It’s still early, but I just want to go to bed. I’m tired. We trekked for about 4 hours today. It was beautiful, but not as beautiful as yesterday’s trek. We spent more time today walking down gravel roads that were pretty beat up. Yesterday the trek was mostly done on a mountain path that winded through the forest. I definitely still enjoyed the trek today. There were some very beautiful views along the way that I’m grateful I got to see.

We have been just hanging out at the guesthouse since we arrived this afternoon. It has rained quite a bit, but not as hard or as long as it did yesterday. I ate some food and took a nice nap when we arrived. There is also a group of Japanese tourists who are staying here as well. I really liked the hotel yesterday. This place isn’t as comfortable and the view isn’t as beautiful. It’s not bad or anything, but yesterday was so peaceful and there was a lot more space.

Tomorrow we will trek to one more town and stay the night. The next day we’ll make it back to Pokhara. I have to admit, I’m looking forward to being back in Pokhara and having the comfort of the city again. It’s beautiful and the food is much better. My apartment is also quite comfortable and I miss it. I am looking forward to sleeping in my bed and eating some delicious chicken tikka masala or butter chicken with garlic naan. Yum!

I’m also excited to figure out going to Lumbini. A part of me feels like after going to Lumbini I’ll have done most everything in Nepal I’d hoped to do: visited some cool towns, completed a meditation course, and gone trekking. That also means I’ll be free to leave without feeling like I’ve not done anything I should do. I might still decide to go on another trek, but I also might decide to take off for India and be done with Nepal. Another trek would be amazing, but I’m not sure I have the time, money or motivation to do the 10 day trek I have in mind. My plan is to wait it out and not make any decisions yet. I’ll see how I feel about it after this one is done. I think once I’ve visited Lumbini I’ll know if it’s time for me to go or stick around long enough to do one more trek. I have a feeling I’ll be ready to leave by then. I’m not feeling overly homesick right now, but I am still really looking forward to making it home. I feel much more confident and better about figuring out my next steps and what I want to do with my life. Something pretty awesome will present itself and then I’ll do that. I have many different options and tons of different things I can explore. Yay for that!

It’s 8 pm right now and I really want to go to bed. I think I’ll read for just a little while and then meditate before going to bed. I meditated this morning for 40 minutes which was pretty awesome. I’m really glad to be enjoying it again and to be able to sit for a full 40 minutes. For too long after the course I couldn’t bring myself to sit for more than 20 minutes.

Gratitude List:
Another beautiful day trekking
A good, long night’s sleep ahead of me
One phase of my life ending and a whole new one on the horizon