September, 18th, 2009 Nepal Journal Entry

09/18/2009 7:05 (KTM) 8:20pm (OKC)
I am sitting in the restaurant of my hotel working on my sixth cup of coffee. Let me go back several hours… The flight from Delhi was very nice… I was in 1st Class, I don’t know why but who is complaining. I was on the left side of the plane so I could see the Himalayan range. It was very, very cloudy, so the views were not that great. I saw Sargamatha (Mt. Everest). Let me tell you about the Kathmandu Airport. WOW… It was probably built in the 30’s and the grass is 3 feet tall. I guess due to the monsoon season. They loaded us on a bus and drove us 100 feet to the terminal. We got off the bus, and had our temperature taken. After that you have to fill out immigration paperwork. The line to get a visa was 100 people deep. The line if you have a visa was two people deep, and I was number two. Some guy walked up to the immigration officer and said something. The immigration officer did not like it and they exchanged words. After I got through immigration, I went down stairs to baggage. I did not even have to wait 10 minutes and got my bags. I went to get in line for customs and they had no interest in me. They waved me right through. As I was leaving the terminal I saw a crowd of people standing behind a glass wall. Right in the middle there was a big sign that said “MR. MAT JONES.” I smiled at the guy and he made his way through the crowd, then to me.

His name is Prem and he will be my guide for the trek. He will not climb Island Peak with me but everything else. My climbing guide’s name is Mr. Tenzing Sherpa. He has summitted Everest two times, Ama Dablam, two times, Cho-oyu two times, and Island Peak 50 times. Prem took my bags and we were surrounded by beggars. We got into the car. It is hard to describe the traffic. It is a mixture of beat up mini cars, and scooters. Cows have the right of way, they drive on the left side of the road and there are no traffic laws, you just go whenever you want.

Prem ask me what I wanted to do, walk around Thamel or go to the hotel and rest… I chose rest. After 48 hours on the road, I was ready for a shower, and a nap in a bed. I am at the Hotel Shanker, and it is very nice. It is located inside a compound, and the hotel is very western. Check in was very easy… They were expecting me and they treated me like a king. Prem called Naba and we made arrangements to meet at his office at 5:00. Prem helped me to my room and I showered and crashed for about three hours. I got dressed and walked around the grounds here at the hotel, they are beautiful.



Prem came and got me at 5:00 and we walked over to HGT (Himalayan Glacier Trekking). It was about 5 blocks. It was just crazy, with the traffic, but we made it. Naba greeted me with a handshake, a bow, and a hug. Naba was dealing with a disaster…. A group from Europe was leaving for a three week trek to Tibet tomorrow and the luggage has not arrived yet. He had Prem take me for a walk around Thamel while he was dealing with that.



Prem and I were gone for about 45 minutes, and when we got back, Naba was still very busy, but wrapping up. The electricity went out and Naba said that it happened everyday, and that you never know when, or for how long, it will be out. He gathered his things and we walked to a traditional Nepali restaurant.


A friend of his joined us for dinner. As you enter the restaurant they put a red dot on your forehead to welcome you, and then sit you on the floor. They pour a small ceramic dishful of rice wine…. They pour it from 3 feet in the air, and it tasted like ever clear. Very Strong! They bring out popcorn, and a small dish of fried potatoes, and then a cup of bean soup. Once you are done with that they bring you a hub cap sized plate. It is filled with rice, curried vegetables, curried chicken, spinach, and then wild boar. I tried it all…
Naba ordered me a milk coffee and I know I am not suppose to drink after eating but, I did, and then I had to excuse myself. We caught a cab back to the hotel…. Naba has a guide for me today his name is Suroge. He is going to take me to the four big temples here in Kathmandu. He will be here at 9:00 to pick me up. When I got back to the room last night I used my 30 minutes of internet time writing emails. I have no idea if they were sent or not because the electricity went out. I turned in and went to sleep. I woke up at 4:00am local time and knew I was awake so I packed my trekking bags, and took some things out. I have room for a little more if needed. At 6:30 I came down to the restaurant for breakfast. After 6 cups of coffee, I had a danish, banana, some pineapple, oatmeal, mushroom pie, and 2 scrambled eggs. I should mention that I showered and shaved this morning - it was great.


09/18/2009 7:01pm (KTM) 8:17pm (OKC)
After breakfast this morning I went out and walked around the garden area. It was a bit humid but otherwise nice. Suroge met me at 9:00am and we left for our first stop - Swyambhunath Stupa, also called Monkey Temple. The first thing we did was stop at the bottom of the hill, to see the worlds largest Buddha.

There were monks there chanting and people praying. We got back in the car and drove to the top of the hill, to the stupa, and monastery. There were monkeys all over the place, hence the name Monkey Temple. Suroge gave me the tour and explained everything, and then he gave me 15 or 20 minutes to walk around and take pictures on my own. It is a very peaceful place.


From there we went to Durbar Square, which use to be the Royal Palace. There was a ton to see here. It is a very historical Hindu site, where the living goddess “The Kumari” lives. There are many temples, and Sadhu or holy men, and there are also way too many beggars. I really love the history here however; many places were off limit to foreigners. The Kumari is very interesting. She is worshiped as a goddess until she reaches puberty, and then she becomes just another woman.

Our third stop was both amazing, and troubling at the same time. It is called Pashupati which is a temple; we could not go into next to the river. It is also the place where Hindu’s take the dead to perform cremations. It just so happens that there were three cremations going on while we were there. Two were finishing up, while one was just starting. As soon as someone dies they are brought to this place by the river and a wooden platform is built. The dead is placed on the platform and the family puts water in the deceased’s mouth, then the family puts coins all over the body. The oldest son walks around the body three times then puts a torch on the body. At that point the funeral director takes over and piles dried thatching on the body, then more wood on top. He then moves the flame under the body, where there is a flammable liquid, then “Poof goes grandpa!” The family just sits and watches the body burn, then when the fire is burning out…. They sweep the ashes off into the river.

That’s all well and good, but there are people bathing, and doing laundry just down stream, even kid’s playing in the water. This river runs through town and you know people are using this water for cooking, and bathing in their homes. People also walk up to the river and throw their trash in it. Above the cremation site there are twenty small temples lined up. These are fertility temples. They have an altar in the middle of them and it has a statue if male and female parts…. I guess you are supposed to rub them, but I chose not to! As we were leaving the area we saw some people gathered around one of the temples. It was a wedding in progress. There was the bride and groom, a holy man, and maybe 10 family members outside. They told me to take pictures if I wanted to, but due to the lighting, only one came out. When we left there I was in a mental tussle…. You see the beginning of life, and the end of life all in one place.

We left there and headed to Boudanath. It is also called Little Tibet, because during the Chinese occupation of Tibet, many Buddhist monks fled to Nepal. They all settled here at Boudanath. There is a giant stupa in the middle of the community, and everything is built in a circle around it. There are several monasteries and shops, as well as, Tibetan art galleries, and you can even go into the galleries and watch the artist paint. It was just beautiful. We decided to have lunch at a restaurant on top of some shops. There was an awesome view of Boudanath, probably a view not everyone takes advantage of. Suroge gave me 20 minutes of free time to walk around and take pictures. This by far was my favorite place. Very peaceful, quite, and the people were just amazing.


We headed back to HGT and met with Naba, and Prem. They gave me instructions, and told me what to expect the next morning. Then back to the hotel, to pack the rest of my stuff, and recharge everything. I am downloading pictures right now and will start editing them after a shower. I fell asleep for about an hour and a half, then came down to dinner. I also checked my bags in for storage that I am not taking. I am heading back to the room to finish getting ready for tomorrow.

Saturday, September 19th, 2010 Las Vegas

Namaste,

Well we had made plans to meet Mike in the lobby of our hotel at 8:00am for breakfast. Most of the wedding party were already on their way to the airport, but our flight was not until 3:00pm. We took Mike to breakfast and then he took us on a tour of Freemont Street. Sherrie had not been to that part of town. We picked Bobby up at 10:00am, and we all went to Mandalay Bay to watch football. Sherrie and I walked through the art gallery's, and shops, while Bobby ate some lunch, and Mike started watching the early games.Sherrie and I walked over to the Luxor, and through the mall between the casino's.... We made a few bets on football, and then Mike drove us to the airport. We got checked in, and through security without any problems. We found a California Pizza Kitchen in the airport and shared a small pizza and a salad! We boarded the plane and I edited pictures for a while. My eye's got heavy and I fell asleep for an hour then we landed in Denver. We were only there for an hour then boarded the plane to OKC! Just an hour and twenty minute flight, but we lost two hours, so it was 9:30 when we got home. It took about 30 minutes to get our bags, and 30 minutes for the shuttle to take us to the car. We got home about 11:00pm and Trey was asleep in our bed. He was so sweaty that we had to change the sheets in our bed! A couple more pictures from the wedding!

Much Love,

Mat

September, 17th 2009 Nepal Journal Entry

09/17/2009 12:13am (Del) 1:45pm (OKC)
Just a few random thoughts… Since I will be in this chair for another 5 hours, so far most everyone has been very pleasant. The men are very stand-offish…. The women, especially the younger ones, are beautiful. Not too much make-up, very professional looking. You can tell the western influence has a stranglehold here. There is no real chance for a nap, as the transit area is a pass through area. It is very busy, and I am starving, but don’t know what to eat. I bought two cups of coffee… $1.00 US each and a small bag of cashews for $2.50 or 120Rs. I gave the guy 150Rs and he gave me 10Rs change. I also paid for my second cup of coffee with a $10.00 and only got 360Rs change…..something’s fishy. Did I mention the Indian Army is carrying AK-47’s around? I feel safe!!
09/17/2009 7:37am (Del) 9:09pm (OKC)
After one of the longest days (Nights) of my life… I have just boarded the Indian Air flight from Delhi to Kathmandu. I am in 1st Class and on the side of the plane that the mountains will be on. I will actually get to see Everest here in a while. Hope I don’t cry. I need a nap, but I am really amped up. I met a bunch of guys here at the Delhi airport that are from Kathmandu, but live in Chicago. It’s going to be a great day! I tried to call home several times from Delhi airport, and finally got a hold of Jordan. I let her know I was leaving India and headed for Nepal…. She told me she loved me!

Friday, September 17th, 2010 Las Vegas

Namaste,

I woke up at 5:30 and I went to Starbucks at 6:00. We headed down to the breakfast buffet at 7:00, and met Amber and Danny. We ate breakfast, and just hung out. Sherrie and I went to the casino floor and made $20 last for a couple of hours. Actually turned it into $40, but we were tired so we went upstairs and laid down for a couple of hours. We grabbed a snack at 1:30 and then I met Misty, Amber, and Amber in the honeymoon suite for hair and make-up. That took a couple of hours. I was suppose to take pictures of the guys getting ready at 3:30, get dressed and be in the limo by 4:00. Luckily the guys were not even close to getting dressed, so I got dressed and we headed to the wedding venue. We did all of the traditional poses, and then set up for the wedding. Everything went off without a hitch except the sun was setting directly behind the bride and groom. I have no idea why they set it up that way, but I did the best I could. The ceremony was nice, and the reception was great. We rode in the limo back to the Las Vegas sign, and took a few pictures then back to the hotel. Sherrie and I changed clothes and went down to the floor for a while. We didn't win anything, but didn't lose anything either. We went to bed. Mike and Bobby flew into town Friday morning, and they were gonna play around and go to bed early, because Mike had worked all night.

Picture 1) Sherrie and I at the wedding

Picture 2) The Kiss

Picture 3) Misty before the wedding

Picture 4) Misty after hair and make-up in the room

Much Love!

Mat

Thursday, September 16th, 2010 Las Vegas

Namaste,

I woke up at 3:30 which would have been 5:30 here! I tossed and turned, so I got up and just looked out our window at the Strip. I wanted to go walk around the casino floor, but just relaxed and waited on Sherrie to wake up. I went downstairs to Starbucks while she was getting ready, and then we took a cab to Hash House a Go Go! This restaurant has been featured on Man Vs. Food, and the food network. Trey made us promise that we would go there one day! It was crazy how big the portions were. The food was artistic, beautiful, huge, and delicious!!!! We both ordered the "Basic Breakfast" which was the smallest meal on the menu, and our whole family could have shared it! We caught a bus back to the strip, and walked through the Sahara and Circus Circus. Misty called and wanted us to go to the Wedding venue with them. We loaded up in a mini van, and trusted the GPS, who lead us astray. We were suppose to meet the whole wedding party at the Mirage Buffet, it was called Cravings. I dare you to name a food they did not have. I had sushi, shrimp, hand tossed salad..... I can't even remember what all I ate. After lunch I wanted to show Sherrie how the rich people hang in Vegas. We went to the Forum Shops in Caesars Palace, and then through the casino, into the Bellagio, and then down to fountain show at Bellagio. We walked all the way back down to Fashion Place Mall. We waited on the shuttle that never came so we took a cab back to our hotel. We were hot and sweaty so we went to the pool for and hour. Danny came down and ask me if I wanted to go to the casino floor with him but Sherrie told Danny I had to take an hour nap. I started pouting and she gave in so I dressed and went to the floor with Danny! We played roulette and black jack, then headed up to the room. Sherrie and I walked down the street to In and Out Burger, and ate some yummy food. We realized the shuttle was getting ready to leave for the strip so we ran back to catch it! We walked down to Treasure Island to watch the pirate show, which happens on the outside of the Casino in a man made lagoon, then walked through Fashion Place Mall. We crossed the street and walked through the Wynn and Encore. The Wynn has a Ferrari dealership inside! It is about as fancy as it comes. We watched a guy playing black jack... $2,000 minimum bet and he was playing 3 positions at a time, and we never saw him win!!! I started to get tired so we caught the shuttle back. We changed clothes and walked down to the casino floor, where Sherrie kicked serious booty at roulette. We had a blast! We hit two numbers heads up two times in a row, which paid 70 to 1! I was jumping up and down like we won the lottery! We decided not to push our luck and went to the room. I knew Friday was going to be a busy day!

Picture 1) The Pirate show at Treasure Island

Picture 2) Sherrie and I in front of The fountains at Bellagio

Picture 3) The "Basic" breakfast st Hash House a Go Go

Picture 4) The morning view of the Strip out our window

Love you all!

Mat

September 16th, 2009 Nepal Journal Entry

09/16/2009 6:09am (OKC) 4:41pm (Del)
Been napping a bit… We had horrible turbulence over the North Atlantic. I opened the window a couple of times and you would have thought we were on a bird. The wings were flapping in the turbulence. The sun appeared as we were approaching Iceland, we came back over land in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and entered Russia. We flew right over Moscow, but due to cloud cover I saw nothing. We are 1801 miles outside of Delhi, and it is -72F outside, we are at 36,498 feet, and 582mph. We are approaching the Arial Sea. We have just entered Kazakhstan, then Uzbekistan, and, Pakistan. I thought last night we were going to fly through China, but we are way east of that. My butt hurts!
09/16/2009 9:21 (Del) 11:53 (OKC)
Landed in Delhi kind of early… From the air it kind of looks like the DFW area… sprawling. All in all, the flight was not bad. I had a TV screen in the headrest in front of me and more movies to choose from than “Family Video.” I sat in the second to the last row, and there was only one empty seat on the plane and it was in between me and the guy on my isle. He is a 27 year old guy from Atlanta who is moving to Kathmandu to become a Buddhist Monk. Since he was from ATL we had plenty to talk about. Here at Gandhi Airport if you have a connecting international flight you are kept in a transit area until two hours before your flight. It is a very small area with a few reclining chairs, and a small snack bar. I am sitting with a gentleman from Paris, Texas who is coming to India to teach, but first is going to Kathmandu, to visit his daughter who is there teaching. I think I am going to get a snack and the take a little nap. People walking by look at us like we are animals in a cage, Kind of Crazy!!!! Did I mention my butt hurts?!

September 15th, 2009 Nepal Journal Entry

09/15/2009 10:01pm
Today was awesome. We arrived in Newark at 11:00am local time. We came in to terminal C and I need to get to terminal A to check my big pack for the day. I caught a bus to terminal A and found the luggage storage, then headed outside to catch a cab to Liberty Park. OK… I almost passed out when the cabbie told me it would be $55.00 for the seven mile cab ride. Once at the ferry terminal you have to go through security again, just like the airport, soooo…. I had to get undressed and dressed for the 3rd time today. After passing security you go stand in line for the ferry. I boarded the ferry and went to the top level. The first stop was Ellis Island. There is more history there than you can ingest in an hour and forty minutes. I got back on the ferry and headed to Liberty Island. There is an overwhelming since of pride when you see her. She is much smaller than I had imagined, but still impressive. I walked all the way around the island, took 180 pictures and then headed back to the ferry and it took me back to the terminal.

I got the number for a car service and they picked me up in a Limo, took me back to the airport and only charged me $30.00. So I am back at Liberty International and had to go to baggage to pick up my big pack. Then back through security again (4th time today I had to get dressed). They sent me to a smaller security check point and it went really quickly, as I had already taken everything off and stored it in my pack. Once through security I went to find something to eat. There was a pub, and I ordered Chicken Fingers and an ice tea. The tea was great, but the chicken lacked a little to be desired. As I was wondering around the terminal, I saw a bank of chairs, with an electrical outlet behind them. This was a great opportunity to recharge all of my electronics before the 14 hour and 40 minute flight. I recharged my laptop, phone, camera batteries, and even myself. I fell asleep for a few minutes. About 30 minutes before my flight I found a little shop, bought a latte, and cinnamon stick, and started walking to my gate. Once at the gate we started boarding, and it was a mad house. The attendants started by boarding the back of the plane first, and I was in the second to the last seat. The flight has 252 passengers and only one empty seat which just so happened to be right in between myself and the young man on my isle. After a delay of 30 minutes on the taxiway, due to 25 aircraft lined up in front of us, we were airborn. Not long after we were in the air they served us dinner - chicken and pasta. Then they came by and brought each person a bag of food that included a bean sandwich, granola bar, Kit-Kat, bottle of water, and a cookie. This was your midnight snack. The flight path we were on was nothing like what the airline emailed me. We went North East through Maine, and New Foundland. We are now 6238 miles from Delhi, and at an altitude of 33,000 feet, with an outside air temperature of -50F. We are traveling at 595mph. I have just finished watching Star Trek, and Fight Club is just beginning. You can choose from 100’s of movies, and TV shows. Our new flight path takes us over the tip of Greenland, through Iceland, the heart of Russia, China, Tibet, and into India. The plane is very comfortable, but my butt already hurts.