Run the World

Photos: Australia

solorunner — Sat, 8 Jul 2017 15:00:00 GMT

Sydney, Byron Bay, Brisbane, Airlie Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Cairns, Daintree Rainforest

Photos: Indonesia

solorunner — Sat, 8 Jul 2017 15:00:00 GMT

Ubud, Mt Batur, Uluwatu, Mt. Rinjani

Photos: Thailand

solorunner — Sat, 8 Jul 2017 14:30:00 GMT

Chiangmai, Chaingrai

Part 4

solorunner — Sat, 8 Jul 2017 13:00:00 GMT

i have even more time to share with you guys now that the trekking agency I was supposed to climb with ditched me on Lombok island, Indonesia. So I had 2 choices, try to find these guys which would include paying 30$ for a taxi ride to the middle of the jungle hoping they even existed and would still take me OR convince this new agency that they should take me up rinjani by myself with a night accommodation before and after the trek and transportation to and from the harbor for the same price. I went with that idea, my bag is sitting in their office and apparently I'm getting picked up at 3:30...I ate a whole roll of Oreos in anticipation of the stress of waiting out these next 2 hours.

Ill let you know how that goes, or maybe not but at least this restaurant has wifi.

So left off with Tyler leaving, I watched 5 episodes of the office till the sun rose in mourning of his departure haha and then I thought hmmm I think I'm ready to go to the next place so I booked a bus ticket to Chiang rain and got ready to make a move to Laos.

Chaing rai: wandered into the cat cafe-exactly how it sounds, coffee and about 50 cats, I didn't know how to feel about it either. Still had an hour to spare before another bus to Huay Xai so quickly figured I had enough time to quickly see the white temple and get back in time to hop on the bus. Success. Got on the bus and got to the border around 5 pm. Met a group of European guys on the bus and once we decided Huay Xai sucked we got a bunch of hostel rooms to share, grabbed dinner and headed straight for the bar (there was only one cause there was only one road in the village). Since it was low tourist season the bar owner invited us in with a 2 for 1 deal on beers and we planned our next move to take the slow boat down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang.

that morning I went for my first run of the trip, 3 mikes down the road and 3 miles back just short of the Myanmar border. now, there are two types of people that take this slow boat-the whiskey drinkers and then everyone else...ended up splitting from the Europeans seeing that they were one type and I was the other, I'm sure you can't figure out the sides haha

Met Beth and Ed who I stayed with at the half way point in Pak Beng, learned an awesome new card game ate more Oreos and crashed around 10pm. the second day on the slow boat dragged on FOREVER. Either you drink whisky or eat Oreos or try to convince yourself not to eat lunch within the first 3 hours otherwise you will me bored AND hungry for the last 5. Made it tho and ended up following Beth and Ed to their hostel and getting a room there. Found an amazing buffet with lots of veggie food for dinner, booked a trek for the next 2 days and also booked a flight to Hanoi for 4 days later. PRODUCTIVITY. Okay gonna add more pictures now and check to make sure my bag is still in the trekking "office"-literally just picturing them taking down all the fake signs for their agency and running with my bag leaving an empty room. And it's raining, it's okay tho cause I'm pretending I'm staying at this nice resort so I can eat here. Okay bye

Looking back. Part 3

solorunner — Fri, 7 Jul 2017 16:00:00 GMT

Bangkok: found 2 guys on the plane that were heading into the city together as well so we all navigated the train system together. I walked to my hostel which was an AWESOME place and the air conditioning was spectacular-something I will never take for granted again. Also there was toilet paper which is fun. Got rice in a pineapple and planned my day before crashing in bed

7 hours later....walked 3 miles to the grand palace and did tons of touristy things walking around temples and eating pad Thai, got back After bargaining my way to a new outfit and flip flops on KhoSan Rd and showered off the damage the hot weather had done. Met a guy who told me about an app called maps.me that you can use offline instead of always downloading google maps which rocked my world-still using it everyday

back to the airport for Chiangmai (northern Thailand) but more importantly for Tyler. I think I was more nervous to see him than the first time we went out cause it had been quite a bit of time, but also way too excited and I'm one of those girlfriends that gets super psyched about everything and love hugs and romance and lovey things. and it absolutely doesn't make me any less of an aspiring badass (maybe after I do an Ironman Ill graduate to a complete badass) ANYWAY got to Chiangmai, reunited with the bf and then obviously started planning all the fun things for the weekend

Spent the day with elephants-fed them, bathed them and gave them a mud bath, at some point one of the elephants started pooping in the water so the guide caught the big blocks of poop and tossed them out of the water....just thought you should know

visited a gorgeous temple with tons of steps (Tyler had s tough time with that one ;) just kidding that may have been me) and saw a local village and swam in this giant canyon and visited temples all around the city and climbed a waterfall that had an effect where the rocks were super sticky so you could scramble right through the water. Went to a jazz bar and this awesome restaurant with couches to sit on. It was an epic weekend and couldn't think of anyone else id want to be there with me.

Looking back. Part 2

solorunner — Fri, 7 Jul 2017 14:00:00 GMT

Pokhara: dreamy lakeside town home to smoothie bowls, Or2k restaurant, paragliding, world peace pagoda, friendships and epic sunsets.

met 2 amazing girls on the windy 10 hour bus ride there and ended up hiking to see the sunrise with them, feasting at our favorite restaurant Or2k and just enjoying each other's company. I went paragliding and it was amazing just running off the side of the mountain and floating around despite just making it to land before it got messy (floating for an hour=unhappy stomach). Saw the sunset from the world peace pagoda and took a boat across the lake to enjoy the view of the town. Booked the comfy bus back( this one had air conditioning) and went on my way.

Leaving Nepal: I was incredibly sad, in Nepal I had finally lived my dream of big mountain trekking and spending time with so many other passionate hikers. The people were wonderful, the atmosphere was so vibrant and the spirit of the mountains was infectious ( and permanent as it is now tattooed on my arm, sorry mom and dad :D)

Next stop Thailand AND...drum roll please, seeing my wonderful long lost boyfriend who had been working in China for the last 6 months, couldn't think of a better meeting place! BUT first a nice 24 hour exploration in Bangkok...

Looking back. Part 1

solorunner — Fri, 7 Jul 2017 13:00:00 GMT

Now that I've officially convinced you that I've been going nonstop for almost 2 months, Ive decided to dedicate this free hour to easing your curiosity with the very short version of the majority of the trip. You'll just have to hang out with me/buy me lunch when I get back to hear the rest of the story :D

I left off in the village of Machemo, from there we trekked to Gokyo right below the 17,000ft peak of Gokyo Ri. Gokyo sits on a gorgeous lake which I walked around during my free time. I met a group of Canadians and played cards/ate/discussed the fate of the Indian family we heard about getting stranded on a glacier the other night. Next morning I got up around 4am, super clear skies, head lamp and oreos in hand to head to the summit of Gokyo Ri. All uphill, bald summit and about 2000ft of straight elevation gain in just over 2 hours. The view was unbelievable-the Gokyo lakes, a string of 8,000 meter peaks, the sunrise and the second biggest glacier in the world which we hiked to the day before. 2 guys had carried their guitars up and were playing some soft tunes to complete the spirit of early morning in the Himalayas

Next day we conquered Renjo Pass, just slightly higher and much more snowy the pass loomed over Gokyo village and separated my path into the mountains from the way back out. Again, my aight addiction to hiking and exercise took me 17 total miles back to Namche where I returned to Hamalayan Java coffee for an Americano and the liquid bar to watch Everest documentaries with hot chocolate and ginger tea

We ended up returning to Lukla (final village and airport) a few days early so I celebrated by playing more cards and walking into random bars alone. I found a group of Australians who did helicopter rescue missions on Everest which was super cool and got a few free drinks and stories. The weather had been really bad lately so we weren't sure if we would get out of Lukla, but the 5 hour delay ended up working in our favor and we flew back to Kathmandu just below the cloud line and with just enough bumps to question whether we would make it back.

on the way down I had met Justin who invited me to drinks the night we got back with some other friends and then head to the town of Pokhara that Monday so the fun never stops. Had a great time with Justin and another girl Huxley and Buddha Bar before sprinting theough the empty Kathmandu streets at 2am with just enough time to get a couple hours of sleep and book my bus to Pokhara at 7am. like I said, nonstop, no resting allowed, all out, do everything and anything everywhere all the time. That's the only plan I had.

Hiking goals

solorunner — Sat, 10 Jun 2017 07:00:00 GMT

Okay so where was I.. right Namche Bazaar having made lots of friends that I would most likely never see again but I'm pretty confident if I ever contacted them they would be happy to meet up. After Namche Bazaar I was splitting from the crowd in pursuit of Gokyo Ri, sure base camp would have been cool but I'll just get there when I climb Everest some day ;) Little piece of advice if you decide to go trekking in Nepal, i think you get a bit more of an authentic experience and truly get to feel the beauty of what's around you if you take the road less traveled. I'm thinking the Mustang Region is my next stop. Anyway off we went headed for a small village called Dole. In general we were only supposed to be gaining anywhere between 1,000 and 2,000 ft a day but we got to Dole a mere 3 hours after starting out. My first reaction was, what the hell am I going to do this whole day in a 5 house village, only 2 meals, a deck of cards and no toilet paper? Oh well duh let's just keep hiking. Krishna (my mountain guide...just s guide, no porter, don't even think or a second I would let someone else carry my stuff, thats my job) was a bit skeptical but I was persistent. i mean this isn't just trekking this is my work out for the day and obviously 3 hours isn't enough (you can cringe at the thought of that if you want). So on to Machemo we went, a nice big 6 hour day. I got into the habit of going to bed at 7 if there were no people around to talk to, my way of fighting off the loneliness that sometimes crept in soooo yeah 7pm lights out after the normal dinner of Dahl baht of course. We were getting deeper into the Himalayas now, the nights were chilly and we ate dinner around a small furnace for warmth. They even had lots of tissues to make up for my missing toilet paper. Next time you use the bathroom don't take the toilet paper for granted it's such a wonderful luxury. i finished the night having tea with the family who owned the tea house and at least a whole pack of coconut cookies. I could see the stars from my "bed" and my sleeping bag smelled like 5 days of hiking but man was I content :)

im gonna go to yoga now (in Luang Prabang) and then read to some kids and bike to a waterfall but in between that and jetting off to vietnam I'll hopefully be able to get one more post in!

Photos: Gokyo Ri Renjo La Trek

solorunner — Mon, 29 May 2017 20:00:00 GMT

Khumbu/Namchee/Gokyo Ri/Renjo/Lukla

Trekking and friending

solorunner — Mon, 29 May 2017 19:30:00 GMT

I am now realizing how difficult it is to find free time to write to you. Wonderful for me because it means I am sustaining my endurance qualities despite having to sacrifice my morning runs in the name of adventure. Let me paint the picture for you right now tho before i tell my trekking story. The setting: sunset in Lakeside, Pokhara....Steamed hazelnut milk in a giant armchair on a porch overlooking the Anapurna region....soft guitar in the background, no shoes and a romantic date with myself. So now that you can feel the love, sit back and join me In my memories

First stop after the flight into a village called Lukla (home to the shortest airplane runway in the world) was Phakding (yes say it loud and proud it sounds exactly how you think it does in English). Its funny looking back on the moment I was sitting on a porch listening to reggae music and playing solitare because I didn't know that I would be meeting 3 wonderful hikers that I would be spending the next few days with (uh oh power surge in Pokhara, hope all this saves) ANYWAY, after a dinner of vegetable momo (dumplings) I went to bed around 7:30 to escape the looming lonliness of solo trekking (with a guide) and not staying with the friends I met previously. But it's so fine, the friends will come and meanwhile I should be getting used to being alone with my own thoughts.

Morning of Friday May 19, started my 9-day streak of toast and honey and left for Namche Bazaar. We ended up doing a 5-6 hour hike in just under 4 hours (my turn to be an over-achiever now that I'm out of school). Once we got to our tea house (think of a simple ski lodge dining area with motel bedrooms above) I found my two friends Erlend and Thiago and we went on an acclimatization hike 1,000 ft above the village with a sweeping 360 degree view of the valley below. It was incredible how easy it was for us to talk and share our passions for the region and trekking and you could feel the excitement between us for the experiences to come. Even though we would be going our separate ways the next day, they will always be a part of my memory of my first (and definitely not last) trek in the shadow of Everest. ill let that sit with ya for a little bit while I try to figure out how to upload pictures. Hopefully another post coming in a bit :)

Shrek was right about donkeys

solorunner — Fri, 26 May 2017 23:04:00 GMT

Hello friends!

I have returned from trekking, 2 days early actually thanks to my refusal to stop hiking anytime before 4pm. But before I get into the details of this epic journey, I'm gonna start with my last day (today). Let me preface this by saying I am in no way complaining about a completely unromantic end to my trek, not mad about it one bit, I'd just be doing a huge diservice to you guys if I didn't share the dirty details. SO, the main way these remote Himalayan villages can get supplies to make trekkers as comfortable as possible, and just to sustain basic survival in general is by having donkeys and yaks carry gear up and down the mountain. The only way to get these lards of fleas and stink to move is by walking alongside them, yelling and slapping their butts. This job is integral to the movement of goods through the village networks and it's a situation we should appreciate since most of us can simply get in a car and pick up groceries in about 10 minutes and even have cute old men push the grocery cart to the car for us (Mom I'm thinking of you).

This morning I woke up to wonderfully muggy Namche Bazaar (main trading post and backpacker haven at the foot of the big peaks). My guide, Krishna, and I got off to a speedy start attempting to break out of the mountains in time for a beer or two to celebrate. Now, my biggest concern for this trek was how I would fair with the elevation but thanks to some well planned self-medication and enough credit to my physical and mental fitness, I was able to summit two 16,800 foot peaks no problem. Unfortunately I fell victim to minor asphyxiation as we approached the behinds of a long line of donkeys on our way down from the mountains. Get ready kids you'll love this....so basically I was in deep shit (pun intended), if I wasn't stepping in poop I was smelling poop. I was blanketed in a harmony of farts and covered in poop dust. Once I stopped breathing in through my nose in an attempt to avoid the smell, the poop dust coated my throat. So for two hours I was sweating in the hot sun, eating poop and experiencing severe winds (the donkey's method to propel itself forward). I was thrilled. If this wasn't experiencing the true grit of living in the mountains I don't know what is. To be continued in the next post....

Kathmandu

solorunner — Thu, 18 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT

After a 16 hour flight, 4 consecutive Harry potter movies, a 5 hour layover without wifi and another 5 hour flight I finally made it to Kathmandu, Nepal last night. The hostel, hotel mums home is super cozy and has a great view of the concrete wall next door ;) BUT its clean and the people are so friendly! This morning I went over to the trekking agency to fill out paperwork for the adventure into the Himalayas-the guide showed up at the hostel on a motorcycle and just said "hop on!" so there I was motoring through the streets of a city I've never seen with a guy I have yet to have a full conversation with swirving around potholes, people and baskets of fruit. took a tour around the temples after learning about hinduism, Buddhism and the history of Kathmandu. I ended the day by exploring Thamel, a colorful collection of vendors, restaurants, hotels, shoppers, backpackers and kids meandering along the streets. I stopped at Fen's Kitchen and enjoyed grilled tofu and ginger tea before calling it a night. And here I am finally getting the blog up and running!

You may not be hearing from me for a while cause I am heading out on a 13 day trek to a peak called Gokyo Ri but I'll attempt to keep in touch as much as possible!

And for those of you who are daunted by reading a whole paragraph here's the short version:

highlights-learning about Nepalese culture and religion, hanging with some monkeys at one of the temples, dinner

lowlight-realizing I am not immune to getting lost and should share my dinners with a nice book until I find more company (don't worry it will happen)

what's next? Gokyo Ri and Renjo la pass and then more day in the city, gotta go to the rum doodle bar to meet some of the Everest hikers!

thanks for keeping up with me :) pictures on the way once i get back from the trek