We arrived back in Kathmandu around lunch time. We left the airport and went to the hotel to drop our stuff off and get cleaned up. We are lunch at the pizza place, which is owned by 2 Americans, so it was legit pizza and just what I needed.
We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in Thamel or napping. That night for dinner we ate at the home of leader of the organization we were with. They made us mo:mo and finger chips (french fries). It was delicious.
Our group ended up on the top floor of the hotel in the honeymoon suites. This was out view from the roof top area.
The next day we got to do some sightseeing. The first place we went to was Swayambhunath (good luck trying to pronounce that...). It is also known as the monkey temple. There are hundreds of monkeys that live there and they are protected and sacred. We were told to be careful, the monkey will take your glasses right off your face. We were also told not to make eye contact or motion at the monkeys.
While we were taking some pictures, I noticed a guy stop and look at a monkey. He then waived at the monkey. As he did this, I remembered thinking "oh that's not good..." just then the monkey lunged at him and bit his arm. I yelled "dude got bit by a monkey!!!" and everyone in our group kept saying he hadn't. The guy finally got his sleeve up, and sure enough... dude got bit by a monkey. The monkeys carry diseases, so he was instructed to go to the medical tent. I am sure there were lots of shots for that guy... I felt bad for him, but he had been warned.
We rode by motorbikes to our next stop. Once you get past the "oh dear God, we are all gonna die!" part, it was actually kind of fun!!
After the monkey temple we went to the palace. Nepal had a king until 2001 when the family was murdered. There is a book called "Love and Death in Kathmandu," it is suppose to be a really good read if you are interested.
We were not allowed to take pictures. They made me lock up my camera and there was a massive gate that everyone is funneled through so you can't get a good look of the palace from the street. It wasn't what you think of when you think of a royal family or palace. It was big and over the top in some areas, but simple and everyday-like in others. They have kept everything the same since the family passed away.
Halfway through the palace I started to get hangry. The boys took us to the locals shopping area (less touristy) and ate lunch. It was so jam packed, but it was cool to see the every day shopping areas.
That night we ate at the Italian restaurant that we ate at our first night in Kathmandu. We had a great dinner as a group one last time before we started our trip home the next day.
Saying good-bye was hard, but I knew it wouldn't be my last time there and I couldn't wait until we were able to go back.
We flew (1st class!) the next day from Kathmandu to New Deli, India. We had a 9 hour layover in India. The layover was going fine, we ate dinner and I got a Pumpkin Spice Latte at the (real) Starbucks in the airport. About halfway through I started to feel awful. By the time we got on the plane for the 16 hour flight home, I had started to run a fever. The actual flight home was uneventful, I just slept most of the time with the chills. I ended up at the doctors the Monday after we got home because I felt so bad.
We arrived back in Atlanta mid-afternoon. We got the chance to hang out with Matthew's dad and step-mom before we started the drive home.
It was so good to be home. I remember all I wanted was a big glass of ice water, a hot hot shower, my bed and my baby.
Jet-lag is horrible, it leaves you in the depression kind of funk for a few days. Then add being sick on top of that and it was a rough first week back home. I tried to get right back into the swing of things, which was a mistake. I know better for this year! When we get home, we will hunker down inside for the first few days before we make contact with anyone from the outside world :)
We are now just over 2 weeks away from leaving and I am counting down the days!!
