Nepal bound!

OK... I am writing this because writing helps me think.

Here's the plan:  On December 27 we will head to Abu Dhabi early in the morning.  We will see Sheikh Zayed mosque, drive along the corniche (Gulf highway) and see the amazing archecture of Abu Dhabi.  We will arrive at the airport at noon and fly off to Kathmandu at 2PM.  We will arrive at 8 and go straight to the hotel after clearing customs.

In the morning we will have Nepali omelette (a reason to go to Nepal all by itself), head to the Hindu temple and see the funeral pyres.

Nepali omelette.

This is the Hindu temple where they wash and burn the dead (not shown).

We will then go to the airport and fly to Pokhara around 11.  In the afternoon in Pokhara we can walk around the street festival or go for the world's longest zip line.

The next day we will also have time to see the street festival and go paragliding.

I hope the weather is this clear when we are in Nepal.  Paragliding and seeing this is the most amazing thing I've ever done.

Eco-Village at night:  This was taken at midnight using a 30 second exposure.  The colors were not visible to my eyes and you can see stars at the top of the picture.

In the after noon of the 29th we will head up to Eco-village.  It's a place designed to help tourists see how to live ecologically friendly.  It's also a place where they grow many vegetables, including Dad's popcorn.  If we are feeling particularly hearty we can spend the night.

On the 30th we will fly back to Kathmandu.  In Kathmandu we will head to the Monkey temple and feed monkeys.  We will also see Durbar Square - a 900 year old(?) temple and Thamel, the touristy area of Kathmandu where we will be staying.

Feeding monkeys never gets old... which reminds me... Miriam... I need you to bring a very large bag of peanuts.  We have learned over the years that monkeys love peanuts. Oranges, bananas and cocunut are OK but they LOVE peanuts in the shell.  Bring 3 pounds.  (At least.)

This is the actual temple at the Monkey temple - it is Buddhist with the Eyes of Nepal.

On the 31st we will fly back to the UAE.  

Trip within the trip

My sister and her husband are coming at Christmas.  They will be in the Emirates long enough to have a trip within a trip.  Here are the places under consideration:

Nepal
Nepal is like a second home to me.  The people are incredibly nice.  I have made friends who have become family.  The scenery is amazing.

 In my favorite place - Pokhara - you can see the Annapurna range.  A mountain range with 8 visible peaks all higher than ANYTHING in North America.

This picture was taken at Christmas time.  It's cool but not cold by Iowa standards.

My two favorite things to do in Nepal is to paraglide and feed monkeys.  This monkey is at a major Hindu temple.  The people in the background are looking down at a river where there are several funeral pyres burning.  While there were tourists snapping pictures standing just feet away from grieving families I could never do that so you just have to trust me.

Nepal

Pro's
It's NEPAL!  I look for any excuse to come here.
The scenery is simply unmatched.  The Annapurna range is stunning.
Paragliding is a blast and I have done it enough times I know the really good pilots for Miriam and George.
There is a street festival at the end of December that is a lot of fun.
The Hindu and Buddhist temples in Kathmandu are very interesting... feeding monkeys is crazy fun.

Con's
It's December.  In seven trips I have experienced all of the seasons of Nepal and December is my least favorite.  It's not super cold - it stays above freezing - but there is no heat at night so it is c-o-l-d.

Four day itinerary:
Arrive in Kathmandu walk to the domestic terminal to hopefully catch a flight to Pokhara.
Day 2 - see the street festival, walk down from the Peace Pagoda (a beautiful view of the city and nice walk down through the jungle to Fewa Lake). Take a jeep to Eco-village.  The picture of me with the mountain in the background is taken from Eco-village.  It has an amazing view of the Annapurna mountain range.
Day 3 - Go paragliding.  Take a flight back to Kathmandu.  Take another flight to see Everest.  Walk around Thamel - the touristy area with shops.
Day 4 - Go to the Hindu temple in the morning.  See the funeral pyres.  Go to the Monkey temple (Buddhist).  Feed monkeys.  Return to hotel and fly out.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka would be the warmest destination we would be considering.  The island nation is one giant tropical forest.  My sister loves plants and this place is a horticulturalist's dream.  Also, there is an elephant sanctuary where you can feed the elephants.

Sri Lanka
Pro's
A lush green tropical jungle that is amazing to see and drive through.
Feeding Elephants is fantastic (monkeys were also available on my trip but not nearly as many as in Nepal).

Con's
None, really.

Four day itinerary
Fly into Colombo - stay at a nice hotel called Galle Face.  Go swimming and relax.
Day 2 see Colombo
Day 3 - take a car up to amazing botanic gardens and to the elephant breeding ground.
Day 4 - relax at the beach and return home.

Jordan

Jordan
Pro's
It's the shortest flight - 3 hours.
Petra - The Treasury and the small canyon you walk through to get to it - is very cool.
Floating in the Dead Sea is just something you have to experience to understand.  You literally float on water.

Con's
When you return to Iowa people will not be excited to hear about Petra and floating in the Dead Sea really is a "you had to be there" experience.

Itinerary:
Day 1 - Fly into Amman and have a driver waiting to take us straight to Petra - a 4(?) hour trip.
Day 2 - See Petra, The Treasury, ancient burials... really interesting canyons.
Day 3 - Travel to Dead Sea
Day 4 - Travel to airport and fly out

Egypt

Not my picture because pics were not allowed in the Cairo museum... but seeing it up close was amazing.

Hot air balloon ride over Luxor (where the Pharaohs are buried).

Abu Simbel - this is in far southern Egypt.  The giant shrine was built to scare away the Sudanese who might consider coming down the Nile to attack.  A picture doesn't do it justice.

Egypt
Pro's
From the pyramids to King Tut's mask, to the pharoah's burial sites to Abu Simbel... Egypt is memorable at every stop.
Back in Iowa everyone will know and want to hear about the pyramids.  Never mind that the pyramids in Mexico are cooler...

Con's
Egypt is just not a great place to visit unless in a tourist group or with an Egyptian guide.  We couldn't do a tourist group because we are too limited on time.

Itinerary
To do what I would want to do in Egypt would be very hard in four days....
Day 1 - arrive and drive straight to the pyramids, see them for a few hours and head directly to the Cairo Museum to see Tut's mask.  Stay overnight in Cairo.
Day 2 - depart on first available flight to Luxor.  See the Karnak temple
Day 3 - Hot air balloon flight, see the burial sites
Day 4 - see more temples, fly back to Cairo and connect to the UAE

Unfortunately, I don't think we could make it to Abu Simbel on this trip.

Each of the four possibilities have pro's and con's.  Which sounds best to you?  If you can't decide what would you like to know to decide?

Dollar vs. Euro

Dear few friends who still read my blog:  Please understand that the following post is my ENTP need to have an interesting discussion.

In SE Asia I was traveling with my friend Lukas.  He's my German friend that helped me see the place my great-great-grandfather came from.

I was very happy to travel with him in SE Asia in late 2014.  He has been everywhere I wanted to go:  Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Before I met up with him in Bangkok I said, "I want to see it all and we are not going by bus."  So we did a series of short trips by plane from Bangkok to Siem Reap (awesome) to Phnom Pen (disgusting) to Saigon (interesting) to Hue (quaint) to Da Nang (awesome) to Hanoi (surprisingly interesting).  I paid for his flights because he would have never made those flights; he would have gone by bus or - because he had already been there - he wouldn't have gone back to those cities.

So....  during the course of the trip I gave him money when he had not already converted it from euros.  I didn't keep track; I didn't care.  At the end of the trip he told me owed me $200.  I was like, "Ok, whatever."

A month passes.

He still doesn't have my IBAN number to send the money to my account (that's my mistake).  I finally gave it to him. He says, "I will send the euros I owe you."  The problem?  During the month the US dollar has appreciated 10% vs. the euro.  Sending me the euros means I lost 10%.

Should he send me $200 which is what I am expecting or should he send me 160 euros which is what he had in his mind when I gave him money?