Lumbini, Nepal | 29 November, 2006 | $1.67 (my portion, shared with 2 others) People always ask if I’m lonely traveling alone. It really isn’t and I’m rarely alone. After leaving Sui in Pokhara (she wanted to head to a National Park to find Tigers), I headed South toward the Indian border. On the way…
Pokhara, Nepal | 25 November, 2006 | $5.56 Sui and I got back from our separate treks on the same day and agreed that we needed time to rest before continuing on to India. I camped out in Pokhara, working on my computer and enjoying a few sunsets from the roof. I felt great the…
Ghorepani, Nepal | 22 November, 2006 | $0.69 Day six of the Jomsom Trek was the day I was dreading, the day when I spent more than eight hours climbing up hard stone steps. We were entertained along the way by schoolchildren heading to class and locals carrying heavy loads with ease. I met up…
Tatopani, Nepal | 21 November, 2006 | $0.69 As we continued to hike downhill the scenery became more lush we passed many more small farms and even saw a waterfall or two. I continued to hike off and on with the two firefighters from Colorado whom I met a few days into my trek. We…
Ghasa, Nepal | 20 November, 2006 | $1.11 By day four the blisters on my feet started to slow me down. We also started to see a lot more traffic along the trail at lower elevations. A road was being cut into the side of the mountains which made me a bit sad for what…
Marphah, Nepal | 19 November, 2006 | $0.70 What a long day! From Muktinath we came back down the path past Kagbeni, past Jomsom and onward all the way to Marpha. Hiking more than seven hours was tough, but once we came down into the valley we were greeted by bright yellow trees that appeared…
Muktinath, Nepal | 18 November, 2006 | $1.40 (my half of bill, shared with roommate) After a lonely first day of trekking in which I felt responsible for entertaining my porter I made some friends on day two. I always feel apprehensive hiking with others, not wanting to slow them down, but Drew from California…
Kagbeni, Nepal | 17 November, 2006 | $1.39 After a lengthy stay in Kathmandu and six days in Pokhara I finally did the thing that one does in Nepal—hike. My longtime readers know I’m not a hiker and I don’t enjoy hiking for its own sake. In Nepal, however, hiking is the best way to…
Kathmandu, Nepal | 8 November, 2006 | $4.86 After my first night in Kathmandu both Sui and I searched the outskirts of the tourist area for a cheaper hotel. We found a nice place to settle in for what turned out to be ten days in the city. We did a bit of sightseeing but…
Kathmandu, Nepal | 2 November, 2006 | $11.10 After 13 hours of driving, including crossing the border from Tibet to Nepal, Sui and I were ecstatic to find any hotel room in busy Kathmandu. Arriving so late in the day we didn’t have much choice and ended up in overpriced rooms in the center of…
Although I spent a month in Nepal I never felt like I really got into the place. It felt to me like a mix between Tibet and Nepal—but not enough of either to fascinate me. After some time recuperating from my trek in Pokhara I was ready to get to India, but had one last…
Day 4: Marpha to Ghasa In the morning shiva apologized for his bravado the night before and was back to his quiet self. He didn’t drink the rest of the trip, probably out of fear of losing his tip. I hadn’t thought about tipping him until other Americans started talking about it. You just don’t…
The second installment of my Jomsom Trek is all ready to go, I finished yesterday. Unfortunately, the internet connections here are not making the photo uploading process easy. Tomorrow morning I leave for Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, before getting out of this country! I’m ready for something new—India. The update will be showing up…
Day 1: Pokhara to Kagbeni Last Friday morning I woke up at 5:30 with a feeling of dread—I was flying to Jomsom to start my seven day trek around part of the Annapurna Circuit Trek. Most people would be really excited to trek in such a beautiful environment and to see Nepali village life. But…
I’m back home! Some other travelers laugh when I refer to my most recent long term (more than 3 days) residence as home, but that’s my life at the moment. In fact, today I’ve been recognized by at least three locals, welcomed back and asked about my trek. This morning I shocked the waiters at…
I’ve been in Pokhara for six days now and it’s time for me to do something. You see, I’ve avoiding the paragliding, the bike rides, the temple hikes and boating here very successfully. In fact, the closest I’ve come to doing something is walking down to the Western resturaunt overlooking the lake for apple pancakes.…
After thirteen hours today spent between a landcruiser, minibus and bus Sui and I made it to Kathmandu. The past seven days have been an amazing set of highs (the temple art and Everest) and lows (everything about our French travelmate and the beggars). We had dinner tonight that was not Chinese food and I…