Welcome to Thailand

To Chiangmai, Thailand -- November 28-29

Our flight selection to Chiangmai may not have been the greatest.  We chose the flight at a small travel agency in Kathmandu primarily based on price. Had our geography been better or we had looked at a map, we might not have chosen the stopover in Kuala Lumpur.  Not that it's a bad place. Malaysia is a surprisingly modern country.  However, given that we ended up with a 12 hour overnight layover, we might have been better off with a different flight. Still, I was determined to get some rest and make the best of it, so when I discovered a “Container” Hotel at the Kuala Lumpur Airport, I was stoked. Perfect, we could avoid all the rigmarole of going through customs and getting to and from a hotel away from the airport. Yeah.

Off to the airport

As it turned out, the container hotel wasn't actually in terminal 1 where we landed, but in terminal 2. For what ever reason, that forced us to go through customs anyway and take a couple airport trams to boot. By 1AM, an hour and a half after landing, we were at last checked into our tiny accommodations, and wasted no time falling asleep.  

In the morning (Tuesday), once we got the blood flowing again, we had a few hours to kill in the airport.  We had a tasty Malaysian meal at Grandmama’s and then Meg splurged on some makeup at the Benefit store. More and more, it seems, international airports are really just gigantic, high end shopping centers.

Malaysian breakfast

The Malindo Air flights were surprisingly good.  The kids watched Ice Age, Polar Express and a few episodes of Cosmos narrated by Neil Degrasse Tyson, while I wrote emails and perused the South East Asia Lonely Planet book.  Seems like we’re not leaving ourselves tons of time for Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, but we’ll just have to make due.

In some exciting news, my sister De Ann said she’d be interested in joining us somewhere.  The kids, of course, were super excited to hear that.  It will need to be after the first of the year, so maybe Australia or New Zealand.

On the way from the airport to the hotel, our first impressions were of how relatively quiet and peaceful Thailand seems to be.  Everything appears to be a step up from what we're used to -- cleaner, more organized, and quieter. Even more spectacular is the Kantary Hills Hotel suggested by a friend living right in Chiangmai. Dex joked that it’s nicer and bigger than our houses, which is probably the case -- two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room, dining area, kitchen and two small balconies.  Ironically we've gone from a container hotel one night to a super nice suite the next.

After an excellent Thai food lunch, some relaxing, and a swim in the pool, we were met by our friend Isabel for dinner.  What fun to see her again. We initially met Isabel five years or so ago in San Jose. She was one of three girls that had come to town as part of the “City Year" volunteer program and stayed with us for a couple days while looking for a place in San Jose.  One of the three was friends with Meg’s niece Katy, which is how the connection was made.  Meg has, of course, done a great job keeping in touch, so when we learned that Isabel was working in the north of Thailand, we definitely wanted to visit.

As usual when new people are around, Dex and Kylie were super excited and practically fell over each other telling stories of our travels.  Isabel patiently listened and walked us to a small, nearby restaurant for dinner giving us ample time to catch up and ask about her stay in Chiangmai.  She's been in the city since June working with Myanmar immigrants and helping them navigate the governmental systems to get the services they need. Great food and good friends. It doesn't get much better.

Dirty, Bustling, Noisy, and Awesome

Kathmandu, Nepal -- November 26-27 -- Day 5-6

Ahh, it’s Sunday, we are back in dirty, bustling, noisy Kathmandu, and loving it.  We rolled out of our sleeping bags at 5:30 yesterday morning in Luklaso we could be at the tiny airport at 6:00 a.m. (an hour before our flight.)  We had a scare when we got to the counter and the man there pointed out that we hadn’t actually reconfirmed the flight before 3 p.m. the day before!  Arrgh! Of course not, we were still just trying to get to Lukla at 3 p.m. on Friday.  He let a crowd of other trekkers cut in front to check in, but eventually he let us weigh our bags, handed us boarding passes, and it seemed we were home free.  

Lukla airport

We gobbled down a few tasty samosas at the tiny food counter in the next room, and before we knew it, we were ushered onto the runway toward one of the four twin engined planes assembled there.  The amusement-park-like thrill ride of a flight did not disappoint.  The distant snowy peaks, steep tree-covered mountains, and lower terraced hills were amazing to gaze at.  What wasn’t amazing, though was the increasingly thick haze as we neared the Kathmandu valley.  Guess we've got to take the good and the bad.

 

Increasing haze

Kathmandu

For the next two days, we ran around the tourist enclave of Thamel, running errands and enjoying our favorite restaurants -- Rickshaw Cafe, The Pumpernickel, Roadhouse Cafe, and The Third Eye. The Rickshaw Cafe was the hands-down family favorite for breakfast and we ate there three times in a row -- eggs benedict for Meg and Dex; pancakes, eggs and bacon for me; and a cheeseburger for Kylie.  

We also had one of the absolute best Indian food meals of the trip at The Third Eye.  Tika masala, paneer masala, fried dal and the best piping hot butter naan ever.

After one obligatory night at the basic, cold water Hotel Api, we upgraded to the Hotel Ganesh Himal the next night, specifically because of their claim of "endless hot water."  It was heavenly to finally wash hair and get the dirt out from under the fingernails.  It's funny that I’m still getting use to the easy access to water (hot and cold), electricity, and food options.  The modern conveniences are awfully nice when you’ve done without for a little while. Next stop, South East Asia.

Haggard and Happy

To Lukla, Nepal -- 2860m (9380ft)

We made it! It was a long day, probably 13-15 miles all told, but as expected it was mostly down. What up we did have at the end of the day was pretty manageable, particularly with the turbo boost of extra oxygen.  Finally, I felt like I could actually tromp up the hills without fearing the feeling of suffocation and having to stop to catch my breath.

This morning, in the lodge, I was able to FaceTime my family back in Mountain View just as they were carving into the Thanksgiving turkey.  It was a pretty chaotic phone call with the noise in the lodge, the time delay, and eight people on their end trying to see and ask questions.  Still, it was great to see everyone some 13,000 miles away.  

Leaving Namche

Partly due to the phone call, our 7:30 a.m. start was closer 8:20. Fortunately, we all have good knees for the first section consisting of 3000 ft of steep down.  Kylie opted to put her boots back on, so there was the added stress of her potentially falling.  Luckily, she made it down with only a few little stumbles.  

We were all amazed at the number of sherpas heading up with huge loads.  A dozen boxes of sodas, juices etc adds up really, really fast.  They are totally amazing, though I do wonder what all that weight supported through their head, neck, and spine does in the long term.

Mountain goats

Once at the bottom of the hill, we set our sights on Phakding, the town we’d hiked to after the first day, knowing we’d have five major suspension bridges to cross to get there. How nice it was to be surrounded not only by high, snow covered peaks, but also by trees, bushes, flowers and garden crops again.  Nevertheless, by the time we made it to town at 12:30, both kids were beat and Dex was completely fixated on his dislike for the same old, same old, Himalayan menu.

Fully refueled, at 2:00, we finally headed off again, a little apprehensive that we were only half way. Fortunately, the remaining eight miles passed by with no undue hardship.  The wide paths and relatively level paths of this lower section put us in a good mood so we could enjoy the views and stop to say hi to the dogs and cows along the way.  As an unusual layer of clouds rolled in obscuring the sun, we strolled into Lukla at 4:30.  A Chinese man we had seen up at Base Camp stopped to snap a photo of the kids.  Awesome.  We had done it!  

To celebrate, we chose one of the nicer looking lodges, Buddha Lodge, wedged up against the airport and rounded out the evening with a couple pizzas, some cards, and a chapter in our family book. For the princely sum of $10 a night, we got multiple lights, curtains, industrial carpet, and a tiled bathroom with running water!  I am very grateful we had a chance to enjoy this three week adventure, though, having caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I must say I’m looking a little bit haggard.  I think we’ll all enjoy the relative decadence of Kathmandu for a couple days before the next leg of the journey begins.