virtual Mike & Andy show

Nepal and India May 23 - July 2

andylawrence — Tue, 2 Jul 2013 22:55:00 GMT

May 23 - July 2

Nepal - Kathmandu

A place I have fallen in love with. Mike and I had every intention of taking a trek from Lukla to Gokyo in the Khumbu (Sagarmatha National Park), but unfortunately the weather just didn’t cooperate. Our time was not wasted though.

One week we stayed at the Red Planet where we spent time with Mahesh, the owner of the hotel and Stephen, a Belgian who has emigrated to Nepal and whom we have become friendly with over the past few years, discussing sociology, philosophy and other heady topics, including the meaning of zero, on the rooftop while admiring the full moon and sipping beer. I’ll admit, I spent most of my time admiring the moon and left the heavy discussions to the guys.

Mike encountered the first child, in a long time, that he can spend more than 10 minutes with, Maheshs’ grandson, Aaran, a sweet little guy just under three and smart as a whip. He would anxiously await our arrival back to the hotel in the afternoon after our daily coffee & cake, so he could practiced his English and then “box” with Mike. Aaran won all the matches.

Desmond, Mike’s long time friend, opened his house to us so we were able to spend quality time with him in Kimdol. I believe the two of them got at least one successful track recorded of an original piece Desmond has been working on. While they spent time in the studio, I relaxed in the beautiful garden reading, petting the dogs or going for walks through the village and to Monkey Temple. Of course, the highlight for Mike was playing with Desmond for two nights at 1905. He goes to another place and becomes even more alive when he has that bass in his hands and he’s playing the blues.

We left Nepal on June 6, heading for the heat and rain of India monsoon season.

Mumbai (old Bombay)

We arrived in Mumbai in the late afternoon after some anxious moments in Delhi where we were connecting to Mumbai. We thought we might miss the flight, it took a very long time for all the luggage to get off the plane, onto the baggage carrier and to the customers. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but since we had to go through immigration and customs, it was a bit frantic. We made the flight with about five minutes to spare. I’m really getting too old to be running through airports with daypacks and guitars flying in the wind.

Anyway, Mumbai....what a beautiful city. We spent five days walking along the tree lined boulevards, trying to avoid getting hit by the crazy taxi and motorcycle drivers, or crushed by the massive number of people walking on the crowded sidewalks. Being Monsoon season, the umbrellas were always handy, particularly after one of the early days when we left them in the room and we were stuck in a down pour. Raindrops the size of a dime, and coming in sheets, looking like one of the fountains people have on their desks to sooth them throughout the day. I’m confident we’ll dry out eventually, as will our cloths.

Just wondered around looking at the buildings, having a beer each day at Leopold's Cafe - very lively place that's been in operation since 1871. Our friend Desmond said he and Joan hung out there in the early hippie days (1973-6). The waiters got to know us after a few days and would almost automatically bring us two cold Turborgs & peanuts when we sat down.

On every block at least one young women (some not so young), with a baby in her arms, is begging for money. The children learn early to take their right hand and constantly put it up to their mouth as the left hand is trying to tug on your shirt, pants or hand to get attention. Families (usually just the mom and children, I don’t know where the fathers are) squat on the sidewalks using old cardboard boxes as their cushion and only protection from the dirt and grim. Some are trying to sell little trinkets, but most are just begging.

After a while I became immune to the surroundings, that may sound harsh, but if I didn’t I would be broke. At first I would at least acknowledge them and say no, Mike on the other hand just looked past them as though they didn’t exist. I think that comes from living in Asia for such a long time and coming across beggars constantly in Nepal and Thailand, particularly children and women with babies.

We went walking every day for at least two to three hours. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the buildings and parks, as well as the street vendors. These vendors sell the same crap that the street vendors sell in Bangkok and Kathmandu. I’m convinced the bracelets, shawls, watches, shoes, earrings, dresses, jeans, DVDs etc. are all made in China. I haven’t been able to get the bargaining routine down. Apparently it’s what people are accustomed to doing and it’s a game. The vendor start with a price, and I suspect I’m to then say no, how about 25% of that and then it goes from there, until you either agree on a price, or walk away. 99% of the time when you walk away, they will run or call after you and agree to your price. Too much energy on a hot day as far as I’m concerned. I’m a fixed-price kind of gal.

Just like Nepal, the cows roam free in the streets. I was watching an older man in the middle of the street peeling a banana for his grandson, a cow was close by and tried to eat the second banana. The old guy shooed the cow away before he could get a bite. It was a pretty amusing sight. Mumbai also has a lot of goats roaming freely, and where Kathmandu had street dogs and very few cats, Mumbai has cats and not as many street dogs. On the other hand, I haven’t seen any rats here either, so the cats are serving their purpose and earning their keep.

Trains are the best way to travel here and since we’re old geezers, we get really good discounts. I get 50% off and Mike gets 40% off the regular prices. Our overnight sleeper from Mumbai to Cochin, 1,600 KM, cost a total $42.20 for the two of us. Of course the ride was long, just about 29 hours.

The train trip was different to be sure. We had a sleeper and for the first part of the trip three Indian gentlemen were in the compartment along with us. Should have only be a total of 4 in the compartment. Anyway, those three spent from noon to about 10 PM either on their cell phones or on the computer, apparently conducting business.

They departed early in the morning and new people came on -- this time a mother and three kids. It took forever for them to get settled. I finally got back to sleep. In the morning, after everyone was awake, the father showed up and for the next seven hours I felt like Mike and I were on display. The family was traveling with 9 or 10 friends and relatives and each of them showed up at one time or another to meet us and gawk. Westerners must be far and few between. One thing I've learned while in India, the people have no filters and will ask anything. Such as: how old are you, are you married (was it arranged or is it a love marriage); how much money do you make; do you have children, NO? why not? Most un-American. Two of the younger boys started to make the sounds little boys do (raspberries on their arms) and asked Mike what the English word was, so of course he said fart and made sure the boys were saying the word with just the right accent before all was said and done. Mike just smiled at me and said, “I’m an English teacher, what else was I to do?”.

I've never been so happy to get off a train, or any transportation in my life. Mike and I were both exhausted by the experience.

We made it to our Guest House in Cochin, met the owner and then took a short walk to familiarize ourselves with the area, had dinner and conked out. We finally had a sunny day, the first in about a week, I'm getting used to the umbrella attached at my wrist constantly. I can hold the umbrella and a bag of groceries at the same time, I'm slowly acclimating to the surroundings.

During our five days in the area we saw the popular Chinese Fishing Nets where fresh fish is sold every evening; the Parade Grounds (now a playground - boys playing soccer in the puddles and mud); a Basilica built by the Portuguese over 500 years ago; “Jew Town”, one of the oldest Jewish settlements and synagog in India, now an area filled with small shops selling shawls, paintings, hindu and buddhist icons and gems

The best day we had in Cochin was Sunday. We took a backwater boat cruise. At first I was a bit bummed out because it was raining yet again, and not a nice simple shower, but full blown downpour. I thought, lucky us, on a boat for 5 hours in the rain, how special. Thankfully the rain stopped just before we got to the boat dock and didn’t start again until we were back in the van for the return trip to the guest house. The cruise was so relaxing, after being surrounded by city noise for so long, to hear silence was wonderful. Along the trip we stopped at a calcium hydroxide small community factory. We had a bit of a chemestry lesson on how the clam shells are burnt and then processed to make products like furtalizer, paint and newsprint. We also stopped by another community co-op, this one making rope from the husk of coconuts.

During the rainy days, we spent time on the internet investigating where to go next. I’ve noticed on our walks and on the train trips, many on the homes in India are painted bright, vivid colors like pink, bright blue, lime green, orange, red, purple and yellow - bright pops of color mixed in with the lush green of the trees and flowers. I imagine they are painted like this to brign grighness an dlight ot an area that could be so gray with rain nine months of the year. Possibly helps keep people in a good mood.

Our excursion also included heading by train to Kanyakumari, the southern most tip of India, where the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal all flow. One of the main attractions is being able to see both the Sunrise and the Sunset on the point. Really a highlight of the trip: cool breezes, blue sky, waves crashing on rocks; wonderful people; 4,000 miles of open ocean in three directions. It seemed to be a big vacation spot for Indian families, so again very crowded streets, sidewalks and shops and lots of honking horns.

Another train trip, this time from Kanyakumari to Delhi, approximately 3200 KM and over 48 hours. Got to love the trains! Again we were the attraction for the traveling Indian family, it wasn’t as bad as the first inquision, mostly they just want to practice their english.

Finally arrived in Delhi and it’s an eye-opener for sure. Hugh disparity between the wealthy and the poor. Poverty is overwhelming. People living along the sidewalks, under bridges, in ditches and trash everywhere. But hidden from constant view by high walls, more established slums - not even very far from the wealthier enclaves, such as the Delhi Golf Course or some of the Indian government buildings.

We stayed off Main Bazzar Road in a bit of a dodgy area, filled with inexpensive hostels, restaurants and bars. It was safe enough and had lots of energy, along with the numerous cars and taxis (of all sizes), motorcycles with famlies of four on the seat, ox push carts, bicycles, walkers, dogs, goats and lets not forget the “sacred cow”.

India has been a struggle. It seems every plan we made, or had wanted to make, would hit a road block. We intended to visit Amritsar and the Golden Temple, Jaipur and possibly Ranthambhore National Park for the tigers, Varanasi and the Ganges River and Agra. Unfortunatly we only got to Agra, and that was a day trip to see the Taj Mahal. Neither of us realized that in addition to it being Monsoon season, the entire month of June is a school holiday and all the Indians take their vacations - therefore, train tickets were booked weeks, if not months in advance. No matter how we tried to route ourselves we couldn’t get places.

That’s alright, we saw the Taj and spent a really nice half-day in Delhi, visiting Humayun’s Tomb and even finding what I believe is one of the houses Glen’s family lived in while his dad was stationed here in the 50s/60s.

We’re back in Nepal for a few weeks. Mike will record with Desmond and I’m heading off to Kopan for a 10 day course. On July 13 we head for Bali.

Our African Experience

andylawrence — Fri, 31 May 2013 20:18:00 GMT

What can I say about the time we spent in Africa? It was an adventure for sure, but not a trip I would suggest for just anyone. Over 32 days we traveled through eight different countries and experienced everything from bus breakdowns, to long days of bumpy drives, stopping for endless hours for the crew to grocery shop, thunderstorms and clear blue skies, sleeping on hard ground in a leaking tent to sleeping in a bed and falling asleep to the sound of waves crashing on the shore. It’s been a smorgasbord of smells, landscapes, colors, personalities and animal sightings. Generally, something we would do again, but with a few more upgrades in sleeping conditions.

Our traveling companions from Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Taiwan, Canada and California ranged in age from 19 to 63. The crews from Africa Travel were friendly and knowledgeable with a lovely sense of humor, especially our team from Kenya (Chris, Duncan and Alois). Chris is a good pool player, and our driver (Alois) took care to miss most pot holes, and Duncan made us some really delicious vegetarian meals.

We started our five weeks on the continent in Cape Town. It felt like a vacation after our experiences in South America. That may sound a bit strange to those of you who think this entire year is a vacation, but Cape Town was so relaxing. It’s a beautiful city, with colonial buildings, friendly, kind people and so much to do.

From the patio of our hostel (Ashanti Lodge) we could see Table Mountain, and from the top of Table Mountain for 360 degrees we could see the city, it’s harbor and the ocean, breathtaking sights. Hiking down the 1000 meters was difficult on the knees, but after 3 hours we made it to the main road. Both Mike and I had wobbly legs, I would compare it to how you feel after spending a few days on a boat.

We explored the downtown, filled with name brand stores you find in the states, and along the cobble stone pedestrian malls with kiosks selling local crafts, flowers and food. After forgettable food in South America (other than Cuenca) we had our fill of good food and wine. (If you have a chance, try the Pinotage from Obikwa vineyard, which is inexpensive; or one from Arabella. For a good merlot, you might want to try Robertson vineyard as well as Krawer Cellars.)

On April 16 we flew to Johannesburg, were picked up at the airport and taken to our lodging where we met with the first group we would travel with. There were 19 of us in total, plus three crew members. This would be the last night for 32 days where we would have a bed to sleep in, unless we upgrade on the road.

After a fairly long drive, we spent two nights outside of Kruger National Park, everyone was excited to be on the road. Our tents were easy to put up and the night sky was filled with what appear to be a million stars. The Milky Way is so clear and, with no ambient light to distort the stars, the Southern Cross and other constellations are breathtakingly beautiful and mesmerizing. Our first game drive was chock full of animals including elephants, zebras, cape buffalo, white rhinos, antelope, monkeys, baboons, giraffes and numerous birds, but alas, no big cats.

We had a really bad night at camp, it poured down rain and the tent leaked, but not as bad as Maverick and Steph’s; everything they owned got soaked. To make things even worse, the truck needed to be repaired which delayed our departure for a few hours. Everyone was cold and we huddled in the kitchen enclosure waiting to leave. With the bad weather, we missed what is supposably some of the best scenery in South Africa, including God’s Window. We did see the Blyde River Canyon though. We decided to upgraded to a room in Musina, where natural hot water springs are located, just to get warm and have a good nights sleep. Never did see the hot springs since we arrived at the camp so late.

We spent a total of eight days in Zimbabwe. During the time there we basically forced the truck/tour to bypass the came in Masvingo, after visiting the the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, so we could go directly to Antelope Park in Gweru. It was an interesting hike and lecture of the ruins and the views from the highest point were beautiful, but not much would have been missed if we hadn’t done it. Antelope Park was a beautiful camp site, situated along a river. This is where most of the optional tours took place, such as the Lion Walk, feeding the lions, interacting with the elephants or horse back riding. One night while we were there, Mike woke up to use the toilet, opened the tent and there was a white horse eating the grass. A small herd of horses would ramble through each morning to graze and one afternoon, three elephants lumbered through on their way to the river for a bath. Nothing like camping with wildlife! We did the lion walk, unfortunately the lions weren’t the cute little cubs I walked with in 2009, these were older, maybe 16 months and not very frisky, but it was a warm afternoon and I can understand why they might have been a little sluggish.

We were most impressed with our time at Matobo Park. We had a game drive and hike. The hike was short but steep, ending at a cave. The cave walls were covered with paintings done by bushman possibly as long as 15 thousand years ago. They were beautiful, giraffes, antelopes, stick people hunting and what Norman, our guide, said were some animals that are now extinct. Matobo Park also has enormous granite boulders stacked precariously on top of one another. It’s a mystery to me how they don’t fall. The way the sunlight changed the colors and shadows, indescribably beautiful.

Not many people have an opportunity to be on the ground (not in a 4 x 4) within approximately 50 feet of a white rhino, but we were that close to four of them. We stood and watched them quietly for at least 20 minutes. Really something special. As a bonus, we also saw 4 hippos playing in the water. What a great day!

It’s curious what three full days at one place will do for the attitudes and dispositions of travelers. Everyone was relaxed, happy and had a great time and were ready to get on the road again for the long trek to Victoria Falls.

Vic Falls is where we were finally able to get laundry done, have a bed (for one night at least), a decent meal at a restaurant and spend time away from our traveling companions. The Falls themselves are amazing, it truly is a sight to see, the mist, the rainbows and how wet you get on the walk. It’s just past the rainy season, so the river is really high and running very fast. You can hear the falls from the camp site and it sounds like traffic on an interstate.

Vic Falls is the point where people change trucks and crews depending on your tour. After exchanging e-mails, promises to keep in touch, etc., we left our original group of 17 for a smaller group of 7 to continue on to Nairobi, Kenya, with stops along the way in Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania (Zanzibar).

I’ll just list the highlights of Chobe National Park where we camped in the bush. For those of you who might wonder what bush camping is, you have no electricity, no water, no toilets, no shower. Its camping under the stars, the magnificent African night sky!

Elephants, including the cutest baby who was apparently learning how to use his or her trunk
Giraffes, not as many as at Kruger, but lovely graceful creatures
Warthogs, such unattractive creatures, but cute at the same time as they run along with their tails straight up in the air (for some reason every time I see one I think of the film The Lion King).
Antelope, saw one of the rare ones with a circle at the butt rather than the “M”
Impalas, they are everywhere in abundance, it gets to the point where you don’t even mention seeing them
Water Buffalos, very big and very ugly
Hippos, always their eyes just above the water line, or with mouths open wide
Crocodiles, resting along the river bank
BEST OF ALL - a female lion, she was under tree eating a recent kill. Not that I liked seeing her eat, but just to see one in the wild was fantastic.
Our last day in Chobe, we finally saw a male lion, again basking under a tree. Tried to take photographs, but he was just a little too far away for my camera, but believe me, we saw him.

Wednesday, May 1 - May Day is a national holiday in Zambia. It was just a long day on the truck before reaching our camp. I played darts for the first time, it took me forever to hit #1, I stopped at # 4, mostly because everyone else had hit the teens and I was bored. Its curious, but almost every camp has either dogs or cats rambling around begging for pats, hugs, scratches behind the ears or food. This particular camp had an older, sweet, Jack Russell. Around midnight both Mike and I got up to use the toilet (bush) and the dog followed us back to the tent, hopped in and settled at the bottom of our sleeping bags. It was fine with us, it was cold that night and he kept our feet warm. In the morning (around 5:30) as we were waking up and breaking down the tent, the dog wouldn’t move. I would lift one sleeping bag to pack it up and he just moved to the next one and settled in again, barely opening his eyes. Poor old thing, he just didn’t want to wake up and hit the cool damp grass with his little paws. Others in the group were jealous that he slept with us, after all, it was cold and at least our feet were warm.

In Chipata, where we spent one night, the entire group went to the bar. There was karaoke, but we were able to stop that bad singing. The DJ had a guitar and we had heard there was a really good singer/guitar player staying at the camp. He was found and played a few tunes. He was excellent with an interesting style. He passed Mike the guitar and he played a few tunes, then surprisingly, Dan (from California) asked for the guitar and he played and sang. Everyone enjoyed the music. I’m sure Mike and Dan will play again at other camps along the way.

Our trip to Malawi and the lake took almost 8 hours, and included one short truck breakdown. Alois was able to repair the fan belt while we had our lunch. Blair, Jess, Suzanne, Rouan and Dan played soccer with some of the local kids who gathered around to stare at us. Chris, our group leader, said the kids are not used to seeing white people. When we made the mandatory grocery stop before hitting the Lake, we all chipped in for soccer balls to give to the village kids in Malawi. I think the balls were selected since the one used when the truck broke down was made out of a bag stuffed with rags. Truly, these kids have nothing, but make do with what they have. They seemed perfectly happy using a fallen tree as a seesaw. Our camp was awesome, right on the lake. Mike and I did upgrade to a beach chalet and fell asleep to the sound of waves crashing on the shore, that is after a mug (no wine glasses this trip) of South African Merlot and watching the stars.

Our first two days at the Malawi Lake camps were spent relaxing, reading and staring at the waves. In the evening we’d meet at the bar were there was a pool table and the competitions would begin. Australians (Danielle & Blair) against Americans (Mike & Dan) against the South Africans (Rouan & Jess) against the crew (Chris plus one of us). One of the often used expressions came out that night when Danielle was going to take a shot, people talked her out of it and she said “Well, I guess we’ll never know,” talking about if she might have made the difficult shot. We met Scott, Tom and Shannon, people who have been traveling on the African Trails truck that came down to Africa from London. We keep meeting up with them as they are just one day behind our tour. Tom and Shannon have become very friendly with Dan and Jessica. There is another truck excursion (Intrepid) following our route, and that group likes to party, almost too much. I’m surprised they can make the early wake-up times. While at Lake Malawi, suffice it to say everyone from all three trucks enjoyed themselves.

I did tour the village during the stay at the second Lake Malawi camp. Time was spent at the local school, where, as expected there aren’t enough books to go around, let alone desks for the kids to sit at. Most of the classes are conducted in dark rooms with concrete floors and they share books. The principal was given pencils, notebooks and the soccer balls to share with the kids.

There’s a small hospital in the village with one doctor and a couple nurses, again with limited supplies. The morning of our visit we were told 20 villagers had come in to be tested for Malaria and out of the 20, 18 tested positive. I can tell you, the mosquitoes in Malawi were terrible, more than anywhere else we had visited so far. They love me. No matter how much DEET I put on, I get bites even with the netting over the bed.

After four relatively relaxing days, our next two days were long drives as we headed out early (5:00 a.m.) for Tanzania. The drive was beautiful though. After the brown bush of South Africa, East Africa is very green with beautiful valleys, hundreds of baobab trees, mountains covered with Acacia Trees, and the lowlands with banana, coffee and tea plantations as well as rice farms.

After one night at a beach side camp, we headed to Zanzibar, a place everyone was looking forward to going. Two ferry rides and a short bus ride and we were in Stone Town. It felt like I had arrived on another continent, so different from what I had seen thus far in other African cities/towns. Zanzibar is about 90% Muslim and the architecture reflects the Arab influence. The women wear colorful, full length dresses and cover their heads. Many of the men wear skull caps and thobs. There were a number of mosques and in the early morning, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening we could hear the calls to prayer. Mike said it was somewhat refreshing to again be in a Muslim culture.

Mike and I really don’t like to take tours, preferring to explore on our own, but we did take the Stone Town City and Spice tour and found it to be really interesting. Having the opportunity to taste fresh, really fresh cut cinnamon and ginger was a real treat! Watching the guide climb a coconut tree was a little hokey as well as the silly hats they made for us out of palm leaves.

That evening to be polite, we met everyone on a rooftop for a sunset beer. We left them and roamed around town a bit stopping at the Forodhani Gardens seafront market where local fishermen grill their catch of the day before having our own dinner at a small restaurant we discovered earlier in the day.

For two nights we stayed at a beautiful beach resort a few hours north of Stone Town in Zanzibar. After tent camping, and beach huts, it was a pleasant surprise to stay at what anyone would refer to as a three star hotel. Hot water whenever you wanted it, electricity, a beautiful swimming pool and fantastic beach, comfortable bed and soft pillows and decent internet. Two delightful days there. I went snorkeling one day and saw fish and coral usually seen only in a large city aquarium. We went to a local pub as a group after dinner one night. Unfortunately since it’s low season, there weren’t but a few locals there. People played pool and Mike and I spent about an hour talking with the three locals who were at the pub. They told us all about the Masai, tribal Africans, who’s culture is to roam the land with their cattle, sheep, or goats. The Masai are apparently the only people who can carry weapons (large sticks) without getting arrested. On the last night, everyone met up at a small fish restaurant directly on the beach for dinner.

It took us about 14 hours to travel from Dar es Salaam to Arusha before finally arriving at our camp, Meserani Snake Park. Although it was long, it was another beautiful drive, passing the Pare and Usambra Mountain ranges. We were able to see most of Mount Kilimanjaro, but some of it was covered with clouds. Too far away to get a good photograph, so I didn’t even try.

Our campsite was interesting. The woman who runs it (Ma) emigrated from South Africa about 25 years ago with her family. Her boys apparently liked snakes and collected them as a hobby. Therefore, Snake Park was founded. Besides the campsite, there are about 20 snake enclosures, many that are poisonous, including a cobra, black mambas, green mambas and boomslangs. There are also crocodiles, a few birds that have been wounded and wouldn’t survive in the wild and one baboon rescued from some people who were mistreating it. I saw a number of beautiful birds on the grounds and there was a flock of guinea hens that have made the campsite their home. We were awaked each morning by various bird songs and calls.

There was a Masai Cultural Museum at the camp, and Jonathan gave us an informative tour explaining the culture of his tribe, and a Masai Women’s Market selling beaded necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Some of the Masai women have numerous beautiful (and large) silver earrings hanging from each ear. The local market, outside the camp, sells everything from plastic cups to cows, and is very active. Camel rides are available if that interests you. I witnessed a number of visiting school children taking advantage, I guess it’s like pony rides back home.

Some of the revenue from the Camp supports the local clinic and orphanage. With this group, there should be enough from the bar bills to support at least one of the kids at boarding school for next term.

Mike and I were the only two from the group that chose not to spend $500 each for two nights at the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti Park, especially once we heard the drive to Serengeti was 350 KM each way. They really only had 1/2 day at each place. They may see a leopard and probably many more animals, but we’ll have another chance when we are in Nairobi, Kenya. We had the camp to ourselves for the most part and enjoyed every minute of it. Sleeping in, being lazy, quietly reading, updating the photographs and this blog and enjoying some wine and each others company. It’s been great just being the two of us.

One more afternoon and the group will be back. Duncan, our cook made a cake, complete with candles, on the camp stove, to celebrate Sam’s birthday. One final night at Ma’s Bar, before heading to Kenya.

We did a walking tour of Nairobi, which included the August 7th Memorial Park, where the American Embassy stood before it was bombed in the late 90‘s. We had thought about getting a hotel in the city so we could explore it a bit, but the place suggested to us was twice as much as our room at camp, not as nice or clean, and in a real dodgy area. I’m sure sometime after sunset we would have witnessed drug deals and/or muggings just outside the entrance.

On Sunday morning after gathering all the e-mail addresses, we said our goodbyes to everyone as they left for Uganda to see the gorillas, London, Johannesburg, Saudi, Manila or Vancouver.

Our extra time in Kenya was spent planning for Nepal and India. A small change in plans as we decided to take another trek in Nepal before heading for India. So on Wednesday, May 22 we flew to New Delhi, arriving Thursday, May 23 in the early morning and caught an afternoon flight to Kathmandu.

I’ll send more on the Nepal trip in the next communication.

South America Part Four - March 28 - April 7

andylawrence — Tue, 9 Apr 2013 08:30:00 GMT

Sunday, April 7 - Tuesday, April 9

Traveled from Cuenca Guayaquil on Sunday and then from Guayaquil to Buenos Aires via Panama City and Lima on Monday, April 8. That particular leg of the trip only took about 24 hours, including a 3 hour lay over in Panama City and another 7 hours in Lima, with expected arrival in Buenos Aires on Tuesday at 4:45 AM, then through customs so I expect we’ll arrive at the hostel around 6:30 or 7:00 AM. These are the types of flights you’ll take when traveling on frequent flyer miles.

Thursday, March 28 - Sunday, April 7

Thursday we flew from Cusco to Lima to Guayaquil. Cusco doesn’t have x-ray, so the backpacks were hand searched. No problem with that, but I did have to remove all the duct tape that was to protect the straps on the flight. Arrived at Guayaquil to delicious heat and humidity (according to Mike that is), found a cab and headed to our hostel for the night. It is located only 300 meters from the airport, but the way the streets are laid out, it took about 20 minutes to arrive.

After a while we headed to the bus station to get tickets to Cuenca. The bus station was way crowded; everyone seems to be leaving the city for Easter weekend. Anyway, we found the ticket kiosk only to learn we couldn’t buy advance tickets. So back in a cab, which took almost an hour to get out of the terminal parking lot (remember heat & humidity), and back to the hostel.

Friday, March 29 headed to the bus terminal again to get our tickets. Then to the platform which was wall to wall people with bags, backpacks, tied up blankets, crates of fruit and in one case a rooster on a leash. Everyone cueing up for a bus. Finally our bus arrived and we settled in for the four hour trip to Cusco. Our route took us over the mountains, through one of the national parks, past what appeared to be “pay-pond” fishing holes, and a few ranches offering horseback riding. Up the bus went and we were in the clouds yet again, a soft rain falling and fog so thick it was difficult to see down the mountain. Okay with me since there didn’t seem to be any guard rails on either side of the road.

Arrived safely in Cuenca and located our home for the next week, El Cafecito Hostel, a small place not far from the main plaza, with comfortable rooms and friendly staff. Around the corner is a church, which wakes me each morning with the ringing of its bells.

The weather was cloudy and a little damp most days, but we have had some beautiful blue skies as well.

When not walking around the old city and admiring the Spanish colonial architecture, we’ve spent time on the internet researching not only Africa, but India as well. Africa because our original overland trip was cancelled on April 1 (not an April Fools Joke). I think all is sorted out now and we will still be able to experience Africa as we want, plus a side trip to Cape Town, which wasn’t part of the original plan, but something we’re looking forward to.

Cuenca has some impressive museums, and for the most part they are either free or charge a minimal amount to visit. One afternoon, Mike and I were walking around and found what we thought was an antique store. It turned out it was a private home which at one time had over 100 rooms and has been in the same family for over 100 years. Now many of the rooms have been made into small apartments. The part open to the public is filled with beautiful furniture and paintings from France, Italy, Germany and Holland. Fresco walls & ceilings, pressed painted tin ceilings, beautiful woven carpets. The dining room walls had gold stencils all around. It was a little spooky though. The owner escorted us though out the rooms and told us about everything and where they came from as well as about her family. She must be around 90, but looks younger and was impeccably dressed. She must still go to the salon evidenced by the red polish on her nails and not a hair out of place. I felt like I was in some movie, and was waiting to find the corpse in a rocking chair. She was actually quite charming, I think she just wanted someone to talk to. She likes Obama and thinks the North Koreans are dangerous. Anyway, it was an interesting way to spend an hour.

El Cafecito, where we are staying, has live music Thursday - Sunday nights, and on April 4, Mike was able to add Ecuador to the list of countries he has sat in with a band. The band leader, Jorge, found out he played and invited him to play on a few songs. Good thing we have plans, or we might be talked into staying here for a while. Jorge needs a bass player for his band and told Mike he has a spot anytime he’s in Cuenca. (photo of Mike with the band)

I’ve noticed here in South America, people have dogs, lots of dogs, and they go everywhere with the owners. Another phenomenon, the owners dress their dogs. I’ve seen them with sweaters, sun visors and rain coats, and they all seem to be small white dogs, like poodles and are carried. One couple I met over breakfast one day had a dog with a service pack, so I asked what the service was and I was told “Oh, it’s not really a service dog. They just say that so it can go on flights with them.” Mike and I are thinking of getting a German Shepherd to be our service dog...it can carry one of the packs. BTW, we have lighten the load a little by leaving some unnecessary items (but useful to someone) at the hostel.

So America March 21 - 27, 2013

andylawrence — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 07:31:00 GMT

Thursday, March 21 - Wednesday, March 27

Cusco

We spent a restful week in Cusco. It’s a very walkable city and we took advantage of the warm, sunny weather to explore as much as possible.

We visited the Museum of Plants & Herbs which exhibited the history of Coca, Ayahuasca, San Pedro Cactus and other herbs indigenous to the Peruvian highlands and Amazon region. One room was full of paintings done by an artist during and after his experience with Ayahuasca and they were hauntingly beautiful. If you want an idea of what they look like, see Carlos Santana’s album cover for Shaman.

Saturday, we took a one day trip to Machu Picchu via van, train and bus. The train trip was along the river and valley floor through the jungle. I got a crick in my neck looking up through the roof windows at the towering mountains. At every turn the scenery was more spectacular than the previous. I kept saying to myself “Wow!”

Mike and I arrived at the site early and walked around by ourselves for a few hours and then met up with a guide who gave an exceptionally good explanation of Incan history, architecture and engineering. No description that I could give of Machu Picchu would do it justice. It’s understandable why it became a USESCO World Heritage Site.

On Palm Sunday, the plazas were filled with families listening to music, participating in carnival games, and having picnics. I took a walk through the central market where every kind of fruit, vegetable and meat were on display, and available for purchase. (I didn’t think you would want to see the llama heads and skinned guinea pigs.)

Monday we were walking back to the hotel and came across a procession celebrating Senior de Torrechayoc (see the photo).

Wednesday, our last day in Cusco we went to the San Blas neighborhood, an artist community overlooking Cusco.

Tomorrow, Thursday, March 28 we head for Ecuador.

South America Part Two; March 11 - 20, 2013

andylawrence — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 09:10:00 GMT

Wednesday, March 20

Puno to Cusco

Well, our first bad experience. When we left the hotel this morning the clerk said we owed for one night. Mike had paid all the nights when we arrived, although at two different times. He paid the initial night when we checked in and then when we decided that we would stay, he went and paid the other three nights. After a few minutes when the clerk kept asking, I said “come on Mike, let’s go. He’s just trying to get more money from us”, and we walked out. Since he didn’t come running after us, I’m going to assume nothing will come of it. But if you get a note from us asking for money for bail so we can leave Lima, it will be the truth.

The bus ride from Puno to Cusco was really quite beautiful. The Andes in Peru are green and there are farms and pastures all along the way. I saw llamas, sheep, cows, children playing in the river, colorful wild flowers, thousands of coca bushes, even more corn, forests and, snow capped mountains.

We arrived in Cusco in the afternoon and came to what will be our home for the next week Hostal Qorichaska. A lovely place with two sunny courtyards and friendly, helpful staff. We found a terrific vegetarian restaurant for dinner, nice change after all the chicken & pasta.

Tuesday, March 19

Puno, Peru

Took a long day trip on Lake Titicaca. Rather than taking one of the commercial tourist boats, we decided to take the community boat. The proceeds of these are split among the communities that live not only on the floating island, but the other Peruvian islands on the lake. The lake is about 250 meters deep and borders both Peru and Bolivia.

The engine wouldn’t start on the first boat, so we needed to transfer to another. Everyone picked up their parcels, and there were a lot of packages including bags of what appeared to be grains, fruits and potatoes. Many of the items were wrapped in colorful blankets which the women carried on their backs. Mike and I were the only English speaking people on the boat so there was lots of chatter in Spanish. It seems the islands are a place where the local families go for a days outing/picnic.

Our first stop was at one of the Uro Islands, or floating islands. Here we listened while a native explained how the islands are created. He had props, so it was easy to understand. Big blocks of reeds, maybe 18 x 18 inches, are cut and then moved to where ever the group wants to live, they are staked and roped together, and then reeds are laid down a few inches deep in one direction, then another, until finally there is enough stability to build a small village. Once this is done, the entire island is secured with anchors.

After this, back on the boat for 2.5 hours to Taquile, what we would all consider a typical island. Once there we were informed that the boat would meet us on the other side of the island and we had a 2 km hike up a very high hill. Oh, I didn’t tell you, we’re at about 3800 meters and the altitude is really giving Mike a bit of trouble already, so all he needs is another 300m of altitude. Anyway, we did the walk, saw some beautiful scenery, stopped at the top for a soda and made it back down to the boat.

All in all it was an interesting day and we couldn’t have asked for better weather, bright sunshine, blue sky with puffs of clouds.

Tomorrow we head out again, this time for Cusco. That bus ride should only be about 6.5 hours.

Sunday, March 17

Puno, Peru

Explored the city, took walk to Lake Titicaca which isn’t too far from our hotel, and then to the main square where a cathedral is located. We witnessed a funeral procession where the people walked carrying the casket down the street. We then returned to the hotel, rested a bit, and took our first showers in about four days. The socks are walking around the room, but it could be a result of the high altitude (3800 meters).

Thursday, March 14 - Saturday, March 16

Argentina/Chile/Peru

Our bus left Mendoza at 7:00 AM on Thursday and arrived about 1:00 AM Saturday in Tacna, Peru. After the departure, a man came on describing what I thought was a description of the trip and if you had a dinner choice between a hamburger or chicken. Ten minutes later, Mike pointed out that the man was not offering food, but rather colon cleanses! He sold quite a few. About 5 hours later, another guy came on selling another brand of colon cleanse. These guys are right, though, people in Argentina eat way too much meat. That should make the new age community just giggle in self-aggrandizing confirmation.

The trip took us on an amazing transverse of the Andes into Chile. We then turned north and headed through Chile with the Pacific Ocean on the left and the Andes on the right. The next morning we awoke to the vast emptiness of the Atacama desert. The road then wove through several mountain passes were we encountered at least three instances where the road had been partially blocked by landslides which added several hours to the trip.

We finally arrived in Tacna Peru at around 1:00 AM on Saturday. We intended to stay overnight in the bus terminal, but were informed by several people, including the bus driver and restaurant owner that this would be a foolish move since we would most definitely be robbed. Fortunately during the ride, I made conversation with an Argentine women who now lives in Ecuador who spoke very good English. She was very helpful in translating between us and the driver. They arranged for a taxi and off we went to our seedy hotel next to the bus station and slept until 7:00 AM. We then found out the Tacna has three bus terminals. The one we needed was a ten minute drive away, not across the street. Once again a major error in the guidebooks. We made our way there, purchased a ticket for Puno departing at 1:00 PM. During our few hours wait we explored a tiny bit of Tacna and found it to be quite charming, beautiful, and friendly.

The bus departed promptly at 1:00 PM and we drove through some amazing mountain scenery climbing to over 4200 meters, which was both exhilarating and exhausting as initial signs of altitude sickness started to set in. The winding road didn’t help.

We arrived in Puno in the rain around 9:30 PM, retrieved our bags, and got a taxi to our hotel. Checked in, grabbed some dinner, went to sleep.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, March 11 -13

Mendoza was our base for three days. One reason for this is because you can’t trust the guide books. When we went to the station to make reservations to leave for Peru we were told we could go on either Thursday or Saturday, the buses only run Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday and Sunday, despite guide book claims of daily departures.

We wondered around town a bit, nothing very exciting but after a very large city like BA it was pleasant to be in a mid-sized place that wasn’t so busy. It’s a relatively easy city to walk around in and it has some lovely plazas with lots of trees, so it’s very green. One night we went to the center and found a pedestrian walkway with loads of restaurants and shops. Finely something other than pasta. We did take a wine tour and visited two wineries (they distribute to the states, yea!) and one olive oil factory. Tastings at all three. One thing I can say about Mendoza, the wine is very good and it’s very affordable, unlike when we were in SE Asia last fall. The countryside was gorgeous and since it’s grape harvest time, the fields were lush and full of grapes. Tomorrow we’re off for Peru, via Chili.

South American adventure Part one

andylawrence — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Monday, March 4, 2013

Washington/Dulles to Buenos Aries, Argentina

On Monday evening we departed Dulles Airport on our way to Argentina by way of Brazil. After a number of months in the DC area we were ready to take off again. It was a wonderful few months in Northern Virginia and other areas of the East Coast, visiting friends and family and getting reacquainted with our kitties, Munch & Zip. Becky was wonderful opening her home to not only us, but to Munch and Zip as well.

Anyway, after a nine hour flight to San Paulo and then approximately nine hours waiting in the lounge we took off for Argentina, arriving on Tuesday, March 9, approximately 24 hours after we left. We settled in for the night at a lovely guest house and then on Wednesday we moved to the Sabatico Hostel in downtown BA. Believe it or not, we are already forgetting what day it is. Much of today was spent locating the bus station and getting tickets to Mendoza, which is in the western area of the country. One thing we have discovered in our short time here, the wine is good and inexpensive. Tomorrow we plan to visit one or two museums and in particular where Evita made her famous speeches to the masses.

Friday, March 8

Today we spent sightseeing in Buenos Aries - we ventured out on the Subway. It looks a lot like the subway in New York, in as much as it is old and has tiled walls, many with graffiti but there are a number of lovely painted scenes on the tiles as well. I meant to take a photo of not only those, but of the graffiti on the trains, but I guess I just forgot. We did get to Casa Rosada and I took a photo of the famous balcony where Evita did in fact energizer the crowds back in 1940’s. She is much loved here to this day.

After that we wondered down a pedestrian walkway that was filled with shops and people - a few minutes there was just enough and then it was back on the subway for the Palermo neighborhood and the Botanical Garden. Unfortunately the garden was closed due to some storm so that was a bust, but a good walk, at least one mile since we walked around the entire block to see if there was another entrance. But No!

On the day we arrived in Buenos Aires, we had been walking around the neighborhood and noticed that there would be a music (tango) show and had decided at that time we wanted to attend. After all, it was supporting local music and performers.

So we had date night and went to Boticia del Angel and what a wonderful experience! Not only were we treated to a powerful and beautiful voice with amazing guitar, but it had the most beautiful collection of art work. Everything from hugh wall collages with angels and stars, but fanciful acrylics and oil paintings which reminded me of not only Andy Warhol, but of Toluse Letrec and the posters he did of Paris ladies of the night. Every crevice was filled with something to catch your eye. Here was a time I wish I had my camera. A really fun evening, even if I couldn’t understand most of the words that were sung, I could feel the emotion.

Saturday, March 9

Much of the day was spent waiting to get to the bus station and then on the bus on our way to Mendoza. Our bus was scheduled to depart at 3:00, which it did, and was to arrive in Mendoza early on Sunday morning, which it did. The ride was comfortable and finally around midnight, the video showing movies in spanish (loudly) stopped, permitting me to get a few hours of sleep. I woke a few times to look out the window at the sky, to see stars so bright and one shooting star. How many of those do you see in metro DC?

Sunday, March 10

Arrived in Mendoza - found our lodging with little trouble, only a short three block walk with the packs - I’m getting stronger by the day, or maybe I just have the weight distributed better. Anyway, we have a lovely corner room and will be quite comfortable for the next few days. After a few hours rest we went off to the bus station to plan the next portion of the trip and then to one of the main squares in town (about 30 minutes walking from hostel) for some refreshment. At the bus station we found out getting to Peru is a bit more difficult than we had originally thought - found out today that going to La Serena might be out of the question; so we might just head directly for Tacna on the Peru border and then go to Puno near Lake Titicaca. Met some nice folks this evening on the patio of the hostel, all giving advice on the next stop or at least places to visit.

Mike & Andy update since early Dec.

andylawrence — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 20:50:00 GMT

Saturday, December 15/Sunday, December 16

Bangkok

Our days in Southeast Asia are quickly coming to an end. We’ve had some marvelous times and I have memories that I’ll keep for a lifetime. It’s been a wonderful experience, meeting new people, eating new food, seeing sights and doing things, like taking the Nepal trek, I only dreamed of ever being able to experience or accomplish. Some of the time it’s been difficult, but 99% of the time it’s been a breeze. I’m fortunate to have a wonderful travel companion (who thinks I may have some Japanese blood with the number of photographs I take and then make, or at least ask, him to help me edit).

We used these few days to say good-by to the guys at the Bamboo (went there both Friday and Saturday nights and Mike had chance to play both nights). On Saturday, after staying up way too late the night before (for some reason we both think we are younger than our biological ages), we headed to the weekend market. A bit of rest on Saturday afternoon so we would be awake to go to a Blues Bar across town. A tasty dinner and then to the bar, which was about the size of our living room in Alexandria. The House band was really good. Of course, another late night, but that’s what we seem to do in Bangkok. It’s so easy to sip a soda water and listen to music and visit with people that time just passes by.

Sunday afternoon was spent with Jan and Mr. Tong sitting alongside a canal, surrounded by Mr. Tong’s caged birds chirping away, sipping on Leo Beer with ice and enjoying conversations. Of course we met another traveling couple who gave us some good insight and information for Africa. We went to one of our favorite outside restaurants for our last meal in Bangkok and we weren’t disappointed.

Before leaving for the airport on Monday I treated myself to a facial. Would have liked to do another Thai massage, but just not enough time. So right now, sitting in the airport lounge waiting for our long flight back to DC via Singapore, Frankfurt, JFK and LaGuardia finally ending in Dulles around 5:30 PM on Tuesday, December 18.

I’m not able to get the photographs from Angkor Wat; Siem Reap; Tiger Temple and the beach loaded before leaving for the boarding area, but I’ll let you know when they are up and available for viewing.

Anyway, we’re looking forward to seeing family and friends again and I hope you have enjoyed the blog and the photographs.

Keep well and love to all of you.

PS - Merry Christmas if I don’t get a chance to say it in person!

Monday, December 10 - Friday, December 14

Bang Saphan, Thailand

What can I say, we picked a perfect way to finish off our trip to Thailand. Four magical days at a secluded beach about 300 Km south of Bangkok. We stayed at a very simple bungalow, (Lola’s) and I mean simple. It was maybe 10 x 12 feet with a small bathroom built on the back end and a porch that was a bit rickety. At least it had a western toilet (still required a bucket to flush) and not a squat, although I’m getting used to those too.

Our days were spent relaxing under the shade of a tree reading books, wading in the ocean, walking along the wide crescent beach or just looking at the horizon with a cool breeze blowing constantly. There were very few people on the beach at any one time.

The night sky was filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of stars and we took the opportunity of very little ambient light to sit quietly and stare in wonder at their beauty. We even witnessed at least three shooting stars in one night. Don’t worry, the gin rummy games continued...now I have 1/2 of Mike’s savings.

Of course, as we have done at any of the side trips we’ve made, whether towns other than Bangkok in Thailand or Lao and Cambodia, we located the best small bars to eat and have a few cold beers. Since Lola’s didn’t have a restaurant we would either walk on the beach a bit to the left or the right and find a place. These small eateries would be where we would meet some really lovely and interesting people. Some were ex-pats that have made Ban Saphan their home, others who came upon it like us and decided to stay for a few months rather than be in Scotland, England or Belgium or even Texas. These meetings were a definite highlight of our four days. Mike still finds it amazing how I can start talking to almost anyone and within 5 or 10 minutes have them acting like we’ve known one another for years and exchanging e-mail addresses. Our last night we were out until 1:00 in the morning with a group we had just met a few hours before, all of them telling us the virtues of living in their wonderful little paradise. It sounds is so tempting.

Sunday, December 9

Tomorrow we leave for the beach, looking forward to some quiet time in the sunshine away from the city.

Thursday, December 6

Today Mike and I went on a tour to the Tiger Temple, where we hoped to see some large and maybe baby tigers who have been rescued and are taken care of by monks. It was a long day and the tour included the original floating market, which in my opinion is a tourist trap. I had thought we would actually be able to see some of the produce boats etc., but cruising on the canal wasn’t included in the cost of the tour. Next stop was another tourist attraction which we had no interest in - the elephant park, where some people decided to take the elephant rides (we’ve done that already in Nepal), then on to “the most exciting show on earth”, a silly side show of snakes. Finely we got to the tigers (see photographs). The temple is 130 km from Bangkok, and the ride back to the city took forever. Once we got over the river and to the edge of town, we got out of the van and took the sky-train to NANA. The day was interesting and we met three very nice English people, one girl, Leena, had just graduated from medical school and the other couple was just traveling the world for the next 6 or 8 months. They have been on the road since early September too. We got some great information from them for our future trip to Africa.

Siem Reap Cambodia - Dec 2

andylawrence — Sun, 9 Dec 2012 16:37:00 GMT

Sunday, December 9

Tomorrow we leave for the beach, looking forward to some quiet time in the sunshine away from the city.

Thursday, December 6

Wednesday, December 5

Heading back to Bangkok - this time flying.

Tuesday, December 4

Siem Reap

A day relaxing and catching up on e-mails etc, until the afternoon when we walked around the city to see the sights and do just a bit of local shopping. As I said before, an easy city to walk and again, it wasn’t too hot. The plan was to end the walk at the “Alley” for dinner, but since I’m a bozo, we had to go back to the guest house first to get my regular glasses so I could see in the dark.

Blast it - he beat me again!

Monday, December 3

Angkor Wat etc.

Spent most of the day visiting Angkor Wat, which is an amazing place. Took way too many photographs, won’t bore you with all of them, just a few will be posted. Angkor Wat was build in the 12th century and once served as the capital city. This is probably the most recognizable of the Wats. We spent around 2 hours roaming around the ruins. It wasn’t too crowded or too hot, both a blessing as far as I’m concerned. Our driver, Lyny took the time to tell us about the history of our stops. We also visited Angkor Thom, which has a bridge over a moat and the bridge has numerous statues of heads; Ta Prohm, where trees are growing out of the ruins (if they were to be removed, the ruins would undoubtably fall down, and the Bayon, my second favorite for the many faces built into the towers. We ended our day with a walk up a small, but steep, hillside to another Wat were we waited for the sunset.

A great day, one that I will remember. By the way, Mike won at rummy again tonight.

Sunday, Dec. 2

Bangkok to Siem Reap

What a trip, and not in a good way. The transportation from Bangkok to the Thai/Cambodia boarder took forever in the minivan. Once we were close to the border, the van stopped at a small rest stop where we got our Cambodian visa forms filled out and the process started. Then off to the boarder in another van to immigration where we stood in line in the heat and sun for almost 1 hr 15 minutes to get our passports stamped to exit Thailand, then on to the Cambodia side and another long line for the Cambodian visa to be stamped, and in my case fingerprints taken. In Mike’s line, the fingerprint machine was broken. Once we had all the stamps, on to another place where we got on yet another shuttle to the Cambodian bus terminal to get our taxi to Siem Reap. Shared the taxi with two nice women from Bangkok who were coming for a short vacation. They were very pleasant and we discussed were we’ve visited and what we’ve done. They both spoke excellent English.

Finally arrived in Siem Reap. We’re glad that we had made the decision before leaving Bangkok to fly back.

The Cashew Nut Guest House was a welcomed sight. Greeted by Allen, the manager, with cold towels and water. He told us about the hotel and the area, made a suggestion for what we could/should do during our three day stay. We had already made arrangements with the tuk-tuk driver to pick us up on Monday at 11:30 for a tour of Angkor Wat and the other temples.

After getting cleaned up a bit, we walked to the center of town for a cold beer and dinner. Siem Reap is fairly small and very easy to walk around. We ran into a few children begging, but not too many, but saw a number of older people who were obviously effected by land mines (since they were missing limbs). Two or three groups of men playing traditional musical instruments and singing, offering CDs for sale. Continued our rummy tournament on the rooftop of the guest house - Mike won, if anyone is keeping track.

Photos: Sukhothai Thailand & Loi Krathong Festival

andylawrence — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 22:24:00 GMT

Sukhothai Thailand and the Loi Krathong festival

andylawrence — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 21:59:00 GMT

Wednesday, Nov 28

The Loi Krathong festival was really quite spectacular. We were fortunate to get a ride with a local family and didn’t need to wait for the bus. Of course, they wouldn’t accept any money, just a friendly act to guests in their country. The park was very crowded, as these things are sometimes and of course everything was off schedule. We did see hundreds of paper lanterns in the sky with the full moon shining, watched some traditional Thai dancers and the sound and light show. We kept waiting for the official Loi Krathongs to go into the water, unfortunately we missed them being launched since we needed to get back to the guest house at a somewhat reasonable hour for our early morning departure and we weren’t sure exactly where the bus back to town was located or how often it would be running. We left at the start of the first of three firework shows. Back at the guest house, around 12:30 AM while we were playing cards (yet again) a German couple showed up and told us the Krathongs weren’t put into the water until close to midnight. I hope you aren’t bored by all the temple shots of the park. It really is quite a spectacular place and I’m so glad we had an opportunity to see it at such a special time.

Tuesday, Nov 27

Day didn’t start our very well. Staff at the guest house can’t reach the bus company so we had to go to the station ourselves. It was hot and although they gave us a map and said it was about 3 km, the map was wrong! We ended up finding a tuk-tuk who took us to the terminal, where we purchased tickets for early Thursday morning and on the way back he ran out of gas and Mike and the driver ended up pushing the tuk-tuk to the gas station. Mike gave him a nice tip and he’ll be back this afternoon to take us to the Old City and drive us around the temples for a couple hours.

Hoping the afternoon goes better than the morning.

Monday, Nov. 26

Today was probably the most frustrating of our journey thus far. First off the train we were booked on to get to Sukothai for the light festival didn’t even have a third train car and our ticket was for car # 3 --- therefore, once on the train, even after being directed to seats 13/14 the conductor came along and had us move. First trying to separate us in the car and then after some struggle with the language (and my refusal to be separated), they finally put us in seats together and we were on our way. It was a long trip, neither of us could sleep and the scenery got a little boring. We got to one stop and all the falangs (foreigners) were getting off. We noticed it was one stop people use to go to Sukothai, but we stayed on the train to our destination. Once we arrived at the train station we found there were NO taxis or tuk-tuks to Sukothai (which we were assured by the incompetent Bangkok travel agent there would be transportation) at all. After inquiring with the train station staff, one of them changed his shirt and told us he would drive us the 31 KMs for 1000 bts. What could we do? Either pay the outrageous amount or be stuck in a city we didn’t want to be in and miss our reservations at Sabaidee Guest House. Off we went, after of course, stopping at a 7-11 for a couple beers for the ride. Mike says he’s going to publicly make her lose face. An absolutely unforgivable action in Thailand.

We arrived at the Guest House, they were expecting us and we have a lovely room and the staff is very friendly and accommodating. We had dinner after getting settled in our room and mid-meal the owner called everyone to the front of the house and he lit some paper lanterns and after a few minutes, they filled with hot air, we let them go and up up up in the air they went. It was really pretty. I can imagine hundreds in flight at one time. Hopefully we’ll see something like that while we’re here. After dinner we had a very interesting conversation with an older gentleman from named Christian from Belgium. He gave us some good tips on the area and what to do in the Old section of town. I’m always amazed with how much Europeans and others know about US politics. As usual they are more aware than most US citizens concerning this. We decided to “eat” the cost of the train tickets back to Bangkok and take a bus back, that way we won’t arrive at 4:00 AM. So tomorrow the staff here will try to make us reservations.

Beat Mike badly in rummy again tonight! He really sucks at gin rummy. However he has offered to play backgammon for money and relieve me of my savings account.

Photos: Nepal & Thailand

andylawrence — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 18:35:00 GMT

Sukhothai Thailand & Loi Krathong festival

Chiang Mai & Laos travels

andylawrence — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:11:00 GMT

Friday, November 16 - Friday, November 23

Our week in Laos

Again on a night train from Bangkok to Vientiane, actually the Thai / Lao border. This time we were in first class compartment. It was a beautiful ride and the sky was clear and the stars were shining brightly. After arriving in the early morning and going through the very long immigration process we took a tuk-tuk into town. We realized after dropping two others off that the guesthouse we had booked was on the very outskirts of town, away from any restaurants or sights, so off we went with our packs to search other accommodations. Found a great place one block from the Mekong River surrounded by French Bakeries and good vegetarian restaurants, and actually down the street from one of the more famous temples. Again, an easy city to walk around in. Felt completely safe the entire time. You can really see the influence of China and the money they must be putting into Laos. Everyone seems to have new cars and nice motorbikes. Many, many western travelers. Met a very friendly French man who was telling me how the city has changed over the past several years. Mike even noticed changes from when he was here two years ago. I can’t say it’s an attractive city, not many trees and although there is a “river walk” park, it’s a lot of concrete, therefore, walks were done in the late afternoon when the sun wasn’t too hot.

Strange to see a hammer/sickle flag flapping in the breeze. One evening we stopped at a corner bar and listened to music. Some western songs, but many Thai and Lao tunes as well. Along the river is an open theater area with Chinese opera every evening, and there is the night market, which seems to be in every city we’ve visited. These markets sell everything and anything. Most interesting item at this particular market were the bracelets and necklaces and eating utensils made out of the aluminum bomb casings the US dropped on Laos during the Viet Nam conflict.

After two days in Vientiane we headed for Vang Vieng, about 169 km north of Vientiane. The drive/ride there was beautiful. After the brown of Vientiane it was nice to see the green fields of rice with water buffalo wondering along the fields. Also the traditional Lao villages with homes built on stilts. But along side what would be considered shacks there were brand new mansions being built. These new homes looked like they could have been in Great Falls or Potomac, very out of place in my opinion.

Then we started to go up into the hills and all of a sudden you could see the mountains and cliffs in the distance, beautiful sight, and that were we were headed.

Our little guest house was on the banks of the river, overlooking an island and just in the near distance were the mountains, blue sky and fluffy/puffy clouds that if you used your imagination, could think they were lotus flowers floating in the sky. We spent a lot of time on the second floor deck reading and looking out at the beautiful scenery. It was difficult to leave this little bit of paradise, but we knew if we didn’t, we might not. I think this stop has been my favorite. So back to Vientiane for one more night before heading back to our home base, Bangkok.

Friday, November 9 - Tuesday, November 13

Our week in Chiang Mai

I already mentioned our overnight train trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, which was very comfortable even in second class sleeper. Our guesthouse was really convenient to the main section of the old city and it’s a very easy city to walk around in. It’s much less crowded than Bangkok and less expensive too. We discovered a friendly little bar down the street from our place that has a happy hour from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and from all appearances, it seems there are a number of Ex-Pats that do spend the entire day there playing pool, darts and visiting with each other and occasionally eating a burger. I’ll admit, we would stop there each evening for a beer before heading out to dinner. One of the waitresses, Peanut, would spend a few minutes with us just to practice her English. Oh, and if you ever do travel to Thailand, be aware - they start to play pool at a very young age, so they are very good. I wouldn’t even attempt to play with one of them, they would clear the table before I would even get a shot.

Chiang Mai is really a pretty city, with many beautiful temples, old city walls and a canal surrounding the entire area. We did the typical tourist sights; temples, walking along the river; people watching; visiting the street markets and going to the city park. I must have walked 3 to 4 miles each day we were there. My highlight was taking a Thai cooking class one day, which included going to the morning market to pick out the vegetables that would be used for the recipes later that afternoon. The teacher was a hoot, very entertaining and I had such a good time. It was good to chop and cook again after so long being out of a kitchen. I’m now prepared to make hot Thai noodles.

At one of the temples an old lady was “selling” families of birds you could buy for 100 bts (about $3.00) and you could release them to the wild of the temple trees. I understand it’s good merit to release them. So of course, I felt sorry for the little critters and set them free. Mike told me the lady probably catches them again since she feeds them, get another sucker tourist to release them again. Oh well, she got a few dollars, the birds got to flutter their wings and I supposedly got merit.

We returned to Bangkok on a day train (very boring ride that was at least 2 hours late arriving back to town) on Tuesday, November 13.

Thailand update

andylawrence — Fri, 9 Nov 2012 17:44:00 GMT

Wednesday, October 24 - Thursday, November 9

Long time since I’ve written. We arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday, October 24, checked into the place we normally stay (The Atlanta), but only stayed two nights. They are doing construction and there was just too much noise, so we moved to The Federal Hotel a few blocks away. Much of my time was spent at poolside, reading or researching where we’re going next. Unfortunately, one afternoon my Kindle flew out of my hand and landed in the pool - of course it died, sadly I was in the middle of a book when it happened.

We went out a couple nights to see Mike’s friends in the bands at the Bamboo Club and Country Roads. Bangkok is a city that never sleeps - street bars take the place of street vendors around Midnight and stay open until at least 3:00 AM. Most are just small carts with beer etc., but there seems to be a trend of turning old VW buses into mini-bars, with bar stools up against a small pull down counter, they even have neon lights flashing and teckno-music blaring out of loud speakers. Some even serve noodles or other finger food cooked on the side of the street. They are great places to sit and watch the street scene.

Mike knows someone who lives outside of Bangkok, so we met him and his wife for dinner one evening. We went to what I would call a theme restaurant, it was German and really sort of cute. Small buildings with a small creek and pond, swans swimming, rabbits hopping around, like Disney World. The waitstaff were dressed in German country costumes including lederhosen. The food was all Thai and wonderful, lovely evening and we were able to eat outside with the full moon shining.

Mike and I mentioned we were going to the beach, and they suggested they join us, so on Friday, November 2 we headed for Pranburi, about 3.5 hours south of Bangkok for two nights. On the drive down we passed salt farms; shrimp farms; and pineapple fields . It appears to be the agricultural center for this part of Thailand. We took a day trip to Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park (Three Hundred Mountain Peak in english). The park is known for it’s beaches, limestone cliffs and caves. We decided to go to Tham Phraya Nakhon cave. To get there we had two choices, walk up one peak and then down, cross the beach and then another short (450 meter) walk up another peak and down to the cave, OR take a boat ride of about 10 minutes around to the beach and then just the 450 meter walk to the cave. Mike and I were in favor of walking, but the others didn’t think we had time, plus they didn’t have on proper shoes for a short hike, therefore we took the boat. It was all uphill to get to the cave, but it was well worth the trip. It looked like a movie set, the sun was shining in, there were trees growing and a small temple had been built in the center. It really was quite interesting.

On the way back to Bangkok on Sunday we took a detour and stopped at the Hua Hin Hills vineyard, owned by the same family that owns Red Bull. Pretty place and the wine wasn’t bad, but in my opinion, not as good as Virginia wines. One attraction offered, other than wine tasting, is a tour of the vineyard by elephant. Didn’t do it, but saw people on them.

Tuesday, November 6 we took the night train to Chiang Mai and arrived early on Wednesday, November 7. We shared a compartment on the train with a nice couple from Singapore, they taught us a crazy Chinese card game and Mike explained various poker game to them. I have a feeling they already knew how to play poker though. They asked us about the election, people here seem to be interested in the outcome.

Once we were settled in our new home for the week we’ll be here, we were anxious to see election results, but since we’re 12 hours ahead, we had to wait until very late in the day to see that Obama won. We celebrated his victory that evening.

Friday, November 9 - we spent the morning walking around the old part of the city, stopping at a number of Wats (temples).

Update since Oct. 3 to Oct 19

andylawrence — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 00:03:00 GMT

Monday, October 15 - Saturday, October 20 - Since it’s our last week in Nepal, we decided to leave the noise and dust of Kathmandu for Chitwan and Pokhara. Besides, its the start of Dasain Festival, which is just a crazy time in the city -- way too noisy and too many people drinking too much and running through the streets, too hectic. So we took a tourist bus from Kathmandu to Chitwan where we stayed for a couple days. It’s one of the oldest National Parks in Nepal. The bus trip was pleasant enough and we had a wonderful time at the Gaida Lodge. We went for a day-long jeep ride in the jungle and were lucky enough to see a number of Rhinos; no Tigers, but numerous spotted deer, birds, crocodiles, wild boar and wild chickens. One day we just went to the river and watched the elephants get washed. It’s a big tourist attraction. For a few dollars you can get on the elephant while its in the river and the elephant sprays you with its trunk. We did not get a bath with the elephants, but watched a bunch of older German tourist get soaked. From Chitwan we came to Pokhara. It’s a nice little town on Phewa Tal (Phewa Lake). Very much like any beach resort you might imagine. Many restaurants, numerous trinket shops (selling the same jewelry, hats, scarfs, shirts, clown pants etc as sold everywhere), parasailing, bungie jumping, and a nice Pagoda on the mountain side. Here we just relaxed and watched the locals wash their cloths, fish, bath and fly kites etc along the lake front. Good inexpensive curries.

Tomorrow, Saturday, October 20 we’ll head back to Kathmandu for a few days before we head to Thailand on Wednesday, October 24.

Take care everyone and know we’re thinking about you guys. I’ll do another posting after we hit Bangkok.

Wednesday, Oct 3 - Friday, Oct 12

Been a while since I’ve written, but there is a reason for that; I spent 10 days at Kopan Monastery outside of Kathmandu. I was there from Wednesday, October 3 to Friday, October 12. I was suppose to be there until Saturday, the 13th, but Mike was going to play Friday night with Desmond at a local restaurant and I wanted to hear them. I’m glad I did because they sounded terrific and I really enjoyed the songs, particularly the original pieces written by Desmond.

Anyway, my experience at the Monastery was well worth the time. I basically went to learn more about the Buddhist philosophy and possibly how to meditate. I wasn’t very good at the visualization method, but got the breathing down pretty well. The Monastery is located on a hillside about one hour from the center of Kathmandu and it’s so quiet, except the many dogs that barked all through the night and of course the chanting that the Monks started at 5:00 AM each morning, but I got used to that and earplugs work.

My day started at 6:00 AM with tea and then a meditation session from 6:30 to 7:30, then breakfast; a teaching session from 9:30 to 11:45 then lunch; free time till 2:00 and then one hour discussion groups (talking about the readings or teachings from the morning) back to the gopa for another teaching from 3:30 to 5:00, followed by tea until 6:00 and then another meditation session to 7:45 and then dinner. So they were pretty long days.

For those of you who know me well, you may find the following hard to believe, but I was able to keep all of the rules for the time that I was there: no killing (not even the pesky bugs), no alcohol, no smoking, no anger and most of all - the practice of silence. We had silent time from 9:00 PM to noon each day and then the last two days it was completely silent for 48 hours. I found it very easy. You can really get into your mind when you don’t talk, and it gives you an opportunity to just look around and really see things. I spent the quiet time reading the meditation book we each got as well as another book on lectures given by one of the monks; watching butterflies dance, watching the stars; watching the people and watching the clouds change shapes. I met some really terrific people from all over the world and had interesting discussions on attachment, love, reincarnation etc. But enough of that.

While I was practicing being quiet and looking into myself questioning how I could/can be a better person, Mike was in Kathmandu helping his friend Desmond get his recording studio up and running again so he can get his business visa.

Kathmandu / Trek update

andylawrence — Tue, 2 Oct 2012 14:46:00 GMT

Hello Friends: it's been a while since I've updated the journal, so the following includes our time in the mountains as well as what we have been doing in Kathmandu. Also, I know a few of you were worried/concerned when you heard about the SITA crash in Kathmandu on it's way to Lukla. We were not on that flight, but we were on the same one on the the Friday we left for the mountains. Very sad day here when the plane went down. I hope everyone is well. PS - I'm still trying to figure out how to post photographs - I know you want to see me in all my glory, particularly with the bad hair days.

Saturday, Sept 29

Quiet day in Kathmandu; morning at the organic farmers market - wonder variety of international people wondering around. Lovely produce - reminded me of Alexandria Saturday market in Old Town. Wish I had a kitchen to cook in, or at least someplace to make a wonderful salad.

Afternoon we went to Durbar Square along with thousands of other tourists and locals to witness the Indra Jatra festival. when the Kumari, or the living goddess travels though out the old city of Kathmandu by way of a hugh wooden chariot pulled by many men.

It was very hot, but we were able to get seats on some steps and were relatively comfortable. The police and army were out in force, which I can understand with the thousands of people packed into the square. So for about two hours we watched all the government officials come and go into the palace, where I can only assume they drank tea and visited with one another, awaiting what everyone else was - the arrival of Kumari.

Finally three chariots arrived - and there they were - one young girl in each, dressed in red with more gold that I will ever see in my lifetime - Think Tiara & Tots and you’ll get the picture. Much cheering, horns blowing, drums banging, clapping and general light heartedness. We could have waited for her to come to the steps we were sitting at, but that could have taken another two hours as she still needed to go through the streets. How they accomplish that is a wonder when even the small cars (Toyotas mostly) and motorbikes can’t seem to go down the road side by side.

Anyway, I’m glad we experienced it, but once is enough.

Tues., Sept. 25

In Kathmandu - spent the morning visiting The Pashupati area, a very sacred Hindu site along the Bagmati River. It’s where Hindu funerals are performed - open air cremations. It’s actually a very peaceful place and everyone is very respectful of the cremation ceremonies.

Among the stupas (small temples) sit “Babas”, holy men who have given up all worldly possessions to travel around seeking enlightenment. They do depend on the generosity of others to provide food and places to sleep etc. At Pashupati they encourage tourists to take their photographs and then charge for the privilege. Not much, maybe 5 rupees. The men have their faces painted and sometimes their arms and legs are whitened with powder. They are actually pretty amusing to watch as the tourists all gather to take their picture.

Friday, Sept 14 - Sunday, September 23

Our Trek Adventure

Sorry it’s been a while since writing in this journal/blog, but we didn’t take the computer while on the journey to the Mountains. We took one back pack apiece and to tell the truth, we could have gone with just one since we didn’t even use most of what we took. Since Mike’s last trek to the same area, the tea houses/lodges all now have electricity full time as well as wifi connections and everyone seems to have a cell phone. Everything has gone up in price at least 30 % as well. Our porter, who was so nice and spoke excellent english was twice as much as last time. Trekking permits that were at one time 500 rupees are now 3000 rupees apiece and on top of that you have to get a park pass. So what we thought would be a fairly inexpensive adventure ran a bit more than anticipated, but all in all, well worth it.

We had expected to leave on Thursday, the 13th, but no flights were leaving Kathmandu for Lukla due to weather in the mountains, so back to the Red Planet for the night and we were able to get a flight on Friday.

The flight into Lukla is quite spectacular, going through the Kathmandu Valley up into the mountains - looking out the window all you can see are mountains, clouds, blue sky, numerous waterfalls, rivers, green pastures and beautiful scenery.

The flight is only about 25 minutes and if the pilot doesn’t pay attention, they could end up running into the side of the mountain that says “Welcome to Lukla” - it’s a sharp right turn! The runway itself is perched on a cliff and is 525 meters long. When planes land, they land uphill to give extra braking power so they don’t run into the stone wall at the end of the runway. The obverse is true for the take off---downhill off the end of a cliff!! Definitely the most exciting airport I’ve landed and taken off from.

Off we went with much excitement for our first leg; Lukla to Phakding. The 8 mile hike took us about 3.5 hours and to an elevation of 2610 meters. We took it slow and easy.

The lodge we stayed at Mike has used before and the owner was very happy to see him again, offering us homemade wine with our dinner.

The next day (Sat) we arranged to hire a porter, Pasang, for the rest of the trip and I’m glad we did. It made the trip so much more comfortable. He was very nice, knowledgable on the area and kept an eye out for both of us. So off to Namche Bazar. It was a really hard 6.3 miles and took us over 8 hours to get to the elevation of 3440. Up and down; around switchbacks; across at least 4 suspension bridges with the raging river 100 meters below and the wind blowing. There was a reason for the prayer flags hanging from the cables! The paths we took have been used for hundreds of years as a trade route between China/Tibet/Nepal and India. At some placed the path was maybe a foot wide and other places it was stone steps maybe 5 feet wide and just going up, up, up. I thought they would never end sometimes. Great work out for the legs and butt! We would have to move over to allow Sherpas to pass with the heaviest loads on their backs, everything from bottle water to propane tanks to solar panels to 4 x 8 pieces of wood. Everything that goes to the mountains has to come on these trails, and there are NO cars or motorbikes, so it’s either carried by these men & boys or by the Yaks (higher up) or Naks a breed of bull & yak.

We rested for a day in Namche to try to acclimate a bit to the altitude. There wasn’t much to do in the town but we did go to the monastery and have our trek blessed.

Monday, Sept 17 - weather still misty and a bit cold, but after much discussion we decided to continue on to Deboche. Sometime during this day I started to question if this expedition was the best choice I could have made. It was so hard and exhausting. It was another 7.5 hours of walking to go about 6 miles. Now on level ground I can do 6 miles in my sleep - here, it’s up those nasty steps, over creeks, walking straight up for what seems to be forever. But then I would stop and catch my breath and see the most beautiful sight - it might have been some butterflies chasing each other, or a simple blue flower or better yet a snow covered peak in the distance or what appeared to be a fairyland of ferns and moss and think to myself - God I’m glad I’m doing this, it’s too beautiful to miss. The walk between Namche and Deboche was probably the hardest of all the days, started at 3440 meters then to 3550 meters down to 3250 meters and back up to 3860 *Tengboche) only to end at 3820 meters, and it was misty most of the day and toward the end, getting a bit chilly.

Tues. Sept 18 - Todays trek was beautiful, the sun was out most of the day and the landscape just get better and better. Today was like taking a Sunday stroll, except the last 1.5 hours which were just brutal. We arrived at Pheriche late in the day, both of us are tired and we plan on resting here for at least one day.

Thur. Sept 20 - well, we had to end our trek, can’t go any further up. I got pretty sick, I haven’t been able to eat for two days, not a good sign. So tomorrow we head back down. But I’m excited and very proud of what I was able to accomplish. It’s a disappointment, but necessary.

Took us three days to walk back to Lukla. I was finally able to eat something solid on Saturday. So over about 8 days we hit a high altitude of approx. 4800 meters (approx. 15,600 feet) and covered close to 50 miles.

It was an experience I will always treasure. I met some lovely people on the way, saw breathtaking sights and pushed myself harder than I thought I ever would and survived.

Kathmandu - 9/11 - 9/13

andylawrence — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 22:14:00 GMT

Thursday, Sept 13 - Kathmandu Woke up very early today (4:00 AM) in order to get a cab at 5 AM for our flight to Lukla, which departs at 6:30 AM. Looking forward to finally getting to the mountains. It rained most of last night and is still sprinkling when we left the hotel. Arrived at the domestic terminal, got into the very long line waiting to go into the departure terminal. All sorts of people in line. Many hikers with full packs apparently anxious to get going; women dressed in colorful silk saris holding the most beautiful babies/toddlers; many men with loads of boxes/bags filled with what appears to be food, cloth, just all sorts of things. Finally got in, checked in for the flight - decided to check both the backpacks for some reason - probably because it was so early I wasn’t thinking straight. Anyway, finally in the waiting area - looking out the windows and not seeing what we should have been able to see - the mountains, just clouds and more clouds. Lukla is one airport that you don’t approach with instruments, its a sight approach only. So, we sit and wait, and wait and wait. Remember, we checked both backpacks, and for those of you who have traveled with me in the past, you know, I always have snacks, book, writing material with me when I travel, but NOT this time - so for almost 6 hours we sat waiting for our flight before it was finally cancelled. So, back to Red Planet for the afternoon / night and we’ll try again on Friday. I’m sure we’ll take off then. Wednesday, Sept. 12 - Kathmandu Morning spent gathering the last minute things we need for the trek. A few meds you can’t get in the states, but which will be very useful on the road, plus a few little things we forgot, like bandaids. Then off to the American Embassy to register the fact we’re here and what we plan on doing. Apparently, last year any American who registered was invited to Thanksgiving dinner/party - the women wasn’t sure that would be the case this year, but maybe - except we won’t be here then. I also had new pages put in my passport (this was free at one time, but now costs $82) and we were both able to vote early (that was free). So I guess we are all set. The drive to the Embassy was eye opening. Many of the main roads in the older section of Kathmandu are being widened to accommodate the newer and larger automobiles, and for that to be done buildings, walls and trees are being torn down. Now in the States this wouldn’t seem like much, get a bulldozer and in a few hours the job is done. Not so here. There are men with sledge hammers knocking down the walls of the buildings and painstakingly preserving the bricks so they can be used again. The cement is mixed by hand, placed in a basket and pulled up to a second floor by a rope. The trees, which are hundreds of years old and at least 4 feet diameter are being chopped with an ax, no chainsaws here, and everyone in the family is working to save the house or shop and rebuild it a few feet back from where it was originally. It’s my understanding that either the people do it themselves, or the “government” will and then charge the people for the work. Unbelievable! This evening we met Stefan and Dolma, a couple we met last year, for dinner, and then beers with the owner of the hotel afterwards for lively conversation. All in all a very good day. Tuesday, September 11 We’re still catching up on sleep, so today we mostly rested and poked around the city a bit and then went off to Swayambhu to see Desmond and Joan for lunch. Desmond’s band played at a club not far from the hotel, so Mike had an opportunity to sit in for a set. They sounded good, as always and it was nice to hear Desmond’s original music.

Arrived Nepal

andylawrence — Sun, 9 Sep 2012 21:35:00 GMT

Hello - We arrived in Nepal on Saturday, 9/8, after many flights, lots of airplane food, more movies then I can remember and for me hardly any sleep. Mike was able to sleep on most of the flights. We did a lay over in Bangkok Friday night. We normally would have gone out to hear a few bands, but we were too tired - maybe we're getting too old for all nighters and then getting on a plane for another 4 hour flight at 7:00 AM.

Anyway, we're now in Nepal and just hanging out, trying to get used to the time change. We plan on leaving for the trek on Sunday, 9/16 for three weeks. Most likely very little news from us during that time, not sure about cell/wifi service in the mountains.

Only one minor mishap - I've smashed one of my toes on the left foot as I was getting out of the cab in Bangkok (damn Tevas!), thank goodness it's not broken, we got ice on it right away and now a few days later I'm able to bend it. I was a little worried it would put a damper on the trek.

All is well, just a bit tired, but wanted to let you guys/gals know we are on our way.