Final Thoughts: 7 Weeks In Nepal

Nepal had always represented world class trekking for me, yet I found the country to offer so much more. Beyond the beautiful snow-capped mountains, green valleys, peaceful lakes, raging rivers, colorful flowers, and wide array of birds were incredibly kind people, a lively Tibetan community, delicious food, and a rich cultural history.

Highlights –

• Flying past Mt. Everest and over the Himalaya
• My first cup of Nepali milk tea
• Meeting Rosie and Rob (the kayakers) on the bus ride to Pokhara
• The view from the Boomerang restaurant's garden patio (and every meal I ate there)
• Meeting Gela
• Trekking for 10 days in the Annapurna region
• Seeing three of the world's top 10 tallest mountains (Everest, Dhauligiri, Annapurna I)
• Riding on the roof of the bus from Nayapul back to Pokhara after the trek
• Spending 3.5 weeks in Pokhara simply because I liked it so much
• Paragliding off Mt. Sarangkot
• Hiking up to the World Peace Pagoda at sunrise and eating breakfast overlooking the Annapurna Himal
• 3-day meditation course in Pokhara
• Meeting Steven, Kevin, Stefan, and Marie
• Spending a day paddling around Lake Phewa with Steven, Kevin and Marie
• 3-day whitewater rafting trip on the Kali Gandaki
• Meeting Natalie and Sara
• Thangka shopping in Kathmandu
• Walking to Kathmandu's Durbar Square
• Visiting the monkey temple
• Patan's Durbar Square
• Pashupatinath Temple
• Spending 4 days/nights around Boudhnath Stupa
• Sitting in on a Buddhist monastery's morning puja
• Surrounding myself with Tibetan culture – the food, religion, people
• Shopping for authentic Tibetan items in Boudha
• The prayer flags
• The sunsets
• The flowers
• The birds

Lowlights –

• Recurring digestive discomforts
• Feelings of stress in preparation for trek
• Not reaching Annapurna Base Camp
• Realizing my laptop's AC adapter was broken the first night
• The slow breakdown of my digital camera (and need to buy a new one)

Eating –

Lots of Dal Bhat (rice and lentils), chicken or potato curry, momos (Tibetan dumplings), pizza pizza, tea – milk, masala, mint, chocolate, peanut butter granola bars, banana lassis.

# of Nights Couchsurfing –

0

Average Daily Budget –

$42 (Note: this is especially high due to the inordinate amount of money I spent on souvenirs and a new digital camera)

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Bonus Video: Sunrise Over Himalaya As Seen From Poon Hill