Vancouver to Kathmandu

October 6th.
Namaste.
The most eventful part of the trip was getting out of Vancouver. First Darcy got randomly chosen for an enhanced security check which included a full patdown and the emptying of the entire contents of both her carry-on backpack and purse. Because we thought we were running late, we decided to try to our Nexus passes thinking this would be quicker. Big mistake. Marty was then chosen for a random check and this entailed pulling off all of our luggage from the flight so that it could be electronically scanned. They discovered we had dried fruit in our luggage (for the trek) which we didn't declare as "fruit" as we were only in transit through Seattle for 2 hours and the Air Canada attendant said it was unnecessary. A very officious young woman quoted the laws verbatim and told us we were in contravention and could lose our Nexus passes. Not to worry - we don't plan on using it again!
We flew Korean Air from Seattle to Seoul, where we overnighted, and then on to Kathmandu the following morning. This airline was a delight - very attentive service, good food, and real cutlery!

We arrived in Kathmandu where we were picked up by our guide, Shiva Thapa, who we met three years ago on our Annapurna trek. Kathmandu can be overwhelming the first time you go there, but for us it was familiar and exhilarating to revisit this vibrant, yet chaotic city - cars, motorbikes, street vendors, shopkeepers and pedestrians all vying for space on narrow half-paved streets, the width of a pedestrian mall.

One can easily suffer from sensory overload with the constant honking of horns, the mingling smells of incense, garbage and food, and the colourful displays of pashminas, hiking gear, and other assorted paraphenalia hanging out into the streets. While the street vendors greet you with 'Namaste" and want you to go in to their stores, they are not aggressive and a simple "no-thank you" suffices.

Today is a day of rest to catch up on jetlag. Tomorrow we fly to Lukla at 10 am (assuming the flight leaves - see You Tube link previous entry) where we immediately commence trekking downhill to Phakding. Next blog will probably be from Namche Bazaar.