My alarm sounded at exactly five in the morning. I stood up and prepared for our sunrise tour at the lookout tower. I was scheduled to meet Karan and his group at half past five in the morning in front of Hotel Galaxy, just a few minutes walk from where I was staying.

At ten minutes after five in the morning, I went down from my room at the third floor but to my surprise, the gate was locked. I made some noise by banging the metal gate but it was only after ten minutes that the owner came and unlocked the gate.

It was a cold and foggy morning at 10°C. I was already late so I walked and jogged as fast as I could on an uphill road despite the thin air. I was catching my breath when I reached Hotel Galaxy past our scheduled meetup time. Karan was still waiting for me but the van already left. I explained to him what happened and he told me not to worry. He called his brother Laxman who owns a motorbike and brought me to the lookout tower.

At six in the morning, before the sun rise behind the Himalayas, I was already positioned at the tower base with few other people, mostly Caucasians, waiting for the sunrise.

From where I was standing, I saw the shadows of Himalayan Mountain Range from Dhaulagiri and Annapurna in the west to Everest and Kachenjunga in the far east. I was amazed and flabbergasted by the scenery – the highest mountain range in the world! I couldn’t help but dream of being on one of its peaks. Being in Nagarkot was the closest that I could get for now, but it was enough to draw a big smile on my face.

Suddenly, the sun rose up in the east and cast an orange hues to the snow-capped summit but the show was just short because fog and clouds covered the mountain range. I was expecting to see the the snow-capped mountain range in all its glory but as Laxman explained, it was not the best time. The perfect time to see Himalayas from Nepal is during winter, from September to December. Expect a blue cloudless sky and the full glory of the mountain range during these months, like the view that we usually see in postcards.

The sun was already up and the mountain range was almost entirely covered by fog and clouds so we decided to return to the town. The cold mountain wind was blowing against my face but my eyes were glued to the barely noticeable shadows of Himalayas as our motorbike speed downhill. I always dreamed of seeing the snow-capped mountain peak of Mt. Everest so I found my very reason to come back.

I had a warm coffee at the restaurant owned by Laxman while looking at the postcard panorama of the Himalayas and listening to his stories. I couldn’t wait for the winter, I hope I will be able to go back and see the way it was photographed in the postcard I was holding.

I bid Laxman and Karan goodbye with a promise to return soon.

“You will surely be back. You are an angel and you need to see the mountain in all its glory”, the parting words of Karan.