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Hi All!

This will probably be the only time until the 15th that I will be able to be in contact. Sadly, the person I was relying on for text messaging suddenly had her phone poop out on her. That said, I am having a great time thus far! Kathmandu is incredible. A lot of poverty, but very nice people in general. We have had A LOT of beggars approach us, but they’re never aggressive and as long as you stand you’re ground, you’re fine. I’ve bonded with Jenn and Gayle was my airplane partner from Toronto onward. Everyone is very nice although you can tell there are certain clicks among the crowd. About 14 of the people did Kili two years ago so they’ve all stuck together for the most part.

So the flight was one of the longest experiences I have ever had in my life! Although we had two meals on the Toronto to Hong Kong flight and LOADS of movies and TV to watch, it was as boring as watching paint dry. Not to mention, my legs were killing me by the end of it. It was 15 hours.  Then the flight from HK to Kathmandu had a stop in between. It was nuts. But when we got there, we were all deliriously relieved to have arrived safe and sound…and with luggage!

After arriving at around 10:30, we decided to explore a bit. We ended up at this bar called Corner Bar. It was pretty well closed, but they opened it up for us. It was nice to have a drink with folks and get to know them. They’re a hilarious character named Paul from Nfld. He’s a riot.

The next day we got up for breakfast, which wasn’t bad! Surprisingly, the food is great here. After breakfast, we had our welcome meeting and then off we went to explore again. We all met up at this placed called Rum Doodle where previous trekkers have all visited. Amazing pictures from it!

The rest of the day we tried to find this monkey temple, but were unsuccessful. Instead we toured around this area that had 15 temples within it. Some active, some not. We had a tour guide who is very knowledgeable and it was great to take in some of the culture. The Nepalese are very spiritual people.

After the LONG day of walking and exploring, we came back to restaurant for our welcome dinner. Again, great food! Afterward, I had my first shower….since WEDNESDAY!

Anyway, this is a pretty long and detailed account of my travels to date, but I wanted you all to know that I am safe and happy.

Mary-E

(Message sent from Mary-E on October 3rd)

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