Two hours by local bus ($.50/ticket) east from Kathmandu brought us to the small village of Dhulikel. We sought two things here...fresher air, and views of the eastern Himalayas. Both, it turned out were only marginally attainable at our new address. The locals here (and guidebooks) claim that on clear days you can see the entire Himalayan range, including almighty…

Continue ReadingHimalayan Foothills Part II: Dhulikel & Bhaktapur

There are so many things about North Lakeside in Pokhara (Poke-ah-ra, not Poke-ahr-a) that just make you want to drop your trekking poles, and hang out for awhile. We’re not usually into touristy places, but the clean air, abundant ethnic and vegetarian food options, juice bars, yoga classes, lakeside strolls, movie garden, Thai massages and the rock-bottom prices on everything…

Continue ReadingHimalayan Foothills Part I: Pokhara & Kathmandu

Mandy remembers spinning her new globe at age seven and being awed by all the “bumpy” bits on the round sphere indicating mountains. Among those bumps was one country that fascinated her more than any other...little Nepal because it was seemingly ALL bumps. At that age, she vowed to go...to Nepal...on the basis that it was cool and bumpy. Regardless,…

Continue ReadingThe Khopra Ridge Trail: Into the Himalayas

Journeying overland from Lucknow in India to Nepal took some initiative and significantly more determination than we’d expected, made all the more difficult because of the week long Diwali festival celebrations, which we had unfortunately mistimed to coincide with our travel days. The magic transit formula for success ended up being one Uber, one Indian train, two(!) sardine-tinned shared “taxis”,…

Continue ReadingSouthern Nepal: The Waiting Game