Yak Pies and Marijuana Fields

Well, it's my last day in Nepal. And I have to say this is the most sad I have been to leave a country. Out of all 3,427 countries I've visited so far, I have to say this is one of my favoritests.

My friend Josie met up with me, my first day in Nepal. I am finally with a trusted companion and it feels great.
I feel very lucky to travel with Josie. We are the "same same but different." We are on the same page about almost everything and I am so greatful for that. Its crazy how travelling with someone can be so hit or miss. Travelling with someone you do not enjoy can really make a trip difficult and can include some resenting real quick.
I feel happy with Josie every day. We are basically one. :)
Anyways, we started our time in Nepal meeting up with a recommended guide, Jaya. He picked me up from the airport, said he wanted to discuss our plans that evening and we were off within 2 days. Jos and I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into but went with it because, well, it just felt right.
Off to Chalis Gang (I have no idea how to spell it). Jaya's rural village.
We rode the local bus for 6 hours, then changed into a jeep to do some 4 wheeling. We rode on the top :) ... Past rice fields, deep valleys, huge spiders, and steep cliffs. It was kind of like riding a bull.
Finally arrived at the place we were to sleep for the night. There was no power, obviously and we quickly showered with our wet wipes and enjoyed a nice soup and dal baht prepared my our guide Jaya. We slept in the most simple of conditions. Bed frames with little to no cushion.
We got up the next day and started our walk. Up and down, down and up. For 8 hours. Through amazingly beautiful countryside. Arrived at destination in the evening, and really wanted a shower. What did we get? A communal water tap in the middle of the small village. Nepalis are very conservative especially when it comes to nudity so we attempted a shower by holding up towels for each other and bathing in the glacial river water. Aww refreshing. We ate with the locals, slept with the locals, and pood with the locals. This included finding a spot with a view and lettin' it go, let it flow. In the wild. :)
One more day of walking 8 hours and we finally arrived at Jaya's village.
We were welcomed in the dark by fields of fireflies fluttering about. I had never seen one before so it was pretty magical for me. Before we settled in our shed for the night, we decided to have a quick bathe. This included getting naked (because it was dark) then trying to avoid the random flashlight turned on by a snickering 5 year old trying to make us squirm. It wasn't relaxing, to say the least.
There were 2 fireflies that managed to sneak into our room before we went to sleep. It was nice to watch their glowing little bodies before I closed my eyes and let my sore body rest for the night.
We spent 3 whole days in Jaya's village. And lucky for us, it was during one of Nepal's biggest festival. The Tihar Festival. This includes dedicating one whole day to celebrate the cow, buffalo, crow, dog, and brother/sister. The dogs were all running around with red paint on their foreheads and the cows sported wreaths of marigold flowers. On the day of the brother/sister blessing, we were included in the tradition. We set up camp outside of Jaya's parents house which included lying a blanket down and setting out a plate full of roti (Nepali bread), beer, beans, flowers, money, etc. for the sisters. The sisters (which included most of the young women in the village) came around to bless the brothers. And us. We received tikas (red marks of paint on our foreheads), wreaths of marigolds, roti, beans, and lots of beer as well. I got tipsy as it had been a while since I had any kind of alcohol. Josie made fun of me for feeling anything after 2 cups of beer. It was beautiful.
Later, a group of older ladies set up camp on our doorstep and were blaring Nepali music while showing us their latest dance moves. We were basically "encouraged" to dance with them so round and round in a circle we went, same song over and over, twirling our wrists to the sound of the nasily woman singing lyrics we did not understand.
The next day we hiked up to an abandoned Buddhist temple with beautiful views of the Ganesh Himal mountains. Later that evening, we were welcomed for dinner with Jaya's family and tried buffalo meat for the first time. Tasty but chewy, mine had a welcome hair ball attached so it was short lived for me.
Buffalo milk, beaten rice, black tea, and dal bhat is what we had for 9 days. Dal bhat is the food of choice in Nepal. The Nepali people eat it for lunch and dinner. EVERY DAY. It includes white rice, lentil soup, vegetable curry, and sometimes pickled goodies. Usually more veggies.
We were pretty sick of rice by the time we returned to Kathmandu. But there are plenty of Western dishes available in Kat so it wasn't a problem to get our fill.

After returning to Kat, off we went to Pokhara. A smaller but still touristy town set on a stunningly beautiful lake surrounded by the Annapurna Mountains. Couldn't get much better. Unless you went into the mountains, which we did!
We did what they call the Jomsom Trek, which is the second half of the Annapurna Circuit (which basically all tourists come to do in Nepa). We cheated a bit because of lack of time and sore muscles and took a local bus to the small village of Jomsom. The ride wasn't the least bit relaxing. Loud horns beeping at trekkers in the road, close calls on blind turns, and tires very close to the edge of the cliff. But we made it, and settled into a cozy guesthouse in Jomsom for the night.
We made our way to the pilgrimage site of Muktinath, where tons of Hindus and Buddhists from India and Nepal come to receive blessings from the eternal flame that rests there.
We met a hippie lady named Cathi from Austin, Texas, who had a rat tail she had been growing since 1984. And a drug dealer from NY who is living in Thailand and receiving money from his 5 clients who still live in the states. Woooooooooooo!
We saw a yak that had just been slaughtered and was being skinned, so we decided to stop and watch them remove it's balls. As the Nepalis would say "deri deri" interesting.
Shortly after the yak skinning, we saw a crowd of people around a goat. We tried to sneak a peak, and suddenly I saw something beating. Yep. The goat's heart was outside of its body, still beating. Craziest thing I've ever seen, probably.
The next day while walking through jungle, I mentioned to Josie that I could imagine monkeys parading through the jungle toward us.... And maybe 2 minutes later, we saw these huge greyish/white monkeys swinging above on vines above our heads.
That night, we got the best room in the hood. It was this old lookout tower that had 360 degree views of the Annapurna mountains, with Machupichare (the fish tailed mountain) straight in front of us. The sunset was magical. The management even brought us a bucket of coals to keep us extra warm for the night since there was no insulation and we were in the Himalayas...
All around us on the trek down were fields of mary jane, which the 2 French guys we were walking with stopped to collect in bags full.
We passed a tiny tiny little village near a big waterfall where stopped for lunch. Little did we know this would be the place we would find the best macaroni and cheese on earth! Yak cheese, cream, and butter with homemade shells of goodness. With a waterfall splashing in the backgroud. Bliss.
We made it back to Pokhara and indulged with lasagna, pizza, chicken butter masala, tiramisu, ice cream, etc. We may or may not have gained 10lbs...
For our last days in Pokhara before heading back to Kathmandu then off to Thailand...
we decided to do a 2 day yoga and meditation retreat.
It was very relaxing, minus the MASSIVE hairy/clawed spider bigger than my face that was about 4 feet from my bed in the middle of the night.
Needless to say, I didn't sleep well on the second night of the retreat. The yoga center was overlooking Phewa Tal, the misty lake near Pokhara. So it was paradise, and the yoga and meditation helped clear our minds while the organic veg curries and lemongrass tea helped cleanse our bodies.
Bye Bye to Pokhara, knowing we will return.. We are now back in Kathmandu and it is our last day in Nepal. We are both glowing in happiness and couldn't have asked for anything better, but sad to leave this amazing country. Its peacefulness and happy eyes.
Its women on the side of the road picking eachothers hair for lice. The men playing a game similar to pool and kneeling cliffside pondering life. Incense everywhere.
Namaste Nepal. Thank you for helping to perfect my broken English.
I will never forget you and I know I will return.