Archive for travel

Almost done..

April 21, 2008 at 6:03 am · Filed under bhutan, delhi, travel

We had a wonderful, relaxing week in Bhutan.  We’re now eagerly (and I mean *really* eagerly) awaiting our flight back home.  In fact, Brian is currently checking if we can return a day early. 

Yesterday we spent almost 3 hours in the baggage claim offices of Jet Airways and Air France.  Dennis’ luggage was still stuck in the Delhi airport (after 6 days) and we were on a mission to free his luggage.  Incidentally his lost luggage also included all of our trekking gear and souveniers as well.. so there was added incentive to get these bags back.  After a failed attempt to free the bags from customs, we discovered that the entire process of getting the bags from Jet Airways to Air France was blocked due to 2 little pieces of paper needed by Air France from Jet.  Brian ended up physically walking the papers from the Jet Airways office to the Air France office (about 200 yards away).  The bags are supposedly now on a flight back to Boston, our fingers are crossed.  Lessons learned:  (1) Any time you cross customs, your bags need to cross with you; (2) It’s MUCH faster solving these sort of problems in person.  Now we just have to hope that no one stole anything out of our bags.. fun!

After the baggage claim incident, we met up with Ric in Defence Colony where he’s currently living.  We experienced Delhi in 40 degree weather (that’s about 100F) and it was HOT!!!  I hear that it’s snowing back in Seattle.. we’re not sure what’s worse.. snow, or extreme heat.  Right now we’re leaning towards snow :)

I suppose I should write a little about Bhutan as well.  We spent 7 days there total and wandered through many many dzongs, monasteries and temples.  Dzongs are giant fortresses that were used in the wars with Tibet and have now been turned into part government administration office and part monestary.  There are classrooms and large halls for the monks along with goverment officials – a strange combination.  The size of these structures is mind blowing, each containing a huge watch tower, courtyards, residences and rooms for various functions.  My favourite moments:
Tiger’s Nest:  On our first day in Bhutan we hiked up to the Tiger’s Nest Monastary at about 10,000 feet (that’s the picture on our blog).  For the majority of the hike we were the only people on the trail and it felt magical.  As we approached the monestary we had some breathtaking views.  It felt as if you could just reach out and touch it.  For me, this was the pinnacle of our adventure. 
Kyichu Lhakhang:  Near the end of our week in Bhutan we visited the Kyichu Lhakhang in Paro.  On first look it seems like any temple.  Even inside, it had the usual statues, scrolls, butter lamps and thangkas (large paintings of the Buddha and his teachings).  A monk then opened a gigantic vault and inside were rows and rows of ancient statues of the Buddha and various Bhutanese deities.  I felt as though we had stumbled upon a secret treasure.  It was a scene our of National Geographic. 
Celebrating my birthday:  Brian surprised me on my birthday with a special Bhutanese dinner and cake (yum!!).  I can’t imagine a better way to have spent my 29th bday :)

Looking forward.. we’re itching to get back home.  We miss our friends, family, good food and being in a familiar place.  Brian’s been craving a burrito while I’ve been dreaming about sushi… :)  See you all soon!!!

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Some stories

April 12, 2008 at 6:19 am · Filed under everest base camp, nepal, travel

As Brian mentioned, our trek was unexpectedly miserable at times.  There were definitely some moments though that are unforgetable..

The Freedom Pee at 16,000 feet
Finding a good spot to pee in the Everest region is tough for a girl.  There weren’t a lot of bushes or boulders to hide behind and there was always someone (or a yak) nearby.   You couldn’t just squat off the side of the trail.  It was in a town called Lobuche around 16,000 feet where I was finally fed up with the peeing situation.  The outhouses were filthy and it seemed so unnecessary to have to go in there just to pee.  No man ever squats to pee, so why should I??  That’s when I decided to create a device to let me pee standing up.  In short, it consisted of a water bottle that I sawed off at one end (at an angle) and covered in duct tape so it wouldn’t hurt any tender spots.  The aim was to pee using the funnel – the freedom pee.  It worked beautifully!  Everyone thought I was nuts.. and maybe i was since this was a high altitude innovation and I was probably depriving my brain of valuable oxygen.  Regardless, the funnel traveled with me all the way to Gorak Shep.. and I never had to squat to pee again.  I have pictures of course.. hehe..

The Korean Expedition Team
During our descent we stayed a night in a small lodge in Debouche.  Also spending the night there were 7 Koreans who were attempting to summit Everest.  For some reason, they zero’d in on Brian.  Brian was really good at gesticulating so there seemed to be no language barrier.  Before we knew it, they had us sampling Kimchee and drinking sake with them.  They had brought along their own chef and food (including a 2 litre plastic bottle of sake).  At one point, Brian opened the floodgates by asking them if they knew any songs.  That started a night of singing and dancing.. Brian rapped “the Humpty Dance”, the Koreans sang their national anthem and a couple English songs, our guides entertained us with some Nepali songs.  It’s hard to describe the night in words.  Just imagine 7 Koreans, a couple Nepalis and us singing, dancing, eating and drinking.. neither of us fully understanding what the other group is saying.. it was too funny!

Being Sick at Gorak Shep
Unfortunately, Brian and I both got sick at Gorak Shep and weren’t able to hike up to Kala Patthar.  On the first day at Gorak Shep I acquired a terrible altitude headache.. it lasted over 24 hours and even 8 tylenols couldn’t take care of it.  I decided to attempt the trek to Base Camp even with the headache because there was no way that I hiked so many days to get sick at the end.  We managed to get to Base Camp without incident (I think it was all the tylenol) but the trek back was something else.  Brian, Buddhi and I slowly hiked back, but it’s an experience I will never forget.  The hike to/from base camp is along a ridge about 4 feet wide with 1000 foot drops on either side.  The ridge is full of obstacles, climbs and descents.  If you’ve ever had any AMS symptoms then you’ll understand how difficult this was.  I had a throbbing headache, felt dizzy at times, and had to stop myself from throwing up.  It tooks us about 4 hours to hike back to Gorak Shep from basecamp.. it was one of those experiences where you just accept the torture and put one foot in front of the other.  I mentioned that Brian was sick as well, but we don’t think it was AMS.  We suspected the water at Gorak Shep – they probably didn’t boil it long enough and he acquired some bacteria.  Regardless, we decided to skip the hike the next day to Kala Patthar and head down as fast as we could.

We’re safe and sound now in Kathmandu.  The other trekkers, John and Mike, left this morning.  The Big D departs tomorrow.  We’re tentative to depart for Bhutan on Monday but our plans are still in flux as our flight is unconfirmed. 

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Success! At What Price?

April 7, 2008 at 12:27 pm · Filed under everest base camp, nepal, travel

Hi all!

We’re now just one day away from the end of our (seemingly endless) Himalayan adventure. I’m proud to report that we have succeeded in reaching Everest Base Camp!  We reached the zenith of the trek, at ~17,500 feet, three days ago.  The trip has been amazing, though somewhat more challenging than we had bargained for in a number of ways.

The Good Parts

There is simply no way to describe in words the beauty and majesty of the Himalayas.  The size of these mountains will forever alter our internal scale.  You’re at 12,000 feet, looking up at mountains that tower another 10,000 feet over your head.  And we thought the Cascades were sizable! 

I should also mention that, true to form, the Nepalese people are amazingly hospitable and friendly.  This country has really got an amazing vibe.  Despite their relatiely rough existence in somewhat harsh conditions, you are most likely to find a Nepali singing and smiling, day in and day out.  Great country to visit should you be a traveler!

The Bad Parts

This has been a long, LONG trip.  17 days at high elevation, in very cold temperatures, with somewhat primitive accomodations, becomes fatiguing.  We weren’t prepared for the drain of the combination of elevation and cold.  To top it off, for me, the most difficult aspect was the overabundance of downtime.  Due to the need to properly accilimtize, you sometimes only hike 2 or 3 hours a day.  That leaves 21 or 22 hours to freeze your arse off and stare at the wall.  No matter how many books you’ve brought, you tend to get pretty bored.  Sleeping was a chore as well, as the body really struggles with the ~50% oxygen content.  Many times I would awaken struggling to catch my breath, as apparently mybody forgot to double its breath rate.

The food on this trip exceeded expectations, but the limited menu quickly became tired.  You can only eat so many plates of spaghetti or momos (local dumpling-like delicacies) before a piece of chicken becomes your sole desire. 

The toughest part of this trip, however, has been our constant sickness.  I drank some bad water and spent a day with yet another case of Delhi-belly.  Mira and elevation don’t mix well, and she dealt with symptoms of altitude sickness throughout, especially the last day on the way back from base camp (see future story).  Now we’ve both got colds, and are longing for the comforts and sanitation of home! 

Quick Summary

We’re again in expensive internet territory, so I’ll keep it brief for now.  We have a number of interesting stories to share, and we will do that in the next week or so.  All in all, our trek to Everest Base Camp has been an interesting journey, yet one that will no doubt be better in hindsight than in reality.  You know that kind of trip :)   We’ve gained an appreciation for this beautiful place, and the people that call it home.  We’ve challenged ourselves in many ways, and proven once again that we are a great team capable of handling our fair share of adversity. But this will probably be our last high-altitude adventure for some time.

I hope everyone is well.  We’ll be seeing you soon!

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Off to Delhi

March 20, 2008 at 5:37 am · Filed under delhi, travel

Yay!!  We’re off to Delhi today.  We had talked to Dennis a few days ago and put in a request for cheese.. I can’t wait.  I’ve been eating this miserable yak-cheese for the past 17 days and am looking forward to something less gooey and more tastey.  As Brian mentioned yesterday we haven’t been doing a lot here.. I’ve been joking that we live from meal to meal.  Yesterday we sat in a restaurant for 3 hours playing rummy, drinking Fantas and killing time until dinner.  We paid one last visit to Brian’s sadhu (sadhu = holy man) last night.  The sadhus have renounced all possessions (including their names) and live as nomads from one city to another.  In the US we’d call them homeless, but here they’re holy and treated with respect.  They were very intrigued by us and wanted to know where we were from, what we thought of India, where we were going, etc etc.. They also liked Hilary better than Obama.. lol.. I wouldn’t be surprised if we came back in a few years and saw them sitting in the same spot next to the chai stall.

We found out yesterday that we’ll be in Delhi for Holi (a huge festival of colors) so we’re hoping to partake in the color throwing.  On the 23rd we depart for Kathmandu.  I’m looking forward to a change in scenary.  As fun as India has been over the past 6 weeks, we’re ready to move onto our next adventure. 

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Stumbling upon something wonderful

March 3, 2008 at 11:33 am · Filed under rishikesh, travel, yoga

We’ve arrived in Rishikesh.. the yoga capital of the world.  After a short time in Pondy we decided that we were tired of traveling and wanted to settle down in 1 area for a little bit.  It took us 16 hrs to get here.. and we’re incredibly happy that we did.  We just happened to stumble upon the International Yoga Festival.  How incredibly lucky!!  This is exactly what I wanted from our trip to India.. a mix of volunteering, tourism and if we were lucky, a dose of spiritualism.  Until now, our spirtual journey has consisted of visiting the occasional mandir and taking a few yoga classes.  This morning we signed up for 4 days of lectures and classes.  Our day will start at 6:30 with an hour of yoga, followed by breakfast.  From 11-12:30 there are various yoga lectures you can attend.  Following that, lunch.  After lunch, we can choose from 3 different yoga classes.  After the second yoga class, there’s a daily aarti ceremony on the Ganges.  Then dinner and another talk from the spiritual leaders.  We’ll do this from the 4th until the 8th.  On the 8th we’re planning on moving into the Parmarth Niketon Ashram and staying there until the 20th.  The ashram is totally full right now because of the festival so we’re staying nearby at a really basic hotel ($10/night) until the festival is over. 

You always hear and read about “enjoying the moment” and “being in the now”.  As Brian and I walked over the Ram Jhula bridge today, looking down at the Ganges, I couldn’t help but feel content.  Where else would I want to be right now?  I know it’s sappy.. but I’ve experienced some truly beautiful moments during this trip. 

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A new God in India – Google-deva

February 24, 2008 at 8:02 am · Filed under google, travel

I thought my fellow co-workers would appreciate this.  Along our trip I’ve made a point of asking what search engine and email service people use.  The results have been consistently Google, Yahoo and occasionally hotmail.  Live Search?  What’s that?  The other day, my cousin told me about the newest addition to the many Gods of India.  They call it Google-deva (deva == God).  It knows all and can connect you to all your heart desires.  One part of me thought it was hilarious that Google has achieved this Brahmin state, while another part of me cringed and thought.. how do we take on a God??  Hmm.. 

In other news, we’re now in Goa in a town called Palolem.  We staying in a hut next to the beach and we’re hoping to do absolutely nothing (well maybe a little shopping) over the next few days. 

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Pictures!!

February 13, 2008 at 4:48 pm · Filed under Project Why, delhi, travel

Finally.. some pictures.. enjoy :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71863072@N00/sets/72157603901762171/

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We’re going.

January 26, 2008 at 5:56 pm · Filed under travel

Our BIG TRIP happens just 9 short days from today!

You can follow along with us, right here. We’ll update our whereabouts, post pictures, philosophize, tell long boring stories, and perhaps even give a few shout-outs.

Our itinerary looks like this:
India – 2/4 to 3/24
- Golden Triangle, Gujarat, Goa, Bangalore, Pondicherry, Darjeeling, many many others :)
Nepal – 3/24 to 4/13
- Trek to Everest Base Camp (20 days)
Bhutan – 4/13 to 4/21
- Explore monasteries

If you’re asking yourself why, you should know that we’re more the why not sort. If still confused, we’ll answer the question far more directly in our next installment. Until that time, we just wanted to say Hi Mom!

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