Chitwan National Park By Jeep

An adolescent rhino we spotted the night before our jeep ride during an evening walk in the buffer zone of the park.
Looks cute right? That's what we thought until our guide told us this was the same little guy who had attacked tourists
the day before!

With a week left in Nepal it was time to get out of the mountains. Before we came to this country I didn't even know Nepal had anything but mountains and it turns out there are some rather lovely lowlands where tigers and rhinos lurk in sticky jungles. And that's where we went for a 3 day trip.
I was bumping about in the back of our 10 person open top jeep, eyes trained on the foliage intently. The wind (which there was a surprising amount of considering top speed was 20 mile per hour on a good stretch of road) was warm on my cheeks now that the clammy morning fog had lifted. Our army green vehicle below me rumbled noisily through a field of elephant grass, black exhaust pouring out of the tail pipe.
What wild animal in their right mind would hang around with all this noise?????
I shook my head. It wouldn't matter, there could be a whole heard of wild elephants 15 feet to my right and I would never know. The tall golden stalks of grass were easily 10 feet tall and enclosed the narrow dirt road, making it feel more like a tunnel. In fact I ducked now behind the protection of a seat to avoid being decapitated by the sharp blades encroaching on the road. I had learned earlier that over sized grass leaves an over sized grass cut.
The rat-a-tat-tat of our guide Rejesh's fingers on the roof of the cab made me sit up a little taller.
Has he spotted something? 
The jeep ground to a halt, making everyone lurch forward a bit. Rajesh stood erect in the front, eyes shaded by his palm like a pro. He narrowed his eyes as he looked for signs of a jungle beast- snorts, grass jostled by the stride of a rhino perhaps. His spine was straight and tall beneath his forest green vest bearing the slogan, "protect the wild life, no debate." We all held our breath in silence, and then got to our feet to look as well. The sun was beating down and in the direct light I could see the footprints of something big in the marshy undergrowth. Our guide shook his head.
"No animals here. Often rhino come but not now." We all slouched back to our seats. This morning we had seen a eagle or two, a "wild" pig nosing through trash in the parking lot and a few deer but no prizes. The engine gave a groan of complaint before slowly crawling towards the rolling hills in the distance.

Wild Pig is hungry for handouts 

Cicadas droned lazily in the distance and birds could be seen fluttering about in the afternoon heat but that was all the fauna in sight as we kept watch on the river, chewing some fried rice we had brought from our inn. We had broke for noon day meal on the bank of the river where tigers often came to drink. The highlight of our animal sightings since earlier had been a troupe of monkeys, enjoying lunch in the canopy of an open grove. So far we had been more impressed with the geography of the park than it's inhabitants. The family had driven through dense and lush forests, open grass lands and across wide rivers this morning. Behind me Nick and Dad joked around in hushed tones, and our guide and driver talked in whispers a few yards away. My eyes drifted to a heard of Sambar Deer grazing down and across the river. They eagerly lapped up the water and I hoped that the large and dangerous crocodiles we had seen to lurk below the surface of the waterways wouldn't take this opportunity to have an easy snack.
"No tiger today." Rajesh's announcement interrupted my thoughts. "If not hot he might not be thirsty. Lets go."

A spotted deer reveals herself to our jeep

The sun was heavy in the sky as we clambered into the long wooden canoes to cross the river that was the boarder of the park. We had seen a few more deer and an interesting lizard but that was all. I don't think we were that disappointed though, we had seen much of the park.

This little guy watched us from his lair,
 in the hole of a roadside tree

As the boatman used a bamboo pole to push us across the murky river I eyed a crocodile on the shore no more that 15 yards away. He was huge, as big as a full grown man and appeared to be sunning himself, taking advantage of the last of the day's light. Slate grey armor on his back was perfect camouflage. I shivered, the rim of our canoe was only a few inches above the water! After what seemed like forever we bumped against the opposite shore and I was safely out of the crocodile's domain. The last bit of color in the sky drained away, leaving the woods where wild elephants and tigers roamed in shadows. Nothing today, but we weren't done with the jungle yet.

Sun sets over the jungle

Tandoori Thanksgiving

Traveling the world, we have lots to be thankful for. Our health, family, this opportunity to experience the unknown everyday, the fact we have made it this far! We realize that gorging ourselves on turkey and pies annually is a tradition unique to the States but old habits die hard so we tried to at least find some poultry for old times sake. We managed to find a nice tandoori place out of the tourist part of town and enjoy some chicken. Here is how we loosely translated the menu of one of America's favorite holidays into a delicious Indian lunch...

• Turkey- Tandoori Chicken
• Gravy- Marsala Curries
• Stuffing- Chicken Biryani with Raita (That one is a bit of a stretch) 
• Dinner Rolls- Nan Bread
• Sparkling Apple Cider- Mango Juice

Not exactly the same but isn't the whole purpose of traveling to experience new things? If we wanted a good old fashion roast turkey (which believe me sometimes we do) we would have stayed in Vermont! Happy Holidays! 

Yum would the pilgrims approve?

Kathmandu In Photos

Neighborhood Stupa

The "Rickshaw Graveyard" 

Sunset Over the City

Is This Up To Code?

Small Shrines Line the Street

Candles at the Monkey Temple

Monkey Near the Monkey Temple

Monkey Temple

Trekking to Base Camp, a Long Story Short

So you know why we wanted to do this hike, but what you don’t know is how it went.
The first days were the hardest. Not only were we out of shape and not adjusted to the trekking lifestyle but the terrain itself was more difficult. We had opted to take a 15 hour Jeep ride and then hike 4 days to Lukla, the starting point of the EBC endeavor rather than do it the easy way and take a 45 minute flight into Lukla airport. This was because first of all it was slightly more affordable and also Lukla regularly makes the “Top 5 Most Dangerous Airports in the World” list and we didn’t want to push our luck.

Everyday we would hike 5-10 hours, depending on the terrain and how everyone was feeling. We were hiking without a guide or porters, which is fairly uncommon on this particular trail, but the lack of structure allowed us to go at our own pace. This also meant every family member carried all of their own gear which while liberating at times was a literal burden whenever we reached an uphill.
The trails below Lukla were often over run with mule trains and evidence of them. At least 20 times a day we would have to flatten ourselves against the cliff walls so that we wouldn’t be squished by donkeys toting everything from cement to rice to kerosene uphill. The trains were always urged forwards by mule drivers, hardworking and stern men who threw sticks, stones and insults at their stubborn animals to keep them moving. As we gained elevation (1600 to 6500 feet a day) the scenery gradually changed from steamy lowlands sprouting banana trees, up through rhododendron forests where fuzzy limbs were draped in Spanish Moss like tinsel, and then eventually into the highlands, where the shrubs began to dwindle until we were alone surrounded by ice, stone, and many other tourists.
Even though altitude made exercise more difficult I think we all agreed that days got easier as we began walking a mere 2 1/2 hours on average. That was all we could do, we didn’t want to risk Mountain Sickness in fast ascent. We would also take “rest days” to let our bodies adjust to the decreasing oxygen levels. They weren’t really rest days because we would have to do day hikes around the villages to continue acclimating. Once we passed through Namche Bazar, we began to see some of our first yaks. The big fuzzy beasts would lumber by on the trail in groups of 3 to 5, heavy supplies strapped to their backs. When firewood became scarce their dung heated the wood stoves of the lodges.
On day 13 we reached the small village of Gorak Shep (16,942 feet), the last stop before Base Camp. There is a small hill called Kalapattar that looms over the town, whose summit is known as the best viewpoint of the entire trek. We successfully attempted this for sunset, reaching the top and our all time elevation high of 18,514 feet, just as golden light basked the icy precipices. It was very cold but even though views are usually polluted with clouds in the afternoon, the skies were crystal clear.
Our Base Camp goals were achieved the following morning. The Camp is actually used by those planning to summit Everest in the spring, and in the fall it is simply some prayer flags and a plaque out in the middle of the Kumbu Glacier. We were all excited to be there, finally, and could not have asked for better weather. We took some family pictures, ate some well earned Snickers bars and began the long journey home.
In all the trek took 20 days. We made many great memories, have some good stories, worked hard and saw some of the most spectacular scenery on the planet.

What Was Going Through Our Heads When We Chose EBC

Everest Base Camp, one of the most well known treks in the world, where come spring representatives of all nations come in attempt to conquer the largest mountain in the world. Coming to Nepal we intended to do a Himalayan Hike but a more mild one, Annapurna perhaps. Nick, however, had his eye on a larger prize that would bring bigger bragging rights. After the examination of many blog posts on the subject, the purchase of guide books and many long and heated family meetings in which lengthy contracts were drawn up, we came to our decision. We would do our best to, as a family, reach Everest Base Camp.
Nicks Thoughts- "I think it would be cool to say that I've done Everest and kind of bragging rights." Nick was the driving force behind this undertaking that would test our patience as well as our bodies. When Michele and Justin tentatively planned Annapurna, he was there urging us to aim higher, litterally.  The fact that there was now a road halfway up the alternate option also deterred him. Nick was happy when he got his way and preparations for EBC began. Like the rest of the family, he was never 100 percent sure we would make it. "I thought that we would have problems with altitude," he confesses. We had long discussions about what we would do if one of us got Acute Mountain Sickness (Altitude Sickness) on the slopes and how it would effect our itinerary. This condition often strikes mountaineers when quickly exposed to low oxygen levels. If the victim does not descend immediately extreme cases end in death. Nick was also concerned about the stress day after day of hiking might put on our relationships. His faith was restored once the action plan in wake of arguments was decided upon in a contract.
Justin's Thoughts- "I really just wanted you kids to be happy," Dad says when questioned why he went along with Nick 's plans. During the planning stage he was always supportive of his son while thinking about worst case scenarios, strength and budget realistically. He did have some worries but just like Nick "once we laid them out in the conditions of a contract which we all agreed on, ratified and signed most of those concerns were alleviated." Justin just planned to let nature take things into her own hands to see wether we would reach Base Camp or not.
Michele's Thoughts - "I was really thinking about the commitment we were going to have to make to this 20 day trek." Initially Mom  tossed and turned, crossing her fingers that our rather inexperienced hiking family would be able to handle the nature of trekking. But in the end, her anticipation of conquering the biggest mountains, or at least  getting to them overruled her doubt and she too began to back her bag.
Anika's Thoughts- Like my brother I wanted the glory of being at Base Camp, in the shadow of monstrosities of mountains like Nuptse, Everest and Ama Dablam. I was excited for breath taking vistas, lots of exercise and memories to last a life time. I never really counted on getting to the end of the path but most people say the journey to the destination is the best part anyway. I was ready to hit the trail!

Team T in Nepal

On our Sichuan Airlines flight from Chengdu to Kathmandu we got the privilege of getting probably some of the best views possible of the Himalayas. The white snow whipping off the ice capped peaks was visible from cruising altitude and we could just see colossal mountain after mountain stretching out into the horizon. We had a brief layover in Lhasa but that's all we got to see if the Eastern side of the range. Once we touched down in Kathmandu we had a bit of culture shock, transitioning from the orderly manner of China into the noisy, loud and colorful streets of Nepal. From our taxi window we witnessed cows and goats wandering through chaotic intersections, prayer flags draped over neighborhood shrines and piles of litter smoldering on the sidewalk. We would stay in the capital for about a week, planning the next phase of our journey.

Chengdu Panda Center

Our last day in China was well spent at the Panda Breeding Research Center. There were both Giant Pandas and Red Pandas which were a bit more active. It seemed like panda life consists of two things, eating and sleeping! There were no infant pandas due to the time of year but there were 3 month old cubs that drew lots of  crowds!