...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!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
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!
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!
Monday, September 22, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, September 19, 2008
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!
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!
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