dead last was US Airways from everything from service and security to seat comfort. To be honest I'm not sure if I could tell a huge difference, except that on the first flight of about five hours the only food available was for purchase which seemed a little ridiculous, so I didn't buy any. On the other two flights they at least served food of a sort. I had a layover in Munich of about 8 hours before flying on to Delhi, and I was planning on just sleeping in the airport until I overheard a small group of Americans next to me discussing how to get into the city. I asked the lady who seemed to know how to get there for directions, although they seemed vague at best, but she asked if I wouldn't just want to go with them which seemed like a fine idea. There were five us us including that lady, her daughter, another middle aged couple, and myself. After only a little debate we found the way to the Subway station, and after considerable debate we figured out how and what kind of ticket to purchase to get on the train. The ride took maybe a little over 45 minutes and passed thought some very pretty (what looked like) countryside, although I'm not sure really how rural or urban it might have been. We got off and wandered around the city for a bit thought a light rain, I was mostly just following along as they seemed to have some final destination in mind. The lady who seemed more or less in charge and whose name I can't remember eventually led us to a beer hall that I'm pretty sure was called Hofbrau Munchen. Since it was sometime around lunch time we stopped to eat. I had some sausages, pretzel, and a beer which was quite satisfying after 24 hours of food that was only just deserved of that name. After eating we meandered slowly back through the cobbled streets to the train and the airport.

The First Post

As this is my first blog, please bear with me as I try and figure how to work all of this. This is for family and friends to keep up with what I've been doing abroad as well as anyone else who might happen along. I can't promise to keep it updated all the time but I'll give it a shot.