Lions and tigers and rhinos (oh my!)

After spending some time getting to know Kathmandu, I hopped on a bus and went down south. Down some crazy sketchy windy roads back to the heat and sun. I was headed for a little eco-village pretty close to the border with India and to one of Nepals first national parks, Chitwan National Park. For the first week, I was staying with another WorkAway host.

In which my trekking plans took an unexpected turn.

Day 8: Gokyo to Phortse (3643m)
We got an early start and headed back down away from Gokyo. The goal for the day was to walk down the valley a little bit so we could cross the valley below the glacier. If the snow stopped early in the day, we had a chance at being able to cross the Cholla pass and get over near EBC. If the weather stayed crappy, we would walk down the other side of the valley and around. We stopped to chat with a group of Irish and French on their way up to Gokyo.

The wind and snow made all the prayer flags over the river look super cool.

Climbing some tall pointy rocks.

After posting on a couple of trekking bulletin boards about the treks I wanted to do, I got an email from David, an Irishman who had essentially organized a trek that did all the things I wanted to do in the Everest region. It made it significantly cheaper for him to share the cost of the guide and porter with a second person. Yes, we had a porter. I had no idea what kind of shape I was in after six months of traveling, and we both liked the idea of putting some money into the local economy. When I go back to Nepal in the future, I will most likely just be hiring the same porter and not hire a guide.

First view of the tallest mountains in the world

Our second attempt to fly to Kathmandu went much more smoothly than the first one. The sky was clear. Because of congestion at the airport (it's the only international airport in the entire country.), we got to do several circles. Each circle gave me a spectacular view of the massive snow covered mountains towering above the valleys. These views only increased my excitement. In a matter of weeks I would be walking in them!

An early goodbye.

I woke up a couple mornings ago in my hostel in Kathmandu sick and sore, and I realized something. I'm ready to go home. A complete 180 from everything I've told everyone since the earthquake happened. "Yep, I'm good. I just want to find a way to volunteer." It doesn't really matter what the logical side of me wanted to do. Or how badly I wanted to say that I stayed and helped pack boxes or deliver rice to villages. My brain decided it was time to go home. I admit it, I flip-flopped. Completely.

24 hours in Mandalay and a much needed rest in Bangkok

It was recommended to us that we take the train at least part of the way to Mandalay, where we were flying to Bangkok from. So of course we did. That means that in Myanmar we used a ferry, taxis, a bus, boats, an airplane, bikes, a horse cart, electric bikes, a train, and our feet to get around Myanmar. Dang.

Train dogs are tough dogs.

Trekking in the smoke

We arrived in Hsipaw (See-Paw) as cold and cranky little icicles after the overly air conditioned sitting night bus. Luckily the hotel was prepared and had little nap spots set up for us until we could check in. After sleeping most of the morning away, we motivated ourselves enough to wander around. And by that I mean we managed to find a stand that sold fruit smoothies. We then wandered around the town a little bit more to where we were told we were able to see an old palace. Unfortunately when we arrived at the gate, it was closed and had no indication of when/if it would be open. Wandering back in the direction of our hotel we found the morning market (also closed), and booked our trek for the next day. It was a approximately six hour hike through some villages with an hour long motorcycle ride back to the hotel.