Nepal

There is much to be said about the race and the entire experience of the week surrounding it. Pictures will be uploaded and a report written. I don't know that any of it can begin to convey what I have felt at times being in this place. Despite the obvious struggle to retain its values as its fate intermingles with the developed world, there is, in both its people and its natural beauty, a certain character to Nepal that stands apart from any place else I have been. Perhaps the best I can do to explain is to share a thought I had upon first seeing it's awe inspiring peaks. I've been an avowed atheist since the age of 13, but I'm fairly certain that were I ever to find religion it would be here at the foot of the Himalayas.



namaste

Waking up in Kathmandu

I'd intended to have completed my TdG race report before this trip, but here I sit in our hotel room in Nepal after a 15-1/2 hour flight followed by a 12-hour layover in Hong Kong and another 5-1/2 hour flight to Nepal. Unfortunately, the other statistic for the trip thus far is a grand total of around 5 hours sleep in the last 48. We've an internal flight to Pokhara today and another day before race check-in; 2 before the start. It's a foggy morning so there isn't much to see outside our hotel window save for a great mass of noisy birds that appear to be playing out a scene from Hitchcock's famous film. All is being made right with the consumption of my morning caffeine and I'm looking forward to the coming adventure.

I won't have internet access once we are out at the campground, but I believe you can follow the race in some form at the event website:

Racing the Planet: Nepal

Given my lack of training and the 24+lb pack I'll be carrying, my goal is for just finishing, enjoying and taking in the scenery. The camera will be in hand.