Spirit Tours: Walking the Midlevel streets of Katmandu

Flying into the Katmandu valley is unlike any travel experience I have ever embarked on.  First off the backdrop of the city’s snow-capped peaks; which are some of the tallest mountains known to man/woman is breathtaking. Then, looking out the plane window and seeing a cluster of unconventional streets, houses made out of mud and the worlds largest Stupa with utter chaos, I could not help but wonder, “What am I doing here?".

I arrived at the third world airport terminal and found my way to my hotel transport, nothing seemed better than a nice hot shower and a clean bed. After a rough night sleep filled with jetlag, barking dogs and loud obnoxious truck horns blasting throughout the night I was ready to walk the streets of Katmandu. As I walked out of the hotel and made my first turn towards the Katmandu Dubar Square, which is the old palace dating back to 1069 AD, the first thing that I noticed was the open air butcher shops with half goat heads dripping blood in the streets and flys festering about.  The next thing that caught my attention was the open sewers, of which people were using to relieve them selves in in plane open sight.  The last thing that made me realize I was not in Kansas any more was the majority of houses made from mud bricks and old wooden beams that had to be at least 500 years old. It also just so happened to be the Hindu holiday of Dashain, which transcribes to the sacrifice of large animals on everything the Nepalese seam to think, is holy.  Every statue, cross street, temple and entryway had some reminisce of blood on it. While all this may not seam like the ideal travel situation, looking back on it, the archaic nature of this environment was so overwhelming that I was compelled to changed the way I perceive what is normal and what is important in life.  I feel when we are pushed beyond our comfort limits we create space to grow and become more conscious beings as a whole.  This is why I love traveling and love creating dynamic tours that have lasting consequences on our tour members. I will be leading two small tours in 2015, which will pilgrimage through Katmandu and Bhutan, studying Tibetan Buddhism. Be advised, if you choose to join me it may change your life too. Timothy Made' Omi