As I write this, I sit in Aaron’s childhood bedroom decorated in nostalgia. Baby faced photos, old sports jerseys, down to the DARE trophies. As I sort through our travel photos which feels like yesterday and lifetimes ago at the same time, I realize how lucid life is when we’re moving. How travel sparks something inside and can make you believe in magic again. I remember running free through these fields, dancing into the sky-high clouds, feeling like we can do anything we wanted, and we were doing it. There’s something about the mountains that bring a sacred energy and Nepal is no different. We found ourselves leaving the bustle of Kathmandu to retreat in the charming mountain town of Pokhara and hiking to a small village called Gachok. We were greeted with sparkling eyes and kids with their hands in heart center greeting you with a loud “namaste!” Lush fields stretch out in the valleys as they connect the mountainscapes. We witness the simplicity of the people as they worked the fields until the sun went down. During our trek, we were called down by a beautiful Nepalese girl and her mother who invited us into their home and prepared us a fresh cucumber salad from their garden. What little they have was all they needed, and it was what they offered us. I will never forget how this simple, yet large gesture of a cucumber salad can immerse me in gratitude long after our journey through Nepal.
Tag Archives: nepal
Kathmandu Nepal
It’s not always easy to write about a place after you have already left. Nepal is the one place with the most stories but holds blank pages in my journal. I felt as if I was in an alternate life during my stay here. We had just left our 2 month stay in India, I had just finished my yoga teaching certification, just turned 27, got engaged, and on our last leg of our one year journey (for now). I couldn’t find a way to unravel my thoughts into words. I couldn’t decipher my love for Kathmandu, our little San Francisco dream incarnated in the East. The streets and the people sang so much color and history. Sacred stupas rose high among blue skies heavily strung with prayer flags. The hustle and bustle (I have now come to miss) just a street away from serene mountain-scapes and solitude. I will admit, a ping of post travel depression hit me just at the thought of leaving this place. It was so far opposite of the pace and lifestyle I knew in Austin, TX but I knew within a matter of weeks I would have to let go of our life as we knew it overseas. I started asking myself if the colors would be this bright once I was back home, or if I could feel THIS much. Now as I slowly sort through our photos I relive it all over again and couldn’t be more excited to share with you a city of beautiful energy, Kathmandu.