We started the morning off bright and early as we had to be down stairs by 5:15 to leave for the airport for our Mount Everest flight. We got to the airport by 5:30 and got through security and got our boarding passes. It is a good thing we got there early as they had us board at 6:20. Our ticket said 7:00 flight.
We sat on a cold airplane for 30 minutes until it was time for us to take off. Our ticket said Kathmandu to Mount and back.
We all got aisle seats. The plane holds 76 people but they only take half that so everyone can have an aisle seat.
I got the seat that had lots of scratches on the window and the wing was in most of the pictures I took. I was disappointed to say the least. Luckily Nicole had a better seat with a clear window and no wing and got lots of pictures. The flight lasted a little over an hour. The first 30 minutes the left side of the plane saw the mountains and then the plane did a U Turn and then the right side of the plane saw the mountains.
We saw Mount Everest and a whole range of mountains. They gave us a paper that showed which mountain was which and the flight attendants were good about pointing out Mount Everest. One of them took my phone and went to another window and took a picture of it for me.
Before we got on the plane the guide said if the windows were scratched or if we had the wing in the picture to tell him as Gate One was to have priority seating. I took a picture of the scratched window and the wing and showed it to him when we landed. His response was That’s not bad. I felt unseen and unheard.
When we got back to the hotel I told the guide that has been with us all week. I told him this was the only excursion I signed up for and I was very disappointed. After a bit they came up to me and offered me a chance to go again tomorrow. I turned them down as I don’t want to get up that early again and Nicole got good pictures.
This was one of the highlights I was looking forward to all trip besides going to the Taj Mahal and I got the seat with a very scratched window and the wing. Oh well, another lesson in expectations.
After we came back we had breakfast and then headed out at 10:00 for the day. The first stop was at a cluster of ancient temples and palaces. We got to see the Kumasi, a young girl that was chosen to be the most important goddess. It was the first time in months that she had appeared so the guide thought we were very lucky. She looked to be about two years old and was dressed in red. I’m not sure what the deal is with her but the people in the very crowded room were beyond excited that we got to see her. I, on the other hand, almost had a panic attack as we were jammed packed into a smallish space.
After that we went to a 1,500 year-old Buddhist Stupa. It has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I really liked this stop. I walked around the Stupa a couple of times chanting. There was a very scenic view of the valley of Kathmandu but I didn’t stop at it and look. I wanted to meditate and enjoy the energy of the Stupa.
On the way down the 125 steps we had to walk up to get to the Stupa, there were lots of monkeys. It must be baby season as there were lots of mama monkeys with their babies. They were rather aggressive in trying to get food from people. Cute to watch but they were a little up close and personal for my comfort.
The tour guide sent me in a taxi back to the hotel after the Stupa. I didn’t sign up for the afternoon excursion. I came back to the hotel and had lunch and then treated myself to another massage. This one lasted two hours and she used hot rocks. It was one of the best massages I have ever had. It was much better than the one I had in India.
Nicole and I went back to the same restaurant we had an early dinner in yesterday and had dinner. I had the same thing as I had yesterday but it wasn’t quite as good but it was edible. We are both wiped out again tonight and hope we can sleep well tonight. Both of us are continuing to wake up around 3:00 or 4:00 and struggle to go back to sleep. Wonder what we will do when we get home?
Tomorrow we tour all day. We are going to Nagarkot and Bhatapur. We will have several hours of riding the bus again tomorrow. We will have a farewell dinner with the group tomorrow evening. People will start departing tomorrow night. I think Nicole and I will be the last of the group to fly out as our flight isn’t until midnight 30 Friday morning.
We arranged for a guy to meet us Thursday at 11:00 and take us shopping. We have had very little time to do any souvenir shopping and have no idea what is even available. The front desk helped us arrange this outing. That will be a fun way to end our last day in Kathmandu. We arranged for an 8:00pm checkout so we can freshen up before we leave for the airport at 8:00. It will be a long 36 hour journey home.
I have liked Nepal better than I did India. It is cleaner and the energy is lighter. I do miss seeing the cows in the middle of town though and on the highways. Kathmandu is primarily Hindu although they have a mix of other religions too. Conditions are stark but not quite as primitive as what we witnessed in India. The driver that brought me back to the hotel at noon does Discovery tours for Gate One and tried to talk me into coming back to Nepal and then going to Bhutan. He promised I would see tigers, etc. Not really to do that yet!
I am ready to go home. Today was a bit of a disappointment with the bad window and an even bigger disappointment with how the guide responded after telling us to be sure to tell him if we had a scratched window. The massage saved the day for me and the day ended on a better note than it began.
The best part of this trip has been the time with Nicole. I’m not sure how many big trips I have left in me. The older I get, the harder the trips are for me to manage. I practiced good self-care and didn’t do most of the excursions so I could have some extra down time. I’m grateful I knew to do that for myself as I would have run out of energy days ago without the extra quiet time.
For the most part I have been able to stay above neutral. I dipped today after talking to the first guide but I was able to recover. I was a bit concerned when I left home not knowing if I could stay above neutral. I have been able to but can tell I will be lucky to hold it all together to get home. I have a busy week ahead of me when I get home so we shall see how that all goes.
Grateful to see the Stupa today and feel the incredible energy around it, grateful to see Mount Everest even through a scratched window, and grateful it is almost time to click my ruby red slippers and head home.