Travels in Nepal #13 What a view
Scene from our lodge in Monjo, Nepal
The most amazing thing about the trek I did in Nepal in January of this year was my reaction to the mountain views. I could not come to terms with the fact that mountains could be so high, so steep and so magnificent. At every turn I could have taken dozens of photos. I did take a large number of photos and only some are featured here on this blog.
The photo above was taken from the back door of the lodge where we stayed in the village of Monjo. This village is on the trek I did from Lukla to Tengboche. It is the same track one takes to get to Everest Base Camp. What a view to have at your back door. The mountain shown in the photo – I haven’t worked out its name yet – towers several thousand metres above the village. It seemed only a few kilometres away.
Since arriving back home I have shown some of these photos to family and friends. Several have asked me if the colour of the sky is accurate. Yes, it is. We were fortunate that the weather during our trek was bright and sunny on all days except one.
Related posts:
Central Zoo Kathmandu
Thursday 19th January 2006.
 This morning I woke with a headache, the first for the whole trip. After taking a paracetamol and having a good breakfast I was fine. I then had a rumbly tummy for a while but by 10am I was feeling a lot better. I have been surprised that I haven’t had any other headaches along the way and my stomach upsets have been quite mild. With all the different foods I have eaten, some of it very spicy, I though that I may have had more problems.
 Central Zoo, Kathmandu , Nepal
I tried to access my email but all internet access was unavailable. Mid morning I used one of the hotel drivers to take me to Central Zoo. The entry fee was Rs100 (A$2) plus Rs10 for my camera. The zoo in Kathmandu is a sad, run-down affair. It looks tired and few changes seem to have occurred since it was built in the Nineteenth Century. In fact, many of the cages are 19th Century in style with no attempts apparent to bring the exhibits up to modern standards. Despite these criticisms I spent two very pleasant hours wandering around the enclosures. The bars and wire fences made photography a challenge but I managed to get some very good shots.
The main purpose of visiting the zoo was to view the many animals and birds of Nepal I missed seeing in the wild. I was disappointed that they didn’t have any Red Pandas in their collection. This is one of my favourite animals and Nepal is a stronghold of this wonderful animal.
 Patan
After leaving the zoo I walked down the hill from there for about a half hour. This gave me another area of the city to explore as I went along. Being the only foreigner in that part of Patan I was the centre of attention. Many people at the zoo had also stared at me as well as my expensive looking camera. One man even spoke to me in good English and made his son shake my hand and practice speaking English to me. He was delighted to find out that I was an Australian. At least there is one country where Australians are looked up to and respected. As I walked along the street I was acutely aware of the stench of sewage. Sure enough, looking down some broken parts of the path revealed the source of the smell.
Off to Bangkok Thailand
Wednesday December 28th 2005
This morning I had just a few last minute things to pack before my overseas trip to Thailand and Nepal. It is my first trip overseas. I anticipate it being very exciting, challenging and culturally different. I successfully tried to keep a lid on my emotions. This was one of the biggest and most challenging things I have ever attempted but I must keep rational and level headed.
Adelaide Airport
Just before 11am we set off to drive to Adelaide. Simon drove us in the hire car they were using while on holiday here in South Australia. It took us little over an hour to get to the Adelaide Airport. Once there I checked in and then we bought a light snack for lunch. Soon the time came to board the aircraft and to say farewells to Corinne, Simon and Leanne. Again I kept my emotions and anticipations in check.
Rough Trip to Melbourne
I was not prepared for the slightly claustrophobic feel of the plane to Melbourne. The sudden acceleration was also something I hadn’t experienced before. There were some quite turbulent periods during the flight, especially over the Grampians I think. I didn’t have a good window view being in an aisle seat.
Melbourne International Airport
I eventually found my way to the Melbourne International Terminal and checked in for the flight to Bangkok. There was a small delay because I hadn’t received a baggage coupon at Adelaide Airport. The woman at the desk had to do it manually. I didn’t have to worry about my suitcase as it was being automatically forwarded to Bangkok. The passport check-in took another 15 minutes because there was quite a line up. I then headed for the waiting lounge and found a seat for the 90 minute wait for boarding.
Long Flight to Bangkok
At 5pm the Thai Airlines plane started boarding and the plane was under way on time a 5:30pm (Victorian time). The nine hour journey to Bangkok was long and tiring. The seat was reasonably comfortable but it was far noisier in the cabin than I had anticipated. I really felt for the parents of two children three rows in front of me. They had a 4 year old and a one year old. The younger one was very tearful and grizzly but thankfully for everyone he went to sleep about an hour into the flight, giving everyone, especially his mother about six hours of peaceful respite.
The cabin crew was good and kept plying us with food and drinks. An hour or so into the flight we were given dinner. I didn’t really need as much water as Simon had suggested. He has to take quite a quantity of water on his international trip because the plane air conditioning dehydrates him too much. An hour or so out of Bangkok we were given another meal. I am not used to eating at midnight but I was thankful later because breakfast was a long way off. This is because of the three and a half hour time difference between home and Thailand.
The flight was uneventful, the best kind according to Rose. We had a few bumps over central Australia, Bali, Borneo and Vietnam. These short bits of turbulence were nothing dramatic, merely a little inconvenience. After the unpleasant trip to Melbourne this was smooth most of the way.