Close you eyes. Really...please
close them after reading the next
three sentences. Can you imagine
complete silence!? Picture a place
with every comfort you can imagine.
Picture a place where you can watch
fireflies frolic in dense
vegetation...while looking thousands
of feet below...into a valley with a
few pin pricks of light. Now you are
are experiencing exactly what I am
experiencing.
Diesel
Landcruiser
Prakash met us at our hotel at 4pm
on June 3rd...along with one of his
business partners, Money, a driver
named Sook...and a 1989 BJ60 Landcruiser. I felt like I was home.
(Click here to
view the video
"Right Hand
Drive")
It took us the better part of an
hour just to get out of a very busy Kathmandu. We saw tractor like
vehicles hauling wood though crowded
streets.
Wonder
Wagon
I saw two boys wheeling a velocipede
(ancient bicycle) laden with a huge
bag of (?!?!)... along the side of
the road. They were grinning from
ear to ear.
Another
Velocipede
There were other industrious fellows
sawing wood into boards with a
sawmill that was straight out of the
19th century.
(Click here to
view the video
"Sawmill")
A Typical
Nepali Sawmill
Everywhere were people going about
their routine lives with alacrity. I
pondered how many photographs could
make up thousand of picture essays.
Too many for me to ever capture. The
memories are forever etched into my
brain.
All Smiles
Sook bounced us down the road like a
pinball in a complex pinball
machine. There were so many close
calls with other vehicles that it became comical. In this
chaos there is a beauty that can't
be related...only experienced.
Oh...look! A sign that says. 'Nagarkot....15km'.
Hmmmm...I have a feeling we are
about to start climbing some hills.
This time our driver and his 3.5L
diesel engine do all the work while
we marvel at the circuitous road
that takes us to over 6600 feet. One
hotel advertised, "Where Heaven
Meets the Earth'. In my opinion it's
better than that.
A fork in the road...and we
definitely take the road less
traveled. Was Robert Frost talking
about this place in his poem.
Physically...no. Figuratively...yes.
Oh...we're the only people in this
beautiful hotel?! We can live with
that. A short glass of Johnny Walker
Red Label on the patio with a view
to die for. We are all smiling and
the clouds beg us to stay outside
for a few more minutes. What's
this?! A live chicken?! Chris and I
take it to the kitchen...and in a
few seconds we have sacrificed a
bird for dinner. Chicken Masala,
Dahl Bat, French fries, buckets of
ice, soda water, more chicken,
spinach, etc, etc. It just keeps
flowing.
Chris and
Money
We try to solve the problems of the
world by candle light...but we still
keep coming up with the same result:
to trust is to love.
Candlelight Dinner
Lightning strikes in the distance
and we silently wonder how we became
so fortunate. The fireflies remind
me of a pine forest I visited in
Ecuador before climbing Chimborazo
in 1993. They also remind me that
there are exceptional places on this earth where
we can recharge our batteries with
some wilderness therapy. It's about
15 degrees Celcius(60 degrees
Fahrenheit) with the slightest of
breezes. Sweat was constantly
pouring down my brow in Kathmandu,
but here I feel perfectly
comfortable. I'm offered another
glass of Whiskey and more food! We
laugh and eat...then eat and laugh
as conversation turns to the
orphanage and how we can be of more
service to the kids. Alex is full of
great ideas about how to bring more
support to the orphanage while Chris
commits to bringing a computer for
the kids on
our next visit. If we can
communicate with these children, by
email, and help fund their education
via donations from those who are more
affluent...then we can watch them
grow into productive adults. It
seems that $4KUSD will allow 10 kids
to go to private school for a whole
year. We had better get to work...
It's 12:30am right now. I hope that
the clouds dissipate and I wake up
to a view of the Himalaya. I've
asked for a 4am wake up call. Chai
tea on the patio with a virtually
unlimited view?! I hope I can
witness the sun creep across the
landscape. Can one see into the
future. Can I see myself on that
peak that is currently obscured by
darkness. Yes I can. I'll add some
images to this update in the morning
and type out a few more thoughts.
At 3am it was quite dark and very
cloudy. I wonder if the clouds will
allow us to see the Himalaya. At 4am
Money is good enough to knock on my
door...as I had asked. I only know
this because Alex told me so. I
guess I was sawing logs and
oblivious to the knocks on the
door?! It must of been a good dream.
I only remember finding a flashlight
I am missing, but when I woke up it
was still missing. %^)
View out my
Window at 5am
At around 5am I wake up and see two
very sleepy looking fellows walking
around the patio. As I wipe the
sleep from my eyes I realize those
two guys are Chris and Alex. I guess
they shooed some of the clouds away.
(Click here to
view the video
"Sunrise")
There is sporadic drizzle, but
we take picture after picture. Words
like 'spectacular' and 'astounding'
come to mind. Soon we'll be in those
mountains. I can't wait...
Sea of
Clouds
Sunrise in
Nagarkot
Prakash has delivered an experience
that has far exceeded my
expectations...and we still have a
16 day trek ahead of us. Have you
ever just giggled to yourself about
your good fortune?! I have
before...and I'm doing it right now.
Moth
I've said before that 'It is in the
wilderness that we find our true
hearts.' Places like this bring
these thoughts to the forefront.
Prakash
Prepares for an Interview
After breakfast, we shoot some
footage for our first video podcast...then head back to Kathamndu to
prepare for the 16 day trek.
(Click here to
view the video
"Fast Food
Sunset Cafe")
(Click here to
view the video
"Almost
Back")
Prakash
has determined that we now need a
dozen porters to handle all our gear
and he's really keen to employ as
many people as possible. Prakash is
one of those rare people who truly
wants to give back to his community
and I think he tries to make every
business transaction positively
effect the local people. We have
definitely found a logistics person
who shares our views and understands
the missions of our expeditions. We
are fortunate.
A unified team beats with one heart.
Click here to go back to our 2007
Everest Trek index page
