Whereami

Bout time!

For some peace and quiet...escaped India and arrived in Kathmandu today. Unfortunately the flight over the himalayas was pretty uneventful as I was stuck in the middle of the plane :( Maybe on the way out I'll have better luck.

So far the town has been great...everything that Delhi wasn't, except for the traffic (which was only bad until getting into town). It's like a cross between Breckenridge and someplace with a lot of yaks.

Guess that settles it

Once we arrived and walked across the bridge I didn't want to do it. "I thought I liked this" I said to myself. Now all I wanted to do was take the next bus back to Kathmandu. Instead, we hung out in the lounge for about an hour and got weighed (142 lbs?! I started my weight gain program immediately upon return at the Roadhouse Cafe with a large bacon and mushroom pizza) and before I knew it I was back on the bridge in the first group of jumpers...

I was afraid. Not about the jump (3rd highest in the world at 525 feet) but about not jumping. What if I couldn't do it? What if I froze while out on the platform? That's always the worst part, when you're next in line and sitting there not wanting to let go of whatever it is you're holding on to.

When it was my turn to be next I just tried to think about anything else. Gorgeous view...just don't look down...and don't hesitate once it's time to go.

And I didn't, and it was great, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat (and I was going to, but it started to rain). Can't wait till next time. Which one do you want to do first Justin?

Pics from the jump:
Basecamp @ the Last Resort
The swiss designed bridge
View from the platform 1
View from the platform 2
The Jump 1
The Jump 2

Urban Trekking

Nepal is famous for its trekking (8 of the world's 10 tallest mountains are here) but even though I've been here for almost a week I have yet to do any...mostly because I'm having such a good time just wondering around the city (and jumping off 500ft bridges).

One of my favorite things to do on this trip, besides adventure sports, is to get lost. I'll grab some lunch and then just take off in whatever direction looks most interesting. No map, no guide, just some cash and a camera (and maybe a business card with my guesthouse name on it). Usually I'll give myself a couple of hours before I turn around and try to make my way home (as it normally takes me a little longer to get back). I judge how successful the trek has been by the number of westerners I see (the fewer the better) and by how high a person's eyebrows jump when I ask for directions to return.

While Theroux may prefer trains, I'll take traveling by plane and then foot anyday.

Some highlights from around town:
Downtown Kathmandu
Some colorful buildings 1,2 (of which there were many)
Discourage Beggars

Quite a wakeup

I was sleeping on the bus ride to Pokhura when our bus hit a bump and knocked my head against the window (no bruise)...when I opened my eyes I saw some of the highest and most beautiful mountains I've ever seen. The way they soared into the sky was absolutely breathtaking. Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned bumps I didn't get to take any pictures...yet.

Although the pics linked above aren't mine, but my camera's at full strength...so hopefully I'll have many of my own to add soon. Here's a couple, check back in four or five days for more.

Liking bacon is a start

Recently got back from a short trek around Pokhura, Nepal. Good times, great people, and no safety worries...although at the start I was somewhat concerned :)

When we were registering for the trip our guide asked us for some personal info (name, DOB, passport #,etc...) and after seeing my info he told me that for this trip I shouldn't say I was American...mostly because we were going to be passing through some rural parts and if any of the locals knew I was from the states they might not like me so much (due to our government's position on Nepal's current political situation). No problem he said, just go Canadian.

Well, needless to say, a few hours into the trek and he was already talking to the locals and telling them I was American...so much for the secret :) But everyone we met along the way was perfectly friendly to our group (two Dutch people, our guides, and my pseudo-canadian self) so not sure why he made such a big deal about it at the start.

It sounds a lot worse than it really is

Well, I was going to leave Pokhura for Kathmandu today...but there's been a slight delay. Seems that the Maoists felt like starting a two-day strike - meaning I won't be able to get a bus ride back to Kat until Sunday.

From talking to a few people the strikes aren't that uncommon but I had yet to experience one first hand. Everything in town is basically the same as any other day but coming and going is stopped because the Maoists block the roadways (among other things).

The whole situation here is probably the least-threatening, dangerous situation I've ever been in. It's hard to explain how calm everything here is for the tourists, even though at the same time it's supposedly more chaotic for locals in the more rural areas.

The most important thing to note is that the Maoists are trying to attack the government, not tourists, so there's basically no threat for us at all. Even if you do come across a Maoist all they want is money (of which americans pay the highest fees, hence the going canadian) but I can't stress enough how safe everything is despite how bad it may seem.

ps: luckily I've got a big project to keep me busy.

update: arrived back in kathmandu safely, and as i far i could tell there was no strike either today or yesterday...but lots of checkpoints along the way...making the ride back a couple hours longer :)

You're kidding, right?

The funny thing about the people here is that even when you know exactly what you're talking about, they'll still try and bullshit you. A couple of examples:

After arriving back in Kathmandu I returned to one of my favorite coffee houses for dinner. Nothing fancy, just a ham sandwich and a coke. Well, the coke they brought me was totally flat...no biggie right? Just give me a new one. But the guy behind the counter tried to tell me that only Pepsi had fizz and Coke didn't. He went on to explain how the sugar in Coke removed the fizz whereas there was no sugar in Pepsi....Come on man! I'm American - if there's one thing I know about, it's Coke and Pepsi :)

Then today I was trading in a bunch of paperbacks in exchange for a new Lonely Planet guide. The book was wrapped with all the other 'new' books and I didn't give it too thorough of an inspection as it looked pretty good from the outside (and again, it was in the section clearly marked 'new'). After arriving at Rum Doodle for dinner (where you can eat free for life if you've reached the top of everest), I opened the book and checked the date...1999! And then I looked at the price in Rupees (which was conviently covering the price in dollars)...and the price in Rupees was more than face value! I left dinner to return the book and when I asked for my refund the guy tried to tell me that he was charging more than face because of the dollar's current trade value...so I asked what he thought the dollar was trading at in 1999?!

Other notes - I leave Kathmandu for Delhi (again...groan) tomorrow morning...and as soon as possible I'll be getting on a train to Mumbai, Bombay, whatever...should take between 17-24 hours to get there, so hopefully I'll have a new post online around the 14th. And then on the 17th it's onto Cairo!!