Wow do the Laos people know how to party!! After three days of being wet celebrating the New Year, we were off to Muang Ngoi Neua, a tiny village along the river.

Again, the minivan ride from hell. They were two hours late picking us up. When we got in the van there wasn’t a happy face in the tourist group. This was only the van that took us to the minivan bus station. We waited another 30 minutes for three more riders (or so they said, we think they were hoping to fill the bus) before our minibus left the station.

Time was tight getting to Nong Kwai to catch the boat to Muang Ngoi Neua. When we arrived a driver offered to take us to the boat station for 5000kip (less than $1), but he was waiting to put all the other people in also, so I decided (not a good decision) for us to walk. It looked close on my map!!

The minidriver (and I am sure the people in the bus) laughed as they passed and saw us hurrying down the road. We finally got there and the boat guys gave us a hard time for being late, but the boat was waiting for us.

Now the real adventure!! When I went to pay I realized in my haste I left my purse on the minibus. My purse had all our passports, credit cards, and most of the money. I begged one of the motor scooter drivers to take me back to the bus station to see if I could find the minibus. Everyone was hysterical laughing at me. Good thing I will never see these people again.

We ended up going all over town to every minibus in the village looking for our driver. We finally found my purse. I think the whole village knew about my purse by the time we found it. It was a real relief.

I paid my new best friend, the motor scooter driver, 20000kip ($2.50). He was very happy. We obviously missed the boat and had to wait for another. We definitely used the time to our advantage and sat and had a well deserved BEER!!

Mung Ngoi Neua is a beautiful village on the river. We spent the evening at a restaurant enjoying many more beers and a nice dinner. We decided to try and trek and kayak tour the next day…

The mountains and forests along the river are spectacular and even more so in this particular section of the river. We took a boat for around 40 minutes and did a two hour trek through the forest and visited a couple villages. The heat is intense so it was not an easy trek but worth the effort.

Now the one thing I was not looking forward to… the kayak. If you don’t know my reputation on a kayak, you are lucky; it means you never had to be on one with me. I only go in circles. I have tried to figure out what I do wrong. To me I look like everyone else, but they go straight. Eric has his bad shoulder, so he was in pain trying to do all the paddling. When I tried to help, I only made it harder because we would start to go in circles.

The other couple from Israel was very patient with us. In fact we ended up hanging around with Ranie and Ronie from Israel the rest of the trip. They are really great people and we had a lot in common. Since we had such a good adventure kayaking, we all decided to go to the waterfall the next day.

Again, nothing is as it seems. We decided that we did not need a guide to find the waterfall, because our book said everything was well marked. Who writes these books!! We got lost at least three times. We found a sign half way through, after being lost for over an hour, that the waterfall was 10 minutes away “upstream”. No one really read the upstream part of the sign. We again took the wrong path and walked up a very steep hill. We had to hold on to branches to get up. Finally, I mentioned that there was no water in the area and I did not hear a waterfall…. We had been walking 60 minutes (remember the sign said another 10 minutes). We decided to go back down and give up.

On our way down Ronnie noticed a path through the stream. We finally came upon some small falls. We all decided that this was the falls and we are sticking to our story. I have made a decision that perhaps I am not meant for Amazing Race, since I cannot read signs and really hate the stress.

We couldn’t even find our way through the small village to find our boat driver, who had been waiting for us. I am sure he realized we were lost, since we were gone over two hours longer than it takes to get to the waterfall. I would love to see a picture of the falls to see if we were even close.

We took a boat for what was supposed to be 4 hours back to Luang Prabang (anything not to get in another minivan). The water is very shallow, since we are in the dry season, so we had to get out and walk and had major problems in the very low areas. The boat ride took 6 hours but the scenery was spectacular.

We are heading back to Luang Prabang to take our flight to Cambodia. Next time you hear from me I will be in Siem Reap.

Namaste.

Laos

This is really going to be a tourist blog, but I can’t resist. Laos has been spectacular. We started in Vientiane, which is a very nice capitol city. Most of the time we spent sightseeing, since we only had a few nights there.

The contrast of Laos with Nepal is amazing. Everything is clean and the people seem to keep themselves clean in Laos, although more people speak English in Nepal than Laos. I am not sure which country has more spectacular landscape; the Himalayans or the Jagged Mountains. The people are just as friendly in Laos as Nepal and the food is very similar. The religious fervor of Nepal is not as noticeable in Laos.

The first day we arrived, we went to a carnival. The carnival had balloon darts, kids car rides, food booths, etc. It reminded me of the festivals we used to have when I was growing up; our church had a festival every year. We ate off the street and really enjoyed the food, including an avocado frozen juice. I am definitely making them when I get home.

We took one day to see a National Forest, which I think was the wrong forest and there wasn’t much to see other than swimming at the falls and beautiful butterflies.

The next day we zip lined down the mountains of the National Forest outside of Vang Vieng. It was spectacular. Ironic, but all the other people that signed up (5 people) were from California. We had seen few Americans and now we have a car full. After zip lining, we took a truck with another group from California… weird… and headed for Vang Vieng.

Van Vieng is a village with jagged mountains and spectacular caves. We spent the day on a Motor Scooter and toured the caves. One cave was over 1km inside and at the end we could swim in the dark; a little scary, but really wonderful water. To get to the end many times you had to crawl on your hands and knees and it was very slippery.

After the caving we headed south to eat and came upon a local party area where they had tables in the river and the restaurants would walk through the water to deliver the food. We sat there for a long time and watched the tourists go by on their inner tubes. Of course, Eric was throwing water at them.

I will say that the place we stayed at in Vang Vieng was our least favorite. The owner Joe, who was suppose to be this expert on caving, was really obnoxious. He talked to us for 15 minutes and for 10 minutes was criticizing the US. A real loser from Australia (although he is from the UK and Irish heritage), who dropped out 11 years ago and married a Lao women, and does nothing. His wife does all the work. He doesn’t even speak the language yet. I think this may be my first trip advisor poor rating.

We had the minivan from hell ride from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. It was six hours of windy, bumpy road and NO air conditioning. The van over heated once and the driver stopped to buy watermelon, pick up his wife and baby, and have a cigarette. You can imagine how tired we were when we arrived.

Well we woke up fast. It was the first of three days of New Year and Luang Prabang celebrates this holiday with tossing water on everyone. I mean buckets of water. The Tuk Tuk, which is an open truck, took us from the minibus station to our hotel. By the time we arrived, everyone was completely soaked, including our purses and hand baggage. Thank goodness our big luggage was on top of the truck. Since we were soaked already, we went out and partied with the locals and tourists throwing water.

The New Year is a three day celebration with water throwing every day. Today and tomorrow are parades. Although it is really fun, we are trying to miss the colored water and the black tar that they put on you. I am currently sitting in my room and enjoying the AC and taking a break from the commotion of the water tossing.

Namaste

It has been a busy few days. We started in Phnom Penh, Cambodia with the hustle and bustle of city life and headed to the coast and enjoyed the slow pace of Cambodia country. We took one day to visit Boker National Park, which is a pristine National Forest. Through the forest at the top of the hillsides are the remains of a casino and hotel and church from the pre Kymer Rouge era. They were destroyed during the battle between Kymer Rouge and Vietcong. You could see how splendid it must have been. Who would have thought that on top of a peaceful, beautiful forest, they built a casino… Cambodia is reinvesting over 1 Billion dollars to build another casino. It would be like having a casino in the heart of Yosemite.

At the end of the trek and visit to the ruins, we had a sunset cruise. The river is breathtaking. It is such a change from Nepal. Even the clean rivers and lakes were polluted with people washing their clothes and bodies and a lot of trash.

We met a lot of great people on our day long excursion. Most were young people leaving their jobs for a year to do a world tour. They gave us wonderful ideas for our trip to Laos. We all went out for dinner afterwards. I ordered Octopus to try and see what it was like. Let’s just say I will not order it again.

Next day we spent the whole day traveling to Laos. We had a few hours in Phnom Penh, which we used to get some things fixed. Our very expensive (ha ha) watch was not keeping time and sunglasses lost a screw. The people were so nice and fixed everything (or so we think).

We arrived in Laos and it is even cleaner than Cambodia. I guess I was lucky to visit Nepal first, so I would think everything else was slow pace and clean. We are anxious to see the natural beauty of the country; so far we are in Vietiane, which is the capital and very clean (it has a French flare).

Tomorrow we are going trek in a national forest and the next day is zip lining.. yes, I am very brave.

Namaste

The Oceanside Towns in Cambodia

We started out touring Kep. We hired a Tuk Tuk and went around the perimeter of Kep and visited the caves. Two young girls were our guide. Thankfully they had torches (flashlights) so we could see in the caves. The kids are on vacation for the New Year and they were all over us to make money as a tour guide. They were all so cute.

Before we left on the tour we found out that the hotel requires cash and there were NO ATMs in Kep. We were told that one of the guest houses exchangs money. So after the tour we stopped at the guest house. They did not have cash at that time. What to do??? We did not have enough cash to eat and pay the hotel/food bill for two days.

We spent the next hour arguing with the guest house on the fact that we had to leave and go to Kampot early because we had NO money. They said we agreed to two days and had to pay. With what?? We only had enough for the food we ate and the one night hotel room and the transport to Kampot. We didn’t even have enough for lunch (although we did drink a beer while in the argument). We finally got them to agree to paying for one night and all the food; not that they really had a choice. Apparently, this happens a lot because there are no ATMs and Kep and this is extremely unusual.

OK, truth be told, we were very happy to leave Kep. We had seen everything we wanted and we were ready to move on. The lack of money was a great opportunity to leave early. Kep is very small and isolated.

We arrived in Kampot and loved the beach town. It is a small town along the coast and is really beautiful. It reminds me of Italy in some ways. Definitely a wealthier village in Cambodia! We wandered the streets and enjoyed the cooler air of the ocean.

One major observation is the women wear pajamas during the day. They may not think they are pajamas, but in US they are definitely pajamas, including teddy bears on them. Now the question: if they wear pajamas during the day, what do they wear to bed? I really need to know this@#? I have to find a pair for my Mom. What a great Mother’s Day gift!

Tomorrow a hike in the Boker National Forest.

Namaste

A Nondescript Day

Today was a nondescript day. We spent the morning buying the very expensive watches and Ray Ban sunglasses (look expensive but are fakes). We also shopped for anything else we could find. Yes, we spent money but a lot of cheap stuff.

The rest of the day was riding in a bus to Kep on the coast. The countryside farmland is beautiful. You can see that the people of Cambodia have a beautiful life now. Although not wealthy, there is no sign of the poverty I saw in Nepal. The houses are kept neat and people are clean. There seems to be more pride for the land.

We arrived at our hotel, which is right on the ocean. Although we are right on the sand, the room is very expensive at $25. Really outside of my budget.

Cambodia is beautiful, but I really feel like I am in Mexico, rather than Cambodia. I really do not have the feel of the culture so far. Not sure where to find it.

Namaste

Sightseeing in Phnom Penh

Today was a real tourist day, since we had one day for Eric to see Phnom Penh. I had spent yesterday preparing for a full day of seeing everything in Phnom Penh. I hired a Tuk Tuk driver and put together an itinerary. What could go wrong you ask?? Well, It really started off good… but… I thought I remembered the Tuk Tuk driver I hired the day before. He walked right up to us and acted like he was the ONE. He wasn’t.. He took us to the first spot and we walked around the temple. When we went to find him again, he was gone. We waited and waited but could not find him. So we hired another Tuk Tuk driver. The motorcycle was noisy, leaking, and releasing fumes, which made it difficult for us to breath. Thank goodness he was driving down the wrong side of the road and a policeman stopped him. We took this opportunity to get out of the Tuk Tuk. Now we needed to figure out how to get to the killing fields. I tried calling the Tuk Tuk driver I originally hired. When he answered, I thought he was the wrong guy because he had a different name than the one in the morning. Finally I realized that he was actually the right Tuk Tuk driver and he came and got us. Now if you are confused, it is because I am confused. How could I have been so mistaken. The guys don’t even look alike. Another Paula mistake!!! The rest of the day was busy and hot taking in all the sites. We leave tomorrow for the sea and hope it is a little cooler. Namaste

A Tourist Day in Cambodia

Today was my first full day in Cambodia. The heat makes it difficult to do a lot. I walked to a few of the temples in the morning before it got really hot. The markets are similar but different than Nepal. You can see a sugar cane market and some beautiful flowers at the flower stand. Neither were in Nepal.

I cannot resist the kids selling on the streets. They are really cute and can speak English very well. They are mostly selling books and handmade bracelets. If you get a bracelet, don’t think your special; I need to get rid of all the ones I bought.

I was wandering and came across a market filled with beauty parlors. As I walked down the aisle, I saw men and women getting facials and having their hair done. It was amazing. I was almost tempted to get a facial but chickened out, mostly because I didn’t want to sit in the heat.

I am moving hotels tomorrow. This hotel is $40 a night… way too much… I am moving a few doors down for $15 per night. Yes, I am cheap but I can buy more things if I save the $25.

I did find an interesting area of Phnom Penh this evening. It is much more upscale. I actually went there for dinner. It was excellent. The hotels in the area are mostly for the embassies, NGO’s, and ex-patriots in Nepal.

I am really tired, even though I slept over 10 hours last night. It is definitely the heat.

Namaste

Cambodia Day 1

It was hard to leave Kopan Monastery. It is a beautiful, peaceful place and I really was just starting to wind down. I was reading a wonderful book from the Kopan Library, The Perfect Mirror by Adrian Feldmann. He is a western monk and really makes it easy to understand the Buddhist philosophy. I highly recommend reading this book. My plan is to spend some time in a US monastery to learn more about Buddhism and Meditation in July.

It was a long tiring trip to Cambodia. I spent the night trying to sleep on the airport benches in Bangkok…when I finally gave up I spent a couple hours on the computer. I met a woman from Denmark, who was at another monastery in Nepal. We had an opportunity to discuss the Buddhist philosophy. She is a psychologist, who applies the Buddhist practices to her work. It is a great combination.

When I finally arrived, I took a Tut Tut (a motorcycle with a cart on the back much like a golf cart) to my hotel. Now I am staying at a $40 a night hotel, really past my budget. I spent a little time looking for a less expensive one and found some right on the river. I plan to move when Eric arrives.

Cambodia is so different from Nepal. It is much cleaner and modern. The people are nice, but do not seem as happy as the Nepali people. There is more begging, even though it does not seem to be as impoverished as Nepal. It is early to bed to make up for no sleep the night before.

Namaste

A Farewell to Nepal

This has been an amazing experience. I think the most important thing I learned is: what is the true meaning of happiness. The Nepali people are happy and kind people dispite the poverty and political chaos.

I believe their happiness is routed in their spiritual belief and their family.

I know that I will return to Nepal and hopefully will be able to make a difference in a little way. My plan is to organize a group of women that would like to experience Nepal and also visit some of the villages first hand to see what just a little can mean to a woman, a family, and an entire village. I hope you will join me.

Namaste

Spiritual Retreat

It was a sad farewell to the hustle and bustle of Thamel. I have only a few days left in Nepal and decided to spend them at a Buddhist Monastery, Kopan Monastery. It is magnificent, perched on a hill above Kathmandu Valley.

When I arrived at Kopan, I felt the peace and harmony of the surroundings. I spent the first few hours in the Gompa, while there was a teaching going on. Although I really didn’t know what they were saying, it has really wonderful to just sit and take in the surroundings.

I was hoping to have a personal teaching on Buddhism, but there is a class going on so it is not possible. They do have a cyber café, can you believe it, but it is really limited. I am actually writing this standing up and typing at head lever in order to use my own computer.

I have met many people that have been here for weeks. They are on their personal retreat. It is that type of place. Many people hate to leave. The people are from around the world and all ages. I guess they are like me, trying to find myself.
I can’t upload pictures, but go to the www.kopanmonastery.com website and take a look at the beautiful surroundings that I am experiencing.

Namaste

Wrapping Up

I had my last day at Tewa yesterday. It was a sad farewell. All the staff met in the conference room and each person told me how much they appreciated me and I told them a little something special about my work with them personally. They gave me a farewell paperweight. I still find it hard to believe that it has been 1 ½ months since I arrived in Nepal. I had a new route to catch the bus and thought I would share a couple pictures: one of the women selling the flowers used as an offering in the temples; the other is a dog watching the meat shop, waiting for that little bit of meat. I met with the management and founders of Tewa today to review the marketing plan and talk about next steps. It was a good meeting and hopefully the action plan will be implemented. I am hoping to work with Tewa from the US to give any support I can. I have a goal of returning next year. I would like to form a group of women that would like to see Nepal and enjoy my experience on a Trek. I would be the coordinator of the visit in exchange for them meeting the Tewa team and learning about their work. Anyone interested, let me know?? I spent a good portion of the afternoon looking for a prayer wheel and found one in Patan. I got it for a great price. Now I had to put it with all my other stuff to ship it back home. I ended up spending $164 in freight charges to get all my purchases and winter clothes back to the states. I just didn’t want to carry all the stuff I bought. It has been nice and relaxing this week. I think I am still mellowed out from my trek. I know I am still really tired. I go to Kopan Monastery tomorrow for a couple of days of meditation and studying Buddhism. I am very excited to go. Namaste

The Five Day Trek to Poon Hill

I am back from an exhilarating, exhausting five day trek to Poon Hill. It will be difficult to describe the five days and do it justice. I took a lot of pictures, but I was trying to keep up with two tall 25 year olds, so I missed out on a lot of photo opps.

Day 1

Our trek started with a windy 1 ½ hour ride from Pokhara to the start point of our trek. First let me say that I was definitely not the only trekker there. Tourists flock into Nepal to trek and this particular trek is one of the most popular. Our team consisted of Geta, our guide, three girl porters , who carried our luggage, and two other trekkers: Jeannine, a young Swiss girl, and Florentine, a young girl from Holland. Thank goodness that the porters were young and new because they were keeping my pace, rather than trying to keep up with the young trekkers.

We had to go through two checkpoints before starting out for our four hour walk on the first day. Although there were some difficult up hills, it was a relatively easy day; although I did not know this because I had nothing to compare it against until day 2. Most of the time we were walking from one rural village to another in some beautiful farmland.

That evening our tea house was perched on the side of the mountain with breathtaking views. We had a lot of people from the other tea houses come up just to have a drink and take in the farmlands and villages and mountains. The tea house had hot showers; I learned how much I appreciated that when I arrived at the other tea houses with only cold showers. Our food was either rice or noodles every night; so we always rotated. No one attempted any type of meat.

The bathrooms were always outside. Most of the time the toilets were the ones you stand over a hole and I try and aim for that small hole. I don’t think I ever totally made the hole. This night I had to try and hold my torch and go the bathroom. When I was done and trying to get my pants back on without touching the floor, my torch slipped from my hand and was in the hole; wouldn’t you know that would make the hole!! Now this is really gross. I had to get my torch back by picking it up out of the hole. I never told my fellow trekkers; I was too embarrassed and grossed out. From then on I figured a way to keep the torch in my hand.

The routine every day was: up to breakfast (except the day to Pooh Hill), tea break at 10:30am at one of the tea houses along the way, lunch at one of the tea houses, arrive at the overnight tea house, tea and cookies at 4pm, and dinner at 6:30pm. Some days I was watching the clock to get a break… especially day 2 and 3.

Day 2

I was told that we would be climbing 3200 steps on this day… they forgot to mention the other 4000 steps afterwards. The excuse was that no one had counted them… I think they just were afraid to tell me. Yes, I was a whiner.

The steps are not your standard steps. Many times I had to use my walking stick to pull me up they were so high. My calves and thighs were calling to me… As we moved up in altitude it was even harder to breath and I had to stop every 10 minutes to catch my breath. It was at this point I was wondering why I was doing this. Was I nuts!! I was not in shape for this type of climb (I hadn’t been to boot camp in over 2 months).

Once we completed the 3200 steps I felt I had really accomplished something; thank goodness it was lunch time. So I was very specific in asking Geta again, if we had any more steps after lunch. She said we had one more set and then down, down, down. Well, that was not the truth… her comment later was” she was sparing me”.

After lunch we had to walk up another 2000 steps (no one counted these steps, but I am confident in my number). Again I felt exhilarated that I had made it to find out we had another 2000 steps.

You are going to ask how I liked the scenery… Who looked!! I was so focused on getting up the steps I didn’t have time to look. It was a grueling experience. You can imagine how wonderful it was to reach our tea house that evening and we were very excited because the sign said chocolate cake (unfortunately there was no chocolate cake. We had to wait until we reached the German Bakery on Day 4 to get our cake.. it kept us going).

All three of us sat like zombies that evening and didn’t even talk, while we drank our tea. We bought some cards and I taught them crazy eights. I could barely keep my eyes open waiting for dinner at 6:30pm. After dinner I left the table and never returned… I was exhausted and slept over 10 hours.

Day 3 Elevation 3200

It was up at 4:45AM to start out at 5am with all the other trekkers to reach Poon Hill at sunrise. There was a line of trekkers with their torches (flashlights) in a line heading up the hill. Yes, it is a trekker must and no one wanted to miss it. The problem came when we are in a line like cattle moving up and one cow couldn’t make it and had to stop.. I was the cow… For some reason I was really light headed and kept on having to stop. Of course all the porters stopped with me to make sure I was ok… I tried not to have a traffic jam on Poon Hill.

When I finally made it I had a huge cup of tea with sugar and was revived. I was rewarded with a spectacular clear day at sunrise. You are always at risk that it is a cloudy day and your efforts to climb the hill are for not. We could see the Annapurna range and the Holy Mountain. The sunrise was beautiful. I took a video (see below) of the mountain range.

Back at the tea house for breakfast and another day of STEPS… who makes these steps?? We climbed up and down and up again… I am not sure the steps down are any easier because sometimes I had to crawl down them they were so high. Again, my tall young fellow trekkers had no problems.

We ended up at 2900 elevation and reached the tea house shortly after the rain started. Just so you know that no one stops, if it rains. The steps are very slippery and everyone had their backpack rain covers and a rain jacket. If the donkeys could do it, we can do it.

I was definitely sweating all day, but the thought of an outside cold shower in the cold rain was not appealing. It was very cold. The restaurant consisted of a very long table with a fire burning under it. It really kept your feet warm. We just had to yell at everyone going out and in to shut the door.

There was some partying at the tea house with a World Expeditions group… they had a short ½ day and were drinking through the afternoon. I would have loved to see them the next morning for their 6 hour trek.

I purposely did not drink anything, even water, because I did not want to go outside to go the bathroom in the middle of the night; it was very cold at this elevation. I was rewarded that evening with a spectacular view of Holy Mountain. It was probably the highlight of the trip; even compared to Poon Hill. It was so spectacular; I just wished I had a better camera.

I felt I was getting a little stronger because I didn’t go to bed until after 7pm that evening. One of the families on the road taught us a new card game and we played until the lights went out. From then on, when we had a moment, the cards came out for a game. I can’t wait to teach the ladies in Erie.

Day 4

It was a half day trek today and we were lucky because it poured all day. Most of the trek was in the beautiful forest with lovely waterfalls. We were trying to find the large monkeys. Of course, the Nepali girls never stopped laughing and talking, so the monkeys definitely knew we were coming. I didn’t get to see a monkey!!

We spent the afternoon at the tea house playing cards and touring the village. Again no hot water and I was really starting to smell. We finally had reached the village with the German Bakery for our cake. So we brought our cards and went down the restaurant and we were ready to eat delicious rich chocolate cake.. my imagination was going wild. Well, it was a GERMAN chocolate.. I think they forgot to put in the chocolate or any liquids. It was so dry and terrible.

We actually stayed up until 9pm, can you believe it, playing cards. Our room had three small beds that were almost touching each other, no blankets, and no real light. We never understood how every other room was larger and with blankets… we didn’t even bother to ask. We slept in layers in our sleeping bags.

Day 5

Our last day and I had to catch a flight back to Kathmandu so everyone had to get up early and start our walk through the forest and along the river and ALL downhill. It was a beautiful walk. We passed many rural villages and waterfalls. The farmland was breathtaking. I even stopped to take pictures.

Many times we had to stop and move over to let the mules and donkeys pass as they carried supplies up the hill. It really upset me when the boys would whip the donkey even if he/she was already moving. I would tell the boys to stop hitting them; unfortunately they did not speak English.

We reached our destination in record time. It should have taken 5 hours and we made it in 4…wow am I amazing or what!! Although all downhill, it was so slippery and Florentine fell twice and I fell once. It was as difficult on the thighs and knees downhill as uphill, but at least I could breath.

We arrived in plenty of time to catch my plane, although I almost missed it because I did not hear them call and it left a ½ hour early. I was so tired that I went to bed very early. It was so nice to have a warm bed and a hot shower. I even dyed my hair so I was ready for work tomorrow. This has been an experience of a lifetime. I can’t believe I am saying this, but I am already planning my next trek.

Namaste

The Trek

Today was a prep day for my trip, including a massage. I met the other two ladies on my trek… they are young and in great shape… I definitely will be at the tail end of the pack.

I will be walking 4 to 6 hours per day for five days. No computer on the trek so I will keep a journal and give you a day to day description when I get back.

Namaste

Peace Pagoda

Although my calves ached from walking up to Sarangut, I made the hike to Peace Pagoda. Peace Pagoda Nepal is the 71st Peace Pagoda in the world. They were started by the Japanese after Hiroshima. The goal is to build 100 Peace Pagodas.
We had to cross the lake to get to the start of the hike up.

The Peace Pagoda stands high on a mountain and can be seen from all of Pokara. The boat ride across the lake was beautiful. For a short time the mountains were very clear and you could see the whole range on Anapurna Mountain Tops.

I met a couple women from UK and hiked with them. They had just returned from an 11 day hike. I couldn’t keep up with them and was having a hard time with all the steps. They also informed me that this was light compared to my trek in a few days. I am really worried… almost want to back out.

I did decide to make sure I had a walking stick and a camelback type day pack to get all the water I need without having to carry it. So today is shopping again and making sure all my clothes are washed. I am confident that I will be prepared with my packing.. just not physically or mentally prepared. I haven’t met the other people on the trek, but I hope they are like me and we can keep the pace slow.

Namaste

Sunrise and Sunset

I sat and watched sunset last night. It was beautiful and peaceful setting over the lake.

It was up at 4:30am and in the taxi by 5am to reach the summit at sunrise. The taxi dropped us off around ¾ of the way to the top. We (Rebecca, a lady from Australia, and the guide) had to climb…and climb…and climb many steps. Rebecca said that this was even easier than the trek and much shorter. I think I may be in trouble.

There were only two people ahead of us at the top and a few more came afterwards. It was really beautiful with views of the Annapurna Mountain Ranges. Sunrise was nice, but it was pretty light even before it came up. Still doesn't compare with So. Cal.

The weather is interesting. Very cold in the morning and hot around 8am. The sun is extremely bright and I definitely will have to wear a lot of sunscreen on the trek.

I decided to take a taxi to see the Tibetan Monastery outside of town. I had to negotiate for 15 minutes on a taxi price to finally get there and there is NOTHING really to see. Oh Well!

When I got back, I immediately found some coffee and rested most of the day reading a book and watching movies.

Namaste

Off to Pokhara

Pokhara is beautiful, peaceful, and clean. I am looking forward to a few days of sightseeing and my trek. Since I had to get up early and catch me flight, I spent most of the day wandering the streets (and shopping again) and took a nice nap after my beer at lunch.

There was a major rainstorm for ½ hour, while I was at dinner. This is actually good news because I am going to mountain village outside of Pokhara to watch sunrise. The visibility will be better with the rain.

I have to be out of the hotel by 5am, take a 30 minute taxi, and hike 40 minutes to be at the viewpoint at 6:15am. I am looking forward to it. Yes, I can just hear some of you telling me I am nuts.

Namaste

A Colorful Day

I started the day right with a massage and facial. I had a 1 ½ hour massage and a 1 hour facial for $25. Can’t go wrong!! I managed to get to and from the spa by dodging balloons with water and colored powder. I stayed at a restaurant across from the spa until the groups left the street. It really turned out to be the tourists against the Nepali boys. The tourists were really into it. I think the Nepali boys were winning.

I decided because I was so good in the early morning that I would venture out for lunch after I showered and washed my hair.. I was really hungry. I didn’t get three blocks before I ended up with powder and water all over me… forget going out to lunch and ended up at the hotel restaurant, which is not that good. I had to take another shower.

I sat it out for the day on the roof with a bunch of people enjoying the sun (yes, Bev it is now sunny in Nepal. You can come and visit.) and having a large beer. We were waiting to go to Boudhna at the full moon to see all the lights and walk around the Stupa. It was amazing. They had a large tent filled with monks chanting. Again, I was so inspired by the atmosphere and the people.
Tomorrow I get up early for my trip to Pokhara.

Namaste.

Tourist of the Year

What a day. I started out as a normal California woman going to work in Nepal and ended up the OFFICIAL tourist of the year for Lalitpur. Lalitpur is one of the major districts around Kathmandu. I am sure you are waiting to hear the story on this.

Tomorrow is Holy Holy… a big day for the Hindus and not so great for the tourists (remember the water and colored powder). Well, Holy Holy is celebrated for three days.

Today in the village where Tewa resides there was a big festival; the first they have ever had and a major event for the village. The Chief District Officer (the governor in US terms) came to the city to cut the ribbon and participate in a parade. There were many types of dancers, Nepali bands, a devil doing a dance, a big Yak, etc as part of a parade. There were booths with locals selling food, handicrafts and such. I helped set up Tewa’s booth for the festival.

The office manager of Tewa is very involved in the village and gave me tour of the village in the morning. We meet the head of the village and saw the government offices and so on and so on. I thought she was really being nice introducing me to all the officials and they were so happy to see me. I thought it was my winning personality.

So.. let me get to the point.. The Chief of Police and Chief of District have beautiful orange flowers put around their neck by the village officials. I am trying to take pictures, when Shree (office manager) says come on Paula. I just look at her. She says you are getting flowers put around your neck by the Chief of the District and are part of the parade… your are "Tourist of 2011 or Lalitpur".. In Nepal this is “The Year of Tourism 2011”; you see banners all over.

I had to walk in the front line with all the government officials around the whole village. I felt like Princess Di doing Namaste to all the villagers as I walked around. I bet you are glad you know such a famous person.

Namaste

Paula vs the Motorcycle

It was an interesting day. Yesterday the whole office went dead with a big surge. I did not realize that it fried my charger until today. I had to spend $90 to get a new one. So, no computer until the afternoon. I realize that my computer is a life line to reality… maybe good, maybe bad.

The office was pretty unproductive, given the lack of a compressor (remember there are no lights for 14 hours a day, so everyone relies on a compressor. So I read my kindle .. lonely planet Cambodia to get ready for the last leg of my trip.
I also took my orange Kurta to be hemmed (it will cost me $1). I decided there was too much orange and to wear it with jeans or as a dress (although it is see thru).

While walking back from the seamstress, I was trying to avoid a puddle (you never know what is in the water) and took a motorcycle down; I really mean down. The poor guy fell trying to avoid me. Now, I know some would think it was my fault, but the cycles turn their motor off when they go downhill to save gas, so you cannot hear them. I still was on the side of the street, but he wasn’t planning on my swerve. Thankfully the guy did not hit me.

I left the office early (again no electricity so nothing to do) to get started on my move to a new hotel. Now the real adventure starts!! The hotel I went to did not have a room, so they sent me to another hotel (I think it is somehow related) down the road. There were all men and a lot of smoke.. did I feel uncomfortable. I got out of there quick and finally found a hotel with one room left; April is tourist season. I had to pay $32 for a very plain room and no breakfast included. Wow am I spoiled at my other hotel.

I will move to a new hotel tonight that is only $20 (no breakfast). I guess it is the price I pay to be in the midst of the tourists… am I nuts. But I am close to where I can get an early massage, facial, and reike for $20. I think it is going to be a good Saturday.

Namaste

Finishing Touches

I am in the process of printing out all my material to deliver to Tewa. My work is complete. I just need to meet with the heads of the department and founder to review my findings. I am really happy that I was able to complete it, as well as do some cold calling. I even have had good results with the telemarketing. People are alot nicer in Nepal, when you make a cold call, then US.

I am postponing my trip to Pokhara by one day so I can be at the Boudna on the full moon for the tea cup candle ceremony. It will be very special and I am very excited about it. Only one difficulty – it is on the same day as the festival of colors (remember the water balloons and colored powder that the kids throw at everyone, especially tourists). Most Nepali people stay at home and have parties because of the dirty water balloons. Not sure how I am going to get to Boudna in one piece. Stay tune.

I really think it will be a miracle if I make it through Nepal without getting run over by a car or motorcycle. The Nepal drivers are really aggressive and I have had numerous close calls. Only glad I bought the insurance to airlift me, if I am hurt.

I am starting to plan my trip to Cambodia.. am seriously thinking of adding Laos for one week. It is really going to be hot in both places. I was able to download the lonely planet to my borrowed Kindle. This device is really great for traveling. I have downloaded three books… nothing to do but read.

Namaste

A Sick Day

I was not feeling well today, so I decided to go home early. I slept for three hours in the afternoon.

I had purchased 5 DVD’s of the top movies (of course they are bootlegged, but I am desperate for something to watch). I spent hours trying to get them to work. I would get through ¾ of the movie and it would stop; how infuriating. I finally made it all the way through inception… I am still working on the others. Some do not work at all. You definitely get what you pay for.

I am having a difficult time deciding on whether to postpone my trip to Pokhara and leave on the 21st, rather than the 19th. I was going to take a bus for 7 hours to get to the birthplace of Buddha on the 20th. It seems like a long way. I guess I am getting tired of sightseeing.

Namaste

Last night was a very spiritual day. I decided that I would go back to the Bouddha Temple at sunset and walk around the stupa with the Monks and other people. It was very magical. I had seen the temple during the day and it was totally different. Basically everyone has beads (like rosary beads) and chants as they walk clockwise around and around the stupa. As the sun sets, there is grandness about the stupa that was not there a few minutes earlier.

The true significance is the people and their devotion. I believe that the Hindu and Buddha beliefs are what make the Nepali people so happy. How else can you explain the positive attitude amidst such poverty? It really made me aware that I want to understand more.

Although I am not feeling well today, I am planning on going to the Himalayan Buddhist Meditation center from 6 to 7 to meditate. I think it will be a good follow up to a wonderful evening the day before.

Just a side note: I met with the head of the Nepal office of the American Himalayan Foundation, Bruce Moore, for coffee before the walk. This organization is very similar to Tewa, but it is headquartered in the U.S. I hope to get involved in the organization when I return.

Namaste

Bugamati Village

Today was a quiet, sightseeing day. I went to Bugamati, a very traditional Newari village. It was really nice to see a small village, without the hustle and bustle like Kathmandu. Many of the men were woodcarvers. The women were weaving sheep’s wool into thread. There were sheep, goats, and a lot of ducks.

It was the day for washing clothes and taking baths. Many of the women were topless bathing in the street and the children were crying because they had to get a bath (sound familiar). Of course, they were bathing in cold water.

At the temple the men were using fire and water and giving food and flowers to the Shiva. All the people were walking around the temple and using a stick to stir the fire. You always walk in a clockwise circel.

Although the people live in poverty in our standards, they seemed very happy and enjoying life. It again makes you aware that material things aren’t what make you happy.

I was supposed to go with Joyti to the movies but she had school work; she is getting her master’s degree. So it was a very quiet evening with a bottle of wine, a good book, and candlelight. It is my fifth book… would love to watch my TV programs.

Namaste

You finally get to see my Orange Kurta. Everyone tells me I really fit in and look normal, but I feel so orange. You can let me know what you think!

Walking with my fancy slippers (they call them shoes but look like slippers to me), I had to really watch to make sure I missed all the Spit on the street. I can’t believe how often (both men and women) I hear this terrible guttural noise and then they spit. And what comes up I will leave to your imagination… but you’re not far off. Between the dog xxx and the spit and the trash and the cars and the motorcycles, it is always a challenge walking the streets.

I have a great idea that I could employ many of the impoverished women to sweep the streets every day. They would have income and the streets would be clean. It would be better to have them sweep than carry the heavy loads. What do you think?

The views at Tewa are beautiful today. I am sorry I cannot be here in Oct-Dec when it is much clearer.

It is Friday night and I went to a Hookah bar. Hookah, also known as water pipe and hubby-bubbly, comes in many flavors. I smoked apple flavor. It was very interesting. I was with a bunch of 24 year olds that are friends of Razeena. It was really fun; not sure I will try it again. The bar has all low seats (you have to take your shoes off) and you sit around the table with this very large water pipe and smoke. It is very popular in Nepal.

Tomorrow is a day off, so I may do a little sightseeing, since it is my last Saturday in Kathmandu.

Namaste