Nepal
Northfield Cafe (and Tortoise)
By Tony on August 18, 2008 | No Comments »
Breakfast in Kathmandu means the Northfield Cafe. And after the forced vegetarianism of India, I’m ready for my steak and eggs special. (I’m a practicing carnivore again!)
Just as I was starting to sip my bottomless cup of coffee, I felt our little friend, the Northfield tortoise, bumping up against my foot under the table. He’s the restaurant mascot/comic.
But don’t worry, if he wanders past the security guard out of the Northfield gardens into the dangerous streets of Thamel, he has the restaurant’s address clearly written on his shell, so he can be safely returned to his home 
Trash Strikes Kathmandu
By Thomas on August 16, 2008 | 3 Comments »
When we arrived in Thamel this time around, we weren’t greeted by the oh-so-common smell of incense, but rather by the stench of rotting garbage.
There are mountains of trash 100 meters (100 yards) long and 4 meters (12 ft) wide along the congested road leading to Thamel. Kids are playing in it, and beggars are digging through it fighting dogs for anything edible. It’s quite shocking!
But trash strikes are not out of the ordinary. When we were in Nepal last time, a strike ended the day we flew to Lukla to start our Everest trek. To get rid of it all, people set the heaps of garbage on fire, and from the air, it looked like Kathmandu was burning.
For the sake of my lungs, let’s just hope for rain this time.
Back in Kathmandu
By Thomas on August 14, 2008 | No Comments »
We left India screaming our lungs out at the Jeep driver who had been racing one of his buddies on the busy road to the border. As we were stepping over the invisible line into Nepal pursued by Indian rickshaw drivers and touts, the Nepalese border officials welcomed us with a big and knowing smile. It was good to be home.
Unfortunately, the ugly reality of bureaucracy quickly caught up with us when we went to renew our Indian visa in Kathmandu. » Continue reading this post »
Jonathan and Rebecca Reloaded
By Thomas on February 26, 2008 | No Comments »
When we mentioned Contemporary Nomads Rebecca and Jonathan last September, they were just about to leave Lhasa and bike across Tibet to Kathmandu in Nepal while Tony and I were going on a Jeep tour to Mt. Kailash. Because we are traveling so slowly and have spent so much time in Nepal, they eventually caught up with us in Kathmandu where they volunteered as English teachers just outside the city for a couple of months.
Becca told us over dinner that the bike ride was one of the hardest things she had ever done. » Continue reading this post »
Thomas Steals Bananas…
By Tony on February 25, 2008 | 2 Comments »
… from an elephant.
One of the highlights of Chitwan National Park was our incredible elephant-back safari. What I at first dismissed as a touristy gimmick, turned out to be a real adventure once our elephant pulled away from the crowds of tourist-laden elephants and found its own piece of jungle.
Our elephant was a MAMMOTH towering four feet above other elephants – unfortunately, this meant we were continually » Continue reading this post »
