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Articles
Day 3 - Snow (Hey Oh)
2008-04-24 07:15:00 The more I see the less I know…The more I like to let it go…hey oh…whoaaa. Deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder…Where it’s so white as snow. Privately divided by a world so undecided…And there’s nowhere to go. — Red Hot Chili Peppers Friday, April 4, 2008 2:09 pm - ... More About: Nepal , Snow
Day 3 - Wasn?t Born To Follow
2008-04-23 20:59:00 Oh I’d rather go and journey…Where the diamond crescent’s glowing and…Run across the valley…Beneath the sacred mountain…And wander through the forest…Where the trees have leaves of prisms…And break the light in colors…That no-one knows the names of. — The Byrds Friday, April 4, 2008 2:09 pm - Sinuwa - Elev. 2,360 meters At 1 am I ... More About: Nepal
Day 2 - Ballad Of Easy Rider
2008-04-23 07:37:00 The river flows…It flows to the sea…Wherever that river goes…That’s where I want to be…Flow river flow…Let your waters wash down…Take me from this road…To some other town. — Roger McGuinn Thursday, April 3, 2008 2:44 pm - Jhinu danda - Elev. 1, 745 meters We awoke around 6 am to beautiful, clear views of Annapurna ... More About: Nepal , Ballad , Easy , Rider
Day 1 - Shelter From The Storm
2008-04-22 20:03:00 ‘Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood…When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud…I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form. “Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm.” — Bob Dylan Wednesday, April 2, 2008 9:43 am We were dropped off ... More About: Nepal , Storm , Shelter
Ready, Steady, Abort
2008-04-22 07:57:00 Tuesday, April 1, 2008 6:43 am We depart on our trek at 8am. For the fourth morning, I awoke at dawn to birds chirping, a cow or ox moo’ing, and other charming sounds outside my windows. Pokhara is lovely, peaceful, and laid back - at least in Lakeside. I feel excited. My stomach cramps ... More About: Nepal , Ready
Final Trekking Preparations
2008-04-21 20:31:00 The morning after deciding on which guide/porter to hire, Gela informed the manager at her guest house, and we met up for lunch at Boomerang, a restaurant with an idyllic outdoor patio overlooking the lake. The warm sun was beaming down on us, birds were chirping, prayer flags were fluttering, and the locals ... More About: Nepal , Final , Trekking
Meeting Gela
2008-04-21 07:24:00 Around the time I was in Hong Kong, I had updated my TravBuddy.com profile to reflect my plans to trek in Nepal in April. It was the first time I’ve tried to arrange to meet up with someone for the purpose of traveling together. I didn’t have to try too hard because I ... More About: Meeting
Holding Pattern
2008-04-20 20:03:00 7:38 am I went to Moondance Restaurant with Rob and Rosie and two other kayakers joined us - Mike (France, 36) and Vasiili (Siberia, Russia, 32). I was surprised to hear Rosie is only 23 - she’s kayaked since 11 or 12. Quite adventurous! She was cute - and I got a ... More About: Nepal , Pattern , Holding
The Road To Pokhara
2008-04-20 08:15:00 7:55 am Stuck in traffic on the bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara. I’m 1 of 4 Westerners (all notably in the back seats except one old large white guy). Local music playing at a low background volume. We have not gone far. Dirt, rock, and trash line road. I feel like ... More About: Nepal , Road , The Road
Cultural Acclimatization
2008-04-19 08:11:00 Finished reading “The Beach” this morning after not being able to fall asleep until 2am last night. Power was out when I awoke - I can tell by the hum of a nearby generator. I still can’t get a charge on my laptop - very bothering. I was about to get ... More About: Nepal , Cultural
Trekking Stores And Permits
2008-04-19 01:28:00 Thamel is the tourist neighborhood of Kathmandu, meaning there are a plethora of outdoor stores selling fake supplies most notably North Face (err, “North Fake”) and Mountain Hard Wear clothing and sleeping bags. Just about everyone says they are a guide, and it feels very hard to get a straight answer when you try ... More About: Nepal , Stores , Trekking , Permits
Touchdown In Kathmandu
2008-04-18 20:38:00 Touchdown was perfect. Kathmandu is big and sprawling - colorful buildings surrounded by mountains. I wrote up the Visa application, got two passport photos taken, changed my Chinese yuen and paid the $35 fee in US dollars. Got my pack and was picked out by a few guys. My ATM card ... More About: Nepal , Touchdown
Come Fly With Me (Over The Himalaya)
2008-04-18 08:00:00 The flight from Chengdu to Lhasa was cool - crossing over the Tibet an Plateau - the snow-capped, glacier-ridden mountains slowly coming into view through the cloud cover. Getting to the airport early had paid off - I was able to secure a window seat (13A) for both legs. Next to me were ... More About: China
Final Thoughts: China
2008-04-17 20:43:00 In planning my trip around the world, I always thought of China as my gateway to Tibet, rather than a destination unto itself. The language barrier concerned me, it was a huge country, and I didn’t feel too curious about it. Since I couldn’t travel to Tibet, it allowed me a second week ... More About: Thoughts , Final
A Late Last Night In China
2008-04-17 08:06:00 I called Charlie after the opera and made my way across town to his apartment. Wu, his roommate, wanted to check out a popular bar/club called 88, and while being in a loud club was not high on my preferred activities, I was more interested in spending a little more time with a friend ... More About: China , Night , Late
The Sichuan Opera
2008-04-16 19:13:00 Among the many activities Charlie was excited to share with me, the Sichuan Opera always seemed to be at the top of the list. It therefore seemed fitting that I would attend a performance on my last night in China. I had decided to stay at Sim’s Cozy Guest House my last two nights as ...
Little Tibet Revisited
2008-04-16 08:00:00 On the afternoon of March 22, I decided to revisit the Tibet an neighborhood in Chengdu. I was overdue for a Tibetan meal with butter tea, and was wondering what the scene was like in that area given the escalation of violent protests which had occurred in Tibet and western China. I was immediately struck by ...
Hot Pot Adventures
2008-04-16 01:25:00 After a fun day at People’s Park, I returned back to Charlie’s apartment. In the evening, I joined him and his girlfriend for some errands. We went to Nanuna again. One of the owners was at a table and invited us to join him for vodka with chocolate-flavored tea. It was ... More About: Adventures
The People?s Park
2008-04-15 13:18:00 I picked up my e-ticket to Kathmandu at Sim’s Guest House travel desk and grabbed a taxi to the People ’s Park in central Chengdu. The Lonely Planet spoke highly of it, and I was surprised by what I found. For a Thursday afternoon, the park seemed quite crowded. As I started to take photos ... More About: The People
My First And Last Ba Guan Treatment
2008-04-15 04:17:00 After an afternoon sightseeing at DuFu’s cottage, prior home of a famous Chinese poet, I decided to check out a Chinese Tibetan spa near Charlie’s apartment building. I only knew it was a spa because I had asked him about the prayer flags over the front entrance a few days earlier. I took the ... More About: Treatment
I?m Back
2008-04-13 08:27:00 I’ve come down from the mountains in the Annapurna region of Nepal after a 10-day trek. It was by far the hardest physical experience of my life, and required quite a bit of mental stamina too. I accomplished my goal of having a fun time trekking around the highest mountain range in ... More About: Back
You Can?t Always Get What You Want
2008-04-05 08:35:00 Through the travel desk at Sim’s Guest House, I received a 90% refund on my airfare from Lasa to Katmandu from Air China, though I later read the airline was offering 100% refunds given China closed Tibet to foreigners as a result of the violent protests. Seeking a refund on the train ticket ...
Are You A True Playa?
2008-04-03 08:14:00 On our way home from the foot massage place, Charlie got a phone call from his friend Eli who was at the Playa Club. He said it was the opening/closing party for the venue which had only be around a few weeks. We had previously talked about the place (and not in a good way), ... More About: True
The Art Of Foot Massages In China
2008-04-01 07:38:00 Signs advertising foot massages were all over the streets in Hong Kong, and I remember the Austrian man telling me they were cheaper in China , a hint to hold off at the time. Charlie suggested we get one so we made our way through the rain, across the campus of Sichuan University, to ... More About: Foot , Massages
Street Food And The Hemp House
2008-03-30 07:36:00 Charlie makes his living as a DJ which allows him to have a more flexible schedule than your average suit. As a result, he’s a big time night owl, staying up until 3…4…5am and not rising the next day until around 4pm. I tend to adapt the habits of the people I’m ... More About: House , Food , Street , Hemp
Chow Time: Pig?s Tail And Chicken Gizzards
2008-03-28 06:18:00 I walked down Jinli Lu, which was lined with souvenir and tea shops, restaurants and bars. Despite the tourist trap feel of the new construction and design, the street’s history dated back to the Han Dynasty. I came across Carol’s Restaurant ?where East meets West? and grabbed a seat facing the street through ... More About: Time , Chicken , Chow , Tail
A Program Note
2008-03-27 18:19:00 Dear readers, You may have picked up that I schedule posts (about a week) ahead of time. This allows me to enter a new country and get acclimated (financially, physically, emotionally, etc.) before sitting down at a computer. I’ve fallen a bit behind, and am a few days from leaving on a 10-14 day trek in the ... More About: Nepal , Blogging , Note , Program
Little Tibet
2008-03-27 08:19:00 Chengdu’s Tibet an neighborhood is located near WuHou Temple, southwest of the city’s center. Despite my plans to head toward Tibet itself, I felt a neighborhood visit would serve as a nice appetizer for the main course. After the taxi dropped me off, and I got my bearings, I began to explore ...
Spa Life, Giant Pandas, And Movie Night
2008-03-25 18:04:00 Chinese Spa Around 1am Charlie, Jody and I arrived at a 24-hour spa. We spent the next four hours swimming around in four pools of varying sizes and temperatures, playing ping-pong in the provided pajamas (which gave us the distinct look we were in an insane asylum), and sweating out the toxins in steam and ... More About: Movie , Life , Night , Giant , Movie Night
Wenshu Monastery and Tibet Preparations
More articles from this author:2008-03-24 06:57:00 With my train arrangements in order, I joined a couple of British girls at the restaurant in Sim’s for lunch. They were in the first week of a 6-month trip. Meeting people at the start of their trip always reminds me of how I felt at that time, now almost 4 months ... More About: Tibet 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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