where in the world: Kathmandu

I have been dreaming of traveling to Nepal for years (since high school, I think!), so it easily topped my list of travel destinations for the winter. Getting to Nepal is quite easy - it's just an hour-long flight from Delhi, tourist visas can be purchased upon arrival, and the time difference is a laughable 15 minutes different than India. (I learned that Pakistan, India, and Nepal all refuse to share time zones, which explains the silliness of being 15 and 30 minutes different from each other.) The Nepali language is different than Hindi, but the script is the same. Furthermore, Nepalis could understand our broken Hindi better than South Indians, so communication was fairly easy.

Kathmandu is fascinatingly both historic and cosmopolitan. Like India it is rough around the edges, but has a thriving tourist industry. Out of our ten days in Nepal, we spent six in the city. Between visiting historic sites and meeting with Woodstock students and parents, we were very busy. Many thanks to the Lama family for hosting us at their beautiful Hotel Excelsior (highly recommended for its great location and excellent services!) and the Thapa family for generously welcoming us and arranging travels (someday I'll take advantage of their guiding services - Mount Everest Base Camp, anyone?).

In short, Kathmandu is fantastic. Definitely a place to return to.