Pilgrim Routes

Getting lost in Thamel District

ritaj — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 16:18:00 GMT

The chaos and close humanity that is the Thamel district of Kathmandu. The people are really nice and it's easy to strike up an interesting conversation.Tiny roads and lanes and traffic of every size and kind tooting and pushing through. This time I am able to negotiate this fairly naturally. You have to get used to being inches from the cars as you all share the same space. I always get lost and have to say no to cab and rickshaw drivers who want to give me a ride. This time I ended up in a map shop where I got a detailed map and good directions. The first pic is our hotel Samsara. The last pic is a tiny puja at a corner just near my hotel. When I see this I know where I am.

I will post the photos later

First Morning in Kathmandu

ritaj — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 16:13:00 GMT

First morning in Kathmandu, view from the window. Kathmandu is it's usual mix of old, older and stalled buildings (running out of money) and I love it. The smells, the air ...
Jac is arriving in a couple of hours. So glad she made it after all but I will let her tell that story.
Now that I have mastered the art of wifi on my phone I am hoping to post some real time photos and updates as long as I can get wifi. Which might be more often than expected with China's technology covering Tibet.
So please join this pilgrimage remotely. I am thinking of you all.
PS. It's so great to be able to
choose Pilgrimage as your reason for travel on entry into Nepal.

To Visa or not, that is the question

ritaj — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 15:52:00 GMT

The last two weeks have been filled with uncertainty as the visa for Tibet, while seemingly approved has not been issued. In the end I just came to Kathmandu, jumped 'off the cliff' as it were, trusting to the Divine and to Hira when he said it would be OK - "you will go to Kailash". I did have a plan B of going to India but I deep down it was Nepal, Tibet and Kaliash that my soul was yearning for.

So a fortnight of letting go of wanting to control, comforting the Inner Child who was wondering if she had been bad and that is why permission did not seem forthcoming - and a couple of restless nights of excitement and wonder - with moments of intense worry thrown in.

What a wonderful opportunity to return to my mindfulness practices and still the mind. I was grateful for my very regular practice these last 18 or more months as the mind/body was able to to return to calm and peace more easefully than in previous uncertain times.

So here I am in Kathmandu for three days before the yatra begins.

I will post of Facebook and here when I can. While there is now very good internet for phones in Tibet I will be relying on local wifi which I think might still be scarce (thinking of my budget) .

Right now I am so happy to be in Kathmandu.

Thank you to all who have made this possible.

More on nutrition for altitude

ritaj — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 21:38:00 GMT

I mentioned Cataplex E2 in a previous post, as some thing that had been recommended as an excellent support for high altitudes. It is very hard to get into Australia. The US manufacturer only sells to practitioners in US, Amazon won't ship it to Australia, another supplier won't take non US credit cards. Finally with much determination I found a place that sells and ships to Oz. The shipping is nearly as much as the product. Wasn't too happy about that but decided to get it anyway.

It took a while to arrive and I was worried that it may not get into the country because of our customs restrictions etc. Then I get a message from FedEx saying they need an invoice and a list of ingredients for Oz customs before it will be released. Sent the info and PRAYED!!!!!

The product was delivered to my house the next day. Yeah! I will see how it helps with altitude. And the useby date is 2016. So if I can't go this year it will last till next year.

Here is the supplyer

http://myhealthstore.com

Now we go, now we don't, now it's a maybe

ritaj — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 21:15:00 GMT

What a week in the life of a pilgrim in preparation. As a response to the absolutely dreadful landslide in Nepal last week (on the road from Kathmandu to the Tibet border) the Chinese Authority decided to close the border from 14 August indefinitely. Our lovely yantra leader, Hira, emailed us and said - no Kailash this year. Our little trio went through denial, shock, grief .... I decided I would still keep getting ready, couldn't stand the thought of unpacking my half packed suitcase yet. Then 24 hours later we get another email - don't cancel flights yet, Hira is trying to get us through and will know on 23 August .... 5 days before we are due to hop on the plane.

However this seeming obstacle has brought some unexpected blessings. I was brought face to face with a lot of pride I had about how I was going to this sacred place that many couldn't go to. It has also brought me back to earth - going on this pilgrimage will not remove me from the normal challenges of life forever. I may not even get to go this year. I need to be ok with where I am right now, wherever that is.

Having said all that I am assuming we will be able to go - expect the best - and if not, then that will be an adventure in itself.

So today I spent an hour in the vitamin shop purchasing the final bits to help with altitude.

As I said to Jac at our last preparation meeting - I'm good to go!

Nutrition for altitude

ritaj — Wed, 6 Aug 2014 13:47:00 GMT

Having spent a lot of time searching the internet this is still the best summary of what is helpful for high altitude. I used a lot of this nutritional support last time and went quite well in altitude - although nutrition is only one element I think it is an important one.

This time I am dosing up on all these supplements ahead of time - except the Ginko which doesn't suit me, and I am not taking the aptogenic and cardiotonic herbs. Cataplex E2 is very hard to get into Australia - that's another post.

From Denver Naturopthic

http://www.denvernaturopathic.com/news/altitude.html

Summary:
Drink a lot of water

Ginkgo: 120-180 mg/day (any history of asthma)
Milk Thistle: 120-240 mg/day (any liver complaints)

Antioxidants:
Vitamin C 2-3,000 mg/day
Vitamin E 400 iu/day
alpha lipoic Acid 150-300 mg/day
Raise glutathione levels:
Selenium 200 mcg/day (if you have a family history of cancer never stop taking this!)
N-acetyl-cysteine 1-2000 mg/day (especially if prone to nasal congestion)
l-glutamine: 3,000 mg/day (especially if prone to stomach irritation)

Adaptogenic herbs: your choice: Korean Ginseng, Siberian Ginseng, Ashwagandha, Reishi,(which has a growing reputation of being useful ) etc.
Cardiotonics: Hawthorne Berry Extract (Crataegus): 250-500 mg/dayand Co Q 10 90 mg/day (both especially if you have a weak heart)

The Bottom Line: From Denver Naturopathic
My favorite thing to use Cataplex E2: 2 tablets 3-4 times per day plus a multivitamin with high antioxidant levels. Having read through all these abstracts I am going to try to start adding l-glutamine, ginkgo and glutathione to my ski morning breakfast.

Who to travel with

ritaj — Wed, 6 Aug 2014 13:24:00 GMT

I leave for Kathmandu in 22 days. Most travel to Tibet begins in Kathmandu or China and you can only go with authorised tour operators. I am travelling with Karnali Excursions with whom I travelled in 2012. They are beyond fabulous!

http://www.kailashtrekking.com/

This year I have planned and been able to get ready early so I now have time to post some of the 'getting ready' joy and challenge over the next few weeks.

Getting ready is half the fun

ritaj — Mon, 4 Aug 2014 16:16:00 GMT

My first time blogging

I am getting ready to go to Tibet and Mt Kailash for the second time and I thought I would try this blog. Getting ready is half the fun; lists, shopping for clothes, hitting the outdoor store sales, reading up on high altitude nutrition and preparation, ordering vitamins from US, daily yoga, walking, looking at Kailash videos on You tube ....

Might share some of my prep in this blog and see how it goes