Bhutan

It doesn't really count, but it looks cool to have "Bhutan!" in my blog...

Actually, I wanted to go in for the day, but they stopped the free day pass thingie from Jaigon (India) to Phuntsoling (Bhutan).
I had to use 25% of my Ninja skillz to talk them into letting Sarah and I in for just two hours. Even though I didn't get a nice beautiful stamp in my passport, I was still happy.

We wandered around, took a few pictures (that had an address in Bhutan visible, yeah, to show off), had a chai, a conversation with a local and got some currancy. We were only there for about an hour when I thought it would be a good idea to check a local market. We walked through a little gate with some guards minding there own business (we didn't really notice them) and checked the place out. After a few minutes, we continued in the same direction and we both started noticing the signs on the stores. They had Indian addresses! We came to the conclusion that we must have somehow left Bhutan, with out even knowing it!! Never seen a boarder like that in my life!

Anyway, we went back to the REAL boarder crossing and told the immigration dude that we wanted to go back through, since we did have half an hour left (he said we could stay for 2 hours). He had our passports in his hands and gave us a stressed out "NO"! Guess he wasn't to happy about us passing his guards unnoticed. Does that mean that we were kicked out of Bhutan? Patting myself on the back...

It's been a while (boring)

Where do I start? We've (Sarah and I) covered a lot of ground since then. I'll quickly run off a bunch of names (of places we've been since), but no details or I'd be here all day (OK, maybe a few).

We headed south from Hampi to Bangalore, did a pub crawl there with a few friends and ended up head banging at a metal bar (long funny story). Hey, it just ended up that way! Then Sarah convinced a rickshaw driver to let her take his rickshaw for a spin at 1AM, pissed!. We headed further south to Mysore (ass) after that. That's where we both had stool tests done, so romantic...

After that we headed to Ooty, a hill station, nice and cool, then to Kerela to do a back water (over night) cruise. I've got to mention that one a bit, only because it was one of the worst nights sleep I've had on this 15 month trip.

The daytime was great, nice and relaxing and beautiful. By the time he were ready to sleep though we realized that the tiny fan in our tiny room wasn't going to help much (it was VERY humid and pretty hot). Besides that, they would have to keep the boat running in order to power the fan (wasn't gonna happen). We decided (we thought we were the smartest people on earth, by the way) to put some mats on the upstairs deck, under the roof and hang Sarah's mosquito net. That way we'd catch a nice breeze all night and we wouldn't have to worry about mossies since we had a net. Brilliant!

Little did we know the mossies called their friends (some tiny little green bugs) and they came in force! When we decided to go to sleep, our sheets weren't there anymore. Instead there was just a layer of green! Honestly! There were 10's of thousands of those little Bastard-o's on our mats, the bugs were small enough to get through the net! Good thing Sarah was there, because she killed all of them by rolling a bottle back and forth over them. Murderer! Well, we didn't sleep at all that night, since we had to keep covered all night (which made it to hot to sleep) to avoid the bugs! See, you all think it's fun and games out here, but it's tough! ;-)

We decided we needed some R and R after that, so went back up to Palolem (spl?), Goa. That was nice and well... relaxing. We were on a mission after that though and took a looong train back into Rajasthan (again). We tore that state up, went to six different towns and then checked out the Taj (again). After a quick stop in Delhi, just long enough for a nice long bout of Delhi belly, we jumped over to Veranasi (again). That was great and we met up with an old friend (Jacques, who I'll be travelling through Pakistan, Iran and Turkey with later on) from the pushkar camel fair and another from our house in Goa. We even got to celebrate Shivatri there, a Bhang induced festival. Varanasi was already getting hot, so we sought refuge from the heat in the form of Darjeeling.

It was nice there, cool but cloudy. There supposed to have some of the best tea in the world there, but we couldn't find any. We arranged our permits for Sikkim from there and headed up there to do some trekking. It turned out the trekking route that we heard about was all on roads (no fun), so we scrapped that idea and took jeeps from town to town. We checked out Gangtok (the capital) and stayed there for three days do to the killer pizza and coffee. Sikkim was nice, although the clouds and the Indian government (won't let you go anywhere without an expensive permit) took away from it a bit. I'll have to go back some other time and do a real trek.

That's pretty much where I'm at now. Sarah took a train down to Mumbai two days ago and should be there today. She flies home on Monday. :-( I'm in Kolkata right now doing a boarder run to Bangladesh for a new visa, since my visa is about to run out on me. I've got a bad case of the backpacker blues though and I've been entertaining all ( 7 ) of my dorm mates, by singing them (I sound like Stevie Ray...).

I can't believe I've been in India for 6 months already! Koltata is actually much nicer than I expected and I''ve been walking a good 10 kilometers a day to check it out. The problem is that my already hammer shaped index toe (that's definitely not the right name for it) is now permanently touching my middle toe (must have broke it again recently?) and now I've got a nice fat blister in there. Nice and comfy!

Well, my sister Sara will be out here to join me in 11 days (I'm counting the days, can you tell I'm excited?). Hurry up Sara!

Lost and found

It's been a while, but it's been good! 2004 was the best year ever and my New Years resolution is to have a better year this year than last! I must say 2005 is gonna be tough to beat!

After a year on the road, I've lost some things and found some. I didn't come out here (my trip) looking for love or any answers to life, but it turns out that I've found a bit of both. The things I've lost were great, but I wouldn't trade one of the things I've found for all of the lost!

Here they are...


Things I've lost -

MY pickup truck, my job, my home, a few thousand dollars, a stable, safe, easy, predictable life, about seven inches of hair (thanks to a Tibetan lady I stayed with in Dharamsala), the fear of REALLY living, a few pounds (didn't know I had any weight to loose), health, a few more brain cells, a semi-normal life and um, well, can't think of anything else off the top of my head!

Things I've found -

Total freedom, complete happiness, adventure, confidence, self reliance, faith in humanity, the beauty of the world, liberation, and my soul mate (a soul you were ment to find, no matter what. Man or Woman.)!

The last one is the best and least expected! I met her (Sarah) in Pushkar for the camel fair, but we didn't realize we were soul mates till the "Pushkar family" had a re-union in Goa for New Years! We've been travelling India together for a while now and now I'm really wondering if life can get any better? I plan on finding out, that's gonna be fun! No matter what happens between us, it was ment to be.

Anyway, this New Year was lots of fun! We were partying in Goa (vagator) till way after the sun came up! Vagator sucked, but our "family" made it great! After that we headed to a nice and quiet beach, but still lots of fun, in Arambal (also Goa). We stayed there for about a week and decided that if we didn't start moving soon, we might never, so we headed inland to Hampi.

Hampi is an ancient (ruined) city, with temples and caves scattered everywhere! The landscape looks just like the Flintstones, but with banana plantations and rivers for contrast. Huge boulders stacked impossibly on top of each other, as far as the eye can see! Everyone wonders how the rocks ended up like that and the Hindu's have the answer. They say Hanuman (the monkey god), as a show of strength, went off and started dropping gigantic rocks from the sky (he can fly) till he felt better about himself and that's how Bedrock came to be. Bet you didn't know that! ;-) Every now and then you'll seen rice patty's or banana plantations with a big old temple shooting straight up, kinda like the jungle book teaming up with the Flintstones! Killer! Hampi was great! We killed about a week there as well and got the same quicksand feeling, so we knew we had to start moving again, or else!

We've been taking local buses everywhere to save $ and we're finally in a proper city, Bangalore. We're trying to meet the last remains of the " Pushkar family" here for an out of control pub crawl. Bangalore is an expensive city, but they actually have a bit of a pub culture here, unlike anywhere else in India. It's gonna be fun, hope I can remember it, if so I'll let you all know how it went.

Enjoy 2005! Make it a ridiculously good year! I honestly can't say when I'll be home, but I'll be enjoying myself...

Going to Goa

I'm in Varanasi right now, chillin with the Baba's and watching the body parts float down the Ganges. I met a couple of cool Ausi dudes and have been traveling with them for a while now. We're gonna split in a few days, they're heading to Chenai and I'm heading to the beach in Goa, my Pushkar friends have an apartment there and there is a spot on the roof with my name on it! That's gonna be nice!

I've been covering more ground than normal lately. I did a camel safari (yeah, yeah, I'm a tourist) in Jaisalmer and that was sweet! The town of Jaisalmer its self is killer! It's an old fort with walls still surrounding it and 2,000 people still inhabiting it. The travelers get to stay inside and it's a unique feeling sleeping in such a mid-evil place!
My guide on the camel safari was a little fruity though. On the second day he was bragging and bragging and asked me if I was jealous of him. I said hell no, not at all, and I guess he was offended. He ended up telling me that he can get anyone into bed with him (man or woman), all he needs to do is speak and there is "something about my voice that no one can resist!" I assured him that my three Aussi friends wouldn't let me jump into bed with him and tried for a few more minutes to sample his bullshit. Soon after that he told me (out of the blue) that if he and I were to fight each other (?), "I may think I would win, because I'm bigger, but in reality, all he would need to do is flick me with his finger and I would fall (unconscious) into the fire!" Of course I begged for a sample of that B.S. as well, but he said there is a risk of me dieing! Okay!!!! I think I've said enough! =)
Anyway, I hit up Jodhpur (the blue city) after that and the view of the old, blue city from the top of yet another fort was sweet! Every home and building (almost all) in the old section of the city is painted blue, pretty cool and different. The fort in Jodhpur was also the coolest that I've seen yet! From Jodhpur I headed back to Pushkar to leave my cold weather stuff at the killer GH (Nanu's) I was staying at for the camel fair. It was cool to be there again, but not the same without all my friends.

I stayed only one night and took a bus to Jaipur in the morning, most people go there to buy wholesale junk to sell back home. I wandered around though, ate some meat (pretty hard to come by here), sat down and drank chai and talked to some random people. One of which was a taxi driver who approached me by saying " hello, I look like John Travolta!" Woohoo! It's impossible to get bored in India. Jaipur wasn't for me, so I headed to a couple of National Parks trying to spot some tigers, but no such luck. After the National parks it was Taj time and it was b-e-a-utiful, but expensive! Agra was great, I had too much fun on the roof tops drinking beer (also pretty rare in some city's) and bang Lassie's with my Aussie friends.

We kicked back in Orcha after Agra, a killer little village (shanti-shanti) with an old palace and ruins scattered around. There happened to be a festival there (Orcha) at that time, I think Rama got married to Sita there and every year they re-enact the whole thing. People from all the villages around come to watch and participate (just walk in the narrow streets following the 3 gods leading the whole thing) in the festival and then they all just sleep on the ground outside Rama's temple while some old dude is yelling and preaching all night till 6 in the morning! Really cool and perfect timing fore us.
Then we jumped to Khajuraho, the erotic temples... and some were erotic! Cool place, but very touristy. Finally we took a shitty bus ride here, Varanasi. For some reason Varanasi reminds me of Kathmandu a bit??

Oh, and just so you all know, a "holy cow" just wandered into this internet cafe...what? I must admit that I've been in denial since I've been in India. I see sidewalks in most towns, and for some stupid reason I think they're meant to walk on? I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that sidewalks are for everything but walking on! Stupid me! Oh, and another thing, I've been really nervous (the last two days) lately, I think I've eaten 7 or 8 meals in a row without a hair or bug in it, somethings gotta give! Anyway, India is the most schizophrenic country that I've been to. You're ready to flip out on some touts one minute, but then you swear this is the coolest country on earth the next! Pigs, cows, dogs, monkeys, rats and chickens all over the streets, along with enough trash to feed them all and then some! This place is crazy, perfect for me and all that (plus a lot, lot more) is just normal life here...

Anyway, I finally got train tickets to Goa from here, that was a mission! I'm leaving here on the 24th, arrive in Mubai on the 25th, depart for Goa at 11 at night (on the 25th) and arrive in Goa on the 26th, in time for the full moon party and the New Year! So, I know I'll be enjoying myself for the next couple of weeks, I hope you all do the same! I can't believe I've been gone for almost one year already! Life's to short, if there is something you want to do, go out and do it! WE are usually the only one's stopping us from doing what we truly want! Well, I'm outta here, more bang Lassie's to drink! ;-)

The Pushkar camel fair

I'm at the Pushkar camel festival right now. Today is the last day, but there is another festival that begins today as well. Something about Brahman (the creator) coming to the lake in the center of town and calling all 900,000 Hindu gods, deity's and manifestations for a fat Hindu party?
Pushkar is great! It's touristy, but it doesn't matter. It's literally an oasis and is just like being in the movie Aladdin! The camel festival was amazing too. The biggest livestock market in the world! 10's of thousands of camels, horses and cattle. Wild nomads with the huge mustaches and turbins, decorated camels and horses all over the place and best of all, beautiful Gypsies! The A-rab blood in me was stoked! =) I was getting to know a BEAUTIFUL Gypsy girl here and part of me wanted to live out in the wild like all these Rajasthanies (I never considered it though), but she's a TRUE gypsie and she lives in a crazy world that only a Gypsy can deal with!
The people are great here though. I've been invited to so many camp sites (at the fair grounds) and the people truly are wild! I was invited to one family's camp and offered some chai (tea), so I said sure. The old mother got up, chased a goat and started milking it right there, then she threw it (the milk and tea) on the fire and I had the freshest cup of chai yet! Pretty funny!
I did a little volunteer work here at "The Joshua Project", mostly playing with the kids (beggars). I also did some volunteer work in Daramsala (with LHA) teaching Tibetan refugees English and just playing with the children as well. The kids are amazing! The stories of what they've already dealt with at such a young age and how they handle it all and continue on is just incredible!

Anyway, I've found a killer G.H. here and I'm sleeping in a tent on the roof for 20 RS per night (45 = 1 dolla). I've met a bunch of really cool people and some good friends. We've been keeping busy the last few days with "The Pushkar Super Special Mascot Photo Competition"!

There are "Super Special" people here, they live on the streets or dress or behave like total fruit loops! Every time I meet someone new (travelers) one of the "Super Special People" finds their way into the conversation, so we (me and my friends talking around our campfire) came up with a "mission" that we must accomplish! Whoever gets pictures of all six chosen super special Pushkar mascots first, with out paying baksheesh (a donation that everyone in India asks for,spl?), wins! We don't know what the prize is yet, but we think it's a cigarette or something really expensive like that. Just so you know who the "SSPM's" are (I know you're all very interested) I'll give you there titles -

The six legged cow - Has two extra legs growing off of it's back!

Umbrella head - Sits on a skateboard looking thingie and has huge sun glasses, and a huge clock around his neck and a beautiful umbrella tied to his head!

T-shirt man - My favorite, always walks around with the bottom of his shirt in his hands, revealing his stomach! When he smokes a beedee (tobacco rolls) he holds both sides (right bottom and left bottom, front of shirt) with one hand and smokes with the other. The best!
Thong man - About two and a half feet tall, naked except for a thong made from cloth and holding a HUGE umbrella! Dead sexy!
Happy man - Haven't seen him yet, but supposedly he walks around with a big smile and is clapping all the time!

Star wars man - It's a long story!
Anyway, I've got a competition to win and some overdosing on chai...

Got worms...

...I do!

Nice, huh? I had a bad stomach in Delhi (Delhi belly) and had a test done by a doctor there, he told me I have worms! SWEET! I love worms! Anyway, I just have to take a pill twice a day for two days and I'll be de-wormed. I figured I'd share this appetizing news with you all, because I now you're all interested in that type of thing.

Anyway, I'm in Rishikesh right now. It's a center for Hindu pilgrims, but now westerners come here to "seek enlightenment", not why I'm here by the way. I'm on my way to the north (Manali), to chill out in the mountains and maybe do some more trekking in a different part of the Himalaya's.

India's cool so far though and not nearly as hard (to travel in) as I expected. The accommodation is more expensive then Nepal, but the food is ridiculously cheap and good! 50 cents for pretty much all you can eat rice, curry's, chapati's (flat round bread), dahl (lentils) and curd (yogurt)! I've been eating for more that one all of this time (the worms), so I guess I've been doing some damage to the kitchens! OK, I'm outta here, I'm gonna eat with an unfair advantage while I still have worms! I'm gonna miss those things!

Mother India

Well, I'm not in Nepal anymore...
I planned on extending my visa for the last time in Pokhara, since I'd been in KTM for so long and there are many more tourists there than before. I was going to extend it on the last day possible, because why do today what you can put off till tomorrow? Pokhara is that mellow. Anyway, I broke down and did the responsible thing and went to the immigration office sooner than later.

I had tried to extend it (my visa) in KTM, but they told me I needed my India visa first (since I was going there next) and a bus or plane ticket out of the country. If I bought a ticket to show immigration in KTM, then I would have to go back there (6 -14 hours) to catch the bus to India, which is just extra (bus) time and money. Apparently it's much more difficult to extend your last visa (after 120 days), so I grabbed my Indian visa and took a bus to Pokhara.

When I got to the Pokhara immigration office, they (3 people) were just staring at my passport for a while, finally they told me I had been there (Nepal) for 120 days. I said "yup" and they told me I have to have a bus/plane ticket out of the country, so I showed them my ticket that I bought that morning. They all stared at that for awhile, then they told me that I had been in the country for 120 days, and I said "very good, is there a problem"? They finally let me know that your last visa can only be extended in KTM. So, I took a deep breath and asked if someone could help me solve this problem. They said "oh yes, we'll send someone by taxi to KTM and they'll do everything for you." I asked how much that would cost and they said 3,000 RS (about $50), plus the cost of extension ($30)! So, I told them "shit, I really love Nepal, but I guess I'm going to India in two days!" This is what did it for me, they told me (really calm and the guy took an extra step, so I could smell the Dal Baht on his breath) sir, you already have a ticket for Nov 17th, either you HAVE to go to KTM and the office will be closed when you get there (festival), or you send one of OUR employees. I've learned a lot about myself on this trip, one of the things I'm realizing is that when I'm cornered I become very illogical (super un-Spock like) and quite stubborn! I ended up telling them "no, I don't HAVE to do either and if I need to buy a new ticket to India then that's fine with me."

When I walked out of there, I was asking myself what the hell I just did that for? I love Nepal and Pokhara and it's perfect trekking weather, the best two months of the year. Oh well, guess I'm going to India in two days, I told my friend Pete (from England). I had to repair for India as best I could on two days notice, so I did what any hardened, experienced traveler would do, I ate all the things that I might not find in India! One of those things got me sick and I was hoping it wouldn't last till my bus ride the next day!

Woohoo!

I took the bus to the boarder puking out the window, a very enjoyable way to see the country side. The whole row of people behind me were re-examining there breakfast as well. When your head is hanging out the window of a nasty Nepali bus and you have chunks coming out of your nose and mouth, you see the country from a different point of view. Anyway, the last two hours were ok. I got to the boarder and had to find the hotel that had my ticket to Gorakpur, the next town in India. Oh, I didn't have to buy a new ticket, but I had couldn't cancel, I could only change the times and dates(would have saved money if I could have canceled and done it all as I went).

I found the hotel at the boarder and some scumbags told me that the bus was late and it would stop in front of the hotel. I had a bad feeling (which I pay attention to much more on this trip), but I did just empty my stomach and my legs weren't under me yet. I ended up waiting there and then they asked if I wanted to change money, luckily I changed some in Pokhara, so I knew the rate. I asked the rate and commission and agreed to change 10,000 Nepali RS, I had a nice round number in my pocket just for this reason. They tried to short me 1,000 Indian Rupees, so I got up grabbed my money, which they wouldn't let go of. I stopped and looked at the scumbags with the eyes of a man who had just puked all morning and has nothing left to loose and told them "don't make me do this". I was surprised at how pissed I was! I didn't need to say another word, they handed it to me and I put on my backpack and walked out. I found the bus about a minute later and the owner came to me and apologized. He asked if he could change money for me since I wouldn't be able to do it in the next town. 1.6 Nepali = 1 Indian, so I gave him 10,000 Nepali for 5,900 Indian including commission. Just as the bus was ready to leave, the scumbags came on and told me that I owe each of them 50 RS (Indian). I told them that I'm not giving them one RS and if I have to get off of this bus, they'll both need enough money for a hospital, so do the math. They told me to get off, I said OK, I put on my backpack and they ran out. That was that, and lucky too, because I would have been in trouble with my big backpack attached to me!

Anywho, I spent the rest of the night in the train station buying my ticket to Delhi for the next day at 5:00 pm, before I found a hotel (a real shit hole)! I slept maybe two hours that night due to some unwanted company... Rats and Cockroaches! The Cockroaches were all over my bed (they were the BIG one's that fly too), but at least the rats stayed off. They (rats) were busy trying to get into my backpack, so I had to grab my pillow and start swinging, so that I could try to hang my pack up somewhere with out getting bit! That was a loooong night and I slept with the light on! The next day the neighbors were looking at me really weird. They heard me cursing at the cockroaches before I would kill them and then laugh out loud at it and ask it's friends why they are running away! I'm a fruit-loop!

I just arrived in Delhi this morning and it really isn't as bad as I was expecting. It's madness, but there is enough to do here, so I guess I'll stay a couple of days. I just wanted to let everyone know where I'm at. I'll be heading to the north soon... I think.

Everest base camp

Yeah! I made it there and back again alive, with just Teva's, so now I know it can be done, although my feet paid a price!

I took a bus from Jiri instead of flying to Lukla, because it's about $200 round trip to Lukla and back to KTM (Kathmandu), and I'm supposed to be trekking not flying to Sagumatha National Park! Even though it added a LOT of extra walking and it's all straight up and straight down everyday pretty much till you hit Sagurmatha N.P., it was well worth it! On the bus ride there (Jiri), I met "the almighty German" (Dirk) as I liked to call him. He was a conceited guy that was very rude to the locals, but somehow I got along with him. He trekked the whole Annapurna circuit in 7 days and it's a 21 day trek, so he's a good walker...
Anyway, we ate lunch when the bus stopped for 15 minutes and then the same dinner at our GH (guest house) in Jiri. When I woke up, "Dirk almighty" was wrecked! He had been up all night running back and forth to the bathroom and could hardly talk. He decided to stay the day to recover and I gave him some re-hydration mix and some medicine to hold him over in case he needed a doctor. I offered to get him some real medicine from the pharmacy, but he said no thanks and I took off.
I left by 7am and arrived at Deurali Pass by 2:00pm, I made good time, so I was just chillin in the Tea house for a few hours before I got hit by the same thing as Dirk Almighty. That was it for me!
My room was on the second floor and the toilet (out house) was outside in the back of the Tea house - no good could come of that! After running down stairs and sliding in the mud or hitting my head on the doorway of the toilet for a few hours straight, I decided I'd only wear my boxers, that would save me a few seconds and I would take that course of action for the good of the land! And so, Bear, in all his foolishness, entertained the local village of Deurali for the rest of the day, on through the night and all morning long! Running up and down the stairs outside into the rain sliding everywhere, hitting his head on the doorway and smacking into the tiny walls of the well used toilet! They were all nice to me and I'm sure they would have helped if they could, but they were definitely enjoying the whitey falling all over the place, running down the stairs (even though it was cold) in just boxer shorts! As my Uncle Joe used to say, "it's part of the game", but I thought it would be hard enough to trek to EBC with out being that sick.

I was going to stay that day, but the way they looked at me in the morning made me feel slightly uncomfortable, so I hobbled on along the trail and left my marks all along the way. After the first day I only had trouble if I ate or drank anything, so I avoided that, which isn't good while you're trekking, but hey! One close call I had was while I was climbing up an 800 meter section. I was tired and took a break near a waterfall, I filled up my water bottle (with a built in filter) and had no choice, but to drink! 5 minutes later I almost knocked down this nice old Lady that I had been trying to talk to! I didn't see any toilets around and there was no time to ask, so I dove 10 feet off of at terrace and landed in a corn field where I made a very large mess! Poor lady! I climbed out of there with my tail between my legs, strapped on my backpack and got the hell out of there! That old lady was watching me the whole time and what could I say? I was spreading toxic waste all over her beautiful corn field!

Luckily, after three days of this I saw Dirk Almighty. He had been diagnosed with Giardiasis, a type of dysentery and had enough medicine for me! Glad I was nice to him! Trekking is much more enjoyable when you have energy and you can actually drink water and eat food!

Everywhere between Jiri and Lukla is in Maoist control more or less. I was warned in KTM by a few people, that the village of Kinja was particularly loaded with them (Maoists). So, I decided to use 50% of my ninja skills to cross the commie gauntlet. I ran! I ran and I didn't stop till I was way out of town. I used Tommy Boys technique (you'd have to see the movie to understand) I ran screaming "BEES! THERE EVERYWHERE! SAVE YOURSELF! YOUR FIREARMS ARE USELESS AGAINST THEM! Not really, but I did run.

There are only fourteen 8,000 meter peaks in the whole world and Nepal has 10 of them! 4 of those are in Sagurmatha (what Nepalis call Everest) National Park! Sagurmatha is also the highest National Park in the world thanks to Evererst! From the park enterance it's a few hours to Namche Bazaar, where they have everything from bakery's to bars and Internet cafe's (even though it's around 12,000 feet high).
I entered the park on my B-day, so I continued on to Namche to celebrate, which I did with nice cold beer and a surprisingly good pizza. Namche is also a good place to take an acclimatisation day (a day off) to give your body time to adjust to the altitude. You're supposed to "walk high and sleep low", so I walked around the U shaped ridge that is over and around Namche.
While I was walking, I saw some smoke and heard singing, so I wanted to know what was going on. I started climbing towards it and finally saw a bunch of Sherpa dudes partying up there and they waved me up so of course I went. They immediately showered me with snacks and Roksi (there local homemade wine/whiskey). I sat down because I had to much stuff in my hands. One guy told me it was a ceremony and a minute later another guy told me his cousin had "expired". Then I realized it was a cremation ceremony and I crashed it! Wooops! There outlook on death is totally different than ours, it's amazing! Death is simply a part of life that everyone has to go through and is just a means to an end for them and nothing to fear or worry about. To them, there cousin will be back again within 40 days, that's why they do the ceremony, to help him find his way back! It definitely beats the hell out of our funerals!

Anyway, while I was in Namche I heard some people talking about Gokyo lake and the Cho La pass. It sounded cool, so I decided to try it out. Gokyo lake runs pretty much parallel with EBC, but about 20 K the the west, it's linked to the east by Cho La Pass (5,420 meters or 17,777 feet high) which joins the trail to Everest. In Gokyo, I woke up early and climbed Gokyo Ri (peak) in time to watch the sun rise over the Himalaya (that turned into a habit of mine)! That was something special to see! I can't describe the beauty of the sun rising over the largest mountain chain on earth! I could see Everest from there and spin 360 degrees and watch the rising sun warm mountain faces in all directions. I'm gettin all emotional about it.... somebody hold me!!! Later that day I crossed a glacier (which looked like moon landscape) to the only Tea house at the edge of Cho La pass. The glacier was covered with dirt and rocks, so the only ice you could see was when streams under the glacier melt it away and make a big sink whole, which is an instant lake or pond.
I crossed the Pass in the morning with a nice, reeeally old American guy I met (49). Yeah, that was for you dad! He was a real climber and taught me alot about climbing. He had a guide and porter with him, I had neither, so it was cool of him to invite me along with them. It was a good thing too, because I would have had a hard time following the collapsed trail (sink holes) alone. The top of the pass was all ice and it was slightly extreme (me likey), that was the first time I was cursing myself for wearing Teva's! The Sherpa guide and porter were flipping out, because they'd never seen someone stupid enough to wear Teva's across the pass. Don't worry, I'm American, I do lots of stupid things!
Once I crossed the Pass I was all pumped up and wanted to keep walking, so I went on and said good bye to those nice people who helped me out. I walked north for a few hours and stopped about six hours south of base camp. In the tea houses I expected to bump into some ego's and find a few rowdy people (especially that tea house so near to Base Camp), but I didn't. People were really mellow the whole way and the tea houses felt more like a ski lodge than anything else. Everyone's constantly cold out there, even in the tea houses, so that kinda zaps you of energy. Most people just sit there all bundled up holding there hot beverage with both hands and watching the steam rise, with a look in their eyes like "isn't life swell", but not actually saying so. It reminded me of a super long Folgers (coffee) commercial and I could hear the guy with the constipated voice singing his stupid song "The best paaart of waking up...". Anyway, that thought kept me up (that and the altitude) at night in my dorm and I would start cracking up at 1 in the morning. My dorm mates found out that I'm really psycho and didn't say a word about my outbursts.
In the morning I climbed Kala Patthar, the most famous and "best" spot to see Everest. I watched the whole thing again, this time I was right next to Everest, any closer and you can't even see the mountain. That was over 18,000 feet, and I was cursing myself again about the Teva's. It was all amazing though and I felt really lucky to be there. I stayed up there for a few hours and when my feet couldn't take it anymore I ran back down and try to thaw out in the tea house, then I ran up to EBC!

EBC wasn't much to look at. You're to close to Everest to actually see it, but I was still excited about being there. EBC is also on a glacier and the streams of melted water (that you can see) look like water slides! I also saw a crashed Russian helicopter right at Base camp as well. Two years ago they were dropping people off there and they crashed, three people died. I didn't summit Everest, but still, just making it the the base camp of the highest mountain on earth feels good and the only way you can go further is if you pay between 30 and 60 thousand dollars!

So, I stopped off at a few more places, crossed the commie gauntlet (successfully) again and took the bus back here (KTM), where I'm trying to fatten up for my last trek to Annapurna! From Jiri to EBC and back is about 300 kilometers, so I'm taking a nice long break here in KTM. The whole trek, including bus tickets, park entrance fees (1,000RS) food, lodging, and renting a sleeping bag, for 20 days totaled only 162 dollaa ($)! They don't tell you that at the travel agencies!

I didn't have many goals when I set out on this trip (over a year ago now), but getting to Everest Base Camp was definitely number one. I've never really set goals for myself, but I can see now how it feels to accomplish a goal or to live a dream. It's an amazing feeling...
This whole trek was for me and me alone and in a strange way I'm a changed person for having done it.


Nepal's been great to me, it's my favorite country so far. Tibet was great, Nepal was better, can't wait to see what India's got!

Flip-flops, Dengue and riots

Once again I'm writing this months after I actually trekked. I did these two combined treks in late August and early Sept, 2004. While I was trekking, twelve Nepali's were killed in Iraq (working for the U.S.). When I returned to Kathmandu the city was a war zone! Tanks on the street, black smoke covering the sky, Soldiers and police out in force and mobs and mobs of pissed off Nepali's! Unfortunately they were taking out there frustration on ALL Muslims.
After a few days of curfew's it all got back to normal, normal for Nepal anyway.

One more thing for anyone who may read this and is not on my mail list. Dengue is a country that I made up during this trip. It's been so much fun telling people that I'm from Dengue that I had some fake flag patches made up in Kathmandu and sewed onto my backpacks. Dengue will come into play later on in this story, so I thought it necessary to point out. Enjoy...

As for my first real trek, (Helembu /LangTang) it was absolutely amazing! The fun started as soon as I left my GH (guest house). The bus I needed to take was WAY to crowded and the driver wouldn't let me sit on the roof (don't know why). I had to hang outside of the bus with just one foot in the doorway, the other hanging, one hand on the hand rail, the other inside the window, with five other people doing the same thing, all while I had my backpack on! Oh yeah, everyone almost died when "the best bus driver in the world" came within inches of a telephone pole, we all let go at the last moment and got a little muddy, but hey...

I need to mention this so everyone can understand my sheer stupidity, before I left KTM (Kathmandu) I was talking to a guy who owns a trekking store. I don't remember how it came up, but he was a pain and I was wearing flip-flops at the time. He made a sarcastic remark, something like "you're gonna try to trek in those things, you must be a REAL trekker". All though I had no intention of trekking with flip-flops, I thought to myself DAMN (actually it was another four letter word), because I realized then what I had to do! That started a five minute argument (very entertaining by the way), in which he told me "you can't combine Helembu and Langtang treks with flip-flops, you'll have to climb to Gosain Kund (4,300 meters), it is not possible!" I guess the stupid American in me came out (not uncommon), so I told him I'd be back in about two weeks with pictures of me at Gosain Kund wearing flip-flops! It's the little things like this that keep me going!

Anyway, the bus dumped me at Sundarijal (the starting village of the Helembu trek), and just in case I had forgotten, the biblical down pour reminded me that while it's coming to an end, the monsoon season is still here! It was 3:00 pm, not the best time to start day one of my trek, but there were no GH's (Teahouses they're called on the trail) in Sundarijal, so reluctantly I began trekking at 3:30 pm and didn't arrive at a Tea house until 7:30 at night (sunset is 6:30). Oh yeah, my flip-flops broke at about 6:00 pm and no, I didn't bring my cross trainers (half shoe, half boot) with me. So day one was a success!

The next morning at about 5:30 am, I awoke to what was at the time, THE most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen! As far as I could see, it looked like an ocean of clouds below me, with snow capped mountains, like islands high above to the north and smaller peaks warming themselves at random spots to the south and in between! The morning got better when I found replacement straps (for my flip-flops) for 10 rupees each (75 Rupees to the dollar) at a small shack...er, store! Well, the mornings kept getting more and more beautiful the closer I got to Langtang (about 45 kilometers north in a straight line), but soon after (morning) the clouds would come and try to steal all the attention! I personally liked the clouds a whole lot more when they complemented the mountains, but I guess they're a bit insecure?
Gosain Kund in English means Holy Lake. It's the site of a great spiritual gathering, very sacred and important to Hindu's and Buddhist's alike. It falls at the end of August and pilgrims make their way from all over Nepal, I happened to be there at that time. Apparently, 4 pilgrims thought of me as just another pilgrim (why else would some white fruit-loop be way out there...in flip flops?!), and asked if I would make the pilgrimage with them. That was great, the way trekking should be!

Every hour, just when all the juices are flowing and I'm ready to really walk, they would stop for Roxy (spl?), home made whiskey! 2-3 drinks later we would start walking again, they take it really seriously, the drinking that is! We made it up Laurembina Pass (4,500 meters, 1 meter = roughly 3.2 feet), and besides the holes that had begun in my flip-flops, I also realized we were stopping for some more Roxy!
At this time of year, villagers build temporary shelters for the pilgrims all over the place. They pretty much consist of wood with plastic on top and hay on the ground, and a simple fire place in the front to warm up the Roxy, oh yeah, and cook food. That's where I slept, well, tried to sleep! I froze every night, I had no sleeping bag and the blanket they gave me was way to short, so either my head or my feet were numb in minutes! In the morning I awoke to the husband and wife (in charge) making chapati's (like a thick burrito shell looking thingie made with flour) and preparing for the rest of the day. It was cool watch them scramble to beat the crowds of pilgrims and they were so busy that a friend of their's came to help. She was the best! She was def, had only two teeth left (front teeth, sticking way out of her mouth) and had rice stuffed up her nose!?!

The whole experience was excellent though, one of the highlights of my trip so far! I've left out a whole bunch and this is already too long, but it was an eventful adventure to say the least, and at that point it wasn't even close to done!

Gosain Kund marked (roughly) the middle of the the two treks and links them together (most people take a bus to one or the other). Through out the trek I had some real Dengue (a country I made up a few months earlier) tests, but I passed them all. A lot of the walking I did was through known Maoist villages and along with the rest of the world (unfortunately), they really don't like Americans. Unlike everyone else though, they have machine guns and are in the middle of a civil war in which America is supplying arms to the Royal Nepalese Army/RNA, their enemy! Most Americans say they're Canadian, I don't (don't ask me why), I usually say I'm American, but occasionally I say I'm from Dengue just to mess with people (guess I have to much time on my hands). I told a bunch of people in the Maoist region I was from Dengue and most of them asked two or three times until they understood DEN-GUE! My first test came when a villager brought me into his home and pulled out a map! I showed him where it was "supposed" to be, inside of South Africa, between Swaziland and Lesotho (spl?). Of course it wasn't there, but he looked at me apologetically and said it was an old map.

The next, tougher test came as I entered Lang Tang National Park. The soldiers/RNA have a small base there, and I had to register and pay a fee of 1,000rs. When they saw me write Dengue as my home country one soldier gave me serious attitude and said "what Dengue?". I looked at him as if offended and said "what Nepal?" I don't know why, but he wasn't very happy about that, so he motioned for me to stay were I was and then called his Superior. He came and gave me the same attitude and I asked him if they teach geography in Nepal? I don't know why, but he didn't like that either?! They called a third man (he might have been in charge) and I must admit, my heart started beating pretty fast! He also came with a map and I showed him where it was "supposed to be". He wasn't buying it, so I had to explain to him (he spoke English) that in 1869 we broke away from South Africa (how old is South Africa anyway?). We've been an independent Nation ever since, but not until September 20 (my birthday) of this year with the UN officially recognize it as such! About time! I told him to check the the UN web site, knowing there was definitely no Internet up there. And so, I passed my first few REAL Dengue tests!

Anyway, the trail in the National Park was terrible, and most people had to go backwards for a full day and take another rout! No way I was doing that, so I continued on until I saw the problem myself. There was no more trail! Two nights before, a huge landslide came and the path I was supposed to take had been washed away, a good 50 meters strait down! Well, the rock climbing I learned in Thailand helped out a lot. I managed to scale my way far enough to grab a tree and then walk, but mostly crawl on a very steep slope on till the real path continued (about fifteen minutes later). The rest of the trek was uneventful, but beautiful none the less! After the trek ended (in Sephrubesi) and I tried to get back to KTM it got ruff again!

7 German girls and I woke up early our first morning at Sephrubesi to catch the KTM bound bus at 7:00am. Due to landslides on the road, it was a half hour walk to the bus. When we got there we noticed the bus had a flat tire. It took a full hour to fix, the back tires are doubled so they just swapped them. Not long after that the bus stopped because the road was half gone. The landslides had wrecked that part of the road as well! We all got out and started repairing the road, stone bye stone and then patted it down with dirt! Only in Nepal! It worked though and looking forward to good food and a hot shower we were all excited, until an hour later, when the next tire blew! That meant the next tire couldn't be replaced. That was never an issue though, because when we got to the next village (Dunche) we heard about the madness in KTM!

We heard that no vehicles were allowed to enter KTM valley, so we spent the night there and hoped for the best. They said the same thing the next day, so we decided to walk to the next village (about 4 hours away), much to the protest of our hotel owner. We were hoping that there, 8 whitey's could hire a jeep or something. It was a good idea, for two of the four hours there were no roads anyway because of landslides, and one actually started as we were walking, rocks just missed me and two other girls! We caught a bus later that afternoon, even though everyone we talked to said they wouldn't leave that day. The bus took us to Thripili, were we slept the night and then to KTM the next morning at 5 am.

When we arrived KTM was chaos, with black smoke rising everywhere and looting and burning going on! It was because of the 12 Nepali workers that were captured and executed in Iraq! Muslim owned businesses and Mosques were targeted as well as some government and media offices! After a couple of days of this, the riots and curfew are finally over, but the transportation strike that the Maoists put in place is still in affect! The Maoists have also shut down at least one college, because the police arrested some Pro-Maoist students. It was a stange time for Nepali's. They were quite embarrassed by their actions and they definitely went over board, but they have been going through a lot and I think, part of it anyway, may have just been an excuse to let the world know how frustrated they really are.

Madness

3 September, 2004


I just got back from my first real trek! I'm alive and well...tired! Kathmandu is much different then when I left. I only have an hour left (curfew), and I just arrived from my trek, so I gotta go. Write more when I can!

Peace!


This updated wardens' message is being issued to alert American
citizens
that the US Embassy confirms that the Government of Nepal has called a
curfew effective 2:00 pm today. All American citizens should remain
indoors (home, hotel or place of employment) from 2:00 pm onward until
it is
confirmed that the curfew has been lifted.

The text of the message issued earlier today follows again below:

This wardens' message is being issued to alert American citizens of
ongoing
civil unrest in and around Kathmandu and possibly other urban centers
in
Nepal in reaction to the tragic killing of 12 Nepalese nationals by
Ansar
al-Sunnah terrorists in Iraq on August 31. The Embassy strongly urges
all
Americans to maintain a low profile, to avoid all road travel in and
around
Kathmandu Valley, and to remain in their homes, hotels, or places of
work
until the situation stabilizes. The Nepalese authorities may institute
a
Valley-wide curfew as early as this afternoon.

As of 10:30am on September 1, 2004, the Embassy had received reports of
street mobs burning vehicles and looting Nepalese manpower companies.
Protestors have also set fire to the Jame Mosque near the old clock
tower in
downtown Kathmandu. While focused in areas around Ratna Park,
scattered
groups of protestors are demonstrating, burning tires and disrupting
traffic
throughout the city. Many parts of the Ring Road are closed down. The
possibility of violence, particularly against Muslims, is high.

For further information about security conditions in Nepal and guidance
on
recommended security measures to follow, American citizens are strongly
encouraged to refer to the Consular Information Sheet for Nepal, found
on
the Department of State's home page at http://travel.state.gov and the
American Embassy in Nepal's home page at http://www.south-asia.com/USA.
Specific information may also be obtained by calling the Embassy at
(977-1)
411-1179 and asking for the American Citizen Services unit of the
Consular
Section.

Trekking time!

OK, I'm off to do some trekking tomorrow!

It'll be a combo of the Langtang and Helumbru (spl?) treks. I have a map and it looks like they can be combined, I've heard from some guides that there are Tea houses ( to eat and sleep at ) the whole way ( a few hours apart ), so it should be cool and it should only be about 10 to 15 days. There will be a Full Moon / Shaman Festival at Gosain Kund ( holy lake ) while I'm there, so that should be different!

This is a trial run for Everest. I'll get in better shape (although I've been sick for almost a month) and find out what else I need to bring, if anything. Everyone tells me not to tell anyone on the trail that I'm American, because there are a bunch of Maoists on ALL the trails in Nepal, and they'll make me pay double the fee, or price, (Maoists demand "donations") or whatever it's called. So, I'm officially from Dengue for the next few weeks! I'm gonna have a patch of the Dengue flag made up today ( I haven't decided what it should look like yet) and sew it onto my trekking backpack, right next to the Lebanese flag!

I already came up with the Capitol of Dengue, "Bristol" (my old home town) and we declared Independence from South Africa (how old is South Africa?) in 1869 (my street address in Miami), and in case you were wondering, it's located inside of South Africa, between Swaziland and Lesotho (spl?), but those are real countries unlike Dengue! I'm thinking of making the Prime Minister Cherise Litz, (my sister) different last name, but I won't ever forget it. This is fun! I've already tried most of this stuff out and it's actually worked.

Needless to say I won't have internet accsess for the next two weeks, so don't worry about me, if I fall and smash my skull on a blunt rock I'm dead anyway! Does that comfort you? When I get back, it's off to Everest, my main mission for this trip! I can't summit it, because to trek past base camp you have to pay $30,000!!!! So, EBC (Everest Base Camp) is my goal. OK, I'll fill you all in when I return.

More than just KTM!

OK, I'm done volunteering - wooohoo! It was cool, but I'm glad it's over. It was a rewarding experience for me, but I'm definitely not ready to work yet (especially 6 days a week and 8 hours a day.... for free)! Still, I'm glad I did it. The students did some of the funniest things (I noticed while grading their tests).

The students were great though, they gave me and the other teacher a gift at the certificate ceremony, which was much more than they should have. At that ceremony, I met the head of the Nepali tourism board (they think it's Nepals third major religion...yeah, tourism!) who Kata'd me (not sure of the spelling, but a kata is a scarf like thingie that is a great honour to recieve). I also met the head of TIA (Nepal's International Airport) and recieved, as well as, handed out certifates of completion to all of the students, while two T.V. camera's were there (in my face) and a few photographers. Not the kind of experience I expected when I started this trip, but an experience none the less!

Anyway, I'm still in Nepal and back in KTM (Kathmandu) as of last night. I took a trip to Janakpur (southern Nepal, bordering India), it's the most holy Hindu city in Nepal. On my way there (I took a local "chicken bus") some guys (on the bus) invited my to stay in their village. In KTM a tourist really can't trust anyone (unfortunately), so I was reluctant, but I still wanted to go. After long strenuous internal debates (that's a dangerous thing coming from me ), 10 seconds, I ended up going. It was the right decision, and some of the harder traveling I've done.

There are no cars there and we had to hitch a ride on a potato tractor for 7 kilometers just to get there. Individually they are kind people (villagers), but in a crowd like they always were, (gathering around the whitey) they can be intimidating. My friends making the rounds, or showing of "THEIR whitey" didn't help much either. I think about half the village had never seen a whitey in person! Anyway, I stayed a few days, bathed in a lake with the whole damn village, slept on the floor of there porch (it was too hot inside), ate on the floor with my hands, drank well water (not smart, but I had no choice) and had a Tika put on my head by a Sadhu (spl?),

or Hindi holy man.The nights were great, no lights and when I looked out over the village ( I was on the first floor) it looked like I went back in time, with all the mud and stick houses under the moonlight! It was a great experience, but it was HOT, and I started missing fans, showers and at least SOME privacy. Even though it's their custom to treat a guest like a God (literally), and they did their best, it was exhausting meeting everyone and giving "a full introduction", smoking a cigarette or drinking tea, or taking pictures of the whole village,

person by person and trying to explain way I (an American) can't pay for everyone to come live with me in America. As kind as they were, I never had one second to myself, they even tried to tell me "it's time to use the toilet" (though that's just someone's back yard), so I said thanks and peace! I caught a wooden wagon, pulled by cattle to the main road, then caught another chiken bus to Chitwan National Park, were I could be a tourist again!
The bus didn't drop me off in the right spot (of course) and after two check points (everyone has to get off the bus with their bags, because the soldiers are looking for Maoist's) and a drunk soldier boarding the bus saying "bla bla bla....Militia?" to everyone, I arrived at 9:30pm somewhere! I checked out a hotel, but they wanted $20 a night. I said no and tried to figuer out where the hell I was (looking in my guide book). Luckily, the manager came out and told me "curfue is at ten o'clock, in 15 minutes, don't let the soldiers catch you out here then"! He asked what my budget was and I said one dolla!!! He was cool though, he took me to a local guest house (that I NEVER would have found), on the back of his motorcycle and I paid 100RS. or a $1.25. It was shity, but I beat the curfue and found out where the hell I was. The next day I took a bus (20 minutes), then a rickshaw to Sauraha, the village touching Chitwan N.P. (National Park).
When you're on a roll you're on a roll, I stayed in two other local homes there, before I happily became a tourist again. My first day as a tourist (again), two Rhino's got in a fight, and the looser, with a huge gash in his side, ran through the town (Sauraha), right down the street into the river! I ended up taking an elephant ride through the jungle and rivers and saw a mother and baby Rhino! That was sweet! No Tigers though, but I already knew that it's a slim (to none) chance to see one in the wild. I also took a canoe ride and a jungle walk in the N.P. The town / village of Sauraha was so laid back, that I stayed a few more days and just rented a bike and explored the jungle (buffer zone to the N.P.) on my own. It was a cool!

I met some friendly locals who invited me to "Opening Day" at a church (they were all excited). While that's not my idea of a fun vacation, I figured I'd check it out, since I've been to enough Buddhist and Hindu temples, I might as well check out a local church. Well, it wasn't much to look at! The building was about the size of my living room and was made of mud and sticks! Everyone sat on the floor, but they were soooo happy to be there! When they started singing, I couldn't understand a word, but the girls voices were like angels! All the villagers came running to see what the music was all about and soon there were people crowded around the building and looking through the holes in the walls just to see what was up! It was the first real church I've been too, and I've been too a bunch!

I came back to KTM the next day, yesterday, and Jenah (or Jena-hhhhh, as I call her) and Peter (or Pedderass, as I call him) were gone. Pedderass is going to India and then Spain and back to Sweden. Jenahhh is in Pokhara (Nepal), then she's also heading to India. It's been cool travelling with them (I haven't had that kind of fun since high school), and I wish them the best (I only said that, cause they're on my mail list now!)! So, after about seven months of traveling with Pedderass and about two months traveling with Jenahhh, and about a month with the Dutch girls, I'm gonna be alone for the first time in almost 8 months!

I'm getting ready to start trekking. I'm gonna start off easy and then work my way to Everest (I'll do about three different treks). I'll be in Nepal for a few more months, and then I'll head to India, around Nov - Dec. My camera just broke yesterday, so no pic's till I figuer out the problem (it's in the shop now). OK, my fingers are sore from typing! I'll write again later... no, you can't escape!

Kathmandu!

I've found my favorite city in the world so far, Kathmandu! Sure I might have already made up my mind, (I've been looking forward to Nepal for years) but it really is a special place. Maybe after 6 1/2 months of backpacking I just needed a break from my vacation, and Kathmandu is just that.

Tibet was great and the people were the best, but the Chinese government is succeeding in destroying that great culture (no offense Ka). The drive here was absolutely amazing though!


We drove through two passes of more than 16,000 feet (with Mt. Everest on our left) and saw the high barren Himalayan landscape turn to green tropical climate within 45 minutes! Approaching Nepal, we saw a huge wall of Himalayan mountains in front of us, with a tidal wave of clouds trying (hopelessly) to crash over them. I can't describe the beauty and the feeling of being there in that moment, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Even after all the great times I had in Tibet and China, I was so excited, I felt like a kid again as I saw the bridge that led to the Nepal boarder. I almost forgot that it is monsoon season here, so Nepal, without asking for anything in return, kindly greeted us (Peter and Dan an English dude) with a total and complete soaking! I was also reminded that Nepal is in the middle of a civil war, by missing three roadside bombings by just hours. I guess I'm loosing it, or maybe it's that A-rab blood in me, but I only got more excited by that news.

I've been kickin back in Kathmandu until recently, when I jumped at a volunteer opportunity to teach English at K.E.E.P. Nepal (Kathmandu Environmental Education Center), which I'm doing now. I even have a badge saying "Mr. Bear Falugo, Chief instructor", is that not the scariest thing you've ever heard? I've also spent some time at a local orphanage. The kids are great, and a little bit of time and attention goes such a long way, it's amazing how they're able to adapt to such trauma.

Sooo, It looks like I'll be here for a while, but I'll be busy at the same time. I've had half a year of non-stop fun, so since I love Nepal so much I figured I would stop and help out a little. At least I'll be stoked all over again, when the volunteering ends (sounds like another reason to party to me). I'm still going to wait until Oct. to have a go at Everest (I want the best weather conditions when I go), so it can just sit there sweating for a few more months. Thanks for all the emails and good wishes.

Peace,
Bear, Chief instructor.

Back in Lhasa

I'm back in Lhasa again after 4 great days. Peter, Jenah, a few new friends and I wanted to see Lake Namso, supposedly the highest salt lake in the world. The tour included a few more stops, so we jumped at the opportunity to see more of Tibet than just Lhasa.

We started out at Lake Namsto, a 5 hour jeep ride from Lhasa. We passed a 5,200 meter pass on the way there with stunning views. On our way down from the pass (about 10 K from the Lake) we saw a Nomad that someone had taken a picture of (on a previous trip) and asked us to find him, to give him the picture of himself. we couldn't miss him with hair like Einstein, so we all (six of us) jumped out of the jeep to show him the picture. You can probably imagine how freaked out he was to see a bunch of whitey's jump out of a jeep right near him and run towards him like a second wave of Mao's army!

When he saw the picture though, he was in awe! He just stared at it smiling and couldn't say a word, but managed to motion to us to come into his family's tent. He had a great family, three boys, one girl and a cool wife! They gave us Yak Butter Tea and we gave them cigarettes (I always have some on me to give to locals... a great ice breaker and good for their health too!) and I gave the kids some penny's from back home. After that we finished the trip to the lake. The lake was beautiful! We stayed in tents for 20 Yuan and had a huge sheep let us know that it was his tent first and we'd just have to share it with him. He was great though and wouldn't leave us... me alone!



Two days later, we headed to Reting Monastery. It was beautiful, but a rip off (30 Yuan to enter and 30 to sleep in crusty beds!), with most of that money going to the Chinese government. Anyway, that night the monks got crazy! They were snorting some barley powder thing, and blowing it out their mouths as smoke!?! Everyone does that out here, almost as an alternative to smoking cigarettes. They offered us all some and I ended up being the only whitey to blow smoke out, so they all flipped out and gave me some dough (that they make by mixing butter tea with a different type of ground barley) and some Yak yogurt. You're supposed to dip the fresh dough in the yogurt, it's not too bad either! After some hard core arm wrestling competitions, in wich Peter (Peter and I against the monks) and I did pretty well, we we all turned out attention to the rediculously beautiful sky. We were about 13,000 feet high and could see the Milky Way, as well as some shooting stars, magical!


The next day we headed to Drigung Monastery, my favorite spot in Tibet so far! It's a Nunnery, with two rivers cutting through the village and a killer hot spring (the best hot spring I've seen in a while). The houses were set all along the steep hills, with at least one of the rivers sandwiched in between narrow cliffs. I followed the bigger of the two rivers upstream and it led to a gorge no wider than twenty feet, with walls hundreds of feet straight up, and as far forward as I could see! We all just kicked back in the hot springs for the rest of the day and night drinking 50 cent beers. When we woke up the hole village was white with snow! Great contrast to the day before, but made it tricky driving out of there!

On the last day we went to Tenjag. We didn't know, but it's a Sky Burial! If you want to know what it is, do a search on google for - Tenjag Sky Burial, or just - Sky Burial! I won't tell you the details, because it's gruesome and some of you might not like the description! I will tell you that it was probably the most hard core thing I've ever seen (I was ten feet away, and saw and smelled everything)! It was an experience though, and the people didn't seem to mind that we were there (but I'm sure they weren't happy about it). I wouldn't tell anyone to go there though, because it is pretty much some strangers funeral, and WE AREN'T INVITED! I can't believe that travelers are allowed, much less encouraged to go there!

Anyway, I'm about to leave Tibet (in two days), I'm going into Nepal instead of the "Stans", because I'll need to line up all my visa's for the "Stans" before I get to those Country's , which means more time than I have left on my China visa! Nepal is supposed to have killer, cheap, Western food, and I'm not gonna lie, I miss pizza, good coffee, sandwich's, steak... I could go on. After six months of street food and local restaurants, I'm ready to put a hurt'n on some good western food! I'll probably do some white water rafting there as well, check out a National Park and then dip into India till trekking season in Nepal (Oct-Nov), when I'll return to try to get to Everest base camp and do the Annapurna Circuit! Lets see how much my plans change...

The roof of the world

I'm in Lhasa, the capitol of Tibet!

It's 3,700 meters high (almost 12,000 feet), and is in the middle of the Himalaya's (the highest mountain chain in the world - the roof of the world). The people here are amazing! There are pilgrims who have walked hundreds of miles just to come to what they believe is the most holy city in the world! They have a great smile and have genuinely good hearts!

I've been here for just over a week and even though I've been sick since I've been here, it's been a great experience. Here in Lhasa, I've mostly been hanging out and talking to these great people. I've been able to visit the Potala Palace, the old home of the Dali Lama, before he had to flee to Dharamsala, India (Cough, because of the Chinese government). I've also been inside the most sacred temple in Lhasa, the Jokhang temple.
Lhasa is a strange mix though. It seems that China, in it's extreme state of paranoia, is encouraging Chinese people to move here to "dilute" this beautiful culture. Some locals have told me that when the children grow up, after their education, that this culture will be "on it's last leg". A lot of children already care more about video games than there culture and religion. They (cough...the government) like to put a Chinese flag up near villages and in remote area's, as a constant thorn in Tibet's side, they offer cheap housing to the Chinese (outside of Tibet) and offer tax breaks to get as many Chinese up to Tibet as possible. Dilute the culture! Besides that, the way the Chinese came here to begin with and the way they've (Tibetans) been repressed, these people are still positive! Amazing people!

I just returned from a four day bike ride with my friend Peter and Jenah (an American I met in Chengdu). We rented the bikes for 10 Yuan a day, or $1.25, bought a crappy map and started riding east (someone told us they went east and it sounded really cool!). We left way to late in the day (5:30pm - we're on vacation!), ate dinner in a village 25 kilometers out of town and struck out trying to find a place to sleep there. We had no choice, but to ride on to the next village, 46 K away!

Needless to say, it was dark! We were cruising around in the Himalaya's in what would have been pitch black, except for one of the clearest sky's I've ever seen (no moon that night). We stopped for a rest at 11:00 pm and a man happened to be walking by (don't ask where he was coming from!). We asked him in travellers sign language, were we could sleep. He invited us to his house made from mud and Yak shit, and we happily excepted. Once again, he proved that these people are some of the most generous people alive. He had next to nothing, (his son about 2 years old didn't even have pants to wear!) but he offered all he had. It was a great night that I won't forget! He gave us all rice whiskey and refused to accept money for anything. We had to hide it, but hooked him up with more money than we've paid at any other Guest House in Tibet and then continued on.



It was 20 minutes to the next village (where we ate breakfast) and 25 K more to the next village, where we asked for a bed ( in travellers sign-language again) and to our surprise, were shown a killer G.H. (Guest House), for just 10 Yuan a night. It was a crazy "Wild" town, with horses, cows, yaks, dogs, and goats all over the place! The guys were all dressed like Cowboys (but looked like Indians)! They even tied their horses up outside of the saloons (not really but cafe type place where they could get drunk on rics whiskey). We stayed there for two nights and climbed a 4,450 meter peak (Peter bought an altitude counter thingie in Lhasa) just outside of the killer "Wild" village we stayed at.

Yesterday, Jenah took a bus back, Peter and I were going to ride the full 98 K back, but Peter snuk a ride back with some monks after we were separated in a hail storm! I caught up with them (those bastards were eating lunch on the side of the road) about 25 K outside of Lhasa. When they hopped back into there tractor, they threw a rope out of the back and pulled me on my bike, the rest of the way! What a great time! I'm still sick, but I'm loving it up here! We're getting ready to head to Lake Namse, the highest salt lake in the world (they claim).
I'm not sure where I'll head after that...

The T.P. man...

I'm on my way to Tibet soon, but don't want to forget to write this funny story down.

I was in Chengdu and Jan, Pedderass (Peter) and myself were just kickin it at an ex-pat bar, drinking a few beers. It was a nice night (outside - street side) and eventually we were joined by the owner and some of his very drunk friends. One of them really didn't like me because I was American, and he kept telling me he wanted to "test his power against me in the street" all night. That was no problem, really annoying, but I can ignore insults and challenges. By about 2:00 am, the TP man as I'll call him (power tester, backwards) went inside for a drink and I don't know why, but I turned around (maybe because I didn't trust him). When I looked inside I saw him yelling at the waitress and he pushed her away, so she slapped him, then he reached behind himself, grabbed a ceramic statue and broke it over her head! I have a hard time watching stuff like that, so when he walked past me like he was all bad and then sat down laughing about it with his friends (one of them the owner), I couldn't let it slide.

I walked over to his table without saying a word, and grabbed him... I can't remember were but I had a good grip, and I walked him through a few tables and chairs, with bottles and glasses breaking, I think I knocked a few tables down as well? Anyway, I dragged him to the steps of the bar/restaurant and stopped. He stood there and started saying something to me in drunken Chinese, with his finger raised in my face, and just before he hit my chest with his finger, I pushed with just my left hand. He went flying and landed face down on the side walk! It took him a good 5 seconds to get up, at which time the owner came up to me asking why I did that. I pointed to the waitress (that's not their proper name is it?), who had blood running down her face and neck, and then looked at the TP dude and said "he can't stay here"! The owner wasn't happy about it, but he decided to take my side (for a number of reasons probably) and walked down the steps to pacify the TP man. About 2 seconds later they were both on the ground rolling around, then the waitress came out of the bar to get into it and a minute later the police came!

Madness! That officially signaled the end of the night and the time to go back to our GH's! Really looking forward to Tibet.

Chengdu

I'm in Chengdu finally! It's a cool city that I think I'm gonna end up spending a lot of time in eventually (I've already been offered English teaching jobs without looking!). There are over 11 million people here, but it doesn't feel at all like a big city. It took three days on a bus to get here and killed my back, but I made it.

I went on the old Tea Road, it runs from Yunnan to Sichuan (Chinese Province's), the road has been closed to foreigners until only a couple of years ago. They were terrible and it was almost normal to drive over a 4,000 meter pass or nearly fall off the side of the road (no guard rails), because the driver doesn't slow down on hair pin turns. The roads are only 1 1/2 lanes and all the driver does is beep the horn as he comes flying around the corner and hopes that oncoming traffic (if there is any) will do the same, so he can slow down and get back in his lane. Horns don't really do much though, since the music is blasting so loud no one would even hear an explosion! Besides that, the scenery was absolutely beautiful! We went over one pass that was 4,700 meters (well over 13,000 feet) and it felt like we could see forever. We were above the clouds and it made me forget for a while how bad my back hurt. We stayed in Tibetan villages in the night time, which are getting bigger, because many Tibetans are fleeing Tibet for more freedom in this part of China (Ironic, but kind of gross).

I was already supposed to be in Tibet, but I met some really cool girls that ran a bar in a guest house that we stayed in (in Zhongdian/Shangri-la), so I decided to hang out for a while. I helped the owner make menu's (they wanted to know what Western travellers like to eat) and corrected some messed up writing he had on some signs. They were so happy with me that I ate and drank (you guessed it.....rice whiskey and beer) for free!

Zhongdian has also been a Tibetan village for years, but now China is trying to turn it into a tourist trap, I really enjoyed it though. Jan and I were invited into a Tibetan house outside of the village and the family stopped working in the fields to come have yak butter tea with us and also gave me Yak Cheese and their home made bread (round flat and tasteless). They're such good, giving people! They don't have much, but what they do have they don't hesitate to share with a stranger (who they know has much more money then they do). They sing all day, even in the fields and once in a while the girls will start dancing while they sing. It's going to be great in Tibet! I'm planning to go there this Friday and was planning to go to Nepal after that (because it's so close), but as it turns out it isn't trekking season now and half the reason I'm going there is to trek to Everest base camp.

I heard some guy somewhere talking about Mongolia (I think) and it's supposed to be the best time of year (the only time) to go there, so I have a new plan! After Tibet I'll make my way to Beijing to get a Visa for Mongolia, and then take the Trans Mongolian Railway to Mongolia. After that I'll try to head across to Kazakhstan and down through a few other "Stans", the last of which is Pakistan (unless you call India Hindustan), then cross Northern India into Nepal in time for trekking season (Oct-Nov)! I'm not sure that they'll let an American into those countries, so I'll have to do some research on the "Stans". There are a bunch of Muslims around there, so I'm not gonna shave my beard till then! Woohoo!! I'm already in a no beard shaving contest with Peter (my Swedish friend) and we haven't shaved since Chang Mai, Thailand! Damn, I look like a crazy hippie with a big green Commie jacket! Oh yeah, I bought a huge green Commie jacket that goes past my knees, it has golden (fake) stars (Commie) buttons with fake fur around the collar. People don't know what the hell is happening to their town when they see me walking down their street with that on! Yeah! Feeling like the world's my personal playground!

There is so much to say, and I don't have the mental/academic capacity to relay it to everyone. Heehee! ;-) I guess the bottom line is that I'm still enjoying life to the fullest everyday and I hope everyone who reads this will take time out someday to do the same (whatever that may be to everyone)! I know travelling isn't everyone's "cup of tea" (I had to say it, I AM in China), but I hope everyone does what they really want to at some point and for however long it lasts, whatever does do it for yuh! We ALL deserve it.

Tiger leaping gorge

I just got back from Tiger Leaping Gorge! I trekked there for three days, and it was absolutely beautiful! Peter, Jan and I (the Norwegian girl went home) trekked from Guest House to Guest House (only about 4-5 hours a day). We took it easy, because half of the reason people trek there is for the cool Home stays (Guest Houses).

We stayed with two different Naxi family's (a Minority Tribe - Naxi's are better than Nazi's) and with some local farmers there. They had everything a tierd traveler could want, lots of cheap food (50 cents a meal), cheap beer (50 cents for a big bottle) and Playing cards, oh yeah and a really warm bed (we hiked to about 3,000 meters or 9,000 feet). All the rooms we stayed in cost 10 Yuan ($1.25) a night!

On our last day we trekked down the gorge to the river, we wanted to see Tiger Leaping Stone. Legend says that a long time ago a man saw a tiger on that stone and it jumped across the river, thus giving it the name Tiger Leaping Gorge! Anyway, we got kind of lost on our way down (which gave me an idea for an extreme tour I could give to people, if the money was right of course. It would involve me getting everyone lost and almost killed in a far away land! What do you think of that one? Heehee!) and I figured (incorrectly) that if we could just get down to the water, we could follow the river to the sacred stone (we were lost anyway?).

So, I walked to the edge of a landslide to see if I could spot a path near the river. When I turned around to yell up to my friends that there wasn't any path down there, the ground fell from underneath my feet and I slid on a huge granite rock for about 30 feet. The thing that saved me from total destruction was about ten weeds all grouped together sharing the same roots! My foot hit a lip at the end of the rock (only an inch high, but enough to slow me way down) and I grabbed my new best friends (the weeds), then I almost (I'm not ashamed to say it) peed my pants.

The drop was well over 200 feet and laying there with shredded finger nails and bloody nuckles I thanked God for letting that bird eat a seed and take a crap there, which turned out to grow into a cluster of weeds, that one day would save my life! After that, the day just kept getting better! I think everyone should start the day off almost dying! The day can't get any worse than that right? Anyway, thanks for all the prayers and positive thoughts!
I'm back in Lijiang now, I renewed my Visa, so I have 42 more days here in China if I want. I plan on spending most of them in Tibet, but first I have to catch a flight from Chengdu (which means getting to Chengdu first). I can't believe it's cheaper to fly there than to take a bus, which is good, because if the bus was cheaper I would have taken it, even if it was a 38-60 hour ride (a little time fluctuation there). OK, I'll try not fall off of anymore cliffs.

Chi-na-na (China)

I made it through Laos and I'm in south central China. I'm in Jinhong right now, we crossed by land, from Muang Sing (Laos) to Mengla (China) and then took a bus for a few hours north to Jinhong. Laos was absolutely beautiful though, and I had a great time there!

I stayed in Luang Namtha (Northern Laos) for a while. Besides the three friends I'm travelling with, I met a few more cool people there. We decided to take a bus (without a guide or tour company) and stay with some Hill tribe people.

We bought all the supplies needed to be self sufficient in case of the worst cast scenario. When we got out of our chartered mini bus the whole village ran up to us and brought us to a long house. They rolled out sleeping mats for everyone and we agreed on the price (to sleep there), 10,000 Kip each, just under a dollar!

To make a long story lot so long, we were all set up and even swam in their river, when the Tourist police showed up. They said we couldn't be there with out a guide and escorted us back to their office where they questioned us all separately(like we were drug smugglers), and finally fined us 15,000 kip each!

They were so rude and intimidating that they had two girls in tears! They pissed us all off enough that I ended up throwing an extra 5,000 kip at them and told them to have a nice day, with a perfect smile!

Anyway, I saw a basketball court down the road, so I'll have to show them (there are no tourists here) what's up. I really love China so far (more than expected) and the south is totally different than Bejing, like another country.

Oh yeah, I forgot to write about the wedding we were all invited to in Laos! We were all just walking along, minding our own business when a pickup truck full of locals dressed up asked us if we wanted to go to a wedding! We all looked at each other and said why not. So, we all jumped in the back and enjoyed the ten minute ride through a killer little village till we were dumped in someone's back yard!

The minute all the whitey's showed up the locals scrambled to give us all the Lao-Lao (rice whiskey) we could handle, and then some, and then some more. I've never drank so much so fast, and there was nothing we could do to stop them!

Of course we all had a great time though, even the two girls (that came with me) that blew chunks after their 8th shot! They treated us very well too. They gave us all the food we could eat, they kept on bring more and more along with the Lao-Lao! What a great night, I think. I'm glad I have pictures because I don't remember much!

Just a couple of days ago here in Jinghong (China), we were all invited to an Akha (a minority hill tribe) village and had a feast! We had about 20 dishes of food on a circular table that you can spin like a giant record. Then the Akha girls came to sing traditional songs for the whitey's!

They would sing a song standing in front of you and at the end you hug around the neck and then do the shot (also rice whiskey) while embracing. They ganged up on me because I was kidding around with them (maybe flirting a bit), then they said through an interpreter (a friend we met in town that invited us there) that I had to sing a song or do 3 shots. I was already buzzed from all the girls doing shots with me, they just did one shot with all my friends (big mouth), so I couldn't think of anything to say except "line'em up!"

That was a really cool experience, and I've been hanging with that Akha guy - Shou San - at his store every day since then. He's teaching me to make Akha jewelry and I showed him how to make native American jewelry. We all sit on the floor of his store (a tiny street side store) and eat fruit and watch the town go bye. It's great! He doesn't want me to leave, he offered to let me live with him and his family. I'll have to come back here, and I just might stay a long time!

I'm going to take a 30-36 hour bus ride tomorrow, so I'll rest me bum now...