Making our way...

We arrived safely "home" from our latest trek to Everest Base Camp and Island Peak! 

Let me try to put into words what we experienced for the last 21 days....or maybe I should just leave I should leave the story telling up to the pictures....

April 28th:

We attempt to catch a taxi to the bus station. Tom and his bag, Liz and her bag, Tyese and her bag, Melissa and her bag, Taxi Driver, AND me with my bag (oh, I almost forgot about George too) decide to pile into ONE taxi cab, why?! Because its cheaper than taking two hehe   

The bus station....notice the giant piles of garbage in the middle that people light on fire to attempt to get rid of it...better than throwing it into the river...I guess??

 The 12 hour bus ride

It started out fairly normal, like any third world country bus ride would be...exposed, sharp metal corners on the floor (glad I'm updated on my tetanus), strange stains on the seat, rattling open windows, and loud Indian music blasting through fuzzy blown out speakers.

Making frequent bathroom stops, at one point we left Tom on the bus to "watch our things" while we got out to stretch our legs and use the hole in the ground.

Looking out I see the silhouette of our bus driving away....DRIVING AWAY.

Me: "LIZ, is that our bus?????"

Liz: "um, yea....I think we need to run...now"

So...the four crazy, white American girls started at a full sprint after the bus through the village, until all the locals yelled at us to stop, because it simply left to go get some gas and would be back, how we were suppose to know that I'm not really sure...shew, that was close. 

Embarrassed, we load back on the bus when it arrives, eventually, so do goats, chickens, dogs, 50 other people that are sweating curry, and a girl that proceeds to wretch and vomit into a small plastic bag a seat away from us, yummy.

 Multiple women sat on Tyese lap on the way, I couldn't keep myself together, I simply had to hang my head out the window and laugh.   

As the sun set, the roads got smaller, and soon we were four wheeling in a bus....that is when I decided buses should indeed have seat-belts...and headlights that work.  Finally we arrived at the small town of Shivalaya, where we wondered around in the night with our bags that were way too big for us until a family noticed our group of confused foreigners and took us to their tea house, made us late dinner, and put us up for the night.

Oh the bus is full? Don't worry about it, there's always the top!

Making ourselves right at home

A true expression of: I think we just ate a rotten momo, because they haven't been refrigerated for the last 24 hours...GROSS