Nepal, quiet and noisy

I'm a really inconsistent blogger. Anyone who ever ventures to this webpage knows that. Be assured that an absence of writing does certainly not mean that there is absence of activity with the Freemans. Au, contraire!

looking West at Sunrise

We recently came back from a trip through the foothills of the Annapurna/Himalaya mountain range in Nepal. There were so many refreshing sights, sounds, and smells that gave us a sense of peace and quiet. It was really remarkable. There were also those parts of our 5-day trek when got lost that made us feel really noisy inside! Being in the comfort of my computer desk chair, I can now say that was remarkable, too. In fact, we might even do it again one day.

Enjoy a few pictures while I enjoy a cup of tea.

Laura and Chris in Thamel, Kathmandu

waking up with the sun, Chisopani, Nepal

garden of dreams

 

Here we are at the Garden of Dreams, a little green oasis in the middle of busy and gray Kathmandu, Nepal. If you like architecture or reading about kaisers from the turn of the 20th century, be sure to check out the link. We enjoyed a few hours here one afternoon, just looking around in the various nooks and crannies and inhaling a little higher oxygen content.

 We saw a few critters here and there...

And, we saw a lot of young couples walking around. Apparently, this is the place to "woo" the new lady in your life, especially if your 18-25 yrs old.

 

The gardens were beautiful, and the landscaping was really well kept! If you're ever in the neighborhood, I'd recommend it. It's near the old royal palace, which has been remodeled into a museum.

where the buffalo roam

Oh, give me a home

where the buffalo roam

where the deer and the antelope play...

 where seldom is heard

 a discouraging word

 and the skies are not cloudy all day.

For whatever reason, that was the song that kept running through my head in Nepal. Maybe, it was because of all of the buffalo roaming around on the streets! (They looked more like cows to me, but nobody asked me, really.) The two most-practiced religions in Nepal are Hinduism and a type of Buddhism, so naturally, the peoples' care for living creatures lends them to allow animals free reign over the streets. We saw many other little critters scampering around, but stray dogs and water buffalo were the ones predominantly seen in the city streets. We had a few friendly encounters with these guys, but we still ate some tasty buffalo "mo-mos," a local steamed dumpling of sorts, in a few different locations. I don't understand the whole we-love-them-but-some-of-us-eat-them thing, but I guess I don't have to.

More to come on the amazing country of Nepal...

preparing for Nepal

Today, we are getting ready for the second half of my winter break, where we'll spend about eight days in the country of Nepal. Chris just got home from work, so we are starting to get organized. Our flight for Kathmandu leaves this evening at 11:50pm our time, and we'll probably leave our flat at about 9:30. It doesn't take long to get to the airport.

I'm excited for this trip, and thankful that Chris' boss let him take this week off before his actual winter break starts. We plan to spend this much needed time away together by eating delicious dahls, trekking to Nagarkot, and flying around Mt. Everest. We don't have much else planned, and hopefully, we'll get to do those things!

Until the next update, Happy New Year!

caroling with friends at TLC