Happy Nepalese New Year

April 14, 2014

Happy 2071 New Year!!!  Looks like we get to party twice this year with Nepal New Year starting tomorrow and parties rocking all night long!  (Not sure how they figure it’s 2071 . . . but apparently they have their own calendar here and live in the future.)

O and I have been running around Kathmandu the last few days getting all our trekking needs for our departure tomorrow to hike the Annapurna Circuit - where if all goes according to plan we will visit the world’s highest lake and trek one of the world’s highest passes - 17,768 ft.   We have been very busy training for this as you can tell from our last posts. 

 

Here’s the view from our hotel rooftop where we eat breakfast every morning and feel our lungs turn a little blacker.

There are literally 100’s of stores selling anything and everything you could need for rock climbing, trekking, camping, etc.

I am pretty sure my North Face -10 C sleeping bag I just bought isn’t a real brand name, but when it only costs 30 bucks - who cares!  As long as they work and apparently they do!

We met up with our old friend Rhiannon from Tropicbird in the Thamel area of Kathmandu where we are all staying.  She’s hiking the Annapurna Circuit with us, but unlike us - she has actually done some training and trekking already.

And we wonder why electricity only works here 33% of day.

This street looks peaceful compared to the people, dogs, cars, and rickshaws we battle with everyday around town.  We are soo ready to get out of this city.

Our reunion dinner at a New Orleans Jazz cafe - to catch up on the last few months and to make final plans.  We felt like we got ripped off with our meal costing 3 dollars each!!!