But before I write about everything I've done while in Nepal... I should first recap on everything I experienced prior to coming.
The End of South Korea adventures
As my days in South Korea have been winding down, it's been extremely sad... The end of my first, individual, independent experience abroad. There are many things I didn't get to do and there are many things I wish I had made time for -- Noryanjin fish market in Seoul, Jagalchi fish market in Busan, a repeat trip to Busan, the Sooul Museum of Art, a visit to Apgujung, more visits to Gangnam and especially a trip to the underground Gangnam market haha, Se7en's chicken shop, more visits to Edae for shopping, a music show like Inkigayo, MusicCore, or MusicBank... There are many things I wish I had more time to do and visit and explore, but unfortunately my adventure here has ended.
Do I regret anything? Well, there are things I wish I made time for but as one wise person has said... "Regret nothing because at that time... it was exactly what you wanted." -- the anonymous quote goes something like that I believe.
And more than that, for every place that I didn't get to go... there are a hundred more places that I did get to go... This might have to be a blog for another time, haha.
Anyways, I would love to travel again back to South Korea and finish and visit and explore and do all the things I didn't get to do... however, more than anything, my experience in South Korea has reinvigorated and transformed my dreams and passions for traveling... you might say I have travel lust.
I feel incredibly greedy about traveling now.
I've loved pretty much every moment I have been here -- notice I say pretty much and not all, haha. Can you really love all your experiences? Questionable that.
Anyways, needless to be said, but really I have to say, South Korea has changed me and given me some of the most wonderful experiences and opportunities and allowed me to meet some of the greatest and dearest people -- you know who you are... coughcoughNehaHenryJoannaNicoleMaxImaniCharleneJennySarahHannahKevinKhouaLindseyJoancoughcough. Wow... that was quite a frog I had in my throat, haha.
There are countless more beautiful people and beautiful moments that at the moment I can't recall but each and every person has changed me and it has been amazing and special and yeah. Thanks for everything -- the adventures, the love, the care, the midnight and later trips to eat samgyeopsal or just grab a drink at the nearby GS25 and Family Mart, the countless BarFly trips, the jimjilbang adventures, the phone calls and texts, the impromptu raging sessions, the late and odd hour ordering of fried chicken or McDonalds, the long ranting sessions, the visits to eat and eat and eat... I'll miss all of these and other adventures but I'll mostly miss seeing everyone that have become near and dear to me and the ability to travel and chill and just being able to see your faces and talk to you each and every day. :)
At some point, I'll probably blog all sappy and whatnot about my two greatest friends here, Neha and Henry. Helllooo! Hope you are reading! Muah <3 You guys are dark, gloomy, rainy, and wet, but I'll always love you. Hahahaha. One of Neha's greatest missions while here was to scare me daily... I kid you not. Once Neha left for Nepal, Henry took up on completing said mission. Haha. I'll never forget the hidden and dark shortcut to SK Global where Henry often (sucessfully) scared me. Some other notable people... who will recognize themselves by the following phrases... "But don't you know Hang? Your life IS a musical!" lol "Is that racist...?" "RUDE!" Anyways, I love all of you guys and you know it. No but really, thanks for always having my back and always making me feel loved and always supporting me :) Okay onward from the sappy things... I'll probably reference South Korea a lot in my future posts and daily life, but I'll try to keep it to a minimum :)
Before arriving in Nepal
Many thanks of course go to the great Nicole for helping me pack. What a beast... Somehow she managed to cram all my clothes, Neha's stuff, and my gifts into a small carry on, my backback, and a purse. Like a boss, yo.
Many thanks to both Henry and Nicole for accompanying me to the airport :) You lucky jerks who were able to see Siwon enter the security gate, I'm so jealous!!!
Fortunately because of the time rush, we did not have time for a real tearful goodbye... Actually it wasn't even that much of a goodbye since they know I'm coming back for a day and a half... That's probably when the real tears will be shed :) Kekeke
Unfortunately what we realized on our way to the airport... I could have just borrowed one of large and empty luggages and saved ourselves tons of trouble. Le sigh.
I also forgot my camera charger, hard drive, and camera usb (which prevents me from uploading any pictures to my posts). Le sigh.
Worst of all, I didn't pack any of my acne preparations... Le fail.
Actually, I lied. The worst part of all was finding out from the Korea Air attendant that my visa had expired the day before, January 12th. I flew for Nepal on January 13th. The most epic fail of all.
Although we had made good time and could have squeezed in breakfast together, this complication (which actually scared my pants off, especially since I didn't want to pay any fees seeing as how I only had $9 US to my name at the time) made it difficult for me to even make it to my flight on time.
It was roughly 8:15AM and I was informed I had until 9:00 to make it back to her or I wouldn't be able to board. Needly to say, I booked it -- I ran to what I thought was the immigration place only to find out I was in the wrong place, ran some more until I reached the actual immigration affairs.
Fortunately, I didn't have to pay a fee or have any penalties or anything. Apparently, what I was informed was that when your visa expires 10 or more days, you will be fingerprinted and photographed.
Meanwhile, Nicole and Henry had my luggage and saw Siwon. Le sigh.
Anyways, visa issue resolved, I booked it back to the travel agent, was able to choose a seat that had no other passengers on it -- yay, a row to myself!, and got through security.
What do you know? Flight was delayed by 20 minutes, hah!
Flight to Nepal and arriving
The flight was nice except for the incredibly difficult and nausea inducing turbulence we experienced. Sigh. Why doesn't Korea Air have any motion sickness bags in each passenger's compartment? Luckily, I held it in.
Because of the small size of the airport, we couldn't land and circled for about 20 minutes or so.
It's true though, the sights, the smell, the feel, everything was immediately different from what I had experienced before.
Getting my on-arrival visa was easy enough. On the airplane, I was handed the necessary documents, and then I took my passport photos at a booth inside the airport. For reference, the minimum amount of US currency to convert at the currency exchange booth inside the airport is $20 and the passport photos (2) was 220 rupees. A fun moment was when I was paying the passport photo gentlemen but wasn't actually sure which bills were which. Le sigh. But he was quite nice and patient.
The airport was pretty packed. I was in line to have my one bag checked and noticed a gentlemen directing people towards him. Too lazy to leave the line, I declined to move... Fail move. People who followed him did not have to stay in line or have their bags checked X_X.
There was a crowd of people inside and outside of the airport waiting for people. I had a short period of time in which I freaked out wondering whether or not Neha had arrived and left and how I would be able to find and contact her and blah blah blah. Fortunately, Neha found me first. Yay! Both her mother and she had arrived since 2:30PM and had waited for me until around 4:30PM. Ahhh, I'm so grateful :)
Nepal Adventures, Day 1
Technically, the above counts as part of Day 1 but... anyways, for simplification purposes, this is how I have organized things so yeah, deal with it. Haha.
Sitting in the back of the car as Neha's mom drove us back to the house was an incredibly interesting, exciting, and scary adventure. Although Neha's house is located approximately 3 or so miles, the trip took us about an hour... tons of traffic, tiny streets, lots of honking, many motorcyclists weaving in and out... many close calls with cars barely passing by each other.
Ring road encircles the downtown and center part of Kathmandu and this is also the road taken to get home... Exciting!
There is a petrol shortage so I was able to see the large queue that had formed of people waiting for gas. Sometimes people wait for hours but don't even receive enough. -- that sure is a huge transition from the numerous available gas stations at almost every corner in San Jose.
After we got back, I had a quick meal of mushroom curry, lentil soup, rice, and some achar -- achar is kind of like the equivalent of banchan in Korea... an accompanying side item (that varies) but not really... anyways, lopsi achar is my favorite :) It tastes very similar to tamarind, yum! According to Neha, it is a fruit indigenous to Nepal. Coooooool. Also chia tea (which the equivalent of the Nepal chai tea -- also pronounced chi-ah). YUMMMMM!
We then got changed and ventured outside. Typically, Neha doesn't venture out in Nepal after dark hours but her parents made an exception this night :) As a reference, it was approximately 6 or 7ish?
We walked towards Thamel -- the localized city and tourist area. Lots of youth and lots of merchants with gorgeous crafts. I'm so excited to shop!
We first stopped by Himalayan Java which is the first specialized coffee shop of its kind. Serving mochas and snacks, melodic pop, nice lighting and setting, it is clearly a hotspot for tourists and cool youth to chill. I didn't get anything, pah. Maybe I'll be able to go back some time...
We then walked some more to meet two of Neha's friends and we went to Reggae Bar (we think... haha). There was live music and two-for-one cocktail drinks. Yummm! Mojitos :) We also ordered momo (a dumpling like dish) and aloo chili (a spicy potato dish). Yumm!
I also learned how to write 1 to 10 in Nepali, yeeeee!
We then stopped by a sandwich shop nearby and ordered some sandwiches.
Neha's parents came to pick us up (as a reference, it was 9pm) and although they tried to point out some sights, the combination of liquor, jetlag, lack of much food, and darkness made it difficult to absorb.
When we came back to the house, it was pitch-black. Approximately for 5 hours a day, there is loadshedding -- in other words, a power outage.
Neha and I enjoyed our sandwiches on the floor in the room in the dark but with the aid of a lantern... it felt just like a sleepover! :D
We talked briefly then settled into bed...
Nepal Adventures, Day 2
In the morning, Neha and I relocated to sleep into the living room on account of her brother's studying and the arrival of his computer science tutor. He is currently in the 10th grade and studying for basically the determining test of his future. The equivalent of the national Korean exit exam. Basically super important and all encompassing. It has a programming section! I am shocked and in awe and woefully lacking :(
We finally woke up past the crack of dawn, 1:30PM. Freshened up and then joined Neha's family on the roof where it was nice and warm. It is apparently a past time for many Nepali people to go to the roof and enjoy the warm sun and enjoy coffee, oranges, read their newspapers, nap, etc.
Note, many indoors lack insulation so it is actually colder INSIDE houses than it is outside. I kid you not.
We enjoyed a chia tea and then lunch with everybody else. Neha allowed me to eat this meal with utensils, haha :) Paneer curry (paneer is a type of cheese), an egg, lentil soup, achar, rice, and papel (kind of like a tortilla!).
We had plans to go shopping but on account of the visit by China's prime minister to Nepal, Neha's father anticipated riots and didn't really want us to travel far or with the car, so we saved shopping for another day.
We walked to The King's Road - basically this is where people go to do their brand shopping -- Van Heusen, Reebok, KFC, etc. There is also a mall. Lots of hangout spots for teens. We walked past the Royal Palace, oh so pretty, and then stopped for a cofee at Magic Beans. I had a blended mocha with ice cream, quite yummy. We also passed by a nearby temple, oh the pretty, countless banks... and Neha informed me about the history of the royal family and the royal massacre... quite interesting.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to go to the movies or this one restaurant because of how late it was... it was 6pm. Again, it isn't quite safe to be out and about at night in Nepal.
We came back to the house, I practiced my Nepali numbers and how to say them, learned how to say thank you in Nepali, played Monster World, had dinner (which consisted of a chicken chili (a sauteed chicken dish with red and green peppers), roti (kind of like naan), and sauteed potatoes. I finally ate with my hands, yayyyy! So fun. So delicious.
I then checked my email, researched/ wikipedia-ed places I wanted to visit in Nepal and the history of the royal massacre and royal family, and here I now am, blogging.
If you made it to the end... wow. Congrats. Sorry and thanks for reading such a long long long blog entry. Too be honest, I didn't plan for it to be so long... I was only going to blog about Nepal but clearly I went on a tangent.
Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed it :)
P.S. Some cultural facts, it is customary to eat with your right hand only, wash hands before and after each meal (also wash and rinse mouths), say Namaste only once per person per day and only to elder and other respected persons.
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