Nepal Days 20 and 21: Coming Home
The day we left Kathmandu felt like the last day of camp. Or the end of a season of The Real World when you wonder who is going to be last. Well, Jeremy and I were last. Throughout that morning, one-by-one, we said goodbye to our temporary trekking family until just us three Americans were left. We loaded into a taxi and drove to the Kathmandu airport to start our long string of flights home. Sharon, the Colorado native, had an earlier flight out than us - after hugging her goodbye, Jeremy and I sat in the Kathmandu waiting area and watched a Nepalese soap opera along with hundreds of other people with somewhere to go.
A few hours later we boarded our flight to Delhi, India. I sat next to a man who wanted to hear about my trek. When I told him the scariest part was the flight to Lukla he told me that his nephew was a pilot that worked that flight - and when he started to tell me a story about his nephew set in October 2008 I knew the story wasn't going to end well. You see, I had been obsessively looking at all the previous crash information at this airport and I knew there was a fatal crash in October 2008. The man told me everyone was killed except for his nephew and that after a long recovery he is still working as a pilot. I couldn't believe it.
So then we landed in India and returned to the holding cell that we had spent 17+ hours in on our way in. It was nice that it felt familiar - I guess kind of like when you fall in love with your kidnapper. This time we only had to wait 6 hours for our boarding passes.
Before we knew it we were on our long flight home - we passed time sleeping and watching movies. I watched a film called Mary & Max - you should watch it sometime too.And just like that we were landing in Newark at about 4AM. Our flight to Oklahoma City wasn't until 8PM that night but somehow we were able to land an earlier flight, connecting in Houston, that would bring us home at about 1PM.
And then just like that we were home. 
We were greeted by family, kitties and Fall. We spent the next two days sleeping, eating and sleeping some more. I was so happy to be home but now that almost a month has passed since our return I'm starting to miss Nepal and the quiet, massive mountains with my whole being. I miss the physicality of the trek - the simplicity of taking one step at a time and learning how to breath. The whole experience almost feels like a dream - like I imagined the whole thing. I'm trying to keep memories and details of the trek very close to my heart and it's meant a lot that I could share this adventure with you. Thank you for listening.
P.S. If you guys have any questions about the trek feel free to ask. I will be doing a separate post to answer any you may have. I'll also share the costs and logistics as well.
amazing. this has been such a fun story to follow!
I have 100% absolutely loved your recaps on this trip. Thanks so much for taking the time to complete this wonder and visually pleasing travelogue, my wanderlust is out of control right now.
ps: you're killing me with "newark, new york" though :-)
oh, and Trek Question:
how were your feet?!? I know you got a chance to try out the boots hiking beforehand, but I have major foot-shoe issues so I always harbor at least a mild paranoia about crippling blisters, especially on a long trip like that.
Michelle,
GAH. It's sad because I KNOW Newark is not in New York - I think I'm just so used to saying/hearing New York, New York that it just slips out.
But I fixed it. Thank you. :)
Thank you so much for sharing your journey. I stumbled upon your blog a few weeks ago and quickly began hooked on your adventures in Nepal. What a great experience! I appreciate you taking the time and effort to clearly communicate what your trip meant to you. It a world that is constantly moving it is nice to hear an inspiring story of stepping out and slowing down.
I'm looking forward to what's next!
what an amazing journey! i have loved reading all your posts- and i now totally want to go on the same trek. but i'm terrified of that airport.... not sure if i'd be able to do it.
thank you so much for sharing your adventure with us!
i'm usually such a lurker and never post, but had to here. so cool, thank you again
what an amazing journey! thank you so much for sharing with us all. i wish i could make that trek as well, but that whole dangerous airport thing would be hard for me....
thanks again!
Thank you so much for all of this. I've been following along at the edge of my seat this whole time. The words were so thoughtful and what you did with the images was just perfect somehow.
It made me do a lot of thinking, and feel very grateful to be part of this blogosphere.
So a HUGE thank you, and a HUGE congratulations. Now go print this out in a little book for yourself, to keep for always, yes?
Oh I've got a lot of questions:
The food. Is it easy to eat vegetarian?
How often did you get to shower?
Did you get to wash your clothes at all?
Did you ever feel unsafe/uncomfortable in any of the countries that you ended up in, due to being an American or female?
Did you ever feel any symptoms of altitude sickness?
Was it actually ok/easy to use the toilets there? Should I practice squats and wall sits until I can finally make the trek?
I've loved reading about your journey. It is very inspiring!
i'm kinda sad that it's over now. i loved reading about it. it felt like i was right there with you. :)
thank you for taking us on this incredible experience. my husband turned to me and said, "Hey, let's do it!"
i've hesitated popping over here the last few days, because i didn't want it to end. kind of like when you put a good book down for a few days right before the ending because you don't want it end. (please tell me i'm not the only one that does that?)
again, thank you kathleen for sharing your story. i've loved it.
i want to know if/when you plan on doing Everest? or what you two have planned before...any other mountains you want to tackle?
I've so enjoyed reading about your trip! I agree with Pam ^ very excited to read about how it ended, but sad that it's over. I look forward to seeing more of your design/daily life posts though! Thank you :)
thank you for re-living the journey by sharing the words with us.
thanks for sharing your journey! my husband and I are planning on doing the trek next spring- so I've been a constant lurker since your planning days! you've been a valuable resource and I just soaked in every one of your posts and pictures.
it's been such a pleasure to read about your trip. I cam across your blog while googling "everest base camp" and "blog" as I am planning to do the trek next fall. you have been a valuable resource. I soaked in every word and picture you posted. thanks!
Emahlee - I'm glad you found me! Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions. Are you going with a trekking company? We used The Mountain Company - they were beyond fantastic.
The gorgeous photos and graphics really would have been enough on their own, but your story-telling of this adventure really brought it to a whole new level. I've really enjoyed all of these posts!
Looks like you guys had an amazing trip! Don't you LOVE the feeling of arriving back home with a fresh perspective on everything? I grew up in S.E. Asia and always wanted to go to Nepal. Did you bring back any of those cool prayer flags?
Maharani - You should definitely make it to Nepal if you can. It was amazing. I considered buying prayer flags multiple times but decided against it - we only had a tiny bit of room for goodies - so I just got a yak bell and scarves.
I found your blog today and have spent the entire day engrossed in your Everest story. I, too, love Mt. Everest. From what I can gather, you weren't a hiker before making this trek? What made you decide to do it? How did you train for your trip? Are you planning another adventure of this magnitude?
Thanks for sharing your amazing journey with us!
Thanks Jenny! I'm glad you enjoyed the story of the trek. I actually posted a whole Q&A / Behind the Scenes post here:
http://jeremyandkathleen.blogspot.com/2010/12/nepal-behind-scenes.html
I have no idea what we'll do next! I'm really into the idea of summitting Kilimanjaro! Stay tuned. ;)
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