The Desert and the Dibbuk Box

I have done many camel treks before but none have compared to this one, strictly in the sense of endurance.

As I said in the previous post, I was accompanied by a German girl and her mother, Catarina and Valerie. They were awesome and I was very happy with them as my fellow trekkers. My guides were Simon and Jemal and the camels were named Rocket, Charlie, Lalu, and Carlu.

I was to begin with Charlie who was the youngest camel of bunch and was recently purchased at the camel fair two months ago. He was the fastest camel in the races I was told so they had to tie two of his legs together to keep him going too fast and knocking me off. This made for a very awkward step and over time, the pounding would get the better of my legs and groin.

The first day we rode for 8 hours! 8 hours of discomfort under the pounding sun. We were crossing the Sam desert which is dominated by barren wastelands of rocks, sand and shrubs. Dispersed around the desert are patches of dunes which were of course stunning. When we were finished riding, I was having trouble walking from the soreness in my groin and hamstrings, and my feet were tingling from having fallen asleep for most of the ride. Charlie got me good! We settled in a dune patch and set us a campsite which was a fire pit, camel station, and our blankets for sleeping. No tent, just us, the dunes, and the sky. For the rest of day and night were we got to walk around in the sunset, play with giant desert beetles, and sit around a camp fire and talking and eating.

One of the things I was looking forward to the most was laying on the dunes and star gazing but there was a near full moon and the sky was completely lit up, blocking the stars. I had been so excited for this that I even downloaded a podcast titled "Mysterious Universe." It sounds like a podcast about space right? I was soooooo wrong! This show is all about supernatural and paranormal happenings with this particular episode being a Halloween special. The show was a two hour horror special about the so called "Dibbuk Box" a demon infested artifact. The podcats gave true accounts of incidences and talked with specialists and owners of the Dibbuk Box. Seriously freaky shit! So here we are, Catarina and I, listening to this crazy horror story in the middle of the desert, and now both suffering from severe paranoia! Since the story was about shadow figures, ghosts, demons, and nightmares, the desert made for a playground of eye and mind tricks. Neither of us had an easy sleep that night.

Here are the links of the story for you to listen yourself.

http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2009/10/episode-209-mysterious-universe/
http://www.dibbukbox.com/

Jaisalmer: A City of Deception

I need to explain how the locals of Jaisalmer India are so blinded by money that they will do pretty much whatever it takes to get it. Its really a shame that this place is so corrupt towards tourists because the natural setting here is amazingly charming.

My journey of deception begins as soon as I got on the bus to. I'm hit left and right with extra charges for luggage, an extra entry fee and so on. It was really bullshit but hey wouldn't let me on without paying. Then, the second you step out in Jaisalmer, you are bombarded with representatives from all the guest houses and hotels. This situation is so bad that they have police officers there to protect you and beat them off of you. After asking around who is from my guest house (Hotel Golden City), no one responded. Then out of nowhere, a man named Raju says he is from my guesthouse and he's here to pick me up. Half way through the ride, he tells me he's not from Hotel Golden City and he's taking me to his guesthouse instead. As it turns out I decided that Raju's place was better than Golden City and half the price so I stayed with him. Lucky.

While checking in, he immediately shoots me a pitch for a camel trek. His initial offer was sky high and honestly insulting. He also told me that on this particular trek, we wont see any tourists and made promises of several amazing sites. There would also be two American girls my age and a British couple. So I figured there is a good crew and I can probably negotiate the price down to a 1/3 of his initial offer. I got it down to just under half at $20 a night which he said was unheard of and I was not to tell ANYONE how much I paid, especially the others on my trek. So the trek was booked and I went about the rest of my day.

I woke the next day to find there was no hot water showers, as Raju promised there would be. They didn't even have a water heater for the showers, instead its just a bucket of warm water. I then went to breakfast where I was to meet my fellow trekkers. Waiting for me was not two American girls and a British couple. It was a young German girl and her mother. They had been told that there were two German guys and a couple joining their trek and that they also had received an "unheard of" camel trek price. We all shared an amazing realization of how these Indian's loured us all into their treks.

These were just the most ridiculous lies I have been given among many others. But I have to warn everyone to stay on guard when you come here because they will say whatever you want to hear to get a rupee out of you.

Hey Bro, Feed Me Some Chicken

Just when I thought I'd had enough of Jodhpur's over crowded streets, terribly toxic air, and not having seen one foreigner in 3 days, I finally struck gold. I ended up meeting a few local guys my age and they would show me Jodhpur in a new light.

I met Piyush at a mobile stand outside my guesthouse and we immediately hit it off. We made plans for him to show me around the Fort and then take me out for a night on the town (which is very limited). Piyush picked me up the next day with his Royal Enfield Bullet, a classic novelty motocycle that is found all over India. Its a magnificent bike that in my novice opinion rivals any Harley. Its a very classic looks with all mechanic exposed as part of the aesthetic and the engine roars like no other bike. I hope that one day I can have one of these bikes for myself. Anyhow we made way for the fort which was even more breathtaking than I had imagined. The Mehrangarh Fortress is the biggest in Rajastan and holds some of the most unique and intricate stone carvings I have ever seen. The view from the top allows for you to look over the entire city that mostly resembles an ocean with the rolling hills of blue houses.

After watching the sunset on the fort and making Pujya (prayer), we went out for dinner at a famous local spot with one of his buddies. This place specializes in all different types of chicken, I was in heaven! We had grilled, fried, tandoori, and roasted chicken. A true feast. Before I continue I need to mention that in India there is little to no personal space and everyone here is very touchy feely. Men walk around holding hands or arms linked and what I learned that night was that men feed each other too. At first I thought it was weird and I declined the gesture. Without being offended, they explained that when you are family or close friends it is socially acceptable to feed each other. So I quickly threw away my American personal boundaries and we all sat there feeding each other morsels of chicken.

Afterwards, Piyush let me drive the Royal Enfield Bullet back to the city. This was really tricky because all the gears and brakes are backwards. I couldn't get it down and asked Piyush to take over. The traffic in Jodhpur along with my confusion of the switch made me very uncomfortable. But someday I'll get it seeing as someday, I'll own one.

Tomorrow I head to Jaisalmer for some camel trekking in the Sam Dessert. More adventures to follow.

The Jodhpur Blues

It was sad to leave Varanasi because I was beginning to feel really comfortable with the city and my new routine. Though I was also beginning to get really excited because Jodhpur is one of the top destinations on my list. The entire city is painted blue and lives in the shadow of a great and massive fort.

I said goodbye to all my new friends and got on the train to quickly begin mingling with my new car-mates, who were almost all westerners to my surprise. Everything seemed to be going great until I was hit with something I could not have for seen. At about 3am I was woken to a terrible twisting pain in my stomach. I had contracted some kind of stomach bug that would make the next 19 hours on the train a living hell. Since I was to scared to eat any of the food that was being served, I was limited to peanuts, a chocolate bar, 1/2 a bottle of water, and chai masala tea. By the end of the journey to Jodhpur, I had taken 3 Imodium AD, and 1 Cipro and I was still being dominated by the bug.

When we had finally arrived in Jodhpur I was feeling very sick and very weak. I grabbed the first auto rickshaw and went to the first guest house that I could find with a room. I decided to splurge and get an expensive room for the night: $11. The rest of the night was also a misery but I was accompanied by Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on my iPhone (iPhone saves me again). In no time I was asleep and on my way to recovery.

I woke the next morning to a beautiful day and feeling almost entirely recovered. I changed guest houses and decided to take the day easy by walking around and getting lost in the blue labyrinth of the old city.

Varanasi and the Sweet Smell of Death

Its been 4 days now in Varanasi and the one word I can sum it up with is, WOW.... This place is just as full of life as it is death. And not death in a bad sense, but a good one.

I have spent every morning so far in the same routine...

At 5:30am I head down to the Ganga. The River Ganga (Internationally known as Ganges River) is where all the action is. The shore is lined with Ghats which are holy sites where you can find people bathing, washing clothes, making Pudja (prayer), meditation, Baba's (holy men), temples, and so on. Aside from these unique sights, the Ghats are main attraction is the cremations. As you walk the multicolored ancient steps of the Ghats, your constantly aware of the scent burning of wood, incense, and human flesh. It doesn't necessarily smell bad but it is what it is and its hard to describe. Around the fires sit the family members and friends, all watching, talking, and grieving. They stack the wood and place the body in the middle, waiting for 3 1/2 hours till the body has been turned to ash. The body is placed in the middle for two reasons. First so it burns faster, and second because when the skin shrinks, the arms and legs rise up. This is super freaky and looks almost like they are coming back to life. If it happens, the person in charge of maintaining the fire has to push the limbs back down. The cremations are a very special and sacred experience to observe and this happens all day into the late evening. Whats also interesting about Varanasi is that its a city of the walking dead. People from all over the country come here to sit and die in order to be burned on the shores of the Ganga. But this doesn't make for depressing atmosphere. Its calming and welcoming to see people sitting so complacently while awaiting and enjoying their last hours.

After walking the Ghats, I head to a temple tucked away into the city where I attend a one hour yoga class in the courtyard. Its a very unique spot where the temple towers over you. The only thing that hinders the experience is the noise which is ever present. Whether its dogs barking, horns blaring, or my yoga instructor who is coughing up flem every 5 minutes. After yoga I head back to my guest to mellow out and have some breakfast on the rooftop, over looking the Ganga.

At this point its usually around 9:30am and the rest of the day is filled with shopping, getting lost in the city, exploring the Ghats, talking to interesting people and chilling out. The scene here is so relaxed and peaceful making everything really easy.

Tomorrow I repeat this morning routine for the last time as I am leaving for the city of Jodhpur, which is a 24 hour train ride away into Rajastan. Before I leave however, I'm going to see a holy Baba for a reading. He will assess my palms, aura, and astrology to determine my past, present, and future. Should make for an eventful last day.

A Typical Indian Transit Tale

I just endured the most stressful but entertaining voyage so far on my trip. Getting to Varanasi India was supposed to start with a bus ride to the border from 7am - 7pm. Cross the Border and then take a one hour jeep ride from the border to the train station. Then getting on the last sleeper train to Varanasi from 10:30pm - 4:30am. This did not exactly go as planned.

The bus didn't only leave nearly an hour late, but it broke down half way through the drive which added another hour onto the trip. As you read in the schedule above, there is little room for error and everything had to go perfectly in order for me to get in on time. Along with this, the British Gypsy girl sitting next to me sucked! I tried to make small talk and her response was, "I'm not really that talkative....and I have a boyfriend." WTF?! Fortunately I was able to meet and talk to Kevin (a Canadian) and Tom (a Dutchman) who really made this adventure bearable.

Crossing the boarder was interesting too as we arrived in a haze of dust, smog, and tons of people trying to scam us. We all exchanged money and of course got supremely ripped off. Then, we ended up missing the last jeep and were forced to take a taxi to the train station. It turned out we would be arriving 10 minutes before my train where Tom and Kevin were going to attempt to get on (fat chance). To my luck, there were processions for marriages EVERYWHERE and the roads were completely blocked off just 1km before the station. We ended up getting out and walking over to the station to find my train had left 20 minutes too early. I was sooooo pissed!

We found out there was actually one more train leaving for Varanasi and that we could only get general seating. The ticket was $.90 and we were lucky enough to find that the gypsy girl showed up and wanted to tag along with us. Ugh she sucks! We ended up finding a row of seats that we could all share but still not be comfortable. The train ride was really painful, really cold, and just didn't end. At times we would wake up and notice we were surrounded by Indian's that had squeezed into the smalls spaces between us while we slept, and just stared at us. It was kinda weird but I was warned about the staring.

When we finally got to Varanasi, we had each slept maybe a total of 2 hours in the 26 hour journey. We got in a Auto rickshaw, found a guest house, and went right to bed.

Cruisin the Valley

After recuperating and then getting locked into Kathmandu because of political problems, bus crashes, and my visa not being ready on time, I was finally able to leave and explore the greater valley area. Prakash has been introducing me to a lot of his friends that have all become a major part of my social circle here. Uma, one of my new acquaintances, had asked if he could come with me for the day and show me around.

The 150cc Pulsar motorcycle I rented needed gas and there was no way I was going to wait on line at the gas stations here. There is a major petrol shortage and people wait on line all day to fill up. The situation is so bad that the military has to guard the stations. Uma ended up going to buy gas for me on the black market (my first ever black market transaction!) and then we set off.

First stop was Pashupatinath. This is one of the holiest temples in Nepal where all the Hindu's come to cremate the dead. The temple air is clouded with dust and smoke from burning bodies. Breathing in the dead is unavoidable. Around the temple complex are observers, tourists, and a huge cult of Shiva Baba's covered in ash with orange, yellow and red paint scattered on their faces. After walking around and observing this bizarre sight, we had to leave for there were more stops along the way.

Stop number two was the Boudhanath temple which processes the largest Buddhist Stupa in Nepal. The massive stupa protrudes out of the center of the circular complex in which it is housed. Upon entering the stupa grounds, you are overtaken by the size of the monument and the long cascading prayer flags that are streaming from top to bottom all around you. Easily one of the most impressive temples I have seen yet. At this point in the trip Uma told me we did not have enough time to make it to Nagarkot to see Everest, so we decided to head to our now final stop, Bhaktapur.

Before we got to Bhaktapur, I had to drive through some of the worse traffic I have ever experienced in my life. This wasn't traffic where you sit and wait for the lines to move. This traffic is the kind where you are constantly sprinting to each and every little opening, breaking then accelerating constantly. All this time you are breathing in dust, dirt and fumes. With great relief, we finally reached our destination.

Bhaktapur is home to some of the most well known and preserved medieval architecture and sculptures in Nepal. Accompanied by pristine cleanliness, the cobble stone city streets snake around revealing courtyards and squares where locals and tourist come to mingle and observe the beauty of this ancient city. The carvings, structures, and sculptures were indeed impressive, but not worth the $10 entry fee. Uma and I sat down in the Durbar Square (royal palace courtyard) to enjoy a bot of coffee and talk about our lives and futures. Before I knew it, the sun was setting and even more horrendous traffic was waiting for us.

The ride back I will never forget. The traffic took twice as long to get through and since the sun was gone, people were really struggling to get out of the traffic as soon as possible. I saw a few bike crashes, cars trying to pass causing severe gridlocks, and everyone was screaming and honking at each other: mayhem. It was beyond stressful and by the end of the trip, my hands had both sustained blisters from the braking and clutching.

The night was closed out with a relaxing and delicious dinner at Prakash's apartment with him and his son.

Tomorrow I leave for India, should be a journey to say the least...

Treking the Manaslu Foothills: Day 's 3 & 4

I woke periodically throughout the night in either a coughing fit or from pain somewhere in my body. At some point during the night I had taken the scarf off and was exposing my entire face to dust. *I should also mention that I had been taking Zyrtec, so you can imagine how bad the dust situation must be for me to be suffering so much. When I finally dragged myself out of bed, I could barely open my eyes because they were puffy and bloodshot. My nose was completely blocked up, not allowing any air in or out. My skin began to show red dots and hives and my body was in pain from both the bed/lack of bed and the 8 hours of hiking we did the day before.

When I walked into the main room where everyone looked up at me and silence entered the room. Prakash has a look of worry on his face. He asked me to look in a mirror but I refused knowing that it would only make things worse. I told him that I am cannot continue the trek and we had to turn around immediately and get me to a clean and dust free place to recuperate. Unfortunately, it was so late in the day that even if we hitchhiked the entire way back, we wouldn't be able to get any form of transportation to the main village. We had to walk the entire way back to Prakashs' house where I would undoubtedly have to spend another night in the dusty attic where this all began.

Again, the day was a struggle with mild hallucinations, exhaustion, sickness and physical endurance. We were also in a race against the sun as we had left three hours too late for this hike so we had to hustle. This was to be one of the most trying physical day of my life.

I do want to point out the only upside of the day which was that the sky had cleared up a little making the hike visually spectacular. The foothills roll out in every direction and your eyes finally reach upwards to the Himalaya's. The hillsides are all completely carved up from farms where you feel like your talking on a topographical map. It was amazing! Different crops yielded a vast array of different colors that painted the hills in every shade of green and yellow with hints of pink and pruple from the wild flowers. Throughout our trek, we could always see the mountains of Annapura, Langtang, and Manaslu (the 5th biggest mountain in world!).

The we managed to beat the sunset by only minutes and at that point we had been hiking for almost 9 hours, 40km/24.5m, and I was physically drained beyond belief. Fortunately, my nose had cleared so breathing wasn't as bad as it was yesterday. Though the days adventure was not finished. My father will be proud to hear that last night I was a fire fighter.

Prakash was out trying to arrange for tomorrows transport back to Kathmandu, his wife and daughter were in the basement kitchen preparing dinner, and I was on the main floor of the house (which is also a small shop) with his son and a few other kids playing games with my iPhone. At one point we heard something fall and slam on the floor but no one really thought anything of it. I decided to lay on my back while leaving the kids to play with my iPhone when wandered up at the stairway to the attic. I noticed there was a lot of flickering light coming through the doorway as if many candles were lit. I didn't even know that there was one lit to begin with. I tried to sniff the air but was again congested. Instinct kicked in and I immediately ran up stairs to see the box nailed to a post that was holding the candle had fallen lighting the box and post on fire. *I also want to note that the only thing I would say/scream was, "SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" I quickly put out the post by slapping it with my hands, moved the box to he center of the room where it could do no more harm to anything else, and noticed the bed was beginning to light on fire! A toy gun on top of the box had melted and its flaming remains landed under then bed causing small fires to burst out. I kept blowing and patting the molten plastic with my hands and feet until it finally went out. While I was doing this, one of kids grabbed the box and threw it outside where Prakash's wife doused it with water.

When all was said and done, the four of us sat in the shop in silence for a moment until everyone began to laugh hysterically. I could not communicate with them but it was clear that they were thankful that I had run upstairs. When Prakash arrived he was dumbfounded and also expressed his thanks. He even said, "this house was build by an American, and now it was saved by an American." I ended up having to sleep in that very room again but this time the entire ceiling covered in black from the smoke and the room wreaked of burn plastic and wood.

I could just be romanticizing the idea that I was int he right place at the right time, but in Judiaism, we have a word that describes the very event that transpired. That word is Beshert, meaning "meant to be." Perhaps, I was meant to get sick, meant to return to Prakashs' house, and ultimately, meant put out the fire.

To my surprise, I woke the next day with my nose cleared up and my body was barely sore. The only thought ringing in my mind as I walked my final 2 hours back to the bus was, "maybe some things are just meant to be."

Treking the Manaslu Foothills: Day 2

I ended up getting maybe 2 hours of sleep this past night because of the over abundance of dust there was floating around in Prakashs' attic where I was sleeping. I had already been suffering from some serious allergy problems since the day I arrived in Kathmandu, but this night really did me in for good. For some reason, I ended up getting a slight fever that night, the post nasal drip I had turned into a sore throat with a swollen right tonsil, and my nose had became an uncontrollable faucet. Aside from being sick, my bed was a bamboo mat with a dirt filled pillow. This allergenic "no man's land" made for a terribly painful night.

Prakash came get me at 5:30am to find me already up and miserable. I had questioned whether or not to continue with the trek and obviously decided to go on. I figured maybe some fresh air and exercise might kick this thing out. I was terribly mistaken. About 1 1/2 hours into the hike we stopped to get tea and soup in hopes to relax my body but this really didn't do much. Over the next 3 hours, I began experiencing some mild hallucination's where every time I would look up, everything in front of me would start moving away from me in a tunneling effect. When I looked up at things closer, they would wave back and forth. I became very worried as to what I had gotten myself into. At this point, it was half way so I had to decide to go further or tell Prakash of my current condition and turn back. I chose again to continue, and again, bad move because the next 4 hours were only uphill. We got lucky though and hitchhiked on a tractor for an hour which was a real relief until we got off and had to hike another 3 hours till the top.

Upon reaching the top we had walked nearly 30km or roughly 19 miles over 8+ hours and I was so exhausted, sick, and dehydrated that I wasn't even happy that the hike was over. I was simply dreading the night that was to follow.

The rest of the day and our night was spend at a small Nepali Tea house where no one spoke English. This made things very boring for me as I had no one to talk to. Aside from not speaking English, they spent the entire night making fun of me which at first I thought was kinda funny but eventually became quite annoying. The best part of the night was when a monkey tried to steal a chicken. He didn't succeed in taking it but did kill it which meant we were having chicken for dinner. This was when I came to the reality that if anyone here wants to eat meat, they had to kill it. Its not like the modern world where we can open the fridge or go to the store. They ended up serving me the worse parts of the bird and its organs which was so disappointing because all I wanted was a decent meal. In this village there was also no bottled water so they had to boil water for me and then wait an hour for it to cool. To top it all off, I had to sleep in a dusty basement on a bamboo mat again. This night was not as bad as the last because I was so exhausted that I was bound to catch some sleep. But, in order to sleep, I had to wrap a scarf over my face in order to reduce the dust intake which didn't really help at all. Another miserable night was ahead of me....

Just a Warning

I just want to let everyone know I am back in Kathmandu and I am ok. I had to come back from the 5 trek 2 days early because I got very sick half way through and we had to come back.

The next few posts will tell of the rediculous journey I just endured.

Treking the Manaslu Foothills: Day 1

I sprung out of bed at 6:09am realizing that had left my headphones in on my iPod, thus not waking me up at 5:30am. I was able to get ready in 10 minutes as Prakash was supposed to pick me up in 6 minutes.

When he arrived, we quickly jumped into cab headed for the bus station where a mini bus waited to ship us out to Gorkah, Prakashs' village. During the 6 hour drive, I finished my book "Damage Done," and ended up napping most of the way. When we finally arrived in the main village, we stopped for lunch and then quickly made it onto a bigger bus headed to another village within the Gorkah region. This bus ride was the scariest ride of my life. We were driving along dirt roads that have been carved into the side of the hills. *They only call them hills because they are over shadowed by the Himalayas. But honestly these hills are as big as any mountain back in the East Coast USA. Anyhow, these roads were just big enough for the bus and were beyond bumpy to the point that we nearly tipped over on every turn. We got to one point in the ride where some rocks had fallen creating a mound that tipped us towards the edge and we would have to drive over them or wait. These guys wait for no one and nothing so he made an attempt. The first one scared the life out of me and Prakash said we should get off. Next thing I knew Prakash had already bolted out leaving me a lone with all the other people trying to get out as well. During this time the bus was still backing up and plowing into the rocks while not waiting for everyone to get off. Finally I was able to squeeze past a few people and jump out. Upon doing this I slipped and almost fell under the bus. Everyone was laughing at me. Now my heart is really pumping with adrenaline and this very moment is was the first sign of the unforgiving adventure(s) that would follow the next 3 days.

After the bus ride we had to walk for about an hour to the village where along the way packs of kids were joining us. They were so excited to see a foreigner and they also made the walk very fun. The entire time they kept asking for me to take photo's and pick them up and swing them. At one point I was carrying 5 kids on my body and all the locals were laughing as they brought me down to ground.

Once arriving at Prakashs' home, following a brief meet and greet with his family, he took me to a traditional village bar for some home made millet wine. The bar was a small room approximately 5x9x6 (W/L/H) and inside we crammed 7 men on two bamboo beds. It was packed. We were also accompanied by spiders the diameter of a tennis ball, one small and dim light, dust everywhere (which I am incredibly allergic to) and all the guys were chain smoking cigarettes. This room alone, minus the millet wine, was intoxicating. The millet wine was terrible, it tasted like grain flavored water with a strong alcoholic aftertaste. I could only drink 3 glasses and by that time was just where I needed to be. It was a lot of fun interacting with the locals, talking about their lives, America, my trip, and the upcoming trek.

I finished the night at Prakashs' eating a home cooked meal with his family and then hitting the hay early. Tomorrow was to be an 8 hour hike to the next village.

Monkeying Around at the Monkey Temple

Again woken to horns and people just outside my window, but this time with and extremely dry mouth and a wicked hangover. I've decided that I have had enough of this guesthouse and I need to seek a quieter room. I moseyed my way over to Prakash who seemed absolutely fine considering how drunk he too was last night. He immediately found a new place for me and I was able to painlessly move on with my day.

It was about an hour walk to the monkey temple and along the way I saw some crazy things. First of all I was the only tourist walking so I didn't see one other traveler until I arrived. Along the way I stood on a bridge in awe, to see the water has been turned black and was filled with garbage. When I thought it wouldn't get worse than that, I turned around to see the river extended out of sight looking even more packed with trash. It was very upsetting to see how terribly out of hand their garbage problem is.

When I finally reached the monkey temple, I was greeted by Dollar Baba's, beggars, and 365 steps. Yes I counted. I hiked up while attempting avoid the monkeys which were everywhere! At the top is a very impressive view of the city which I was surprised to see when on for so long. I walked around the grounds and down to the back of the temple. While I was there I also got to witness the monks at prayer which was a very cool experience. Horns blare and drums are beaten to a fast tempo while symbols are smashed together. Aside from the monk ceremony, this site wasn't nearly as good as the last temple I saw because it was under construction and there were soooo many tourists.

When I got to the bottom of the temple I saw a crowd beginning to form at the base. It turns out a big fight broke out and I was able to get a prime spot to spectate. Shit was going down in Kathman-town! These two guys were throwing fists left and right and landing many of them too. Both took several blows tot he face. Each time the fight was broken up, one would walk a few feet away and then they would begin again. I got some absolutely amazing photos! At this point a really big crowd had gathered and I was getting nervous that a big fight to break out and I'd get stuck in the middle of it. Fortunately the police came just as others were getting involved and escorted the two contenders to jail.

Upon walking home, two Nepali women struck up conversation with me. The sisters, Puspa and Bindra, asked me if I would like to come to their place for tea. This all seemed very strange to me but I decided to go along with it anyhow. Before going back to their place we had to pick up Bindra's daughter at school. At the school all the girls dressed in uniforms spilled out all looking at me and laughing. This was all good fun and some of the other mothers came up to talk to me as well. I was in the cougar den! Once we got Aulsa, Bindra's daughter, we began walking deep into the city and I no longer had any idea where I was. Though I wasn't nervous at all. We stopped at a few temples along the way and finally made it to the house. It was a small house just meant for the two sisters, their husbands, and Aulsa. At the house we drank tea, ate some kind of bread/cake thing and played with my iPhone. They were fascinated with it! Puspa was begging me to let her keep it but I told her there is no possible way I would ever give up my iPhone. Sadly, it was getting late and I felt that I should leave.

They walked me to the main street where I was to get into a bus back to Thamel (Thamel is the name of the backpacker area). This bus system is absurd! Its basically a minivan that should only seat maybe 13 people in the back. By mid-ride we had 21! I had one guy pretty much straddling my left leg where I could easily feel his entire package, another guys armpit right in my face, and I was right by the entrance so the door was slamming in my face every time we would have to stop. Even while we were jammed like sardines in this van with absolutely no space, the guy who opens the door and collects the money kept yelling out what I could only assume was an offer for more people to join us. Absurd!

It was good to get back to Thamel and relax for tomorrow I begin my 4 day trek at 6am.

Attack of the Dollar Baba's

I woke at 8am to blaring car horns and people yelling at each other in the streets. This was very different from the roosters that I have become accustomed to. But this was no problem, as I rushed out to get an early start on my first official day in Kathmandu.

Before heading out I went to meet a travel agent I had met the night before named Prakash. So far Prakash has been hooking me up big time. He took care of my Visa to India, my bus and train tickets into India, my flight out of India, and then convinced me to scrap Asia's tallest bungee jump and come on a 5 day trek with him to his village at the foothills of the Manaslu Mountian.

-Right now I have restarted this entry because the power went out 2 hours ago and just came back on-

Now it was time for me to explore. I used the Lonely Planet's walking tour as my guide and perused through the labyrinth-like ancient city. Not long into the walk I came across one of the most amazing temples I have ever seen. It was exactly like the one I have seen in the picture where an massive stupa is set in the center of a square and there are prayer flags streaming from the top down to smaller stupas placer all around it. While exploring the temple grounds, there is a DJ playing some trendy world music which really set the scene for me.

-I must interject again to say that I just looked over the computer next to me and there is a man on JapanCupid.com scoping out some ladies-

After the temple I wandered deeper into the depths of Kathmandu, observing the medieval architecture, beggars, shop life, and best of all, the "Dollar Baba's." These are holy men dressed in bright robes and have painted their faces with yellows, reds, and white. They walk around seeking tourists telling you to take photo's of them, then say a few prayers and bless you, and then put red or white paint on your forehead. Of course they ask for a bit of money. I gave them $2 each which I have found was completely absurd as other will accept pennies. At first I thought I did a good deed giving the a little extra, but then I saw them sitting together dividing a massive wad of bills. Those sneaky Baba's! They got the best of me.

Upon finishing my tour, I returned to Prakash's shop to relax over some tea and he invited me to dinner with him and his friend Dipak that evening. They took me to a very special local place where no foreigners go, I was the only one there. They ordered a ton of different foods; mutton, chicken, beef, grains, soups, beans, and curries. Along with this feast, we each drank a bottle of whiskey making me extremely drunk. The owner of the restaurant kept coming over to our table, full of intrigue that I, a foreigner, was in his restaurant. After the meal we checked out one more late night spot and I had to go home. I was way to drunk.

It was an eventful day followed by an eventful evening. Tomorrow, my journey to the Monkey Temple.

Namaste Kathmandu!

Flying into Kathmandu was one of the best flights I have ever had; visually. As we flew closer to Nepal, you can see the terrain getting more and more mountainous as the Himalaya's begin to form. It was a very special experience to have Everest outside my window at eye level.

Once through the airport, which was very stressfull, as our baggage tram was changed 4 times, I got a taxi heading directly into the city. As we left the airport and crossed the main bridge to the city, we passed a special site where the Hindu's come to burn the dead bodies. Aside from that, it was peak rush hour and that means absolute mayhem! I have ever seen traffic like this! Pedestrians, cars, trucks, motorbikes, etc, are all funneled into these small and ancient streets. There are no traffic lights, but instead just a current that barely flows in one direction. I had morotr bikes passing me on either sideof the taxi.

I took the first guesthouse my driver took me to just to let all the stress stop. Plus it's the peak of the high season so schlepping all over town trying to find a guesthouse would have be the worse thing ever.

I have found that Kathmandu has a very similar vibe as Marrakesh in the sense that the streets are formed into a winding labyrinth. At this point I walk had been walking around for nearly 2 hours and it was well into the night. I had read in my Lonely Planet that there are power cut all over the city and you never know when they might happen or for how long they will last. I had just taken a wrong turn and gotten myself very lost when the power went out. This was the first time on my trip that I actually got worried for my safety. Walking the streets at night, in the dark, not knowing where the hell I am. After about 5-10 minutes the power came back on and I scurried to find something familiar. Fortunately, everything worked out ok and was able to find my way back to my guesthouse. That was enough adventure for one night so I decided to get to bed early to recharge for a big day.

Tomorrow I will explore the old city of Kathmandu.

The Bocklock Chronicles: Day 3

I woke very groggy and slow to find that the moonshine had taken it toll. After we all ate and finished out morning routines, we hopped on the back of a pickup taking us to the outskirts of the jungle. We walked for about 30 minutes through a set of rice paddies and found that there was another guide waiting for us at a small camp. This guide was the same guy that we had seen the night before, wasted off his ass and unable to produce any sort of coherent sentence in either our or his language. (He is also the only person I have ever known to rival the alcoholic stench that Pat McCool produces the morning after drinking). Now he was to lead us through a cave for an hour.

Compared to the caving I had done in Costa Rica, this was amateur hour. The only two challenged was climbing down a ladder and then up a small rock shelf. After that it was just walking and observing. Along the way we saw some really impressive rock formations as well as several creepy crawlers. There were spiders bigger than your hand with glowing eyes, bats, and crickets with antenna's longer than 5 inches.

After leaving the cave, our new stinky guide let us figure our way back which was boarder line dangerous. Fortunately we got back ok and he had a good laugh. Before departing for a 3 hour hike, the guides all agreed that Leona was not to hike any more and was driven to the next activity, which was elephant trekking. So we took of on the scenic hike took a few moments of silence for our fallen trekker. One of our fellow trekkers thought she was about to step on a stepping stone in a stream crossing and her foot ended up going right through a giant mound of buffalo shit. This was amazing.

We arrived at the elephant camp, had a quick snack and made way into the jungle via elephant. Again I was impressed by both the agility and dexterity of the elephants as they scaled and descended rocky, muddy jungle slopes and crossed rivers. Now I'm going to apologize to Vikki now for putting this in but it was too funny not to. As we approached the end of our journey, we had to dismount the elephants by jumping off onto a dirt ledge of the side of the road. This was a natural formation and in no way was meant for this. It was just the first thing they saw and said, this is good enough. So I'll give her that it was kinda tricky, but still... Vikki jumped of and completely missed the ledge falling 5 feet onto her butt and then landing underneath the elephant. But with a smile and a slightly embarrassed laugh, she brushed it off and moved on as if nothing happened.

We had lunch and the journey still wasn't over. We had to drive for 3 hours back to Chiang Mai. On this drive, over 2 hours were spent of bumpy dirt roads and we were all stuffed in the back of a pickup so it was virtually impossible to be comfortable, let alone take a nap.

The excursion ended and it was sad to leave all these people who have endured this great adventure with me. Now I was to get on a 9 hour overnight bus back to Bangkok for a few nights of mayhem.

The Bocklock Chronicles: Day 2

This day was easily one of the best days of my trip!

Roosters began cawing at somewhere between 5am and 6am so everyone was up early. After a light breakfast of eggs, toast, and coffee, we wasted not time returning to the jungle where we would be trekking for 3 1/2 hours. After many stops to keep Leona from passing out, we finally arrived at a small camp by the river. Our guides chopped down some bamboo and began to carve out some bowls and chop sticks for our meal while a local prepared some noodle soup. After eating we walked down to the river where our bamboo rafts await.

Now I have done plenty of white water rafting and nothing has compared to this. First off, there is absolutely no protection of any kind, just us and the raft. That means, no helmets, no life vest's, so seat, no straps, and even oars. Instead of oars, we get these huge bamboo rods that are used by planting them into either the bottom of the river or anything we can reach, and pushing off. As with most water boats, the steering is done from the rear of the boat, with bamboo rafting it is steered from the front. I was lucky enough to get to steer our raft four about 30minutes in which only two errors were made. The first, I didn't see this giant rock below the raft and beached us. The second was trying to slow us down by jamming the rod into the ground just in front of the raft. Upon doing this the rod got stuck and mud and was plowed over by the raft. I then had to get down in my stomach, almost completely submerging myself in water, and retrieve it. Now I thought that other than those two minor mistakes, I was pretty good at this. But our guide Nu showed everyone up by steering his raft while fishing. By the end of the 2 1/2 trip, he had not beached once and caught almost 25 fish that would be eaten that evening.

We docked the rafts on the banks of the Lisu Village where we would be spending the next night. We all settled in and rested for about 30 minutes before getting fitted for mountain bikes. Surprisingly, the bikes were hard tails and not so bad. We rode around for about an hour stopping to observe the farmers and talking to Nu and Lasso's friends along the way. One of the guys we spoke to gave us a bottle of moonshine rice whiskey that he prepares himself. We rode the rest of the way home watching the sun set over the mountains and eagerly returned to the village for cleanup and dinner.

We closed out the night drinking moonshine and beer around a bon fire while playing ice breakers and bocklock.

The Bocklock Chronicles: Day 1

Pickup time for the Libra Tour's "no tourists" trek left at 9am sharp on Wednesday morning. They call it the "no tourist" trek because we wouldn't see one tourist for the next three days. And they weren't kidding.

On my tour was Max Meisel's long time friend Vikki Young, a great Welsh couple Chris and Rachel, along with one guy and three girls all from the UK. Leading the tour were our guides Nu and Lasso, both raised near the jungle having ties to many of the locals in the villages we were to visit.

After our big meet and greet we drove 3 1/2 hours up to the border of Myanmar where we had lunch and then immediately immersed ourselves into the jungle. After about and hour of trekking we came across a waterfall where we all got to go swimming and jumping. The waterfall was small but humble with two tiers and ice cold water. When everyone was surely freezing, we decided it was time to leave and venture on our 3 hour hike to the Lisu Village.

This was where the journey got interesting. Leona, the only fit looking member of the UKer's, was the single most out of shape individual I have ever seen in my life. We were nearly 200ft up a climb and she began to feel faint. At this early in the trek, I was immediately alarmed as to how she was going to handle the next 3 hours, but also how she would handle the next 2 days! So I was very sympathetic and helpful, providing support, water, and breathing exercises. We ended up having to stop nearly every 10-15 minutes to wait for her to catch her breath and prevent her from fainting. But she was a trooper and made it all the way to the village. When we arrived we were greeted with kids running around and playing, adults working the farm, and animals roaming freely around the village.

After a home cooked, village-style meal, we prepared a small fire while playing jungle puzzles. These puzzles were made up of matches and bamboo and required a certain "outside the box" strategy of thinking. They were surprisingly hard and we were only able to figure out maybe 3 out of the 6 or 7 they showed us. The entire time, Nu and Lasso were saying the word Bocklock, which they could not really explain but we think it translates as a mixture of fun, play, confusion, and silliness. Everyone in the jungle knew this word well and said it all the time to us. Eventually we used the word Bocklock for everything and it became an ongoing joke.

We closed out the night chilling by the fire with some dogs and baby pigs while finishing the last of out jungle Chang Beer and went to sleep to recharge for what will be the biggest day of the tour. Tomorrow is trekking, bamboo rafting, and mountain biking.

Stay tuned!

Loi Krathong

After crossing the boarder, I hopped on a mini-bus to Chiang Mai where I would be meeting up with Richy, some of his friends and a few other travelers I have met along the way. The reason for this gathering in Chiang Mai was Loi Krathong, a celebration of the 12th full moon on the lunar calender. "Loi" meaning, to float, and "Krathong," a small decorative raft the size of your hand, that is to float down the river. Its basically a mix between the Hindu holiday Deepavali and the Jewish Yom Kippor. The festival is supposed to be about sending flaming rice lanterns into the sky to symbolize giving life to the new year, as well as sending all the bad away with it. But has now become a chaotic gathering where the open flam lanterns of all colors and sizes are soaring by the hundreds through the sky, accompanied by thousands of drunk pyromaniacs setting off legal, and illegal fireworks all around you. We saw lanterns get stuck in trees, power lines, and even people.

My crew was well equipped with backpacks of beer and fireworks, as well as high spirits in honor of this special holiday. We made our way through the Tha Pae gate (a major square in the older part of the city) heading directly to the center of all the action, "the big bridge." On the big bridge we were funnelled into some seriously congested people traffic where everyone is sending up lanterns and setting off fireworks EVERYWHERE! While walking around and doing the same thing, we are constantly getting hit with debris from overhead fireworks and lanterns as well as the occasional burn on the back of the calves from the smaller fountain fireworks. By the end of the night almost everyone had sustained some kind of minor injury (myself included ,with burns up my left forearm). While watching the festival around me, I had the innovative idea to create a "super lantern." We began tying several lanterns together and sending them off into the sky. - right now as I write this post I am constantly flinching because there are tons of fireworks going off maybe 20ft behind me - The super lantern had its flaws that were to be fixed the next night because we had to keep moving to other bridges and sights. When I would finally get a chance to stand and admire what was going on around me, I was never without awe at the sight. The full moon fills the sky with light so that no stars are visible, only the orange twinkle of thousands of lanterns climbing into the night sky beyond the mountains.

Its been two nights of mayhem thus far and as fun as its been, I'm so ready for it to be over. The constant ducking and flinching is getting quite aggravating. Tonight I am going to participate in last and biggest night of the festival and wake early tomorrow for a 3 day trek along the Thai/Myanmar border.

Illegal Border Crossings

Before returning to Thailand, I had a little trouble at the border where I had accidentally left Laos and crossed into Thailand illegally. This sounds a lot worse than it actually is but it happens quite often at this particular boarder-cross. When I went to get my stamp for Thai entry, the serviceman told me I could leave my bag with him so I can cross the river back to Laos, get my departure stamp, and then come back to Thailand for proper entry. This was no big deal but I did have to pay for the river taxi twice now as well as a departure fee. All together maybe $4 so I didn't get too worked up over it. Upon returning to Thailand, the same serviceman was very funny and he told me this happens a lot. After he looked at my passport photo he looked up at me with a flirtatious grin and says, "you has bery pretty ears..." As he said this, he was pointing to his eyes, so I had to correct him by telling him that my eyes are not called ears and then gave a respectful Khaaw Khoon Khrap (thank you). After we exchanged a good laugh, I went on to properly enter Thailand.