India is in the rearview mirror and we're now in Kathmandu, Nepal.
In the short time that we've been here we've gotten quite a lesson in the history of the country as well as a complete immersion into the culture. Nepal is much smaller in size than India and has a population of just over 29 million (compared to India's 1.3 billion). Kathmandu is the capital and largest city with a little over two million people.
There have been two significant events in the countries recent history. First, on June 1, 2001 the entire royal family was murdered at a family gathering. The culprit was the King and Queens son who killed himself after the massacre. The reason, he couldn't have his cake and eat it too. It seems as if he had fallen in love with a young girl from India that was from a lower caste. The King and Queen would only allow him to marry her if he gave up his right to be the future king. I guess he didn't like the answer but his solution wasn't a good one. The King's brother was out of the country at the time and was uninjured so he was appointed the new King. However, he declared that there would be no more Royal Family in Nepal so the country is now a democracy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepalese_royal_massacre
In April, 2015 an 8.1 magnitude earthquake hit the country killing close to 9,000. Many buildings in Kathmandu were damaged in the quake even though the epicenter was over 100 miles away and the quake was very deep. The recovery is still going on today. However, there are encouraging signs. A new underground freshwater system is being installed throughout the city. It's creating some bumpy roads right now but will hopefully ensure a brighter future for the citizens of the city.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_2015_Nepal_earthquake
It's Sunday morning around 9:00 AM local time but we've already had an amazing adventure today. We were up before 5:00 and on our way to the airport at 5:45 for a flight out to get an up close view of Mount Everest. Unbelievable! We flew on a nineteen passenger prop plane operated by Buddha Air (really, that's the name of the airline). The whole experience was something that we will never forget and we haven't been able to wipe the smiles off our faces. We flew out of the domestic terminal at the Kathmandu airport. We had to go through the usual security process although it wasn't too rigorous. Once we were on the plane and near the mountain we were allowed to go up to the cockpit to get a "pilots eye" view of the Himalaya's and the big guy. Wouldn't have really needed a weapon if we had been terrorists!
https://www.buddhaair.com/mountain-flight-nepal/information.html
The English translation of Himalaya is "Snow House" and the snow house is incredible to see up close. We flew to within three miles of Everest. We have a few pictures but they really don't do it justice and we spent most of the time simply soaking up the moment instead of trying to capture it.
What a way to start a Sunday in Nepal!
In the short time that we've been here we've gotten quite a lesson in the history of the country as well as a complete immersion into the culture. Nepal is much smaller in size than India and has a population of just over 29 million (compared to India's 1.3 billion). Kathmandu is the capital and largest city with a little over two million people.
There have been two significant events in the countries recent history. First, on June 1, 2001 the entire royal family was murdered at a family gathering. The culprit was the King and Queens son who killed himself after the massacre. The reason, he couldn't have his cake and eat it too. It seems as if he had fallen in love with a young girl from India that was from a lower caste. The King and Queen would only allow him to marry her if he gave up his right to be the future king. I guess he didn't like the answer but his solution wasn't a good one. The King's brother was out of the country at the time and was uninjured so he was appointed the new King. However, he declared that there would be no more Royal Family in Nepal so the country is now a democracy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepalese_royal_massacre
In April, 2015 an 8.1 magnitude earthquake hit the country killing close to 9,000. Many buildings in Kathmandu were damaged in the quake even though the epicenter was over 100 miles away and the quake was very deep. The recovery is still going on today. However, there are encouraging signs. A new underground freshwater system is being installed throughout the city. It's creating some bumpy roads right now but will hopefully ensure a brighter future for the citizens of the city.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_2015_Nepal_earthquake
It's Sunday morning around 9:00 AM local time but we've already had an amazing adventure today. We were up before 5:00 and on our way to the airport at 5:45 for a flight out to get an up close view of Mount Everest. Unbelievable! We flew on a nineteen passenger prop plane operated by Buddha Air (really, that's the name of the airline). The whole experience was something that we will never forget and we haven't been able to wipe the smiles off our faces. We flew out of the domestic terminal at the Kathmandu airport. We had to go through the usual security process although it wasn't too rigorous. Once we were on the plane and near the mountain we were allowed to go up to the cockpit to get a "pilots eye" view of the Himalaya's and the big guy. Wouldn't have really needed a weapon if we had been terrorists!
https://www.buddhaair.com/mountain-flight-nepal/information.html
The English translation of Himalaya is "Snow House" and the snow house is incredible to see up close. We flew to within three miles of Everest. We have a few pictures but they really don't do it justice and we spent most of the time simply soaking up the moment instead of trying to capture it.
What a way to start a Sunday in Nepal!
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| Excited to fly Buddha Air and see the mountains |
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| Before the big flight |
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| Everest is the tall one on the left (taken from the cockpit) |
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| Everest Beer. Honoring Nima Gombu a Sherpa Guide who climbed Everest 12 times! |
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| A closer view..............fair to say it's as close as we'll ever get to the summit |
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| The Boudhanath (Buddhist Temple or Stupa). We received a special blessing from the monks who live there. |
