Home Safe and Sound - Eventually!!!!

Mixed emotions about leaving our room on Friday night. Rachana had been very happy in her little world for the last two weeks, and we were not looking forward to the long trip home!!

Quick stop at the Lounge on the way out to say goodbye to our Happy Hour friends. They were so great with Rachana, helping us out with the language and getting us whatever we needed for her (and the odd glass of wine for us too!!).

Finally took off from Kathmandu at 11.30pm on Friday night and arrived at JFK at 3pm on Saturday. Allowing for the time difference a total of about 26 travelling - 3 airports...........................

Crazy Kathmandu for a five hour flight to Doha..............................

..............Doha, Qatar from 2am to 8am - a nice 6 hour layover in the middle of the night!.....................

...........And finally arrival at JFK at 3pm - after a short 13 hour flight!................................

There were tears (Danielle - not Rachana!) after the immigration process and the officer "offically" welcomed her to the USA!

Nana, Pop Pop and Uncle Vincent were the welcoming commitee, complete with signs and balloons, happy to finally meet their granddaughter and niece! Then it was back to our house to meet our furry friends. It was all a bit much for her after such an exhausting trip. She was very happy to settle into her new room and bed and was sound asleep for the night within minutes!

Next morning we took her out to the school playround by our house, and she loved it. Wasted no time exploring all the slides.

Enjoyed Easter Sunday with the Family, Rachana getting her first Easter baskets. Enough candy to last until next year!

Thank you to everyone for following our journey. We loved checking in every day to read your comments. Your thoughts and prayers meant so much to us and kept us going. Rachana can't wait to meet you all!!!!!

Happy Easter from Mick, Danielle, Rachana, Lupa, Kendall, Tino...................and London!!........

Signing Off from Kathmandu!!!

We had a little "dress up" before breakfast this morning. Rachana was sleeping when she got her gifts last night, so she was excited to try everything on this morning! First the Indian outfit! She loved it - very sparkly. She wanted to wear it to breakfast!

Then the Nepali outfit (including Mick's hat!). Namaste!!!!

Was hoping to post some final pictures but the day got away from us! Packing to head to the airport!

See you all soon. Signing off from Kathmandu!!!!!!!!

It's Official - We Are Coming Home!!!!!

We finally got the email from the US Embassy early this afternoon, telling us we could come and pick up Rachana's Travel Document - complete with Visa!! Would love to have recorded our biggest day yet, but no photos at the US Embassy, not even outside! Although we had some stressful days along the way it actually worked out perfectly in the end. We are coming home as planned tomorrow!

After the Embassy Aruna and Ashish took us to Patan, Durbar Square. It is the Old Royal Palace of Patan and is home to a mass of temples. It was an amazing place, and was so nice to see ancient architecture and really get a feel for "old" Nepal.

Found a nice restaurant with a rooftop terrace for our last dinner, before heading back to the hotel. Aruna came in as we had to give her some paperwork. We were so overwhelmed when she gave us some beautiful gifts for Rachana, a traditional Nepali outfit and an ornate Indian skirt and top. Also a really pretty handmade Pashmina Shawl for Danielle and even a Nepali hat for Mick. Check it out!!

It was a very emotional end to the night. Great to be coming home, but we will miss the wonderful people we have met like Aruna, Ashish and Roshu. They have been so kind to us and so generous with their time.

Enjoying Our Last Few Days

Went back to the trampoline after breakfast today. This time she was much braver and jumped on her own. Nana and Pop Pop - one for the birthday wish list!?

After a morning of swimming we headed into Thamel to visit the Garden of Dreams. It's like a little oasis in the middle of a hectic city. Beautifully built in the 1920's and modelled on English Edwardian Gardens.

Then on to a pizzeria that we heard about that was close by. Nana, you had best have the pasta ready when we get back - Rachana seems to like it!

After dinner was wandered for a while in Thamel, but someone was cranky by then so we didn't last long. It's a bit of a crazy place to be with an uncooperative three year old! 

Back to the hotel in a taxi. Her new thing is falling asleep listening to her Nepali Folk Songs CD!

Embassy Interview and Sightseeing

Today got off to a great start when we got an email from the Embassy to say that finally the document we needed was visible to them and we were in good shape. Talk about timing - our interview was set for 2pm! Rainy day so we took our time getting ready. Rachana discovered lip gloss!

Then it was off to the Embassy where everything went to plan. Presuming there are no problems with the processing we should be able to collect Rachana's travel document, complete with visa by Thursday afternoon! So after our appointment we went to the Qatar Airlines office and booked her flight!


Afterwards Aruna and her husband Ashish were free for the rest of the day and very kindly offered to take us to the Swayambhunath "Monkey Temple". You can see where it get's it's name!

It's located at a really high point of Kathmandu with a great view of the entire Valley. It was a bit rainy again which meant visibility wasn't great - but the rainbow more than made up for it - beautiful!

We spent time wandering around the Stupa looking at the amazing architecture and artefacts dating back to AD 460. It was a really nice change of pace!

We wanted to take Aruna and Ashish for dinner so they picked a nice place on the way back to the hotel. We let them pick out our food, trying some Newari (local to Kathmandu) dishes and a few "safe bets!" Everything was great! Celebrated being almost home free with a bottle of bubbly!

Finally got back to the hotel around 9pm and Rachana barely managed to crawl into bed before she was fast asleep! All in all a really good day!!

Rachana's Travel Documents Approved!!

Time for a quick swim this morning before Aruna picked us up to go and collect Rachana's Travel Document. Got there to find we were looking at at least an hour wait so we went into Thamel to kill some time. Returned to find we had missed our assigned number which led to some more anxious waiting. Can you spot Mick listening for Rachana's name at the window!?

Thankfully everything was fine, and after another long wait we finally got her document. Another step completed!

Then it was back to the hotel for a celebratory beer (and wine of course) by the pool. To Rob S and Andy H - cheers to Gorkha Beer - the local brew!!

And for those of you asking for more video............Rachana made a calll today. Any help with translation much appreciated!!!...................................

Still haven't received word about the final document we need, but we are able to go ahead with our embassy interview tomorrow. At least this way we will have everything done, and we won't lose any days. As soon as the document is visible to the embassy the visa can be issued. We have a small amount of breathing room!!

A Day of Ups and Downs

This morning Rachana decided it's time to go home. Thought she could save us a seat on the plane!

Now that she is finding her feet with us she is definitely starting to test the limits! Jekyll and Hyde is an understatement! From what we have researched and the experience of others that we know this is pretty much par for the course, but frustrating nonetheless!

Passed the day swimming and taking a long nap this afternoon. Then it was up, shower and ready for a walk into town to our new favorite restaurant!

We found a place in Boudha that has a nice garden and serves really good food - especially the momo's. Dinner for three and two glasses of wine for a lot less than the two glasses of wine at the Hyatt!

Resisted the temptation (?) for dessert on the way home. There are some things that are better left to the Hyatt!

Hoping tomorrow brings some positive news from the Embassy!