Hot Night, Wind was blowin': Kathmandu, Nepal

Chances are you are going to Nepal for one of four reasons, a trekking adventure, a volunteering trip, working, maybe you are going to backpack around Asia and Nepal happens to be a stop. No matter the reason, at some point you are going to want to cut loose for a night or two in Kathmandu, because you've deserved it #treatyoself. Here is a recommendation on how to enjoy your evenings in Kathmandu, I personally researched all of these places, it was tough work you guys.

A few key pieces of information you'll want to know before you start your night off:

* Bars typically close around 11pm - I use the word typically because they might stay open later, it completely depends on the establishment.
* There are after hours bars - careful though because I went to one and at 12:15am they locked every floor of the 3 storey building. Was I finally realizing my dream of being locked in a bar? Or was it the start of a made for tv movie, about the travelling nomad daughter who decided to go to the "after hours" bar with a guy who knew the area, except that Liam Neeson is not her father. But I digress.
* I would recommend starting dinner at 6pm, by the time you leave the restaurant it will be around 8pm, and then you only have about 4 hours of partying time. I mean if you're staying in a hostel and strike up a good relationship with the owners you can easily have an after after party at your place.

Alright let's start your night off, this was the song I chose to be my anthem of the evening, just to set the mood of what nightlife will be like.

Whether you are starting off your trip with partying, or ending your trip with a night out, you will want/need to eat food other than Dal (rice, lentils, curried vegetables). A place I went to twice was Fire & Ice  in the Thamel District of Kathmandu, a great italian restaurant with a huge selection of pizza and pasta. Please note the Spicy Buffalo pizza was very spicy, a guy in our team ordered it, it was sometimes painful to watch him try to eat it.

So following Lonely Planet's stellar recommendations, my friend and I headed to the legendary Sam's Bar, where for an evening I was transported back to Negril Jamaica, because it was all reggae music. The clientale of this bar ranged from ex-pats, backpackers, members of a commonwealth country's army (the country shall remain nameless), and a wide range of ages, late teens to people in their 60s. So literally everyone who you would see walking around Kathmandu during the day will be here. Everyone is super friendly here, you just grab a seat whereever and starting chatting with people at your table. They have an extensive drink menu, everyone signs the walls, the bathrooms are pretty bad so make sure you have your hand sanitizer. 

Around 11pm, my friend and I left this bar with a person we met at Sam's, and said person knew where there was an after hours, I want to say the name of the place was The Fire Club (go to the 3rd floor of the club - trust me), it was probably a 3 minute walk from Sam's. It was obviously dodgy, but the moment I entered I thought ok this is so awesome, there are cats in here, they are showing English Premiership soccer on the television, its super dark, just epic right? Time passed and then when I saw members of the Kathmandu Police force enter around Midnight, i thought "yup, ok meaghan, this is starting to resemble a scene from Dateline NBC, perhaps we should go" - the 3 of us tried to leave the bar but as we went down the stairs we realized we were locked in. You know what came to the rescue? My good old trusty maglite !! 

For the rest of the story of that evening, stay tuned for my never to be published memoir entitled "So this one time in..."

After my friend and I recovered the next day, thanks to the Roadhouse Cafe, hands down one of the best greasy spoons I've been to, I had a delicious plate of nachos with a side of regret. The food is great, they have a solid drink menu, and the BEST soundtrack, solid 90s grunge, I highly recommend this place, it has a lovely patio, if you like the sunlight. 

So on this evening, my friend and I decided to "take it easy", again what started as an evening with good intentions, ended with us walking through an alleyway, into an emergency stairwell going into the Lhasa Bar, a really awesome bar with a great cover band, I took so many videos, I might upload a few to youtube. This was a really neat place to spend my last night in Kathmandu, you sit on a raised platform of a floor, you can order shisha's, and just spend the night singing along with the band. Someone from the bar even joined the band for some covers of The Doors. 

In conclusion, have a great time in Kathmandu, trust me you will.

Debrief: Nepal

Ok so I've been back from Nepal for almost 2 weeks now, and wow what an experience it was, I've had some time to reflect on the whole trip, and obviously have some great hotel/restaurant/party recommendations. 

When I first landed in Kathmandu I was immediately brought back to the chaos that was India; people everywhere, lots of cars - so I thought to myself "ok here we go India re-dux". 
But the more time I spent there the more it proved me wrong. Nepal is a really chill country, something for everyone, really interesting architecture, trekking adventures, stunning landscapes, and really really fun. I found it to be a perfect country to visit if you want to disconnect from things for a bit, get lost, I mean as lost as you can get in a foreign country, knowing that you are returning to your western comforts after the trip.

This was my first time being involved with "voluntourism" and I highly recommend it to everyone, no matter what cause is close to your heart. You get to truly forget about everything going on back home, and get involved with a cause/project that is bigger than you for any duration of time of your choosing. 

I literally laughed for the 2 weeks while I was on the trip, everyone was so nice, all in all, one of the best experiences of my life.

Day 2: From Kathmandu to Itahari we go !!

What.a.day !!! So after we were on the road at 7:30 am, we hopped on a small plane to bring us to Biratnagar, then piled into a bus for about an hour and we finally arrived at our home for the next 10 days.

The plane ride was fun, we got to see good old Mount Everest ( in the mountain photo, it's the very left peak).

So once we settled at our hotel, had lunch, then it was off to Habitat for humanity headquarters for an information session about our family and what we exactly will be doing.

After the meeting we drove out to the site, the community residents had a very lovely welcoming ceremony for us. We met the family, we got blessed by the family. One of the best site visits I've been to, I wish everyone could be so happy when I show up to site visits back home lol.

During the blessing ceremony we revived little bouquets of flowers, so after I was walking around, and there were some goats, one goat started eating my bouquet. This baby goat had me in fear, I was honestly afraid of a goat that maybe weighed 15 pounds. A photo of the goat is attached.

This is a gorgeous part of the country, our build site is primarily in a rural farming community, a photo of the build site and community is attached.

Thanks for stopping by !!

Namaste from Kathmandu !! Day 1!!

Namaste everybody !!

Ok so it's 12:15pm right now in Kathmandu, I got to the hotel about 2 hours ago. I feel like this day will drag on because I got zero sleep over the last few days whilst en route.

So here are my initial thoughts of lovely Nepal:
- the plane ride into Kathmandu was stunning, the himalaya's are breathtaking. What I loved about them are the fact that there is very little development around the mountains so you literally see nature. Creeks, valleys, I didn't see roads until we started our descent into Kathmandu.
-it's a hipster haven here, I just went out of the hotel to grab some water and these people are hippy hipsters, it's nuts. Kensington market you have officially been served.
- Kathmandu is a very very dense city, it's also quite poor. But so far the people have been very nice.
- I've attached a few photos, one is a road scene from close to my hotel. The other is my hotel, love the name of it !!! It's not bad actually.

So tomorrow morning, we have to be up at 7:30am, we are on our next flight and on our way to Itahari, which is where the build site will be.

I'm crossing my fingers that I have wifi!!

Namaste,
Meaghan

3 days left: let the packing fun begin !!

So here we go, I'm in the final countdown before I leave for Nepal !! 3 more days (weird song choice I know, but it does reference 3 more days, so lets roll with it).

Ok so being an Urban Planner/Project Manager I am a tad "enthusiastic" about lists, lots of lists, gantt charts, constant countdowns going on, all of this can help, but also helps to get me overwhelmed. 

Packing for a trip like this is all over the place, I'm bringing my construction boots/work wear, plus clothes for the touristy days. And I hope to pack it all in my backpack, this is the backpack I swear by, the Mountain Equipment Co-Op Ibex 65. I have had it about 4 years now, its been on every trip with me. Except one, a trip that my mom made me buy a suitcase with wheels, I felt like I was cheating on my backpack, apparently backpacks are not "acceptable luggage" for a resort. I still beg to differ.

Some items that I never leave home without (results from lessons learned throughout the years) are: 
-a small mag light - I have used this more times than I can count.
-a collapsible bag (I use a Longchamp) its great because you can store it in your backpack, takes up minimal room, and as you travel you can use it for all of the stuff you buy that won't fit into your luggage. And its great as an extra carry on, or even works as a checked baggage as well.
-Lonely Planet, obviously

Packing aside, I'm starting to get really excited for the trip, I can't stay Nepal was ever on my "to visit" list but the more I'm learning about it the more I'm getting pumped.

A post to get us through Friday: Siena, Italy

Example of Italian architecture, and
well dressed Italian men.
Thank you Pentax DSLR.

It was one of those weeks where I had that moment, where I really really really need a vacation. I also saw "Eat, Pray, Love" this week, and really wanted to go back to Italy, eat copious amounts of pasta, gelato and drink a ton of wine, look at amazing clothes, and look/gawk at amazingly well dressed Italian men. So let's go to Siena Italy shall we?

Siena Italy is a wonderful City in the Tuscan region, a perfect place to stay if you want to tour the vineyards, but don't want to pay the high prices. I was there in October and thought it was a perfect time to visit. Siena lends itself to getting lost on its winding streets, and during the fall the colors of the buildings become that more vibrant. Its a wonderfully preserved town. It wasn't completely run over with tourists either, so you can stroll along at your own pace.

While in Siena we stayed at Albergo Bernini, it was perfect.  In fact aside from the place my friend and I stayed in Capri, this was our other favorite place. Its a charming B&B, in a great location, the owners are amazing, always making sure your stay is perfect. They helped us arrange a day tour of some Tuscan vineyards, which is a must, because you will fall in love with Truffle Oil...and the wine. 

The City does a great job at lighting
during the evening. 

Piazza Del Campo

Return Trips: Yay or Nay?

First off, I want to apologize for the severe lack of posts, the summer got in the way !!!

I generally have a rule that I won't go back to a City/Country that I've been to before, there's just so many places to see. Have I broken the rule? Yes, a few times, but for all valid reasons. Plus I take it a step further, where I have Cities that are on a list of being ok to visit more than once, London, Paris, New York City, Montreal and Vancouver are on that list. Do you have any travel rules?

Never in a million years did I think that I would have the chance to go back to India, but alas my trip to Nepal has a stopover each way through Delhi. Granted I will be there for a combined total of 16 hours, but still there, and at night. So now I am forced with the dilemma of, should I leave the airport and kick it in Delhi for a bit, or just hunker down in the airport and go on a shopping trip.

India Gate - Delhi, India