Abu Dhabi

Well, I'm stuck in Abu Dhabi airport for 9 hours on my way to Kathmandu with A (yay!). It's a long enough layover that we thought about leaving the airport and doing some sight-seeing, except our flight got in at about 1am and the next one leaves at 10am, so it's not really prime sight-seeing time! Although, anything has to be better than staying in the airport... we have another similar layover on the way back, but a little earlier, starting around 8pm, so should be able to find something fun to do :)

So, the good news is that I came back from the States lighter than I went, which I'd hoped for but not expected. It's not a massive loss - 2 1/2 lbs - but it's better than nothing, and definitely better than a gain! The bad news is that this left me at 120.8; still not cracked the 120s! Arghh!!

I'm going to do my best while we're in Nepal, but it's both impractical and culturally unacceptable to be very anal about what you eat out there, particularly when you're not cooking for yourself. Plus (question my resolve if you will), I do think it's kind of a shame to go somewhere so beautiful and exotic and totally miss out on the mountains/markets/people/temples/architecture because you're staring miserably at your plate or panicking about that dumpling someone offered you. Sometimes it's ok to live a little...

I'm super excited to be travelling with A to the country of my birth! It's been a while since I've been back - my language skills are more than a little rusty, and the political landscape has been totally upheaved (if that wasn't a word before, it is now), so I'm excited to see what the place is like now. And I really want him to have a wonderful time, and to make hundreds of memories filled with beautiful people and experiences. (Another reason *not* to throw a fit about how much rice has been piled on my plate...)

I'll try and post some while I'm out there, but even if I don't get a chance to write much, I will certainly be reading yours :)