The third weekend in April, we had another long weekend in India (Good Friday off!). Meadows and I went back and forth on what to do and where to go, but we ultimately chose to visit Nepal. This was one weekend that was totally not what we expected… for better and for worse!
When planning our weekends, there are about a million things to consider: How much does it cost? How much is our weekend per diem? What are the flight times (we always have to fly after 5pm when leaving)? How far is the airport? What’s the weather like? What’s our baggage allowance? YOU GET THE IDEA!! And sometimes I’ve been burned by not remembering to check something before booking. This time I completely missed that Friday, April 14 was the Nepalese New Year.
When we landed in Kathmandu late on Thursday evening, the city was a zoo. People were out celebrating and going wild. Meanwhile, we were exhausted. We checked into our cute hotel and called it a night.
We expected things to have died down by Friday. Meadows and I prepared ourselves for a day of tourism around Kathmandu. Alas, the New Year celebrations continued all day long. We waited over an hour for a taxi before finally giving up.
In an attempt to save the day from being a total waste, we visited the rooftop pool for some sun and relaxation.
In the evening, we ate a traditional Nepalese dinner. Check out all the different foods and sauces – and the unique presentation!
On Saturday morning, we woke up at the crack of dawn. We had to be up at 4am to leave our hotel in time for our Everest flight! This excursion was certainly the most anticipated part of our Kathmandu trip. A small plane takes about 25 people up in a plane early in the morning for a clear view of the Himalayas and a close-up of Mount Everest!
We arrived at the airport excited for our adventure, but we waited. And waited. And waited. The monkeys entertained us as they ran around the rafters and occasionally dropped down to steal someone’s breakfast. Before we knew it, our flight was delayed due to weather.
To make a sad story short: after multiple delays and finally boarding the plane, all flights to Everest were canceled because of the bad weather. We even inquired about rebooking for the next day, but all flights were full 🙁 So, no Everest for us!
Thankfully, our driver waited for us. We got back to the hotel, ate breakfast and regrouped. Since we were unable to see anything on Friday, we tried our hand at tourism again on Saturday.
In case you don’t know anything about Nepal, the country suffered a massive earthquake back in 2015. The destruction was catastrophic, with almost 9,000 people killed and over 21,000 injured. The country has made great strides in the last two years, but you can still see evidence of the earthquake.
Though many of the roads are paved, we encountered some unpaved areas after a bout of rain (mud everywhere!).
After a long drive through the busy Kathmandu streets, we arrived at Boudhanath. This is a giant Buddhist stupa – one of the largest in the world! Surrounded by shops, the stupa soars higher than anything nearby. And just as the crazy winds wrecked our Everest flight, they also tore down the stupa’s colorful flags.
Although the complex buzzed with visitors, I found it very peaceful. Meadows and I began by walking around the stupa – an old myth says this will cleanse you of your sins!
The site was on the trade route from Tibet, so it has been holy ground for centuries. The stupa as we know it today was built sometime in the 14th century, symbolizing peace.
We climbed up the stairs to get some photos. You can see how truly large it is!
During our visit, one man scrambled to restore the strings of flags that had fallen. He almost had them back in place by the time we left!
Our final stop on our driving tour was Swayambhunath. We had to climb 365 stairs to get to the Buddhist architectural site on top of the mountain. It was not an easy climb…
The view from the top was breathtaking (meaning: we were panting, but also totally in awe of how high up we were)! You can see in my picture the steep stairs, the rubble remains from the 2015 earthquake and Kathmandu in the distance down below us.
A smaller stupa sits in the middle of the complex, surrounded by smaller temples and shrines.
As we walked around, the mischievous monkeys were up to no good …as usual. I got one of my favorite photos of our travels: a monkey eating his stolen ice cream cone!
We even found a maze of mini stupas nearby.
Having driven all over Kathmandu, we called it a day. Meadows and I returned to the hotel, where we revisited the rooftop pool for sunset. It was a picture perfect end to the day; the sun reflected perfectly on the water.
As always, we ate well. Our hotel, Baber Mahal Vilas, is attached to a nice shopping area with great restaurants. We did a bit of shopping there and enjoyed a fabulous meal. Sadly, Meadows wouldn’t let me buy the 20kg brass elephant I wanted.
On our flight back to New Delhi the next day, I captured some nice pictures of the Himalayas. It almost made up for our canceled flight. The weekend wasn’t exactly what we thought it would be, but we had a good time anyway.
