Part Four: Because I took over 800 pictures in two weeks

Both of my camera batteries and my new 64gb memory card certainly got a workout while my family was here! This is a random spattering of other photos I took while trekking. The last pictures is one of the most adventurous things I've ever done...

Paragliding.

"Okay, so when I say run, just run down the hill."
"You mean towards the edge of the hill where it steeply falls into the valley?"
"Yeah. And you have to run or it won't work."

Give me one second while I turn off all forms of common sense...okay sure.
(Actually, less terrifying than I anticipated, and once you're off the ground it's quite peaceful.)

 

I Lift My Eyes

School is closed for fifteen days for the Dashain holiday. So far my main response to this holiday, the biggest of the entire Nepali year, is one of confusion. There are so many rituals, sacrifices, and traditions that I just don't understand. I'm certainly enjoying the time of physical rest with my host family, but mentally and emotionally it is clear that I'm still living in a foreign country.

Fortunately, I was able to spend the first several days of the break taking some time just for myself. I travelled to the hilltop town of Nagarkot which is almost purely a tourist destination. Nagarkot is most famous for its spectacular views of the Himalayas. Unfortunately, monsoon season has extended itself much longer than usual this year so I spent a lot of time staring at far off white shapes wondering if I was seeing clouds or mountains. Despite the clouds, the landscape was magnificent and it was a nice time to relax.

As if that wasn't enough, five of the other ETA's made the six hour bus trip from Gorkha to come join me in Nagarkot. It was beyond wonderful to spend time with great friends, to laugh about the daily miscommunications of Nepal, and to reflect on our time so far.

At the end of the weekend I had filled my camera's memory card at least twice. Here's a brief sampling of what you can see even under less than ideal conditions in Nagarkot, Nepal.

Wondering where the spectacular Himalayan view could be?

Even without the mountains the sprawling landscape is still beautiful.

 



First sunrise attempt: fail, too cloudy

When I finally saw the mountains!

 

Ekdam Raamro

From Saturday September 14, 2013

Last night, my sister Rashmee asked me if I was interested in joining her for a hike with some of her friends. It sounded like a casual affair, and I was honored to be invited, so I said sure. The next morning my host dad raised some concerns about whether or not I would be able to make it.

"It's very steep. The trail is like this..." (puts hand almost vertical) "...and it will be hard."

I swallowed a little stiffer, threw some motrin in my backpack, and walked out the door with my sister.

(Side note: overnight there was a HUGE rainstorm. The drain on the roof became clogged. The roof flooded. The roof door opened. Water poured down all three flights of stairs. It was a huge mess... think buckets everywhere, bailing water, squeegeeing carpets, wringing out giant towels. My hiking boots, which I keep under the stairs, ended up with two inches of water inside them. I didn't realize this until the next morning so they had approximately one hour in the sun (and some newspaper jammed into the toes) to dry out. I was actually pretty impressed because I didn't have any problems with them being wet.)

Anyway, the hike was amazing. Ekdam Raamro means very good, very lovely. I'm not a super outdoorsy person, but the views were breathtaking and I even appreciated the sensation of having accomplished the climb. We walked about ten kilometers, and with the verticality it took us from 9am until 3pm (with some breaks).

I came home with a full memory card. Here are some of the highlights.

Looking back down to Godavari towards the beginning of the hike.

 The group on a flat section of the trail.

 

 A buffalo! I was pretty excited, and my host sister laughed at my excitement.

 

We passed by a school (the little building) at the very to top of the ridge. Glad this hike isn't my daily commute!

 

 

 R to L: me, Rashmee, and two of her friends at an overlook.

 

 

 

And finally one of my favorite pictures ever...

(be sure you click on it so that you can see it larger)