Been there! Done that!

It’s already 20 days into January. And I have not even stepped into beautiful Andaman (that includes the sea, the archipelagos) yet! 

 Glancing through my flickr album obviously doesn’t help; rather it has an adverse effect. The nice turquoise sea, with the bright blue sky in fact  heighten the feeling of been-years-since-am-there-do-that! Argh, I just hated the feelings.

My Mak aka mom/mother has not been well; thus the main reason why the weekend travelling have shifted from up-north-to-border to balik kampung where my parents & brother/family reside.

So, how does one escape and make that virtual trip? Here’s what I do… (this list is not in any order of importance. Oh, yeah, please feel free to comment):

1. read other people’s travel journals (it’ll help you to plan and be prepared for your upcoming trip)
2. take a walk down memory lane of places you’ve been and visited. Use all your senses – think of that unique ocean smell, the sea breeze that touches your face, the loud cranking noises of the long tail boat – and reminisce that experiences. Sometimes, we were too occupied with the mechanics of travelling that we forgot to enjoy (I mean truly enjoy) the trips
3. if (2) does not work for you then start writing about your travel experiences. I bet someone, somewhere can benefit from your experience.
4. if you are too extrovertish to do (1), (2) or (3), then grab your mobile and bitch-it-off to your buddies (main target – those who are infected by travel bugs , just like you)
5. if all the above fail to kill the travel-bugs that had infected you, then grab your walking shoes and walk or drive  around your neighborhood/ town/ countrysides. I am pretty sure we’d notice something that would attract our attentions. Things that we local-people would take for granted.

Gosh! That ease my pains 🙂

Nov 14, (TUE) Tikhadunga, Nepal

I can’t begin to describe how it feel to have trekked for hourS today (mind you the bold-capital S). It was definitely a lonnggg 6-hour trek. Even the 8-hour walk in the shopping mall with my gal-friend doesn’t resemble any of the pain that I experienced.

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Yes, am excited as always when it comes to holidays and traveling! Especially when I don’t (really) have to burn a hole in my travel-gear. Lemme qualify that.. no ridiculously-expensive airport tax, more-than-ten-dollar-just-for-a-visa charges. Just minimal charges for a long tailed boat ride, perhaps motorcycle ride and of course a place-for-my-40kg-body to rest, refresh & relax. Anyway, having spent the last holidays in Nepal highland -enjoying its snow-capped mountains-, the plan is to hop on the islands in Andaman Sea or at least take a stroll along the beaches. (Nope, snorkeling and diving are not part of the agenda. Well, not that I hate d-cute Nemo and gang.. just that I don’t even know how to float myself, let alone swim or dive). Did I just announce that to the whole-wide-world? Not that I care, anyway. Read the rest of this entry »

Dec 15, 2006 Penang (1318hrs)

It has been more than 30 days since I first stepped my size 6M boots in Nepal. Yet, I still suffer from (no, not Altitude Mountain Sickness), but from I-wish-I were-still-on-holidays sickness. Perhaps it’s the time of the year again where soon my mailbox will be flooded with emails “Subject: I am out of OFFICE …” and I wish I am the one sending than receiving. Perhaps because I still wish I am still in Thamel? I have this list of reasons … help me choose which one is number ONE Reason!

Top 10 Reasons Why I still have Hang Over from the Nepal Trip

(10) At least a dozen of NAMASTE greeted by total strangers.

(No, the Tibetan sheeps were not trained to greet trekkers with Namaste!)

(9) The chance to wear The-NORTH-FACE gears.

(8) I got to ask Are-We-There-Yet question to our guide Binod. (most of the time I am forced to be the one answering that FAQ)

(7) The best milk tea I ever tasted, even better than the penang teh tarik (pull-tea).

(6) Relaxing, sipping warm ginger tea under the sun without worrying about the heat and did-I-have-my-SPF30 on. (I come from a country where the sun shines almost 365 days/year)

(5) Excellent mutton curry at Shalimar Restaurant, Thamel.

(4) Dhal bhat! Dhal bhat! Dhal Bhat!

(3) The rare opportunity to shower with icy cold water (well, it may be chilled water to some, but it definitely was iced water to me)

(2) Having smiley-Kamal to carry our 20 odd-kg loads with zero-complaint

(1) A total cholesterol level that drops from a 3-year average of 5.3mmol/l to 4.76mmol/l! (I can’t believe it myself!)

Nov 12, 06 (SUN) 0805 Thamel, Nepal

Having living in a humid scorching hot Malaysia, we shivered in Thamel morning breeze. Nonetheless, the friendly smiles of the Nepali and Newari (the indigenous group of Kathmandu’s valley) warmed us. Not to mention the warm dust aired from the street walk and carbon monoxide fumed from the compact cars of Daihatsu Charade & Suzuki Maruti alike. But hey, these are all for the spirit of being in Nepal. And heck, I don’t really mind!

Taxi in Nayapul
Latest info from the airport guy alerting us that our luggage was in Germany. Hmm… it traveled even further than we did. We decided to postpone our trip to Pokhara and wait for our luggage to arrive (crossed all my fingers and toes hoping that the luggage will show up at Tribhuvan Airport by tomorrow).
Since we have an extra day in Kathmandu, Binod took us around the world heritage sites in Kathmandu. (i’ll talk more of the 3 world heritages in Kathmandu we visited in my other post). As we travelled around, I noticed one unique characteristic of the Kathmandu’s drivers. And I must say, the horn is the second most important ‘part’ in the car after the break. Everyone is honking everybody, almost everywhere. Some trucks even have signs “HORN PLEASE” printed on the back. So, what does that tell you then? Their ways of saying HI? Perhaps yes!

Traveling to Nepal, a thought that has been occupying my mind for more than a year. For a person who never really plans for her holiday trips, 14 months are really long. I finally made it to Nepal last November. So, here I go.. my very first blog on a journey that I have dreamed on for months. Hopefully, I will finish this blog before I forget all the fun-adventurous-are we there yet-tiring memories in Nepal. For those of you who are yet to seek similar adventure in Nepal, well perhaps this sharing would help.
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