Been there! Done that!

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. So, here I go.. my very first blog on a journey that I have dreamed on for months. Hopefully, I will finish this blog before I forget all the fun-adventurous-are we there yet-tiring memories in Nepal. For those of you who are yet to seek similar adventure in Nepal, well perhaps this sharing would help.

Nov 11, 06 (SAT) 0850 Bangkok local time
Suvarnabhumi Airport (mind you.. it is pronounced as Suwanapoom) : An airport that was finally opened last September after numerous delays. Obvious signs that the airport is yet to be fully completed but somehow is quite hectically ‘occupied’ by frantic-eager travelers. Another obvious thing – the wireless access points are everywhere, at least 10 meters apart from one another. Good news for those who suffer from the can’t-live-without-internet syndrome.
Sitting at the bench waiting for our flight to Kathmandu, we can sense Nepal in the air. Guys with same-same but different t-shirts (of course it doesn’t make sense to me then, not till i read a note in lonely planet-Nepal); ladies with fleece jackets; elderly men with dhaka topi. Nepal, here we come!

Nov 11, 06 (SAT) 1225 Nepal local time
We arrived in Tribhuvan International Airport Kathmandu, noon, local time only to find out that our luggage is LOST! This is definitely one of the nightmares that every traveler would want to avoid, at all cost. We waited for more than 45 minutes; talked to the airport guy, and finally had to swallow the hard fact “Sorry madam, but there was no more luggage from flight TG390. What we can do now is for you to file a report .. blah blah… perhaps tomorrow.. blah blah”. The good thing was, there were at least 4 other people/couples who shared similar fate. Not that I was clapping hands for them. At least we know it was not just our luggage that was lost. I was hoping that the chances of recovering the luggages are higher, when there was more than just one lost case.
The bad news was .. that luggage contained most of my clothings. Yikes!
My first instinct (ok, perhaps not my 1st) was to go out of the arrival hall and look for our guide, Binod Mahat. Wouldn’t want to ‘lose’ him too. Being tall, and having seen his photo from his website, he was easy to spot! Lucky for us, Binod has been standing there smiling from far, perhaps anxiously waiting for us.
So we left the airport with heavy heart, but with lighter luggage before we took off this morning.
Lesson learnt: (1) always split your clothings into 2 separate luggages (2) make sure your guide is tall enough for you to spot him (ok, kidding!)