Well, the flight here provided us with our first bit of travel excitement on The Trip. Was to be a brief hop of three hours from Cambodia to Nepal, but as we neared Kathmandu, yes, the “h” is supposed to be there, and yes, I have been singing “I think I’m going to Kathmandu” all day, we were informed that we would need to circle the airport due to traffic. So, circle we did, for about an hour, until we got the word we could land. Wheels down, we were just about to land when we pulled up, hard and fast, as the visibility level proved to be insufficient for our sized plane.

We resumed circling for a bit when the pilot informed us that due to fuel issues we were going to have to divert an hour and half to Guwahati, India to gas up. Guwahati is a desolate little place in India (is that redundant ?), so small that when we landed we were taxied to our spot by a Jeep with a sign on the back that said “Follow Me”!

About two hours to gas up and head back to Kathmandu. Again with the circling, then finally we get to our ultimate destination – a three hour trip completed in a mere eight.

Very luckily, and thanks to our crack NatGeo staff, we flew through airport customs and got our buses to the hotel. Along the way it became apparent that electricians are in great demand here…

At our hotel we were met by Fred G. Sanford and his buddies…

Our hotel, The Dwarika, is an oasis in the middle of a city that is over slam-packed and in need serious need of an urban makeover…

The Dwarika is a walled compound about the size of a city block. When the doors to the hotel close behind you, you enter another world away from the mayhem of the city-proper, an island of comfort, cleanliness, and serenity…

Another hotel first here – our room door was lock was a padlock on the outside, and a sliding bolt lock on the inside…

Had dinner in a Nepalese restaurant in the compound (there are five restaurants within the walls), which was interesting, very authentic, and excellent mostly allowing for my second chance at dining on water buffalo. After being hoisted from the low table we enjoyed local entertainment on our walk back to another DEEP slumber.

The next morning brought thunder, lightning, and a steady rain so we passed on the temple visit and packed/prepared for our flight to Lhasa, Tibet.

Up early, ready for another of my long expected stops, the former home for the Dalai Lama before he and his people were driven out in 1959. While many/most/all of you know I am not a particularly religious man, but if I were to be, Buddhism would most likely be my worship of choice. Also, I find the Dalai to be a person of immense depth and serenity, not to mention one of insight and obvious forgiveness. So, I am very focused on seeing/feeling this city.

A nice breakfast, pack up once again, jump on a bus, an head to the Kathmandu airport. Arrive at one of the smallest, in relation to the amount of traffic, airports I have seen, and certainly one of the dirtiest, regardless the traffic.

We wind our way through and are standing in the final line of security, after which they’re is no turning back, only to be told that we are leaving and getting back on the buses. Our charter flight, which is flying in Lhasa, has been diverted due to plane traffic and weather, hmmm, I feel like I have heard that before.

Seventy five people plod back and transfer to our hotel, from which we have checked out of already. Somehow a great lunch appears and we eat yet again. Word finally comes that we will not be able to get out and will be staying another night at the Dwarika. To wile way the new-found time we are going to the holy site we missed the day we arrived – Bhaktapur.

Bhaktapur is very holy Hindu location, literally translated as the Place of Devotees. It was massively damaged in an earthquake in 2014, and is under reconstruction to this day. That any of the buildings survived is a miracle by the looks of the condition of the structures in the area. Surrounding the temples and shrines is a small town of even more dilapidated homes and businesses.

In Nepal the work week is six days, with Saturday being the one day/week off. The Nepalese are very family oriented, and as such, of a Saturday they gather with their extended clans in the open-air markets and parks. Religious services, picture taking, are the rule, after which food and general goofing off follow…

During our walkabout I was able to experience a “singing bowl” treatment which quite honestly took me by surprise with its’ serenity inducing, calming affect…

Most striking to me were the stories written in the faces of these obviously poor people, who seemed happy and proud at the same time. Their stories live in their lined faces, presenting an appearance well beyond their chronological ages.

To one side of the square there was a gathering of people eating, drinking, praying, etc. that drew my attention. Walking among their group I was taken by their overall happiness and openness to my presence…

Floating around the group were two men anointing each of their group with orange dots that they would then strike though with a charcoal-tipped stick. These dots are called a “tika”. The color orange indicated they were followers of the Goddess Sheva, the goddess of demolition (as in demolition to allow for rebuilding) and the most powerful of the goddess…

They noticed my interest in what they were doing and invited me over for my own tika…

The next morning we begin it all again. Eat, wait and off to the airport.

Back through three levels of Nepalese security, some of which involves separate lines for men and women. Then sitting in a waiting area of what seems to be half the population of the country, using what is now the nastiest bathroom this guy has ever seen, and then finally on the plane to Lhasa !