So, like I said before, I didn't update much because the internet was pretty expensive in the Himalayas. Now that i'm back to civilization, it will be a little easier to keep this blog up to date. I'm now in Koh Lanta, Thailand (a beautiful island in the Andaman Sea). I'll pick up where I left off, possibly skimming a few details, and fast forward to today.
Nepal Cont.
On our way to Sinuwa, my Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) was better, but my upper stomach was starting to act up. Every 10-ish minutes I would double over in pain on the trail. I suffered a little bit through the night and by morning I decided to take Ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic usually taken for traveller's diarrhea. We made our way to Chhomrong, which took around 4 hours. Steps, steps, and more steps is all I have to say. It was A LOT of descending and ascending. By the time we got to Chhomrong, many of the lodges were already filled up. But we got lucky at one place, and got a nice room with a small patio overlooking the beautiful Himalayan valleys. We had seen "Snickers Roll" on menus all through the trek and Grant decided it was the night to finally try it. Basically, it's a snickers bar wrapped in dough and deep fried. I wasn't the biggest fan, but Grant scarfed it down. The next morning we woke up and headed to our last stop before the end of the trek: Ghandruk.
We descended about 2300 ft and then went up 1300 ft. On the way, we stopped at a little rest hut and got a Coke and Fanta. The lady there was so nice and taught me how to speak a little Nepali. The experience was very cool. After I was done with my Nepali lesson, we were off again. It was crazy to think that Ghandruk, a medieval Gurung village full of narrow winding streets, was two whole ridges away from Chhomrong. I really can't believe just how far you actually walk when you are trekking. Ghandruk reminds me of the hill top towns of Southern France. When you approach the village, it looks like a big cluster of stone buildings perched on a hill. We made our way through the entrance of the village and went through a cool stone gateway with Tibetan prayer wheels lined up on either side. We found a place pretty quickly and sat down to have a bite to eat with some Brits and a girl originally from Vancouver, BC. That night, we had dinner with our newly-made friends, and Grant tried "Mustang Coffee," a concoction made with coffee, rice, and Rakshi (a local wine that's more hard alcohol than it is wine). My stomach was starting to feel better, but a cough was starting to get pretty bad. It took forever for me to get to sleep that night because I was coughing up my lungs (probably caused by the Sinusitis I had a while back).
The final descent into Nayapul was kind of hard on my knees, but not too bad. First we took a ton of stone steps down, then we traversed the hillside as we steadily descended. I couldn't believe just how far we had come and how fast time had flown.
We took a bus back to Pokhara, and we immediately booked a bus for the next day to Kathmandu. The next morning, we took a taxi to the bus station where little kids sold a selection of breakfast pastries on trays that were lined with newspaper. Grant and I bought some cinnamon rolls and chocolate croissants for the ride.
The bus ride from Pokhara to Kathmandu should have been 7 hours, but turned out to be 11 hours due to the EXTREMELY bad traffic getting into Kathmandu. The traffic jam was ridiculous. Without traffic, the stretch we had to drive would have taken 20 mins, but the bumper-to-bumper craziness made it 4 hours. Imagine tons of switchbacks going up a mountainside and cars/trucks/buses lined up all along it.
We stayed at the Yeti Guest Home, a clean place with WIFI, close to the center of the Thamel district, and it was the right price (about $13/night). After a bit of shopping and eating some awesome momos (Tibetan style dumplings, similar to pot stickers) we journeyed to Swayambhunath Stupa. There are a bunch of stairs leading all the way up to the white Stupa that's about 1500 years old. Monks still use it as a monastery. There are Buddah eyes painted onto the stupa and apparently, the sign (a spiral with a squiggle) between the eyes stands for unity. Monkeys there are also considered sacred, and there were a lot of them scrambling around and climbing on all the structures. The scene was made complete by the hundreds of prayer flags that were strung up everywhere and flapping in the wind. After a while of taking pictures and walking around the Stupa, spinning the prayer wheels that surrounded it, I went into a monastery where a monk was hitting a gong and chanting prayers that he read off of rectangular sheets of paper. I inconspicuously recorded some of it with my little camera; it was very cool.
The next day we went to Durbar Square, a complex of Hindu and Buddhist temples. Kings are crowned there and up till the 20th century, Kings used to live there. But now, it's bacually a museum and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When we arrived (via bicycle rickshaw), a "Holy Man" quickly came toward us holding a metal container filled with red powder. He outstretched his hand with his finger trying to touch our foreheads. We dodged him a couple times, saying no thank you, but he kept saying "Goodluck, goodluck, it's okay, goodluck." He was so persistent that we let him mark both of our foreheads with the red powder. After he was done marking us, he immediately put out his hand for money and asked for 200 Nepali Rupees. Yeah right. I was NOT about to give this fake holy man 200 rupees. Instead, I gave him 25 for both me and Grant and walked away. He wasn't too happy that I only gave him 25. There are many fake holy men in Durbar Square who ask for money in turn for marking foreheads and posing for pictures in their brightly colored robes, head dresses, and face paint. After Durbar Square, we shopped a little bit more and headed back to the Thamel district to eat. The next day we just chilled out, shopped, and ate.
10/31/2010
We took a Spice Jet flight from Nepal to Delhi, India. The morning we were supposed to leave Nepal, Grant wasn't feeling well and woke up with a 100 degree fever. I felt terrible for him, feeling really sick and having to travel isn't very fun. When we landed in Delhi, we didn't have a hotel. So I had to go to the hotel desk and ask them to book us a room somewhere close to the airport. I was nervous because India's hotels aren't the cleanest, and I couldn't see the room before booking it. I also had to book a prepaid taxi to our hotel. Lastly, I withdrew money from an ATM/exchanged some money. All the while, Grant was sitting with our bags with his head in his hands, obviously feeling horrible. Luckily our hotel was clean and spacious. I got Grant in bed and took his temperature. All day he stayed around 102-103.7 degrees. I was scared we would have to go the hospital. I told myself that if he hit 104, I would take him to the hospital. The night was a long one, as I sat next to him, putting cold towels on his forehead. Luckily he never hit 104, and after making the decision to take his stock of Ciprofloxacin, he began to feel better the next morning. His temperature was even back to normal.
That day we flew out of Delhi, to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. Then after a little while of waiting in Malaysia, we flew to Krabi International Airport in Thailand. We arrived on Tuesday, and the day previous there had been a HUGE tropical storm that rolled through Southern Thailand. There was massive flooding which shut down many travel routes to the north (i.e. Bangkok). A storm like this hadn't happened in over 50 years and it killed over 100 people. It's definitely a terrible thing to happen, but thankfully, it didn't much affect the area we were to stay. From the airport, we took a bus to the water, then we took a longtail boat to Tonsai. We stayed there for three nights. Our room wasn't all that great, but the activities we did and food we ate were AWESOME!
Sawadee from Southern Thailand
The first day we got there, all we did was find a place, eat food, and hang out. The next day, we decided to go kayaking. The guy at the Tonsai Tourist Center was very nice and gave us a lower price than was originally quoted. Grant and I each got our own rasta-tye-dye kayaks for the same price as a tandem kayak. It was my first time kayaking, and I loved it! It was a little cloudy, but it turned out to be a plus because it kept the sun from burning us alive. The water was a beautiful turquoise blue and the scenery was outstanding. Huge limestone structures stand, jutting out above the water. Rock climbers flock to Tonsai for its beautiful landscape of huge limestone walls with innumerable routes. We paddled out to Thamphranang Beach where we sun bathed for a while. Then we went to Railay West, where we sunbathed on the perfect white sand beach and swam. The water reminded me of bath water that had been sitting out for a little while. We had to return the kayaks around sunset, so we left Railay just as the sun was setting. It was so incredibly gorgeous. The orange rays of the setting sun made the water look like liquid gold. The color of the sky wasn't any one color, rather many colors all beautifully painted onto the sky. It really did look like the sky was painted with water colors. Watching the sun set and floating on a golden sea in my little kayak was indescribable and so peaceful.
The next day we did the "4 Island Tour." First we went to Poda Island where we spent an hour swimming around in the ocean. Then we went to Chicken Island (named for a tall rock structure resembling a chicken head). I've never snorkeled before and it turned out to be an awesomely fun experience. I put on a life jacket, grabbed a snorkel set, and excitedly jumped into the water, not yet knowing what I was about to see. Once I dipped my face into the water, I saw fish I had never seen before. Some reminded me of rainbow sherbert (their scales a vibrant green, purple, yellow, red, etc.); I saw bannerfish, an d a lot of yellow-ish fish with black stripes. A kid who was snorkeling near by had bread in the water which attracted a TON of fish. I went near him and the fish were all around me. I even reached out and got to poke one! There were so many of them that when I swam, they would basically hit my goggles! So cool. Even under the water, I could hear Grant go "Oh my God!" as he pointed to some weird looking fish. It was pretty funny. Our next stop was Tup Island where we did a little more snorkeling and ate lunch on the beach. At Tup Island, the main attraction wasn't so much a large number of fish, but it was the coral. Sea urchins were everywhere and there were huge creatures that had wavy lips that would purse slightly when you waved your hand in the water. They were stuck to the coral and reminded me of the "wavy mouths" seen on mussels. Again, I saw bannerfish, little yellow fish with black stipes, and other generic looking fish. I also saw some sea slug types things that were purple and yellow. After snorkeling, we got containers filled with rice and a fried egg on top, and a bag of Thai chicken curry; it really hit the spot and it was some awesome food! The tide was slowly moving out, and at Tup Island, this meant you could walk ont he now exposed sand bars that connected 3 small islands. After lunch, we jumped back in the lontail boat and headed to Pranang Cave.
Pranang (Penis) Cave
As we left Tup Island, our boat guide gave us a tray of freshly sliced pineapple and watermelon...mmm. Legend has it, an Indian princess and her boat crashed into Pranang Cave during a storm. Now boatmen and fishermen place incense and phallic shaped objects in the cave to ensure a safe journey. The cave has become associated with fertility and that's why there are so many wooden penises propped up in the cave. There are also many large stalactites hanging from the cavern ceiling. After exploring the cave, Grant and I had soem fun on a little bouldering route before going back to the boat. Overall, the 4 Island Tour was a HUGE success and I can't wait to go snorkeling again!
A Not-So-Welcome Surprise
That night when we came back to our room, we noticed there was a hole chewed into my backpack. We assumed it was a mouse or rat, as it had gotten in to some of my chocolate. I threw away all the food we had and put it in the trash can outside, thinking that would do the trick. I was wrong. After about 5 minutes of the light being off, I heard something and turned on my headlamp. What I saw was really gross and disturbing. A huge rat (probably about 5-6 inches long, without the tail) was running on the spare bed across from me towards my backpack. Grant was already asleep and was really groggy when I woke him panicked. He didn't really understand the gravity of the situation and immediately fell back asleep. I sat there for about 45 minutes, on the bed, behind my mosquito net, shining my head lamp in the direction of my backpack. After waking him again, Grant finally got up and moved my backpack to a high shelf; there was no sign of the rat. I shut off the light and heard something again 10 minutes later. I quickly turned on the headlamp and saw another rat on a little shelf where we kept our toothbrushes and some mentos...great. When it saw my light, it scurried down the shelf structure and into the bathroom. I worked up some courage (as i'd never seen rats that big before), put Grant's shoes on, and closed the bathroom door. After that I was able to sleep, although it was a light sleep. In the morning I looked at my backpack and a rat had still been able to get to it. The hole was a lot bigger, and though there was no food in my bag, it still chewed through a random plastic bag inside my backpack. Ugh. I understood that we were basically in the jungle, and that it was possibly my fault for leaving a little chocolate in my bag, but I was still utterly grossed out. I was so glad we were leaving that morning.
This is Paradise
We took a longtail boat filled with other people to the middle of little bay and waited for the speedboat to come pick us up. We waited only 5-10 minutes before the Ao Nang Princess came into view. It was an interesting experience. Our longtail boat pulled up to one side, and as we climbed aboard, other people were getting off on the other side into other longtail boats. Grant and I snagged a spot outside at the very front of the boat with no one in front of us. It kind of reminded me of that scene in the "Titanic" where Kate Winslet was on the bow with Leonardo Di Caprio...except not standing up, and a little further away from the actual tip of the boat. After a couple hours in the Andaman Sea, we arrived at the northern tip of Koh Lanta. The Lonely Planet book said Bee Bee's Bungalows were "their pick," so we called and they had a bungalow available. We took a taxi there to discover the coolest beach bungalows ever. The bungalows are situated a couple minute's walk from Klong Khong Beach. These bungalows are cheap, but absolutely perfect. We're only paying about $10/night! Every abode is constructed with bamboo/tree strips that are interwoven to make the walls. The roof is asically made with dry long leaves of some sort (think palm tree leaves) and is a thatched roof. The floors are hard wood planks and the bathroom is a separate attachment with a bit of open air over the shower. The double (or is it a queen bed) sits on a slightly elevated platform with a high quality mosquito net surrounding it. Our porch is awesome too. It's made of wooden planks and has an area with a big mat and some pillows where you can chill out. There's also a hammock you can lay in. The light fixtures are also really nice. They remind me of paper lanterns (in all different shapes,though mostly cylindrical, sizes and colors), but are made with cloth instead. It's crazy that although we don't have air conditioning here, I still feel cool at night. Other bungalows have unique touches of their own. Some are on stilts and sit about 10 ft above the ground. The shower doesn't have hot water, but when you're in this kind of heat/humidity, a cooler shower is quite okay. The vernacular and the unique decorative touches here and there make Bee Bee's Little Village Bungalows a total winner in my book. Right above us, loom coconut trees, right outside our porch there's a durian tree, and a little ways away there's a pineapple tree. When you walk towards the beach, there is an area filled with little cabanas where you can chill out, read, or eat...right on the sand. Like the bungalows, this area is filled with small touches that make it really special. Some of the tables are in cabanas on stilts. There are normal tables where you can sit, but there are also othe tables that are lower to the ground with Thai style pillows/recliners next to them. The cabanas have no walls and a thatch roof. Hammocks and beach chairs are interspersed here and there. At night, the place has a beautiful ambiance, with cloth lanterns and candles emanating a soft glow. This is paradise.
