A nice day on Ko Lanta

Jan. 28, 2009

I'm sure my parents are cringing after checking out my last entry. The Thai Islands are a bit too much fun.

The thing about the islands is that they are full of people just on holiday. Unlike those of us who have been on the road for months, a lot of tourists are there for only a couple weeks. They have a spending and partying power that is dangerous and contagious.

I did have one nice day out with some fellow travelers on the laid back island of Ko Lanta in the Andaman Sea. My Canadian friend Ben and I rented scooters, while three daring Brits hired a tuk tuk for the day to bum around the island.

We rode through a rubber tree plantation and visited the old town. We also stopped at a sea gypsy village and at a local market where we sampled some of the exotic fruit.

This was one of our more productive and innocent days.

Enjoy les photos!

Bucket dive

Jan. 26, 2008

I have been a major slacker with this blog of late. The Thai islands are full of many fun and beautiful distractions.

But this is the main reason I have been unable to approach this blog to write anything worthwhile or coherent.

Update: My friend Julie added this little witticism: "Instead of spending my time in the islands getting my PADI, I got a license in bucket diving."

Thanks Juliana Jones.

Obamarama

Jan. 25, 2008

I know this is a little late, but I just wanted to express how proud I am to be an American these days. I can already see a difference in the way people react to my telling them that I am from the States since Barack Obama was elected president. Instead of suspicion or "Oh, you're one of those types!", I get "OBAMA! (high five)"

Obama is an international superstar. His image is everywhere. I get a special rush of pride when I see people from other parts of the world sporting t-shirts with his likeness, such as this funny Brit I met in Ko Lanta.

I ended up watching the inauguration in a bar on Ko Phi Phi with a couple from Alaska and a whole crowd of Canadians, Scots, Brits, Aussies and Irishmen. Several in the crowd were in tears following Obama's speech.

It is an exciting time. I kind of wished I could have beamed myself home for the day to watch the inauguration. But at the same time, it was wonderful to represent my country abroad during such an historical day.

America, f*ck yeah!

Thailand: Disneyland for backpackers

Jan. 17, 2009

Hello, from the Land of Smiles.

I must apologize again for being terrible at keeping this little travel journal updated. I've been on the beach for several days... or is it weeks? Who knows. I'm totally bragging. I know it's like 12 degrees in New York now. Hahahahahahaha.

I figured when planning this trip that by around this time of year, more than four months on the road, I'd want to head somewhere warm and beachy to hang out and stay still for a little while. I also figured it would be a great opportunity to sit down and start some serious writing.

As I was buying my plane tickets last summer, visions danced through my mind of me bronzed and basking on an empty Thai beach, a laptop (cheaply purchased in Bangkok) on my lap (a good place to place one) and a Pina Colada or some other coconutty concoction in my hand. But the truth is lying on the beach all day is not conducive to creativity. And also, I don't have a laptop cheaply purchased in Bangkok because the BKK and this little country are not as affordable as I expected.

Thailand is overloaded with tourists. A fellow backpacker quoted some statistic that around one in six people in Thailand is a tourist. The Thai people have taken advantage of the popularity of their beautiful country and created a place that is easy and convenient in which to travel. Just walk into any hotel on Koh San Road and you can book a ticket to any region of the country, or of SEAsia for that matter. You'll find yourself the next day on a nice air-conditioned luxury bus with a crowd of 40 other Westerners headed for tropical paradise. But it's not tropical paradise. There are 7-Eleven's everywhere. This country kind of reminds me of Florida.

OK, granted besides Bangkok, I've only been in the islands where tourism is the main industry and prices are jacked up. Tomorrow I'm headed to Koh Phi Phi, the beautiful beach where The Beach was filmed. But the popularity of that movie and the spread of the news about the beauty of this area through word of mouth has brought in the masses. The other day I ate at a KFC in a mini-mall.

Don't get me wrong, it is kind of nice to be in a sunny, clean country with well-paved roads and understandable traffic patterns. I don't begrudge the Thai people for trying to capitalize on the massive tourism industry. I've had lots of fun here over the past couple weeks. I reconnected with Ben (see above picture), a fun Canadian I met in India a few months ago who is one of the best travelers I've yet met. I also befriended a slew of new people from England, Canada, the U.S. and Australia. I attended a trance party in the jungle and a beach party under the full moon. I've climbed a waterfall and seen an elephant and eaten lots of spicy coconut soup and pad thai.

It's all been great fun in the sun. But for some reason, it all feels sort of uninspiring.

New year, no resolutions

Jan. 6, 2009

I write to you now from Bangkok having flown in from Kathmandu via Delhi on January 4th. I spent my Christmas and New Years with a group of people I met during my last days trekking the Annapurna Circuit.

It might seem odd or sad perhaps spending the holidays with people that one barely knows. But travelers are a different breed. We find a common bond with our fellows on the road. We bunk up to save a few rupees and share meals and stories to pass the time and gain information about where next to bring the adventure. We make friends and form relationships that though maybe fleeting as we head in different directions, are intense and unforgettable.

Over the past four months, I've come to realize that the world is much more accessible than most of us know. I've received several e-mails from friends and former colleagues who say how jealous they are of my trip. The thing is, all it takes is some money and the will to actually leave your house.

I saved up for two and a half years living at home with my dad and working at a newspaper company (where you don't make very much money at all) to be able to fund this trip. Though Europe hit the wallet pretty hard, since I arrived in Asia, everything has been quite affordable. Even the 19-day Annapurna trek only cost about $500. That money went for food, lodge expenses, renting and buying some gear, and the 2,000 Nepali rupee fee to walk in the Sanctuary. Outside of trekking, you could live comfortably on less than $100 a week in Nepal. A few months of savings could last you years in India.

There are many ways to live in this world. Those with any kind of desire to get out of their current situations, to escape the world they know for a while, should just get up and do it. The Lonely Planet guidebooks (Bibles for the budget travellers) were driven by the philosophy "All you've got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!"

My best friend asked me the other day if I had made any New Years resolutions. I'd kind of forgotten all about making resolutions.

"No," I told her. "I've made none, because I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing right now."

Annapurna: The highway

Jan. 6, 2009

These are images of the three day walk from Kag Beni to Naypul, a walk that normally takes five to six days. I was running out of money and anxious to get back to Pokhara to get a hot shower and some good food.

It was amazing to witness the extreme changes in climate in the quick walk. In one day I moved from the windy, chilly town of Marpha, the so-called apple capital of Nepal, to almost tropical Tatopani, lush with orange trees.

Though the scenery is still phenomenal, the walk along the Kala Gandaki river is not as interesting as on the other side of the pass because the trail has been developed into a road. The innkeeper of the Red House Hotel where I stayed in Kag Beni told us that her husband had hired a motorbike to make the drive down to Pokhara. Instead of rejoicing in the convenience of the new road, she lamented the jeep tracks.

"It used to be a six day walk out of these mountains," she said. "Now it can be done in a day."

I found this attitude echoed by many of the villagers around the Annapurna Circuit. On the other side where I started out the trek, scores of men work each day shoveling into the side of the ridges, slowly chiseling away boulders to create a road over there as well. In a few years time, the Annapurna Circuit will no longer be the old mule trail that it has been for hundreds of years. Soon it will be transformed into the Annapurna Highway.

Annapurna: Kag Beni

Jan. 6, 2009

Here's another album depicting the village and the surrounding areas of Kag Beni, the last town up the Kala Gandaki River that may be visited freely by tourists. Beyond this little town lies the Mustang Kingdom. Much like Bhutan, the region charges tourists a daily fee to see the place. The act keeps tourism in check and allows the region to maintain much of its authenticity.

Though I didn't venture into the kingdom, I climbed up a high cliff one day to take photos of the Thorung La pass and the further regions including Mustang. Apparently from the top of the peak, one can also see as far as Tibet. I, however, lost the path and then decided to quit the search and descend to town when the midday winds kicked in. On the way down, I witnessed a young shepherd boy running down the mountain full speed, sliding along the rocky terrain, unafraid of the velocity, sure in his step. It was amazing to see someone so adapted to this alien terrain.

Annapurna: Muktinath

Jan. 6, 2009

Just as I was about to give up on my Annapurna commentary, I had another look at the photos of the last days of my trek. The images brought me right back into the mountains. I feel like they need to be shared.

These photos depict the holy village of Muktinath, the first town you reach after crossing over the pass from Manang. Every year thousands of Hindus and Buddhists make a pilgrimage to the town to visit the holy temple in the hills.

The mountain Dhaulagiri is the prodominent feature on the western horizon from the town. The mountain seems to breath steam from its peak. Women sit along the one street through the town selling jewelry and hand-woven yak wool scarves (that's where I got your Christmas present Mom!).

I sent several postcards from a nearby little town called Jharkot. Outside the post office which was nothing more than someone's back pantry, a woman was cutting up yak meat. I don't know if the postcards sent from that little post office just below Thorung La will ever arrive. If they do, it will be a tremendous feat having had to be carried by humans and mule trains through the mountains down to the valley and then carried by car to Kathmandu where it will be airmailed to Europe and eventually sent overseas.

The last two photos in this album are really special to me. I awoke early one morning in my hotel room in Muktinath with a bright light shining in my eyes. Thinking it was the sun, I got up to pull the shades closed. When I looked out the window, I saw that it was actually the moon, full and massive setting behind the mountains.

I later learned that that is the closest the moon will come to earth for many, many years. I was in a magical spot to witness it.

Annapurna: All down hill from here

Jan. 5, 2009

I have to start this year off by apologizing. I've been quite neglectful of my little web journal over the past few weeks.

Starting off writing about the Annapurna Circuit was much like how I started off trekking, full of vigor and enthusiasm. But after a few days of writing, again much like the trek itself, I became lethargic. Frankly, I was kind of sick of the topic.

Walking the 220 kilometer circuit with the additional side trip to Tilicho Lake was an amazing experience. However, much has happened since I returned to Pokhara Valley on Dec. 19. The holidays and a new group of friends I happened to meet toward the end of the trek kept me busy and distracted over the past weeks. Let me attempt to get back up to speed...

After making it over Thorung La, I still had eight more days of hard walking ahead.
Spending nearly three weeks at high altitude in need of good food and a hot shower, I was ready to get out of the hills and head back to Pokhara. I was also running out of money. There is nary an ATM above 3,000 meters in the Himalayas.

I spent several days in villages near the pass before splitting up from the group and making a three day run from the village of Kag Beni back to Pokhara. (I don't have my Annapurna map with me now or my journal from the trek so I don't have altitudes or distances available. However, the trip from Kag Beni to Pokhara normally takes five days.)

Toward the end of my trek, I was planning to spend some time in the village of Tatopani where there is a famous hot spring. (Tatopani literally means hot water in Nepali, a fact I learned several weeks later when a new Nepali friend of mine continuously ordered Whiskey Tatopanis at Tom and Jerry's Bar in Kathmandu.) However, I arrived in the village on day 17 an hour after dark. I was so low on money by that point and so antsy to be back in Pokhara, I ended up skipping the springs leaving early the next day for Ghorepani.

That second to last day of the trek was pretty much eight hours uphill through tiered valleys and orange country. I arrived in the village just before sunset hungry and exhausted. The electricity was out, so I sat alone in the dark of an empty inn hovering over my black tea and fried rice. I was writing in my journal by candlelight enjoying the calm and solitude when in busted in a noisy foursome just down from Poon Hill where trekkers traditionally go to watch sunrise and sunset over the mountains.

The group, consisting of three Irish folk and an American woman, gathered round the wood burning stove where I sat and talked about their trek. They were doing the five day Poon Hill Trek. They would be heading downhill to Tatopani the next day, the walk I just did in reverse.

In spite of my fatigue, I was happy for the company and I ended up exchanging e-mails with the others before slipping off early to bed while they stayed up laughing and drinking roxy. I wanted to wake up before dawn to watch the sunrise on my last day of trekking.

When I got to my room, I fell right into bed and was out like a light. I awoke to the sound of scuffling and laughing in the room next door. Thinking it was time to get up, I leaned over to look at the hour on my cell phone. It was 11 p.m.

Through the wall next to me which was thin as cardboard I heard Julie, the American, and Kevin, one of the Irish blokes, talking to each other. Then Julie started singing Christmas carols at the top of her lungs.

The next morning atop Poon Hill, Kevin and Julie only then realizing that I had been witness to the impromptu concert the night before, apologized profusely. I just laughed and told Julie she's lucky she has a good voice.

I parted company with the colorful group after breakfast that morning. They headed downhill to Tatopani, and I headed downhill to Naypul where I would leave the Annapurna Sanctuary and take a taxi back to Pokhara.

The return to town was just as I imagined it would be. I spent almost a week doing absolutely nothing. It was wonderful.

But after a few days, I did start to get kind of bored so I got in touch with Julie. I ended up reuniting with the wacky group over drinks at a bar in Pokhara called Busy Bees. I ended up hanging out with them everyday following that night until I left the country two days ago.

Through the holidays, all of us far from home, we became sort of a family. A weird, dysfunctional, funny-ass family. Let's just say from the moment I met this group, it was all down hill from there.