We came, we saw, we conquered!

Trekking through the Himalayas and seeing Mt. Everest was the most amazing experience Tyler and I have ever had. I would highly recommend to put at least one of the many treks in Nepal on your bucket list. One of our favorite aspects about the trek was the ability to interact with and observe an incredibly strong and happy culture while taking in the scenery of arguably the most incredible place on earth. It is a magical place where time seems to have stood still. Both Tyler and I would describe this as a spiritual experience.

Again, the Nepalese people are what really make this trek special. They are so friendly, always smiling and eager to help. Tyler and I were one of the only people who did not hire a guide or a porter. We didn't realize that hiring a porter was the norm and also helped to give someone in the community a job. However, these porters carry an insane amount of weight--anywhere from a minimum of 66 lbs to 220 lbs! There are also many children (10 and older) and elderly people carrying these loads uphill, at altitude, and over 40 miles. They are doing this back breaking work for a meager ten dollars a day and they do it with a great attitude. Every time you pass a porter they greet you with a friendly "Namaste!" They are the strongest people, inside and out, we have ever met. We realize they do this for a job and need the money, but it still seems very immoral to allow this to happen and it was very difficult for us to witness.

Reaching Kala Pathar (the viewpoint for Mt. Everest at 18,300 ft) was the most incredible feeling of self accomplishment and was such an awesome thing to have achieved together. This is a trip we will never forget and we feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity! Tomorrow we leave for Chitwan National Park for four days where we will be doing some safaris and hope to see a bengal tiger! After that we fly to Thailand on May 4th where we are looking forward to some much needed beach time!

Surprise!

Surprise! We are still in Kathmandu! The night before we leave I am getting so excited and am dreaming of trekking through the Himalayas and picturing myself summiting our final climb (with the Rocky theme song playing in the background). We get up half an hour before our alarm goes off at 5:30 am and head to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We arrive and it is CHAOS, nobody has any idea what the hell is going on. That is, of course, except for the guides and porters who are sorting everything out for the tourists (lucky them) who have paid to be taken on their treks. So I am standing in line trying really hard to figure out how to get our boarding passes and get our bags on the plane. I am being to told "exuse me, you are in the wrong line Madame, move over to that line" about four different times. As I am hopping from line to line shoving my ticket in front of each person working for the airline, I am barking orders at my own personal Sherpa (Tyler) to move our bags from one place to the next. This process was so confusing that we actually met someone who ended up paying a guide to get his boarding pass for him. Finally, and with the biggest sense of self accomplishment I have ever felt in my life, we get our ticket and head to the waiting area.

So far so good. Our flight is on time and we hop on the bus to be loaded on our plane. We are about to get off the bus but have to turn around because of windy weather conditions. We then wait in the airport, with beyond horrible bathrooms and only some salt and vinegar pringles to eat, until 4 pm waiting to see if the weather will change. No such luck. Flights to Lukla have now been cancelled for two days back to back so we have to go back to our hotel cancel and reschedule our flight for Tuesday morning. Tomorrow we are booked on the second flight at 7:15 am so we are really hoping we make it otherwise we may have to do a different trek, so we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Last day before the trek begins

Namaste! We are on day two in Kathmandu and are really enjoying ourselves. Kathmandu is really similar to India but much less chaotic, more of an "India with training wheels." The people are also much nicer and more helpful and we have felt very comfortable having our hotel help us book our trip from here to Lukla where will begin our trek. It has been really great for Tyler and I to be somewhere familiar where many faded memories from India have been coming back to us; the wide assortment of menus where you can order anything from pizza to curry to a roast chicken dinner, the refreshing lemon sodas or lassis, waking up narrow streets dodging motorcycles, and the burning of incense outside the shops in the mornings.

For the past day and a half we have basically been recuperating from our flight and preparing for our trek. Our flight leaves tomorrow morning at 9:20 AM and we will begin our 11-14 day hike to Mt. Everest base camp. We are leaving with the bare essentials, that's right only three pairs of underwear, two shirts, two pants, no makeup (which Tyler is particularly upset about), and a couple of showers IF we're lucky. However I suppose the sacrifice will be worth it--to see the tallest mountain on earth and share such a wonderful experience together! As you can imagine wifi services will be limited so for those of you who are interested we will keep you updated in a couple of weeks when I'm sure we will have much to report!

Day One: Traveling to Kathmandu, Nepal
Location: Salt Lake City National Airport
Mission: 6 countries, 3 months, 2 lovebirds, 1 trip of a lifetime!

Tyler and I spent last night with Debbie and Stas at Casa de Mintowt enjoying our last supper--filet mignon, red wine, a smorgasbord of delicious cheese, and creme brûlée! Now we are anxiously awaiting our 36 hour trip to Kathmandu. We will report back when the "eagle has landed." MUCH more to follow.