Nepal travel tips

Sounds like more babies are coming home to their forever families very soon as Nepal has issued more travel approvals!  I thought for what my experience is worth, it might be helpful to those familes preparing for travel. Here are some travel tips.  I know I wished that I had a "what to bring/expect" list to refer to.  Of course some items will differ depending on the age of your child, but overall the key is to pack light!!!  For everything you take, ask yourself "is there a lighter, more compact or flat version of this?"

For mom and dad:

Clothes:  Fight the temptation to buy yourself a new wardrobe.  Take old (as you might want to leave them in Nepal by the end of the trip either to donate to locals or pitch since they will never smell the same again) lightweight, fast dry clothes and wash a little every day if you don't want to pay for cleaning at the hotel. It is not necessary to bring any dressy clothes or jewelry.  You will stand out enough.  We brought about a weeks worth of mix and match clothes.  You won't see Nepali women exposing their shoulders or legs.  You can, however, show all you want of your belly in your sari.  It is acceptable for foreigners to wear sleeveless tank style shirts and shorts.  There are many tourists, so they are used to it.  I wore casual capris and a long skirt the most.  I did wear tank shirts (but be prepared for lots of looks), but did not feel comfortable wearing shorts.  That was a personal preference.  It is also "okay" for men to wear shorts, but you will most likely not see very many men wearing them either.  Anytime you do business/appointments with officials is it better to present yourself in long pants.  I took old tennis shoes and flip flops (pack flat and lightweight).  A few days in I decided on just wearing one pair of flip flops since I was not planning taking them home with me!  I packed our bags with the assumption that only one of our three bags would be there when we arrived (knowing how luggage gets lost) so each bag contained some of everyone's belongings.  I divided everything we needed into the three bags, which also helped to equally distribute the weight (diapers/wipes).
-a smaller napsack (washable) for mom instead of a purse to carry toys/snacks to orphanage, packed in luggage

-paperwork
-$2000 cash (this was the right amount for us)
-laptop (electrical adaptors) It's your only connection to home and the rest of the world!

-toiletries
-Things to do in hotel while waiting for appointments.
-journal/Kindle (much lighter than packing books), Ipod, Iflip for videos (easily upload videos for family be sure you have it ready the first time you give your child ice cream-it's fun!)

-face mask, take it for the pollution.  Half of the people there wear them.
-powder packets of Gatorade/Pedialite for when one of you gets sick. (Don't even brush your teeth with the water/ use and drink mineral water only and squeeze it before you unscrew the cap to be sure it hasn't been tampered with (ie. used and refilled to sell.)
Imodium/tums or the like for obvious reasons- someone is likely to get travelers revenge/food (will probably be spicier than you are used to.)
-antibiotic-just in case
-antibacterial hand gel (nose picking is not a social faux pas in Nepal)

For baby/child:
-clothes/shoes/blanket
-lovey/ sleep transitional object for child to hold onto
-backpack
-snacks/snacktrap cup for self-feeders (freeze dried fruit/cereal/cereal bars/puffs all are lighweight),
-sippy cup with handles
-baby carrier (KTM streets are difficult to navigate and not recommended for strollers)
-travel crib (the hotel will provide but if child is mobile, he will be able to climb out as their cribs are low to ground.  (We took the Baby B'Jorn travel crib and was sooooo thankful to have had it as it only weighs 11 pounds and is very compact and easy to set up/tear down.  It was deep so he could not climb out)

-If your child is still in diapers, bring plenty of Pampers and wipes!!!!!!!!!!! They sell diapers, but not good quality and most def. your child will have some form of intestinal parasite/worm=diarrhea.
We took scabies cream but did not need it.
We also did not need lice shampoo, but others did.
Our pediatrician to put together a medical kit for us.  In it they included: antibiotic, Tylenol/Motrin, Dimatapp/Benadryl (they all have a rattle/congestion in their chest), medicine dispenser, bandaids, Neosporin, Aquaphor, Dove soap, Hydrocortizone cream, individual powder packets of formula We took the playtex bottles with drop in liners so we didn't have to clean them. We just filled two bottles at breakfast each morning, one for night and one for morning with his dry cereal in the morning while we got ready for the day)
-age appropriate toys for bonding in orphanage, hotel and airplane (I wrote more specifics in the post titled "More on our time in Nepal")

Anything with buttons/lights/sounds (phones)

Balloons are always a winner, and take no space in luggage.

I just love this one where he is studying and learning his daddy.

A few mores tips:
Shop in Thamel

Visit as many "tourist" spots as possible and take pictures of your child in his/her birth country

Look left when crossing the street!
No public displays of affection, unless your the same gender
Watch your step, it's probably not water

It is definitely expected that you will negotiate prices with the local shopkeepers

The tree now hangs over our bed.

Proceed with extra gifts/donations cautiously
Defintely use Skype to communicate with home, it's free and easy to use (Although internet is often undependable!)
Never do business exchanges with your left hand!
Trust
For a taste of home, Eat at Fire and Ice (pizza) and The Lazy Gringo (Mexican) has the best public bathroom in Nepal with a baby changer!!!!

He ate the whole bowl of beans and rice.

Get out of the hotel and experience the culture

Newari Dinner

Wait patiently

Enjoy this time with your child away from the demands of home and work

Affectionate from the start!

Get ready for your life to change!  Adoption is such a blessing!

Namaste Nepal

And don't forget those you left behind.