Friends Again!

We are overjoyed to say that we have arrived in Nepal and as if that isn't enough reason to make us happy, we also just joined with two of our very close friends, Casey and Ty. They flew from the States to join us for three weeks.  We've got a jam packed three weeks planned but it should be unbelievable.

To start off we spent a few days in Kathmandu to allow time for adjusting, eat good food, and buy some quality fake outdoor gear.  We were also able to spend a day visitng a few of the different projects that TRIFC is involved.  They are working to help people with disabilities in Nepal to find worth in themselves and be educated and trained for employment. We spent most of our time at their library for the blind and the DNC center where about 30 children live.  It was wonderful to see first hand the amazing work that TRIFC is doing and we hope to visit a few more projects when we come through Kathmandu again at the end of Casey and Ty's trip.  We had a great experience in the city but the bustling streets really aren't any of our forte so we were quickly on the bus heading up to Pokhara, which is stunning.  The town rests in between giant mountains at the east end of a picturesque lake.  Today we woke up at 6am for a sunrise hike to a beautiful view point and followed it by renting kayaks and enjoying the sun hit our skin as we fumbled around in river kayaks.  I had no idea those things were so squirrelly and hard to keep straight!

Ahead of us lies 5 days of riding motorcycles through the countryside and 8 days of trekking through the Annapurna mountains- how this can be the reality of our life right now, we're really not sure, but we are so thankful and excited to explore this amazing country.

Here's a few photos from the start of our adventure:

Taj Mahal

We were taken by surprise in Agra.  The town has a reputation for the Taj Mahal, but we had an amazing experience playing cricket with the locals, wondering the back streets of the vegetable markets and relaxing on roof top restaurants as the sun was setting.  Here's some of our favorite shots of the Taj...

HOLI!

Absolutely the most fun you could possibly have on a national holiday!! We celebrated Holi in Jaipur, the capital of Rajistan.  The city is rich with amazing tradition and is famous for their Elephant festival which coincides with Holi. The pictures do the best job at describing what this festival is all about but in words... it is the most beautiful chaos.

We still have paint in our hair and ears but will never forget such an amazing day. 

Skiing!

Two posts in one day! Finally some good, free internet so we decided to take advantage of it :).

We took a grueling 12 hour windy, bumpy bus and woke up absolutely freezing.  Our shorts and flip flops weren't quiet good enough for the mountain weather.  We waited another 2 hours for our second bus, but it was all worth it when we stepped of the bus to see this:

I haven't missed a season since I was 2 years old and am excited to say that this year abroad didn't break the record.  The ski area not only had an amazing gondola, but also yak and donkey riding, parachuting, sledding, snowmobiling, four wheeling, and let's not forget a giant ball to roll around in. It was a winter paradise for Indian travelers.

The hotel provided us with skies, boots and pants.  So maybe the boots were two sizes too big and Tad's pants were every bright color in the book, but it was perfect.  The lodge was placed in the valley of the mountains and was stunning.