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Winding Down Nepal

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

I spent the morning after returning from the embassy finishing the rafting post and then napping and watching TV. I was exhausted. The all night bus adventure, early departure and long bus ride to Kathmandu, and then early morning Indian embassy romp left me without much motivation to do anything. [read on]

Rafting the Karnali River

Monday, November 19th, 2007

The rafting trip began as most journeys of this type do by taking transportation to the river. I arrived at the Ganesh Kayak shop around 7:00 a.m. and deposited my things that I wouldn’t need with the shop keeper along with leaving most of my money in his safe. I then shared a taxi with a Frenchman to the bus station. We took a Kathmandu-bound bus to the town of Mugling. Also on the bus was an American woman doing the rafting trip. We were dropped off in the middle of the street as the bus driver didn’t know of the hotel where we were supposed to wait. It turned out that the hotel where we were told to wait changed names. After finding the hotel, we had tea while we waited for the main group coming from Kathmandu. The trip bus arrived around lunch time. The whole group (4 Nepali guides, two western guides, and 10 customers) had dal bhat at the hotel. I don’t think I have described dal bhat yet. It is the main staple dish of Nepal. Many Nepalis eat only this twice a day. Dal is a lentil soup and bhat is rice. It is usually served also with a curried vegetable of some type and a flat fried bread. It is about the only all-you-can-eat dish served in Nepal. We then bordered the rather ramshackle bus to continue the trip. We drove all day through farming communities and dry dusty towns until we finally reached our destination for the night around 9:30 p.m. After once again eating more dal bhat, we went to bed in the extremely basic hotel. [read on]

Last Update for a few days again

Tuesday, November 6th, 2007
Tomorrow I leave for an 11-day rafting/kayaking/camping trip on the Karnali River. My diahrrea is gone. I am still not 100% yet, but I am going to take a chance. I was originally going to go on November 12th and ... [Continue reading this entry]

Annapurna Sanctuary Trek

Saturday, November 3rd, 2007
Day 19 was spent hiking to Deurali. Deurali is the highest lodge one can stay at before getting to the base camps. The hike started with a 1500 ft descent down stone steps to the river and then climbed ... [Continue reading this entry]

Annapurna The Descent

Saturday, November 3rd, 2007
Day 12 saw us begin the descent. Some of us (not me) were more reluctant than others to leave the cannabis themed and filled hotel. We decided to do a rather short down hill walk that day to the town ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Annapurna Circuit

Saturday, November 3rd, 2007
Reader Warning: The following article is very long. To save time, the reader is advised to go ahead and let his/her eyes glaze over and begin predrooling. Well, I am back now from my epic 23 day hike around the Annapurna ... [Continue reading this entry]

Kathmandu and Pokhara

Tuesday, October 9th, 2007
My trip itinerary was purposefully arranged to help me adjust to traveling in less developed countries and to practice traveling skills like using buses and getting around. Besides Fiji and Easter Island, which are very small and speak Engligh, I ... [Continue reading this entry]

Getting to Kathmandu

Sunday, October 7th, 2007
Getting to Kathmandu was fairly exhausting. One of first obstacles of the morning was the blackmarket moneychangers. There were about five of them between the hotel and the restaurant. In China you really don't get a better rate on the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Traveling The Friendship Highway

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007
I had one more adventure near Lhasa before heading out on the seven day trip to Nepal. On Wednesday morning Greg, Kera, and I, along with four other people, were shuttled by van to the Denchen valley. There I met ... [Continue reading this entry]

Up, Up, and Away

Tuesday, September 25th, 2007
Ivone and I caught a taxi to the Xining train staion around 9:00 pm. I would have thought that the train station would be a little less crowded at this time of night, but I thought incorrectly. We got in ... [Continue reading this entry]