We returned yesterday afternoon from our first vacation...a one-night stay in Nagarkot, 32km from Kathmandu, at 2175m elevation. This resort village is a popular destination for those who want to catch sight of the Himalayas. At this time of year, the mountains are supposed to be on full display at sunrise.
The ride there was certainly exhilarating! All of us (Amos and myself, Charlotte and Micah and Ben) awkwardly climbed onto the roof of an old bus that was too full to hold anymore people inside. An hour later, we arrived in Bhaktapur, wind-blown and achy from sitting on and holding tight to metal bars. Here we stopped and switched busses, once again ending up on the roof--this time with about 15 Nepalis. This time there was a spare tire to sit on, and I was lucky enough to snag a piece of it. Even so, after nearly two more hours of driving uphill on very narrow winding roads, I was (and I think we all were) white-knuckled, cold, and ready to be on ground again. The sweeping view of the valley below...the villages, the terraced farms and fields surrounded by lush green hills...was breathtaking, although I couldn't help but imagine how easily I could be propelled from the bus roof into all that agricultural loveliness. Thankfully, we all made it unscathed.
We rented a quaint cottage at "The End of the Universe" (a very fitting name for the resort) for the night, and woke up just before dawn to watch the sun rise over the Himalayas...and while the sun rise was beautiful (aren't they always?), the clouds overtook our view, teasing us with a few brief glimpses of those majestic peaks.
After breakfast at the lodge, we packed up and headed back down to the valley, a four hour hike through the farms and fields we had only seen from FAR above the day before. Village people greeted us and helped us navigate along the way--upholding the Nepali reputation for being the nicest people in the world. (According to me, anyway.) We even got to watch as two village women made fresh steaming hot wheat liquor (raksi) and enjoyed a taste of the surprisingly smooth brew before continuing our hike. Through villages, farms, and jungle, we made our way to Changu Narayan, a village that is home to a beautiful historic temple--its origins date back to the 4th century. We wandered through the ancient village, watched as people dried corn and grains in the hot sun. After seeing the temple at the top of the hill, we rested our weary bodies at a restaurant for lunch, then headed back to Kathmandu...this time inside a bus.
It was probably the least relaxing vacation we've ever taken, but hands down the most purely beautiful and enriching.
going a bit stir-crazy on the bus
sunrise at Nagarkot
precariously perched goats
village women making raksi
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