I'll take you in my backpack

Up pretty early, wanting to get every ounce of life out of the day seeing as it's my last full day here in Nepal. I don't even know how it happened so fast, but it did and I fully intend to make the most of it! Tomorrow (and part of Sunday) will be filled with traveling back to Japan and before I know it I'll be hit with the reality of the work week schedule. Something that has always been important to me when traveling is making sure to positively contribute or support the local people. When I traveled in Thailand and Cambodia a few years ago I was fortunate enough to find Backstreet Academy. It's a program (that is in many countries) that provides meaningful travel experiences by connecting you with local trades and experiences, and helping to support and boost local economies in the process. Impact travel. I've blogged about the importance of human connections, and did an entire podcast episode over on my podcast A Glittery Affair about it as well, the Backstr...

There were a few things that I absolutely didn't want to leave KTM without. The tea that I've become addicted to (that I can only describe as similar to chai tea, but that description is doing it a huge injustice), spices to attempt to replicate the delicious meals I've had here (or better yet to convince someone else to cook for me!), some candies that you can only get in Nepal, and lastly some super soft cotton (don't cringe at that word this is like the most soft fabric ever) jammies for my nephew. Once I touched the fabric I also bought my self a blanket. Once you wash it, it becomes even softer! Because I was taken by Resha and her mother, we went directly to the factory where everything is hand sewn, so I had the ability to pick the fabric, my nephew will have custom made jammies finished by tomorrow. I had a choice of so many fabrics, it was nearly impossible to choose, so I went with a very "traditional Nepali" fabric in a beautiful blue, instead of th...

A bit of a slower start today, it was appreciated since it was the first one since getting to Nepal, first day without jam packed activities. Only real thing on the schedule was the 11:30 pick up to head to Rupakot (approximately an hour drive on a bumpy dirt road, up a mountain...oh what an adventure!) The driver showed up about an hour earlier than planned so we headed to Rupakot earlier than planned, which was fine. The ride there was definitely an adventure. The normal; cows in the road, tractors driving down the road, having to stop and wait for various things to cross (humans, machinery, animals, you get the point). Once we hit the dirt ascending part I knew we were in for it. Oh I forgot to mention, when we started this point the driver also had to kill the AC (and it was sweltering) because he couldn't run the AC while also climbing the mountain. The road was, uhhh, thrilling. And questionably safe. For even one car, but turn that into a two way road and you have a true a...

Up nice and early to adventure by heli to Annapurna base camp! A quick google search looks like it's over 1000m higher than Fuji (yikes! Here's to hoping I don't get altitude sickness!! I did on Fuji!) Pick up from the hotel was said to be between 6:15 and 6:30am, it ended up being around 7:15am, I'm told this is common for Nepali time. I think Nepali time is teaching me to relax and not be so uptight about timing and a schedule! Thankfully things went off without a hitch and we were able to go off without an issue. I'm happy to report that I'm no longer a heli or Himalayas virgin! Super happy to be able to have experienced both of those things I can't recommend this experience enough to people. I will say that preparing for this trip I didn't think it would be possible because researching it on the net produced some very expensive options. So my best advice is to wait until you get to Nepal to book it. Go to Pokhara, and book it ...

This morning started off super fun by dying Easter eggs with my friends kiddos. They can't get that kind of thing in Nepal so I brought over all kinds of Easter goodies, including a couple of egg dying kits for them! I haven't dyed eggs in years and the kits were way fancier than anything we ever used as kids, but still super fun! After the eggs it was off to lunch for traditional Nepalese food. I have been eating this style cuisine (or similar) for many years so I was excited to try it and see similarities and differences. The flavors were amazing and the spice level was great! We started with some "bites" then had a set plate that had a nice sampling of many different dishes. One of the "bites" was described to me as "deer" it came out looking like maybe jerky, with a few fattier pieces? It was quickly discovered that my friends Nepali translation was perhaps not accurate, and that the animal wasn't in fact a deer. When I saw the p...

2/25/18 Find what you love, and never stop doing it! Yesterday I did something that I've wanted to do for a REALLY long time! I've seen photos and lusted over this adventure. Why it took me so long I have no idea, but I'm so glad that I cashed in on life'ing with this one! Seeing the snow monkeys in Nagano at the natural hot spring was something that I'll never forget. I highly recommend it for anyone who is in Japan (fun fact you don't have to go in the winter, they're open year round, the monkeys are always there (free range, not caged or contained). I would even venture to say that it may be better to visit during the "off" season because as you can imagine this place is riddled with tourists, which becomes annoying. My annoyance increased because some people literally have zero respect for animals, their habitat, and personal space. More often than not tourists would get uncomfortably close to the monkeys, babies, mamas with babies, in...