Nepal was such an amazing experience – even the 8 hour bus-rides-from-hell to and from Pokhara! We were only meant to go by bus there, then fly back to Kathmandu after the trek. But Kathmandu was fogged in so we waited, and waited, and waited some more before they gave up and bussed us back… in the dark. It was a hellish ride in the daytime, and even worse at night when we *knew* what was on either side but couldn’t see it. Gives me chills just thinking about it now, some 20 years later.

I *love* stationery stores. When I first saw an Office Depot in the US, it was like an addiction. Like you, I loved those first days of school when all the paper and books and pens were new. My parents ended up owning a stationery store when I was a teenager – it was never arduous going to work there in my school holidays.

And books. Well, I was a librarian. I don’t need to say anymore, really.

@ Judith – it is indeed a small world. Later on, when we were trekking near Machapuchare (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machapuchare), we ran into a friend of someone in our group. They hadn’t seen each other in years. Both lived in Denmark, so running into each other in Nepal was the last thing they expected.

Second time we were still trying to see Everest — went by bus to Pokkra (sp.), then got stuck — roads were washed out so we stayed for more than a week. Suddently late one afternoon, the sky cleared, and there they were — right there all the time… Amazing grace indeed.