After a couple of days in noisy Kathmandu, it’s exciting to get out to the mountains, whether you go in a rickety bus for the eight-hour-long journey along bumpy roads, or fly in an eight-seater plane and wonder where you are going to land (until a landing strip suddenly appears on the side of a mountain!).

The people of Nepal are so beautiful and gentle—they lead such a simple life, yet are so happy. I think it’s a lesson for us all. Why do we complicate our lives so much? As we walk from village to village, we are amazed at how friendly these people are to strangers. The children run along the paths to greet you. “Didi, didi [Nepali for sister]…my school pen?” Trekkers are encouraged to give pencils to schoolchildren rather than candy.

Coming back to work and reality, we have all been suffering withdrawal symptoms from our ever-smiling sherpas waking us in the morning with a cup of tea, drinking hot lemon as we sit in the teahouses swapping stories with trekkers from all over the world, and gazing at the awesome, snow-capped mountains that were our backdrop for twelve days!

How fitting that on our flight home, we had a spectacular view of Mt. Everest (make sure you ask to be seated on the left-hand side of the plane for this view), or Chomolunga, as the sherpas call her. You realize how high she is when you look eye-level out the plane window and stare straight across at her.

Please find the time to say Namaste to Nepal at least once in your life—you will not regret it. It will give you a renewed and refreshed outlook on life!

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Join Julie on her next trip to the Himalayas. She’ll take you to a world beyond your dreams!

Experience the magic of the Everest region with a small group of like-minded Divas.
Julie’s fourteen-day lodge trek visits the crystal clear lakes of Gokyo, which some say the most stunning scenery in the world.

To Contact Julie Ford:

email julieford@uniquejourneys.com.au

t 61.2.9130.2462

www.uniquejourneys.com.au