Wow, it’s been two whole months and I’m finally back in DC for a smidge! What an adventure the past two months have been- here’s the before and after pics. I’m more tired than I look in the after shot, trust me. 
Now for the last trip of the junket…India and Nepal (there’s something to be said for that saving best for last theory)! I embarked on a Flashpack (of course) adventure to India and Nepal, half-expecting the music of Slum Dog Millionaire to be on replay in the background. I later learned that the movie is depicting life in India over 30 years ago and, thankfully, much has changed since then, although the country is still undergoing a slow cultural shift that is being both guardedly embraced and at times outright rejected. This was explained to our group of 13 by our India guide, Nitin (he said we could call him anything close so I went with Nathan, as he continued to pronounce my name Tee-a).
Nitin was yet another knowledgable and patient Flash Pack guide, with the not-so-easy task of touting 13 British, Scottish, Irish, Australian, and American tourists around his home country. Our group first met and endured the inevitable quasi-awkward intros, as we all later admitted…I mean, we’d be spending TWO WEEKS with these strangers. And, of course, two weeks later we were friends, the kind of friends who finish each other’s sentences, know each other’s nuances, only speak in inside jokes, and authentically miss each other (well, that’s how I feel at least. One of the ‘inside jokes’ was the frequency with with I chat away (aka share valuable information) so others in the group may be grateful for some peace and quiet). It’s really an amazing sociological experiment to watch the dynamics of the group unfold and now that I’ve completed my fourth tour of this sort, I’m going to go out on a limb and declare there is a pattern- and that it’s a ton of fun to experience. It’s amazing how close like-minded strangers can become in just two weeks!
Anyways, back to India!!! My intro to the country was a 30 min drive from the airport to the hotel, during which I saw goats passing by on the highway, people hanging off trucks, loud consistent honking and no stoplights or street signs to guide anything. And at the time I didn’t realize the airport road is one of more kept up ones- it’s even paved!
We dove right in on our first full day with a walking tour of Old Delhi, which is the oldest part of the city, consisting of dusty dirt streets jammed with cars, motorbikes, rick shaws, regular bikes, people, cows, goats…pretty much anything you can imagine. There is also a LOT of honking in these narrow streets. It’s unclear to an interloper what the honking means exactly…as everyone is doing it all the time. This begs the Driver’s Ed question of how do you know which horn to listen to, and if you pick one to listen to, how do you know what it means? Go chew on that Mr. Carr (Mr. Carr was my Driver’s Ed instructor in high school- yes that really was his name). It’s amazing that the system seems to work and the roads are deftly navigated by cars and cows alike. 
After taking in something for all five senses (no shortage of material for the senses in the streets of Old Delhi) we had lunch at a private home that hosts small groups for a delicious home-cooked Indian meal in a gorgeous setting abundant with historical relics and the stories to accompany them. We all agreed it was one of the best meals of the trip (amongst many yummy meals). It was interesting, though, to only interact with the “man of the house” (who served as our host) while his wife (and the chef) was in the kitchen the entire time. Sadly (from a western perspective), the idea of men being even remotely involved in cooking or food prep is non-existent. The men provide the food and the women cook it. That’s just how it is- even among the seemingly more-progressive folks we met. 
While we learned that overall there have been slow improvements to females’ role and treatment in the Indian society, there is still a lot of room for improvement. For example, there were multiple times during the tour that only the men in the group were addressed and it was like the women weren’t even there. One of these times was during a jewelry shop tour where the owner explained the various Indian gemstones in detail but was only addressing one of the men in our group, who tried to seem interested while the women struggled to get questions answered. Of course culture takes a long time to change but the experience was really eye-opening, especially given the great strides that Nathan told us have taken place already.
We then swung by a Sikh temple, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, and learned more about the religion, which is the youngest of major world religions and has distinct beliefs that vary from Hinduism. We spent some time in the beautifully adorned temple listening to the music that is played for 18 hours a day, while the Sikh prayer book is on display. The book is taken away between the hours of 10pm to 4am, during which the musicians can take a breather.
We also viewed the “dining room” where many sat in perfect rows on the floor eating delicious looking Indian meals that are provided for free to anyone who comes, regardless of their background or religion. Many Sieks will grab a bite while at the temple for their daily or weekly worship and even visitors are invited to partake. We were full from lunch but did get to help rolling the dough for the bread and even got suckered into dishes duty for a bit. 
Next, we hopped on the bus (for the first of several road trips) during which many of us were mesmerized looking out the window at sites and sounds so different from anything we’d seen before. We arrived in Jaipur that afternoon to our accommodations in a beautiful palace setting, where we would be spending the next two nights. It was an early bell the next morning as we cruised over to the Krishna temple and watched the majestic colors come to life with the rising sun, embellished by the sounds of prayer. 
That afternoon our minds (and cameras) continued to be blown with a trip to the Akbar fort, which is a glam super-old fort on a hill with stellar views. On the walk to the fort there were many individuals peddling their wares and our group couldn’t help but pick up a few essential accessories.
As we explored the fort we were also flattered to be asked to be photographed by Nepalese children (okay, so technically I was not specifically asked but others in the group were…multiple times. And even to join a class photo! I think I must have just seemed unapproachable with my parasol and all? My story = going with it). 
Next we ventured on to the city of Agra. (P.s. The three cities we visited, Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra, are known as the Golden Triangle of India- so a popular tourist route to check off the big-ticket items but, despite this, I never felt that anywhere we went was over-run with tourists. Maybe overrun with horns and people but that’s part of the India experience). On the way to Agra we stopped at a “Batman monument” that I had low expectations for, having never seen the movie (shhhh!). It was soooo cool, and was basically a huge, deep well with many steps, from which water was fetched back in the day to prevent the royalty from becoming parched. Not sure what the purpose was in the Batman movie but it’s a pretty cool background for anything in my opinion.
So, on to Agra! The objective of this city can be boiled down to it’s wonder of the world…the Taj Mahal. Of course I knew it was a wonder of the world before the trip? Nope. Nor did I know there are both natural and unnatural/man-made wonders of the world. This discovery and clarifying the various lists was fodder for bus ride conversation for a good hour. Despite not knowing the WOTW thing in advance, I completely agree with the person, people, or committee who deemed the Taj Mahal as one. Btw, I wonder who does decide the wonders? I might need to look into that.
The night before seeing the Taj live and in-person the group opted to go to a musical performance that depicted the Wonder’s history. It was very colorful with lots of dancing, and also extremely cheesy- to the point it became extremely entertaining. 
Anyways, the Taj Mahal completely blew me away. Especially during the early morning hours as we were one of the first in when they opened at sunrise. Pictures are better descriptors than words.
We then had another “bus bonding opportunity” heading back to Delhi to complete the triangle. Look at how much fun we had on the bus!
We jumped right into a rickshaw street food tour of our favorite hood…Old Delhi!
I really could not get enough of the flavorful food in India and I even got into having curry for breakfast most days! During our street food tour Old Delhi was even more lively than our previous walking tour as the city was decked to the nines with decorations and lights in celebration of Dwali. So, Dwali is India’s annual “festival of lights” that symbolizes light over darkness, good over evil, hope over despair and knowledge over ignorance. So, all things worth celebrating! It’s truly a spectacular showcase during which lights, flags, decorations, and music are in abundance with and there’s dancing in the streets in the evenings. It was so lucky for us to be there for this special celebration, and it even continued in Nepal (by that time we were old pros at this Dwali thing). 
Our group then said our goodbyes to “Nathan” and boarded a plane for Nepal, excited for phase 2 of our adventure. We met our super-awesome Nepalese guide, Amar, in Katmandu and hopped a quick flight to the town of Pokhara. The plane was definitely the smallest commercial plane I’ve ever flown on and in my last row seat (next to the jump seat) I had some quality time with the flight attendant, who patiently answered my many questions. She said that sometimes you can see Mt. Everest from the flight, but while conditions didn’t cooperate during ours, we were treated to stunning views of non-Everest Himalayan mountains. Here’s Amar making sure we all got on the plane okay: 
After a long day of travel we were happy to settle into our accommodations at a beautiful waterfront hotel with postcard-like views. The next day we were treated with even better views (didn’t think it possible) as we embarked on two days of trekking in the mountains. 
We even had sherpas carrying our supplies for us, like we were hiking Everest! I don’t think being a sherpa is in the cards for my next career, though.
We followed our mountain guide up many steps and inclines to the mountain town of Dhampus where we stayed at the family-run Basanta lodge, with phenomenal views (noticing a theme with the views on this trip??)
During the trek the sites and sounds of Dwali were prominent, as in multiple locations on the trail children blocked our path by holding hands and singing the songs of Dwali, hopeful for rupia in exchange for letting us pass.
We also passed many villagers, who were all extremely friendly with the traditional “Namaste” greeting as we passed. This was a theme throughout my time in Nepal- the people are SO nice and really make an effort to talk to you and share their culture.
We were told that the theme of the Dwali festival during our night in the mountain village meant that families would show up outside neighbor’s homes (complete with a portable sound system) and dance for them- kind of like Christmas caroling except afterwards the owner of the home presents them with a gift. 
We loved watching the dances and finally joined in, not to be deterred by a rainstorm (I didn’t say we were GOOD dancers!)
We sojourned on in the morning, down the mountain and back to our waterfront hotel where we were happy to relax and enjoy the stunning lake views. The next day I woke up and exclaimed to my awesome roommate, Louise, “it’s paragliding day!!!” She’s not so much a morning person and usually ignored my early morning chatter, but despite not saying anything I knew she was excited too. Here’s me and my awesome roomie: 
I was way more excited than scared as we boarded the van to drive to our launch point but as we drove up the twisty mountain road (and up and up and up) I started to feel twinges of nervousness. By the time we reached the top the group’s chatter had subsided and we all tried not to look down but couldn’t help ourselves. We were HIGH! I took some consolation in knowing there was an instructor attached to me, and that he had a lot incentive to make sure things went smoothly for both of us. After a running start we were in the air- literally flying like a bird for 30 whole minutes! It was absolutely incredible, both the views and the exhilaration. 
The way paragliding works, the instructor can adjust the parachute to catch the wind in different ways and you can actually go up and down. At first we went up so high that my ears almost popped- it was so much fun to look down at the birds beneath me and to wave at my friends whizzing by in a sky dotted with paragliders.
Still on the adrenaline rush from paragliding we opted to spend our “free afternoon” visiting a local orphanage. Amar kindly set up the visit and helped us purchase supplies to bring to them. We were told they needed paper and pens so we got a set for each of the 22 girls (it was a girls-only orphanage) but that seemed kinda boring so we also got a bunch of “fun stuff” that we enjoyed playing with them in a big dirt field. The girls were incredibly articulate (their English was almost perfect) and seemed thrilled to have visitors as well as some new games. 
We learned from the director that the girls come from varied backgrounds- some were found abandoned and others had families that couldn’t care for them. Despite this, they were full of smiles and giggles…and with the seemingly carefree exuberance of other girls their age. It was truly a humbling experience to meet them. We concluded our visit with a ceremonial presentation of the supplies we’d brought and a group picture (as well as many requests for our names so they could look for us on Facebook).
Our final adventure of the trip was a whitewater rafting trip down the Seti river. The first day was pretty calm and we paddled along taking in the serene atmosphere and waving at school children crossing the many suspension brides high above us. We spent the night “glamping” at the Seti River Camp, overlooking the mountains and river, before day 2 of rafting, that brought with it some shriek-worthy rapids.
Our final big bus trip was back to Katmandu, where we spent the final two days as a group. We went to the nearby city of Patan, where we saw firsthand remains of the damage down by the tragic 2015 earthquake that took over 3,000 lives. For reasons unknown some of the temples were completely decimated while others were untouched. The country’s resilience is evident in both their restoration efforts and their unwavering faith and perseverance in the face of tragedy.
Then we had our final dinner, which was also birthday celebration for a member of our group, Kat. A good time was had by all! 
The next day I had to say goodbye to my new friends as they left for their respective flights, as I was staying in Katmandu for a few more days. I stayed in a lively part of town (called Thamel) and enjoyed exploring the city more, shopping at the street stands, visiting local attractions (including the Monkey Temple), and touring the nearby ancient town of Bhaktapur (known as the “City of Culture”). 
I also enjoyed many more of my favorite Nepalese food- the Momo. Momo’s came highly recommended by my friend Sarah, whose parents used to live in Nepal. They are like a cross between a dumpling and a potsticker and have different fillings (veggie, chicken, or buffalo- cow meat is rare in Nepal as the cow is a sacred animal in the Hindu religion). My favorite were chicken and after I first tried them I think I had them every day, sometimes twice.
Man, do I miss those momos. I also miss my 12 new friends (although we’ve maintained a consistent banter on our What’s App group) and the two very special countries that I had the honor of visiting.
As I reflect on the trip I think back to our stay in the mountain lodge, where we were lucky to have views of a late-night meteor shower. That night, as I gazed at the immense star-filled sky I had a hard time picking out the constellations that I can usually recognize, as the patterns were different from the other side of the world. The moon looked same, though, and remained steadfast. Since that night, every time I looked at the night sky from the other side of the world I was reminded of both the differences and commonalities that span the earth and make it such a beautiful place… and especially what a difference your perspective makes.