Nepal
There are [0] photos and [24] stories about Nepal
Friday, 4 May 2007 | Views [1311]
I've been in some pretty bureaucratic airports, but I'd have to say Nepal takes the cake for king of bureaucracy. We leave for the airport 3 hours before our flight, which in normal traffic, the ride should take about 20-30 minutes. Lucky for us we ... Read more >
Tags: Airports
Thursday, 3 May 2007 | Views [1130]
Uma's sister Rama is another woman creating an exciting niche for her and her family. Her husband, Mr. Bishop Joshi from the Kanti Children's Hospital, has the opportunity of taking on foreign students at the Institute of Medicine and working residency ... Read more >
Tags: Culture
Wednesday, 2 May 2007 | Views [2554]
I am humbled today, as I spent the day with two women who took their time to share with me their world here in Nepal. First, I must mention, that these women understand and have sought to rise above the cultural and societal barriers to women in Nepal.... Read more >
Tags: People
Tuesday, 1 May 2007 | Views [1234]
Before leaving on our trip, we registered with several international security information sources to ensure we would have access to good information to make informed decisions on trip routing, and course corrections or changes needed along the way. Nepal ... Read more >
Tags: On the Road
Monday, 30 Apr 2007 | Views [2636]
Today was temple tour day... we headed out to the Bodhnath Stupa, a famous Buddhist stupa built after AD 600. We saw Buddhists and Hindus here, circling the stupa in a clockwise fashion. It was interesting to see the different types of worship... there ... Read more >
Tags: Culture
Sunday, 29 Apr 2007 | Views [1748]
A point of realization - traveling in developing countries is not a bargain deal, unless you get yourself out of the thick of the tourist area. Prices are quite often quoted in US Dollars, and no cheaper than what we'd pay in the states. However, seeing ... Read more >
Tags: I should have known better!
Saturday, 28 Apr 2007 | Views [807]
We take the bus from Pokhara to Kathmandu this morning, with about 25 other passengers. The bus rides are scary here, as we wind around the steep cliff-sides. It often feels like either the bus will topple over the edge, or, we will hit one of many ... Read more >
Tags: planes trains & automobiles
Friday, 27 Apr 2007 | Views [795]
It's always really fun to get familiar with the bargaining rituals in a new country. Initially, it can be a bit overwhelming, but once you do a few "practice" bargains, it becomes rather entertaining. One aspect that is especially humorous, is how the ... Read more >
Tags: Shopping
Thursday, 26 Apr 2007 | Views [921]
We have crossed the finish line yesterday afternoon, and are resting our weary bodies in Pokhara. In the scuba diving world, before rising to altitudes after being far below sea levels, we take staged decompression stops, to allow our lungs & oxygen ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
Wednesday, 25 Apr 2007 | Views [880]
Village life is a tough life. Most of the guest houses are second homes for rich Nepali Gurkhas. Gurkhas are soldiers are the creme de la creme of the British army, who still to this day, maintains a recruiting center outside Pokhara. The guys who ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
Tuesday, 24 Apr 2007 | Views [871]
One would think the descent from ABC, to the place we finally call the finish line (Phedi), would be pleasingly downhill and relieving. Not the ABC trek. At points you plunge 1000M, only to go back up another 1500M. Today was especially brutal. The ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
Monday, 23 Apr 2007 | Views [975]
It's not often one can say at 4:00 am, they have a breathtaking moment. Even harder to believe at negative 19 degrees celsius, after rising from a warm down sleeping bag, fully clothed in wool thermals, hiking pants, fleece and down jacket, to walk the ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
Sunday, 22 Apr 2007 | Views [1069]
The guest house accommodations facilities get much less "accommodating" as the altitude goes above 2500M. It's been two days since we've even seen a shower. The "bathroom" consists of a cement block with a piece of tin covering u the sky. No faucet, ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
Saturday, 21 Apr 2007 | Views [2304]
After 16+ years in the corporate world, one is well versed in the skills of multi-tasking. Take for example my past employment environment which took the multi-tasking culture to the extreme. Your days filled with meetings, it was expected that you ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
Friday, 20 Apr 2007 | Views [2199]
I scoffed at Darrin when he hunted relentlessly for the perfect walking stick in Pokhara, for the trek. Like we're professional trekkers or something, or scaling Everest and need a technical pole with shocks. We learned today, however, how invaluable ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
Thursday, 19 Apr 2007 | Views [892]
Freezing cold at 5:00 am, we are on the trail heading a very steep incline, far too steep for this hour of the morning and we're gasping for oxygen. Headlamps strapped to the head, gloves and new woolen hat, we're ready for the short 1.5K hike to Poon ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
Wednesday, 18 Apr 2007 | Views [958]
Our muscles were feeling the strain of the prior days 4 hours trek, and the past 4 months of little to no working out. Yes- those of you who know me as the work-out-aholic, it's true, the biggest obsession I've had to let go of on this trip (besides ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
Tuesday, 17 Apr 2007 | Views [783]
After making our way through the Nepal Trekking Administrative Government bureaucracy, we finally have our permits in hand and are with our sherpa, driving up to Lumle, to begin our 10 day trekking expedition to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC). Our car chugs ... Read more >
Tags: Mountains
Monday, 16 Apr 2007 | Views [1339]
We did our pre-trek training- a whole 2 hour trek up and down a steep hill to the World Peace Pagoda which was constructed by Buddhist monks form the Japanese Nipponzan Myohoji. We hired a canoe with a 'rower/driver' for 500 NPR, and he paddled us across ... Read more >
Tags: Sightseeing
Sunday, 15 Apr 2007 | Views [2774]
Pokhara is a beautiful little lakeside mountain town and the typical jumping off point for treks to the Annapurna Range. Located on a lake, the air is a bit fresher than Kathmandu, and at a lower altitude, its just a bit warmer temperature, and more ... Read more >
Tags: Food & eating
Saturday, 14 Apr 2007 | Views [3447]
We kicked off the morning with a dugout canoe ride along the river that runs the boarder of the park. The canoe was like those we've seen throughout Asia and Papua New Guinea - a tree trunk carved into a thin, semi-stable canoe. Ours, however, had movable ... Read more >
Tags: The Great Outdoors
Friday, 13 Apr 2007 | Views [3236]
Up early, we're ready for our drive to Chitwan to check out the Royal Chitwan National Park. It took us over an hour just to navigate the town traffic at early morning rush hour- trucks, and people movers bumper to bumper. Out of town we got into a ... Read more >
Tags: Misadventures
Thursday, 12 Apr 2007 | Views [2664]
Hindu holy men, called Sadhu's, roam the city here dressed in yellow or orangy gold robes, skin clad in body paint, with long dread-lock hair. They hand out blessings like they're on a mission to nail every white person's head with a tika (range from ... Read more >
Tags: I should have known better!
Wednesday, 11 Apr 2007 | Views [1155]
Kathmandu is the worlds largest REI knock-off warehouse. You can get it all here; North Face, Mountain Hardware, Patagonia, etc. Bags, bikes, clothing, camping gear. We really didn't need to bring anything with us - it's all here and available at rock ... Read more >
Tags: Shopping
