Kathmandu
June 7, 2009
Namaste:
Today I fly home, and I am so happy! I have been here over 2 months.
My flight leaves Kathmandu at 1:50 PM. I make 1 stop in Bangkok, change planes and then fly to Los Angeles. I arrive on June 7 at 9:25 PM.
Last night, I hosted a dinner at Kilroy’s restaurant in Thamel and invited Mingma, his wife and 2 children (including their 2-month old baby boy), Puchhanga and Mingma’s cousin, who is also named Mingma. What a fabulous time we had. Kilroy’s is the best restaurant in Thamel. The walls have photos of famous climbers (including Sir Edmund Hillary and Apa Sherpa), diplomats and royalty. The owner of the restaurant came over to congratulate me on being the oldest American to summit Mt. Everest. He then took at photograph of our entire group and said he is going to post it on the wall with the other photos in honor of Mingma’s 7th summit of Mt. Everest, Puchhang’s 1st summit and my summit as the oldest American. So, now I have to come back to see that photo!
After dinner, we went back to the Yak & Yeti, and I told Mingma that I wanted to pay for his cab ride home. He said he rode over to the Yak & Yeti with his family on his little motorbike. So, I took a picture. Can you imagine riding with 4 people on a motorbike (including a 2-month old infant) through the chaotic traffic of Kathmandu? What a different life!
This morning, before I leave for the airport, Puchhanga and I are going to visit the Lhomi Kid’s Care orphanage. This is the orphanage that Lori, Amy & I visited several times last year. The children are so excited to see me and congratulate me on the summit. They were also excited to see Puchhanga and congratulate him on his first summit. I plan to give the orphanage a new computer I purchased in Kathmandu and used at Base Camp to post these reports. I can’t wait to see the children again and see how much they have grown.
Stacy, who lives near my daughter, Lisa, in Newport Beach, won the Bungee contest by being the first one to correctly guess the adventure, so she gets the prize. I have video of the jump, which I will post on my website when I get home. When I picked up the video in Thamel, they told me I was their oldest jumper.
I plan to post a recap of the trip after I get home.
See you in the USA!
Bill