Trip to Nepal

When we realized we needed to go for a visa run, there was only one place close by that seemed like a good idea...

After many long days of studies and living the busy life in our city, we left to go for a retreat in the mountains. We were told that it was a great time to visit Nepal, so we booked a place in Katmandu and drove to Delhi...

Although we were a little late arriving in to Delhi because of a flat tire everything seemed fine. And then at the halfway point it hit me... I don't have the passports!!

So I took Kristen to the hotel and grabbed lunch before returning to our city. We arrived at dark, during the worst time of the traffic. We were stuck at a roundabout for almost 30 minutes! Then we got on the overpass and ran into traffic again. Finally we got away and I grabbed our passports and arrived at the train station around 8 pm. 

Trains are always late here, so I waited for a while. Then someone told me to upgrade to the next train and save time. So I did and got on the train and sat down next to a guy that was from our city and spoke perfect english. He said he was living in the Middle East and was very helpful about telling me what he knew about life in India. He then drove me to the hotel when we arrived in Delhi. God was gracious to me among all of my frustration.

So the next day we got on the plane and as soon as we were relaxing we looked up and saw this sight...

Isn't it beautiful! The largest mountain range in the world is definitely breathtaking.

Here is what we saw when we were landing. Lots of air pollution, like Delhi and much of India.

When we arrived we got our stamps and headed to the exit gates. We got in a cab only to realize that there was a free ride available from the hotel at the airport waiting for us. So we got a "refund" and got in the van and drove down some of the bumpiest "roads" (it was like a war zone) I have ever seen. We finally got to the center of the city and the roads were a little better. It is a rather large city. When we got to our hotel we were impressed to see the beauty of the area. It had a nice garden and was well maintained. 

Elijah loved our room cleaner lady. She was real nice.

We ate some Mexican food that was pretty good. The weather was nice and cool, especially in the shade. Elijah was once again central attention. We realized we might have been the only foreigners to bring a baby... everyone was here to just relax before hiking to Everest.

There were lots of wild bars outside at night that seemed to appeal to the foreigners, but obviously not us. We loved just getting a nice steak dinner.

Elijah loved our day trip to the Mountain view site. He got to be out in nature a little more.

Kristen and Elijah before going in to get some food.

Don't worry Mom, its not really a steep drop, only like 2 feet!

As cute as this looks, it is necessary with this little scavenger!

Mommy took him for a little as well.

Isn't that precious!

When we realized we could not see much from our original destination, we drove a little further to go up and climb the tower to see the mountains better. As you may notice there is a section of the ladder missing. So you have to do gymnastics to reach the first rung! It was not too much better on the tower, but you could see all directions.

It was a  unique spot for sure. Most tourists go to climb the mountains, but we just wanted to get close enough to see them!

As we were staring into the distance and very upset that we had driven all this way on a hazy day, suddenly I realized something... "Kristen that isn't just a bunch of clouds, those are mountain tops!" I know, many are saying... Neal you are so dumb, but we literally had looked in this direction all day and  only seen the tops of the clouds. 

(by the way... we never could go close enough to see Everest).

Our picture in front of the mountains.

What better way to end the day but with some ice cream in front of the most beautiful view. Elijah loved holding the cone.

After getting our fill of some tasty american style foods we decided to go out and smell the flowers!

This garden was so beautiful, a great place for Elijah!

A family photo in the garden.

Can you believe how fast they grow up! Elijah is running everywhere now!

He tried to learn how to walk up steps on this trip. Incidentally he was constantly falling down! We had to be very careful. He climbed 4 flights of stairs (on hands and knees) 2 times one night.

"Here's lookin' at you kid!"

Elijah's play area!

He discovered that he could pick up the rocks and then bring them back to their original spot. He is a kid that is always looking for discoveries!

Overall it was a great trip, we spent most of our time sleeping, buying gifts for friends and relaxing. 

We realized that the power situation is much like India, so this was a little discouraging at times. But overall it was okay. All around a good trip. 

So we went to the airport, and then it began again... the wildness of living oversees.