Arriving in Kathmandu, I had the rush of anxiety that I always get when coming into a new country. Especially in the 3rd World, the risk of being ripped off, scammed, and taken advantage of, was always high, if not unavoidable.
It was late into the season, and with heavy rains coming in fast, I wasted no time in arranging a trek and a guide to the Everest Base Camp.
After a day of multiple, frightening failed attempts at landing into the most dangerous airport in the world, we finally made it; high into the Himalayas.
A few minutes of walking around, I realized I was somewhere special. Everything seemed so... timeless. I was excited to start this new adventure.
With yaks and jobke (yak and cow mix) blocking the streets, I tiptoed around giant horns, and porters carrying twice their weight on their heads.
And it seemed I couldn't walk more than a mile without some sort of Buddhist Temple, archway, or prayer wheel greeting my path.
It seemed that there was so much to learn in this intricate little society. Starting with the basics: GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THE YAKS AND HORSES!
The first word I learned was "Namaste". Although it could be used for just about anything; Hello, Goodbye, Thank You, etc, it literally meant "I greet the divine in you" or "I see the God in you".
I think I actually got a little misty-eyed when I first found out what it meant. What an incredible thing to say to someone on a regular basis. I guess if this place was anything, it was spiritual.
Intricate, pain-staking carvings were carved into anything and everything rock. They felt they were offerings, guaranteeing that blessings were continually bestowed on their village.
Although life was simple here, and often times downright hard, most people that believed they were very fortunate.
They felt that it was an incredible blessing to be Nepalese.
Life was hard when you were young, but life got easier once you had kids of your own. When you got old enough to "retire", you spent the remaining days wanting for nothing, meditating for long hours in solitude, and comtemplating your life.
I guess I was starting to comtemplate my own, and it felt good.
I was loving Nepal. I had picked a winner and I knew it. I couldn't wait to go on this little adventure into the mountains.
It was late into the season, and with heavy rains coming in fast, I wasted no time in arranging a trek and a guide to the Everest Base Camp.
After a day of multiple, frightening failed attempts at landing into the most dangerous airport in the world, we finally made it; high into the Himalayas.
A few minutes of walking around, I realized I was somewhere special. Everything seemed so... timeless. I was excited to start this new adventure.
With yaks and jobke (yak and cow mix) blocking the streets, I tiptoed around giant horns, and porters carrying twice their weight on their heads.
And it seemed I couldn't walk more than a mile without some sort of Buddhist Temple, archway, or prayer wheel greeting my path.
I noticed incredible amounts of food being grown. Wheat, rice, onions, radishes, potatoes, spinach, apples, and even the occasional marijuana plant. You name it, it was being grown in the unbelievably rich soil of the Himalayas. And each house seemed to be growing far more than they needed.
It seemed that there was so much to learn in this intricate little society. Starting with the basics: GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THE YAKS AND HORSES!
They WILL run you over.
The first word I learned was "Namaste". Although it could be used for just about anything; Hello, Goodbye, Thank You, etc, it literally meant "I greet the divine in you" or "I see the God in you".
I think I actually got a little misty-eyed when I first found out what it meant. What an incredible thing to say to someone on a regular basis. I guess if this place was anything, it was spiritual.
Intricate, pain-staking carvings were carved into anything and everything rock. They felt they were offerings, guaranteeing that blessings were continually bestowed on their village.
Although life was simple here, and often times downright hard, most people that believed they were very fortunate.
They felt that it was an incredible blessing to be Nepalese.
Life was hard when you were young, but life got easier once you had kids of your own. When you got old enough to "retire", you spent the remaining days wanting for nothing, meditating for long hours in solitude, and comtemplating your life.
I guess I was starting to comtemplate my own, and it felt good.
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