Kathmandu Arrival

Early morning arrival at the Kathmandu hotel “The Mulberry” at 8:30 am after arriving in Kathmandu airport after a late night flight from Dubai. Our local guide Mingma met us at the airport exit and we checked in after trying on our Mountain Professional swag. Flying for 30 hours non stop over 9+ time zones takes a toll so we both caught up in sleep in 3-4 hour increments during the day.

Later we navigated the streets of the Thamel neighborhood with Mingma stopping for pizza at The Roadhouse restaurant. It was Nepali New Year 2082, so traffic was light and a lot of locals on the street shopping on a holiday day off.

Later that evening I was honored to be a guest on a “The Courageous Podcast” with host Ryan Berman. We talked about the driving forces that motivate us to act and his belief is Knowledge + Faith + Action = Courage.

Later the chair at my hotel desk collapsed and I landed on the broken chair leg ripping a big gash across my forearm. After some bandages and neosporin I’m all patched up and I’ve packed my bags for an early transfer to the Marriott Aloft hotel, just a few blocks away.

Stay tuned!

On my way to Mt. Everest!

Long day to get to Katmandu for Matt and me, starting with United flight from Dulles to Newark at 5:30 pm. We had a four hour layover so no rush until a 1 hour weather delay and then on the approach to the landing the pilot aborted due to cross winds - which added another 30 minutes, then a 15 minute taxi to the Newark gate, and another 15 minute wait to get an open gate. We arrived at the gate as they were boarding. My upgrades weren’t honored and we ended up in coach for the 14 hour flight. I’m a very experienced flyer and the cabin for this flight was the most dense I’ve ever seen. United fit 10 seats in an aisle on plane designed for 9 seats. The seats are 1.2” more narrow than normal and the aisles are more narrow as well. So we felt like sardines but hey that’s international travel. We arrive at 8:00 am and will meet up with our local guide in Katmandu.

Follow my blog for my journey to Mt. Everest!