Dublin to Abu Dhabi - glorious sleep (7 hour flight) and then 84F and men walking about looking like nuns. . .let me back up. Waiting at the airport for a few hours for my next flight, I could not help wondering whether the men in pristine white were wondering as much about my dress sense as I was about theirs.
Whatever.
A shorter trip to Kathmandu. What chaos! Immigration was tedious but reclaiming the bags was bedlam. I could see only 3 carousels - and about a million bags. Memories of Kingston Jamaica!
The relatively short trip to the hotel took 80 minutes. Crazy traffic (lunatic driving - every man for himself)' heavy rain and a shooting earlier in the day. I never did mind about the little things. . .
The most shocking thing today (I can tell these entries are going to get more alarming): the stories of organised begging by street kids, the drug use and the child abuse (where rape and buttery are the initiation for the latest children who join a group). One part of me hesitates to refer to this but - guess what - it is happening - right now. That's the brutal reality.
Seems a somber note on which to finish.
Monday 26 September 2011
Snowy
After the early start to see Everest, I had a hot date with Snowy.
The Truck.
No, don't titter - this is the means of transport and a personal friend (or so it seems) to our guide, Ben.
Snowy is a labour of love. Five years' love to be precise. A Mercedes Benz overland vehicle with all the bells and whistles you could imagine: reclining seats, beer fridge, air con, safe, wifi, stereo system, water system, safe - and on it goes. This is no ordinary truck - this is Home for the next three and a half weeks.
Oh - Snowy delivered us from Kathmandu today to Chitwan National Park. Tomorrow we start at 6 am to spot Bengal Tigers, wash elephants and perform other sundry Monday morning tasks.
To sleep now, perchance to dream.
The Truck.
No, don't titter - this is the means of transport and a personal friend (or so it seems) to our guide, Ben.
Snowy is a labour of love. Five years' love to be precise. A Mercedes Benz overland vehicle with all the bells and whistles you could imagine: reclining seats, beer fridge, air con, safe, wifi, stereo system, water system, safe - and on it goes. This is no ordinary truck - this is Home for the next three and a half weeks.
Oh - Snowy delivered us from Kathmandu today to Chitwan National Park. Tomorrow we start at 6 am to spot Bengal Tigers, wash elephants and perform other sundry Monday morning tasks.
To sleep now, perchance to dream.
Who's the bl**d* post?
The joys of computing !
Drafted a long post and promptly lost it. . .
Short version: got here through 84F in AbuDhabi to heavy rain in Kathmandu only to be entertained with news of a shooting amid mental traffic.
The adventure has begun.
Drafted a long post and promptly lost it. . .
Short version: got here through 84F in AbuDhabi to heavy rain in Kathmandu only to be entertained with news of a shooting amid mental traffic.
The adventure has begun.
Sunday 25 September 2011
Where's the bl**d! passport?
Murphy has a thing or two to answer for!
Just when everything is scheduled to a tee - and Ireland trounce Russia - the passport goes AWOL (and it full of visas).
I keep saying to people that there's lots to learn in life if only we allow ourselves to see all the opportunities. Physician heal thyself! I needed all the calm of meditation to keep from losing the cool - completely.
Ommmmm. (Should be lots more opportunities to practice meditation too on the trip.)
Found it. Got to practice unpacking and repacking my bag too - uber-efficient 'bags-in-a-bag approach'. Quite cool. See? I knew there was a reason I misplaced the passport - to give me the opportunity to appreciate the new packing system (well, you got to try?)
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Feeling much better now.
Just when everything is scheduled to a tee - and Ireland trounce Russia - the passport goes AWOL (and it full of visas).
I keep saying to people that there's lots to learn in life if only we allow ourselves to see all the opportunities. Physician heal thyself! I needed all the calm of meditation to keep from losing the cool - completely.
Ommmmm. (Should be lots more opportunities to practice meditation too on the trip.)
Found it. Got to practice unpacking and repacking my bag too - uber-efficient 'bags-in-a-bag approach'. Quite cool. See? I knew there was a reason I misplaced the passport - to give me the opportunity to appreciate the new packing system (well, you got to try?)
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Feeling much better now.
The adventure begins . . .
In response to numerous requests, I am capitulating and establishing this blog to briefly record my 2011 adventure in the Himalayas and beyond.
Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow", is the Sanskrit word for the Himalayas. That's where the adventure begins in Kathmandu in a little over one day. To appreciate the scale of the mountain range, consider that Aconcagua in the Andes is the highest mountain outside Asia (about 100 metres higher than Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain) and that there are over 100 mountains higher than Aconcagua in the Himalayas!
Remembering the struggle with altitude sickness getting to the top of Kilimanjaro (20,000 feet), I recall with fondness the sense of achievement Robbie and I felt - especially, later, when we looked down on Kili from our plane home. I cannot begin to imagine how Tenzig Norgay and Edmund Hillary - and so many others afterwards - managed to conquer Everest which is nearly 10,000 feet higher. I hope to get a good look at Everest from a special flight around it in a week's time.
Firtst, I have to finish packing and get to the aiport in good time. . . .
Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow", is the Sanskrit word for the Himalayas. That's where the adventure begins in Kathmandu in a little over one day. To appreciate the scale of the mountain range, consider that Aconcagua in the Andes is the highest mountain outside Asia (about 100 metres higher than Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain) and that there are over 100 mountains higher than Aconcagua in the Himalayas!
Remembering the struggle with altitude sickness getting to the top of Kilimanjaro (20,000 feet), I recall with fondness the sense of achievement Robbie and I felt - especially, later, when we looked down on Kili from our plane home. I cannot begin to imagine how Tenzig Norgay and Edmund Hillary - and so many others afterwards - managed to conquer Everest which is nearly 10,000 feet higher. I hope to get a good look at Everest from a special flight around it in a week's time.
Firtst, I have to finish packing and get to the aiport in good time. . . .
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