I'll take you in my backpack

3/22/19 I'm hoping that this post helps people wanting info about the Diamond Head hike because when I was looking for info online (including climb time) I found very little that provided the information that I needed. I was in Hawaii on a time crunch, there for 2 days for a training for work then flying out. I wanted to get in some of the beauty before leaving the island. When considering Koko Head and Diamond Head, Diamond Head won because of the close proximity to where I was staying (Waikiki) and the time crunch of needing to catch a flight that day. I took a Lyft to Diamond Head, they stop you at the tunnel until the park opens. Some people park there (very limited spots) and tour buses drop people off there as well. There is a park ranger who lines people up to try to make sure it's a smooth process and flow getting people into the ticket booth. From the tunnel you go down a small hill and around the corner and the ticket booth will be in front of you (it's a...

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...

Up early trying to steal one last sunrise (and maybe a hopeful glimpse of some wildlife...tigers, bears oh my!). Met some people yesterday who are on a year long world travel adventure (also heading to Pokhara tomorrow) We also learned that helicopter transport is an option, like leaving steps outside of our hotel door, hmmm. So the helicopter didn't pan out, but that's ok, because the flight not only wasn't delayed but it left early. I won't lie, I was a wee bit nervous when I saw the size of the plane, only 7 freaking windows! When I got on the plane I was even more nervous, it had absolutely NO overhead bins, this meant all hopes of shoving my bag and attached sneakers in there was shattered. So I crammed them under the seat in front of me and did my best for the very quick 15 minute flight. Much to my surprise the flight was incredibly smooth, way better than the one to Chitwan! Arriving in Pokhara the weather was stunning. Bright blue sunning skies. S...

--> Leading up to today I was warned about flying domestic, told about how flights are always delayed, and to anticipate hours of delays. I was optimistic however, and perhaps naïve. Needless to say I thought maybe my positive attitude had paid off because when we got to the airport and checked in, the flight was “on time”. Even all the way up to what would be boarding things looked like they would be going off without a hitch, all other flights on the board listed a delay, some hours long, but my flight seemed good to go. Until 11:40 (10 mins before scheduled departure) when they typed the dreaded words… “Delay” Thankfully the delay listed was only about 25 minutes (but that would soon prove way too good to be true!) Flying domestic is quite the experience in Nepal. When you go through security (I should have put that word in air quotes) you put your bag on the belt, I’m pretty sure they don’t give a shit what you have in it, I had small liquids and a razor, nail cl...

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...

So getting to KTM isn't horrible, but it was exhausting! I left at midnight from Tokyo, took the red eye to Bangkok where I had about a 6 hour layover before finishing the final leg of my trip on to KTM (another 2.5 hour flight). The last bit of the flight was technically 3.5 hours because when we reached KTM (at 15,000 feet) we then proceeded to do loops for an hour. What I didn't know is that KTM has only one runway at their airport, as you can imagine that causes some traffic on the ground with planes departing and in the air with planes attempting to land. What I also didn't know is that a week ago (in what seemed like a serious case of pilot error due to leaked communications between the pilot and the air traffic control tower) a plane crashed coming in to KTM and the majority of the passengers died. I'm glad I didn't know this, because I would have needed a xanax, and some alcohol. I'm told that usually when you fly in to KTM you can see beautiful views of...

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...