If you know me, you know that I have a huge passion for biking, hiking, and climbing. So I was pumped about visiting Nepal for obvious reasons… I mean, common, even the customs cards have ‘Expedition and Trekking’ as reasons upon entering. My excitement was overwhelming when I got my fist glimpse of the Himalayan Mountains, and our plane landed in Katmandu, Nepal. This city is a haven and launching point for the adventuresome backpack/ trekking community… Therefore making it a perfect place for… you guessed it… Me!
Namaste! Here we are… In Kathmandu. We left our packs in our hostel and immediately ventured off to explore the city. The people are extremely friendly, the foreigners are hilarious, and there is a photo opportunity around every corner. After shopping, watching the sunset over the mountains, listening to a live English band, and eating at a hole in the wall organic restaurant, we headed back to our hostel with wifi and running water down the hall for a comfy night’s sleep.
First impression: Kathmandu is going to be AWESOME. I cannot wait to live here for a month, make friends from all over the world, and venture into the mountains on my days off.
Here comes the turning point:
Our contact came to pick us up at 8am the next morning. He informed us that we had to ‘make it through the mountains before 3pm’ when it got dangerous. Wait, what?!
Yes, you read that correct. My one evening in Kathmandu was apparently a huge tease… My team is headed to live in a village in a southern valley called Nijgadh for the month. It is a 7 hour ride through the mountains to get to Nijgadh. Seven bumpy hours in a truck on a ‘dangerous’ one lane dirt road. It’s a good thing our packs are tied on the roof because there is NO room for them on the broken seats with all six of us. The middle seat is barely attached and the backrest in front of my slams into my knees every other bump. Now when I say ‘bumpy’, I mean BUMPY. I’m usually all for a rugged travel, but I kind of thought we were in a joke… Even videos cannot capture how jarred we were for 7 hours strait. The trek was long, bouncy, uncomfortable, and overall…. hilarious.
So my adventure/mountain/ altitude loving self is packed into a car and DRIVEING (not hiking) THROUGH the Himalayas’ to live in the FLATLANDS… (Total opposite of what I had in mind). I mean I belong in the mountains, right? I didn’t even know there were flat parts here, nor would my first choice be to travel THERE.
Well that’s where I’m headed… Nijgadh. I’m not exactly sure what we’ll be doing yet… Maybe teaching; Maybe digging a fish pond. Whatever Nijgadh ends up being, I’m excited to meet the people and see the culture in the valley villages.
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The face of Nepal is Mount Everest and the Himalayas. So instead of viewing my location as a bummer, It’s really a rare opportunity. Anyone can fly into Nepal and hire a guide for a trekking adventure, but how many people can say they flew into the Himalayas only to drive all the way through them to the valleys the very next day… Me apparently =)
I get to see unknown places and venture where most don’t. =) That is awesome, even if it means I will have to make another trip back to Nepal someday to get my hiking and biking fill.
Valleys of Nepal here I come… No disappointment- I’m just as enthusiastic as I was to be in the mountains.
