Heather O'Neal

I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I live today.

 

In 1986, while a student at the University of Wisconsin, I spent my junior year abroad in Kathmandu, Nepal. I fell in love with the Nepalese people, the city of Kathmandu, the Himalayas, and all aspects of my new home there. I did not want to return to the USA, but I did in order to finish college. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1989 with degrees in English and South Asian Studies.

​

​While living in Kathmandu that year, I kept a detailed journal, now self-published as

 Writes of Passage Through Nepal.

 

In hopes of returning to Nepal, I applied to the Peace Corps. In 1990, just after the fall of the Iron Curtain, I was sent to Hungary. I spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English and learning Hungarian in the northern town of Salgótarján. After my service in 1992, I enrolled in the Returned Peace Corps Fellows Program, a scholarship where I taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at a middle school on the border of Mexico while also completing a master's degree (1997) in interdisciplinary studies at the University of Texas at El Paso.

​

In hopes of teaching at the American School in Kathmandu, I attended an international job fair in California (1996). When I got there, I learned the representative from Nepal had canceled his visit due to illness! Instead, I interviewed with six other international schools. Each one offered me a job on the spot! I said 'yes' to Spain.

​

In the summer of 1997, I moved to Madrid with my Hungarian kitty. I taught ESL and the yearbook class at the American School of Madrid for one year. I loved Spain, the city of Madrid, my school, and all my students; however, my heart was still in Nepal. In 1998, I quit my teaching job and flew to Kathmandu with a good friend, Michelle. Her father worked for United Airlines.  We managed to get $650 around-the-world tickets to Nepal—first class!

​

I worried that my family would disown me if I quit my job, but they didn't. My mother said it was about time I returned to Nepal since I had been talking about it non-stop for the last 12 years.

​

The capital city of Kathmandu had changed so much since I had lived there! The town was nearly unrecognizable. Walking through the streets, I easily became lost. My beautiful, sweet, and quiet Kathmandu had become a busy, noisy, awfully polluted place. There was way too much traffic. The tourist area had tripled in size. The rich culture and ancient traditions I had experienced and so vividly remembered from the 80s seemed forgotten or less important. There were far fewer sacred cows in the streets. Now there were so many cars, buses, motorcycles, and bright, shiny distractions. All the new, modern amenities like computers and cell phones were taking over. Even western clothing was replacing the traditional dress.

 

In order to keep up and keep current with my Nepal from the 1980s, I started a business in 2000:  Of Global Interest LLC Adventure Travel.  I was determined to return to Nepal every year, twice a year, to witness any and all changes firsthand. I brought trekkers with me and was able to share my experience, knowledge, and passion for this little country on the other side of the world. The enchanting Himalayan kingdom of Nepal had me in its spell.

​​

While guiding trips, I’d spend an extra week shopping like crazy in Kathmandu (so fun!).  I’d bring home anything and everything I found. For several years, I sold Himalayan imports in my garage. I had three big sales at Christmas time. My shop was called the 'Himalayan Bazaar in My Garage.'

​

From 2000 to 2011, I regularly traveled to the Himalayas twice a year. Most trips included trekking to Everest Base Camp at 17,600 ft.  Depending on my customers' wishes, we also did many other Himalayan treks. Some trips included excursions to Tibet, the Taj Mahal in India, Chitwan National Park in southern Nepal, or the beautiful beaches of Thailand.  When planning itineraries, I added extra weeks to travel alone.  Fearlessly, I explored India, Thailand, Indonesia, Africa and Europe.  En route to Nepal I could learn about new countries, new places, new foods, cultures and traditions.  I always met amazing people along the way.  I kept detailed journals on all my trips.

​

One year, my company was hired for a Mt. Everest expedition!  While at Everest Base Camp in 2002, we listened over the radio as our climber, Sean Swarner, said, "I'm on top of the world!" Sean became the first cancer survivor AND the first two-time cancer survivor to climb Mt. Everest.

 

In Ann Arbor, as part of my travel business, I operated a one-room bed and breakfast in my home. I called it 'The Trekkers Lodge.' I started hosting guests 8 years before Airbnb was even a thing! I met so many interesting travelers from all over the world right in my living room! In the winter during those many years, I continued to sell imports from Nepal out of 'The Himalayan Bazaar in My Garage.'

​

In 2011, my Nepalese business partner,  Pem Dorjee Sherpa moved to Ann Arbor.  Pem is a two-time Everest climber.  He and his wife hold the record for the world's highest wedding.  In 2005, Pem and his wife, Moni, were married at 29,028 feet on the summit of Mt. Everest!

 

Pem and I joined forces in Michigan and moved The Himalayan Bazaar from my garage to Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor.  Although still supportive, I left the store 8 years later in 2019 to pursue other creative interests, including my art and writing. I am determined to finish typing up 30-some years of handwritten travel journals.

 

Pem has since opened two Nepalese restaurants in Ann Arbor:  Everest Sherpa Restaurant and Base Camp.  Check them out for authentic Himalayan cuisine! Pem and I continue to work together to promote Nepal, travel, and adventure.

 

As a former school teacher, my trips allowed me to teach outside of the four walls of my classroom. My goal was, and still is, to educate about the world, to help Americans become familiar with, and fascinated by, a distant country, its people, their rich culture, and ancient traditions. My lofty goal was world peace through travel, experience and understanding.

​

During the heyday of my regular adventures abroad, I maintained a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification. Over the years, I attended several week-long intensive courses that included simulated wilderness emergencies, fake blood, and performance rescue tests in the snowy backcountry! Inspired, I took an Emergency Medical Technician course and became a certified EMT for a year in 2010. While leading tours at extreme altitudes in the Himalayas for over two decades, I developed a keen interest in wilderness medicine.

​

In more recent times, 2019, I added Peru as a destination. My itineraries come to life with help from well-established tour operators (and friends) in both Nepal and Peru who direct logistics and ground support so we can make the most of our travel time and travel dollars!

 

In 2012, my B&B became The Himalayan Lodge, a short term vacation rental near downtown Ann Arbor. I continue to share my home with guests and occasionally host events, including movie nights, happy hours, dinner parties and singing bowl concerts.

 

I love sharing the positive, healing vibrations of the singing bowls. The sound the bowls make is like calming percussive music.  It’s relaxing, immune-boosting, good for sleep, and may be a shortcut to meditation. Certified as a singing bowl sound therapist in Kathmandu in 2018, I enjoy performing sound bath sessions on myself and interested others. A short concert is like a trip to the spa or a mini vacation.

 

As part of my effort to bring you around the world and bring the world around to you, in 2012, I purchased a Nepalese Bicycle Rickshaw.  This incredible work of art was shipped from the streets of Kathmandu to the streets of Ann Arbor! It is the only one of its kind in North or South America (as far as I know). It works as long as the tires hold air. I love taking it out and sharing it with others! It is a very simple machine, heavy, too. This rickshaw has so much character! You might see it downtown in front of the Himalayan Bazaar during Main Street events, or if you're lucky, look for the Yeti! riding it on occasion!

​

Since 2000, I have been the Chime Master (or Bell Lady) at Kerrytown Market and Shops in downtown Ann Arbor.  I manage the Kerrytown Chime, a world-class, 7-ton instrument.  This bell tower is open for the public to play!  Our weekly concerts are Wednesdays and Fridays at noon and Saturdays at 10:30 am. There are 17 bells in the tower. The clappers in each bell are connected by cables to levers on a numbered keyboard. The largest bell is 700 pounds, and the smallest is 35 pounds.  Bell players can choose from over 200 songs written by number. The Kerrytown Chime can be heard 3 or 4 blocks away! It's easy, free, and fun for all ages! Come play a song! More info here and a video here.

 

In 2017, I assumed the role as 'Kerrytown Ambassador' at Kerrytown Market and Shops.  I help with the occasional tour group, greeting and showing people around. I offer historic tours of the buildings and Kerrytown's many interesting features. One highlight is the Kerrytown Chime, which I am happy to open anytime for visitors. I have organized several holiday events, crafts and parades for kids at Kerrytown.

​

Most proudly, I am a mom! I live in Ann Arbor with my amazing husband and our incredible teenage son who is fun, sporty and smart! Our dog, Khumbu, was born in Lukla in Nepal at 9,500 feet. As a puppy in 2009, he came home with me to Michigan, five flights! We later acquired another dog with a Spanish name, Paquito, who was rescued from an overcrowded animal shelter in Chicago by way of Sasha Farm in Manchester, Michigan. Our third dog, Riley, 72 pounds, is an English Fox Hound (mix), who came to us from my husband's parents, who were downsizing. Our house is full.

​

Today I continue to travel whenever possible! Although it is hard to leave my family! Traveling with my son is my all-time greatest joy!!! I am lucky to have seen and experienced so much of the world. I want to share my love of travel with my boy and with you! It was a dream come true to take my son to Nepal at age 12 in March 2023 and on his second trip at age 13 in June 2024.

​

​

​