Nepal

Back when we mapped out our first itineraries in 2001, we planned to trek in Nepal. Then the place went crazy with the murder of the royal family and the rising up of the Maoists rebels. We dropped it, but have kept a watchful eye just in case...

Traveling in India we ran into quite a few people who had just gone to Nepal and reported no problems, other than police checkpoints. So we looked hard and then decided to go for it.

We stopped through the magical city of Kathmandu, and then went out on a trek, the full loop around the Annapurna Mountains (21 days of hiking in the Himalayas!). That was a wonderful physical, mental and spiritual journey. After a few days of peacefulness in Pokhara and found ourselves at the Kopan monastery, one with a major connection to westerners. We joined the ongoing 30-day retreat, and then stayed for an additional week. We'll head back into India at the very end of December...too cold in Nepal, and not too hot in India.