Nepalese Adventures

Way back in 2011 I was lucky enough to travel to Nepal with the Girl Guides. We spent two weeks travelling through the country embracing their lifestyle, meeting orphans and refugees. 

Saturday (day one)

Its was the beginning of the adventure, Nepal was mere hours away and my excitement in Manchester Airport could hardly be contained. Our first stop is London, then to Doha and finally Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. 

The flight from Doha to Kathmandu had some turbulence, its never good when you end up sat on a strangers lap whilst on the way to the loo. With the embarrassing moments over (for now that is) it was finally time to land in Nepal.
The first job was to fill in a visa and on 2-3 hours sleep, it was difficult, apparently in Nepal my name is actually a man’s name, so for two weeks I’m actually a Mr, nothing like changing your gender when you travel abroad.
Stepping outside of the airport we experienced a slight culture shock. Our first ride through the city was mind blowing! The infrastructure, the animals, the shops, just everything was unbelievably different. I loved it. It was surreal and a real eye opener

Sunday (day two)

The hotel  we are staying in is way beyond any expectations we had, the food was debatable, the electricity was limited and candles were essential.
When we began walking through the city of Kathmandu, I was again faced with another culture shock, traffic was hectic, the bikes drove with next to no rules and crossing roads was terrifying. In one piece, we made it to the Palace Museum which was a beautiful, grand and filled with ostentatious artefacts. In the hall there was a chandelier that was roughly the same size as an average sized living room. And there was a ridiculous amount of taxidermy, not the normal type either I’m talking tiger rugs and rhino horns – not my decor if I’m honest. 
In the evening we had a special welcome meal, joined by a Monk who was a Larma (someone who has been reincarnated.) He was only 8 years old so we were very lucky to meet him, he blessed us with scarves and we sat down to a meal called Dalbat, which was an array of rice, veg and poppadoms. It was safe to say that the first day in Nepal was so memorable.