Nepal Traveling Adventure

Day 3- April 14 - Goodbye Hong Kong | Hello Kathmandu

2012-04-14T22:28:00.003-07:00

Today was adventurous day and has seemed like many days in one. After departing from my hotel that is situated in the Hong Kong Airport. I made my way through check-in and security to what was an amazing international departure area. The shopping that was there was ridiculous, it was like Rodeo drive and every shop was bustling with customers and cash registers ringing them up. Channel, Gucci, Louis V, the list goes on.

I decided to do a little shopping myself, although it wasn’t nearly as exciting as those shops. I went and found a little electronics shop and bought a camera, it was even on sale. I think I made out quite well as you can see that the guy included everything in the photo. They are obviously very prepared for those who a.)lose their camera 2.)broke their camera. So I am happy to finally have a camera and the best part is I will always remember where I got it since it has the Hong Kong voltage plug! After feeling accomplished with my camera I wandered around for a few hours and picked up a Starbucks. I was sort of disappointed in myself for not trying something unique to Hong Kong, but the drink was fantastic and I forgot about my guilt. I used these handy little carts so my back took a break which was nice.

At 4:30 my departure gate finally popped up the screens so I decided I would wander down to check it out. Well needless to say they really felt the need to put us what seemed like a few miles away. Down a whole slew of escalators, take a tram, then walk all the way to the end, then there was poor little gate 46. Kathmandu.

I take a seat among the perhaps 5 people who made it there before me, and decide to charge my camera and see how the pictures came out. What do you think? After sitting for a while I decide to roam around in our little wing and pick up a few refreshments. I make my way back to the gate 46 and find an outlet to charge my things, particularly my camera. The man sitting next to me points out that he just bought the same camera as his stopped working. We laugh that we must have had the same salesman. He is heading to Kathmandu too and it trekking to Base Camp. He will leave tomorrow for Lukla, so perhaps Miss A and him will cross paths. Small world. I fill him in on Miss. A’s adventure and he asks a few questions about the conditions. He is originally from London, but moved to Canada a few hundreds miles east of Vancouver. I even took a photo of him and this little stuffed alligator that is his daughters toy and he will take photos along the way. Happy to know I had a little part.

From we finally boarded. The plane is fairly empty, but I end of having a seat mate. We ended up talking for most of the plane ride. She is heading to Pokhara and trekking over there with a friend. She was originally from Ireland and moves to Australia for a job. She works in the financial side of business. Her and I talked about family and was surprised at how much we had in common. The large majority of the planes passengers are trekkers, or atleast not Nepalese.

Wow, we are flying over Calcutta and it is huge from the air. I wonder what it is like on the streets. It looks magical from the sky.

I cannot believe that I will landing so soon, only 1.5 hours left until I reach Kathmandu. It’s been a long journey to get here, but it’s really only going to be starting. I will be excited to land and make my way through the visa process and find my ride to the hotel.

As we fly nearly at 38,000 feet, the outside sky is once again beautiful with bright stars and I can even make out the milky way galaxy- well the rest of it. Yet the most fascinating thing is I see a large city below us. It is a spectacular site. I believe we are over Vietnam North of Rangood but still quite a ways from Calcutta. I look at the stars thinking that they are the same that I see in my nighttime sky. Travel is so fascinating.

Just landed!

We walked off the airplane, I was nearly the last one off, so I got this great picture of our plane! I then hopped onto a crazy packed little shuttle bus that took us to the immigration and baggage pick up.

First thing you do after getting into the immigration building is fill out your visa (which I had already done) and a little mini information card. It was pretty easy to do and I beat the long line because my visa was already done. One thing to note is make sure you have a pen because I don't recall seeing any there. The immigration was a three step process. First you pay (only cash), then you scoot down the counter to another person who takes care of reviewing your visa and gluing it in your passport, then the third person hand writes the information onto your visa. All in all a pretty simple process.

After that you head into the baggage claim area. It was pretty quiet when we got there, but there are actually three carousels and an amazing about of baggage carts which leads me to believe that it is normally quite busy.

When leaving the baggage area they check for your luggage claim tag, which I thought was wonderful considering the high cost of most trekking and climbing gear.

Upon leaving the baggage area you wander down a corridor that heads out to the front of the airport. If you are waiting for a driver to pick you up, as I was, they are all waiting across the street on this little island with signs. Amazingly you sort of wave and make eye contact and they meet you over. Thankfully my sign was bring orange and the driver was very quick to see my timid hand in the air.

As we are walking through the parking lot, I am enjoying the site of all the little quirky cards, but am surprised to see my driver has a brand new mini SUV by Suzuki. The car ride to the hotel was about 15 minutes and not that scary at all. The only thing that was tricky for me is that they drive on the right side of the road, so that turned me around. I have to believe he was driving cautiously too.

When we arrived to the hotel I felt very important. They were expecting me and had water and asked if they could get me anything else.

I was then shown to my cute little room overlooking the garden space.

The room is perfect and the staff is wonderful. I will take some better photos tomorrow morning. I am going to hop off to bed. Hope you are all well.

Xoxo,

Sarah

Banner Photo Courtesy of Rehvonwald

Day 2 - April 13 - Goodbye America | Hello Hong Kong

2012-04-14T02:46:00.001-07:00

Hello and Greetings from 38,000 ft in the sky. Today was a bizarre and quick day - since when I passed the international date line, it became the 14th day - but we will pretend it was the 13th until I landed. :) Thank goodness my Friday the 13th was quick and short, nothing like the flight! The flight was a little under 14 hours, which needless to say was quite a long time. Nothing to exciting happened on the plane and I had a lovely window seat to boot. You may wonder why there are no photos, well in true flustered Sarah fashion I lost my camera somewhere, thank goodness it was a little cheap one. I will update you tomorrow with details.

Also I had two nice seat mates on the long flight and we all seemed to be in sync with our legs cramping up. Toward the end of the flight the man sitting next to me, who couldn't have been more than a few years older than me, informed me his father had just passed and he was going to his funeral. My heart sank, I felt like I was the first stranger he had told that news to. His eyes welled up when he talked about his Dad, I can only hope he had the opportunity to see and talk to him prior to his passing. My seat buddy lived in Orlando and was asking me all about Florida and if I had been. You should have seen his smile when he talked about Disney World, I was happy to see Mickey cheer him up.

The two things that were stunning on the flight was looking out the window. The nighttime sky was brilliant with millions of beautiful stars and then the moon made an appearance and kept me company while the rest of the plane seemed to sleep. Then the most beautiful sunrise, I watched out the window for nearly one hour waiting and waiting for the sun to peek out over the horizon. The deep blue sky as the sun was nearly to the horizon was breathtaking and I longed to take a photo, but I know that it wasn't going to capture the beauty. All in all it was a pretty effortless flight and I am now onto my third book. Hoping I can drop off my books to a fellow traveler somewhere along the way.

After the flight I headed over to the hotel that is attached to the airport. My goodness it was a long, long walk and I hadn't come to my senses about getting a little cart that you can use for free. Thank you to the Hong Kong airport for providing these for free, you have saved my back! I guess the thing I wasn't ready for was the humidity and somewhat lack of air conditioning. After arriving to the lobby, and a small mix-up with my reservation I made it to my room, ate a enormous meal, showered, skyped and went to bed.

Hope you are all doing wonderful!

xoxo,

Sarah

Day 1 - April 12

2012-04-12T22:22:00.002-07:00

Plane Leg 1 of 4 – United States

Well the adventure has officially begun. I am currently on my first leg of my four leg flight! I cannot believe that the day has come! I started the day with getting to sleep in! One of my favorite things to do, especially getting a few more moments in bed with my love. Oh, first off I should mention that at the request of Mr. A I ditched my wheelie carry-on (he wasn’t a fan although I was sort of obsessed with it)and we made a midnight trip to Walmart to get a new pack. It’s pretty sweet and yellow! Hard to beat. I think this will be a much better option and on top of that it helps with the legitimacy of my “adventure” to Nepal. I will fit in with the backpackers/trekkers! Also my whole outfit vide is very hippy today, so I told Mr. A that it was the missing piece. The pack is great since I have two changes of clothes since this journey will take a total of three days! P.S. There may or may not have been a midnight trip to McDonalds for my sodium intake and soon to be lack of hamburgers…really it was enjoyed.

Anyways, back to the earlier today. We left a bit early and picked up lunch at one of my favorite gyro places and then drove off to the airport. It was just starting to rain when I left and hopefully the rain doesn’t last too long. Once we arrived at the airport, I went over to the wrong airline (think I am frazzled?) and didn’t understand why the kiosk was malfunctioning…obviously an operator error! Anyways, I quickly sorted in out and we began our journey to the right check-in desk. All went smooth and after a very long goodbye to my love I was waiting for take-off.

I am so excited and feel so lucky for this fantastic opportunity. I wonder the immediate changes that will occur within me and those that will take years to manifest. I am itching to know about this fascinating culture and meet the lovely people along the way. This will be my first time ever in a third world country and I surely have my worries and stresses on how I will react. I think my heart will ache to see not only the adults suffering, but also the children. The chaste system in very prevalent in Nepal and something that I have limited knowledge of, so hopefully I can learn more and educate myself on what is surely a very unjust concept. I am so delighted I have this opportunity.

The view from the plane is beautiful and at 38,000 ft above sea level, I am officially at a higher altitude than my little sister! She just reached Everest Base Camp and at the moment is starting her trek down the mountain. A super exciting feat and one that I will be excited to hear about! It is perfect sunny day above the lovely fluffy clouds – my older sister’s favorite! It truly is amazing that I will be literally around the world by tomorrow evening. Life and technology is remarkable. I imagine travelers who sailed remarked the same thing ‘my can you believe you can reach India in over 3 months…remarkable times’ so perhaps I date myself, but I am impressed none-the-less. Thank goodness the Wright brothers came along! I guess I am rambling a bit, but I suppose I will write a lot here, so bear with me! You will get to know me in a completely different way!

Well we have been in the air for about an hour and have about two more to go. I have brought a large selection of reading material, journals and my handy little mini ipod. Other than that I am going to observe and soak it in. Well that is all for this leg. I will write again on Leg 2 of 4.

Update: We are just crossing the Rocky Mountain range, pretty bumpy, but amazing to think about the range of mountains that I will see along the way.

It was amazing to see all the advertising that airlines now do during flight. I guess I was surprised that they also were obsessed with selling their credit card. I guess it's the only way they can make extra money, and perhaps it keeps the prices down for the rest of us, but I was surprised even with the advertisement on the tray table.

We made it to land! Horray! One leg down, three to go! I am feeling great and even though it was a fairly long flight, nothing can prepare me for the 14 hour flight coming up. Oh my! Well I am off to go get some food and find my gate. Mmm the Philly Ham sandwich was wonderful.

Plane Leg 2 of 4 – United States

Waiting a short amount of time at the airport ready to start leg 2 of 4!

Up, up and away! We are on our way once again and the view is beautiful again. The flight was pretty uneventful and I was enveloped in my book. Getting more and more excited as I near Nepal ever minute.

The view flying in to the Bay was just beautiful. We saw some very lovely bridges and even though the weather was a bit dreary, it was a lovely site to see. Now that I have made it to the coast, the big haul is coming up!

Landed once again! I have officially arrived and have made it past luggage pick-up as well as finding the international departure terminal. After picking up my checked bag from the baggage claim, I wandered over to the International terminal. The walk to the international terminal seemed like a mile hike, but who knows perhaps I took the wrong turn somewhere. Yet, with a little luck I found the correct path, only to find the whole check in terminal empty. Just me and my luggage!

After realizing that the ticket counter wouldn't open for another three hours I decided it would be a good time to snag some dinner. It was a wonderful dinner and I sat in the corner eating and reading. Although my first choice would be having dinner with Mr. A, this was a wonderful and relaxing dinner.

While waiting for my ticket counter to open, I just happened upon a vintage motorcycle exhibit. My husband is a huge fan of vintage and rare motorcycles. So enjoy Mr. A!

I made it past security with absolutely no line! What a great time to book your flight. I was really hoping to find an ice cream shop or any restaurant with ice cream or soft serve, but to no avail. Thus I had a few moments to skype with Mr.A, which I still find amazing. After charging my gadgets and saying goodnight I wandered the fairly small international wing and people watched. Some flight to Vietnam was delayed because of the weather here. As a result of the delay they had given food vouchers, so the line to this little shop probably had over 200 people in line.

Anyways - I will be here until tomorrow waiting for my flight in just a hours. Hope you are all having a wonderful day where-ever you may be!

Thank you to everyone for the well wishes and love sent my way over the last few days. Much love to you all and I will write again soon. Also thank you for taking the time to read this (I know it is rather long) and please feel free to comment below , email me or facebook me, I’d love to hear from you. Next post will be from Hong Kong! Love you guys!

Xoxo,

Sarah

*Disclaimer: For our safety, I will be adding more detailed flight information and hotels once we move on to the next location. Thanks for understanding!

Tomorrow...almost

2012-04-11T00:44:00.002-07:00

I guess it is nearly official!! I just received the email from my Airline to check in!!! WOW! It will be such a wonderful, albeit long ride to get there, but who's complaining!

I am technically leaving tomorrow, although it is 3am in the morning 2 days before and I have yet to go to bed. A little bit of jitters about heading to such a far off place. I am extremely sad to be leaving my best friend and the love of my life behind. It's a bizarre feeling to be so excited and sort of down at the same time. I hope I can share the experiences along the way so no one feels left out, but no one likes being left behind. I will surely miss him so much.

Well enough with the gloom! Everything is nearly officially ready, double confirmed all of my reservations, airport pick-up, and have quadrupled checked my check-off packing list. Even more than that, everything here is settled and ready to go. We are in the mists of some big life changes, so there was a lot to tie down here first and I feel accomplished!

I have posted some images below that were taken by my sister (if you want to use the images, please contact me first) when she first arrived in Kathmandu just a few weeks ago. Until I get there I thought this would be something nice to look at! :)

Well I am off to get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day of running about and eating my last few meals on American soil.

Best,
Sarah

Getting Ready

2012-04-09T13:10:00.003-07:00

Well, I cannot believe it but the trip is just around the corner! I have my bags just about packed as well as my carry on! Wow, there are so many wonderful and exciting things that will be on this adventure! I thought I would go over all of the things I am bringing and hope that I have the right things!

I had a lovely dream last night about my adventures going to Nepal and I am just so excited. I ended up buying this fantastic book all about Nepal and the Architectural History of Kathmandu and it has just ignited my interest all over again! I will add a post about the book and link it {here}

Packing List

Bug Spray
Sun Screen
Toilet Paper (you never know :) )
Scarfs/Cover Ups
Toiletries (Shampoo/Conditioner, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, make-up, medication)
2 Shoes
Hiking Boots
Undies & bras
Socks
3 Hats
2 Pairs of Cargo Pants
4 Capris
8 Shirts
Sleeping Clothes
Fruit Snacks
Candy - don't judge my sweet tooth!
Gum
First Aid Kit
Gatorade Dry Packs
Binoculars
Ipod
Headphones
Laptop
Camera
Books
Itinerary
Passport
Copies of Passport - and 1 left home
Extra Passport photo for Visa
Cash
Note: High heels/wedges are for our stop over on our way back from Nepal.

I will add more as I progress onward. I feel so lucky to have this amazing experience and hope you enjoy the journey along the way.

Xoxo,
Sarah

Bank & Money Exchange

2012-02-06T07:40:00.000-08:00

Nepalese Rupee Exchange Rate is currently at USD $1.00 = .01 Np Rupee.

For current rates view {Click Here for Updated exchange) Make sure not to confuse the Nepal Rupee with the Indian Rupee, they are different!

How to Get Rupees
When I first started planning my trip I was surprised (sort of) that AAA didn't provide any sort of service to Nepal, therefore I was going to have to get the Nepal currency, Rupees, when I arrived off the airplane in Kathmandu.

To exchange your money you will need the following:
Passport

US Cash, Travelers Cheque, or Credit Card

Save Your Foreign Exchange receipt

Banks
You can easily get Rupee's at banks in Kathamndu, Pokhara and other larger towns. Be aware of the bank hours. The best private banks according to Lonely Planet are Standard Chartered Bank and the Himalaya Bank Nepal.

Money Exchangers
Better rates, but higher commision. Better hours usually opened from 9am-7pm.

ATMs
Luckily there are plenty of places to exchange your money. Kathmandu also has up-to-date ATM's, although cards that run on the Ciruss system sometimes won't work. (Learn more about Ciruss here.) As long as you have a Visa, American Express or Mastercard you will have no problem either getting cash or paying for hotel. Another suggestion that I would have is finding a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. Just google it and you can read more about it. Please be aware that there are rolling blackouts (shedding) and this can mean that some of the atm's may not work, so don't ever be caught without cash. Check before you leave if your credit card will charge you large fees associated with pulling cash. Check it out with your credit card company prior to leaving.

Travellers Cheques
It seems as though this is still the safest and cheapest option. US dollars are the preferred way to exchange money. The are much safer than cash, but beware that you must be in Kathmandu to cash them.
Emergency Money & Transfers
For international transfers there are a few options which are quite easy. You will need your passport and any code for pick-up. Also note that usually the transfers will be in Nepal Rupees.
Moneygram

Moneygram is affiliated with Easylink, which has offices in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bodhnath and Butwal.

Western Union

Agents in Nepal include Nabil Bank, Sita World Travel and Yeti Travels.

Tips
When shopping make sure to try to get your large bills to smaller ones. Taxis and rickshaws only take small bills! (Read more here about safety and where to store your bills)

It is important to retain your exchange receipts in order to apply for visa extension and re-conversion of left-over Nepalese rupees when you leave Nepal.

Learn more about tipping and other customs.

Images Provided In Top Banner By Ocean of Stars & Amba Brown
Images in ATM Banner provided by Nagariknews1

Entrance, Visa and Travel Information

2012-02-04T22:22:00.001-08:00

When flying into Nepal from any foreign country you will need to have a passport as well as a visa. A visa an "an endorsement on a passport indicating that the holder is allowed to enter, leave, or stay for a specified period of time in a country." You will buy the visa at the airport after you get off your plane. If you live in Washington DC or New York City you can also obtain one from the Embassy of Nepal. If you are traveling by land there are multiple options as well. Below are your visa options.

Visa Options

15 day = US$25
1 month = US$40
3 month = US$100

To get a visa, you must first fill out the form shown below and have it with you. If you would like to print it out ahead of time you can do so {here}. You can also fill out the form when you arrive.

Airport Checklist:

Passport
2 Passport sized photos
Cash (enough and some more)
When departing from Kathmandu Airport you must pay an airport exit tax (currently around $25)

Add caption

THESE ARE FOR PREVIEW ONLY! MAKE SURE TO GO TO ACTUAL EMBASSY OF NEPAL WEBSITE FOR ACCURATE AND UP TO DATE INFORMATION!

Information obtained from the US Embassy Page

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_980.html

Photos courtosy of left to right
Visa: http://nepal.visahq.com/information/

Travel Plans

2012-02-04T19:43:00.001-08:00

Our flights are booked and we are now getting everything sorted out in terms of hotels, guides and transportation. I will include all the information on here.

I will keep you updated as we know more.

Best,
Sarah

Photo Courtesy of Manipad

Nepal Traveling Adventure

Day 3- April 14 - Goodbye Hong Kong | Hello Kathmandu

Day 2 - April 13 - Goodbye America | Hello Hong Kong

Day 1 - April 12

Tomorrow...almost

Getting Ready

Bank & Money Exchange

Nepalese Rupee Exchange Rate is currently at USD $1.00 = .01 Np Rupee.

For current rates view {Click Here for Updated exchange) Make sure not to confuse the Nepal Rupee with the Indian Rupee, they are different!

Travellers ChequesIt seems as though this is still the safest and cheapest option. US dollars are the preferred way to exchange money. The are much safer than cash, but beware that you must be in Kathmandu to cash them.

Entrance, Visa and Travel Information

Travel Plans

Travellers Cheques
It seems as though this is still the safest and cheapest option. US dollars are the preferred way to exchange money. The are much safer than cash, but beware that you must be in Kathmandu to cash them.