A Morning With Mount Everest

 The Himalayas, Nepal

These are only half of the photos I tried to upload tonight, not to mention the failed video. The video I posted about Amritsar a few days ago also isn’t working, nor is skype; the shaky internet of the subcontinent strikes again. There is currently no power and no running water in my hotel room, I have to be awake in six hours to catch a bus, I haven’t packed yet, blah blah blah. Basically, travelling is exhausting and travelling is hard, oh woe is me.

But you know what? For all of that muck, for all of those daily frustrations and inconveniences, there are moments like the one I had this morning that make all of those petty grievances seem inconsequential. Quite simply, the sight out the window of my rickety propeller plane, that first glimpse of the vast expanse of the Himalayas, was one of the greatest things I have ever seen. There isn’t even a distinct photo of Everest in the batch I was able to upload, but to be honest I didn’t even care about Everest at the time; the entire stretch of mountains, peeking above the clouds at altitudes I still can’t comprehend, was awe-inspiring and insanely beautiful in itself.

Honestly, no photos or videos or words do any of it justice. All I can say (again, and again, and again) is that I feel like the luckiest person in the world. As I watched the mountains unfold beneath me this morning, I cried, cried because I have never seen such nature before, cried for my grandma, cried because I once again had my breath taken away from me, once again felt that I have been bestowed these experiences for which I am so ever grateful.

I believe the flight tours are correct to use the slogan “a once in a lifetime experience”. I couldn’t agree more.