13-14 March 2010
We had considered going to Dog Mountain to help clear the area below launch of rapidly-growing alder on Friday, but my unplanned trip to the emergency room for what seemed to be chest pain forced us to a Saturday morning departure. We were still in time to do some widening on the East Dog road by cutting back the encroaching alder branches and blackberries. David Carrol and Kenny Richardson seemed to have been the guys with the fastest chainsaws and longest endurance as they shaved the slope and re-shaped the air flow from 0800 to noon.
Later the conditions picked up to marginally soarable - well, marginal to everyone but Larry and a few select others. I managed to launch between some of the hang gliders and, after sinking below the road, got up over launch and flew for an hour. C.J. had had a good hang gliding flight with a really smooth launch not long before I flew.
Tina, Larry, the Dog Mtn Fund and supporters provided a hot lunch and dinner for all the work party, family, friends and dogs. The bonfire which followed was welcome because the temperature began dropping as soon as the sun went down. Fortunately there was no precipitation or we would have had another dose of snow like that on Saturday morning. C.J. and I retired to the comfort of our mini trailer long before the fire and the enthusiasm burned down.
Frost on the exposed aluminum inside the trailer clued us in that the temperature had dropped below freezing overnight. Since we were now on daylight savings time, we stayed warm inside until the sun came over the ridge (an hour later than it had yesterday). While the wind started off light and variable, by the time it had warmed up it was pretty clear that we were going to have an east wind day. Larry went off to work on the Dragonfly and we packed up the trailer and headed home.
Not bad, two Dog trips in the last two weekends, one camping trip, and a work party.
14 March 2010
01 March 2010
Nepal!
7-27 February 2010
(Kal Bhairav - the destructive manifestation of Shiva - at Hanuman-Dhoka Durbar Square, Kathmandu)
Namaste! Nepal has been on our "bucket list" for long before the term "bucket list" was popular. However, what with the massacre of the royal family by a disgruntled son in 2001, and the Maoist uprising, Nepal has not been a reasonable destination for us. In the last couple of years magazine editor Nick Greece and tandem pilot Matty Senior, among others, have spent months there and came home with stories of good flying weather for months at a time, not to mention a thriving paragliding infrastructure in place. When Matty decided to lead a group from the NW to Nepal this February, C.J. and I were among the first to sign up. The experience was amazing.
7 Feb-8 Feb - Both alarms failed to go off at 0245 so we got an extra half-hour of sleep before C.J. saved us by waking up in time to get to Bob H's to meet a taxi to SeaTac. We checked in at the Alaska counter and were pleased to have our baggage checked through as far as Singapore at no charge. We'd have to make arrangement with SilkAir (not an Alaska partner) to check the bags on to Kathmandu. Beth and Ernie joined us on our flight to LAX where the weather was warm and sunny and we could get a little outside exercise between flights. Singapore Airlines was glad to change our baggage tags and assured us that our stuff would get to Kathmandu with us. Around 1300 we took off for a long swing up along the coast and then along the Aleutian Islands. We stopped at Tokyo/Narita for 1 hr 45 min for refueling. then pushed on to Singapore. 
The big 747 was not full and we had all three seats to ourselves, but it was hot in the rear of the plane so C.J. got us switched from row 60 to 39, an emergency exit row with lots of legroom. We slept as much as possible on the 7+ hour flight to Singapore. We had heard that Singapore/Changi was a good airport but we were unprepared to find that it made many US airports look like something from the Third World. It was almost deserted at 0100 with most shops closed but an airport map helped us find a
"rest area" with leather chaise lounges, dim lights and a bubbling fountain. We were able to stretch out and get several hours of sleep interrupted only once by police requesting everyone's passport and boarding pass. Around 0600 we got up and wandered around a bit looking at the koi ponds (photo, left above) and gardens before boarding a shuttle to Terminal 2. We visited a fern garden, but did not find the sunflower garden or green wall (In Pokhara, days later, we would be flying along the "Green Wall".) There were lots of mostly upscale, or at least, expensive, mall shops, so after a brief tour we went to wait for our gate to open at 0810. Ernie and Beth arrived there from their night at the Ambassador Transit Hotel right in the terminal and we took off on the smaller, but equally uncrowded, Airbus 320 around 0910 bound for Kathmandu.
9 Feb, Tues - During the approximately five-hour flight we were able to see some of the coastline of Thailand, Myanmar, and Bangladesh (recognized by our use of a Garmin 76S) before running into clouds and then rain as we descended to land. After paying our $40 visa fees, we collected our baggage (somewhat damp from sitting in the rain), had our carry-ons x-rayed, but not our checked baggage (and no one asked about radios or any of the electronics we were carrying). Matty met us right outside of customs (whew!) and got us through the crowd of wannabe porters to the two taxis sent by the Fuji Hotel. Rain, driving on the left, small vehicles, incessant use of the horn, no sidewalks and narrow, dirty streets were some of our first impressions as we drove
to Thamel. At the Fuji the staff was very helpful in getting our bags to our rooms and reformatting the twin beds to a large double. The shower was different - only a curtain separated the shower from the rest of the bathroom, otherwise it was much like a Western bathroom. After getting settled we went downstairs, exchanged $20 USD for rupees and went to the hotel restaurant to have egg drop soup, chow mein and thukpa, a kind of chow mein soup. Matty joined us with Forrest who had come in an hour after us. Later C.J. and I showered and wrote in our journals. It was pretty chilly and I had broken out my long underwear and turtleneck. Later Matty led us through the teeming streets of Thamel to the Roadhouse Cafe for some international food (pizza, Dijon beef sandwich, Everest beer (650 ml bottle)). The streets were dark (electricity is only supplied several hours a day on a rotating scheduled throughout Nepal) and twisty (but not quiet) and we would never have found our way back to the hotel without Matty. He left us only a couple of blocks from the entrance and we still missed a turn and had to backtrack to the Fuji.
10 Feb, Wed - We woke up early (0500) and couldn't get back to sleep so we were up by 0600. We had breakfast (included) in the hotel restaurant (juice, fruit, toast, 2 eggs and tea) with the same folks. Matty said he would join us along with Forrest for our proposed tour of Durbar Square. Beth and
Ernie were heading down to Pokhara right away (but would be delayed at the hotel waiting for their flight for several hours by the rain and clouds). We walked through Thamel, got 7500 rupees at a Nabil Bank ATM, and shook off several "buy milk for my baby" scams. We passed a bunch of shrines including one that looked like a lump of wood with coins nailed to it dedicated to the toothache god. The most common shops along this street, unsurprisingly, were dental clinics. At Durbar we paid 300 Rs each for our tourist tickets (less for other south Asians, much less for Nepalis) and Matty hired a guide for $10, a good plan. The first temple was one of the oldest, an open structure believed to be built from a single tree. Its name, Kasthmandap, is the source for the name of the city. Inside, next to the shrine, is a wooden column that has been smoothed by worshippers rubbing their backs and 
other injured body parts on it. Then we climbed up the stepped base of Trilokya Mohan Narayan Temple dedicated to Vishnu fronted by a large kneeling Garuda statue (photo, left). To the north was the Shiva/Parvati Temple. Next we ducked through two low doors lined with carved skulls to enter the courtyard (chowk) of the Kumari Bahal, a building housing Kumari, the living goddess. I took some photos of the intricately carved areas above each window before the Kumari made a brief appearance at a third-floor window. Next on our tour, the Gaddhi Baithak is an out-of-place European neo-classical palace built shortly after Nepal was opened to foreigners for the first time. Across from the Kriska Temple is King Prathap Malla's Column with the king backed by a cobra on top. Seto (white) Bhairab is represented by a horrible face behind a screen. The Jagannath Temple is noted for the erotic carvings on the roof struts. Just west of this temple was a small platform covered with pigeons and a few cows which people were feeding. A statue of Hanuman (the monkey-faced god) sheltered by a canopy stands just outside the Hanuman Dhoka 
(entrance) flanked by stone lions (photo, left). His face is no longer visible due to years of worshippers "feeding" him sweets. We took a narrow alley to the E to reach Sukra Path, New Road and Ganga Path, then looked down Freak Street (now mostly retail stores). After walking across Basantapur Square where a market was setting up, our guide led us to a tall building with a rooftop restaurant. Part way up the narrow stairs we were diverted to a Thangka studio and received an explanation of how these Tibetan mandala paintings were made (and offered an opportunity to buy them, of course, but the $650 price caused us to move right along). Leaving our guide at the restaurant, 
we made our way back across Makhan Tole to Indra Chowk to Thamel through Thatiti Tole. Just SW of Thahiti we spotted a stupa down an alley and entered the courtyard to find the Kathesimbhu Stupa and a Tibetan Gompa (photo, left) as well as many Thangka shops and uniformed school children (on recess?).
Back at the Fuji, Forrest got his camera working and we chose a Newari restaurant, Thamel House, for lunch. Matty went with Forrest and us but couldn't stay for lunch as he had to meet the rest of the party at the airport. Lunch was served in the courtyard and was pretty interesting. We tried a lassi (sort of like a smoothie), a comp.
appetizer of roasted soy beans, BBQ mutton and wild boar, Basmati rice, and complimentary saucers of rakshi, a grain or rice alcohol. (We learned to add up the bill ourselves after this since there was a 200 Rs discrepancy this time.) Back at the hotel we climbed to the 5th floor roof and rested amongst the drying laundry. Around 1600 the group, now including Ray, Woody, Steve W., and Paulo (who had taken a much-delayed scenic flight around Mt. Everest earlier) went up to the cab stand near the former royal palace (now a museum) and took a couple of cabs to the "monkey temple", Swayambhunath. After a ride through narrow, crowded, rough streets, we debarked at the base of the steep Eastern Stairway (photo, left) and climbed through the gateway and the three Buddhas (and all the people selling souvenirs) to the temple. We toured the shrines, shops and temples until sunset, then descended and took cabs back to near the hotel (our driver 
didn't know where it was - and neither did we). After a shower we met for dinner at 1900 at Yin Yang, a Thai restaurant. The Massaman curry and stir fry were very good but we were all overcharged 1000 Rs ("Oh, we must have mixed you up with another table") and got charged for rice/fried rice 
that we were led to believe was included as part of the meal. Oh well, I guess we won't be going back there very soon anyway. We were pooped by 2130 and ready for bed - up tomorrow at 0630 for a 0900 flight to Pokhara.
11 Feb, Thu - We were up at 0600 with plenty of time for the hotel breakfast and to gather at 0730. We all packed our stuff into four cabs and headed off on the usual wild ride to the airport. The domestic terminal was a bit more basic than the international terminal but had an even larger number of pushy wannabe porters. We managed to find our own carts and joined the non-queue at the entrance. There was quite a bit of security with baggage scanners and at least two pat-downs before we
boarded at 0845. The security people would not permit me to carry our helmets in my carry-on and I had to do a quick repack into the checked rolling duffel. There were good views of the mountains from the 
right side of the airplane. Matty's hired van and driver took us to the Peace Plaza Hotel (photo, left) on the far end of the main 
street of Lakeside. As soon as we could assemble our gear we loaded up and headed for 
launch on Sarangkot - about a 30 min drive up a mostly paved, but narrow, road. Part way up we stopped to look at the Annapurna Range and take a group photo (left, Fishtail, or Machupuchare, above Ray's head). At launch most of us had to wait to take off while the Sunrise tandems or Paranova tandems got their passengers off. The sky was pretty full of wings when I launched and the gaggles were not well organized. I did not enjoy the crowd and tried to find other lift. After 30 min or so I headed out toward the lake and chose Paranova LZ to land rather than the big (but wet today) field at the end of the lake or the narrow Maya Devi/Blue Sky Paragliding LZ. It was about 
a one km walk to Maya Devi, the home of Parahawking in Nepal, where we ordered lunch from Raju (sign photo, left). Forrest was there already recovering from his collapse and chute deployment out in front of launch, generally unhurt. Steve Wilson was not present having chosen to land back in town where he got hit by an unlucky rotor 
and landed in the lake close to shore. We were reunited with Beth and Ernie and met the rest of our group, Stephanie and Saeed.
(Asian Black Kite at Maya Devi, photo, left)
After eating we went back up for another flight in much less crowded air. I got up as high as the tower on Sarangkot once and spent time on the ridge capped with a shrine/temple with a tiger painted on it. C.J. landed just before I did at Paranova and we went back to the hotel to clean up (in our bathroom/shower - no separation; when you took a shower everything got wet). Dinner was just a few steps away at Chilly Bar and Matty took some time to describe the maneuvers he was planning for tomorrow's SIV. We were pooped after two flights, three if you count the turboprop flight to Pokhara, and went back to rest at 2045.
12 Feb, Fri - For breakfast C.J. and I shared a big bowl of mixed fresh fruit with muesli and "curd" at the stall across the street. ((photo, left) Then I walked along the main street to the first big tree (an obvious landmark since it is in the middle of the street) and tried to get some cash from the Standard Chartered Bank ATM. Instead, the stupid machine ate my card. I'd have to come back to the bank and present my passport to get my card back. Meanwhile, we had enough money for a couple of days. Returning to the hotel, I removed all my electronic gear and anything I didn't want to get wet from my harness in preparation for the SIV. It was cloudy and cool and would be a bummer to end up in the water (but at least it wouldn't destroy my instruments as had happened to Steve). We took the van up to the Sunrise take off again but then carried our gear up a path to the Blue Sky (?) launch. (photo, left, G with his paraglider pack, by Bella) The wind was calm and we had to 
wait which gave us a chance to meet Bella Reibling who would be the launch director while Matty was down in the LZ directing the SIV maneuvers. After a while it began to rain but fortunately there was a hut we could shelter in and even order tea, soup and other food. After it was clear that we were not going to fly we packed down to the van and went to lunch at the Olive Cafe. Later we did a little window shopping, looking at North Fake and "Mammut" trekking clothing and lined goat-roper hats.
(Map of the Pokhara area. Dhiki Danda is north of the map border)
When we got back around 1400 Matty had organized a trip into the heart of Pokhara, Mahendrapul (sp?) (photo). The area was
not as touristy as Lakeside but had similar tiny shops and stalls. There were more household goods - pots and pans, appliances and the like - as well as regular Nepali clothing and food. We headed back to Lakeside around 1530 and most folks went off to get SIM cards (but C.J. had no charger for her cell phone so we didn't get one - I've still got my Mobal phone for emergency use anyway). I walked quite a ways S along Lakeside while window shopping.
Tonight is Shivaratri, the celebration of the birth of Shiva, and there are stacks of sugar cane for sale all over town (photo). It's used during the celebration like fireworks - the canes are thrust into a bonfire and heated up
until the liquid is turned to steam, then the cane is smacked hard on the ground and the steam is released explosively.
I stopped at a travel agent (one of a score in Lakeside) to see what a package tour to Royal Chitwan National Park would cost (since we are not keen on returning to spend much time in Kathmandu). Surprisingly, an all-inclusive two day/three night package outside the park costs only about $90 per person including the 5-hr bus ride each way.
C.J, was gone on a walk along the lake when I got back, or up on the roof reading. I didn't feel too well - shivering enough to want to put my fleece vest and jacket on. Later I took a couple of ibuprofen and felt better. At 1830 the group all went to the Japanese restaurant on the main road out of Lakeside. The Katsu don was good. On the way back we took a detour near a bonfire where people were heating the sugar cane and smashing it on ground. It was just about as scary as kids with fireworks because the hot, sometimes flaming, piece would fly all over. Back at the hotel the electricity was still on and one set of camera batteries had been recharged. C.J. exchanged $60 (4300 Rs) at the hotel since the bank would be closed on Saturday. (We were told that the Nepali weekend is Friday afternoon and Saturday.)
13 Feb, Sat - I woke up round 0500 with diarrhea, took two loperamide (Immodium) tablets and hoped to keep it in control. We ate breakfast at Four Season (sic) Restaurant (photo, left) next to Frontier Paragliding (There are something like nine tandem paragliding companies in Pokhara (up six from last year!)). One of the set breakfasts is The Trekker and includes banana porridge or fruit-muesli-curd, eggs, toast and tea. We ordered hot chocolate extra - total: 215Rs, about $3. It was foggy enough that we could not see the lake so we 
didn't go up to launch until 0930. When we arrived, there were already pilots and passengers on Blue Sky TO. (Photo, left) I launched fourth or so after a number of botched 
attempts by what must have been pilots nervous about doing SIV. Out over the lake I had enough altitude (due to the lift) to do L&R tip collapses, L&R asym collapse-and-hold to turn 180 deg, a frontal collapse, and a weak B-line stall. I landed on the spot at Maya Devi - it wasn't such a hard place to land after all (in light wind anyway). Kiran, a young boy who had packed my wing at Paranova, packed it for me this time, too, for 20 Rs (about 30 cents). (Sarangkot summit from the house thermal, photo, left)
After about half of us had done the first round the van took us back up. But not before Forrest had thrown his reserve again after a frontal gone wrong. It seemed to take a long time for the kayaks and inflatable raft to reach him as the
wind was pushing him down the lake. On the second cycle I did some asym spirals but could not hear Matty so I missed out on any instruction. I finished off with a better B-line and just barely made it back to the Maya Devi LZ. (photo, left, shows Fewa Lake from the air. Maya Devi is just below the center of the photo) C.J. and I decided that two flights were enough (besides, I was still not feeling well). We hung out in the LZ and got to watch both Stephanie and Paulo splash into the lake because they waited too long before pulling out of their maneuvers. We stuck around until sunset then we got a ride back to the hotel with Steph and Saeed. After a shower and some rest (the showers worked best when the electricity was on OR when the sun had heated up the water tanks on the roof). Around 1930 we went with the group to Moon Dance Restaurant and bought a paragliding map of the Pokhara area on the way.
14 Feb, Sun - Sunday is supposed to be a workday in Nepal so after breakfast at Four Season, I went to Standard Chartered Bank to get my ATM card. After waiting for 15 minutes or so with another couple, the guard pointed out that the bank was not opening today - another holiday. Oh well, at least we could go up and take a 30-min short flight while we waited for the three pilots who were doing Parahawking flights to finish. At 1255 I launched for my second flight and
worked lift here and there getting above the towers and then down again. I tried the monastery thermal and got over 1700m about the time the rest of the crew did the same but over the towers. (C.J.'s photo, left, as she was climbing in the house thermal) So they headed west above the ridge toward Toripani and the last high point with Matty leading the way. That was the task for the day - to run the ridge and return, thus setting up for our big, final XC flight from Sarangkot to Dhiki Danda, the Green Wall (or maybe Korchon) and return to Sarangkot. So I crossed to the house thermal and climbed, circling and drifting to the west to a max altitude of 1800m+ as far as Toripani (marked by a white stupa on a high point). At that point my downwind speed was 50 kph, and upwind I was barely making double digits with a decided lack of lift. I thought making it back to Maya Devi from there was unlikely but the ground sloped away enough that I reached the dropoff to the lake and was able to ridge soar and thermal a bit longer. I approached Maya Devi through the rotor off the banana trees upwind and got big turbulence. The tandem right in front of me landed hard and so did I. C.J. made the task and got back easily when she found a "screamer" on the way back and landed eventually at the end of the lake LZ. Only Paulo had to land out up the valley a few km. We all had the BBQ lunch at Maya Devi and hung around until 1700 or so when most of us took the van back to the hotel to get cleaned up. Later C.J. and I found a guy with a treadle sewing machine and had him reinforce a weakening seam on my paraglider pack (100 Rs).
16 Feb, Tue - After breakfast at Four Season, C.J. Steve W and I went to Frontiers Paragliding to catch a taxi to to the Frontiers launch for Parahawking with Claudio, Elli, and Brad (and Vicki, the bird handler from South Africa (photo, below left)). Once at launch, Brad took us for a walk to the north side of the ridge where we had a view of the Dhiki Danda-Green Wall area (photo, above left) and he discussed the strategy for flying the circuit from Sarangkot/Toripani to DD, the Green Wall, and 
back to Sarangkot. When the first rush of tandems cleared the area, we launched with two birds: Kevin, an Egyptian vulture, and Bob, an immature Egyptian vulture. We fed the birds chunks of buffalo meat from our gloved hand on a whistled command to the birds. Flying near the other two gliders (and birds) each of us could watch the birds responding to the food and whistles. Near the end of the flight I was able to get a number of photos of the birds and gliders (photo, left). We landed at Maya Devi and took a cab back to launch stopping at the hotel to pick up our wings. (No lunch! Matty forgot to pick up sandwiches this morning when he went up with the early group - oh well, we've all got extra food in with our gear.) Our late group with Brad launched around 1320 in relatively uncrowded conditions. After a while I got to 1700m (the go-for-it altitude) over the towers and went to Toripani where I climbed several times to just over 2000m with Brad (whose radio wasn't working) but could not get high enough (2200-2400) to head across the big valley to Dhiki Danda. Then my speed system rope broke and I decided to abandon the task, stay local and land at Paranova. When I landed I spliced my speed stirrup line and did a temp fix on my open (again!) reserve container. Then I walked back to Maya Devi and hung out until 1500 or so when I caught a taxi back to the hotel for a shower. C.J. had made it to Dhiki Danda and had flown the whole Green Wall (getting to 2700m) then decided to land with Beth at the DD LZ. They got a taxi back to the hotel together. Most of the group had dinner at the Japanese restaurant and discussed the possible helicopter flight to a high launch (3200m) on the Korchon circuit for early in the morning. At $160 each we're opting out and using the savings to do a 3-day trip to Royal Chitwan later. Back at the hotel internet cafe I downloaded our photos so far (C.J. - 127, G - 150) to USB drives.
17 Feb, Wed - We had an earlier than usual breakfast at Four Season ("Big John's") then drove out to watch the helicopter group land in the valley N of Sarangkot along with a bunch of really excited youngsters from the nearby school. (photo, left, kids at Dhiki Danda) Then we drove up Dhiki Danda (all the way to launch this time with our old, reliable driver). Matty, Steve, Ray and Mike took off first in an attempt to get high and fly the Korchon Circuit. The rest of us launched later (Stephanie and Saeed were not with us today), got about 300m over launch and 
crossed to the Green Wall where lift was plentiful (photo, left, Machupuchare from the Green Wall). It was a quick trip to the easternmost point and then more strong lift under growing clouds to 2500m. Some of us started off for the long crossing but Beth and I returned to top off our climbs at 2650m+. From there it was a long (looong) glide toward the monastery on Sarangkot with a stop for one thermal along the way at 2000m that gained Forrest and me another 200m. We were then able to cross the river easily and make it over the intervening ridge. I surfed some light lift in the bowl between there and the monastery ridge, and was able to see where Beth had landed out down below. I made a couple of turns before continuing on to the house thermal below launch level. There I climbed to 1800m and went W toward Toripani but did not find more good lift and it had become windy. It was slow coming back out but I had plenty of height and considered landing with Forrest at the end of the lake (C.J. was still high, 2300m!, above the towers.). It was thermally or turbulent around Maya Devi but I landed softly, packed up, and hung around MD for a while. When C.J. walked in from the end of the lake, we caught a cab to the hotel for a shower. Dinner for the two of us was at the Olive Cafe after a briefing at Four Season about the camping and flying the next three days - a good time to get out of town because there is a competition scheduled that will keep freeflyers on the the ground during the tasks. On the way to dinner we stopped to buy some postcards and souvenir prayer flags.
18 Feb, Thu - We had another early breakfast (0700) with our departure scheduled for 0815. Last night we had brought our wings and any large gearbags to Frontiers Paragliding to be loaded on one of the jeeps that would go up early to set up camp at Sirkot. So all we had to carry in the morning was a daypack. It was a two-hour ride in the van to Walling (?) where we transferred to Mahendra "jeeps", forded a river (Andhi Khola) and drove 75 minutes to the launch and campsite at the top of a ridge just beyond a village and school. There were a bunch of blue, two-person A-frame tents for us and a large wall tent for cooking. Two latrines enclosed by tents were being dug as we arrived. Later we would also have a dining tent (used during the night for storing our wings out of the dew). After getting our borrowed sleeping bags and foam pads into our tents we hiked the short distance up to launch with half the kids in the village school following us. The wind was pretty strong but after a briefing, I got my wing out and after Brad 
and a tandem (Dave Metzgar and Liz from San Diego, who had joined us for the camping trip) had launched, I took off using A's and D's. I flew left to where the house thermal was supposed to be and got up then came back and flew past launch to the right to a temple on a ridgetop. I was just above launch as I flew back but I got back to 2100m at the house thermal and repeated the route. Coming back I was lower and the house thermal; wasn't working so I continue E down the ridge watching out for the almost-invisible power lines. The bump at the start of the last ridge was working somewhat but not enough to get high again so I slid down the ridge toward the river and the large flood plain which I knew had a large power line running through it. The lines were invisible at the present sun angle but I eventually was able to see the towers and set up to land west of them but near what Matty called the swimming hole. By the time I was on final, it was too late to change my approach even though now the area looked rocky rather than sandy. I landed crosswind but softly enough that the head-sized, rounded rocks were not a 
problem. I radioed to the folks who had finally launched that the brown, grassy area was better and they should land going toward the sun. After fending off kids who were begging - not even interested in helping fold wings - we loaded into two 4WD jeeps and drove back up the long, rough road to camp (photo, left with Graeme). C.J. really did not feel well but she made it back to camp before Travelers Diarrhea hit. She took two Immodium and an antibiotic (Ciprofloaxin) that Graeme had brought with him. Wrapping up in her sleeping bag, C.J. got an early start on sleep. We were met at camp with tea kettles of hot water and hot milk, tea bags, coffee, and cocoa mix (!) and cookies - a nice gesture. Dinner, served in the dining tent out of the wind, was mushroom soup with popcorn (just like Ecuador), huge plates of curried chicken, breaded, fried cauliflower (it's in season now), dhal (lentil soup/sauce) and bhat (rice), and cooked greens, plus glasses of rakshi, a milletbased grain alcohol drink. It was way more than I could eat (but I was probably already coming down with TD myself) and I didn't even try the banana fritters for dessert. Later the crew made a fire so we could hang around after dinner (2015) under the bright stars and waxing crescent moon (with its horns pointing up).
19 Feb, Fri - I've got TD (again!) I took two Immodium and then one more. A number of others in our group are popping Immodiums as well. Matty thinks it might actually be giardia. Anyway, Graeme gave us the coordinates for "2nd thermal", Sirubari, Gallam (bus thermal), and Maya Devi and we put them in our GPSes. It's plenty warm up here this morning especially with the sun out and no wind. I couldn't eat any breakfast and started on a Cipro treatment. Around 1030 or so everyone went up to launch. C.J. and I did not fly but most of those who did got to Sirubari and at least some distance back. Woody took a collapse close to the ground and 
crashed sustaining some injuries (later and much later we found out that he has wrist, shoulder, rib(s) and hip injuries). Brad landed to render aid and we followed the crowd of locals and our porters down there. Forrest relayed radio traffic from launch and called for a jeep to get Woody to a hospital. There wasn't much we could do except sling Woody's arm and use a PG harness to carry him to the road where the jeep met us. Brad went down with the jeep and then Graeme went with Woody to the hospital in Pokhara. C.J. and I walked back up the road to camp with some local kids stopping to look at the stupa and school. We were short on water and tired and neither of us had had lunch. At camp we rested then got a bucket of warm water and washed our hair - felt good. I couldn't face supper but rested in the tent, then slept all night without any shivers. C.J. was able to eat dinner which was spaghetti among other things and chocolate cake probably baked in a dutch oven.
20 Feb, Sat - Maybe the Cipro was really working because I felt a lot better and was able to eat breakfast. We packed up and then went to launch around 1015. C.J. still felt weak and dizzy and did not join us (neither did Forrest or Paulo). [C.J. spent some time with the village kids helping with their homework which was at least partially in English. (photo, left)] Matty asked me to launch right after him because I had not had the experience from yesterday to help me make the transitions to Sirubari and beyond. He launched at 1140 and I followed him off into cloudy/mostly cloudy skies. Cloudbase was just over 1900m (launch at 1600) and it rose gradually. When those of us in the first gaggle, Matty, Ray, Mike and Ernie, reached 2000m we left and crossed to "2nd Thermal" where I came in reasonably high and got up again and headed for Sirubari where we once again climbed to 2100m. Next goal was an intermediate ridge where Matty and Ray sank out while I scratched hard to stay up and finally hooked a boomer. Ernie and Mike had stayed high and pushed on to Gallam and the "bus thermal". At 2100m I started to glide for Gallam - the bus thermal location was obvious from our briefing but I was now on my own because Ernie and Mike had landed below Gallam. When I reached the ridge I realized why they had gone down - the bus thermal was not working - no lift at all. Soon I was scratching down the ridges above small villages and eventually I landed near Mike on some terraces on the highway side of the river. (photo below, Mike making a radio call surrounded by curious kids) With a couple young men, one with a broken hand from futbol, we took a trail up to the Siddartha highway where we waited for the jeeps while a few monkeys played in the 
trees around a small temple above the road. Ernie eventually became impatient and hired a taxi, as did Matty and Ray. Neither cab had room for three with our wings so I was content to wait for the jeep. While waiting some monkeys started to cross the road. I was idly counting them and was amazed when my count reached 48 - a whole troop of the rhesus macaques! Since four pilots had taken taxis there was plenty of room in the jeep for me and the rest. Unfortunately Steve W had landed somewhere far from the main road and only thought that he was waiting along our pickup route. Eventually Brad had to take a bus or taxi back to where he was and they had some 
adventures getting to Pokhara. When C.J. and I got back to town we went to Adam Travel and booked our 3-day excursion to Royal Chitwan for $85 each all-inclusive. At the hotel we got our last load of laundry (all mixed up with everyone else's) and ordered two group t-shirts from Ray, the designer.(photo, left) Then we finally got to take showers. The two of us went to Moon Dance for dinner so C.J. could have the dhal bhat that she missed out on at Sirkot. For a change we were hungry and we even ordered dessert - "Makupuchare Kiss". On the way back we stopped at a pharmacy and bought two packages of Cipro (one to return to Graeme). The electricity came on at 2100 so we were able to charge radios and batteries.
21 Feb, Sun - We had breakfast at Four Season despite doubts some had about where we had all eaten and all (except those taking Pepto-Bismol) got TD. Withdrew 10,000 RS from the Nabil Bank ATM after an aborted attempt at the Annapurna Finance Co ATM. We all went up to
Sarangkot at 1030 and I launched at 1218. The conditions were hazy (Not like the ad photo, left) with steadily lowering cloudbase and I flew for about 50 min, but it was a definite anticlimax after the challenging flying the day before. We landed at Maya Devi and took a moment to buy a 
Parahawking t-shirt, then most of us went back to the hotel to pack up and get lunch. C.J. and I ate at Sheela Bakery/Sandwich Shop across from Frontiers PG. After lunch C.J. went shopping for a shawl for her mom and had a fun time bargaining with the yak wool salesman/shop owner. Back in our room we repacked for storage at the hotel and for Chitwan. Ray had our group t-shirts so we picked them up. Too bad the sewing machine oil smell was so strong that we had to send them out with Beth's laundry before wearing them (and we're just about down to the point where we have more laundry in our luggage than clean clothes, so a clean t-shirt would have been useful). We had a group dinner (plus Graeme, Claudio, Elli and Noah, and ?) at Moondance. Later Claudio showed C.J. the video he took while they were parahawking and C.J. liked it enough to buy it. We were back at the hotel by 2130 and found out that Steve W is going to Chitwan the same time we are. We'll be able to share a taxi in the morning.
22 Feb, Mon - I slept fitfully not sure if the cellphone alarm was really going to ring at 0615 (must be alarm clock anxiety left over from our late departure from home). Matty was up to see us off, and we caught a taxi with Steve to the Tourist Bus Park, a dirt compound swarming with breakfast roll vendors and a few carts and stalls. We bought a couple of rolls and some fresh squeezed fruit juice (we've already got TD, might as well enjoy the local food!). Despite directions to be there at 0700 for an 0730 departure, the bus didn't leave until 0800. And, for what was billed as a tourist bus, the seating was pretty cramped (yeah, but nothing like the overcrowded local buses we've seen around!). It was a slow ride on the Prithvi Road especially going through Pokhara and any villages along the way. The scenery improved as we followed the river gorge and we made one rest stop at a restaurant about two hours down the road. By the way, from the bus park to the Jungle Safari Resort we were out of Western-style toilet country and into what the rest of the world uses, I guess. We drove through Dumre where a number of passengers got off probably to catch jeeps up to Bandipur. [That village had been on our itinerary with Matty 
until all paragliding was banned there in January. We had been kind of looking forward to it.] We turned south at Mugling after crossing the river. After a swing through the bus terminal in Bharatpur (probably where Steve should have gotten off to go to his resort, Tiger Temple, inside the park) it was only a short distance to our stop near the village of Sauraha. That bus park was crowded with hotel touts but we found a driver holding up a Jungle Safari Resort brochure and hopped in the back of his open jeep - felt like we were on safari already! The resort was in the village but set back enough that it had its own ambiance. After signing in and getting a basic briefing, we went to our room which had a large balcony and two beds with mosquito bars (not needed in February). There was no power so the windowless bathroom required a headlamp to negotiate. It was past time for lunch so we headed for the vine-covered restaurant across the courtyard and had soup/broth, chow mein, fries, cauliflower and other veggies, and a deep-fried 
vegetarian croquette. After lunch we met with our guide, Vishnu, and a young Austrian couple, Sylvia and Stefan, to map out our next days. After discussion we all decided to spring for the extra $20 each to do the 5-hr jeep safari along with everything else. We rested until 1530 then had a guided walk through the Tharu village, the elephant stables, and then along the river to the edge of town where a dugout canoe ferries people across the Ratri River into the park. There were a bunch of stalls and stands serving the people sitting along the river bank waiting for the sunset. We stayed until the sun sank into the denser clouds then went back through the small village to the hotel. Along the way I picked up a couple of bottles of water (with the usual problem of making change for 40Rs from a 500 Rs bill). Dinner was at 1900, a buffet of rice, chow mein, cauliflower in a sauce, beef strips, soup and chocolate pudding. We weren't the only resort guests by any means. There were other small groups and a larger group of Chinese tourists. We spent a short time writing postcards before crashing around 2100.
23 Feb, Tue - No wake up "call" (no phone, duh!) at 0630 but C.J. woke up on time as the power came on just about then. There was hot water for a shower (not always the case back in Pokhara
when the power was off overnight), Breakfast at 0700 was porridge, omelette, sausage (at least that's what I think it was), cabbage, potatoes, toast and tea. At 0730 the four of us met with Vishnu in the morning fog and drove to the river where we all boarded a dugout canoe. There were folding wooden seats with backrests so it wasn't too uncomfortable, but it was definitely a canoe and correspondingly tippy. (photo, left, Visnu, Stefan and Sylvia) Drifting downstream we saw egrets, heron, four species of kingfisher, wagtail, and other birds. The marsh mugger crocodiles we saw were all in the water or in holes in the bank, none out in the open on the banks. Most were so still that they could be mistaken for lumpy rocks or logs. The only one that was active at all showed a sharply serrated tail. At the end of the canoe ride, we took a jungle walk through the sal forest. 
The biggest things we saw were spotted deer including two with large racks. Otherwise we saw more birds (serpent-crested eagle, grey-headed fish eagle, parakeets, noisy peacocks and more). We came out of the jungle at the Elephant Breeding Center where we saw a bunch of elephants including two 14-month-old twins (very rare). The only unchained elephants were two two-year-olds who came to us looking for treats (cookies or "biscuits" available in the EBC visitor center) so we got to touch them and feel their remarkably agile trunks. (photo, above) Walking back to the jeep we crossed the river on a bridge made of bamboo with sandbag decking. The jeep took us back to the village and the riverside where the mahouts were bathing their elephants (and the tourists getting tossed off as they tried to help).We were back at the hotel by 1130 and lunch this time 
was a buffet. We met with Vishnu again at 1230 to walk to the village and meet up with three other guys who would fill up the jeep for the safari. We crossed the river on the dugout canoe ferry and loaded up the open "jeep". (photo, left, with our driver up a tree looking for game) The route took us mostly through sal forest and some grasslands (elephant grass) on dirt tracks. Along the way we saw lots of birds, different kinds of deer and a couple of wild boars. Our turnaround point was the Gharial Conservation Center where these rare crocodiles are bred and raised in captivity to be released into the wild when they were 2-3 metres in length.. On the way back we were able to observe a one-horn rhino but not close and somewhat obscured by vegetation. We got our full money's worth ($20 ea) and didn't get back until after 1800. Dinner was a buffet again with chow mein, cauliflower and vegetables, rice with coconut and dried fruit 
(very good), and a dish with cabbage and wild boar. there was also soup and a bright yellow pudding that was probably vanilla. Shortly after dinner the hotel garden was the venue for a Tharu cultural presentation which began with the serving of a chicken dish and glasses of an alcoholic drink not as strong as Rakshi. A large and enthusiastic troop of young men performed two "stick dances", one with 40-48" sticks and the other with pairs of shorter batons both representing a form of martial arts developed by the Tharu who were forbidden the use of conventional weapons. There were several other dances and finally one where the guests were invited, urged even, to join in. We did and lasted only minutes before I was exhausted. We were back in our room by 2020. I wondered how we'd be able to fit breakfast and an elephant safari in the period between 0630 and when we had to be on our bus to Pokhara at 0930.
25 Feb, Thu - Yes! It cost some goodwill (and 1000Rs to the bus superintendent and another 1000 Rs to Basu for his help) but I got my jacket and camera case (which had not only my camera but
the full memory card and the backup on a memory stick - all of my photos). Basu and I had taken a taxi to the bus park at 0700 and the driver fished my gear out of a locked box inside the bus that we had ridden on yesterday; the bus supervisor was there as well. And I was still early enough to meet Matty and the rest of the group still in town at the Olive for breakfast (after getting another 6000 Rs out of the SCT ATM next to Adam Travel). Later C.J. and I walked along the lake path and road to Maya Devi so C.J. could do a video interview about Parahawking with Martin Cray.
We got a cab back to town and got our stuff out of our room. Then we walked around Lakeside shopping for pants for C.J. and found a calf-length pair that she liked. We had lunch at Olive then went back to the hotel to catch a cab to the airport and check in. This time we had to pay for the departure tax (180Rs ea) and the overweight baggage charge (890 Rs) - about $18. And this time the security guy confiscated a hank of parachute cord that C.J. had in her carry-on (huh?). The flight back was short and scenic but the scene in KTM at the outside baggage counter was chaotic with a horde of would-be porters trying to grab our bags for the expected tip. Our Fuji Hotel rep did OK in getting two cabs and one porter. All the baggage went in one taxi and Beth and Ernie, C.J. and me in the other (Had a moment of panic about being separated from our gear but...). Traffic was also chaotic, but even with all the horn-honking and cutting-off I saw only one minor collision during our whole stay. We checked in to a smaller room at the Fuji but it was still quite adequate and had a better view. We went right out again to do our last souvenir shopping in Thamel but hardly got beyond the hotel street before we found a good "singing bowl" (audio sample) in the first shop, and then another pair of pants nearby. Back at the hotel Ernie was feeling better after a shower soothed his sore throat. C.J. took a shower too, and I found that I have TD again. We went to dinner at the Roadhouse Cafe where we had eaten our first night in Kathmandu (thus closing the circle). This time I was more confident and we found our way there and back through the still-teeming, narrow streets of Thamel with no problem. By this time we were already thinking that our trip was over except for breakfast and a cab ride to the airport and home was sounding pretty good.
26 Feb, Fri - We ate breakfast in the hotel around 0800 with Beth and Ernie and then just hung
out with them for a while, then went up to the roof. We could just barely see Swayambhunath on its hill through the smog (photo left, much smoggier than on our arrival in KTM 20 days ago). I paid the hotel bill with US dollars which would then leave us just a bit more than the cost of a cab ride to the airport in rupees. A taxi driver was washing his car just down the street from the hotel and he agreed to take us to the airport at 1030 (for less than the hotel price if they had called for a taxi). Traffic was the usual mess but we were there in plenty of time and the driver pointed out where the carts were so we didn't have to fend off too many wannabe porters. The baggage check-in line went really slowly but our bags got tagged for SEA so no checked baggage fees on our Alaska flight from LAX again! We used up almost the last of our rupees on a dark chocolate candy bar and then headed for our gate. No jetway, of course, and the bus took us all of 50 meters to our 
plane. We had some decent views of the Himalayas on the way out of Nepal but the lowlands were socked in so no views of Bangladesh or the Malaysian coastline (photo, left, from the airplane window).
During our short layover in Changi (photo, left, sculpture in Changi Airport, Singapore) we toured the butterfly garden (although most of the butterflies were sleeping).
There was some sort of Chinese-themed celebration going on and we got to sample dragonhair candy and watch a ribbon dance (photo, left below). C.J. had her name and Ginny's written by a Chinese
calligrapher - very impressive. Then we caught our red-eye flight to Narita, Japan, and arrived there around 0700.
27 Feb, Sat - It was raining and cold when we arrived and that dampened our enthusiasm for visiting the temple at Narita City so we slept for a couple of hours on a bench located just before the immigration counter. Later we went through immigration getting a transit visa, changed $30 to Yen and bought train tickets on the
Kisei line to Narita. It was cold, blustery and still showering as we walked first to the Japanese National Railroad station, then down the Omotesando 800 meters to the temple entrance (photo, left). It turned out to be not just one temple but a number of 
halls, temples, shrines, gates and unrecognizable stuff. There were occasional signs in English but most of the information was still unfathomable (like this photo of a divine guardian on a manicured forest ridge). After walking around some or most of the park/temple grounds we headed back up Omotesando past all the shops and restaurants back to the train station. It would have been nice to get out of the cold in a restaurant and have a meal but everything appeared expensive and the menus were indecipherable. We got our return tickets and took the train back to Terminal 1 at the Narita airport. There we had a big bowl of soup with noodles and roast pork. C.J. managed to get a couple of hours of sleep while I wandered around the airport a bit. I woke her at 1730 and then picked up my carry-on at the baggage storage place. We entered the security line and immediately had our passports and boarding passes taken and were told to wait. We were already running a little late so this was somewhat unnerving. After 10 min or so we got our stuff back with no explanation and continued through security and immigration. then there was a 500 m walk (with some slidewalks) to our gate where we were just in time to board immediately. It was a 9.5 hour flight to LAX and we got dinner, breakfast and some sleep but no views.
27 Feb, Sat (again, on the east side of the Intl Date Line) - We got into LAX around 1110, cleared immigration (as soon as we filled out the customs form which hadn't been available on the plane) and customs. Then we turned our baggage over to the "domestic connecting flights" people who had to write (by hand!) new baggage tags for Alaska Airlines (The original tags had AL instead of AS). Then we waited outside and had some crackers and a Clif bar on a bench in the partly-sunny weather. Around 1300 or so we checked in with Alaska, got our boarding passes and changed seats to the right side in the far back (#24 in this small plane). Just as we finished going through security, the TSA staff had some kind of drill which was pretty exciting for a moment. Then we hit Starbucks for a couple of smoothies on C.J.'s SB card. By 1400 it was raining again but our flight took off on time. Bob, bless his heart, picked us up at SeaTac just as soon as we were able to claim our baggage. WhooHoo! What a great trip!
(Kal Bhairav - the destructive manifestation of Shiva - at Hanuman-Dhoka Durbar Square, Kathmandu) 
The big 747 was not full and we had all three seats to ourselves, but it was hot in the rear of the plane so C.J. got us switched from row 60 to 39, an emergency exit row with lots of legroom. We slept as much as possible on the 7+ hour flight to Singapore. We had heard that Singapore/Changi was a good airport but we were unprepared to find that it made many US airports look like something from the Third World. It was almost deserted at 0100 with most shops closed but an airport map helped us find a
"rest area" with leather chaise lounges, dim lights and a bubbling fountain. We were able to stretch out and get several hours of sleep interrupted only once by police requesting everyone's passport and boarding pass. Around 0600 we got up and wandered around a bit looking at the koi ponds (photo, left above) and gardens before boarding a shuttle to Terminal 2. We visited a fern garden, but did not find the sunflower garden or green wall (In Pokhara, days later, we would be flying along the "Green Wall".) There were lots of mostly upscale, or at least, expensive, mall shops, so after a brief tour we went to wait for our gate to open at 0810. Ernie and Beth arrived there from their night at the Ambassador Transit Hotel right in the terminal and we took off on the smaller, but equally uncrowded, Airbus 320 around 0910 bound for Kathmandu.9 Feb, Tues - During the approximately five-hour flight we were able to see some of the coastline of Thailand, Myanmar, and Bangladesh (recognized by our use of a Garmin 76S) before running into clouds and then rain as we descended to land. After paying our $40 visa fees, we collected our baggage (somewhat damp from sitting in the rain), had our carry-ons x-rayed, but not our checked baggage (and no one asked about radios or any of the electronics we were carrying). Matty met us right outside of customs (whew!) and got us through the crowd of wannabe porters to the two taxis sent by the Fuji Hotel. Rain, driving on the left, small vehicles, incessant use of the horn, no sidewalks and narrow, dirty streets were some of our first impressions as we drove
to Thamel. At the Fuji the staff was very helpful in getting our bags to our rooms and reformatting the twin beds to a large double. The shower was different - only a curtain separated the shower from the rest of the bathroom, otherwise it was much like a Western bathroom. After getting settled we went downstairs, exchanged $20 USD for rupees and went to the hotel restaurant to have egg drop soup, chow mein and thukpa, a kind of chow mein soup. Matty joined us with Forrest who had come in an hour after us. Later C.J. and I showered and wrote in our journals. It was pretty chilly and I had broken out my long underwear and turtleneck. Later Matty led us through the teeming streets of Thamel to the Roadhouse Cafe for some international food (pizza, Dijon beef sandwich, Everest beer (650 ml bottle)). The streets were dark (electricity is only supplied several hours a day on a rotating scheduled throughout Nepal) and twisty (but not quiet) and we would never have found our way back to the hotel without Matty. He left us only a couple of blocks from the entrance and we still missed a turn and had to backtrack to the Fuji.10 Feb, Wed - We woke up early (0500) and couldn't get back to sleep so we were up by 0600. We had breakfast (included) in the hotel restaurant (juice, fruit, toast, 2 eggs and tea) with the same folks. Matty said he would join us along with Forrest for our proposed tour of Durbar Square. Beth and
Ernie were heading down to Pokhara right away (but would be delayed at the hotel waiting for their flight for several hours by the rain and clouds). We walked through Thamel, got 7500 rupees at a Nabil Bank ATM, and shook off several "buy milk for my baby" scams. We passed a bunch of shrines including one that looked like a lump of wood with coins nailed to it dedicated to the toothache god. The most common shops along this street, unsurprisingly, were dental clinics. At Durbar we paid 300 Rs each for our tourist tickets (less for other south Asians, much less for Nepalis) and Matty hired a guide for $10, a good plan. The first temple was one of the oldest, an open structure believed to be built from a single tree. Its name, Kasthmandap, is the source for the name of the city. Inside, next to the shrine, is a wooden column that has been smoothed by worshippers rubbing their backs and 
other injured body parts on it. Then we climbed up the stepped base of Trilokya Mohan Narayan Temple dedicated to Vishnu fronted by a large kneeling Garuda statue (photo, left). To the north was the Shiva/Parvati Temple. Next we ducked through two low doors lined with carved skulls to enter the courtyard (chowk) of the Kumari Bahal, a building housing Kumari, the living goddess. I took some photos of the intricately carved areas above each window before the Kumari made a brief appearance at a third-floor window. Next on our tour, the Gaddhi Baithak is an out-of-place European neo-classical palace built shortly after Nepal was opened to foreigners for the first time. Across from the Kriska Temple is King Prathap Malla's Column with the king backed by a cobra on top. Seto (white) Bhairab is represented by a horrible face behind a screen. The Jagannath Temple is noted for the erotic carvings on the roof struts. Just west of this temple was a small platform covered with pigeons and a few cows which people were feeding. A statue of Hanuman (the monkey-faced god) sheltered by a canopy stands just outside the Hanuman Dhoka 
(entrance) flanked by stone lions (photo, left). His face is no longer visible due to years of worshippers "feeding" him sweets. We took a narrow alley to the E to reach Sukra Path, New Road and Ganga Path, then looked down Freak Street (now mostly retail stores). After walking across Basantapur Square where a market was setting up, our guide led us to a tall building with a rooftop restaurant. Part way up the narrow stairs we were diverted to a Thangka studio and received an explanation of how these Tibetan mandala paintings were made (and offered an opportunity to buy them, of course, but the $650 price caused us to move right along). Leaving our guide at the restaurant, 
we made our way back across Makhan Tole to Indra Chowk to Thamel through Thatiti Tole. Just SW of Thahiti we spotted a stupa down an alley and entered the courtyard to find the Kathesimbhu Stupa and a Tibetan Gompa (photo, left) as well as many Thangka shops and uniformed school children (on recess?).Back at the Fuji, Forrest got his camera working and we chose a Newari restaurant, Thamel House, for lunch. Matty went with Forrest and us but couldn't stay for lunch as he had to meet the rest of the party at the airport. Lunch was served in the courtyard and was pretty interesting. We tried a lassi (sort of like a smoothie), a comp.
appetizer of roasted soy beans, BBQ mutton and wild boar, Basmati rice, and complimentary saucers of rakshi, a grain or rice alcohol. (We learned to add up the bill ourselves after this since there was a 200 Rs discrepancy this time.) Back at the hotel we climbed to the 5th floor roof and rested amongst the drying laundry. Around 1600 the group, now including Ray, Woody, Steve W., and Paulo (who had taken a much-delayed scenic flight around Mt. Everest earlier) went up to the cab stand near the former royal palace (now a museum) and took a couple of cabs to the "monkey temple", Swayambhunath. After a ride through narrow, crowded, rough streets, we debarked at the base of the steep Eastern Stairway (photo, left) and climbed through the gateway and the three Buddhas (and all the people selling souvenirs) to the temple. We toured the shrines, shops and temples until sunset, then descended and took cabs back to near the hotel (our driver 
didn't know where it was - and neither did we). After a shower we met for dinner at 1900 at Yin Yang, a Thai restaurant. The Massaman curry and stir fry were very good but we were all overcharged 1000 Rs ("Oh, we must have mixed you up with another table") and got charged for rice/fried rice 
that we were led to believe was included as part of the meal. Oh well, I guess we won't be going back there very soon anyway. We were pooped by 2130 and ready for bed - up tomorrow at 0630 for a 0900 flight to Pokhara.11 Feb, Thu - We were up at 0600 with plenty of time for the hotel breakfast and to gather at 0730. We all packed our stuff into four cabs and headed off on the usual wild ride to the airport. The domestic terminal was a bit more basic than the international terminal but had an even larger number of pushy wannabe porters. We managed to find our own carts and joined the non-queue at the entrance. There was quite a bit of security with baggage scanners and at least two pat-downs before we
boarded at 0845. The security people would not permit me to carry our helmets in my carry-on and I had to do a quick repack into the checked rolling duffel. There were good views of the mountains from the 
right side of the airplane. Matty's hired van and driver took us to the Peace Plaza Hotel (photo, left) on the far end of the main street of Lakeside. As soon as we could assemble our gear we loaded up and headed for 
launch on Sarangkot - about a 30 min drive up a mostly paved, but narrow, road. Part way up we stopped to look at the Annapurna Range and take a group photo (left, Fishtail, or Machupuchare, above Ray's head). At launch most of us had to wait to take off while the Sunrise tandems or Paranova tandems got their passengers off. The sky was pretty full of wings when I launched and the gaggles were not well organized. I did not enjoy the crowd and tried to find other lift. After 30 min or so I headed out toward the lake and chose Paranova LZ to land rather than the big (but wet today) field at the end of the lake or the narrow Maya Devi/Blue Sky Paragliding LZ. It was about 
a one km walk to Maya Devi, the home of Parahawking in Nepal, where we ordered lunch from Raju (sign photo, left). Forrest was there already recovering from his collapse and chute deployment out in front of launch, generally unhurt. Steve Wilson was not present having chosen to land back in town where he got hit by an unlucky rotor 
and landed in the lake close to shore. We were reunited with Beth and Ernie and met the rest of our group, Stephanie and Saeed.(Asian Black Kite at Maya Devi, photo, left)
After eating we went back up for another flight in much less crowded air. I got up as high as the tower on Sarangkot once and spent time on the ridge capped with a shrine/temple with a tiger painted on it. C.J. landed just before I did at Paranova and we went back to the hotel to clean up (in our bathroom/shower - no separation; when you took a shower everything got wet). Dinner was just a few steps away at Chilly Bar and Matty took some time to describe the maneuvers he was planning for tomorrow's SIV. We were pooped after two flights, three if you count the turboprop flight to Pokhara, and went back to rest at 2045.
12 Feb, Fri - For breakfast C.J. and I shared a big bowl of mixed fresh fruit with muesli and "curd" at the stall across the street. ((photo, left) Then I walked along the main street to the first big tree (an obvious landmark since it is in the middle of the street) and tried to get some cash from the Standard Chartered Bank ATM. Instead, the stupid machine ate my card. I'd have to come back to the bank and present my passport to get my card back. Meanwhile, we had enough money for a couple of days. Returning to the hotel, I removed all my electronic gear and anything I didn't want to get wet from my harness in preparation for the SIV. It was cloudy and cool and would be a bummer to end up in the water (but at least it wouldn't destroy my instruments as had happened to Steve). We took the van up to the Sunrise take off again but then carried our gear up a path to the Blue Sky (?) launch. (photo, left, G with his paraglider pack, by Bella) The wind was calm and we had to 
wait which gave us a chance to meet Bella Reibling who would be the launch director while Matty was down in the LZ directing the SIV maneuvers. After a while it began to rain but fortunately there was a hut we could shelter in and even order tea, soup and other food. After it was clear that we were not going to fly we packed down to the van and went to lunch at the Olive Cafe. Later we did a little window shopping, looking at North Fake and "Mammut" trekking clothing and lined goat-roper hats.
(Map of the Pokhara area. Dhiki Danda is north of the map border)
When we got back around 1400 Matty had organized a trip into the heart of Pokhara, Mahendrapul (sp?) (photo). The area was
not as touristy as Lakeside but had similar tiny shops and stalls. There were more household goods - pots and pans, appliances and the like - as well as regular Nepali clothing and food. We headed back to Lakeside around 1530 and most folks went off to get SIM cards (but C.J. had no charger for her cell phone so we didn't get one - I've still got my Mobal phone for emergency use anyway). I walked quite a ways S along Lakeside while window shopping.Tonight is Shivaratri, the celebration of the birth of Shiva, and there are stacks of sugar cane for sale all over town (photo). It's used during the celebration like fireworks - the canes are thrust into a bonfire and heated up
until the liquid is turned to steam, then the cane is smacked hard on the ground and the steam is released explosively.I stopped at a travel agent (one of a score in Lakeside) to see what a package tour to Royal Chitwan National Park would cost (since we are not keen on returning to spend much time in Kathmandu). Surprisingly, an all-inclusive two day/three night package outside the park costs only about $90 per person including the 5-hr bus ride each way.
C.J, was gone on a walk along the lake when I got back, or up on the roof reading. I didn't feel too well - shivering enough to want to put my fleece vest and jacket on. Later I took a couple of ibuprofen and felt better. At 1830 the group all went to the Japanese restaurant on the main road out of Lakeside. The Katsu don was good. On the way back we took a detour near a bonfire where people were heating the sugar cane and smashing it on ground. It was just about as scary as kids with fireworks because the hot, sometimes flaming, piece would fly all over. Back at the hotel the electricity was still on and one set of camera batteries had been recharged. C.J. exchanged $60 (4300 Rs) at the hotel since the bank would be closed on Saturday. (We were told that the Nepali weekend is Friday afternoon and Saturday.)
13 Feb, Sat - I woke up round 0500 with diarrhea, took two loperamide (Immodium) tablets and hoped to keep it in control. We ate breakfast at Four Season (sic) Restaurant (photo, left) next to Frontier Paragliding (There are something like nine tandem paragliding companies in Pokhara (up six from last year!)). One of the set breakfasts is The Trekker and includes banana porridge or fruit-muesli-curd, eggs, toast and tea. We ordered hot chocolate extra - total: 215Rs, about $3. It was foggy enough that we could not see the lake so we 
didn't go up to launch until 0930. When we arrived, there were already pilots and passengers on Blue Sky TO. (Photo, left) I launched fourth or so after a number of botched 
attempts by what must have been pilots nervous about doing SIV. Out over the lake I had enough altitude (due to the lift) to do L&R tip collapses, L&R asym collapse-and-hold to turn 180 deg, a frontal collapse, and a weak B-line stall. I landed on the spot at Maya Devi - it wasn't such a hard place to land after all (in light wind anyway). Kiran, a young boy who had packed my wing at Paranova, packed it for me this time, too, for 20 Rs (about 30 cents). (Sarangkot summit from the house thermal, photo, left)After about half of us had done the first round the van took us back up. But not before Forrest had thrown his reserve again after a frontal gone wrong. It seemed to take a long time for the kayaks and inflatable raft to reach him as the
wind was pushing him down the lake. On the second cycle I did some asym spirals but could not hear Matty so I missed out on any instruction. I finished off with a better B-line and just barely made it back to the Maya Devi LZ. (photo, left, shows Fewa Lake from the air. Maya Devi is just below the center of the photo) C.J. and I decided that two flights were enough (besides, I was still not feeling well). We hung out in the LZ and got to watch both Stephanie and Paulo splash into the lake because they waited too long before pulling out of their maneuvers. We stuck around until sunset then we got a ride back to the hotel with Steph and Saeed. After a shower and some rest (the showers worked best when the electricity was on OR when the sun had heated up the water tanks on the roof). Around 1930 we went with the group to Moon Dance Restaurant and bought a paragliding map of the Pokhara area on the way.14 Feb, Sun - Sunday is supposed to be a workday in Nepal so after breakfast at Four Season, I went to Standard Chartered Bank to get my ATM card. After waiting for 15 minutes or so with another couple, the guard pointed out that the bank was not opening today - another holiday. Oh well, at least we could go up and take a 30-min short flight while we waited for the three pilots who were doing Parahawking flights to finish. At 1255 I launched for my second flight and
worked lift here and there getting above the towers and then down again. I tried the monastery thermal and got over 1700m about the time the rest of the crew did the same but over the towers. (C.J.'s photo, left, as she was climbing in the house thermal) So they headed west above the ridge toward Toripani and the last high point with Matty leading the way. That was the task for the day - to run the ridge and return, thus setting up for our big, final XC flight from Sarangkot to Dhiki Danda, the Green Wall (or maybe Korchon) and return to Sarangkot. So I crossed to the house thermal and climbed, circling and drifting to the west to a max altitude of 1800m+ as far as Toripani (marked by a white stupa on a high point). At that point my downwind speed was 50 kph, and upwind I was barely making double digits with a decided lack of lift. I thought making it back to Maya Devi from there was unlikely but the ground sloped away enough that I reached the dropoff to the lake and was able to ridge soar and thermal a bit longer. I approached Maya Devi through the rotor off the banana trees upwind and got big turbulence. The tandem right in front of me landed hard and so did I. C.J. made the task and got back easily when she found a "screamer" on the way back and landed eventually at the end of the lake LZ. Only Paulo had to land out up the valley a few km. We all had the BBQ lunch at Maya Devi and hung around until 1700 or so when most of us took the van back to the hotel to get cleaned up. Later C.J. and I found a guy with a treadle sewing machine and had him reinforce a weakening seam on my paraglider pack (100 Rs).15 Feb, Mon - Breakfast at four Season was followed with info from Matty and Brad Sander about flying Dhiki Danda and the Green Wall back to Sarangkot. At 0945 I went to the bank (again!) and quickly got my debit card out of their ATM. This time I went farther up the street to the Nabil Bank ATM and withdrew 10,000Rs. Afterward I walked to the ghat (dock) and looked across Fewa Lake to an island with a temple (Barahi Temple?). Then I continued along the main street with the wall of the old royal compound on my right and a plethora of shops on the left. After a 
couple of stops, I found a shop specializing in Khukuris (Gorkha (Nepalese spelling) knives). After seeing the shop owner's father's khukuri, and some bargaining, I bought the standard, army-issue blade (photo, left) with the small knife and sharpener in a plain, black, heavy leather sheath for 1750 Rs (started at 2300). So that's my big souvenir for this trip! I got back to the hotel around 1145 and got ready to go when the first group (including C.J.) got back from their first flight. It wasn't until 1245 or so that we got started toward Dhiki 
Danda with a new van driver who did not know the way and had not asked for directions (as Matty had told him to do yesterday). We eventually reached the top on a rough, narrow road along a ridge although we had to walk the last half km. (photo, left, unloading the van near DD) Launch was in a small village near the school and we had an audience of kids and some older men. Some of us got up right away and others bombed to the LZ in the valley 900m below. I launched at 1500 and got over launch, then sank following the ridge down toward the next village. Luckily, I was able to catch some lift with Brad 
(and a bird) and climb to 1756m which was about 200 m over. I turned N and flew to the Green Wall sinking all the way. (photo, left, 
C.J. at DD launch) However, as I flew low along the Green Wall, I began to gain some altitude in convection/ridge lift; then I reached the first spine and caught some thermal lift to the top of the wall. (Working close to the forested wall, I think the sounds I heard were made by a troop of monkeys.) I pulled on a bit of speedbar and flew to the next spine where I climbed above some men on a trail below. At 2200m or so I flew to the next to last summit along the wall. I got up over it but not to the minimum of 2400m necessary to begin the glide back to Sarangkot, so I flew SSE above the big ridge pointing at Sarangkot. Just past the Dhiki Danda launch (way off to my right) I turned WNW toward the valley LZ where most had landed. (photo, left above, looking N up the Dhiki Danda LZ valley). I had to do some asym spirals to be sure I was below Ernie (who had launched earlier and stayed on the Green Wall until I reached the last summit). Ray had gone down and Matty, too, farther up the valley beneath the wall. Mike and Steve made the return to Sarangkot and, I think, continued on to Toripani, Dhiki Danda and the loop
a second time. I landed hard in no wind and bounced on my airbag. One of the local boys sort of helped me pack up (photo, left) (but he displayed nowhere near the "professionalism" of the boys at the lake LZs). Then we loaded into the van and headed back to the hotel losing one wing from the roof because it wasn't tied on - the driver was really toast after this final straw. Back at the hotel we got cleaned up and rinsed out some clothes even though we had sent out a bagful to the hotel laundry this morning (100Rs per kg). Then I used the attached internet cafe computers to check email and make sure that no funds had disappeared from our USAA account while the bank had my ATM card. (25 Rs for 15 min, free when the electricity is on) Matty had the van take us to Cafe Concerto out toward Damside near where I had bought my khukuri and we had that traditional Nepali dish - pizza. Tomorrow: Parahawking!
couple of stops, I found a shop specializing in Khukuris (Gorkha (Nepalese spelling) knives). After seeing the shop owner's father's khukuri, and some bargaining, I bought the standard, army-issue blade (photo, left) with the small knife and sharpener in a plain, black, heavy leather sheath for 1750 Rs (started at 2300). So that's my big souvenir for this trip! I got back to the hotel around 1145 and got ready to go when the first group (including C.J.) got back from their first flight. It wasn't until 1245 or so that we got started toward Dhiki 
Danda with a new van driver who did not know the way and had not asked for directions (as Matty had told him to do yesterday). We eventually reached the top on a rough, narrow road along a ridge although we had to walk the last half km. (photo, left, unloading the van near DD) Launch was in a small village near the school and we had an audience of kids and some older men. Some of us got up right away and others bombed to the LZ in the valley 900m below. I launched at 1500 and got over launch, then sank following the ridge down toward the next village. Luckily, I was able to catch some lift with Brad 
(and a bird) and climb to 1756m which was about 200 m over. I turned N and flew to the Green Wall sinking all the way. (photo, left, 
C.J. at DD launch) However, as I flew low along the Green Wall, I began to gain some altitude in convection/ridge lift; then I reached the first spine and caught some thermal lift to the top of the wall. (Working close to the forested wall, I think the sounds I heard were made by a troop of monkeys.) I pulled on a bit of speedbar and flew to the next spine where I climbed above some men on a trail below. At 2200m or so I flew to the next to last summit along the wall. I got up over it but not to the minimum of 2400m necessary to begin the glide back to Sarangkot, so I flew SSE above the big ridge pointing at Sarangkot. Just past the Dhiki Danda launch (way off to my right) I turned WNW toward the valley LZ where most had landed. (photo, left above, looking N up the Dhiki Danda LZ valley). I had to do some asym spirals to be sure I was below Ernie (who had launched earlier and stayed on the Green Wall until I reached the last summit). Ray had gone down and Matty, too, farther up the valley beneath the wall. Mike and Steve made the return to Sarangkot and, I think, continued on to Toripani, Dhiki Danda and the loop
a second time. I landed hard in no wind and bounced on my airbag. One of the local boys sort of helped me pack up (photo, left) (but he displayed nowhere near the "professionalism" of the boys at the lake LZs). Then we loaded into the van and headed back to the hotel losing one wing from the roof because it wasn't tied on - the driver was really toast after this final straw. Back at the hotel we got cleaned up and rinsed out some clothes even though we had sent out a bagful to the hotel laundry this morning (100Rs per kg). Then I used the attached internet cafe computers to check email and make sure that no funds had disappeared from our USAA account while the bank had my ATM card. (25 Rs for 15 min, free when the electricity is on) Matty had the van take us to Cafe Concerto out toward Damside near where I had bought my khukuri and we had that traditional Nepali dish - pizza. Tomorrow: Parahawking!
16 Feb, Tue - After breakfast at Four Season, C.J. Steve W and I went to Frontiers Paragliding to catch a taxi to to the Frontiers launch for Parahawking with Claudio, Elli, and Brad (and Vicki, the bird handler from South Africa (photo, below left)). Once at launch, Brad took us for a walk to the north side of the ridge where we had a view of the Dhiki Danda-Green Wall area (photo, above left) and he discussed the strategy for flying the circuit from Sarangkot/Toripani to DD, the Green Wall, and 
back to Sarangkot. When the first rush of tandems cleared the area, we launched with two birds: Kevin, an Egyptian vulture, and Bob, an immature Egyptian vulture. We fed the birds chunks of buffalo meat from our gloved hand on a whistled command to the birds. Flying near the other two gliders (and birds) each of us could watch the birds responding to the food and whistles. Near the end of the flight I was able to get a number of photos of the birds and gliders (photo, left). We landed at Maya Devi and took a cab back to launch stopping at the hotel to pick up our wings. (No lunch! Matty forgot to pick up sandwiches this morning when he went up with the early group - oh well, we've all got extra food in with our gear.) Our late group with Brad launched around 1320 in relatively uncrowded conditions. After a while I got to 1700m (the go-for-it altitude) over the towers and went to Toripani where I climbed several times to just over 2000m with Brad (whose radio wasn't working) but could not get high enough (2200-2400) to head across the big valley to Dhiki Danda. Then my speed system rope broke and I decided to abandon the task, stay local and land at Paranova. When I landed I spliced my speed stirrup line and did a temp fix on my open (again!) reserve container. Then I walked back to Maya Devi and hung out until 1500 or so when I caught a taxi back to the hotel for a shower. C.J. had made it to Dhiki Danda and had flown the whole Green Wall (getting to 2700m) then decided to land with Beth at the DD LZ. They got a taxi back to the hotel together. Most of the group had dinner at the Japanese restaurant and discussed the possible helicopter flight to a high launch (3200m) on the Korchon circuit for early in the morning. At $160 each we're opting out and using the savings to do a 3-day trip to Royal Chitwan later. Back at the hotel internet cafe I downloaded our photos so far (C.J. - 127, G - 150) to USB drives.
17 Feb, Wed - We had an earlier than usual breakfast at Four Season ("Big John's") then drove out to watch the helicopter group land in the valley N of Sarangkot along with a bunch of really excited youngsters from the nearby school. (photo, left, kids at Dhiki Danda) Then we drove up Dhiki Danda (all the way to launch this time with our old, reliable driver). Matty, Steve, Ray and Mike took off first in an attempt to get high and fly the Korchon Circuit. The rest of us launched later (Stephanie and Saeed were not with us today), got about 300m over launch and 
crossed to the Green Wall where lift was plentiful (photo, left, Machupuchare from the Green Wall). It was a quick trip to the easternmost point and then more strong lift under growing clouds to 2500m. Some of us started off for the long crossing but Beth and I returned to top off our climbs at 2650m+. From there it was a long (looong) glide toward the monastery on Sarangkot with a stop for one thermal along the way at 2000m that gained Forrest and me another 200m. We were then able to cross the river easily and make it over the intervening ridge. I surfed some light lift in the bowl between there and the monastery ridge, and was able to see where Beth had landed out down below. I made a couple of turns before continuing on to the house thermal below launch level. There I climbed to 1800m and went W toward Toripani but did not find more good lift and it had become windy. It was slow coming back out but I had plenty of height and considered landing with Forrest at the end of the lake (C.J. was still high, 2300m!, above the towers.). It was thermally or turbulent around Maya Devi but I landed softly, packed up, and hung around MD for a while. When C.J. walked in from the end of the lake, we caught a cab to the hotel for a shower. Dinner for the two of us was at the Olive Cafe after a briefing at Four Season about the camping and flying the next three days - a good time to get out of town because there is a competition scheduled that will keep freeflyers on the the ground during the tasks. On the way to dinner we stopped to buy some postcards and souvenir prayer flags.
18 Feb, Thu - We had another early breakfast (0700) with our departure scheduled for 0815. Last night we had brought our wings and any large gearbags to Frontiers Paragliding to be loaded on one of the jeeps that would go up early to set up camp at Sirkot. So all we had to carry in the morning was a daypack. It was a two-hour ride in the van to Walling (?) where we transferred to Mahendra "jeeps", forded a river (Andhi Khola) and drove 75 minutes to the launch and campsite at the top of a ridge just beyond a village and school. There were a bunch of blue, two-person A-frame tents for us and a large wall tent for cooking. Two latrines enclosed by tents were being dug as we arrived. Later we would also have a dining tent (used during the night for storing our wings out of the dew). After getting our borrowed sleeping bags and foam pads into our tents we hiked the short distance up to launch with half the kids in the village school following us. The wind was pretty strong but after a briefing, I got my wing out and after Brad 
and a tandem (Dave Metzgar and Liz from San Diego, who had joined us for the camping trip) had launched, I took off using A's and D's. I flew left to where the house thermal was supposed to be and got up then came back and flew past launch to the right to a temple on a ridgetop. I was just above launch as I flew back but I got back to 2100m at the house thermal and repeated the route. Coming back I was lower and the house thermal; wasn't working so I continue E down the ridge watching out for the almost-invisible power lines. The bump at the start of the last ridge was working somewhat but not enough to get high again so I slid down the ridge toward the river and the large flood plain which I knew had a large power line running through it. The lines were invisible at the present sun angle but I eventually was able to see the towers and set up to land west of them but near what Matty called the swimming hole. By the time I was on final, it was too late to change my approach even though now the area looked rocky rather than sandy. I landed crosswind but softly enough that the head-sized, rounded rocks were not a 
problem. I radioed to the folks who had finally launched that the brown, grassy area was better and they should land going toward the sun. After fending off kids who were begging - not even interested in helping fold wings - we loaded into two 4WD jeeps and drove back up the long, rough road to camp (photo, left with Graeme). C.J. really did not feel well but she made it back to camp before Travelers Diarrhea hit. She took two Immodium and an antibiotic (Ciprofloaxin) that Graeme had brought with him. Wrapping up in her sleeping bag, C.J. got an early start on sleep. We were met at camp with tea kettles of hot water and hot milk, tea bags, coffee, and cocoa mix (!) and cookies - a nice gesture. Dinner, served in the dining tent out of the wind, was mushroom soup with popcorn (just like Ecuador), huge plates of curried chicken, breaded, fried cauliflower (it's in season now), dhal (lentil soup/sauce) and bhat (rice), and cooked greens, plus glasses of rakshi, a milletbased grain alcohol drink. It was way more than I could eat (but I was probably already coming down with TD myself) and I didn't even try the banana fritters for dessert. Later the crew made a fire so we could hang around after dinner (2015) under the bright stars and waxing crescent moon (with its horns pointing up).
19 Feb, Fri - I've got TD (again!) I took two Immodium and then one more. A number of others in our group are popping Immodiums as well. Matty thinks it might actually be giardia. Anyway, Graeme gave us the coordinates for "2nd thermal", Sirubari, Gallam (bus thermal), and Maya Devi and we put them in our GPSes. It's plenty warm up here this morning especially with the sun out and no wind. I couldn't eat any breakfast and started on a Cipro treatment. Around 1030 or so everyone went up to launch. C.J. and I did not fly but most of those who did got to Sirubari and at least some distance back. Woody took a collapse close to the ground and 
crashed sustaining some injuries (later and much later we found out that he has wrist, shoulder, rib(s) and hip injuries). Brad landed to render aid and we followed the crowd of locals and our porters down there. Forrest relayed radio traffic from launch and called for a jeep to get Woody to a hospital. There wasn't much we could do except sling Woody's arm and use a PG harness to carry him to the road where the jeep met us. Brad went down with the jeep and then Graeme went with Woody to the hospital in Pokhara. C.J. and I walked back up the road to camp with some local kids stopping to look at the stupa and school. We were short on water and tired and neither of us had had lunch. At camp we rested then got a bucket of warm water and washed our hair - felt good. I couldn't face supper but rested in the tent, then slept all night without any shivers. C.J. was able to eat dinner which was spaghetti among other things and chocolate cake probably baked in a dutch oven.
20 Feb, Sat - Maybe the Cipro was really working because I felt a lot better and was able to eat breakfast. We packed up and then went to launch around 1015. C.J. still felt weak and dizzy and did not join us (neither did Forrest or Paulo). [C.J. spent some time with the village kids helping with their homework which was at least partially in English. (photo, left)] Matty asked me to launch right after him because I had not had the experience from yesterday to help me make the transitions to Sirubari and beyond. He launched at 1140 and I followed him off into cloudy/mostly cloudy skies. Cloudbase was just over 1900m (launch at 1600) and it rose gradually. When those of us in the first gaggle, Matty, Ray, Mike and Ernie, reached 2000m we left and crossed to "2nd Thermal" where I came in reasonably high and got up again and headed for Sirubari where we once again climbed to 2100m. Next goal was an intermediate ridge where Matty and Ray sank out while I scratched hard to stay up and finally hooked a boomer. Ernie and Mike had stayed high and pushed on to Gallam and the "bus thermal". At 2100m I started to glide for Gallam - the bus thermal location was obvious from our briefing but I was now on my own because Ernie and Mike had landed below Gallam. When I reached the ridge I realized why they had gone down - the bus thermal was not working - no lift at all. Soon I was scratching down the ridges above small villages and eventually I landed near Mike on some terraces on the highway side of the river. (photo below, Mike making a radio call surrounded by curious kids) With a couple young men, one with a broken hand from futbol, we took a trail up to the Siddartha highway where we waited for the jeeps while a few monkeys played in the 
trees around a small temple above the road. Ernie eventually became impatient and hired a taxi, as did Matty and Ray. Neither cab had room for three with our wings so I was content to wait for the jeep. While waiting some monkeys started to cross the road. I was idly counting them and was amazed when my count reached 48 - a whole troop of the rhesus macaques! Since four pilots had taken taxis there was plenty of room in the jeep for me and the rest. Unfortunately Steve W had landed somewhere far from the main road and only thought that he was waiting along our pickup route. Eventually Brad had to take a bus or taxi back to where he was and they had some 
adventures getting to Pokhara. When C.J. and I got back to town we went to Adam Travel and booked our 3-day excursion to Royal Chitwan for $85 each all-inclusive. At the hotel we got our last load of laundry (all mixed up with everyone else's) and ordered two group t-shirts from Ray, the designer.(photo, left) Then we finally got to take showers. The two of us went to Moon Dance for dinner so C.J. could have the dhal bhat that she missed out on at Sirkot. For a change we were hungry and we even ordered dessert - "Makupuchare Kiss". On the way back we stopped at a pharmacy and bought two packages of Cipro (one to return to Graeme). The electricity came on at 2100 so we were able to charge radios and batteries.21 Feb, Sun - We had breakfast at Four Season despite doubts some had about where we had all eaten and all (except those taking Pepto-Bismol) got TD. Withdrew 10,000 RS from the Nabil Bank ATM after an aborted attempt at the Annapurna Finance Co ATM. We all went up to
Sarangkot at 1030 and I launched at 1218. The conditions were hazy (Not like the ad photo, left) with steadily lowering cloudbase and I flew for about 50 min, but it was a definite anticlimax after the challenging flying the day before. We landed at Maya Devi and took a moment to buy a 
Parahawking t-shirt, then most of us went back to the hotel to pack up and get lunch. C.J. and I ate at Sheela Bakery/Sandwich Shop across from Frontiers PG. After lunch C.J. went shopping for a shawl for her mom and had a fun time bargaining with the yak wool salesman/shop owner. Back in our room we repacked for storage at the hotel and for Chitwan. Ray had our group t-shirts so we picked them up. Too bad the sewing machine oil smell was so strong that we had to send them out with Beth's laundry before wearing them (and we're just about down to the point where we have more laundry in our luggage than clean clothes, so a clean t-shirt would have been useful). We had a group dinner (plus Graeme, Claudio, Elli and Noah, and ?) at Moondance. Later Claudio showed C.J. the video he took while they were parahawking and C.J. liked it enough to buy it. We were back at the hotel by 2130 and found out that Steve W is going to Chitwan the same time we are. We'll be able to share a taxi in the morning.
22 Feb, Mon - I slept fitfully not sure if the cellphone alarm was really going to ring at 0615 (must be alarm clock anxiety left over from our late departure from home). Matty was up to see us off, and we caught a taxi with Steve to the Tourist Bus Park, a dirt compound swarming with breakfast roll vendors and a few carts and stalls. We bought a couple of rolls and some fresh squeezed fruit juice (we've already got TD, might as well enjoy the local food!). Despite directions to be there at 0700 for an 0730 departure, the bus didn't leave until 0800. And, for what was billed as a tourist bus, the seating was pretty cramped (yeah, but nothing like the overcrowded local buses we've seen around!). It was a slow ride on the Prithvi Road especially going through Pokhara and any villages along the way. The scenery improved as we followed the river gorge and we made one rest stop at a restaurant about two hours down the road. By the way, from the bus park to the Jungle Safari Resort we were out of Western-style toilet country and into what the rest of the world uses, I guess. We drove through Dumre where a number of passengers got off probably to catch jeeps up to Bandipur. [That village had been on our itinerary with Matty 
until all paragliding was banned there in January. We had been kind of looking forward to it.] We turned south at Mugling after crossing the river. After a swing through the bus terminal in Bharatpur (probably where Steve should have gotten off to go to his resort, Tiger Temple, inside the park) it was only a short distance to our stop near the village of Sauraha. That bus park was crowded with hotel touts but we found a driver holding up a Jungle Safari Resort brochure and hopped in the back of his open jeep - felt like we were on safari already! The resort was in the village but set back enough that it had its own ambiance. After signing in and getting a basic briefing, we went to our room which had a large balcony and two beds with mosquito bars (not needed in February). There was no power so the windowless bathroom required a headlamp to negotiate. It was past time for lunch so we headed for the vine-covered restaurant across the courtyard and had soup/broth, chow mein, fries, cauliflower and other veggies, and a deep-fried 
vegetarian croquette. After lunch we met with our guide, Vishnu, and a young Austrian couple, Sylvia and Stefan, to map out our next days. After discussion we all decided to spring for the extra $20 each to do the 5-hr jeep safari along with everything else. We rested until 1530 then had a guided walk through the Tharu village, the elephant stables, and then along the river to the edge of town where a dugout canoe ferries people across the Ratri River into the park. There were a bunch of stalls and stands serving the people sitting along the river bank waiting for the sunset. We stayed until the sun sank into the denser clouds then went back through the small village to the hotel. Along the way I picked up a couple of bottles of water (with the usual problem of making change for 40Rs from a 500 Rs bill). Dinner was at 1900, a buffet of rice, chow mein, cauliflower in a sauce, beef strips, soup and chocolate pudding. We weren't the only resort guests by any means. There were other small groups and a larger group of Chinese tourists. We spent a short time writing postcards before crashing around 2100.23 Feb, Tue - No wake up "call" (no phone, duh!) at 0630 but C.J. woke up on time as the power came on just about then. There was hot water for a shower (not always the case back in Pokhara
when the power was off overnight), Breakfast at 0700 was porridge, omelette, sausage (at least that's what I think it was), cabbage, potatoes, toast and tea. At 0730 the four of us met with Vishnu in the morning fog and drove to the river where we all boarded a dugout canoe. There were folding wooden seats with backrests so it wasn't too uncomfortable, but it was definitely a canoe and correspondingly tippy. (photo, left, Visnu, Stefan and Sylvia) Drifting downstream we saw egrets, heron, four species of kingfisher, wagtail, and other birds. The marsh mugger crocodiles we saw were all in the water or in holes in the bank, none out in the open on the banks. Most were so still that they could be mistaken for lumpy rocks or logs. The only one that was active at all showed a sharply serrated tail. At the end of the canoe ride, we took a jungle walk through the sal forest. 
The biggest things we saw were spotted deer including two with large racks. Otherwise we saw more birds (serpent-crested eagle, grey-headed fish eagle, parakeets, noisy peacocks and more). We came out of the jungle at the Elephant Breeding Center where we saw a bunch of elephants including two 14-month-old twins (very rare). The only unchained elephants were two two-year-olds who came to us looking for treats (cookies or "biscuits" available in the EBC visitor center) so we got to touch them and feel their remarkably agile trunks. (photo, above) Walking back to the jeep we crossed the river on a bridge made of bamboo with sandbag decking. The jeep took us back to the village and the riverside where the mahouts were bathing their elephants (and the tourists getting tossed off as they tried to help).We were back at the hotel by 1130 and lunch this time 
was a buffet. We met with Vishnu again at 1230 to walk to the village and meet up with three other guys who would fill up the jeep for the safari. We crossed the river on the dugout canoe ferry and loaded up the open "jeep". (photo, left, with our driver up a tree looking for game) The route took us mostly through sal forest and some grasslands (elephant grass) on dirt tracks. Along the way we saw lots of birds, different kinds of deer and a couple of wild boars. Our turnaround point was the Gharial Conservation Center where these rare crocodiles are bred and raised in captivity to be released into the wild when they were 2-3 metres in length.. On the way back we were able to observe a one-horn rhino but not close and somewhat obscured by vegetation. We got our full money's worth ($20 ea) and didn't get back until after 1800. Dinner was a buffet again with chow mein, cauliflower and vegetables, rice with coconut and dried fruit 
(very good), and a dish with cabbage and wild boar. there was also soup and a bright yellow pudding that was probably vanilla. Shortly after dinner the hotel garden was the venue for a Tharu cultural presentation which began with the serving of a chicken dish and glasses of an alcoholic drink not as strong as Rakshi. A large and enthusiastic troop of young men performed two "stick dances", one with 40-48" sticks and the other with pairs of shorter batons both representing a form of martial arts developed by the Tharu who were forbidden the use of conventional weapons. There were several other dances and finally one where the guests were invited, urged even, to join in. We did and lasted only minutes before I was exhausted. We were back in our room by 2020. I wondered how we'd be able to fit breakfast and an elephant safari in the period between 0630 and when we had to be on our bus to Pokhara at 0930.24 Feb, Wed - It all worked seamlessly - we used the mobile phone for an alarm clock (although this time we got a k
nock on the 
door
- at 0615) and met Vishnu around 0630. We 
trucked to the entrance to the 
Bher Community Forest again and the four of us got onto the howdah of our elephant from a tower platform. We were the only elephant safari to head out at that time so it was very quiet; it was not as foggy as the previous morning. Traveling through mixed jungle and grassland on narrow trails, we saw spotted deer, and the larger Sambur deer, monkeys (rhesus macaques),birds and a rhino lying down in the bush. We got back (photo, right top, our shadow) to the staging area at 0745 and Vishnu harangued our mahout for cutting short the safari. (It was actually pretty funny - the mahout had taken a cell phone call (photo, left, above) while we were traveling through the jungle and we guessed that one of his buddies had called and told him to come back early.) Back out we went to a different area and this time we found some more deer AND three rhinos (photo, right, center) and were able to follow them down the trail for a ways. Once more back at the staging area, Vishnu was satisfied and we dismounted (photo right, bottom Sylvia getting off the elephant's back). The elephant gracefully took my tip and passed it to the mahout. We went back to the hotel for another good breakfast. C.J.asked about hot chocolate and we got a nice pot to share. After eating we finished packing, paid for the jeep safari, tipped Vishnu and 
caught the truck to the bus park. 
We were right on time for the uncrowded bus to Pokhara. We again swung through Bharatpur and then made a stop in Narayanghar where the bus was besieged by snack sellers. (photos, above) C.J. had brought along almonds and dried plums from home so we munched on those in lieu of lunch. The expensive 
buffet at Green Park rest area (photos, above) did not even tempt us when we stopped there once again. And we decided to stay on the bus when it made a "pit stop" where there wasn't even a pit. the last leg of the journey was the slowest as we entered the outskirts of Pokhara. At the bus park we were met by a veritable swarm of hotel touts who dropped us like a hot rock when they found out that we already had a room at Lakeside. I guess the press of the crowd rattled me, and maybe C.J. as well, because I didn't check the overhead rack carefully and wound up leaving my fleece jacket and camera (!) on the bus (and I didn't realize that until quite late in the evening). There were lots of taxis available and we got a ride to the Peace Plaza right away where a larger room with a bath tub was waiting for us (still no shower curtain). After a shower C.J. talked to Beth who said 
that flying had been good but not spectacular today and that they had not flown either of the two previous days. Now all we had to do was finish up our souvenir shopping so we walked up to the embroidery/t-shirt shop we had gone to previously and I ordered a "Fly Nepal" t-shirt. C.J. bought socks, a hat and ordered a NEPAL t-shirt. Both shirts would need to be made when the power came on later in the evening. Hungry, we stopped at Anjali fruit stall and shared a big mixed fruit bowl with muesli and curd. Around 1900 we met Beth and Ernie for dinner at the Olive Cafe on the upper level and Stephanie and Saeed joined us later. C.J. and Beth shared a very good "rack of lamb" while I had an excellent beef kabob. Since we were right across from Adam Travel I dropped in to thank them for arranging the trip to Chitwan, and mentioned that I had left my stuff on the bus. The owner, Basu, got on it right away phoning the bus company. He told me to stop by later when he had some information. We went to pick up our t-shirts which had just been finished then returned to Adam Travel where we had good news - the driver had found my stuff and we could meet him at the bus park the next day. Whew! Helpful people and honest bus drivers!
nock on the 
door
- at 0615) and met Vishnu around 0630. We 
trucked to the entrance to the 
Bher Community Forest again and the four of us got onto the howdah of our elephant from a tower platform. We were the only elephant safari to head out at that time so it was very quiet; it was not as foggy as the previous morning. Traveling through mixed jungle and grassland on narrow trails, we saw spotted deer, and the larger Sambur deer, monkeys (rhesus macaques),birds and a rhino lying down in the bush. We got back (photo, right top, our shadow) to the staging area at 0745 and Vishnu harangued our mahout for cutting short the safari. (It was actually pretty funny - the mahout had taken a cell phone call (photo, left, above) while we were traveling through the jungle and we guessed that one of his buddies had called and told him to come back early.) Back out we went to a different area and this time we found some more deer AND three rhinos (photo, right, center) and were able to follow them down the trail for a ways. Once more back at the staging area, Vishnu was satisfied and we dismounted (photo right, bottom Sylvia getting off the elephant's back). The elephant gracefully took my tip and passed it to the mahout. We went back to the hotel for another good breakfast. C.J.asked about hot chocolate and we got a nice pot to share. After eating we finished packing, paid for the jeep safari, tipped Vishnu and 
caught the truck to the bus park. 
We were right on time for the uncrowded bus to Pokhara. We again swung through Bharatpur and then made a stop in Narayanghar where the bus was besieged by snack sellers. (photos, above) C.J. had brought along almonds and dried plums from home so we munched on those in lieu of lunch. The expensive 
buffet at Green Park rest area (photos, above) did not even tempt us when we stopped there once again. And we decided to stay on the bus when it made a "pit stop" where there wasn't even a pit. the last leg of the journey was the slowest as we entered the outskirts of Pokhara. At the bus park we were met by a veritable swarm of hotel touts who dropped us like a hot rock when they found out that we already had a room at Lakeside. I guess the press of the crowd rattled me, and maybe C.J. as well, because I didn't check the overhead rack carefully and wound up leaving my fleece jacket and camera (!) on the bus (and I didn't realize that until quite late in the evening). There were lots of taxis available and we got a ride to the Peace Plaza right away where a larger room with a bath tub was waiting for us (still no shower curtain). After a shower C.J. talked to Beth who said 
that flying had been good but not spectacular today and that they had not flown either of the two previous days. Now all we had to do was finish up our souvenir shopping so we walked up to the embroidery/t-shirt shop we had gone to previously and I ordered a "Fly Nepal" t-shirt. C.J. bought socks, a hat and ordered a NEPAL t-shirt. Both shirts would need to be made when the power came on later in the evening. Hungry, we stopped at Anjali fruit stall and shared a big mixed fruit bowl with muesli and curd. Around 1900 we met Beth and Ernie for dinner at the Olive Cafe on the upper level and Stephanie and Saeed joined us later. C.J. and Beth shared a very good "rack of lamb" while I had an excellent beef kabob. Since we were right across from Adam Travel I dropped in to thank them for arranging the trip to Chitwan, and mentioned that I had left my stuff on the bus. The owner, Basu, got on it right away phoning the bus company. He told me to stop by later when he had some information. We went to pick up our t-shirts which had just been finished then returned to Adam Travel where we had good news - the driver had found my stuff and we could meet him at the bus park the next day. Whew! Helpful people and honest bus drivers!25 Feb, Thu - Yes! It cost some goodwill (and 1000Rs to the bus superintendent and another 1000 Rs to Basu for his help) but I got my jacket and camera case (which had not only my camera but
the full memory card and the backup on a memory stick - all of my photos). Basu and I had taken a taxi to the bus park at 0700 and the driver fished my gear out of a locked box inside the bus that we had ridden on yesterday; the bus supervisor was there as well. And I was still early enough to meet Matty and the rest of the group still in town at the Olive for breakfast (after getting another 6000 Rs out of the SCT ATM next to Adam Travel). Later C.J. and I walked along the lake path and road to Maya Devi so C.J. could do a video interview about Parahawking with Martin Cray.We got a cab back to town and got our stuff out of our room. Then we walked around Lakeside shopping for pants for C.J. and found a calf-length pair that she liked. We had lunch at Olive then went back to the hotel to catch a cab to the airport and check in. This time we had to pay for the departure tax (180Rs ea) and the overweight baggage charge (890 Rs) - about $18. And this time the security guy confiscated a hank of parachute cord that C.J. had in her carry-on (huh?). The flight back was short and scenic but the scene in KTM at the outside baggage counter was chaotic with a horde of would-be porters trying to grab our bags for the expected tip. Our Fuji Hotel rep did OK in getting two cabs and one porter. All the baggage went in one taxi and Beth and Ernie, C.J. and me in the other (Had a moment of panic about being separated from our gear but...). Traffic was also chaotic, but even with all the horn-honking and cutting-off I saw only one minor collision during our whole stay. We checked in to a smaller room at the Fuji but it was still quite adequate and had a better view. We went right out again to do our last souvenir shopping in Thamel but hardly got beyond the hotel street before we found a good "singing bowl" (audio sample) in the first shop, and then another pair of pants nearby. Back at the hotel Ernie was feeling better after a shower soothed his sore throat. C.J. took a shower too, and I found that I have TD again. We went to dinner at the Roadhouse Cafe where we had eaten our first night in Kathmandu (thus closing the circle). This time I was more confident and we found our way there and back through the still-teeming, narrow streets of Thamel with no problem. By this time we were already thinking that our trip was over except for breakfast and a cab ride to the airport and home was sounding pretty good.
26 Feb, Fri - We ate breakfast in the hotel around 0800 with Beth and Ernie and then just hung
out with them for a while, then went up to the roof. We could just barely see Swayambhunath on its hill through the smog (photo left, much smoggier than on our arrival in KTM 20 days ago). I paid the hotel bill with US dollars which would then leave us just a bit more than the cost of a cab ride to the airport in rupees. A taxi driver was washing his car just down the street from the hotel and he agreed to take us to the airport at 1030 (for less than the hotel price if they had called for a taxi). Traffic was the usual mess but we were there in plenty of time and the driver pointed out where the carts were so we didn't have to fend off too many wannabe porters. The baggage check-in line went really slowly but our bags got tagged for SEA so no checked baggage fees on our Alaska flight from LAX again! We used up almost the last of our rupees on a dark chocolate candy bar and then headed for our gate. No jetway, of course, and the bus took us all of 50 meters to our 
plane. We had some decent views of the Himalayas on the way out of Nepal but the lowlands were socked in so no views of Bangladesh or the Malaysian coastline (photo, left, from the airplane window).
During our short layover in Changi (photo, left, sculpture in Changi Airport, Singapore) we toured the butterfly garden (although most of the butterflies were sleeping).There was some sort of Chinese-themed celebration going on and we got to sample dragonhair candy and watch a ribbon dance (photo, left below). C.J. had her name and Ginny's written by a Chinese
calligrapher - very impressive. Then we caught our red-eye flight to Narita, Japan, and arrived there around 0700.27 Feb, Sat - It was raining and cold when we arrived and that dampened our enthusiasm for visiting the temple at Narita City so we slept for a couple of hours on a bench located just before the immigration counter. Later we went through immigration getting a transit visa, changed $30 to Yen and bought train tickets on the
Kisei line to Narita. It was cold, blustery and still showering as we walked first to the Japanese National Railroad station, then down the Omotesando 800 meters to the temple entrance (photo, left). It turned out to be not just one temple but a number of 
halls, temples, shrines, gates and unrecognizable stuff. There were occasional signs in English but most of the information was still unfathomable (like this photo of a divine guardian on a manicured forest ridge). After walking around some or most of the park/temple grounds we headed back up Omotesando past all the shops and restaurants back to the train station. It would have been nice to get out of the cold in a restaurant and have a meal but everything appeared expensive and the menus were indecipherable. We got our return tickets and took the train back to Terminal 1 at the Narita airport. There we had a big bowl of soup with noodles and roast pork. C.J. managed to get a couple of hours of sleep while I wandered around the airport a bit. I woke her at 1730 and then picked up my carry-on at the baggage storage place. We entered the security line and immediately had our passports and boarding passes taken and were told to wait. We were already running a little late so this was somewhat unnerving. After 10 min or so we got our stuff back with no explanation and continued through security and immigration. then there was a 500 m walk (with some slidewalks) to our gate where we were just in time to board immediately. It was a 9.5 hour flight to LAX and we got dinner, breakfast and some sleep but no views.27 Feb, Sat (again, on the east side of the Intl Date Line) - We got into LAX around 1110, cleared immigration (as soon as we filled out the customs form which hadn't been available on the plane) and customs. Then we turned our baggage over to the "domestic connecting flights" people who had to write (by hand!) new baggage tags for Alaska Airlines (The original tags had AL instead of AS). Then we waited outside and had some crackers and a Clif bar on a bench in the partly-sunny weather. Around 1300 or so we checked in with Alaska, got our boarding passes and changed seats to the right side in the far back (#24 in this small plane). Just as we finished going through security, the TSA staff had some kind of drill which was pretty exciting for a moment. Then we hit Starbucks for a couple of smoothies on C.J.'s SB card. By 1400 it was raining again but our flight took off on time. Bob, bless his heart, picked us up at SeaTac just as soon as we were able to claim our baggage. WhooHoo! What a great trip!
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