Nepal Trek 2009 - May 22, Kathmandu

This is the last post of my Nepal 2009 trek. You'll find an index to the entire series at the end of this entry. I sure hope you enjoyed following along with me. It was truly an extraordinary experience and one that I will always remember. I'd like to thank Jon Miller, Chris Marquardt and Monika Andrae for their time and effort to organize this trip. Mountain Tribes was a fantastic expedition company to have as our foundation for the trek - thanks to everyone there, especially Babu, Sonam and Karma, for their accommodations and hard work to make our trip a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I'd also like to thank my trekking friends (Steve, Megan, Steve, Kyle, John, John, Thilo, Jeff) for their support and encouragement.





Our last day in Nepal was spent organizing gear, having one last photography workshop exercise, and last minute shopping and errands. Steve and I went back to the jewelers to pick up my commissioned earrings and the chain for Steve's medallions. When we arrived, one of the owners was doing this cleansing rite with incense. I thought that was very interesting, and it's certainly not something one would see in the states.









Here are some of our Mountain Tribes staff members - the ones based in Kathmandu.

L to R: Babu (owner), Sonam, Pemba, and Karma.










Four of our friends from Germany were going to be staying a bit longer while the rest of us departed for home. That meant a transfer to another hotel. All their gear was loaded onto Rickshaws for the trip across Thamel.

It was really hard to say goodbye to our friends after having spent the past couple of weeks together on the trail.









Ready to move out. What a cool way to transfer to another hotel, but it sure is a practical way to transport gear on the crowded streets of Thamel.










And off they went.

The rest of us had a leisurely afternoon of packing and waiting for our ride to the airport. Then it was 36 hours of travel time to home for Steve and me.

The main thing I gained from this trip was a sense of living in the moment. I hope I can carry that with me for the rest of my life. It was so great to not be in the stress zone. I want to keep that a priority in my life. There are so many more things to experience in life - beauty, nature, friendship, love, and peace. One doesn't need to be in the stress zone. Three months after the trek, the lesson is holding. We'll see how I do as the academic calendar begins in a week or so.

At any rate, I hope my readers found this series worthwhile. Please do leave a comment to let me know your thoughts about my travel rambles.

The index to the Nepal trip by date or relevance to the date:

1 May 2009: Twitpic - waiting for flight to New York
1 May 2009: Twitpic - on the plane to New York
1 May 2009: Made it to New York
2 May 2009: Ready to fly to Hong Kong
2 May 2009: Twitpic - The view from JFK
2 May 2009: Twitpic - Steve and Megan
2 May 2009: Twitpic - Steve and Kyle
2 May 2009: Twitpic - Andi on the plane to Hong Kong
3 May 2009: Arrived in Hong Kong
4 May 2009: In Kathmandu
5 May 2009: Leaving Kathmandu tomorrow
8 May 2009: Namaste from Namche Bazaar
9 May 2009: Tengboche Monastery and Everest as a companion
12 May 2009: Stuck in the snow in Dingboche
14 May 2009: We're in Gorak Shep
15 May 2009: Climbed Kala Patthar today!
16 May 2009: Back in Dingboche
20 May 2009: Back in Kathmandu
20 May 2009: Decompressing in Kathmandu
22 May 2009: Going home this evening
3 June 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 1 - 3
5 June 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 4, Thamel (Kathmandu)
5 June 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 5, Part 1 (Swayambhunath)
6 June 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 5, Part 2 (Pashupatinath)
11 June 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 6, Lukla to Phakding
16 June 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 7, Phakding to Namche Bazaar
21 June 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 8, Namche Bazaar
1 July 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 9, Namche Bazaar to Tengboche
4 July 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 10, Tengboche to Dingboche
9 July 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 11 - 12, Dingboche
12 July 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 13, Dingboche to Lobuche
19 July 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 14, Lobuche to Gorak Shep
23 July 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 15, Climbing Kala Patthar
4 August 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 16, Gorak Shep to Dingboche
9 August 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 17, Dingboche to Loshasha
14 August 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 18, Loshasha to Monju
22 August 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 19, Monju to Lukla
28 August 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 20, Lukla to Kathmandu
4 Sep 2009: Nepal Trek 2009 - May 21, Kathmandu

And that's all, folks, except for Jon Miller's teaser episode for the Everest Trek 2009 season of The Rest of Everest podcast. Season four of the series is about to start, so please subscribe to The Rest of Everest. It's a great series and I recommend that you follow Jon's advice and start with episode "0" to get the whole picture of what Jon is trying to show about the Everest region, the culture of Tibet and Nepal, and the wonderful people of the region. There will be an Everest Trek 2010 - check in at Everestthetrek.com. It's going to be another once-in-a-lifetime experience. I wish I could go!

Leave a comment, please. Your feedback lets me know people are reading the blog. If you enjoyed the series you can also show your appreciation by purchasing my solo CD, Aisling's CD, or make a donation via my PayPal button up on the right. I do pay an annual server storage fee for posting the photos here on the blog. You can help my efforts by making a small donation. Thanks in advance for your help!