The Nepal we didn't know existed

With 2 weeks remaining in Nepal we had to make some decisions on what to do.  With a tourist agency on every corner in Kathmandu the choices were practically endless.  We bid farewell to our trekking buddies and boarded a bus bound for The Last Resort.  It was a very bumpy 3 hr ride to escape the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu.  We signed up for canyoning (aka repelling off of waterfalls) since we were both to chicken for bungee jumping and canyon swinging.  After getting geared up - wetsuit, harness, helmet - we found ourselves at the first waterfall.  It was about 5 ft tall and I was convinced I could've walked down it without a rope.  I remember thinking that this has got to get better, and it quickly did.  The next waterfall was 10 m high and there was no way down without the rope.  As we continued the falls kept getting bigger, with the final one topping 45 m.  Thankfully we had our waterproof camera to capture some of the moments, we would both highly recommend the repelling.  The Last Resort was very relaxing, with hammocks and cushioned chairs everywhere.  After spending the night in our tent, which had one of the most comfortable beds we've had in awhile, we opted to spend the next day relaxing.  I got a massage and Adam just hung out, trying to kick the terrible cold that seems to be following us around.  The 3 hr ride back to Kathmandu was just as bumpy and uncomfortable as the ride there....so we opted to buy plane tickets back from Chitwan, which means avoiding a 6 hr bus ride.

We arrived in Kathamandu late and had to repack our bags for rafting and safaris.  We also needed to get some cash to pay for rafting, which proved to be harder then it should have been.  The first ATM had a guy sitting in it, so we moved on.  The next was broken and the third only allowed us to withdraw a third of what we needed.  The fourth did the same and also told us that our available balance was 8,000 rupees, or $100.  Our trip was going to be cut really short if that was the case!!!  After a few stressful minutes we got logged onto our bank account online and found all of our money there....and then we found an ATM that actually let us withdraw what we needed. Vacation back on track!!!  We finished packing what we needed and stored the rest of our stuff at the hotel.  At 7 the next morning our rafting people picked us up and we got to spend another 2 hrs on the glorious roads of Nepal.

A German couple joined us on our rafting adventure and the 4 of us spent the next 3 days floating (and swimming) the rivers of Nepal.  The first day was supposed to be fairly mellow on the Trisuli River, with excitement building each day.  Our first real rapid was called Monkey rapid...because, as our guide Mila put it, it can make you jump out of the raft just like a monkey.  We hit the rapid perfectly, so perfectly that Mila yelled "get down" just has we plunged into a huge hole.  I ended up underneath the guy in front of me and Adam....well he must've jumped out just like a monkey because next thing I knew we were pulling him back into the boat!  River 1 Adam 0!!  The rest of the day was pretty mellow and the guides let Adam and I use the catamaran for the last half of the day.  The rapids feel so much bigger when you are on your own without a guide!  We managed to navigate successfully and stay onboard the catamaran, although our paddling skills are definitely subpar.  We ended the day at camp where we ate dinner and settled into our tent on the beach early.  

Day 2 offered more rapids then day one, but no swimmers.  Adam and I were in the front, which is a totally different perspective as you crash through the rapids.  Towards the end of the day the guide pulled out a "river boogie" and I took the first stab at basically swimming through the rapids.  It was hard to stay in the right place, even with flippers.  Adam took the river boogie down the last 2 rapids of the day which were much larger than anything I attempted.  It was funny watching him disappear And then pop back up in the rapids....I even got a video!

For day 3 we drove 2 hrs to the Marsyandi River which was much more action packed.  It was almost non stop from the time we put the boats in the water and required stopping to scout 2 rapids.  During scouting of the first rapid our guide explained how the last raft he took through there flipped, and that if we swam get your feet first so you don't hit the big rocks with your head.  Awesome!  Our boat was the first through and we made the first drop, and then we were sideways going into a giant hole.  The raft flipped up and I went head first into the water, but my foot was still hooked in.  The next thing I know I'm swimming towards the big rock, luckily feet first!  I managed to make my way to shore and walk to meet up with the rest of the boat, they all managed to stay in.  The 2nd boat then went through the rapid and ended up with 3 swimmers.  What an exciting start to the day.  We spent the next several hrs fighting rapids and having a blast.  We managed to keep everyone in the raft for the rest of the trip and all made it safely to the end.  We were now ready for the drive to Chitwan National Park for elephant riding safaris!

Himalayan Trek

We've been trekking in Nepal and I have to admit that it is much easier than backpacking! 

I had no idea what trekking was prior to this trip, just that the timing worked out to meet one of Julie's friends in Nepal to join in on a trip that was already planned.  We flew from Munich to Kathmandu via Dubai (that was a whirlwind of excitement that will be discussed in a later post) and met the other 5 people we would be spending 17 days trekking with.  We flew from Kathmandu to Lukla on a very small plane, capacity 16 passengers.  As luck would have it we were flying the same airline that had wrecked a plane while landing at the same destination just a week before so everybody was quite nervous but the flight made it with no problems at all.  

I quickly learned that trekking, unlike backpacking, involves me carrying a small day pack while a yak carried the rest of my crap - can you say awesome!  We spent 16 days walking through the mountains in Nepal, staying at various tea houses and lodges and continually being amazed by the beauty of the Himalayas.  We worked our way up in elevation, summiting Khala Pathar (18,500 feet) and Phokalde (19,049 feet) before heading back down.  We had amazing views of mountains such as Everest, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, and Nuptse pretty much the entire time.

Pictures to come after we sort through what we have and pick out the best

Traveling Pros

We were "those people" at the airport - you know what I'm talking about, the people in front of you who can't seem to get their crap together while you stand there staring at your watch praying you dont miss your flight!

While going through security leaving Munich they had to re-scan our crap about 5 times.  There were no signs stating that everything that might look electronic needed to be placed in its own bin.  So we did the usual, laptops by themselves andno liquids, but our shoes got to stay on.  Julie's bag got pulled, the entire contents dumped into bins and rerun (sweatshirt, rain coat, apples, a nook and our solar charger)...we knew my bag was in for a treat!  My backpack went through the machine holding a nook, iPad, steripen, and a drybag full of cords and chargers (all things that zip through U.S. security with ease) and pretty much shut down our security line while they started running everything back through a couple pieces at a time.  They were especially interested in the steripen, as they had never seen one before, and it got a special test after I explained what it was and how it worked...did I mention that after it passed its special test they ran it through the X-ray machine one last time for good measure!  The umbrella managed to make it through with one scan but was heavily scrutinized as well.

The good news is we allowed plenty of time for such occasions and were in no rush! 

It has actually been quite interesting comparing the various levels of security screenings as we have passed from country to country.  

Oktoberfest- The aftermath

  

So we appear to have survived Oktoberfest in 1 piece.  I'm really glad we decided to go there on Friday afternoon because today (Saturday) was absolutely insane.  We thought there were a ton of people around on Friday, but we still managed to make it into the tents, sit at a table (so what if it was supposed to be reserved) and order beer.  We ate lunch in a beer garden and bought awesome shades since the sun was brutal.  We even rode one of the rides (an Olympic Roller Coaster) and didn't have to wait in line. 

On Saturday we headed down to the festival at 10:00, hoping to beat the crowds.  WRONG!  It was packed when we got there.  How thousands of people can be ready to drink by 10AM is beyond me.  We managed to make it into 1 tent, but there were no seats so we headed out to a smaller beer garden.  The people kept streaming in and by 11 you could barely move.  All of the beer tents were full/closed and there were giant mobs of people at every entry.  We wondered around for a couple hrs, just taking it all in.  By 1 we had all the "fun"/people we could handle for the day and headed back to the hostel to relax.  Oktoberfest has sure been an experience, although I think we are better suited for Tulsa's version.

Oktoberfest

So at some point during our trip planning Oktoberfest sounded like a good idea, and at the same time staying in a hostel and making friends sounded like fun.  Last night we finally found our hostel and it was packed, and the attached bar was crazy.  We couldn't even make it inside the door without pushing.  We dropped off our bags in our private room (thank goodness we weren't staying in the dorm rooms!) and went to dinner where I downed a 1 L beer to calm my nerves.  Then we headed to the hostel bar.  It was amusing to watch the drunkeness....but it made me feel old.  In the last few weeks I've learned I don't deal well with crowds....and this place is CRAZY!  Hopefully I survive the next 48 hours and make it to Nepal, which should be much more in my comfort zone.

The Second Half of Ireland

Our first day in Killarney, we decided to drive around the Ring of Kerry - a loop that drives along the coastline of the Iveragh Peninsula.  At this point I was feeling quite comfortable driving on the wrong side of the road and with the steering wheel on the right side of the car but the road got quite narrow in places and as we would pass busses and other cars I could tell Julie still had a ways to go before she was comfortable as a passenger!  The scenery along the drive was very beautiful and we took a secondary loop towards the Skellig Islands where we caught some breathtaking views of the Cliffs of Kerry and stopped at the Skellig Chocolate Factory for free samples - the chocolate was so good we ended up buying several different kinds!  The end of the drive took us through the Killarney National Park where we stopped at the Muckross Waterfall and decided that we needed to spend at least part of the next day hiking in the park.  After returning to the B&B we headed out in search of the perfect place to celebrate Arthur's Day (commemorating the birthday of Arthur Guinness).  We each received a free pint of Guinness and participated in the toast at 17:59.  It was a lot of fun and we feel lucky to have found ourselves in Ireland for such a fun "holiday".

The next morning we headed back to Killarney National Park and walked a large loop which gave us spectacular views of the lakes just outside of town.  After hiking we got back in the car and headed for Dingle.  Our taxi driver the first day told us that we had to take Connor Pass if we went to Dingle, so we made sure the GPS was programmed to go that route and off we went.  Just before the pass we came upon a large stretch of sandy beach and pulled off to enjoy lunch (Nuttella sandwiches, apples, and cheese and crackers) and we were treated to watching some gliders land on the beach right in front of us.  Another glider tried to take off by getting pulled behind a Range Rover, but the conditions must not have been in his favor because he landed back on the beach almost immediately after getting in the air.  We finished up lunch and once again started driving.  Connor Pass provided some stunning views, but also some of the narrowest road we had driven on up to this point - add to that sheer drop offs and crazy locals who drove 120 km/h and we had a very exciting drive!  We got into Dingle in the early afternoon and managed to catch a boat to go out in search of Fungi, the Dingle Dolphin.  We were lucky enough to see Fungi and also somehow managed to avoid the rain that seemed to be coming down all around the bay.

Our plans to take a ferry out to Blasket Island were spoiled when we were informed that the swells were too large to sail, so we settled for a walk along the coast.  We were able to see Fungi again from shore and also got some exercise as we walked for almost 3 hours.  We started the afternoon with a drive around the Dingle Peninsula before checking out the tour at the Dingle Brewery and eating dinner  in town.  Dingle was probably one of our favorite little towns in Ireland.

We woke to rain the next morning and took our time getting ready to go.  We headed towards the town of Doolin, where we would be staying for one night, which is close to the Cliffs of Moher.  We checked in to our B&B and went out in search of a footpath we had heard of that would go all the way from Doolin to the cliffs.  Although the trail ended before reaching the visitor center and commercialized portion of the cliffs, we got to see some amazing views that most tourists miss out on when they just go to the "official" spot.  We were entertained with traditional irish music in one of the pubs in town that night and the next morning we drove to the commercialized spot, where we paid our 12 Euros to go look at the cliffs.  Although we were spoiled by the wall free and not crowded views from the day before, the views from this spot were also quite breathtaking and we are glad we went.

Our next night was to be spent in a castle, which I was excited about.  We drove there not really knowing what to expect, but when we pulled up to the front of the Kinnitty Castle Hotel we were not disappointed.  The castle was built in the 1200's and was in spectacular shape.  We stayed in the Hutchinson Suite - which meant our room was enormous.  Like the rest of the hotel it was furnished with antique furniture, probably from the 1800's, and the whole place just had an awesome vibe.  We went for an 8 Km walk that afternoon to go see the ruins of an original castle built on the property.  The ruins were most unimpressive (one very small wall) and we ended up getting absolutely drenched in a rainstorm about 30 minutes before getting back to the castle.  We dried up and ate dinner in the Library Bar.  The food was outstanding (we split the baked fish of the day) and the atmosphere was awesome, despite there only being a few people in the place.  Breakfast the next morning was equally good and we were both disappointed that our plans only called for one night there.

The last two nights in Ireland were spent in Dublin.  As we drove into the city we planned to drop our luggage off at the hotel before returning the rental car.  Little did we know that the GPS would be of absolutely no use in the city (telling us to drive on streets that no longer existed and wanting us to go the wrong way down one-way streets) and when you add that to fact that people and bus drivers there are absolutely nuts it made for a very frustrated driver and passenger!  We made one attempt at finding the hotel (which was in the middle of the city center) before giving up, heading to the rental car place, and taking a cab.  Dublin was having an Oktoberfest celebration, so we checked it our our first night in town.  We spent the second day touring around the city where we visited the Guinness Storehouse and Kilmainham Gaol (pronounces jail).  The tour was neat and we got a good feel for the history of the city and Ireland's path to independence. We went out our last night in town to find some traditional irish dancing, and although we had to stay up later than we would have otherwise, we were not disappointed by the show.  It helped that we got to set at a table where there was a Guinness Tap and we could pour our own pints all night!  Julie especially enjoyed trying to make designs on the top of each beer she poured.


To check out all of our pictures from Ireland click here

HOLY COW...

I can't believe it has been 4 months on our adventure.  Looking back it seems like yesterday that we worked our last days, yet I can't imagine anything else.  We have been to Alaska, Lake Powell, hiked the Colorado Trail, visited Iceland, London, and Ireland.  Friends back home have given birth, and moved to different cities.  It is amazing how quickly things happen yet at the same time life seems to stand still.   Thank you to everyone who has sent a supportive message or followed our blog.  We are experiencing the journey of a lifetime and so far it has been amazing.  Life's too short to question, so do what you love now and live every day like it is your last.  (Looking up to you Uncle Pete.....we miss you every day).