Been there! Done that!

Dec 15, 2006 Penang (1318hrs)

It has been more than 30 days since I first stepped my size 6M boots in Nepal. Yet, I still suffer from (no, not Altitude Mountain Sickness), but from I-wish-I were-still-on-holidays sickness. Perhaps it’s the time of the year again where soon my mailbox will be flooded with emails “Subject: I am out of OFFICE …” and I wish I am the one sending than receiving. Perhaps because I still wish I am still in Thamel? I have this list of reasons … help me choose which one is number ONE Reason!

Top 10 Reasons Why I still have Hang Over from the Nepal Trip

(10) At least a dozen of NAMASTE greeted by total strangers.

(No, the Tibetan sheeps were not trained to greet trekkers with Namaste!)

(9) The chance to wear The-NORTH-FACE gears.

(8) I got to ask Are-We-There-Yet question to our guide Binod. (most of the time I am forced to be the one answering that FAQ)

(7) The best milk tea I ever tasted, even better than the penang teh tarik (pull-tea).

(6) Relaxing, sipping warm ginger tea under the sun without worrying about the heat and did-I-have-my-SPF30 on. (I come from a country where the sun shines almost 365 days/year)

(5) Excellent mutton curry at Shalimar Restaurant, Thamel.

(4) Dhal bhat! Dhal bhat! Dhal Bhat!

(3) The rare opportunity to shower with icy cold water (well, it may be chilled water to some, but it definitely was iced water to me)

(2) Having smiley-Kamal to carry our 20 odd-kg loads with zero-complaint

(1) A total cholesterol level that drops from a 3-year average of 5.3mmol/l to 4.76mmol/l! (I can’t believe it myself!)

Nov 12, 06 (SUN) 0805 Thamel, Nepal

Having living in a humid scorching hot Malaysia, we shivered in Thamel morning breeze. Nonetheless, the friendly smiles of the Nepali and Newari (the indigenous group of Kathmandu’s valley) warmed us. Not to mention the warm dust aired from the street walk and carbon monoxide fumed from the compact cars of Daihatsu Charade & Suzuki Maruti alike. But hey, these are all for the spirit of being in Nepal. And heck, I don’t really mind!

Taxi in Nayapul
Latest info from the airport guy alerting us that our luggage was in Germany. Hmm… it traveled even further than we did. We decided to postpone our trip to Pokhara and wait for our luggage to arrive (crossed all my fingers and toes hoping that the luggage will show up at Tribhuvan Airport by tomorrow).
Since we have an extra day in Kathmandu, Binod took us around the world heritage sites in Kathmandu. (i’ll talk more of the 3 world heritages in Kathmandu we visited in my other post). As we travelled around, I noticed one unique characteristic of the Kathmandu’s drivers. And I must say, the horn is the second most important ‘part’ in the car after the break. Everyone is honking everybody, almost everywhere. Some trucks even have signs “HORN PLEASE” printed on the back. So, what does that tell you then? Their ways of saying HI? Perhaps yes!

Traveling to Nepal, a thought that has been occupying my mind for more than a year. For a person who never really plans for her holiday trips, 14 months are really long. I finally made it to Nepal last November. ... [Continue reading this entry]