Jack and Jill went down the hill...

I can't go on without explaining our last couple days on the trek... We were able to move much quicker down the trail than we did up for obvious reasons. I was having so much fun hiking down! This time it was Brian in front of the pack, jumping, and even running at times down the trail. We headed back down the same way we went up, but skipped a couple towns, hiking twice as much in one day as we did on the way up. We eventually make it back to Lukla a day early so we would have more opportunities to catch a flight out of the mountains. The past two days before we got here there have not been any flights out or in due to the fog. The first opportunity we get is another fogged in, lost opportunity. This brings on some anxiety because there is a line forming of people who have been trapped here for the past few days. If we don't get out on our planned flight we will go to the end of this "line" of fogged in flyers.
So...true to our style, we gather all the people we have met over the past couple weeks and have a little party. We figure out that the most economical way to drink here is to get a bottle! By the end of the night our party of stranded trekkers had put away about four bottles of pretty good Nepalese rum called Kukuri. The next morning we wake up before dawn, with buzz, to see if it is clear enough to fly...and it is!!! We stumble to wake up, get our stuff together, and rush across the town to the airport. A clear day in Lukla, as it turns out, creates a makeshift reunion of Westerners to get off the hill. We get on the first flight out, hold our breath for one last Lukla flight experience...and safely make it back to Kathmandu. The momentary elation is somewhat diluted by the smoggy air we find ourselves in again...
We spend three days in Kathmandu enjoying the elevation, variety of food, and massages before getting sick of the rapid pace here and plan a trip to the slower paced lakeside town of Pokhara.

Everest Base Camp

The last you heard from us we were only two days into our trek. A lot has happened since then... We passed by the highest airport in the world on our way to the highest Hotel in the world. At this point every step we took was the highest we had ever been... And it was amazing.
After another day of grueling hiking we stopped in a Buddhist monastery to Observe a ceremony, It was a beautiful experience, but we were trying to figure out an unobstrusive way to leave...we took our sign when they started snacking in the middle of it all...so we snuck out. The next day after reaching tree line at 4000 m, We learned some Nepali's card games and fun words to say. Our first shared bucket shower was neither romantic or enjoyable but it got the job done. The next day we woke up to snow on the ground and headed out for one of the most challenging days of hiking yet. I arrived at our next guesthouse in a crappy mood from exhaustion, but was quickly pulled out of it with some tea and Nepali ramen noodles...we got warmed up and headed to our ultimate goal: base camp. The snow added an adventurous element to it all, the squeaky steps, the dusted rocks, the cold! At one point we lost the trail and had to use my trekking poles to probe each step before we took it so we didn't fall into a huge crack or crevasse. At one point we were walking along a small ridge with a glacial pool next to us and a cliff on the other side. We could hear the distant roar of landslides and avalanches in the distance. One time we looked back at the trail we had just walked on and a landslide just took out part of the trail we were on moments ago. When we finally made it to base camp It was an amazing feeling we cracked in Everest beer shared a granola bar and took some pictures. The hike back down from the base camp Took us through snow and rain at times and cold all the time. The experience lived up to our expectations and then some... It's an incredible feeling to know that you accomplished a goal that few ever even seek

The Trek

Sorry it's been a while, but as you can imagine, Nepal is not exactly a technology forward place.

We survived the flight to Lukla airport which is 9100 ft in the Himalayas. We knew this airport was on the top 10 list of most dangerous airports in the world, but shortly after landing we found out that it is actually #1 most dangerous!

We immediately started our trek upon landing by hiking down 200 m in elevation to a town called Padkhing. The hike wasn't too tough because it was mostly down hill. When we got there we sampled some of the local fair by eating some "daal" and "momos". The second day was much tougher, we gained about 800 m in elevation to a town called Namche Bazar. Namche is one of the biggest towns up here and we spent an additional day here acclimatizing. Today we hiked up to the highest hotel in the world but failed to see a view of Everest due to the cloud cover. We also visited the highest airport in the world!

The Himalayas are an amazing place of contrasts, everything is lush and green with tons of waterfalls everywhere. Then in the distance you will see monstrous snow capped mountains that don't appear to harbor any life. Contrast.

The people here are amazing, we see porters transporting wood, rocks, and everything else needed to sustain a town up here. Some of the porters are carrying upwards of 275 lbs. Then we walk by and I am carrying my 8 lb bag and I'm breathing so hard it feels like my heart is going to pop out of my chest. Contrast.

Anyway, we head out tomorrow to Tengboche which will be another tough day...Rebecca is doing just fine, as expected...Brian is just making it...as expected.

Don't know when we will be able to update again, but don't worry about us...if it comes down to it I am going to hire a porter or a yak to carry my ass up the hill.

Singapore to Kathmandu...first to third (world's apart)

The four hour flight from Singapore was pretty easy, compared to our flights from LA and Tokyo. I sat in a window seat which looked north, with hopes of catching my first glimpse of the great Himalayan mountain range. Most of this very green landscape was draped in clouds, though I was able to catch the very tips of some mountains off in the distance. Closer to when we landed I was able to capture my first views of Nepal.

What I see is the polar-opposite of what I see when landing in SoCal - very green, hilly-actually fairly steep canyons rimmed and spotted with homes. The total lack of arrangement of the homes makes it appear as if some great entity scattered their homes with a single toss. As we descend I can tell that we are entering a struggling nation. Dirt roads, lack of infrastructure, power lines stretched in a maze as if they grew there like vines. My curiosity was struck by the appearance of many small towers which seemed to be used for burning something due to the black scars around the tops of these tall, yet steeply conical towers. We land and I get a rush of excitement and amazement that we are finally in Nepal!

We step off the plane into the warm air of Kathmandu and walk across the tarmac to our shuttle. From the horribly stuffy shuttle I can see the presence of military, ranging from soldiers to seemingly high military figures due to the bling that adorns their uniforms. The small, rustic airport reminds me of other developing countries I have been to including Jamaica, Morocco, and even places in Peru.

We fill out our immigration and visa paperwork and this is where it gets really interesting... The officer asks us if we have a picture of ourselves to place on the application...but, he does this by simply saying: "picture". We tell him that we were not told we needed a picture and did not have one...he repeats: "picture...no picture? Go there" and with a quick hand gesture he points across the way. He continues working on some other paper work when he repeats in very little words or gestures that we need to go "there"...awkward! We are very concerned at this point and don't really know what is going on...if we are going to be able to get into the country or not, and have no money yet. We finally make it through immigration and head down to get our baggage, only after walking through a metal detector that no one is monitoring. A man walks through the metal detector before us in the opposite direction, the alarm sounds and no one takes notice...we pass through and it alarms... and no one takes notice. Luckily we get our bags very quickly and head to the exit. We see a ton of Nepalis standing behind a barrier looking for their disembarked when we see a sign that reads: Rebecca Cady. Oh, what a relief! We meet our guide and he takes us out to the car when some random guys help us get our bags into the car, at this point I am not sure if these guys are part of the tour company or what...but as they subtly hint that I should tip them, I gather that they are not. Regardless, I reach in my pocket and grab the Singaporean change I still have and hand it over...whatever I am not going to use that again for a few weeks. Our guide places a fresh flower lei around our necks and we are off to our hotel. We cautiously wander the local area to see whats up, and end up at a very safe cafe to get some food and local beer. I have found this to be the best way to ease culture shock by eating familiar food in a safe place with a nice cold beer!

A place of many faces

so after two nights in a hostel, we decided to upgrade to a hotel...but it was a saturday night and the last night before ramadan, so all the hotels were booked in our area. we finally found a room which seemed nice, until we discovered it was the hotel of choice for men and their escapades...dirty

we got out of there quickly and found a very nice hotel with a gym and pool, so we got a little workout in then hit the town.

the food here has been fantastic...noodles, noodles, and more noodles.

for our anniversary we changed hotels yet again for our planned stay in a loft in the studio m hotel. this hotel is awesome and we are stoked to have the same bed for two nights in a row...

our anniversary yesterday started with a disappointing visit to sentosa, which is an island theme park with a tacky casino and overpriced everything. we were quick to leave and headed back to chinatown for some massages and drinks. we did some shopping and departed from noodles for every meal and went for some mexican food.

we are now in an area called clarke quay, which is a modern, and hip area with lots of options.

all in all, our anniversary was a very different experience, but fun. we have definitely seen many different faces of singapore. today we are kickin it lazy in our loft and by the pool.

we leave for nepal tomorrow...

Singapore Sling

So one of the most historic hotels in Singapore is the Raffles, and they are known for creating the drink, "The Singapore Sling". We go to this very nice hotel to check this out...and I must say, it was...g r e a t...ly disappointing. It was basically fruit punch with barely any alcohol, premixed, and a smooth $26! So all said and done it was about $61 for two glasses of barely alcoholic punch! ...but it felt so historic!

Anyway, we had a great time cruizin India Town, and wandering the streets of Singapore. They basically have many of the same retailers and even restaurants that we have and more. They have even turned underground tunnels into malls so you can shop as you walk from one subway station to another for a transfer. The skyline is very cool and I discovered a cool feature on the camera that takes great pictures at night (pics will come later).

Right now we are going to try and find a new place to stay until we move on to our "anniversary suite"! Coming soon: Night safari zoo, the casino hotel (triple tower hotel/casino with a big cantilevered roof...as seen on modern marvels), more tiger beer, and much more! We are not getting slung anymore...but stay tuned!

Singapore!!!

after a long flight to tokyo and a sleep filled flight to singapore...we made it. we got to the hostal around four am and went out to get a bite and a beer...there were still plenty of people out and it was a good first night. fast forward to thursday and we just had some killer noodles and hand made dumplings...brian is in noodle bliss. we are heading out now to walk around this massive sauna they call singapore.