The Journey of the Lost Bag

You know you’ve left the United States when ranch dressing is not an option for your chicken McNuggets and snapchat video call doesn’t go through.

The chronicles begin in the final flight from Dubai to Kathmandu, where I patiently awaited the final 5-hour ascent to TIA. Delirious and exhausted, I eyed my stolen window seat, and shuffled into the middle seat.

The net in the seat in front of me held my passport and sudoku book. The air blew comfortably, not ruffling my hair or raising my goosebumps. A petite lady sat to the left of me (the estranged window seat). A not-so-petite man sat to the right of me. As I closed my eyes and pressed play on my Spotify playlist, I felt my seatbelt buckle, an arm reaching over, a warm breath blowing into my ear.

“Are you with your parents?” the lady warmly asked. Although I should have hoaxed her, I couldn’t help but to be kind to this sweet little lady and proclaim the exciting journey ahead. Her voice was the kind of soft that sung a baby to sleep, the kind of warm that would make you feel safe. She lightly patted my head and asked if I was cold, reaching over to put a scarf over my head. I should’ve been alarmed by her eagerness to be so close but I sought the best in her and shrugged it off (internally).

Through the conversation, she was shocked to find out that I am 20 and not 14, leading me to believe I would be free from her strange motherly affection. I was so wrong. I was peacefully filling out the little numbers in my mothers worn out sudoku book when I felt a head fall unto my shoulder.

My eyes shot open and I froze.

Her head remained on my shoulder and I realized this was flight was not going to include any sleep for me. When she rose up, (from my shoulder smh) she insisted she buy a SIM card for me once we landed so we could “meet” during my vacation in Nepal. (I refused)

As we made our final descent, I was enthralled by the Himalayan mountains. I eagerly forced my camera towards the window when she asked me a question that threw me over the edge

“You can sit on my lap!”

After that, I rushed off the airplane as fast as I could, took a mediocre picture of the first sight of TIA and continued through security eager to grab my suitcase and KATHMANDU!!!!!

But wait… there’s more…

I stood by the baggage carousel and watched it go round, and round, and round. No bag to be seen. I watched the lost bags get pulled to the side. No bag. I looked at the abnormally large selection of unclaimed bags. No bag.

I claimed a lost bag, and left the airport to be met with warmth by my friend and her mother who exclaimed “The friend is here but not the bag!”

What a fantastic beginning

Fortunately, my friend’s mother was so helpful and I was told that my bag would be in Kathmandu by the end of the night.

Sure enough, on our way to dinner, my bag showed up. When I say showed up, I mean showed up. We pulled into a grocery store and looked around for a car that looked like it would be holding a suitcase. Nowhere to be found, I looked to my right and my navy blue and white striped suitcase was sitting tightly strapped up and squished on the back of a scooter. The logo had popped off and my bag was crinkled on the sides, but you know what? My bag made it! I grabbed my suitcase in exasperation.

That was probably one of the most insane things I have ever witnessed and I was so shocked by the measures everyone took to get my bag to me.

(I also lost my bag on the way home too, and getting it back was not nearly as cool as this)

The Durbar Squares

Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal has a special kind of breathtaking beauty to it. As I wandered the streets, I had many questions and little to say as I spent the days taking everything in.

The very first day, I went to Patan Durban Square with two of my friends. Being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you could see the history radiating. I found Patan Durbar Square to be the busiest of the three. The impacts of the 2015 earthquake were more than apparent as some of the temples were held up by scaffolding. Regardless of the consistent efforts to rebuild, the square was bustling with tourists getting the angles with their large cameras, teenagers enjoying a cold treat, and elders enjoying a nice day in Kathmandu.

It was in Patan where I learned what a dungedara is. The dungedaras were built long ago to provide fresh water from the Himalayan rivers to the city. The water is clean, soft, and fresh for drinking.

The next Durbar Square I went to was Kathmandu Durbar Square. It is important to note the intricacies of the architecture which was done not without reason. Old Nepali architecture, being predominantly Hindu practicing, placed significant emphasis on respecting Gods and Goddesses. The temples in the Durbar squares include two styles of buildings including pagoda style architecture.

The Kathmandu Durbar square was much more spread out than Patan aligned with many different restaurants and street food vendors. While making our way to Kathmandu Durbar, we stopped for lassi, delicious samosas, and many more treats! As you walk through the square, you’ll find many selling goods ranging from home decor, to pots, to jewelry. Kathmandu Durbar Square is also home to the Newari Goddess (Kumari) who is selected as a young girl, and changes once she has reached puberty.

We made sure to get Mehendi on our hands for 200 NPR! mehendi is a popular delicacy for women and femininity. There is actually a whole month dedicated to women having mehendi done! We got it done on the side of the street, waited for it to dry for a couple of hours. After we washed off the henna paste, there was a gorgeous stain on our hands that’s lasts for about a week!

The final Durbar square we made our way to was Bhaktapur Durbar Square. In Bhaktapur, large emphasis is placed on cultural preservation, so I was not able to get in for free. We spent the day exploring museums, the temples, and the many Newari treats that Bhaktapur had to offer. It was in Bhaktapur where my friend told me the story of Ganesh and the race around the world. Ganesh’s parents told him and his brother that the one who ran around the world first would be coined the most intelligent. Ganesh chose to run around his parents saying they were his world!

The Durbar squares are a hallmark of the Newari population in Kathmandu which is an ethnic group that originates in Kathmandu Valley. The Newari culture shines in Bhaktapur as we were able to eat Newari cuisine as we looked out into the beautiful square. We were also able to try pottery with the Newar potters. Pottery is not my talent to say the least, but it was a fantastic experience!

Ghandruk

At this point of the trip, I was feeling not up to par but nevertheless we embarked on a little journey slightly north in a Jeep to Ghandruk. My lack of research made this part of the trip extremely perfect. The little journey was beyond anything I could’ve expected, and I was met with extremely beautiful scenery, culture, and food.

As we arrived in the Kaski district, we had about a 30-minute trek to our hotel in Ghandruk. As we walked up the uneven stones, the brisk air met our cheeks, and the surrounding villages hugged us. I was quickly humbled by the elder aunties carrying their suitcases on their heads. We encountered mules clicking their hooves but on the stones that we walked on and as we arrived, the owners of the hotel were more than kind.

I really wished I made sure to take my vitamins everyday because I had to settle for a very necessary nap. Fortunately, my friend woke me up for Tongba, which is a whole grained based warm wine. As you keep adding hot water, the grains are triggered releasing a milky wine like flavor. We sipped on Tongba and spent the night relaxing on the top of the world.

The next morning, I woke to somewhat clear skies. I was able to see the Annapurna and machapuchare, and the fishtail mountain. A random fact about the Machapuchare mountain is that it is the highest peak that had never been climbed because it is said to belong to the god Shiva and is to remain in its fullest purity. Some guy in New Zealand tried to climb it illegally and died one day in the Himalayas. (karma much?)

Nevertheless the view was the most alluring and exhilarating experience of my life. Truly. As I looked off of the balcony of the hotel, the mountains stood in their full extremity portraying just how beautiful this world is. Being in a mountain range forces you to recognize how small we are in this big big world. I cant even put into words how incredible this moment was.

For approximately two dollars, we had the opportunity to try on the traditional clothes of the Gurung people and take pictures. I’ve gotta say we looked fabulous and it really was the cherry on top for our little journey.

Ghandruk was truly THE most beautiful place I have ever been (I am not exaggerating) and I hope one day I will be strong enough to run a marathon at the basecamp.

The Fall

Months before my trip, my friend asked me if I wanted to Bungee. At first I impulsively said yes and as it became a reality, I started to doubt whether or not I really wanted to. Late nights in my sorority’s cold dorm, you would find me watching people jump from the platform, reading horror stories, looking up survival rates on Reddit (embarrassing to admit) but I survived nevertheless.

I was pretty easily convinced. I must note that the bungee at The Cliff in Nepal is the second highest in the world being 228 meters high. After all the videos I watched, emotionally preparing myself for the jump, I did it.

I confidently watched as the lady wrote my weight on my hand and we walked across the metal bridge. I have to note that the walk was maybe as nerve wracking as the jump. I patiently waited my turn, watching anxiously as my friend’s sister jumped.

As I buckled in, the nerves began to rise preparing me to walk the plank. My palms began to sweat. If I die, this is an insanely cool way. I kept telling myself. The guy working at The Cliff looked at me and asked me if I was ready. I had no choice

1. 2. 3.

I jumped.

As you can see, I was not the most graceful in my descent. All the fear rose from my stomach into a piercing scream. Even though my scream doesn’t quite demonstrate it, falling felt gracious. I’m not lying! I promise! I was expecting a stomach drop as you would experience on a rollercoaster, but it was nothing like that. The light of the sun shone so bright around me, as the wind whistled in my face. Even though I was falling for approximately ten seconds, it felt like five minutes of my body pushing through the air, the light so bright on my eyes. Another experience I can’t quite describe… there’s a trend on this trip.

to be continued.