After lunch at Flavor's we packed our screaming kiddos into the car for the long drive out of Kathmandu and up a mountain to Nagarkot. I say it was a long drive, but it's actually pretty incredible that you can get from a place as crowded and lively as Kathmandu to a place as quiet and peaceful as Nagarkot in less than 2 hours.
Kathmandu is one of three city-states that competed for power during the medieval flourishing of the trade route between India and Tibet, and it obviously came out on top. One of the other two cities is Bhaktapur, which we drove through on our way to Nagarkot. We had planned to stop and see some of the city, but by the time we got there Evie was snoozing and Samuel was screaming so we decided to continue on up the mountain. What we saw as we drove through town was pretty interesting, though. Bhaktapur is city-size but quite rural. There was a lot of farmland right in among the houses.
Roads in Bhaktapur are narrow and bumpy, and one of them winds its way out of the city and right up a mountain to Nagarkot. We navigated switchbacks for quite a while that were so narrow that when a car or bus came in the opposite direction, we had to stop and inch our way around each other so that nobody fell over the side of the mountain. Outside of Kathmandu, Nepal is mostly rural, with farmland terraced right up the mountains. Unfortunately, it was a misty day and we couldn't get good pictures of the beautiful views of terraced land and homes perched on the steep inclines. We did get a great glimpse of village life, though.
The main reason people go to Nagarkot is to see magnificent views of the Himalayas like this one taken from The Fort Resort, where we stayed. We were unlucky as far as weather goes, so the views we saw were more like this:
Panoramic it is not, but it does have a certain beauty. We were literally walking in the clouds the whole time we stayed. We checked into the hotel and then found a trail and did some exploring.
I was surprised at the mixture of tropical and mountainous plant life in Nepal. Because of its altitude, it's easy to forget that Kathmandu is only 27 degrees north of the equator, less than 4 degrees out of the tropics.
Samuel was still insisting on being carried, and Evie was showing clearer signs of fever, so after a while I took the younger kids back up to the terraces of the hotel while John and Johnny continued to explore. There was no sign of yeti, but Johnny was keeping a good watch. Nagarkot is only at 2,000 meters above sea level (Everest hits 8,484 meters -- we think ... there's actually a debate), so we decided that maybe the yeti keeps to higher elevations. Good thing, because by the time I had climbed back up the mountain with Samuel on my hip I was yeti bait for sure. Luckily, there were plenty of chairs on the terraces that were surrounded by a good cover of potted flowers, and the kids and I recovered from the climb in safety.
That night we ate at the hotel's little restaurant, which normally has panoramic views of the mountains but instead had a lovely view of a lot of fog. I'm not really complaining, because it was a beautiful place no matter how you look at it. Well, maybe I'm complaining a little, because I had really been looking forward to the views. Oh, well. Another time. Ha! When will I be back in Nepal? Maybe never and maybe next year.
This is where Evie's little body called it quits. That sounds like she died. She did not die, but she did fall asleep before dinner and stayed asleep (except for a brief arousal for toilet and Tylenol) well into the next morning. I have to say that Evie is such a trooper. She plays, sings, dances and in this case climbs up and down mountains right through illness so that half the time I don't know she's sick until she suddenly throws up on my feet. Luckily, no throwing up this time (well ... there was the drive down the mountain, but we won't go there). She had a pretty good fever going and was really tired. John and I took turns going to dinner so someone would be in the room with her, and we just let her sleep it off. She wasn't 100 percent the next day, but she went chugging right along anyway.
Meanwhile, I got almost no sleep because of Samuel's need to lie down right on my chest. This is a 25-pound 2-year-old, folks, not some feather-light newborn. So the next morning John and the boys did some more exploring while Evie and I slept. Here's what they saw from the hotel's lookout tower.
And here are my adventurous boys.
Here's a shot that shows how the buildings seem to be clinging to the side of the mountain.
We left Nagarkot in the late morning and saw incredible views of village and mountain farm life on the way back down into the valley. None of our photos came out well, though, so you'll have to trust us.
My mom told me once that one thing she loves about travel is trying to imagine what it must be like to live in places as diverse as a farm in nowhere Iowa or a company house in industrial St. Louis or a village in the remote Andes. On the way down from Nagarkot we passed a small home perched on the side of the mountain and surrounded by tiny terraced fields. There was a woman standing on one of the steep paths observing her two cows, and I found myself wondering what her life is like. Does she find it difficult or lonely? Does she mind the hard labor? Does she have a family that loves and cares for her? What must it be like to wake up to those mountain views every morning of your life? It's so far from my own life, but I feel like I caught just a glimpse.
So I'm glad we made that drive up and down the mountain, even though I didn't get to see Everest.
Coming soon: Johnny sees the top of the world!
Kathmandu is one of three city-states that competed for power during the medieval flourishing of the trade route between India and Tibet, and it obviously came out on top. One of the other two cities is Bhaktapur, which we drove through on our way to Nagarkot. We had planned to stop and see some of the city, but by the time we got there Evie was snoozing and Samuel was screaming so we decided to continue on up the mountain. What we saw as we drove through town was pretty interesting, though. Bhaktapur is city-size but quite rural. There was a lot of farmland right in among the houses.
Roads in Bhaktapur are narrow and bumpy, and one of them winds its way out of the city and right up a mountain to Nagarkot. We navigated switchbacks for quite a while that were so narrow that when a car or bus came in the opposite direction, we had to stop and inch our way around each other so that nobody fell over the side of the mountain. Outside of Kathmandu, Nepal is mostly rural, with farmland terraced right up the mountains. Unfortunately, it was a misty day and we couldn't get good pictures of the beautiful views of terraced land and homes perched on the steep inclines. We did get a great glimpse of village life, though.
The main reason people go to Nagarkot is to see magnificent views of the Himalayas like this one taken from The Fort Resort, where we stayed. We were unlucky as far as weather goes, so the views we saw were more like this:
 |
| View from our room's window |
Panoramic it is not, but it does have a certain beauty. We were literally walking in the clouds the whole time we stayed. We checked into the hotel and then found a trail and did some exploring.
I was surprised at the mixture of tropical and mountainous plant life in Nepal. Because of its altitude, it's easy to forget that Kathmandu is only 27 degrees north of the equator, less than 4 degrees out of the tropics.
Samuel was still insisting on being carried, and Evie was showing clearer signs of fever, so after a while I took the younger kids back up to the terraces of the hotel while John and Johnny continued to explore. There was no sign of yeti, but Johnny was keeping a good watch. Nagarkot is only at 2,000 meters above sea level (Everest hits 8,484 meters -- we think ... there's actually a debate), so we decided that maybe the yeti keeps to higher elevations. Good thing, because by the time I had climbed back up the mountain with Samuel on my hip I was yeti bait for sure. Luckily, there were plenty of chairs on the terraces that were surrounded by a good cover of potted flowers, and the kids and I recovered from the climb in safety.
 |
| Check out the size of these flowers! |
This is where Evie's little body called it quits. That sounds like she died. She did not die, but she did fall asleep before dinner and stayed asleep (except for a brief arousal for toilet and Tylenol) well into the next morning. I have to say that Evie is such a trooper. She plays, sings, dances and in this case climbs up and down mountains right through illness so that half the time I don't know she's sick until she suddenly throws up on my feet. Luckily, no throwing up this time (well ... there was the drive down the mountain, but we won't go there). She had a pretty good fever going and was really tired. John and I took turns going to dinner so someone would be in the room with her, and we just let her sleep it off. She wasn't 100 percent the next day, but she went chugging right along anyway.
Meanwhile, I got almost no sleep because of Samuel's need to lie down right on my chest. This is a 25-pound 2-year-old, folks, not some feather-light newborn. So the next morning John and the boys did some more exploring while Evie and I slept. Here's what they saw from the hotel's lookout tower.
And here are my adventurous boys.
Here's a shot that shows how the buildings seem to be clinging to the side of the mountain.
We left Nagarkot in the late morning and saw incredible views of village and mountain farm life on the way back down into the valley. None of our photos came out well, though, so you'll have to trust us.
My mom told me once that one thing she loves about travel is trying to imagine what it must be like to live in places as diverse as a farm in nowhere Iowa or a company house in industrial St. Louis or a village in the remote Andes. On the way down from Nagarkot we passed a small home perched on the side of the mountain and surrounded by tiny terraced fields. There was a woman standing on one of the steep paths observing her two cows, and I found myself wondering what her life is like. Does she find it difficult or lonely? Does she mind the hard labor? Does she have a family that loves and cares for her? What must it be like to wake up to those mountain views every morning of your life? It's so far from my own life, but I feel like I caught just a glimpse.
So I'm glad we made that drive up and down the mountain, even though I didn't get to see Everest.
Coming soon: Johnny sees the top of the world!
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