It's time to get this show on the road. The permits are in order, the bus tickets are purchased, all gear has been checked. I have been cruising around lovely Kathmandu for a few days now, but I will be leaving the city and headed to Besishahar, and the start of the Annapurna Circuit. A two and a half week trekking excursion. I will be trekking with my dad, who for the second year in a row has decided to join me on my trekking escapades. Last year it was the washes and gullies of southern Utah, the most beautiful lands created on this earth. And this year it is the high Himalayan hills of Nepal. Hopefully I don't lose my camera like I did last year.
It should be a joyous occasion, trekking from village to village on the way to the high pass of over 5000 meters. Then down to the city of Pokhara. This is a beautiful trek, really looking forward to it, but it's also the most popular in Nepal, drawing young and old, fit and fat from around the world. German's, (they are everywhere) Israeli's (also everywhere) 60 year old Japanese women with 14 layers on, unprepared 19 year old Brits on a gap year, hopefully a group of cute Danes or Swedes will also make the journey with us.
Also, accompanying these groups will be guides and porters, but Dad and I are forgoing this expense. I know it's good to hire porters, they need the work in the money. But to get stuck with an unreliable guide, as I have heard can happen, isn't a very cheery thought. So we'll carry our own gear. And since we are just bunking up in the lodges and buying our meals as we go, we shouldn't be too heavy.
I'll have plenty to share when i return, as well as some nice snaps. It will nice to take some scenery photos for once. Though I have become much more interested in portraits and people shots, not too difficult to find when around every corner is a thousand new people. That's not just in India, the Kathmandu valley is bursting at the seems with people. The traffic is terrible, the air is worse, it looks like Beijing with most people covering their mouths or wearing masks. So the fresh air of rural Nepal will be refreshing.
Namaste. Ben
Friday, March 27, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Goodbye India, Hello Nepal.
After 2 days of harrowing train and bus travel I have finally arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal, and left behind the heat of India. I left yesterday afternoon at 1:00 pm to Gwalior, India, then stayed the night there at a beautiful little place across from the train station/refugee camp, then woke up at 430am to catch the 5am bus to the border that actually didn't leave until every inch of bus was filled; which wasn't till 530am I'm sure they would have loved to take out all the seats and maker everyone stand. Crossing the border was a breeze, except the part where I had to pay 100$ American for my Visa. I guess I was the last one to find out they changed their policy 8 months ago. After 30 days it goes straight to 90 days and 100 dollars. Luckily, being the wise traveler I had some Benjamin's tucked away in the rucksack so I was able tolegally enter the country. Then it was a 9 hour journey to Kathmandu on a micro bus, which means regular bus just smaller and more uncomfortable, still driven like formula one vehicle. The "micro-bus" had a low head clearance, even when I ducked I still bonked my head. The seats were smaller and didn't recline, the windows weer smaller too. Nepal is famous for their shabby buses, I guess it's just part of the charm of this place.
I'm grateful for the break from India. I had a great time and everyday was an adventure. But all the noise and hassles of the big cities were starting to get to me. Plus down on the plains of Utter Pradesh where I had been visiting Varanasi and Agra, it was starting to get very hot. In Varanasi for the 5 days that I was there, every day it got 1 centigrade hotter, all the way up to 37 on the day before I left, which is nearly 100 degrees fahrenheit.
Varanasi was an amazing city. It is situated right on the banks of the Ganges river, and it is one of the holiest places on India. It is full of color, holy people, pilgrims coming to pray. It seemed like life in this city revolve around the river. In the early AM hours men and women would visit to the banks to play, give puja and wash themselves in the polluted water. This would start before dawn and seemed to go all day, picking up again in the evening hours. Besides bathing, there was also laundry being done, cows being washed, and bodies being cremated, right on the banks, or Ghats of the river. There are 2 main burning ghats that are used for cremation. When someone dies their body is wrapped in a red and gold cloth, then places on a bamboo scaffolding and marched to the river by the family members. They then buy the wood and start the ceremony by dipping the body on the Ganges before the cremation. They say it takes about 3 hours for the whole process. This goes on almost 24 hours a day, never really stopping. It is very surreal and adds to the energy of the place. people have said sometimes you'll see a dog walking by with someones hip bone. Not all people are cremated though. Infants for example, as well as holy men are not burned. Instead they are wrapped in a white cloth, tied to stones and dropped in the Ganga. Not how we would do it, but in India, everything is much different and spiritual. The whole country is extremely spiritual, every city you visit, you are told that there is a temple that you must see. Any time the bus passes a temple every will touch their hearts and forehead and mutter a prayer. In any side street or ally you are bound to find other small temples or alters. Indians don't really have a church, but they are constantly praying.
I may have mentioned how traffic is pretty crazy in India, and part of that is due to the types of transport used, not only are there millions of people trying to get somewhere, but they assume a wide variety of vehicles to engage in their commerce. At any time you will see centuries of transport clogging the highways, all at the same time. You have your super fast Honda motorcycles maneuvering in between a ox drawn cart of crops and a man powered cart of vegetables on its way to the market. There will be tractors, sometimes pulling goods, and sometimes the flat bed is just full of people. The private car is a small minority of traffic. And it will usually have twice as many people in it as it was designed for. So the amount of vehicles, and the speed in which they have been designed to travel cause quite a mess on the road ways. Another thing I loved/loathed about India was the rail crossings. Any time the bars came down for a passing train, on both sides all traffic would spread across all lanes of traffic on their side of the tracks, buses, trucks motorcycles all thought they deserved a spot at the front of the line. Then when the bars are raised, it's total honking chaos as both side try to extricate themselves from the mess they put themselves in. It's against their genetic to form a proper line and smoothly passover the tracks. They must muscle in for the best position,even though it may take 10 minutes to straighten it all out.
Just doing some reminiscing about the India Experience, I'll soon post my last batch of photos once I find a place with suitable computers in Kathmandu.
I'm grateful for the break from India. I had a great time and everyday was an adventure. But all the noise and hassles of the big cities were starting to get to me. Plus down on the plains of Utter Pradesh where I had been visiting Varanasi and Agra, it was starting to get very hot. In Varanasi for the 5 days that I was there, every day it got 1 centigrade hotter, all the way up to 37 on the day before I left, which is nearly 100 degrees fahrenheit.
Varanasi was an amazing city. It is situated right on the banks of the Ganges river, and it is one of the holiest places on India. It is full of color, holy people, pilgrims coming to pray. It seemed like life in this city revolve around the river. In the early AM hours men and women would visit to the banks to play, give puja and wash themselves in the polluted water. This would start before dawn and seemed to go all day, picking up again in the evening hours. Besides bathing, there was also laundry being done, cows being washed, and bodies being cremated, right on the banks, or Ghats of the river. There are 2 main burning ghats that are used for cremation. When someone dies their body is wrapped in a red and gold cloth, then places on a bamboo scaffolding and marched to the river by the family members. They then buy the wood and start the ceremony by dipping the body on the Ganges before the cremation. They say it takes about 3 hours for the whole process. This goes on almost 24 hours a day, never really stopping. It is very surreal and adds to the energy of the place. people have said sometimes you'll see a dog walking by with someones hip bone. Not all people are cremated though. Infants for example, as well as holy men are not burned. Instead they are wrapped in a white cloth, tied to stones and dropped in the Ganga. Not how we would do it, but in India, everything is much different and spiritual. The whole country is extremely spiritual, every city you visit, you are told that there is a temple that you must see. Any time the bus passes a temple every will touch their hearts and forehead and mutter a prayer. In any side street or ally you are bound to find other small temples or alters. Indians don't really have a church, but they are constantly praying.
I may have mentioned how traffic is pretty crazy in India, and part of that is due to the types of transport used, not only are there millions of people trying to get somewhere, but they assume a wide variety of vehicles to engage in their commerce. At any time you will see centuries of transport clogging the highways, all at the same time. You have your super fast Honda motorcycles maneuvering in between a ox drawn cart of crops and a man powered cart of vegetables on its way to the market. There will be tractors, sometimes pulling goods, and sometimes the flat bed is just full of people. The private car is a small minority of traffic. And it will usually have twice as many people in it as it was designed for. So the amount of vehicles, and the speed in which they have been designed to travel cause quite a mess on the road ways. Another thing I loved/loathed about India was the rail crossings. Any time the bars came down for a passing train, on both sides all traffic would spread across all lanes of traffic on their side of the tracks, buses, trucks motorcycles all thought they deserved a spot at the front of the line. Then when the bars are raised, it's total honking chaos as both side try to extricate themselves from the mess they put themselves in. It's against their genetic to form a proper line and smoothly passover the tracks. They must muscle in for the best position,even though it may take 10 minutes to straighten it all out.
Just doing some reminiscing about the India Experience, I'll soon post my last batch of photos once I find a place with suitable computers in Kathmandu.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
New Photos, Trekking, Holi, Taj majal.
I've had a great last couple weeks. I'm down In Agra right now. Where the famous Taj Majal is. I have been up in some smaller towns farther north. In the last weeks I have been on a trek up to 4000 meters, where there was no snow...it's been a dry winter. I celebrated Holi the Hindu festival of colors, where mostly young males walk around the city throwing colored powder on each other, while the women stand on rooftops surprising you with buckets of water. Things did get a little out of hand, which I will write about shortly. I then visited a holy site on the Ganges river where Lord Shiva dropped some of her Nectar, marking a holy spot. So people now come from all over India to bath and celebrate in the fast moving water. and now as I said, in the busy city of Agra. Once the Mughal capitol of India on the 16th and 17th century, where famous men like Babur and Akbar built huge shrines and fort's. Agra is in the State of Utter Pradesh (UP). India's most populace state. There 190 million people crammed onto this fertile land. The state is actually smaller then the state of Colorado....don't believe me, look it up. Every bus, truck, Rickshaw is crammed full with dozens of people. There are people falling out the doors and windows. I have seen 30 people on the top of on already crammed bus.
Check out the pictures, I'll have more words shortly.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Kayaking on the Ganges
The last few days have been spent at a beautiful camp up about 15k from Rishakesh learning the ins and out of river kayaking, and I'll let you know anytime you see some flipping and rolling and generally showing off on the river, that person has a skill. It is way harder than it looks.
The first day we spent mostly learning the basics, paddling, reading the currents, getting into the eddy's and generally getting used to being on the water. The second day was when the real fun started. We went up the river a few K's and paddled down. Since I am in a place that isn't America, the just throw you in there, no waiver signing, no liability or anything. It was pretty calm until I got to a rapid called 3 blind mice. My instructor, Vikram said, "see that big hole in the middle, don't go into it, but right before it go left and avoid the big wave." This was easier said than done, I smashed right into it, flipped over, I had to pull the skirt cover, that covers where I sit, so I was able to escape and swim over to the eddy. This happened a few time in the days I kayaked, either in a big rapid, or sometimes just in the current. I would lean the wrong way, and before I knew it I had water up my nose and I was swimming out of the kayak. There is a little skill called the eskimo roll where you can rescue your self and keep on paddling with out missing a stroke, But being the amateur I never picked up that skill. It's another thing that looks so easy by some, but incredibly difficult and uncoordinated by others. I spent hours trying to learn the move. There are so many things to learn. Like where to put the paddle, when to twist the hips, when you pull your head up. But I could never get the pieces of the puzzle together. The instructors said I had weak hips. Too weak to flip the kayak. So it was great to have Vikram there to grab the kayak when I rolled.
When I wasn't in the water, I was usually lounging on the white sand beach, relaxing in my tent, or playing volleyball. The food was amazing too. There were a few Nepalese guys there that would cook up some mean momo's and dal. At night was campfire time and relaxing with the fellas who lived and worked on this little slice of a paradise.
The last day we took the ride back to Rishakesh via the Ganges, I was feeling a little more solid on the kayak and I had a great ride back. We negotiated some pretty intimidating clas3 3+ rapids (see attached video below). One was called the golf course because there are nine holes you can get trapped in. This was the one big rapid that actually navigated successfully. I thought I was becoming a little more proficient, but then I tipped on the next smaller rapid, so i guess the saying, "even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while." is fitting. It was great time though, and getting through you're first big rapid is like catching a wave in surfing, it's hard to describe, and you just want to go back and do it again. But when you don't make it through, you feel like such a fool, if you would have leaned a little more, or put one more stroke in you would have been ok. But it's great to have this skill. It's something I want to continue in the future.
On a side note I did see my first dead body on the trip. There was a yellow, black and red leg sticking out from some big rocks on the side of the river, I could see from the thigh down to the heel. As a I was saying, a side note, it was my first dead body, but I doubt my last on this trip.
This is the one rapid I made it through successfully!
The first day we spent mostly learning the basics, paddling, reading the currents, getting into the eddy's and generally getting used to being on the water. The second day was when the real fun started. We went up the river a few K's and paddled down. Since I am in a place that isn't America, the just throw you in there, no waiver signing, no liability or anything. It was pretty calm until I got to a rapid called 3 blind mice. My instructor, Vikram said, "see that big hole in the middle, don't go into it, but right before it go left and avoid the big wave." This was easier said than done, I smashed right into it, flipped over, I had to pull the skirt cover, that covers where I sit, so I was able to escape and swim over to the eddy. This happened a few time in the days I kayaked, either in a big rapid, or sometimes just in the current. I would lean the wrong way, and before I knew it I had water up my nose and I was swimming out of the kayak. There is a little skill called the eskimo roll where you can rescue your self and keep on paddling with out missing a stroke, But being the amateur I never picked up that skill. It's another thing that looks so easy by some, but incredibly difficult and uncoordinated by others. I spent hours trying to learn the move. There are so many things to learn. Like where to put the paddle, when to twist the hips, when you pull your head up. But I could never get the pieces of the puzzle together. The instructors said I had weak hips. Too weak to flip the kayak. So it was great to have Vikram there to grab the kayak when I rolled.
When I wasn't in the water, I was usually lounging on the white sand beach, relaxing in my tent, or playing volleyball. The food was amazing too. There were a few Nepalese guys there that would cook up some mean momo's and dal. At night was campfire time and relaxing with the fellas who lived and worked on this little slice of a paradise.
The last day we took the ride back to Rishakesh via the Ganges, I was feeling a little more solid on the kayak and I had a great ride back. We negotiated some pretty intimidating clas3 3+ rapids (see attached video below). One was called the golf course because there are nine holes you can get trapped in. This was the one big rapid that actually navigated successfully. I thought I was becoming a little more proficient, but then I tipped on the next smaller rapid, so i guess the saying, "even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while." is fitting. It was great time though, and getting through you're first big rapid is like catching a wave in surfing, it's hard to describe, and you just want to go back and do it again. But when you don't make it through, you feel like such a fool, if you would have leaned a little more, or put one more stroke in you would have been ok. But it's great to have this skill. It's something I want to continue in the future.
On a side note I did see my first dead body on the trip. There was a yellow, black and red leg sticking out from some big rocks on the side of the river, I could see from the thigh down to the heel. As a I was saying, a side note, it was my first dead body, but I doubt my last on this trip.
This is the one rapid I made it through successfully!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
A quick update...
I made it out of Kashmir, things were starting to get a little tense, there were protests and a 2day strike. They were protesting the shooting death of 2 people by police. It seems things can be peaceful for a matter of months up there, then one thing happens and it all blows up. At the moment it is relatively peaceful though. compared to other years.
I'm in the city of Rishikish...and it held my attention for all of about 3 hours. It's full of ashrams, yoga centers, massage and ayurvedic medicine schools and hippies. It's just not really my thing. I consider the mountains and rivers my spiritual guidance. And If I want some meditation I'll go for a nice long run, that's just how I roll. The city is located right on the holy mother Ganges river though and there is some great whitewater kayaking up river. So I signed up for a 4 day course. I am a novice at the sport, but hopefully at the end of the week, I'll have the experience to run some nice rivers in the coming travels. also posted below are my pictures from the snowboarding trip to Gulmarg.
I'm in the city of Rishikish...and it held my attention for all of about 3 hours. It's full of ashrams, yoga centers, massage and ayurvedic medicine schools and hippies. It's just not really my thing. I consider the mountains and rivers my spiritual guidance. And If I want some meditation I'll go for a nice long run, that's just how I roll. The city is located right on the holy mother Ganges river though and there is some great whitewater kayaking up river. So I signed up for a 4 day course. I am a novice at the sport, but hopefully at the end of the week, I'll have the experience to run some nice rivers in the coming travels. also posted below are my pictures from the snowboarding trip to Gulmarg.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
