Trip to Nagarkot

July 23 2006

Three of the volunteers – Jeannine, Kayane, Gasing and I bused to Nagarkot yesterday to try and catch sight of the cloud covered Himalayas. I have not been able to see them since I arrived. Nagarkot is another village that is about an hourr bus ride up through the mountains of Kathmandu Valley. We stayed at a beautiful hotel. We each paid less than $30 CDN for our ride, stay, dinner and breakfast! It was so nice! The resort is full of patios and terraces. We had a really good view. We woke up at 4:30am to watch the sunrise from the patio off of our room. It was clear for about half an hour. I could see the tips of the snow-capped mountains through the clouds. It was so exciting. I took countless pictures! We only stayed in Nagorkot for one night but we were all so impressed that I think that there is a good possibility that we will all return! Jeannine and I hiked down this morning from the resort. It took a little over 4 hrs to get to Bhaktapur – which is a place that is famous for making pottery. They make pottery with kick wheels under little shacks outdoors and all of their pottery dries in the sun. I love it here. I could just sit and watch them all day long! I find it so fascinating. Today was my second time in Bhaktapur and I definitely want to return before I leave! Well, I sort of have to return - I bought eight cups and saucers and I have made an order for 8 drinking glasses and dinner plates! Haha. It is so funny. Jeannine is totally confused as to how I will get all this pottery home. I am not quite sure myself yet. All I know is that the cups and saucers that I bought today were about $7 CDN all together. I am not worrying about how I will get them home yet! Where there’s a will, there’s a way! I traveled home from Europe last year with a backpack full of pottery as my carry on. I have a little fetish for those of you who do not already know!

So, back to the hike! It was quite the interesting little trot down through the villages. We didn’t know exactly where to go. We had a map that was not accurately drawn to scale. We could have either followed the main road or go on a hiking trail. The hiking trail sounded more interesting to us both. We were not walking for five minutes when we ran into this young guy who was curious about which country we were from and where we were headed. He insisted that we follow him and take a so-called short cut. We did and he clearly took us on a road less traveled because we were literally walking through corn and rice fields and people’s gardens! It was evidently not the regular trail for tourists! It was certainly a fun, spontaneous little adventure though and it was all thanks to our little tour guide! Half of the trail was complete mud. At the beginning, I decided that I was going to be this brave soul and make a run for it and jump to avoid the mud. This didn’t really work out as planned. I ended up landing completely on my stomach head and hands first. The three of us were laughing hysterically! It was hilarious! Jeannine fell at least 3 times and I was flat out slipping down the rocks slash non- existent trail! It was so much fun though. And the scenery is actually unbelievable. This country is definitely the coolest place I have ever visited. I have not been here three weeks and I am already trying to figure out how I am going to get myself back here!