by Melissa | Blog Post
Wow. I can’t believe that I’ve been back from Nepal for three weeks already. The past three weeks have pretty much been a blur, between catching up on sleep, getting caught up at work, traveling to Chicago for a weekend, and then a beyond busy week at work, I’ve barely had time to just relax and get caught up on stuff for me.
This weekend will be for that, for the most part. I was going to do a bunch of stuff yesterday, but then had a slight hiccup with those plans, so spent most of the day on the couch trying to feel better.
Even though I was only gone for 2 weeks, it almost seens like I was in Nepal for much much longer. More on this later. . . 🙂
Today I’ve got a lot I want to do, a few things I need to do, and some stuff I should do, but totally won’t. It’s just going to be one of those weekends. However, one of the biggest things I need to do is enjoy some down time, some me time, some time to do things that aren’t work or uber serious. I am pretty drained after the whirlwind that was the last week especially, and know that I need to recharge the batteries in order to tackle many of the things on my plate.
As is my normal, I, of course, turned to music to help me focus, get a temporary boost, and just make it through the long days and stress. What songs were the most helpful? What songs pretty much were on repeat over the last week? Keep reading. . . .
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by Melissa | Blog Post, Commentary on the world around me
Usually when I find an article I like, I’ll post it on Facebook or tweet it, add some appropriate commentary (often witty and/or snarky), and share with others. There is no rhyme or reason sometimes to what I find interesting in a given day – sometimes it’ll be an article about some current event, something about a new movie, TV show or movie, or something completely random. My interests are varied (as anyone who has spent any time with me can attest to) and I have the attention span of a small animal at times (again, as anyone who has spent any time with me can attest to), so I’m going to try something different. Not only will I aggregate a few things in one place, I’ll also post them once-a-day (when the mood strikes) and try to write a bit more than would fit on Twitter or work on Facebook. Feel free to add your own comments to my thoughts – I am always interested in hearing what others think about things I think about. . .
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by Melissa | Blog Post
So, I am kind of special at times. Yesterday was one of those times. Why?
I was so excited about getting my haircut, that I left my keys on my desk. Which I realized *after* my appointment, looooooong after everyone had left my office and locked up for the day. So I decided to walk home, or at least to Cotter’s. This morning I was saved by a roommate who gave me a ride to work (thanks, Meredith) so avoided having to walk all the way to work. Yay, go me!?
As a result of this “issue”, I again realized how much I like walking places. Granted it was getting dark and kind of chilly but I enjoyed the time to listen to some music, take in my surroundings, and think. It just makes me a bit sad to think that prime walking weather in Minnesota is pretty much behind us. Gone are the days were I could just go as I am and take Scout for a walk in the neighborhood. Now I have to find a jacket and shoes and socks, and soon even add a jacket for Scout. I think I am going to try to walk this winter as much as I can, if only to tire out the dog during the long march through winter. Plus, I do enjoy the beauty of Minnesota after a fresh coat of snow.
In other news, I am happy it is Friday. I am still feeling a bit blah post-trip. I can’t wait to spend this weekend sleeping and/or napping and doing laundry. I hope to also finish the last few recaps of my trip for here and also finish uploading photos. I am still riding the high from my trip, however. I really really really loved that trip. But I shall ramble on this subject more later. 🙂
I hope you all are well. Cheers and namaste.
by Melissa | Blog Post, Travel
The next day and a half spent at Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge allowed me to indulge in a few of my favorite things – namely taking pictures, reading, and writing.
It may surprise folks but I really enjoyed the time spent in the great outdoors. Our rooms had minimal electricity and I had to walk on a path through the jungle by candle and/or flashligth in the dark. All of our meals were by candlelight. Hot water was only availabe at night as a result of solar heating. It was all so simple and enjoyable and outside of what I consider my comfort zone – you know with the whole need to sleep with mosquito netting and being in the middle of the jungle thing.
During the full day spent at Tiger Tops, we went on two jeep safaris and also one 1.5 hour trek in the jungle. As with the first elephant safari, we saw some wild boars, rinos, a sloth bear, birds, spotted deer and lots and lots of vegitation. The worst part, however, was that one of the jeeps carrying people not with my group spotted a tiger. However, the amatuers didn’t manage to get a picture, so I say it doesn’t count. 🙂 Especially since none of our group got to see a tiger during our visit. If I ever go back to Tiger Tops, I’m totally bringing along a large glitter ball, a bit of cat nip, and laser pointer. That would totally work to lure a tiger out of the woods for a photo session, right?
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by Melissa | Blog Post, Travel
Whatever knocked me out for 36 hours passed as quickly as it set in so after one full day of missing things I was back in the saddle. Turns out I didn’t really miss much – just a bouncy bus trip and time in town. My first day rejoining the group started with a canoe trip on Lake Pehwa. It was a beautiful lake with the jungle starting pretty much right at the shorline. Of course, my boat also got a nice round of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” going. We win 😉
We stopped at an island in the lake with a Hindu temple. Full of pigeons. A lot of worshippers were waiting at the shore to come make their offering. It was quite interesting to see their rituals on a much smaller scale than in Kathmandu. Next stop was Davi’s Falls followed by a stop at a Tibetan refugee camp. We got some background on the Tibetans that have re-settled in Nepal. It is quite amazing to see their houses with Free Tibet spray painted on the side. For these people, it is much more than a slogan – it is their past, their present, and possibly their future. I then partook in one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done – went paragliding. So. Much. Amazing. I ran off of a mountain, strapped to a guy, and a parachute of sorts. We had good wind so stayed up for awhile and got to see the beautiful lake and valley spread out below us. I have a DVD with some photos and videos (I didn’t trust myself to use my own camera on the flight) which I’ll upload at some point.
Next big adventure of the day was a shopping excursion into town with two of my travelling companions. I ended up wandering around the shops for about an hour by myself just taking things in. There were people from all over the world walking the streets – with the various languages mixing in with “Namaste”. I got some sweet gifts and also got to have some Baskin Robbins and hear some sweeeeeet karaoke. (Video to come).
I met back up with Kellie and Pam and we visited a few bars (they had local beer – I still nursed a sprite) and ended up staying out until midnight. It was totally amazing and odd to be walking through streets which hours earlier were full of cars and motorcycles and now completely empty. Plus, sitting halfway across the world, chatting, sharing stories, laughing and sharing a drink is something everyone should do at some point in their lives.
Pretty sure the boat guy that had to take us to the island where the hotel was wasn’t too happy to be woken up that late. . . . 😉
I am so happy that I bounced back after the illness. The paragliding was awesome as was the other things we got to do.
Yesterday we flew to the Chitwan National Forest area and landed on a grass runway. And the airport terminal was amazing. Again photos to come.
Once we made the trek to Tiger Tops we settled in and then went on an elephant safari. O. M. G. it was amazing. I took like 400 photos and we got to see a mama and baby rhino just hanging out. Absolutely amazing. I can’t wait to see the photos on a bigger screen. I can’t even describe the two hours we spent out there. I’ll let the photos do that. Today, we are off for a pretty full day in the jungle. I’m hoping to fill most of my remaining memory cards over the next day or so. I have hit over 4000 photos I think. I am shutter happy.
Time to head off for a boat ride now. Namaste.
by Melissa | Blog Post, Travel
So, it happened. I got sick. Pretty much immediately upon our arrival to Pokhara. Awesome! (or not) I spent the last day and a half in bed. However I am finally feeling better and hope to actually leave the hotel room tomorrow. During some brief periods of being awake, I did enjoy the all cricket all of the time channel. Really wish we has that in the states. The hotel does have The Discovery Channel and TLC. That was unexpected. I am glad that I got sick when I did and didn’t have to miss the safari at Tiger Tops. In spite of this, I am still enjoying the trip. The vistas are stunning. Can”t wait to take more photos. Time for some more sprite. And sleep. More from me soon.
