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Nepal

Day 1 of EBC Trek

Part 1: Kathmandu to Lukla 

Continuing from …. Day Zero at Ground Zero

Dawn Yawn…


Nilesh, the Trek Company’s representative called on me at 5:30AM to take me to the Airport, for a flight that was to depart at 6:15AM! Of course the previous day when I was making lofty plans, I had agreed to this in my moment of weakness. I hardly had a choice anyway, owing to the dependency on the fickle flights to Lukla.

Lukla, Kathmandu , Nepal, Twin Otter
A spectacular view thru a smudged window, on way from Kathmandu to Lukla

I was to take the first flight of Sita Airlines, or was it Tara airlines, maybe Sita Airlines owns Tara, or is it the other way round, maybe I am talking about Yeti airlines … maybe… oh chuck it ….did it matter?

Just then,

Day Zero at Ground Zero!

Nisha and I were already in Delhi for some work. I had planned to fly to Kathmandu from Delhi. This helped us in combining our combined Delhi business and my own Nepal business. Mumbai to Delhi leg of my journey perhaps was the most uneventful. Too mundane. It was so boring that I remembered someone who had said if you pay intense attention to boredom then it will turn out to be interesting. Well, in my case, while paying intense attention I just fell asleep.

everest base camp trek starting
Elephants at T3 airport New Delhi

So as per plan Nisha came to

Overland Border Crossing

Overland Border Crossing

How do you feel being at the border of two countries?

Not just flying into a country but being able to see the other side, the other country and its land from this side?
Most times travel to foreign involves flying into that country. But after so many years of travelling I find it quite boring. Of course, it is still the most preferred way as it saves time and may be other hassles that I’ve talked about earlier.
For me it is always intriguing when I cross borders overland where I can stand on a no-man’s land and where the territories are marked by welcoming gates if not any other.

Following are a few of the borders crossed (or almost crossed) overland, by road or by train. Some of the European borders mentioned are before the formation of Schengen.

Shankaracharya gate.jpg @lemonicks.com

Shankaracharya gate, Indo-Nepal border.

India – Nepal: We had consciously decided

Sometimes losing money is fun !

Sometimes losing money is fun !

Casino! This word generally conjures up images from Las Vegas. The glittering lights and world famous shows, not to mention the best gambling and gaming dens.

Gambling probably is as old as civilization itself. My Indian friends may remember the events that lead to the Kurukshetra War (as per Mahabharata).
I do believe that gambling and games are quite related. In fact any activity that has the tendency to have an uncertainty in their result is a potential candidate for gambling. These days we have people betting on results of any game or sport.

First time I entered a casino was in Nepal. Back then, rules were strange there. Locals were not allowed inside ! Anyway, we made some money and lost some, all in all we were in plus! It was enjoyable and we were amused to see a lot of people enjoying losing money. 😉

Second time it was even more enjoyable since I lost much money ! It was in