There's that old
saying, "It's
the journey, not
just the
destination." I
consider that
one of my credos
and I remind
myself of it
daily. Following
twenty four
entertaining
hours of travel
aboard
comfortable Thai
Air jets
and
exploring the
expansive
Bangkok airport,
Chris and myself
were met at
Tribhuvan
International
Airport by Alex
and Prakash. The
smiling sun
shone down upon
our heads and we
were pleased to
finally be in
Kathmandu. We
piled all our
gear into a
minibus and
merged into the
chaotic traffic.
(Click here to
view the video
"Finally")
There is
something
beautiful about
the chaos and
disorder of the
streets of
Kathmandu. This,
most certainly,
is not Kansas.
After a short
drive
(Click here to
see the video
"Chaos"),
we found
ourselves
sipping drinks
at my favorite
rooftop
restaurant where
the employees
satisfied our
hunger with
tasty pastas.
(Click here to
see the video
"La Dolce Vida").
Rarely have so
few enjoyed so
much for so
little...or
something like
that. %^)
As per usual,
there have been
some strikes
going on in the
city of
Kathmandu...so
June 1 was
unusually quiet.
I was up at 3am
to catch up on
email, then on
the roof of our
hotel to capture
some images and
footage. Due to
the transport
strike, the only
noises I heard
were that of
birds, monkeys
and dogs.
Perfect.
(Click here to
see the video
"5am")
The World Famous
Kathmandu Guest
House
Swayambunath
from the
Kathamndu Guest
House
Dawn in
Kathmandu
Early Morning
Rooftop Garden
Rituals
At about 5:30am,
I decided,
"Maybe I should
take a closer
look!?"
(Click here to
see the video "Quiet Streets")
The Professional
Observer
It took about 45
mins of walking
to find a little
hole in the wall
(very literally)
where there was
some tea on the
boil.
(Click here to
see the video "Chatter")
Open Early for
Door Crasher
Specials
Slowly but
surely,
Kathmandu wiped
the sleep from
her eyes and
urged me to
consider a
morning meal. I
concurred and
quickly retraced
my steps to the
hotel.
(Click here to
see the video "Sweepers")
Early Morning
Vegetable Vendor
After rousing
Chris and Alex
from their
slumber pits,
breakfast was
sounding awfully
good. I can say,
quite
categorically,
the Kathmandu
Guest House has
the best chicken
breakfast
burrito I have
ever had. That's
saying a great
deal considering
I have spent a
good part of my
adult life in
Latin America.
By the time 9am
rolled around,
Chris and Alex
were hiking the
streets of
Thamel while I
communicated
with them by two
way radio. The
logistics for an
Everest
expedition (of
the nature that
we have created)
are mind
boggling, so
there is always
something to
search for or
acquire.
The afternoon
saw us heading
over to the
orphanage that
Alex has been
visiting on a
regular basis. I
now understand
why he loves to
spend so much
time there.
Alex at the
Orphanage
The infectious
smiles and
giggles of the
children was
inspiring. They
have very little
(in terms of
material
goods)...they've
lost their
parents while
they were
infants...but
they have each
other. We could
all learn from
them.
(Click here to see the video "At the Orphanage")
We brought some
indestructible
wooden puzzles
for the children
to share and,
after watching
their
imaginations
create some
complex
structures, we
decided that
June 2nd would
be a good day to
provide a feast
for the
kiddies...as
well as present
them with some
art supplies. I
can't wait to
see what sorts
of drawings they
do! We plan on
taking
individual
videos and/or
images of each
of them. We
couldn't help
but discuss how
wonderful it
would be to work
on getting
outside support
for the
orphanage and
watch these kids
grow into well
educated,
vibrant adults.
So it was
said...so it
might be done.
=^)
Another meal at
our rooftop
restaurant, this
time with
Prakash and his
associates, and
we were stuffed.
As the energy of
many live rock
bands pierced
the air of
Thamel, I laid
my head on my
pillow and
looked forward
to another early
morning.
Today will be
all about
preparing for
shooting Episode
1 of the
www.secretspot.tv
podcast and
continuing to
prepare for the
Everest trek.
Prakash has
decided we need
to head into the
hills for an
overnighter at
one of his
secret spots, so
we are going to
conduct an
interview with
him for the
podcast in said
location and
return to
Kathmandu on
June 4th.
La Dolche
Vita...=^)
Click here to go
back to our 2007
Everest Trek
index page
