Where is Arturo?

Galapagos: Diving Floreana

2009-06-23T21:53:00.001-07:00

Third day of diving. Today we were going to the far away island of Floreana. The ride was about 2 hours each way on a speed boat. The weather was deteriorating, so the result was a very bumpy and long ride so after 5 minutes, I decided to take a motion sickness pill. My companions were a 15-person group from Argentina. There are diving buddies that go on trips around the world. Their level of experience was very varied. From quite advanced to just beginners. We had 2 boats (8 people in each boat), with two dive masters in each boat. The head dive master was very different than the ones the previous days as he kept us in a very short leash. He also made the huge mistake of not doing a buoyancy check which resulted in an incredible waste of time and air in the first dive when half the group didn’t go down and we had to sit on the bottom waiting for them. These dives were very easy and, combined with having a good buddy (Carlos), I felt pretty comfortable which reflected on my bottom times.

Here are the stats for the dives:

Dive	Max Depth	Avg Depth	Bottom Time
1	55ft	40ft	60mins
2	89ft	43ft	45mins

	Picture taken while waiting for the other divers to come down.
	Wrasse
	Juvenile Puffer Fish
	Adult Puffer Fish
	Sting Ray
	Streamer Hogfish
	Tiger Snake Eel
	White Tip Reef shark

During the surface time between the two dives, we moored in a protected bay to have lunch. The lunch was excellent, a nice grilled fish with a prawn creamy sauce (I wonder if my complaint about the food the previous day was the reason). After lunch, we had some time to go snorkeling where I had some very close encounters with Sea Lions and turtles.

The Sea Lions in Galapagos are genetically California Sea Lions. However, they exhibit different behaviors (particularly on raising the young) which has led some scientists to rename the subspecies Galapagos Sea Lions. In any case, they are very playful and curious and they are such an excellent predator that they have plenty of time to just relax on the beach. It’s one of the few animals that are encountered everywhere in Galapagos.

I also find a green turtle feeding underwater.

After the surface interval, we headed to a more “advanced” site. There, we did a drift dive next to a cliff wall with plenty of caves with lots of life from fish to sharks. Unfortunately, my cave pictures are pretty bad given that I didn’t have a diffuser for my flash.

Underwater Turtle. We found this turtle at about 60ft.

Free diving next to a wall. It’s an interesting experience to just “fly” next to the wall, heading up and down as you find caves and sea life. It’s also a very good exercise on buoyancy control.

When we were at 40ft, a sea lion came to check us out. It was swimming very close to each of us, looking carefully and sometimes nipping on a diver fin. At one moment, he got very interested in my camera so I was lucky to get some closer shots of him (some of them too close).

Carlos with the sea lion under us.

Playful Sea Lion

At one time, we found a huge cave under us and we headed there (reaching the deepest depth of the dive). The cave was full of sharks, packed like sardines. There were maybe 20 of them in there. After they noticed us, a couple of them swim out, looking for a quieter place.

Due to some scheduling problems, my travel agency had to put me for my last night in Puerto Ayora in a different hotel: the Red Boobie. The hotel, although less charming than the Mainao, was as clean and the staff as friendly. Breakfast was a notch better and they have a fantastic rooftop swimming pool. The hotel is also more centric than the Mainao, but everything in Puerto Ayora is so close, that that just mean walking two blocks less to get to the harbor.

After a quick shower, I connected again with the Argentinean troop who invited me for dinner in their hotel. They were very nice people, I wish I can join them for a future dive in the future.

Galapagos: Diving Gordon Rocks

2009-06-23T21:12:00.001-07:00

Second Day of diving. Today is Gordon Rocks, a bit farther away than the diving site yesterday. I was the only passenger for Nautidiving, so they sent me to a different company which in turn sent me to a third one (I didn’t have to do anything, it was just a change of meeting place). This company wasn’t as good as Nautidiving, offering a very simple lunch. However, their dive masters (we had two) were very good. Given the distance to get there (1 hour on a speed boat each way), we only did 2 dives plus the buoyancy check. The ride was also very bumpy with one person getting very seasick. My companions were one person from the US (Laura) and three Israelis. As I did my buoyancy check the previous day, I just did snorkeling at the check site. No jelly fish this time.

Here are the stats for the dive:

Dive	Max Depth	Avg Depth	Bottom Time
1	94ft	61ft	38mins
2	70ft	42ft	42mins

Gordon Rocks was a more advanced site with deeper dives and very strong currents. The diving place is basically an eroded crater with the bottom of the crater, surrounded by two broken semi-circular walls. The inside of the crater goes down to 95ft while the outside wall goes to a depth of more than 450ft.

The highlights of the dives were the encounter with a huge sunfish and a school of hammerhead sharks. There were also some coral (unusual in Galapagos) on the inside walls plus turtles and lots of fish inside the crater.

	Beautiful coral
	Sunfish
	Laura
	Green Turtle

	Hammerhead Shark
	School of fish and diver
	Streamer Hogfish
	Turtle and Laura
	Two different kind of star fish

After the dive, I decided to have an extra day of diving the following day. Originally I was scheduled for a tour of the highlands as the package assumes that you fly after the diving program, but given that I wasn’t doing that, diving was a possibility. After scoring a place on a boat to Floreana, I went for dinner with the Israelis and Laura.

Galapagos: Diving North Seymor and Mosquera

2009-06-23T20:38:00.001-07:00

My first day of diving in Galapagos. Today I headed for three dives in the island of North Seymor and Mosquera.

Water temperature was unseasonably high, a balmy 75F (24C). By this time of the year, the cold currents should have arrived and cool the water, but the water was still warm, a sign that perhaps El Niño is coming. Still, we were wearing full 6mm wetsuits which was a complete overkill for this temperature. Before diving, we did a buoyancy check. We got all the equipment on us and jumped in the water to find out how much weight to carry. I felt a bit heavy with the suggested 10Kg (22lbs), but I decided to stick with that weight for the first dive. Later I confirmed that it was too much and reduced it to 8Kg (18lbs). Immediately after I jumped in the water for the buoyancy check, I felt a sting in my hand. It turned that I jumped exactly on top of a jelly fish. After getting on board, the dive master used the vinaigrette for the salad to stop the pain. The vinegar in it was very effective to relief the pain but my hand smelled as if it was being marinated for the sharks.

The stats of the dive were:

Dive	Max Depth	Avg Depth	Bottom Time
1	73ft	52ft	40min
2	65ft	41ft	40min
3	86ft	57ft	38min

Here are some pictures of the dive. The highlights were swimming with turtles and sea lions and close encounters with White Tip sharks.

	Green turtle
	Sting Ray
	Barracudas
	White tip shark
	Sergeant Major
	Garden Eels

Sea Stars

	Puffer fish
	Sea lion

After diving, I decided to go back with Mo Yee, one of my diving partners, to the Darwin Research Station. She was in the middle of a week-long cruise and for her day in Puerto Ayora, she decided to go diving rather than visiting the town and Research Station. We finished early enough for her to visit the station so I offered to show her around. We basically did the same as I did with Leandro with a bit more time to try to see George (this time, we saw "half" of him, plus his two consorts).

From the Research Station, we walked back to the other side of town (it just take 10 minutes) to the boat dock where she was going to be picked up to go back to her ship. In the way there, we stopped at the fish market where fishermen were surrounded by pelicans and sea lions hoping for a piece of a fish to fall on the ground.

After dropping Mo Yee in her boat, I headed for a grilled fish (wahoo) dinner in "La Garrapata" (The Tick).

Galapagos: Puerto Ayora

2009-06-23T03:41:00.001-07:00

Today is traveling day to Galapagos. I woke up very early to get to the airport for my morning flight. The Domestic Terminal was busy with big groups of kids going on trips. However, check in was easy and fast. In addition to the typical airport security, there was an additional check to make sure my luggage was free of fruits and insects.

My flight, in the aging 727, was beautiful. Shortly after leaving Quito, we got excellent views of the volcanoes surrounding the city, and in particular Cotopaxi. A bit later, as we were approaching Guayaquil, the landscape changed to jungle. After a brief stopover in Guayaquil, the largest city of Ecuador, we continued over the Pacific ocean to Galapagos.

At the airport, I quickly connected with my guide from Nautidiving, Leandro. We took the free bus from the airport to the ferry crossing, took the ferry, and then he drove me to Puerto Ayora. In the way there, we stopped at "Los Gemelos", two impressive volcanic sinkholes just by the road. Around the sinkholes we saw a Galapagos Short-eared Owl. Thanks to the lack of competitors, this is the only diurnal owl in the world. The drive to Puerto Ayora was longer than I thought, close to an hour on a good paved road.

After arriving at town, he dropped me off in my hotel, Mainao. The hotel is built in a Mediterranean style with nice common areas and simple and very clean rooms. After drinking the welcome glass of "tomate de arbol" juice, I settle down and decided to go for a walk.

My guidebook recommended going to Tortuga Bay. I got directions to the trailhead just to the edge of town. The trail is a paved path built in the middle of a forest of cactus and poisonous trees. Without that trail it would be virtually impossible to get to Tortuga Bay from land. There were many opportunities to see lizards and birds, including the famous Darwin Finches (below) just at the edge of the trail. Animals in Galapagos do not perceive humans as threats, so it is possible to get very close to them.

After about 40 minutes, I was at the bay. Tortuga Bay is a beautiful stretch of white sand beach. Most of the Galapagos Islands are volcanic, but some of the land was uplifted from the bottom of the ocean. The uplifted land is rich in shells and corals that have been converted in beautiful white sands. In the case of Tortuga Bay, it is very fine white sand. Notice behind the picture the line of volcanic black rock which is also typical of the island.

While I was walking on the sand, I noticed very colorful crabs that would peak from holes and hide the moment I approached them. These are the Galapagos Ghost Crabs. I tried to get a picture of them by standing very quietly at the edge of the hole and waiting for them to pop up. However, just the tiny movement of my finger to trigger the camera was enough to send them darting down the hole. After several attempts, I have to content myself with using the zoom and getting a picture from far away.

At the end of the beach, I found my first Marine Iguana. This was a special treat as it was swimming next to the Mangrove trees. Marine Iguanas are well adapted be found in almost every island of the archipelago. Marine iguanas are usually black, so they are camouflage when laying on the black volcanic rocks of the islands. They are related to the Land Iguanas of Galapagos and the Green Iguana of the Ecuadorian coast.

Nearby there was a huge group of resting Marine Iguanas, including several babies. Marine Iguanas have an interesting behavior, they get ride of excess salt by "spitting" it violently out of their noses. Beyond that, they do very little on land, just laying there warming up under the equatorial sun.

After spending an hour at the Bay, it was time for me to return and meet Leandro who took me to the Darwin Research Station.

The station is known for their program to save the Giant Tortoises. These animals were exploited in such numbers that some of the subspecies went extinct and others were reduced to such small numbers that it is unlikely that they could recover on their own. Tortoises were taken by ships when it was discovered that they would remain alive for over a year, without water or food, if kept upside down in the hull of a ship. This additional source of protein was more than welcome by sailors, so they were taking in great numbers. In fact, the ship that carried Darwin, the Beagle, took 45 of them. 42 were used for food and 3 were kept alive to be brought to London (the last one of those three died just a couple of years ago). In addition to this, the turtle needs to compete with three invasive species: pigs, cats, rats, and goats. Pigs and cats are very efficient in finding tortoise eggs and eating them. Rats (as well as pigs) kill and eat the young tortoises. Finally, goats compete with adult tortoises for food, stressing the adults and contributing further to reduce their numbers.

The center captures adults and breed them. The eggs are then put in incubators. Tortoises don't have a sex chromosome, so sex is determined by the temperature in which the egg hatches. Eggs in high temperature will produce females, while the cooler ones will produce males. Baby tortoises are kept in the center until they are "rat proof" (2 years) or, in the islands with pigs, until they are "pig proof" (3 years). After that period, they are release in the island where their parents are from.

The center also rescue tortoises that were kept as pets. These tortoises are not only kept in the center for breeding, but also to allow people to get very close to them. The center is also home to Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta tortoise sub-species (although recently DNA evidence questions the origin of George). There has been an international quest to find a mate for him and save the subspecies. Unfortunately, no living tortoise from Pinta has been found. Because of this, two females of a related subspecies have been put in his pen. After years of ignoring them, George finally mate with them last year; however, the eggs produced by the females did not contain embryos. Lonesome George is very shy and hides behind some trees of the enclosure, so I didn't get to see him in this visit.

Although less known than their work with tortoises, the research station also has a land iguanas breeding program. Similar to the program with tortoises, adults from endangered subspecies are captured and breed in captivity. The babies are kept in the station until they are old enough to defend themselves against invasive species.

The day I arrived in Puerto Ayora an important soccer game was being played: Ecuador, the underdog, versus Argentina. To everybody's surprise, Ecuador defeated Argentina 2-0. After the game, half the town went into the streets with Ecuadorian flags, celebrating the result of the match. It was fun to see them going around an around on the main street in town.

After finding our way to Nautidiving, the company I was going diving with, I got a briefing for my diving trip the next day. After an early dinner, and some blog work, it was time to call off the day.

A day in Quito

2009-06-21T19:56:00.001-07:00

I started the day by heading to my hotel in the New Town to the Old Town, the colonial area of Quito. It was rush hour, so I was advised by the hotel to take the Trolley instead of taking a Taxi. The Trolley is an electric bus that runs on a separate lane of traffic (and so it's relatively immune to traffic jams). It costs only 25 cents and all stops are announced both by speakers and electronic signs. I was told that they are very safe, except for the occasional pickpockets that operate when the bus is very busy.

My first stop was "La Plaza Grande", also known as "Plaza de la Independencia". This is a big square in the middle of the old town that it's flanked by 3 colonial buildings (The Cathedral, The Archbishop Palace, and the Government Palace) and one Bauhaus building (The City Hall). I was surprised that despite Quito being at 2854m (9364 ft), I was not really feeling the altitude. Maybe I'm still acclimatized from my trip to Nepal.

From the square, I walked two blocks to the Iglesia de San Francisco, the oldest church in Quito. The Church construction was started in 1535, just one month after the Spanish arrived. The church is built on top of an Inca temple and for that reason is higher than the rest of the buildings of the Old Town. Going up the church requires navigating uneven and wide steps. Locals believe that they were built like that so you have to keep your eyes on the ground (to see where you are stepping), and thus forced to bow your head in respect. Unfortunately, the church is currently closed as it is under renovation. Although you can peek inside the church, all the artwork is covered, so you don't really see much. However, the museum and the choir are open. The museum contain many masterpieces of the colonial time, not only from Cuzco (the most advanced artistic community in Colonial South America), but also from Quito itself. Many of the pieces contains obvious Indian elements with cuyes (guinea pigs), toucans, sun symbols, and even Indian faces.

La Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesus (Jesuit Church) is a baroque masterpiece. The exterior, with detailed carvings on gray stone, doesn't give you an idea of the amount of gold encountered inside. You almost need sunglasses as you walk inside the church. No pictures are allowed inside (the picture below is just at the entrance, the only place where I could take a picture) and it's hard to describe with words the intricate decorations of the ceiling all covered with gold leaf. A common motif at the Church is the Sun which is a clear attempt to lure the Inca population into the Church, as the Sun was a very important deity for them. The church, built between 1605 and 1765 has a strong Moorish influence (common at that time) so the decoration doesn't contain human forms, but instead geometric shapes.

My next stop was the Casa Museo Maria Augusta Urrutia. The purpose of the museum is to showcase her philanthropic work with the poor of Quito (with a very strong Catholic influence). The real reason to go there is to see how a well-to-do person lived in the Old Town during the 19th century. The house can only be visited with a tour guide (I was the only one in his group). The tour was very good, starting with a video about the current activities of the philanthropic society that was founded years ago by Maria Augusta Urrutia. After that, I visited the amazing courtyard. Then to the back of the house with the small open area where cows were butchered, the kitchen where they were cooked, and the room where meals were given to the poor of Quito. Upstairs is the residential area and you have the opportunity of seeing the modern main bathroom, built at the start of the 20th century in the Nouveau style. And the main bedroom. There are also a large collection of paintings of Victor Hideros as Maria Augusta Urrutia supported his work.

After visiting the house, I went back to the Plaza de la Independencia with the intention of visiting the Government Palace. Unfortunately, the scheduled tour (anything beyond the veranda requires joining a tour) didn't happen and I was told to come back 2 hours later (which I couldn't do). While I was there, I was able to see the change of guard ceremony.

A bit of Ecuador history: Spanish rule in Ecuador started in 1544 with the arrival of the conquistadores. The situation was stable until the 19th century when Spain was taken over by Napoleon troops. The subsequent instability and economic downturn gave the "criollos" (local people with Spanish ancestry), the momentum for independence. In 1820, Ecuador declares independence and asked Bolivar (in Venezuela) and San Martin (in Argentina) for support. Bolivar sent troops to Ecuador and with the help of Antonio Jose de Sucre, defeated the Spanish at Pichincha (just outside Quito) on May 24, 1822. The Granadero to the left, guarding the entrance of the Casa de Gobierno, is wearing the uniform of Bolivar's army. After defeating Spain, Ecuador joins the Republic of Greater Colombia, a federation of present Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru. This republic was short lived and fell apart after Bolivar resignation as president and subsequent death in 1830. That year, along with the present countries of the Greater Colombia, the Republic of El Ecuador was born.

From the old town, I headed to nearby "El Panecillo". This hill is 3000m high (9840ft) and it's capped by a huge statue (45m, 148ft) of a winged virgin (Virgen de Quito). Inside the statue there is a small (overpriced) museum that tells the history of the statue as well as how the hill was used in the past: an Inca temple to worship the Sun, and later as the place of a fortress during the colony.

Near El Panecillo, I had a lunch at the famous Pim's. For those of you that are fans of the Amazing Race, this was one of the objectives for the All-Star season in 2007. The restaurant has amazing views of the city from every single table. You can sit inside (with a large glass wall overlooking the city) or outdoors. I chose the latter and ordered a typical Ecuadorian food: fritada. This is deep-fried large pieces of pork accompanied by fried plantain, a salad with onions avocado, and tomatoes, and corn (cooked as pop-corns that are about to pop, but not quite). It also came with fried patties of yucca filed with cheese.

From the restaurant, I took a taxi to the North of the New Town where the Fundacion Guayasamil is located. The Fundacion contains three museums: an archeology, a colonial, and a modern art museum. The first two were the private collection of Oswaldo Guayasamil, while the last one showcases his own work. Oswaldo Guayasamil is one of the most important contemporary Ecuadorian painters.

The archeology museum contains pre-Colombian art from 500 BC to just the arrival of the Spanish. This art was an inspiration for Guayasamil paintings and contains from very primitive pieces (barely work stone) to sophisticated pottery produced by the Incas. The collection is arranged according to a "aesthetic" criteria rather than historical, so the help of a tour guide (provided for free by the museum) in interpreting the pieces was very helpful. The colonial art museum also contains pieces from the Cuzqueño school as well as the Quito school. Pieces tend to have dramatic expression of suffering, specially the large collection of more than 70 crucifixes.

The art of Guayasamil is divided in three periods: the age of the introspection, the age of anger, and the age of the tenderness. The age of the introspection cover the years when he was a student of art. He is looking to define his art and he mostly copies from masters including Picasso. His paintings cover familiar subjects such as landscapes, still live, and nudes.

The age of anger runs from 1964 to 1984. During these years, his paintings become a protest and a political statement against the violence in the world and particularly in South America. In this period, he paints the pain from the Spanish Civil War, the holocaust and the Nazi atrocities, Hiroshima, Vietnam, and the dictatorship in Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. His subjects become tortured figures, almost skeletons, trying to escape from the pain of the world.

The age of anger also reflects his political agenda. He becomes a close friend of Fidel Castro and although he was never affiliated with any political party, he took position in favor of oppressed nations, and the integration of Latino American countries. He fought against dictatorships and the abuses of powerful and imperialistic nation. Despite his blind eye to the abuses of totalitarian regimes such as Fidel Castro's communist dictatorship in Cuba, he had a positive influence by denouncing the atrocities of right-wind totalitarianism.

In the age of tenderness, he portrays his relationship with his mother and how it was growing up as an Indian in the white-ruled society of Ecuador. The art expresses tenderness and compassion to the poor. In the picture to the left, the mother shelters her child who looks forward to the future and tries to break the embrace. The calm but sad face of the mother shows her awareness of the unavoidable moment when she will have to let go and expose the child to the world. For my taste (although most art critics would disagree), the best pieces of Guayasamil belong to this period.

His final project was "La Capilla del Hombre" an impressive building created with the purpose of "honoring people, in particular the Latino American people, with their suffering, struggles, and achievement." The end result is somber, pessimistic, more an instrument of protest than an optimistic view of the future. The chapel didn't open until 2002, three years after his death. Guayasamil remains are buried in a clay pot under a tree overlooking the building.

My next stop was the Teleferiqo, a clever name that combines the word for cable car in Spanish (teleferico) and Quito. The cable car was supposed to be very popular with locals as well as tourists, but that day was deserted. Foreigners are forced to buy the "Express" tickets that allows to take a shorter line, something that was completely useless the day I was there. The cable car takes you very quickly from Quito up 1000m (3280ft) to the side of Pichincha at 4050m (13280ft).

From the top there are views of Quito, making it obvious how it was built on a long narrow valley. There is also a view of the plateau, just above the city where Bolivar's army defeated the Spanish army. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, so I couldn't see any of the glaciated peaks (nevados) around the city.

I stayed at the top just before sunset and enjoy the changing colors on the landscape. After a brief visit to the building next to the cable car station (containing an oxygen bar, a winter cloth outlet, and a restaurant). I took one of the last cable car down with a nice couple visiting from the Ecuadorian coast.

From the cable car, I was ready to go back to my hotel, so I started looking for a taxi. This proved to be hard as there were no taxis around. Eventually, I found one but it was waiting for a passenger. The driver got tired of waiting and decided to take me. However, just after leaving the cable car area, he got called by the waiting passenger and he told me that he couldn't take me and drop me off on the main street after making sure that I caught a taxi from there. I got to my hotel and I bought some snacks at a small nearby store and had a small picnic dinner at the veranda of my hotel with cheese crackers and traditional sweets before calling the day.

Travel day: San Francisco to Quito

2009-06-12T05:42:00.001-07:00

Bye San Francisco!

Hola Ecuador!

Today is a long traveling day. After waking up very early in the morning, Louis (thanks!) took me to the airport for my 6am flight to Quito via Miami. There was a bit of excitement on board when a passenger had an epileptic attack and the flight attendants were calling for a medical doctor (there were two on board). The person was fine after the attack ended, but in Quito, paramedics boarded the plane and escorted the passenger to an ambulance. All passengers also met with medical personnel. Ecuador is taking steps against the swine flu and every single passenger from the US and Mexico is screened individually for fever (using a thermal scanner).

Getting from the airport to the hotel was easy. Just outside customs there are desks that help you book a taxi. In this booth, they figure out the address of the hotel and write it down for the driver. You then get a voucher that you give to any yellow taxi outside. The 20-minute ride from the airport to my hotel (it was rush hour) was $6. An interesting fact is that Ecuador uses the US Dollars as their official currency. It's very convenient that you don't need to exchange money (except that they use their own coins, with values from 1 cent to 1 dollar including a very common 50 cent one).

It was a long day, so I went to bed early after checking my emails and doing some calls. Tomorrow, a day tour of Quito.

A Weekend at Home

2009-06-09T21:12:00.001-07:00

Sayonara Japan!

Hi California!

I scheduled my sabbatical with a break in the middle. I did this for two reason, first, I really wanted to attend Tania and Vadim wedding and second, going back to San Francisco was the most cost efficient way to travel to Ecuador (even though, my trip sounded like it could have been done very nicely with an around the world ticket, due to airline alliances, Ecuador and Nepal were incompatible).

I spent Friday afternoon doing some errands and going to Google to pick up a delivery (and to make all my co-workers jealous). I finished my 48-hour Friday by having dinner with Louis, Zwia, and the rest of the family.

On Saturday, I went diving with Regis and Sergey to Monterey. I've never seen better conditions there. It was completely flat and the water was a relatively "warm" 54F. We dived at Butterfly house, reaching the canyon through a channel that almost always is too hazardous to cross. The visibility of the first dive was excellent by Monterey standards: 70 to 100 feet.

After a short break, we decided to dive in the same place. The second time, visibility wasn't as good (50-70 feet), but conditions were still pretty good. These were my 14th and 15th dives, which technically make me from a "Novice" diver to an "Intermediate" diver. Special thanks to Regis for taking me there and for providing the two fantastic pictures for this section of my blog.

Sunday morning was errand day. I caught up with my mail, did laundry, returned the rental diving gear, got a haircut, and paid my taxes and a couple of bills. At noon, I went for lunch with Louis, Zwia and family at an Italian restaurant (I haven't had Italian food in a long time). After that, I finished packing for the second part of my sabbatical trip and got ready to go to the wedding.

I then went to Tania and Vadim wedding. They had a very small wedding, just 30 people. So it was an honor to be there and share that important moment of their life with them. I met their parents and it was good to see again some common friends. The ceremony was beautiful, with a seemingly looking grumpy rabbi, that actually turned to be a lot of fun. I was in charge of the video camera and playing the music from an IPod at the right times.

The wedding was at the Testarossa Winery, a wonderful venue with excellent wine. The wedding was followed by a cocktail hour and dinner. But after two glasses of wine combined with my jet lag, I was very sleepy, so I had to excuse myself and went home early.

For those of you curious, I'm still traveling with a carry on only. I switched from my backpack to a small roll aboard suitcase as I don't have to carry my luggage as much. The hardest part was to fit my fins in the suitcase. This what I'm packing for the rest of my trip:

Diving mask, snorkel, fins, diving computer, day light, 3mm shorty wetsuit, water socks, gloves, and neoprene cap (for snorkeling and key west diving). Plus a safety sausage, and a whistle.
Ecuador and Key West guide books
Clothing for 7 days (t-shirts, underwear, socks). One wool sweater
One pair of pants, one pair of shorts, one pair of swimming trunks
Toiletries, first aid
HP Mini 2140 (for blogging) plus adapter and neoprene bag
Canon SD850 IS and Canon Rebel XSI plus batteries, memory and adapters
Miscellaneous: adapter 3-prong to 2-prongs for the laptop, headlamp, extra batteries, notepad and pen.
Money. Ecuador and Key West both use US dollars! (ok, that's not too surprising for Key West)

Coming soon: blogs from Quito, Galapagos, and Key West. Stay tuned.

A Morning in Kyoto and Flying Home

2009-06-09T21:05:00.001-07:00

My last day in Japan. As usual my room in the Ryokan was converted from a bedroom to a living room and breakfast was served. The traditional Japanese breakfast with rice, fish, miso soup, pickles, and an egg. It was time to say good by to the very nice Izuyasu Ryokan and start the 48 hour day that was going to bring me back home. I walked, under light rain, to the train station and left my luggage in a coin locker. Then, I bought a bus day pass and headed to Kinkakuji Temple.

Kinkakuji, also known as the Golden Temple, was built in 1397 by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as his retirement village. Even in an overcast and rainy day, the temple, covered in gold leaf, shines under the sun and creates a beautiful reflection in the pond in front of it.

The teahouse next to the temple was closed (it's being renovated), but the gardens were open. A little uphill from the temple, there is a second pond, An-min-taku, with a small stone pagoda on an island. Following the one-way trail, I ended in a shrine dedicated to the God of Fire and the exit of the complex.

From Kinkakuji Temple, I started the 20 minute walk to Ryoanji Temple. However, the light rain from the morning started to turn into heavy rain. My rain jacket was not really keeping me dry, so at one moment I was seriously considering just taking the bus back to the train station. However, just before turning back, a Japanese woman approached me and gave me an umbrella. She told me that she was in front of her house and that I needed more than her. I told her that I wasn't going to be able to return it, but she said that it was fine and just handed it to me. This random act of kindness allowed me to continue to Ryoanji and tour this fantastic temple.

Ryonaji is a Zen Buddhist temple that it's well known for its rock garden. Zen Buddhism is a popular version of Buddhism in Japan that it's based on the principle that enlightenment comes from within and it can be achieved through meditation (normally done with the legs crossed, a flat back, and semi-open eyes). To support meditation, temples are quiet, simple places with no many distractions.

The rock garden is really a disappointment when you see it for the first time. It's very small, a rectangle, 25 by 10 meters containing white gravel and fifteen rocks. It's very different than the elaborated Japanese gardens in other temples and palaces and it's consider the quintessence of Zen art. At the nice wooden veranda, you are encouraged to sit down and just gaze at the garden. Very quickly, my imagination started running wild: the rocks started to take shape... one looked like a frog, another like a turtle, another like a dog. A group of rocks looked like a giant swimming on the white gravel. Then, the moss on the rocks starting appearing as little people trying to climb at the top of an island. I kept staring and stories started to unfold. The people were helping the giant to get rid of the frog by stabbing it with long spears... And then I had a brief moment of enlightenment: this is exactly what Zen Buddhism (and most other religions for that instance) are made of. But at the end, the garden just have white gravel and fifteen rocks covered with moss.

From Ryonaji, I walked to the bus stop and headed back to the train station. I had some extra time when I got there, so I decided to give Mr. Donuts, a place that Peisun recommended, a try and bought a couple of donuts. She is right. No donuts like that are sold in the states...

More donuts in hand, I boarded the bullet train back to Tokyo. And then boarded the Narita Express to the airport. After a short wait there, I boarded at 6pm my flight back to the states which was schedule to arrived at 11:16am of the same day... Thanks to crossing the date line in the way back, I was arriving hours before I left. I managed to sleep in the plane, so the 9 hour flight actually felt pretty short and in no time I was in SFO.

Nara

2009-06-09T21:00:00.001-07:00

Today my two destinations were Nara and the Buddhist temples in nearby Horyuji. I left early in the morning from Kyoto and took the train to Nara. From Nara, I connected to a train to Horyuji, my first destination. There was an excellent TI office in the Horyuji station that provided me with detailed directions on how to get to the temple complex. It was about a 20 minute walk to the complex (or I could have taken a bus if it were not that it doesn't start running until 10am).

The first building in the Horyuji temple complex was built by Crown Prince Shotoku in 607 AD. This was the first grand scale Buddhist temple in Japan and it's considered the start (and Shotoku the founder) of Buddhism in the country. This is a very special place for Japanese and as a result is an obligatory stop for school kids traveling the country. Shortly after I arrived to Horyuji, the peaceful and meditation-inducing Buddhist environment was taken over by armies of color coordinated kids. These kids were fast inside the museum, but slow between them, so I keep being passed and then passing the yellow-cap. Even when I tried to be really slow so I didn't catch up with them, the result was that I would just encounter the white-cap kids.

Still Horyuji is a very special place with history around every corner. In fact the place has the highest concentration of National Treasures of any place in Japan (and it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site). Most building don't allow photography inside, so I have to be content with photographing the outside of them. After a couple of hours in Horyuji, I went to the adjacent Chugu-Ji Temple

The Chugu-Ji Temple main attraction is a statue of Buddha in a meditation position with a half crossed leg which is a very rare position for Buddha. The statue is very beautiful with fine features and many details. Remarkable for a statue that was cast about 1300 years ago. The temple also has the remains of a drapery mandala which was woven to mourn the death of Crown Prince Shotoku. Unfortunately, most of the mandala is lost except for what was restored about 700 years ago when a nun cut what was left of the mandala and sown the panels into a canvass. To be honest, these two treasures are beautiful, but they are not worth the steep price charged to enter this temple (500 Yens), so I'd recommend skipping it.

From the temple, I walked back to the train station and went back to Nara. Nara is an old capital of Japan (710-784) and it's about to celebrate its 1300 year anniversary in 2010. The mascot for this event is a weird combination of three tourist attraction of the place: a young Crown Prince Shotoku, with the ears and dressing of Buddha and the antlers of a deer (I'll explain the reason for all this below).

All main attractions in Nara are at Nara Park, so I headed there. The first temple I found was Kohfukuji Temple which is preceded by a Shinto Shrine. As part of the shrine, there was a statue of Crown Prince Shotoku. He is commonly represented as a young boy with Buddha characteristics (such as the third eye). The temple has many buildings, including two octagonal halls (Southern one in the picture below) and several other halls. One of the most impressive ones is the Eastern Golden Hall. The temple contains several impressive statues and before I found out that photography was not allowed there either, I took a picture of one of the four Deva Kings. The status are placed at the corner of a large Buddha and represent the guardians of the faith and protectors of the building, warding off malicious spirits.

An attraction of Nara park are the herds of deer that roam freely. They are considered Heavenly Messengers so people are not allowed to hurt them. The legend goes that the mythological god Takemikazuchi arrived in Nara on a white deer to guard the newly built capital. Today's deer are considered the descendent of that white deer so they can't be hurt. The deer are very very friendly and very used to people. In fact, "deer cookies" are sold in many places which deer love to eat. An interesting behavior that Japanese tourists love is that some deer have learned to "bow" when begging for food. A behavior reinforced by tourist who bow back and give deer cookies to those deer. The deer also love to eat paper as one poor school girl found out when a deer started eating her notebook (I can see the face of her teacher when she tells her that the deer ate her homework).

I bought some food from a street vendor and had a nice picnic in the park. There are two small annoyances when picnicking in Japan. First there are very few benches in Japanese parks, and second, there are absolutely no garbage cans (you are supposed to take your trash with you).

After lunch, I walked to Todai-ji. This temple is huge. It was originally build in 752 A.D., but has been destroyed by fire and earthquakes, and rebuilt numerous times. The great hall claims to be the largest wooden structure in the world (by height). As I entered the temple, three Japanese girls approached me and asked if they could guide me through the temple as an opportunity to practice their English. Accepting this kind of proposal is Ok in Japan as, different than in other Asian countries, it is usually genuine. To my surprise they had their whole speech scripted and they were just reading from their notes. Beyond pointing out some mispronounced words, I wasn't of much help, so I started working on getting them off the script. I was successful at times (they keep coming back to it) but they seem not to mind me doing that. In fact one of them liked the idea.

The hall in the temple is dominated by a huge bronze Buddha. It's so large that 20 people could stand on his left hand. The body of the Buddha is original, but the head is a replacement after the original one fell down and got severely damaged during an earthquake. Flanking the Buddha there are two huge carved statues of his protectors.

A fun thing in the temple is a hole in one of the columns. It's believed that if one can squish through the hole, then one will go to heaven. The same yellow-cap kids that I found earlier in the day were there and there was a long line of them waiting to go through the hole (something a lot easier for a kid to do than an adult). They were very supporting, clapping and cheering to each one that succeeded and pushing and pulling on the "fatter" ones so they could get through.

I then went to the Kasuga Taisha Shrine. It's in the far corner of the park, but it's well worth a visit. The distinguish feature of the shrine are the 3,000 lanterns that adorn it. The lanterns are everywhere, along the path, hanging from trees, hanging from columns, etc. They were amazing despite being turned off (they are only lit twice a year in February and August). I can only imagine how they look when they are all on.

While at the shrine, I had the good fortune of seeing a dance done by a masked man following the playing of Japanese music. The dance was done by doing smooth transitions from one pose to another. In a way, it was like dramatizing a poem, rather than dancing. But I couldn't find out more as it was getting late and I had to catch my train back to Kyoto.

In the way back to the station, there were two loud bakers that were preparing a desert involving flour and green tea. They would coordinate with each other by shouting, so one will hit the dough with a mallet, the other will move it around get out of the way before the mallet would fall again. The dough would then go to a high-tech machine that would finish the process by making perfectly round pieces of the dough.

After this very long day, I was ready to to back to my hotel so I took the express train that took me back to Kyoto (through mostly suburban scenery) in just under one hour. After arriving at Kyoto, I toyed with the idea of giving another try to Gion, but instead, I decided to walk to the shopping district. A nice street with covered sidewalks and tons of stores. After playing a bit more with electronics, I headed to my ryokan, dinner, and my last traditional Japanese bath of this trip.

Kyoto

2009-06-09T06:12:00.001-07:00

My first stop was the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. Visiting the palace is a bit inconvenient as one needs to apply in advance for permission from the Imperial Household Office near the palace (passport required). Visits are only allowed with a tour and there are set to specific times (I applied for the permit at 8:45am, opening time of the office, and got assigned the 10am tour). While I was waiting to join my tour, I took a walk around the palace in the Imperial Palace Park. The park has a nice tea house in a pond (pictured above), a shrine, plus a baseball field and tennis courts.

The tour group was quite big, almost 80 people and included only the exterior of the buildings and the gardens inside the complex. The reason why Kyoto has an imperial palace is that the city was the capital of Japan for over 1000 years. The buildings of the Imperial Palace has been destroyed by fire many times and then rebuilt. Shishinden, the main building (in the picture above) is huge and it's used by the Emperor on special occasions. The building is flanked by an orange tree (representing prosperity) and a cherry tree (representing loyalty). The building contains the coronation throne which was moved by helicopter to Tokyo for the the ceremony of enthronement of Emperor Akihito.

The palace is basically divided in two areas: the official section and the living section. While the official section was built to impress, the living section was more beautiful with gardens and nice simple buildings. The garden in the picture below (Oikeniwa Garden) contains a large pond with even a mooring place. It's used as a strolling place for the Emperor and his court.

In occasion we were able to peek inside one of the buildings and take a look at the fantastic paintings. The painting below describe a popular drinking game for the court. They would set small boats with sake glasses along a stream. If the boat stops by a person, he has to drink the sake, refill the glass and send it further downstream. At the end of the stream, servants would return the boats upstream for another round.

My next stop, just a few subway stations away was the Nijo Castle. The castle was originally built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first shogun of the Tokugawa family. It was under control of that family until 1867 when it was returned to the Emperor and became the property of the Imperial family. The castle is more a moat and a wall surrounding two palaces than an actual castle.

With the help of an audio guide (highly recommended unless you speak Japanese), I toured the Ninomaru Palace. The most striking feature of the palace are the sliding door paintings. These paintings are reproductions of the originals that have been slowly removed for safekeeping in a different building (even though they are reproductions, photography is not allowed). The reproductions try to be as close of the originals as possible and they were made using traditional methods and pigments. An interesting feature of the castle are the nightingale floors. These floors are designed to squeak when walk on it. They are made with a clever combination of holes and cramps on the boardwalk that when pressed against each other make a squeaky sound. The sound warns the Samurais of the Shogun of anybody walking around the corridors and allow them to track their progress. Visible from the palace, it's the Ninomaru Garden, a large scale garden with a pond containing three islands: The Island of the Eternal Happiness (the biggest one), Crane Island, and Turtle Island.

From the palace, I decided to brave the Kyoto bus system to head to Kiyomizu-dera temple. Actually, it's not too bad. The city of Kyoto publishes a leaflet that explains how to use the bus system and there are three routes that serve the main tourist attractions of the city plus they offer a very cheap day pass. Buses are a bit harder to use than the subway but a lot more convenient. Kiyomizu-dera temple is a very popular destination for Japanese and it was full of school children visiting the city. The main attraction is the cliff-like deck outside the main temple that is supported on an intricate, several story high, wooden structure of pillars. From the deck there are fantastic views of the system of Kyoto and the nearby forest.

Kiyomizu means "pure water" and is a reference to the spring near the temple that emerges as a waterfall. The legend says that if you drink from this water (on UV sterilized cups) and you make a wish, it will be granted. Above the main temple, there is a Shinto Shrine with lots of fun legends. My favorite one was the love stones. The legend says that if you are able to walk from one to the other (they area about 25 meters apart) with your eyes closed, love will find you soon. On the other hand, if you fail, it will take a long time before you find love. If you require help to find the second stone, then it means that you'll find love soon, but you'll need the help of somebody for that to happen.

From the temple, I walked to Sanjusangen-do. This is a very pleasant walk with a few possible stops in small parks and temples. Sanjusangen-do is known for its 1001 statues of the Buddhist deity Juichimen-senjusengen Kanzeon, also known simply as Kannon. The temple has 1000 Kannons, made of Japanese cypress, standing like a big chorus around a gigantic Kannon seated in the middle. Guarding the 1001 Kannons, there are 28 images of protecting deities. The dynamism and power of these images, many of the National Treasures of Japan, contrast with the calm and quietness of the Kannons. The temple dates from the 12th century and it was renovated in the 13th century with no major changes in the last 700 years. No photography is allowed in the hall (the image to the left is a picture of the picture of the leaflet).

From Sanjusangen-do, I took the bus to Ginkakuji temple (also known as the Silver Pavilion). This temple, a Buddhist Zen temple, was built in 1489 as the retirement villa of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa.

The main building was closed for renovation, but the garden was open and well worth a visit. In addition to what you expect from a Japanese garden, it features white sand waves and a sand mountain shaped like Mount Fuji. These structures were made to reflect the moonlight to enhance the viewing of the garden at night.

It was now past 5pm and I was getting very tired, so I treated myself to an ice cream and started walking back to the bus stop. I returned to the Kyoto station (via Gion, the Geisha district, which is full of tourist but no Geishas) and after a short walk to my Ryokan, I was ready for dinner, a bath, and a good night of sleep. Tomorrow, I'm heading to Nara, a popular side trip from Kyoto

Nagoya and Kyoto

2009-06-08T12:00:00.001-07:00

Today I left Takayama early in the morning to catch my train to Nagoya and then Kyoto. I decided to explore Nagoya a bit, so I decided to take an earlier train and have a quick look at the city in the 4 hours before my fast train to Kyoto. After a very scenic ride following the river from Takayama, I arrived at the big Nagoya station.

Nagoya is an industrial city that was completely destroyed during WWII. In fact, 80% of the buildings in the city were destroyed in a single massive air raid. As a result, most of the city dates from the 50s and all the "old" buildings (such as the Nagoya castle) are reconstructions of the originals. The result is a modern city with wide streets and, in some places, little old charm. The area around the train station has been renovated even further and contains pretty nice modern building. The Nagoya station (left) is considered the highest building in the world that contains a train station. The station is surrounded by skyscrapers in different shapes and forms. The city is also very friendly to tourists. A good (English spoken) tourist office directs you to the main attraction. In addition, to make things even easier, there are icons on the sidewalks that direct you in what direction to go. My plan was to go to the Toyota Museum of Technology and Innovation, and the Noritake factory (primarily because it is close to the museum).

The Toyota Museum is divided in two areas: a textile museum and a automobile museum. This sounds at first as a weird combination until you learn that Toyota started as a manufacturer of looms.

Toyoda worked on designing a non-stop loom that would minimize the amount of labor and that could work at high speeds. In 1924, he finished his loom model G, the world first non-stop shuttle change automatic loom. The loom also incorporated a number of protective and safety devices which made it a huge success both in Japan and abroad. During my visit to the museum, I learned that a loom is quite a sophisticated device that incorporates power transmission, high speed components, automation (via punched cards), and iron casting. These technologies are not dissimilar to what is needed to produce an automobile. A fun exhibit in the museum gave me opportunity to use a traditional Japanese loom which is a lot harder to operate than I thought at first look.

The rest of the museum is dedicated to automobiles and their production. The first Toyoda car was the model AA, first produced in 1936. It was a real challenge to manufacture it as steal production in Japan was in their infancy at that time and there were not foundries good enough to produce the steel needed to create a car. The son of the founder of Toyota approached the problem by creating a metal lab and to quickly creating prototypes and iterating on his designs, materials, and procedures, until they were able to produce most of the parts for their cars.

Here is a trivia question for readers of my blog: when was the name Toyoda changed to Toyota? Extra credit if you are able to tell me why. The first 3 people that send me email with the right answer will get a small souvenir at the end of my trip.

An impressive area of the museum is dedicated to automobile production and has some of the machinery for producing a car in working display. This includes the iron cast press, robots for welding, and the robots for painting a car. Quite an amazing array of technology. There were also a prototype of a personal transportation device of the future and a robot that would play the trumpet every other hour.

From the museum, I went to the Noritake Gardens where the famous fine China factory of the same name is located. I didn't have the time to tour the floor, so I just went to the visitor center and "outlet" store. I don't think I'd ever buy their product, but it was interesting to learn how it was manufactured and how much is done by hand even these days. After a quick lunch by one of the fountains, I headed to the train station to catch the bullet train to Kyoto.

After arriving in Kyoto, I headed to the Izuyasu Ryokan which was going to be my home for the next three nights. It wasn't hard to find it using the map provided by Japanese Guesthouses, although the lack of English signs at the Ryokan kept me wondering if I was entering the right one (there are many ryokans in that area). The Ryokan was much bigger than the one in Takayama with all rooms having private toilets. I got a very nice room with a small veranda and views of the garden at the back of the house. After the traditional welcome green tea and a small dessert, I was ready to start exploring Kyoto.

To be honest, my first impression of Kyoto wasn't the most positive one. I was expecting a traditional city full of temples and old houses and the first thing I saw was the ultra-modern train station. The building is beautiful and very tasteful, but it didn't match what I was expecting of Kyoto. To make things worse, the first thing I saw when I stepped out of the station was the Kyoto tower. A tower that looks like it was dropped in front of the train station by some aliens from a 50s movie. Fortunately, the modern Kyoto is restricted to the area around the train station and the rest of Kyoto, a city that was untouched during WWII, is full of historical buildings, temples, and shrines.

The first temple I visited, just across my Ryokan, was the impressive Higashi-Hoganji temple complex. These massive complex claim to have the biggest (by volume) wooden building in the world. Although one visited It used to be a single temple, but a philosophical dispute created a break that split the complex in two independent temples. After that, I went for a walk for more pictures for the futuristic train station and back to the Ryokan for dinner and a Japanese bath.

Shin Hotaka, Nishiho Sanso, and Hirayu Onsen

2009-06-02T00:15:00.001-07:00

Finally a sunny day in Japan! Today is hiking day in Japan Alps National Park (Chubu Sangaku National Park). Early in the morning I took the bus to Shinhotaka Onsen, where the Shinhotaka Ropeway (cable car) is located. The bus company offers a package that includes a 2-day bus pass, access to the cable car, and access to a hot spring for just 5000 Yens ($50), a pretty good deal as one round trip plus cable car fare would already be 7000 Yes. The ride in the bus follows a more rural setting than my ride to Shirakawa-go the previous day. We went through countless rice fields being planted for the season (some by hand, some by machine). This was definitely a backroad day. I didn't see a single Westerner from the moment I left Takayama, to the moment I came back.

The cable car station is a 3 minute walk uphill from the bus stop. There are two segments in the cable car. The first one, on a small gondola, takes you from 1117m to 1305m in 4 minutes. The second one, starts at 1308m and ends at 2156m in a very fast 7 minute ascent. The second cable car is unique as it has two floors for a total capacity of 121 people. The ride up is narrated in Japanese and judging by the number of ohs and ahs from the Japanese tourists, it must have been a very good one. At the top cable car station (named "Top of the World"), there is a restaurant, souvenir shop, and a wonderful observation deck (named Mount View Point).

My plan was to hike from the top station to Kamikochi, but all information I had was a single sentence from Lonely Planet states: "From the station, it takes about three hours to walk down to Kamikochi". Unfortunately, at the station, the information center didn't have any hiking information and the mountaineering center was closed. The shop also didn't have any decent maps, so I was starting to reconsider my plans. Also, a board with the area trails didn't show any to Kamikochi, but it showed a 1.9Km trail to Nishiho Sando, a mountain refuge on the ridge crest of the Japan Alps. I thought it was worth going there, at least for the views, and in addition this was the likely way down to Kamikochi.

I found the trailhead for the Mountaineering trail and started heading up. The conditions surprised me immediately, the snow started patchy and very soon was solid. Also, it was quite cold, about 5C at the station and probably lower than that where I was. I was hiking in a mixed forest of pine trees and deciduous trees which afforded very few views. The first half of the trail goes up and down, basically following a minor valley. After about 3/4 of a mile, I abandon the "Summer" trail (marked with white signs) and starting following what I think it was the"Winter" trail (marked with much higher orange signs).

The trail got really steep and I started ascending very carefully. The snow was slippery, just soft snow to kick small steps, but hard enough to make this not an easy task. Not to say, I wasn't going really fast. By now, I decided, that descending this would be tricky enough and abandoned my plan to continue to Kamikochi as I didn't know what I was going to find in the other side.

After 1 hour and 15 minutes of hard work... success. I was at the top of the ridge and near the Mountain Hut with views of the Kamikochi side of the Japan Alps. The mountain hut was huge, with 3 floors, private rooms, dormitories, cafeteria, vending machines selling beer, and even an outdoor hot bath. There were just a few groups up there, all very well equipped with fancy gear, crampons, and ice axes. I was asked if I was climbing "solo" and I got the same look that I give to people hiking in Jeans in the Sierra Nevada...

After relaxing at the top, I started heading down to the cable car station. I don't feel too bad abandoning the plan of going to Kamikochi given that it was my first time there, the trail was covered with snow, I didn't have a map, and I couldn't understand any of the signs on the trail. I think Shin Hotaka to Kamikochi would be a wonderful trip later in the season on a real trail.

The trip back to the cable car station was quite slow as the steep snow-covered slopes were even trickier in the way down. The snow has soften a bit more, making it very slippery. After an hour of hiking and sliding down, I got back to the cable car station.

From the "Top of the World", I took a last view of the Japan Alps while having a small lunch. I took the cable cars down and in no time, I was back at the bus station. There, while waiting for my bus, I started talking to a Japanese man that just finish climbing Mt. Yarigadake (3180m). He was very happy but also very tired from the climb. He told me that he and his friends were waiting for a Taxi to take them to his car and then he was going to drive to Tokyo, an ambitious plan given how tired he looked. I wished he good luck and bided him farewell as I boarded my bus.

My next stop was Hirayu Onsen, a place famous for its hot springs. There are many spa resorts in town, all of them advertising the purity of its water and offering free "foot baths." I had a free ticket for one of the small ones, but I was advised to try one of the upscale ones that offered day passes for just 500 Yens ($5). The one I went advertises in the Takayama office with the statement: "Hot water that White Monkeys had found." It kept me wondering what they meant by that... perhaps it was a reference to Westerners being able to find the hot springs... (actually, later I learned that in the area there used to be Snow Monkeys that used the hot springs in the winter. Also, the minerals in the water crystallize in long white filaments that look like monkey hair).

This spa (a 2 minute walk uphill on the road to Takayama) was amazing. It starts with a luxurious entrance where one takes off the shoes. Then, one can buy a ticket from a vending machine (I couldn't figure out the machine, so I bought it from a person). Towels were not provided or rented, so I had to buy a small wash cloth for an extra 200 Yens. Then, on tatami floors, I headed to the spa area. That's the only place where there was an English sign, under a blue banner, there was the word "Gentleman", and under a pink one, "Ladies." I disrobed in the locker room and headed to the washing area. You clean yourself completely there as the hot springs should only be used when clean. After that, there were 5 different pools at different temperatures and with different concentration of minerals. After enjoying close to two hours of soaking and cleaning myself, it was time to head back to the train station for my hour long trip back to Takayama.

In Takayama, I went for a stroll on the main street and then headed to my ryokan. After another fantastic dinner (this time the main entree was salmon), my room was changed into a bedroom, and after some computer work, it was time to go to bed. Tomorrow, I'm leaving Takayama and heading to Kyoto.

Shirakawa-go and Takayama Walk

2009-06-02T00:09:00.001-07:00

After a delicious Japanese breakfast, I tried to have an early start out of Takayama, but unfortunately I missed my bus to Shirakawa-go for a few seconds (the clock in my camera was slow, so I saw the bus leave the terminal as I was getting in). The good news, is that missing the bus gave me one hour to explore Takayama a bit more. My first stop was the morning market. It's a colorful market by the river where products for the local, as well as products for tourists are sold.

Takayama's mascot is the sarubobo doll, which means happy monkey baby, a simple red doll that grandmothers used to make for grandchildren. It's made very simply, a sphere is covered with red cloth and it's attached to a cushion with 4 horns. From there, there are many variations, including hats, t-shirts, a vest, etc. The dolls are supposed to bring happiness to their owners, so they are a very popular souvenir among Japanese. After my walk, it was time to take my bus to Shirakawa-go. The bus goes via a fantastic highway. During the 50 minutes that takes to go there, we went through 12 tunnels that totaled more than 24km, including the Hida tunnel which is 10,710m long.

Shirakawa-go is definitely one of the highlights of my whole trip. The place is incredible beautiful, but at the same time it's a place where real people live, work, and farm. It was rice planting time, so most fields were flooded and filled with tiny rice plans which provided excellent reflection of the houses.

Shirakawa-go is known for its Gassho houses. Being in the mountains, the town was isolated from modern civilization which preserve the architecture and style of living of the place. The town was rediscovered in the 1930s and then abandon during the war, to be rediscovered again in 1950.

A gassho house has a thatch roof up to 1 meter thick. In addition, no nails are used in the roof construction: it's done entirely with wooden beams, thatch, and straw ropes. Visiting any of the houses open to the public usually gives access to the roof and a small exhibit that explains how the house was built.

Another unique feature is a fire that it's kept burning all the time. The roof can be attacked by insects, and it decays if it gets too wet. To prevent both, a fire runs all the time and the smoke is allowed to go to the roof (through lattice floors) and spread throughout the attic. Without the fire, the roof would last only a season or two. With the fire, it lasts up to 20 years. The sooth from the fire is also collected by placing a big wooden square on top of it and used to polish the wood floors.

To the left is the Buddhist temple of the village (Myozenji Temple). This temple saw very few weddings as Shirakawa-go had a very interesting way of organizing society. Only the elder brother of a family was allowed to marry. He would then inherit the land and the house of his father. Younger brothers were not allowed to marry, but they were allowed to visit "unmarried" women on their homes for small periods of time. Any children fathered by them, would become part of the woman's family, increasing the workforce available for that family. This meant that families were quite numerous, explaining the size of the houses.

After visiting one of the houses, I took a nice trail to a viewpoint of the hamlet. The official trail is paved, but a beautiful trail parallels through the forest. At the top there is a touristy restaurant (where I bought ice cream), but nearby there are some secluded benches with views of the town.

I ended my stay in Shirakawa-go with a visit to the Folk museum. The museum is a collection of houses that were moved from a different location that was going to get flooded due to the construction of a dam. The museum is a must visit (despite the lack of English interpretation beyond the very basic), to understand better how the houses were built and how the people of the area lived.

If you go to Takayama, don't miss a half day trip to Shirakawa-go, it's more than worth the high price of the round-trip bus ticket to get there (4300 yens, $43). As put by one of the elders of the city in 1930 when it was visited by a German architect:

To live in the steep mountains is to live in Paradise on Earth. Even when the lamplight grows dim, we talk fondly of the unending good old times.

I was back to Takayama relatively early (3:30pm), so I decided to visit the old government house, the house of the Shogun, and later the emperor's administrator that ruled the Takayama's region. The house is beautiful, and there are plenty of English signs everywhere.

A specially "fun" part of the house was the dungeon where instruments of interrogation and graphics of how they were used are shown.

From there, I went to the Higashiyana Walking course (a signed walking route). I decided to do it in reverse, so I would end near my ryokan. The tour is 4km long and the TI office advised to allow for at least two hours which given the number of attractions is barely enough.

The walk starts on a steep uphill in Shiroyama park. The park contains many trail and it's quite big for a city the size of Takayama. At the top of the hill, there are the remains (just a few rocks) of the old Takayama castle that was destroyed by the emperor at the end of the Shogunate that ruled this region. The trail basically circles the hill (with the optional side trip to the top) and then drop into a residential area. This area was fun as it was a Sunday and Takayama's people were just relaxing outside. There were several BBQs, kids playing on the street, and even a yard sale. After walking some of the back roads of this residential area (and being stared at by puzzled kids), I got to the temple area.

There were 8 Buddhist temples and 4 Shinto shrines in this tiny area. Sometimes, I'd walk from one temple to another without even realizing that it was a different temple. I really was getting tired of seeing variations on Buddhist temples, but when that would happen, I'd find a detail, a sculpture, or a group of monks chanting that made the walk fun again.

From the end of the walking course, it was a short walk to my ryokan to have another excellent dinner, connect to the Internet, take a bath, and bed time. Looking forward to the rain ending tomorrow, I hope the forecast is right...

Tokyo to Takayama

2009-05-31T04:28:00.001-07:00

I started the day with a quick visit to the Imperial Palace. I didn't have much time so I just made it to the entrance of the East Gardens for a quick snapshot. The Gardens are just 4 long blocks from the Tokyo train station so it made a good stop before catching my train to Nagoya and Takayama. The weather was so rainy and foggy, that I could barely see the Tokyo Tower from the gardens.

To go to Takayama, I took the bullet train to Nagoya and then a limited express train to Takayama. The train to Nagoya usually get nice views of the mountains and Fuji, but it was too foggy for that.

At the train station in Nagoya, I bought a lunch box. Plastic models of the content simplified choosing which box to pick, although I was wondering what the plastic rectangular yellow block was going to be (it was sweet potato). The train ride to Takayama is very scenic. It follows a river and go through a number of small mountain towns. The small Takayama train station has a very nice (English speaking) tourist information office just outside that provided me tips and bus time schedules.

It was a 10 minutes walk from the train station to my Ryokan. The Sumiyoshi Ryokan, a traditional Japanese Inn, where I'm staying is located by the river in a small street of Takayama. It wasn't hard to find it thanks to the map that Japanese Guest Houses, the booking service that I used, provided. As I got there, I was warmly welcomed and shown to my room. The main concern of the host was that I understood the shoe policy: shoes off at the entrance, switch to slippers to walk around, slippers off on the tatami, slippers off and plastic slippers on in the bathroom. Very simple and civilized. Then, I was served a very strong green tea and a Japanese cookie. I was asked at what time I wanted dinner as well as breakfast the following day. I was offered the choice of Japanese or Continental breakfast (I chose Japanese).

After settling in, I went for a walk in town. The walk took me through beautiful old houses. The pictures below are the famous private houses of Takayama, some of them over 500 year old. Takayama feels like is Japan in a way that Tokyo doesn't. Although touristy, the city feels small and unspoiled; a combination of a ski resort town with upscale stores and art galleries, a tourist stop with shops selling key rings and refrigerator magnets, and a small town with the rest of the shops selling produce and Kobe beef.

After my walk, it was time for dinner. At first, I got a couple of small sushi dishes and I started thinking about which restaurant I was going to go to fill up when more plates came.

The main plate was Kobe beef cooked on my table with onions and sprouts with a tangy dipping sauce (a Takayama specialty). Then, tempura and rice. Followed by miso soup, pickles, and noodles. Finally, a very sweet fish and watermelon for dessert. All this was accompanied with sweet sake at first, and then a special green tea. I was pretty full at the end of all this... To be honest, I haven't eaten like this since the beginning of this trip.

After all this food, I decided to go again for a walk. To my surprise, everything in the town closes early. By 7:30pm, all shops were closed, except for places with revolving yellow lights (bars) or revolving red lights (casinos and pachinko houses). I came back to the ryokan to connect to the Internet (they only have one computer, but I convinced the owner to allow me to connect my laptop directly). Then, it was time for a traditional Japanese bath (unfortunately with the tub set to "Western" temperature). By the time I was back to my room, it was transformed into a bedroom, with the table moved to the side and a futon spread on the tatami mats.

Tokyo

2009-05-31T04:25:00.001-07:00

Except for a few hours the previous day and a few hours tomorrow, today is my only day at Tokyo. I know that this is not nearly enough to make justice to this giant city, but for my first trip to Japan, I made the decision of going to the Japan Alps and Kyoto, rather than exploring Tokyo.

I started very early in the morning by going to the Tsukiji Fish market. It was pouring rain, but it didn't matter as the market is mostly enclosed in a huge hangar-like building. The market is huge with lots of activity going on. All this starts very early in the morning, in fact by the time I got there (5:45am), some was already wrapping up. The tuna auction area is now heavily restricted to tourist and only a small area is open to sightseers from 5:30am to 6:15am (no flash photography allowed). The auctions are fast paced and it's hard to figure out when it starts and ends. The huge tunas are frozen, laid down on the ground, and numbered. The prize for one of them can be up to a million yen ($10,000). After I was asked politely to leave at 6:15am, I went around the "intermediate wholesale area" where the wholesale fish (including the Tuna) are cut into smaller pieces to be sold to retailers.

To be honest, the market is not very tourist friendly and many of the wholesalers see tourists as a nuisance. Flash photograph is a big no-no, and you'll politely asked to leave if you take your camera too close to an auction. In addition, this is a very busy place with special "barrel" vehicles going around at high speeds and people transporting very heavy loads. The floor is also quite wet and slippery. I'm surprised that my guidebook lists this place as the first place to visit in Japan. Except for the fact that being jet-lagged helps waking up at 5am to get there before the auction area is closed, it's a rough introduction to Tokyo. Still, I had lots of fun there, but I would be cautious about to whom I'd recommend going to the market.

From the market, my plan was to head to the Hama Rikyu garden where I was going to take a ferry boat to Asakusa. However, the gardens don't open until 9am and the rain was getting worse and worse. Eventually, I broke down and bought a 650 Yen umbrella in a mini-mart and went for a walk to make time before the gardens open. The walk took me to the Tsukiji shrine. An "empire" style building that opened just before the Second World War. From there, I explored some of the high rises near the gardens. These are quite impressive buildings with nice details and reflections on each other.

At 9am, I headed to the gardens. My guidebook considers them overrated and points out that the high rise buildings detract from the beauty of the garden. Maybe it was the rainy and foggy weather, but I actually found the contrast very nice. After the walk around the park, the rain was actually getting worse, so I decided to scrap the plan of going to Akasuka and instead I headed to the Tokyo National Museum for some indoor fun.

The Tokyo National Museum has an incredible collection of Japanese and Asian art. The collection rotates continuously, so I was told that every visit to the museum is different. During my visit, they had a special exhibit on Kabuki and they had impressive costumes and masks. They also have a good exhibit describing the progression of Japanese arts from pre-historic times to the XVIII century. The emphasis is on art, rather than history and IX and XX century art is, surprisingly, completely absent. A specially enjoyable exhibit was the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures, containing Buddhist pieces from the Horyuji temple in Nara.

The weather was starting to look better, so I risked it by going to Akasuka. Of all Tokyo, this was the first place that feels as if you are in "Japan". Nakamise Dori, the street leading to the Sensoji Temple, was a lot of fun: people watching, yummy snacks, interesting souvenirs, plus people just living their normal life (there is a pre-school on that street). At the end of the street, you get to Sensoji Temple. Unfortunately, it's under renovation, so the whole building is enclosed in a metal structure and it was impossible to appreciate its arcghitecture. Inside the temple, I followed the Shinto ritual: first, wash myself using the smoke from incense, then walk to the shrine and throw some coins through the grid, bow twice, clap twice, bow again. After that, I went to get my fortune read using Buddhist sticks. For that, you take a cylinder with a small hole at the top that it's full of sticks and shake it until one comes out. Each stick has a number written in Chinese characters. Using that number, one locates a drawer, where the interpretation (in Japanese and English) is found. I got stick number 29 and looked in the drawer for the interpretation. I think I got as good as it gets (text is verbatim):

Everything you worry about and trouble some affairs are almost over. If you do your best, you will be successful in this society and become well-known. The wealth and treasures will be in your hand as you wish.

Now with my good fortune, but still in bad weather, I headed for the Meiji Jingu Shrine. This Shinto shrine opened in 1920 in honor of Emperor and Empress Meiji (122nd emperor of Japan). He took the initiative of opening the country to the world after a very long isolation period. He also introduce Western civilization and developed technology from overseas, while preserving the Japanese identity. So, he is considered the founder of modern Japan. The Shrine is in a forest built in honor of the Emperor which is a quite change from the busy streets of Tokyo.

After the temple, a short subway ride took me back to my hotel and dinner. After that, I went to the train station to book my train tickets for the rest of the trip. I'm traveling using the JR pass which is an incredible deal for the kind of trip that I'm making. When making reservations, I found out that it's much better to write things down than trying to talk. It took some time, but I left the office with the three main reservations (to Takayama, to Kyoto, and back to the airport) that I needed.

From the reservation office, I decided to go and check out some of the stores in Shinjuku. I ended in a huge electronic store (Bic Camera). Something like Fry's but 8 stories high. The store has display models of everything, so it was a lot of fun to try computers, cell phones, cameras, etc. The latest trend in cell phones is flip smart phones with big screens, high resolution cameras, and turn by turn by turn directions. I ended buying a 8 Gb Class 6 HDSD card for just under $20 (I'll probably laugh at this price when I read it again a few years down the road). There was a big sign saying "Duty Free store", so I tried to ask the cashier about how to get the consumption tax back. I was presented with a nice leaflet that except for the title (Duty Free) was all in Japanese... Later I found on the web that you just need to present your passport and you get 5% consumption-tax discount on your purchase. However, one needs to buy at least 10,000 yens ($100), so my purchase didn't qualify anyway. After checking out some of the other stores (clothing is really expensive in Tokyo), my feet were hurting so it was time for me to go back to my hotel for the night. A very long and wet day in Tokyo was over.

Overall, my feelings about Tokyo changed throughout the day. It was expecting to find a cosmopolitan city like New York, London, or Paris, but instead I found a mega-town where people are not very diverse and, surprisingly, they are not used to foreigners. In addition, Tokyo is very expensive (specially with 94 yens = 1 dollar cash exchange rate) and the language barrier is high. Although everything in the subway is written in Japanese and Latin characters, the same is not true in the JR lines and on the streets. If you can't play pattern matching of Chinese characters, it's easy to get lost. But after I got over those initial difficulties, and I got better at navigating the city, the appeal of Tokyo increased. I'm looking forward to come back in the future with more time to explore the city further.

Bangkok to Tokyo

2009-05-30T04:50:00.001-07:00

Sawadee Thailand!

Konnichiwa Japan!

Today is a traveling day. I'm flying from Bangkok to Tokyo in an early morning flight. It was painful waking up at 3:45am, but I'll get an extra half day in Tokyo (if I can stay awake). After dealing with UAL extra security, going through the modern Bangkok airport was a breeze.

At the other end, at Norita airport, it was very different. We landed on time (3:10pm). But after going through the quarantine station (checking for flu viruses), the very long and slow immigration line (similar to the ones in the US, requiring fingerprints and a photograph) and getting my backpack carefully searched by a Japanese custom agent, it was already 4:30pm! The next train to Shinjuku was at 4:45 which meant that I arrived at my hotel after 6pm. So much for a half day in Tokyo...

The Sunroute Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku was amazing and I highly recommend it if you can get a room at a discount. It's a 2 minute walk to the Shinjuku JR station and subway. It's also close to "Time Square" (left), the skyscrapers, many shopping malls, and close, but not too close, to a very crazy night area (basically a Japanese Disney-like version of a red light district). I've been told that the area is very safe unless you are an unaccompanied woman (the area did feel safe when I walked it at 9pm).

Ayutthaya

2009-05-30T04:39:00.000-07:00

We took the night train from Chiang Mai to Ayutthaya. Unfortunately, the train was running late so we didn't get to Ayutthaya until 6:45am. This was bad as we missed our appointment to get in our day room in the Sherwood Guest House. We got some breakfast at 7-11(a very common shop in Thailand) and waited until 7:30am for our friendly guest to come back after dropping her kid to school.

The city of Ayutthaya is the "old" capital of the Thai Kingdom. It was founded in 1350 by King U-Thong and the Thai kingdom was ruled from there by 33 Kings, until the Burmese successfully took it in 1767, sacked it, burnt it, and destroyed it. The city was abandoned after that and the seat of the kingdom moved to Bangkok, a city that was easier to protect as it was surrounded by swamps. Although terrible events, the good news for tourists is that the city is a treasure of temples and sights that remained unchanged for years. Most of the ruins of the old temples are part of the Ayutthaya Historical Park, a UNESCO world heritage site. Our first stop was Wat Mahathat, a well known site because of the Buddha head surrounded by the roots of a bodhi tree (with a special meaning as Buddha's awakening was under a bodhi tree). The head was actually buried under the ground and it has been slowly carry up by the tree.

The rest of the temple contains hundreds of headless Buddha statues (nobody could tell us why they were headless) and ruins of the "Grand Palace" just behind the temple. A reconstruction of a 20m tall column gives an idea of how magnificent the palace was. We were at the temple and palace just at opening time, so we had the place just to ourselves. Ayutthaya is a popular day trip from Bangkok, but most tourist don't arrive until 10:30am or 11am, so the morning is very quiet.

From Wat Mahathat, we headed to the monastery and temple of Wat Phra Ram. The tall Chedi commemorates the story of the two brothers, Chao Ai and Chao Yi, the two elder brothers that were fighting for the throne. They had a duel on an elephant with the result of both of them being killed. His younger brother, King Borom Rachathirat, built two pagodas and the Chedi to commemorate (celebrate?) the event that made him King.

The Chedi was also the place of a robbery in the 50s. There were stories of a treasure hidden inside the Chedi, but before archeologists could find it, a band of thief found their way to it. The amazing treasure was split, and the major pieces were cut in small segments for easy transport. The thieves were captured and most of the pieces were recovered (except for a major gold piece for which only 1/3 was recovered). The treasure is now housed at the National Museum where we had the opportunity of seeing them later in the day.

Our next stop was Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit where a large, very large, bronze cast of Buddha is housed. This Buddha is the largest bronze statue in Thailand. This modern temple, in the shape of an oversized Swiss chalet replaced the original temple that was destroyed by the Burmese troops. The temple is next to the three spires of Wat Phra Si Sanphet which are the iconic view of Ayutthaya. These three bell-shaped chedi taper off into descending rings.

The temple is located in the Grand Palace compound and it was used as the private royal chapel of the Thai kings. It's believed that the temple contained a 16m high standing Buddha covered with gold. The Burmese troops, burned it down as a mean of extracting the gold in the surface. The resulting 250kg of gold were then taken as loot back to Burma. A surviving segment of the arm that gives an idea of the dimension of the statue can also be seen at the National Museum in Ayutthaya.

The temple are next to a beautiful park with nice reflecting ponds, a teak house, and an elephant camp. There is also plenty of shade for a picnic or for just escaping the Thai bright sun. After a brief visit to the Teak house, we headed towards the elephant camp. This was a more elaborated camp with the handlers dress up traditionally and the elephants carrying a large chair with a gold and red umbrella on top.

Cute picture to the left, right? Wrong. Without context, this picture looks like a young elephant doing a nice trick. In reality, it was one of the most brutal animal cruelty I have seen and it made me questioned how much fun I had with the elephant riding a few days ago. The young elephant was being trained and it wasn't very happy about it. Periodically it would try to rebel which was swiftly stopped by a hit of the cane held by the trainer. If you look carefully, you can see that the cane ends on a pike which was used to dig on the elephant skin and in some instances on the more sensitive skin behind his ears. This went on for a long time, with the elephant being abused every time he failed to follow the trainer's commands.

From the elephant camp, it was a short walk to the National Museum. This small museum contains the pieces recovered from the robbery at Wat Phra Ram plus the reconstruction of a traditional Thai teak house with antiques provided by city people. From the museum we walked on the backroads of Ayutthaya to see the remains of the reclining Buddha (Wat Lokayasutharam). This 42m long Buddha is made out of brick and covered with plaster.

From the reclining Buddha, we headed back to our day room to have lunch and to take a shower before heading back to Bangkok. There were three possible ways to come back: train, bus, and mini bus. We decided to take the train. The decision was based on what would be closer to our hotel in Bangkok as we were going to arrive during rush hour. Our fare to Bangkok in third class was an amazing 20 Baht ($0.60). For reference of how cheap this 1.5 hour train ride was, the Tuk-Tuk that took us from the hotel to the train station charged 50 Baht. We arrived at Bangkok and quickly hop into a taxi. The driver was getting more and more upset about traffic, until he finally told us that we either pay 200 Baht (instead of the meter fare, which would be around 80 Baht) or we had to get out. We tried to negotiate to no avail so we left the car, leaving an unhappy driver as we declined to pay for the partial ride. We quickly spotted a Tuk Tuk, we a much cheerful driver, that took us to the hotel for 80 Baht.

From the hotel we went near the famous Khao San road (left) for our final dinner with our guide and the rest of the group. Some of then were continuing to Southern Thailand, some of them were heading home. I had an early flight the next day, so I declined the invitation for drinks at the highest building in Bangkok and returned to my hotel to get ready for my flight to Japan.

Chiang Mai Day 2

2009-05-30T04:38:00.001-07:00

Today I decided to go on my own to explore the numerous temples (Wats) of Chiang Mai. The city claims that it has more Wats than any other city in Thailand, including Bangkok. At last count, Chiang Mai had over 300 wats.

Chiang Mai was a walled city. A significant part of the walls is still present and the moat was converted in beautiful canals with fountains that are illuminated at night. Walking the old town is relatively easy as it follows a regular grid (with the occassional wat blocking the way) and if you get lost, you just need to walk until you hit one of the city walls or one of the named gates at the wall.

Even though the city has so many wats, they are not copies of each other and each has a different character. One of the wats that I visited was built in teak wood, polished to a deep red color. Different than most wats, the light was very subdued which gave a very intimate feeling to the place despite the very high ceilings. Fortune telling was available in the temple. This is done by holding a cylinder full of sticks each with a number. You shake the cylinder until one of the sticks falls out. A monk then finds the number in a book and interpret the fortune (or question) to you. Unfortunately, there was no English-speaking monk available at the moment so I didn't get my fortune read.

The next wat I visited was more in the standard style for Thai temples. The temple, although relatively modern, follows the influence of the Lanna period of the 13-14th century which is characteristic of temples in the area. It has a striking, almost blinding, golden stupa shining in the morning sun. Next to the stupa, the wat has amazingly life-like paintings.. almost like photographs, describing the trip of a monk in India and Nepal, following the steps of Lord Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha).

A monk in that temple gave me a short and concise introduction to Buddhism under the gaze of a striking bronze Buddha. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. He was born in 566 B.C. the son of a Rajan and live comfortably in present day Nepal. He was "innocent", not knowing suffering thanks to the wealth of his family. In fact, he was so innocent, that he didn't even know that people die. Disillusioned when he realized the suffering of most, he decided to live the live of an ascetic and embarked on a spiritual quest. Eventually, that led him to the banks of the Nairangana (present day India) where he meditated under a Bodhi tree. There he had his awakening, an understanding of the nature of suffering, its cause, and a way to stop it. He ascended to Nirvana, the end of the cycle of rebirth and suffering at the age of 80.

I kept wondering throughout the city, stopping for a delicious Thai Ice Coffee (like Thai tea but with coffee instead of tea and ice). Eventually, almost by chance, I stumbled upon Wat Chedi Luang. The most striking feature is the semi-destroyed Chedi that collapsed during an earthquake in 1545. Today is a major tourist attraction and it has been stabilized without altering its ruined look.

The Chedi is not accessible to worshippers due to the fragility of the structure. However, an ingenious cable system transports and drops holly water near Buddha's statue half way up the Chedi. In the picture to the left, you can see the cables and a cylinder containing the water attached to a rope that allows to tilt it and pour the water out. The meaning of the holly water was explained to me by a young monk. It's actually very close to the mystery of the transfiguration in Christianity. The water after being blessed, remains water (this is, it contains all the feature of water, including the possibility of making you sick if you drink it), but its essence has been changed to the universal spirit. By returning the spirit to the ground near Buddha, one is honoring both Buddha and the spirit.

The temple complex also contains a large number of minor temples in different styles, including one with a very large reclining Buddha (the reclining position represents Buddha just before ascending to Nirvana). There is even a Chinese temple with a "fat" Buddha.

It seems that there was a huge party in the temple complex. There were people selling food, religious artifacts, books, etc. There was also loudspeakers playing a repetitive tune in traditional Thai instruments. It turned that it was part of the funeral of the head monk of the temple. There was also a eery life-like statue of him. Yes, the monk to the left is not a person, it's a statue (also noticed the 5-tier umbrellas around him, a sign of his high religious status). There was a room with a sign saying in different languages "No Women." I entered the room to find, to my surprise, a plastic casket connected to an A/C unit where the monk was laying. After a quick bow, I left the room as fast as I could.

After the temple, I started walking back to my hotel. I made a wrong turn, and instead walk in the other direction to Buak Hat Park. A beautiful oasis of water, fountains, and trees at the corner of the old city. After realizing my mistake, I turned around and started heading, now for real, to my hotel. I was hopping to get a final Thai massage before having to go to the train station to catch my overnight train back to Bangkok, but I didn't have enough time, so I opted instead for a foot massage. After a long day of walking, it was the right thing to get. We met in the hotel to catch the transportation back to the train station where our overnight train to Bangkok was waiting. It turned that the train was stopping in Ayutthaya, a city that I was interested in visiting more than Bangkok. Lindsay decided to come with me, so our guide told the conductor that we would be leaving the train there (at 5:30am) instead of Bangkok. After a nice Thai dinner served in our seats, it was time to go to bed. I love sleeping in night trains, the movement is soothing and a good pair of ear plugs and face mask are enough to block the noise and lights. There is also to say about the efficiency of moving hundreds of miles in comfort while sleeping.

Hilltribe Trek Day 3

2009-05-28T05:08:00.001-07:00

This was our last day trekking, but instead of hiking, we were taking a bamboo raft down the Mae Tang river. The raft was built the previous day and after some final adjustments, and checking that it had enough bamboos for our weight, it was ready to go.

A bamboo raft is a very simple boat. It sits just above the water, so sitting on it means getting wet. It's also controlled by putting with two or three long bamboo sticks. We had two rafts for our group with the backpacks tied up high above the platform. The water is pretty shallow this time of the year, at waist level or lower most of the time. The Mae Tang is used for river rafting later on the season (and further downstream), so we just floated down the river with the occasional Class 1 rapid.

The scenery from the raft was amazing with beautiful trees, birds, and the occasional village or elephant camp. We stopped in one of the village half way to get some drinks and souvenirs. A nice place, but I got bitten by a nasty spider on the sole of my foot which was quite painful for 20 minutes or so.

A common encounter down the river were water buffaloes that love to get in the river and just cool down in it. Water buffaloes come in two colors, black and a strange (human like) pink. The buffaloes belong to people living around the river and they are let roam until they are needed for working the fields (water buffaloes in the area are only eaten after dying from natural causes).

Eventually, we followed the example of the buffaloes and jump into the water. It was fun floating down the muddy river side by side with the raft. In about 4 hours, we reached our destination, a nice village, reachable by dirt road, where our transportation was waiting. After having lunch and bidding farewell to our local guides, we started our way back to Chiang Mai. After a long, dusty trip, we were back to the city. It was nice to have a proper shower and a change of clothes after the trekking. After that, Lindsay and I decided to get a Thai massage. We left the hotel and walked around for 40 minutes trying to find a place... Eventually, we quit on it, and decided to go back to the hotel. As we turned on the hotel street, there was a massage place... no idea how we missed it the first time. After a wonderful Thai massage, we headed for dinner with the group at the night market.

After some nice food and drinks, I returned to the hotel in a tuk-tuk, while most of the group went for a long night of drinking and partying.

Hilltribe Trek Day 2

2009-05-28T04:52:00.001-07:00

This was the "hard" day of our trek. It started easy, but pretty soon, we found a pretty steep uphill that looked even steeper in the heat of the day. The group was upbeat and cheerful, so we all went up the hill with little problem with just a few water breaks. The terrain during the hike was a combination of forest with the occasional opening into a field where the local people cultivate rice, corn, and tea. May is the time to plant rice so that's the primary crop that we saw.

At the top of the hill, there was a wonderful resting tree. It was interesting getting there, but it was nice to perch myself on it after the hot trek up. Many of the people of the group followed me, with different degrees of success... From the top of the hill, it was a nice downhill to the elephant camp. At the camp, there were 6 elephants just playing around next to the creek. As we got closer, two of them switch to some "adult play" which turned to be quite a show.

As we were having lunch, the handlers were preparing the elephants for our ride. They all got a nice wash in the river and they set the saddles up (basically a bench for two, sitting in a horse-like saddle). A pair of the male elephants were challenging each other so they were playfully pushing each other around (later on they were racing each other on the trail). One of the female elephants was pregnant, but that didn't exclude her to carry two of the smaller people of the group.

After lunch, I saved some of the fruit to share with one of the elephants. It's kind of scary to walk around these hyge elephants, but I figured out that they were very used to people so it would be fine. After feeding pineapples and bananas to the elephant, it was time for our exciting ride down the trail to the next hill tribe village.

Our elephant, a dominant male, was saddled up and with the handler we headed down the hill. I was surprised about how agile elephants are and how they can easily negotiate very narrow trails and steps. At one time the trail widened and the challenging male that was fighting our elephant, just spring to pass our elephant. Our elephant didn't like that a bit, but now the other elephant was ahead. I think our elephant blamed us for his humiliation, so he started to picking up dirt with his trump and blowing it to each of us. The ride gave us an interesting view of the jungle from higher up. Unfortunately, no tigers...

Our village for the night was much larger than the previous village. It had a sizable school and much better built houses. Our homestay was next to the Mae Tang river so we tried to escape the heat by jumping in the river. The local kids were doing the same, playing in the water a bit upstream from where we were.

Next to the river there were beautiful flowers and "sleeping plants", an amazing plant that closes its leaves when is touched. We have the same plant in Venezuela, in fact, most of the plants in Thailand are surprisingly similar to the ones in Venezuela. Even the fruits and the food in general(except for the amount of chilies) is very similar. Sometimes it felt like I was back there, except that I was surrounded by smiling Thai people.

In the late afternoon, it looked like the weather was turning really bad, but we just had a short rain shower and the blue skies returned. It turned that there was a major storm just North of us, but we were lucky and missed us.

After cooking and eating dinner, our local guides came out with silly games designed to get you confused so you make a mistake. These games were lots of fun, including the "medicine" for making a mistake, getting a sooth mark in your face. As you can see in the picture above, some people made more mistakes than others :)

After dark, the rain brought a large number of fireflies, so just before going to bed, we were treated to a light show by then.

Hilltribe Trek Day 1

2009-05-28T04:44:00.001-07:00

Today is the start of the trek to the hill tribes of Northern Thailand.

It's a long drive, so we broke the drive by stopping first at Mork Fak waterfall. This is a 35m high waterfall that splits in several "showers" and drop in a nice pool where one can swim. It was very hot when we got there (38C) so it was nice to jump in the water and stay under the waterfall for a while. After the waterfall, we stopped in a local fresh fruit market and then on a road-side restaurant for a simple lunch. The whole drive took a total of 5 hours on a very windy road, so we were very glad when we finally got to the trailhead for the start of our hike.

The hike started in a lush tropical forest where the greenery goes all the way to the horizon. The area is higher than Chiang Mai, so fortunately, it wasn't as hot. As we were hiking, we found very interesting flowers and insects. It's the end of the dry season and some of the rain has already come, so a few of the rainy season plants (like the fire plant in the picture below) are starting to grow. A favorite of everybody was the giant rolly-polly. An insect that rolls itself in a hard ball when it feel threatened. It's very similar to the rolly-pollies found in California gardens, but much much bigger.

As we walked into the forest, the views of the mountains got better and better. The faint mountains in the picture at the left are actually the Thai-Burmese border. We also got our first glimpse on the far away Hill Tribe village where we would be spending the night.

The hill tribe people are minority ethnic groups in Thailand that has remained relatively isolated from the rest of the country for many years. A disastrous decision 80 years ago is still affecting them today... In 1920, Thailand was importing large amounts of opium from the British controlled East India Company. The local demand was high and the government decided that they could save a lot of money by producing opium locally. The area where the hill tribes live was selected as the best area to produce opium and the government gave incentives to the people there to switch from their traditional crops to opium fields. This was well intended and it was thought as a way of improving the standard of life of the hill tribe people. However, 40 years later, the opium trade and consumption was banned, but the economic dependence on the opium production by the hill tribe people was strong. The result was that the opium production in the area went underground and it was taken over by the Chinese mafia. With the support of Burmese warlords, the trade soared and private armies, fed by the opium income, roamed the area at the expense of the Hill Tribe people. The government tried to give incentives to produce other crops, but all attempts to replace opium failed. Opium is almost the perfect crop: high price, high yield, low volume, long shelf life. Finding a replacement looked unlikely until Oolong Tea came along... Now many fields in the hill tribe territories are producing this fragrant premium tea for export. This crop, and tourism, gave an alternative to the Hill Tribe people and today opium production is almost eradicated.

Our accommodations on the Karen Hill tribe were very simple. Our homestay was built on the traditional Hill tribe house layout. The main house is raised from the ground on posts with relatively low roofs designed to shed water rapidly. The main bedroom had a bamboo floor with a large raised platform where we had sleeping bamboo mats. For protection against mosquitoes, we also had nets over our mats. The "shower" was a simple bamboo pipe that channel the water flowing in the nearby creek.

The kitchen was adjacent to the main bedroom and it had no furniture except for two heavy rock pots that are used to contain the wood fire for cooking. Most people in the group helped cooking dinner by chopping vegetables, fish, and chicken under the supervision of our local guides.

After dinner, we ended the day with a nice bonfire. It was a bit challenging to get it started as the wood is quite wet in this area, but with the help of the old trick of soaking toilet paper in hand sanitizer, we finally got it going.

That night, as I was laying on bed, I wrote a bit for this blog. The light of my headlamp attracted insects that landed on the outside of my mosquito net. Most of those insects were fireflies, so when I turned off my light, they started glowing all around me, a special treat just before going to sleep.

Chiang Mai

2009-05-28T02:21:00.001-07:00

We arrived at Chiang Mai in the night train fro Bangkok very early in the morning which allowed us for a full day of activities. After a short taxi ride to the hotel, a quick shower, a change of clothes and breakfast, we were ready to explore Chiang Mai. We started the day by going to a bike ride. We rode for a short time on the busy city streets, but in no time, we got to the back roads of Chiang Mai. Our first stop was the temple of Wat Ko Klan (Temple of the Island).

The most outstanding feature of this temple is the vivid frescos which, unlike most temples that describe the life of Buddha, describe the mythical foundation of the city and the construction of the temple itself. The frescos can be "read" from left to right and in a very iconographic way tell us that the city had an old temple that was destroyed by a flood. People were able to save the sacred scrolls and relics but they were sad for the lost of their temple. Then, they decided to build an island high on the river where a new temple will be built. The final panel shows us the huge party for the opening of the new temple on the artificial island. For the party, even a member of the royal family showed up (depicted with 7 umbrellas, a number reserved for the royal family).

The temple also has beautiful columns decorated in mother of pearl with complex designs and amazing details.

From the temple, we continued on the countryside next to corn fields and recently seeded rice fields. We also visited the McCain institute, an old leper colony where residents make handicrafts including beautiful lacquered wood bowls. We then went for lunch in a small shop where I had the traditional Chiang Mai food, Kao Soi noodles with Chicken curry. After lunch, we did more bike riding and we visited a funerary crematorium. We were not allowed to approach the funerary pyre as a person was created the previous day and the remains were still there. Although, there is a brand new modern crematorium next to the funerary pyre, the town people still uses the old pyre as it's considered a bad omen if a young person is the first one to be cremated there. They are waiting for somebody over 60 year old to open the new crematorium for business.

We then go to Wat Pupia, the old site of a temple that it is part of the old city ruins. This temple was built between the 16th and 17th century, but it was mostly made of wood, so most of it is lost. We ended the bike trip with an interesting ride on very narrow, somewhat steep back streets of Chiang Mai back to our hotel.

In the late afternoon, we went to Doi Suthep, a temple situated at the top of a mountain NorthWest of Chiang Mai. This temple was built in 1383 and it's still used as a place of worship today. The legend says that the place was chosen by putting a relic of Buddha on the back of an elephant and letting it roam until it came to rest at the top of the hill.

The views from the temple are almost as breathtaking as the 306 steps needed to get to the top (a cable car is available, but the steps are more fun). There is also a number of additional temple that were as nice and interesting as the main one. Chiang Mai people tell you that if you haven't visited Doi Suthep, you haven't been to Chiang Mai.

After visiting the temple, we had a pre-trek meeting at the hotel and we headed to a trekking shop where people were able to buy or rent what they needed for the trip (all I needed was a lighter). After the shop, we went to the famous Chiang Mai night market (a former end of one of the silk routes). At the market, we had a nice dinner in an outdoor restaurant (I had Panaeng chicken, chicken in a spicy red curry sauce with crushed peanuts).

After dinner, I went to the Thai Boxing stadium where we got ring side seats for the 9 fights of the night. Each fight starts with a choreographic dance done by the boxers that it's a combination of a warm up and a sign of respect to the other boxer, the spectators, and the sport. This dance, as well as the fight, are accompanied by Thai traditional music which adds to the excitement of the event. The fights were on different divisions, starting with very light boxers, 38 kilos (and probably not older than 14), and ending with heavy weights of 75 kilos. Two fights ended in a knock out. Four were stopped by the referee and three ended with the judges awarding the fight by points to one of the boxers.

Bangkok Day 2

2009-05-27T07:20:00.001-07:00

I started the day taking a river boat to Wat Arun. Bangkok has a very good boat transportation system that it's easy to navigate and very cheap. Each stop has a number and many guidebooks list the stop number most convenient for the main tourist attractions. An important thing to check is the flag that the boat is waving. The flags indicate which kind of boat it is (express, fast, local) which determines where the boat will stop. Occasionally, the boat will leave you on the "wrong" side of the river (like in the case of Wat Arun) in which case one needs to take a cross river ferry which cost just 3 Bahts (about $0.01).

Wat Arun is a beautiful temple with incredible steep staircases that take you to the mid level of the spire. Wat Arun is named after the Indian god of dawn (Aruna) and it's 82 meter high. The temple complex has other buildings as well that are used for worshiping and praying. A particularly impressive one is built after a Greek temple (although I couldn't find any reference confirming this). Most worshippers were at that temple rather than at the spire.

As I was leaving Wat Arun, I was surprised to see some of my group (Terry, Richard, and Gemma) on the boat I was about to take heading to Chinatown. They were also heading there, so we decided to stick together. Chinatown is a very busy area of the city. In a way, it looks like the way I was expecting all Bangkok to look like. There are small shops everywhere selling clothing, toys, electronics, jewelry, raw ingredients, and lots and lots of food. You get a sensory overload from all the neon signs, smells, sounds, and if you get a bouza or two, the flavor of the food. In Chinatown, we were heading to see the Golden Buddha. Unfortunately, it turned to be closed for repairs, so we couldn't see it.

From Chinatwon, we decided to take the subway and the Skytrain to check them out (Although, it would have been cheaper to take a taxi given that there were four of us). Bangkok has a very clean, air conditioned, subway with very nice trains and easy to follow signs. Cost is based on number of stations and whey you pay you get a reusable RFID token that you use to enter and exit the subway system. The Skytrain, a separate system which connects with the subway but requires additional payment, is also modern, clean and air conditioned. Our destination with the Skytrain was the MBK shopping center. This shopping mall is very modern and a bit upscale. It has 7 stories of shops in an interconnected maze of buildings that span a whole city block.

Not far from the MBK center is the Jim Thompson house. Hew was an American that exported silk from Thailand to the US. He mysteriously disappeared in 1967 in the Malaysia's Cameron Highlands. Nobody knows what happened to him and legends abound about his fate. He built his house by combining several traditional Thai houses and adding a bit of western style. The result is incredibly harmonious helped by the original furniture and the Thai art throughout in the house. The nice garden and the canal behind the house is a good place to relax and it just amazing that it's so close to one of the major shopping areas of Bangkok.

After some hard negotiation with taxi drivers (we had to get off three until we found one that reluctantly accepted to use the meter), we got back to our hotel to get ready for the overnight train to Chiang Mai.

The train station is not very modern, but it has lots of shops and a spectacular stained glass windows over the tracks. Our train, the Express Bangkok-Chiang Mai train departed on time and it was schedule to arrive 11 hours later at Chiang Mai. Dinner is available in the train and served on your seat at 7pm. Some people bought dinner at the train station which is slightly cheaper, but not as good.

We traveled 2nd class soft sleepers. The setup during the day was two facing seats that are converted into a pair of bunk beds at nighttime. The beds were setup by the car attendant around 9pm. After a restful night of sleep, we arrived at Chiang Mai at 7:20am.

Bangkok Day 1

2009-05-25T23:14:00.001-07:00

I started the day by visiting the National Museum in Bangkok. The museum grounds are on the grounds of a former palace of the Deputy King (equivalent to the crown prince in Western royalties). The architecture is a combination of beautiful Thai buildings and not-so-nice 60s architecture. The museum is quite large and a bit intimidating, but I was lucky enough to go there on a Wednesday when free English tour are offered to the public. My guide, Alan, is a retiree from the USA that loves Thailand and its history. He told us the history of Thailand monarch from Rama I, to the (very beloved) current king, Rama IX. If Thais can agree on something is on their love and admiration for the king. He has stayed above all the political struggles, military coups, counter coups, and revolutions that have affected the country during his reign. A symbol of stability for the Thai people, he is portrayed at the entrance of every town and in every house. Nobody was expecting the current king to ascend to the throne. A younger brother of Rama VIII, he was an unlikely candidate. He was born in Massachusetts, while his father was studying at Harvard (yes, he could be a US citizen). When Rama VIII was found shot dead under "mysterious circumstances," Rama IX was a science student in Lucerne, Switzerland. He quickly changed major to political science and returned to the country after finishing his studies to become king. He has reigned since 1946, making one of the longest reigns in history (just two years away from Queen Victoria's record).

The museum collection includes a historical house (the red house), a large number of sculptures, most of them of religious nature (Buddha, Hindu gods, demons, and mythological beings). It also includes funerary carriages used by former royalty (no pictures allowed on those), but I was allowed to photograph the ones used for "minor" royalty.

During the tour, a journalist from the Bangkok Post, came and interview us about our experience in Bangkok. I was told that the article will be published in the Sunday paper (go online and check it out, if you do, send me a copy of the article as I'll be trekking Sunday and I won't have access to Internet).

I had lunch in the Museum cafeteria (Pad Thai) with a nice couple from Singapore and from there headed to the Grand Palace.

The Grand Palace and the grounds of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) is built to impress. Gold is the predominant color with details in red, green, and blue. Everything here is larger than life. The giant guards are 15 meter tall and every temple is capped by a dome in the shape of the Thai crown. The highlight of the complex is the Emerald Buddha, a sculpture of Buddha carved, not on an emerald, but on a single block of jasper. The Emerald Buddha is in a special temple where the faithful burn incense and give offerings of fruits and money in return for holy water. The story of the Buddha is interesting. It has been sized by enemy troops many times and eventually was hidden inside a stucco statue and forgotten, until one day the stucco broke up, revealing its valuable content.

Beyond the temple area, there are the royal palaces and the king official residence. Today these buildings are only used for ceremonial purposes. The throne room is open to the public. To my surprise, the room is quite spartan, except for two magnificent thrones each capped by 9 umbrellas, a number of umbrellas reserved only for the king. In that area, there is also a small weapons museum and the museum of the Emerald Buddha that houses the offerings made by devotees as well as the gold "clothing" for the Buddha (the clothing is changed by the king three times at year according to the seasons: winter, summer, and monsoon).

Close by the Grand Palace is Wat Pho, the temple of the famous reclining Buddha. The reclining buddha is 46m long and 15m high. The Buddha is build with a core of brick, covered by plaster and gold leaf. The sole of the feet is made of mother of pearl and displays the 108 auspicious laksana (characteristics of Buddha).

To my surprise, Wat Pho is more than the reclining Buddha. The complex houses an incredible number of Buddha statues in all shapes and sizes. Just for the fun of it, I was keeping tally of how many statues of Buddha I've seen there. When I got 187, I got tired of the game... It also has beautiful temple, a pre-school, and a school of massage (which is supposed to be very good, although I didn't have the time to try it). The place is fun to walk around.

I headed back to the hotel with a brief stop at a local fruit market and views of the Rama VIII bridge and the river. The park by the river was a fun people watching spot with kids playing around, teenagers doing break dancing, and loudspeakers playing pop disco. The park is extremely clean and well patrolled (somebody was scolded for having their feet on a bench).

At the hotel, I met my Thailand group. For this trip, we have a full house, 12 participants. four Australians, three British, two Americans, myself, and two other that are meeting us at Chiang Mai. After the typical Intrepid formalities, we headed all together for dinner at a small restaurant a block from the famous Khao Sand Road, a magnet for backpackers all over the world because of its cheap eateries and shops.

Kathmandu to Bangkok

2009-05-19T07:38:00.001-07:00

Namaste Nepal!

Sawadee Thailand!

Today was a traveling day. I was advised to go to the airport at least 3 hours in advance and to bring 1700 Rupees in cash for the departure tax. It turned that that was way too much time as most lines were very short. In addition, Thai Air tickets include departure tax, so I didn't need the 1700 Rupees ($20). Oh well, I'll try to sell them to the next Nepal traveler. The good news is that I spent most of the time in the very nice Thai Air Silk Lounge and I had time to finish and publish yesterday's blog.

Security at Kathmandu airport is strict. Before entering the airport, all cars are stopped and searched (unless they contain a Westerner in which case they are waved through). Then, to get into the terminal, one needs to show a ticket (remember to bring a printout!), get all luggage X-Rayed, go through a metal detector and get a pad down. After getting the ticket, you go through immigration and to the "pre-departure" hall where Duty free, a restaurant, and the Silk lounge are. After that, you go again through more security (as it's customary in Nepal, with different lines for man and women). Again a metal detector, x-ray of hand luggage, and another pad down. After that, you go to yet another security station where they open your hand luggage and search it. There, all my batteries were confiscated. I complained a bit too loudly so the supervisor came and allowed me to keep 4 of them (they kept 6 fresh batteries and 6 used ones). The reason I got upset is because I made an effort to collect used batteries and to tell people not to leave them in Nepal and instead dispose them properly in their home countries. Oh well, so much for my good intentions. After the hand search of luggage, a corridor leads to the very crowded and small departure hall. Luckily I didn't have to spend time there as my plane was boarding, so I headed to the tarmac outside. Just before boarding the plane, a final security station where you get a final pad down. After all that... finally on board.

I arrived to Bangkok new airport and cruise through immigration and customs. It helps having only a carry on. The hotel is close to the old town and the backpackers area and there is lots of activity at night (pretty hot and humid at 10pm). Everything is available on the streets. From cart vendors selling all kinds of food, to outdoor Thai massage. I'm looking forward to go exploring the city tomorrow.

Day trip to Patan, Bhaktapur, and the Royal Palace

2009-05-19T00:07:00.001-07:00

Today I hired a guide and a driver to take me to the nearby cities of Patan and Bhaktapur. The cities are not far by distance (10km and 12km from Kathmandu) but the traffic made each trip about one hour long. The significance of these cities (together with Kathmandu) comes from the Malla dynasty that ruled the Kathmandu valley from about 1200 to 1768 (when, despite the British interference, the Shah Kings were able to unify Nepal). Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur were independent kingdoms and the competition between them created a golden age for the area.

The primary focus of my visit was the Durbar Square of each city. Durbar translate roughly as "Royal" and I already described the Kathmandu Durbar Square in a previous blog.

Patan

The Patan Durbar Square is the religious heart of the city and contains a number of monuments, temples, and shrines. A very prominent temple, Krishna Mandir, is dedicated to Lord Krishna and it's a peregrination point for followers of Krishna.

Not far from the square, there is the Golden Temple (Hiranya Varna Mahavihar) with a three story pagoda built in the 12th centry. One of the most striking features there are the bronzes of monkeys with a life-like, almost human, gaze.

From the golden temple, we went to Kumbheshwor temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It's traditional to offer in sacrifice lambs to Shiva, and a few lambs are just calmly awaiting their destiny. Fortunately, most Hindus also have Buddhist believe and they don't want to be responsible for the death of an animal. As a result, most workshipers offer a coconut instead which is cracked open by a priestess and offered to Shiva.

After visiting Kumbheshwor, we went back to Durbar Square and the Patan Museum. This museum was the best museum I visited in Nepal. It normally costs 250 Ruppes ($3) but it was museum day so I got for free (with the added bonus of a teeka and a nice postcard). Most of the exhibits are cast bonzes and gilt copper which are traditional of Patan.

One of the most impressive exhibits is the gilded throne of the former kings of Patan. Note the symbolism on the throne. The king seats on a throne supported by 4 elephants (which are considered 10x more powerful by humans), with 2 lions on top of them (10x more powerful than elephants). They are joined by a mythical creature (a combination of Lion, Eagle, and Human) that it's 10x more powerful than lions. For added protection, 9 cobras guard the king. The throne basically says: don't mess with my owner.

A full gallery was dedicated to explaining how the Patan bronzes are produced. It shows step by step how a Buddha head is carved on wax and eventually casted by using the "lost wax" technique. In my opinion, this museum is a must visit attraction in a trip to Nepal.

A final walk in Durbar Square took me to a nice temple with the most amazing wood carvings on the doors, windows, and columns (including some very explicit images... you have been warned).

Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur, the city of culture, was our last destination. For foreigners, it costs a very steep 750 rupees ($10) just to enter the city; but its Durbar Square and other attractions seem to be better preserved than Kathmandu and Patan, so the city may be using the money wisely. People in the city are more "commercial" and you'll be asked for some small change (20 rupees, $0.25) if you take a picture of them. The city was fortified in the 15th century so it's surrounded by a wall, with a few entrances guarded by zealous guards that check that you paid your $10.

The whole city of Bhaktapur is outstanding and you find artistic gems in every corner. The wood carvings are amazing and many of them are gilded. I visited a woodcarving workshop where I saw the artisans working their magic.

One of those masterpieces is in a common house (now a souvenir shop) and it's known as the "Miracle of the Peacock Window", an exquisite carving of a peacock. Note the parabolic effect of the feathers and the details on the bird.

The Royal Palace Museum

The Royal Palace (rename The Narayanhiti Palace Museum) is the new attraction in Kathmandu. It opened just a few months ago (March 2009) to the public and it's extremely popular with Nepalese, so lines can be long. Absolutely no pictures are allowed and anything you carry must be placed in a locker. They are serious about this, I was challenged by a package of tissues and a supervisor had to give his Ok for me to bring it in.

I wouldn't particularly recommend visiting the palace for itself, but looking the awe of the Nepalese on how their kings live is worth it. The decor in the museum is 60s style. It's luxurious, but having a red leather sofa next to a green one, in a room with 3 walls covered with wood and another with rocks, it's a bit quaint. Said that, the throne room is imposing, design to portray the king as a superhuman above everybody else. The palace area was built by the Ranas dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until the establishment of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal in 2008.

One can see the remains of the Tibhuvan Sadan where the royal massacre of 2001 took place. Although the building was demolished after the massacre, the foundations remain and CSI-style markers indicate the place where each person was assassinated. The royal massacre resulted in the assassination of King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, and 8 other members of the royal family. Crown Prince Dipendra, the perpetrator, attempted to commit suicide afterwards. He only survived for two days, long enough to become King, until he died and was succeeded by his brother which nowadays live in India.

At the end of this busy day, I finally got my 3-hour laundry (it took 30 hours) and I went out for some last minute shopping. The day finished with being treated to a nice farewell dinner of Tikka Massala at the New Orleans Cafe by Sharon and Paula.

Flight from Lukla, Kathmandu's Durbar Square, and Farewell dinner

2009-05-18T08:46:00.001-07:00

Flights between Lukla and Kathmandu are fair weather only, so flights require clear skies over both cities to operate. Flights start early in the morning and a siren at Lukla announces that planes are departing from Kathmandu. After planes from Kathmandu land, the turnaround is fast, I timed one of them to just under 15 minutes. Pilots don't want to get trapped in Lukla if the weather changes.

The runway in Lukla is short and ends on one side on a cliff, and the other on a wall. To allow planes to accelerate and decelerate fast, it's built on a steep angle. In the picture below, look at the angle of the plane in the background as it's getting ready to take off. If you haven't been there in while, notice as well that the runway is now paved.

The flight to Kathmandu was smooth and uneventful, although we didn't get a last view of the Himalayas due to clouds. It's fun to watch the pilots fly the plane as there is no door between the passenger compartment and the flight deck.

After landing... back to the Kathmandu Guest House for a nice breakfast, a hot shower, and laundry :) Back to civilization! After all that, I tried to go to the museum in the Old Palace. Unfortunately, it was closed due to a power outage (common in Kathmandu). Instead, I just wandered in Durbar Square and toop pictures. This square is a very special place with amazing architecture and carvings. It's a pity that it's in a bad state of disrepair. I hope the 300 rupees ($4) entry fee charged to foreigners is used to improve the square in the future.

Nobody was able to provide a good explanation for the explicit carvings at the bottom of the wooden columns. A guide told me that there were added by a king that wanted to "stimulate" a Buddhist population to have more babies (so he could have more soldiers). Another one said that in Hinduism, lightning is a pure virgin goddess. The carvings serve the purpose of scaring her away as she would never strike a place depicting such scenes... I think the carvers were just having too much fun.

I came back to Thamel and I (unsuccessfully) try to do some shopping. The amount of fake gear is amazing (North Face, Mountain Hardwear, and Mammoth are the most common copied brands). Quality varies a lot. From gear that I can't tell the difference from the real thing, to gear that you are lucky if it doesn't fall apart a block from the store. There are also many Nepalese trinkets and souvenirs and a few Tibetan.

We also had a farewell dinner with the guides that came with us to Kathmandu (we bid farewell to the porters in Lukla). Dinner was in a very nice restaurant commonly visited by trekkers and mountaineers. On one of the walls, many signatures from Everest summiteers are displayed (signatures are real, although not necessarily contemporary with the climb). On the picture below, you can find Sir Edmund Hillary's signature.

Sharon, Paula, and Sharon

Everest summiteers

Bhem, Raj, and Sudhe

Our guides going home :)

Phadking to Lukla

2009-05-18T08:21:00.001-07:00

Another short day. Just 2.5 hours from Phadking to Lukla. We are retracing our steps but the trail is a bit more fun as it's Saturday (the only free day in Nepal), so everybody is enjoying themselves outside. The weather is also very nice, one could even say that it's warm. A nice change from the previous rainy and cold days. In Lukla, we are staying in a nice lodge with electricity, running water, and spacious rooms. However, there is little to do in Lukla beyond waiting for your flight or enjoying a nice latte in the local "Starbuck".

Namche to Phakding and Nepalese Customs

2009-05-17T03:30:00.001-07:00

My trip in the Himalayas is coming to an end and we are now retracing our steps back to Lukla where we hope to take the plane back to Kathmandu (planes only fly on fair weather at both ends). Although, still interesting when going the other way, I already wrote about this segment of the trail, so instead, I'll write about what I have learned about Nepalese customs. Before I start, a word of warning... this is just my experience for 3 weeks, so this highly opinionated and potentially wrong.

Nepalese people are very religious, a quality that permeates on every level of society. Most people in the country believe in a mix of Hinduism and Buddhism plus a small dosage of animism. There are three concepts that help understand how Nepalese society works:

Castes: people are roughly divided in 4 groups. The occupations, professions, and opportunities are determined by which caste you belong to. Westeners are in the third lowest caste (untouchables but unslaveables). Most people in the mountains care very little about castes.
Dharma: this is accepting ones destiny and trying to fulfill it as best as possible. This is what keeps porters happy carrying heavy loads all their lives.
Family: extended families are very important and there is a strong sense of unity. This goes far, for example, favors on a family member must be paid by other family members (I was told that it's common to give a child as a servant to a family that helps a sibling to study abroad).

As a foreigner you get a lot of leeway when breaking customs. However here a few tips:

Feet are considered dirty. Never touch, point, or move anything with your feet. The left hand is also dirty. Never touch any food, receive anything, or give anything just with your left hand (both hands are ok).
Never touch anybody on the head, not even children. Parents appreciate when you pick up a child and rub his belly.
Kitchens are "pure" places. Never enter a kitchen without an explicit invitation. Also, don't sit to eat with other Nepalese people unless you are invited to join them.
Dress conservatively. Shorts and tanks are inappropriate for both men and women. A bare chested men is considered vulgar (even if you are swimming in a lake). Nudity is completely unacceptable (unless you are a holy man).
Respect religious customs: always spin praying wheels clockwise. Go around stupas and other monuments clockwise as well. Always give a small donation when leaving a temple (20 rupees, about $0.25 is enough).
Maybe means no. It's hard for Nepalese to say "no" to a request. Instead, they answer "maybe". If you get a "maybe" answer, get the hint. Similarly, avoid a direct "no" to a request as this is considered rude.

In my opinion, as a visitor, one needs to adapt to the local customs and respect them. Looking at other cultures as equals and not trying to change them is an imperative for a traveler. A short anecdote about this, many visitors comment about how disgusting they find the way Nepalese clear their throats and noses. It came to a surprise to me that Nepalese find our use of handkerchiefs as repulsive as they can't understand why we would put a soiled cloth back into a pocket (by the way, using disposable tissues is more acceptable).

If you want to learn more about Nepalese customs, I highly recommend the book Nepal - Culture Smart!.

Namche Rest Day and Thumme Gompa

2009-05-16T23:22:00.001-07:00

Today is a rest day at Namche. The rest of the group decided to spend the day shopping, while I went on a hike with Subhe, the assistant guide, to a monastery in Thumme.

The hike starts very steep until you reach the heliport above Nanche. From there, the views of the city and the surrounding mountains is outstanding.

From there, the trail eases and it's basically "Nepalese Flat" all the way to the monastery.

There are several stupas and praying wheels in the way. Some of the praying wheels were water operated like a dynamo producing blessings rather than electricity.

The gompa is under construction, but under all the scaffolding one can see how beautiful the end result will be. This monastery is run by 3 monks and about 30 nuns. Most of the work on the construction while I was there was been done by women. The monks and nuns are Tibetan refugees that escaped to Nepal after the crackdown on religions activity in Nepal by the Chinese Government.

I was invited to the small temporary temple where I was offered some crackers and holy water (one puts some on the forehead, some on the top of the head and drink the rest). Then nun that showed me around was very friendly, but my guide had some problem talking to her as she spoke Tibetan and very little Nepali. Pictures of the exiled Dalai Lama are prominent in the temple, but there was also a picture of the Chinese-approve Dalai Lama. Outside the temple, an English sign describes the organization of the monastery and highlights the struggle of the Tibetan religion to survive under the Chinese government. After leaving a small donation, we left in our way back to Nachem.

The monastery is very close to the border of Nepal and Tibet and therefore, lots of Tibetans cross the border here. In the past, they were welcome as refugees, but the Nepalese government stopped accepting them a few years ago. Nowadays, they just cross the border in October to sell Tibetans goods in Namche, primarily Tibetan carpets.

In the way back, I stopped in the local primary school, built by the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation, where I left a more substantial donation. We retraced our steps back to Namche where we arrived on time for a late lunch.

I spent the rest of the day catching up with this blog and talking to some of the people that were staying at the lodge, including a medical student from Kathmandu that was doing a short trek in the Himalayas (which is unusual as most Nepalese do not ever visit the mountain area).

Tengboche to Namche

2009-05-14T19:00:00.001-07:00

As usual, I woke up early to try to catch some early morning picture. The mountains behind the monastery were illuminated by the morning sun and exactly at 6am, boy monks started clashing cymbals and blowing horns announcing that the praying was 30 minutes away.

On one side of the saddle, I could see all the way to Everest and the high peaks of the Himalayan range, while at the other I could see the valley were we would be hiking later in the day in our way to Namche.

From Tengboche, it was a long downhill to the river on a snow covered forest of rhododendrons. In the way down, we met a group of disabled hikers from South Korean. They had different kind of disabilities so one of them was being carried in a basket, while another was helped on a wheel chair, and the rest were walking on their own. They were on a two week trip to Everest Base camp and they had had 8 days on the road already.

After the nice downhill, we had a steep uphill on an extremely well maintained trail. This trail was a "highways" with lots of porters and Yaks trains going up and down. After about an hour on this trail, we reached the junction with the trail to Gokyo, so our circle was now completed.

Not so long after, we were back to Namche Bazaar and to the comforts of a modern town. We were back to have electricity, running water, hot showers (20 minutes for $3), and Internet. I caught up with email, I posted the blogs that I was able to enter in the computer before I ran out of power (in Dzongla), I had my first hot shower since we left Kathmandu, and I recharged my camera batteries ($1.25 for 1 hour). Now that we are at a "lower" elevation (and having acclimatized at higher elevations), sleeping is easier, and moving up and down the many stairs in the village is not as breathless as it was two weeks ago.

Dhingboche to Tengboche

2009-05-14T18:51:00.001-07:00

When I woke up it was snowing heavily and it looked like it snowed all night. Outside there was about 6 inches of snow and more was coming. I was a bit worry about how hard the day to Tengboche was going to be, but after breakfast the snow was already lighter and it looks like the sun was about to come out.

Raj broke trail to the main trail which was in good shape as it had already being used by Yak trains. In the way to the main trail, we stopped at the Gompa for some pictures.

About an hour after we left, it stopped snowing and the sun finally came out. We got nice views of Lhotse, Nuptse and Ami Dablan.

After a pleasant walk on a snowy trail, we arrived to Pengboche where we ordered lunch. Before lunch, I learned some card magic tricks from our trip leader, Bhen, that I'm looking forward to show to friends.

The snow melted very fast and the trail became very wet as we headed towards Tengboche. After a long and pleasant downhill, a steep uphill in a forest of rhododendrons led to the entrance of Tengboche monastery. The monastery is situated in a saddle with amazing views of the mountains and the valley before. There is a visitor center, but visitors are also welcome to attend praying ceremonies at 6:30am and 3:30pm.

Most monks were away celebrating Buddha's birthday two days ago, so the praying was just done by 3 monks. Still it was an incredible experience as they recite the mantras in a very musical way accompanied by the clicking of a stick against a conch or the sound of a drum. All this under the gaze of a giant Buddha statue surrounded by an elaborate altar.

The rest of the gompa is also amazing. Although this is modern reconstruction (the old one burned in 1989), it's still quite beautiful and one of the highlights of this trip.

After visiting the Gompa, we returned to the lodge (we were staying in one of the lodges that belong to the monastery). There, I met two women from California and with Raj, we played rummy for some time.

Gorak Shep to Dhingboche

2009-05-14T18:48:00.001-07:00

Today we were planning to wake up very early to hike to Kala Pathar. Unfortunately, the weather was very bad and it has snowed all night long. So when I checked the weather outside for our pre-dawn departure, I decided that it was too windy, cold, and snowy to justify a viewless hike. So, I skip it and I went back to bed.

When the sun came out, we were in a winter wonderland. The snow has completely transformed the land around us and a short break in the weather allowed me to get some good pictures of Pomari, Everest, and Nuptse.

We had breakfast and we started heading down when the snow storm came back with a vengeance. The glacier was now covered with snow and finding the trail was tricky at times. We got stuck for a while behind a slow train of 4 Yaks so the going to our mid-point (Lobuche) was going slowly. After a couple of hours on the snow, we finally got there and I warmed up with a nice cup of hot lemon. From Lobuche, we started hiking down, but fortunately for us, the worst of the storm seems to be over.

Down from Lobuche, there is an eery ridge full of memorials for the many climbers lost at Everest. One of the memorials was for Scott Fisher who died exactly 13 years from the day we were there on May 11, 1996. His story is recounted on the book "Into Thin Air" by John Krakauer. The memorials were quite dramatic in the fog that surrounded them and they were a stark reminder of the price that many paid to get to the summit of the highest mountain in the world. The memorials put in context statistics like that 1 in 4 climbers that reach the summit, never come back.

After a slippery descend on snowy trails, we reached our lunch spots and we continue descending in the fog with the occasional view of the summits of Hangteka, Tansehu, and Ama Dablam.

The town of Dhingboche appeared suddenly out of the fog. The town is bigger than any of the villages (except Namche) that we have stayed before. The two business of the town is growing potatoes (which are very good) and lodging tourist who frequently stay here for a two-day acclimatization stop in the way to Everest Base Camp. The town has a nice Gompa that we could see from our lodge, but the snow started to fall heavily, so I decided to wait until tomorrow to check it out.

Lobuche to Gorak Shep and Everest Base Camp

2009-05-14T18:41:00.001-07:00

We woke up very early (5am) to get ready for our trek to Gorak Shep. This is expected to be the hardest day of the trip after Cho-La pass. After a quick breakfast of rice pudding, we were on our way to Gorak Shep. The trail has fantastic views of Nuptse and Lobuche as well as the Khumbu glacier.

It took us just under 2 hours to arrive to the (very nice) "Snowland Highest Inn" (which at 5180m was our highest sleeping place). The Inn claims the highest internet cafe in the world... too bad that they don't have computers or internet access for that instance yet (but they do sell coffee).

After a quick "second breakfast" with prices as high as the altitude ($4 for a cheese omelette), we headed to Everest Base Camp. The trail follows the Khumbu glacier on a lateral moraine with lots of ups and downs. There were lots of Yak traffic on the trail, carrying supplies to Everest Base Camp.

We got nice views of the Everest summit and the Khumbu ice fall from the trail. In the picture above, Everest is the black rock towards the right of the picture with some snow blowing to the left of it. It's ironic that after you get to basecamp, the summit of Everest is not longer visible.

After a while, we needed to cross the glacier on a well defined trail. We reached an overlook of basecamp which was supposed to be the end of our journey. However, Raj, our assistant guide, had friend on Everest Base Camp proper so I tagged along with him.

After crossing next to the massive Russian camp (no visitors allowed), we got to the first tent in the camp, "The Everest Bakery," selling from sour bread to apple pies and everything in between. From there, we took a circuitous route to the Japanese camp where Raj's brother in law works as the head cook.

Everest Base Camp is just a collection of tents on a relatively flat area of the Khumbu glacier next to the Khumbu icefall. There are some well marked crevasses between some of the camps, a reminder that we are on a glacier.

At the Japanese camp, we were welcome with a hot lemon drink and a cheese omelet. There I got to meet a climber from New Zealand which summited some years ago from Tibet. I also met 3 of the climbers from the Japanese team (which has a total of 6 Japanese and 6 Sherpa climbers; plus the support staff). The Japanese team and the Sherpas built a shrine for good luck. Note the offering to the gods... in addition to the traditional rice, there is a can of beer and a bottle of Coke. After several cups of coffee, we moved to the British camp (9 climbers, no sherpas) where Raj's brother-in-law brother works. I got to see one of the climbers (who wanted the head cook to trade for 3 packs of Marlboro), but I didn't get to talk to him.

It was getting stormy, so we decided to head down to Gorak Shep. We were told that the weather forecast was calling for heavy snow in the next 4-5 days and that all the climbers were coming down. I could see several climbers descending the Khumbu fall, including 2 skiers (I wish I had a lens powerful enough to photograph them).

Half way down to Gorak Shep, it started to snow, but we still make it back by 1:15pm. Not long after we got there, the snow become more heavy and started to accumulate.

While relaxing in the lodge, I met a group of Sherpas that summited Everest a few days ago (note their sunburned faces). All of them has summited twice, with one of them having being to the summit 4 times! There were relaxing (and drinking heavily) as no more climbs were scheduled for the next 5 days. They were really nice people that made me feel very welcome when I approached them to ask about taking a picture with them.

After a relaxing time by the stove, we had dinner (garlic soup and a cheese sandwich) and I headed for a not-so-restful night of sleep (it's hard to sleep at this altitude).

Dzongla to Lobuche

2009-05-14T18:37:00.001-07:00

This was an easy walking day, so we started late at 8:40am after a leisurely breakfast. The hike was beautiful under the towering peaks of Awi (black rock) and the snowy face of the North face of Cho-La Tse.

After crossing a primitive bridge over the outlet of the Lobutse Glacier, the views opened up to the triangle of Ama Dablan (6856m). As we were down, the views of Cho-La Tse got better and better. We also saw the route up Lobunche that our assistant guide, Raj, took about a month ago. At the bottom of the route was a Russian camp, which was used for acclimatization and rest for their massive 2009 Everest expedition.

Eventually, the trail changes to a more Northerly direction and we got a nice view of Pumari (7165) and Nuptse (7861). Everest is just behind these peaks, invisible from the trail. After just 30 minutes, we arrived at Lobuche. The lodge there was much better than the one the previous night, but still simple. A luxury there was a bucket with warm water and a mirror that allow us to clean our faces.

While we were having lunch (fried potatoes with vegetables), another Intrepid group arrived. This group is made of 9 people, a combination of Australians, Irish, and English, that are heading to Everest Base Camp. Our group and them stayed together for the next two days, but for some reason, we didn't interact much with them.

Even though the morning was beautiful, warm and clear, by 1pm clouds started to roll in and it started to snow. Mountain weather is variable, so by 2pm, it started to clear up. We headed up the moraine between the Khumbu glacier and Lobuche, but the weather started to turn snowy and foggy so we didn't get good views. We returned in less than an hour to the lodge and warmed up.

After an hour or so, I was bored and the weather seem to have improved again, so I decided to go back to the moraine. This time I got lucky and I got rewarded by views of Pumori, the Khumbu glacier, the Khumbu ice fall, and, at the distance, Everest Base Camp. I also caught a view of the futuristic pyramid of the K2 Italian Research Center (named at the brief time when K2 was believe to be the highest peak and renamed to Everest/K2 when Everest regained its highest mountain status).

After enjoying the amazing view for a few minutes, I turned around at 4:30pm and descended with two hikers from Paris. After a dinner of fried rice with veggies, I headed to bed to rest for the long day tomorrow.

Thanak to Dzongha via Cho-La pass

2009-05-14T18:34:00.001-07:00

Today was the hardest day so far. We woke up at 5am, had breakfast at 5:30 (hot rice pudding) and promptly left at 6am. Sunrise is around 5:15am, so although it was very cold, at least we were walking on daylight. The trail to Cho-La pass starts very easy. A "gentle" climb up a valley with a nice bubbling creek. We were accompanied by Tibetan snowcocks, a chicken-like bird that makes a laughing sound.

After about an hour, we reached the top of the valleys with nice views of the mountains at the front, and the glacier at the back. We could also see see the pass (in the picture at the left is the lowest point to the left). We dropped into another valley where Yaks, Naks, and baby Yaks were grazing. Getting to the pass, requires crossing a few ridges into shallow valleys which started to get a bit tedious. But in no time, we were at the bottom of the class 2 pass. Our side of the pass was snow free, which made it easier, but more dangerous for rock fall. We kept about 15 feet apart from each other and started to climb.

The pass starts on an avalanche chute that was full of debris. This would be a very dangerous area on high snow conditions. At the top of the chute, you move to more solid rock with a hint of a trail all the way up. Resting half way up, I got a cute picture of Sharon and Donna and their companion teddy bears.

We reached the top of the pass, 5340m, at 10:10am. From the top we could see the glacier that we need to cross to get to the other side plus new mountains: Nireka Peak (6159m), Lobuche West (6135m, which was climbed by the assistant guide just before this trip), Lobuche East (6090m) and the perfect pyramid of Ama Dablan.

We had a snack at the top plus the obligatory group picture. I was also challenged by the trip leader to 25 pushups which were easier than I was expecting (even though at 5340m the air is thin, pushups are mainly anaerobic and therefore not so affected by the reduced pressure),.

While we were resting at the pass, a Chinese man, his guide, and a porter arrived. Shortly after a Chinese woman followed, but instead of heading to the rocks to the side of the glacier, she went straight to the bergschrund (the wide gap between the glacier and the rock) that was pretty big and full of water with a thin layer of ice on it. We tried to get her attention and direct her to the rocks on the North side of the glacier but the more we tried to get her to go North, the more she continue going South. Eventually she started going North, but staying dangerously close to the bergschrund. During all this, her partner and the guide did nothing while our group was the one trying to get her to safety. Eventually, her guide stopped eating and went to the rocks and brought her to safety. When she got to the pass, we talked to her as we were worried about AMS. She was exhausted, but she was making sense, although she keep complaining about her guide going too fast and that she thought she saw footprints on the ice and that's why she wanted to cross there. We encourage her to get down the pass as soon as possible and our guide scold her guide for not paying attention to her. I don't think neither her nor her guide understood that breaking through the ice on the berschrund would have been a major emergency.

From the pass, we got on the glacier. The surface was styrofoam ice so it was very easy to walk on it (this kind of ice breaks under your boot, giving you lots of traction). The route we followed was also quite flat with just some minor crevasses that we jumped easily. After 10 minutes, we got to the rocks on the South side and we started descending. On the rocks, the route finding would have been tricky, but the abundance of cairns and the occasional green arrow painted on the rock made finding the way down trivial.

After dropping into the valley, we took it easy, arriving at the Dzongha lodge around 1pm. This lodge is one of the most basic lodges we have stayed with small and drafty rooms and a hole on the ground for toilet. Still, it faces the impressive North faces of Arakam Tse and Cho-La Tse, and has a commanding view of Ama Dablan (22349 ft).

Gokyo to Thanak

2009-05-13T19:20:00.001-07:00

I woke up a bit early to try to get a reflection picture from the lake before the winds pick up. I was rewarded by a nice reflection of Chadoten (5055m) on the Third Lake of Gokyo. So far the weather has been pretty consistent. Nice clear mornings (although a bit cold), the warming up as the sun rises with the wind picking up, and very cloudy afternoon with the occasional rain or snow. While at the lake, I spotted a male of a Grandola, a beautiful blue and purple bird.

After breakfast (rice pudding), we started our short day to Thanak.

The route there involves crossing a rock covered glacier. Some segments were a bit scary but the well used trail was pretty safe. This trail changfes every year as the glacier moves. In fact, most people don't know about the new trail and they have continued taken the more dangerous "lower" trail from two years ago.

The lodge in Thanak is very nice, although this time I got a windowless room (but on top of the kitchen, which means it will be warm). After lunch, our assistant guide, a porter, Paula, and me went for a short hike where we saw the first part of the Sho-La pass, our main challenge for tomorrow.

Machermo to Gokyo

2009-05-13T19:13:00.001-07:00

The day started with a beautiful view of Machermo Peak. After breakfast, we headed to Gokyo. The hike is "Nepali flat" after leaving Machermo (i.e., many ups and downs, with little elevation gain). The hike follows the Dudh Kosi which is milky due to the glacier sediments. Just before arriving to the First Goky lake, we found a clear stream; an indication of a nearby lake (sediments accumulate at the bottom of the lake so the outlet of the lake is clear.

The first lake is really small. Not really a lake, but a pond. After short hike, we arrive to the much larger Second Lake which is surrounded by large peaks with Cho-Oyu towering in the distance. Both First and Second lakes have hundreds of cairns built around them with some of the cairns having small money offerings. One could get a dollar or two if you are willing to suffer the wrath of he gods.

From Second Lake, a short walk brought us to the larger Third Lake where the lodge is. This is a much larger village than the previous ones, so the lodge was a lot nicer. Given that I'm the only male of the group, I've been getting a private double room, while the girls are sharing. In Gokyo, I got a special treat as I got a room with a double bed.

After arriving, we had lunch and I convinced the girls to go up the ridge to see the Ngozumpa glacier. This is a rock covered glacier that we will cross in two days. When we got to the top, we were surprised about how massive the glacier was and the number of lakes on it. As we were hiking on the moraine, we could hear continuous cracking and rock falling on the surface of the glacier.

For the rest of the afternoon, we played Uno with the guides and one of the porters. Although they play a lot of cards, this was the first time they were playing Uno. It was interesting to see how they were helping each other and how little they will care about showing their hands.

Dole to Machermo

2009-05-13T01:17:00.001-07:00

I woke up early again and I walked up the valley behind the village of Dole. This was a very pleasant walk that became very easy after reaching the valley. For some reason, the valley seems very similar to the Sierra Nevada with a grassy meadow, a small creek in the middle and towering granite walls at the sides. In my way back, I found a group of red-foot pheasants that started warning each other about my presence.

After breakfast, we started an easy walk towards Machermo. We broke the short walk by stopping in a teahouse at 4390m and then continue to Machermo at 4500m. The lodge was simple, but bigger than the one in Dole. We got there on time for lunch and the rest of the day was set for acclimatization.

Food in the lodges is simple. Most of it is cooked with traditional Nepalese staples: potatoes, rice, noodles, nak cheese, Nepalese bread, eggs, lentils, vegetables, onions, and garlic. All this is spiced with curry. One of my favorite meals is the garlic soup. Sherpas believe that it's good for altitude, so my guiddes are happy seeing me eating it. The fried potatoes with vegetables and nak cheese is another favorite.

For snacking, or as a complement for garlic soup, a good food are Mo-mos. These are dumplings filled with vegetable and they are served either steamed (like in the picture) or fried.

The traditional Nepalese food is Dhal Bhat. A watery lentil soup served with rice and curry vegetables. This is the food that our porters and guides eat all the time and, different than other foods, it's "all you can eat". The group has been eating Dhal Bhat for dinner almost every day.

The lodges try to approach western food with those ingredients. For example, pizza is tomato paste with cheese and vegetables baked on Nepalese bread. Hash browns are mashed potatoes covered with Nak cheese (which, by the way, it's pretty good).

After lunch, I went for an acclimatization hike to the ridge behind the lodge. I got to the ridge and then followed it to about 4800m. As I was hiking the ridge, I met Chris, a Chef from Dubai that was hiking with his guide. As we were hiking, the weather came in and light snow started to fall. As we got higher, it became quite foggy, but I wasn't too worry about route finding as we were just following the ridge (and Chris had his guide). Meanwhile, the rest of the group was attending a talk about Altitude Sickness at the local hospital. The hospital is the only one in this area and it's manned by a British couple. They are volunteers and their rotation last 2 months.

During dinner, I talked to some of the other people of the group. One of them was a polish climber that was leading a small group to Island Peak. He told us that he has summited Everest a few years ago and that he now leads groups to Kilimanjaro and Island Peak. I also learned that our guide, Raj, has been to the South Col of Everest at 7200m (climbing from Tibet).

Namche to Dole

2009-05-13T01:12:00.001-07:00

I woke up very early to get another try at seeing Everest. I walked up the view point on clear skies and sure enough, there was now a nice view (on hazy skies) of Everest (the round bump to the left).

After having breakfast, we headed on the trail to Dole. This is a long day which also marks the departure from comfortable accommodations to more "basic" one (from this point on, no more electricity, except for solar panels, or running water).

The most outstanding feature of this segment of the trail was the abundance of wildflowers, specially Rhododendrons. Following is a selection of some of the flowers we saw.

We also saw pheasants, mountain goats, and the elusive musk deer. But they were too far to get good pictures.

The weather started very nice, warm and sunny. However, as we got to our lunch spot, clouds started to gather. From our lunch spot, at 3975m, we could see KangTega (6783m) and Thamserku (6618m). Lunch was simple, fried rice with vegetables and a cup of Hot Lemon (hot water with lemon powder). During lunch, I got to talk to the owner of the lodge (who spoke good English) and he introduced me to his two sons.

The youngest one was just under a year old and he was carrying him around on a modified backpack. The oldest one was eating Nak (female Yak) cheese and playing with a stuffed sheep.

After the lunch stop, we started a long downhill towards the Dudh Kosi where we said good bye to the Everest Base Camp group (Intrepid organizes two trips in the area, one that goes directly to Everest bast camp, and another, the one I took, that detours to Gokyo before heading to Everest base camp. The first few days of the trip has the same itinerary, so we got to interact a lot with the other group.

From the bank of the Dudh Kosi, we started a long uphill to Dole. The trail in this area is amazing, with long staircases built into cliffs (there were handrails in some parts). As we were going uphill, it started to rain. The rain quickly changed to snow and it started accumulating. After an hour of snow, the weather started becoming better and we ended with blue skies! It shows how fast the weather can change in the mountain. The trail then eases off and drops to Dole, a beautiful village with a few lodges. We stayed in a simple lodge with no electricity and with the bathroom being just a hole on the ground.

But what makes this place special, it's the views of the mountains. The picture to the left is the view just outside my room at sunset.

Gokyo Ri and 4th Gokyo Lake

2009-05-13T01:05:00.001-07:00

Today we woke up early (6am) to climb Gokyo Ri. This climb is intended both as an acclimatization hike and as an opportunity of getting excellent views of Everest. Gokyo Ri would be an easy hike, if it were not for the 600m that you need to gain, the altitude where we are starting, and the endless series of false summits.

Each person of the group went at their own speed, with Paula and me sticking together and reaching the summit in 1 hour 36 minutes. The views from the top were amazing. We could clearly see Everest and Cho-Oyu plus many other peaks.

At the left is a picture of my guide and me pointing at Everest.

After a quick descend, I joined my Nepalese guide and porters on "bathing". This means, wearing thin thermal underwear and washing with luke-warm water that was heated by the sun. It was nice to clean my hair and shave.

After bathing, we had an early lunch and I went for a solo walk to 4th lake. It took me just 45 minutes to get there and I was very tempted to continue to 5th lake, but that would probably put me too close to sunset for comfort. The lake was very nice, up in the mountains and surrounded by high peaks.

After returning to the lodge, I enjoyed dinner with a view of a nice sunset and then retired to my room to catch up with my blog. My guess is that I wont be able to publish anything until we return to Namche, about 8 days from now.

So far, I'm doing very well at elevation. Going up slowly and doing acclimatization hikes have worked very well for me. Although I'm carrying Diamox (and I'm planning to take it if needed), I haven't feel the need of taking it. So far, I just had had two small headaches which were solved by taking one ibuprofen pill. The only thing that concerns me a bit is cold. I was surprised about how cold the weather has been and by the occasional snow fall.

Namche, rest day

2009-05-02T02:03:00.001-07:00

Today I woke up very early to try to get some pictures of the mountains. I was rewarded by amazing views of the face of the Kongde (6187m, 20,298ft) towering more than 2800 meters above the town of Namche. I later learned that this is considered a very hard peak and that it's seldom climbed. Different than most peaks in the area is more of a climb than a scramble and therefore requires not only mountaineering, but also rock climbing skills.

Today is market day. The Namche market is the biggest market in the area and Sherpa people come from faraway places to trade there. The market is quite compact, but an incredible variety of goods are offered. Everything from produce to hiking boots is sold here.

Trading was fast and we could already see some heavily loaded porters carrying the goods that they bought in the market to higher towns. By looking at them, one can understand why prices go up as you go up the mountains. A bottle of water in Kathmandu is only 15 Rupees, in Lukla and Phakding goes to 50. In Namche is already 100 Rupees. Farther up, I'm sure it will be a lot more expensive.

After coming back from the market, we had breakfast and we went from an acclimatization hike to the Namche airstrip. Our first stop was the Everest view point.

This picture is not a very good picture, but it's the first time that we are seeing Everest. Everest is the round bump at the left that is half covered with clouds. The prominent peak to the right is Lhotse. I'll have more opportunities of photographing Everest, so hopefully, I'll get a better picture than this later.

Next to the view point is the museum. The museum itself is worth a visit with authentic Sherpa paintings (mostly religious in nature), some description of the local flora and fauna, and quite a bit of history of mountaineering.

In a corner of the museum, there is authentic clothing used by Tenzing Norgay in one of his Everest climbs. The museum guide turned to be a climber, resting for his next climb. He has been all the way to Camp IV and he hopes to summit Everest one day.

From the museum, we took the steep uphill towards the Namche airstrip. This airstrip is used only for helicopter landings, although in the past it was used by airplanes. Plans to extend the airtrip to allow Twin Otter planes (line the ones going to Lukla) encountered strong opposition from Lukla and Phakding and were abandoned after a strike that closed the Anapurna and Gokyo circuits. While we were resting at the airtrip, a rescue helicopter, headed to Everest Basecamp, stopped for refueling. A sign of how hazardous Everest is.

While at the tea house next to the strip, we also saw Yaks for the first time. This huge animals are very important as higher elevation, not only for transportation, but also for food (meat, cheese, and butter), and fuel (Yak droppings are burnt). They don't seem to be very happy animals, and our guides kept a very healthy distance from them. We were warned about given them a lot of space, never touching them, and always standing on the mountain side of the trail when they are passing.

The rest of the day, we just relaxed in the lodge, went shopping, check the Internet , and played cards. Tomorrow is a walking day. We are heading to Dole (4040m, 13,245ft). Although, not far, it's a lot of ups and downs, we will be hard at this elevation.

Phakding to Namche

2009-05-02T01:56:00.001-07:00

We woke up early today to start our hike from Phakding to Namche. The hike takes about 6 hours and it goes from 8,661ft (2640m) to 11,319ft (3450m). The hike starts with beautiful views of the mountains, hiking next to fields of potatoes and garlic. During the first half of the hike, the trail follows Dudh Kosi (the milky river) and it crosses it on suspension bridges 7 times. These are excellent bridges used both by people and animals. Unfortunately, the weather was worsening, so the views of the mountains were quickly disappearing.

By midday, we arrived to the entrance of Sagamartha National Park. Sagamartha is the modern name given to Everest by Nepali people (it's newer than Everest) and translate to "forehead touching the sky". At the park entrance, our trekking permit was checked and we visited the small museum. An interesting chart shows that 30,599 people visited the park last year (most of them in March, 3588, April, 4661, September, 2135, October, 9260, and November, 4830). It also shows a 15% drop this year for the March/April season.

From the entrance of the park, it was a short walk to the village of Jorsale (2,775m) where we had lunch. This village is the last one before Namche. After Jorsale, the trail crosses the river one more time and heads on a heavily eroded river bank to the high suspension bridge at the confluence of the Bhote Kosi and the Imja Khola (that makes the Dudh Kosi).

This is an amazing suspension bridge built by the Swiss in 1989. It's incredibly high above the river with incredibly large anchors. Definitely built to last. From there it was a long uphill walk to Namche. The following day was market day in the town, so the trail was very busy with porters carrying amazing loads.

There were also a number of herders getting goats and cows to the market. The trail was very crowded so we were moving slowly as we had to step aside to let cows pass many times or we had to walk slowly behind porters until the trail was wide enough to pass. By that time, the weather has worsen and it started to rain a little bit which unfortunately meant that the Everest viewpoint, our first opportunity to see the mountain, was viewless. After passing a view of a faraway waterfall, we finally arrived at Namche. A very nice city built around a bowl with amazing views of the mountains around it.

The city caters to both tourists and locals. With many store selling "North Face" and "Everest Mountain Hardwear" gear at incredible prices. A "North Face" labeled down jacket goes for about $20. A synthetic shirt for about $5. Buyer beware, the zipper of a North Face fleece bought in Kathmandu by one of the people in our group disintegrated in just one day. Not the usual North Face quality.

After checking in the lodge, I went for a walk around the city. The streets tend to be confusing as everything is built in a semi circle (following the natural bowl in which the city was built) and many streets don't connect. Eventually, I was able to make it back to my lodge where I had a nice dinner of garlic soup (believed by Nepali to help with acclimatization) and fried potatoes with vegetables. Nepali food is not particularly sophisticated but it's filling and provides the carbs needed at this altitude. I also discovered that candy bars are readily available so I stocked up for the rest of the trip (a Bounty or Snicker bar goes for about $0.65 for foreigners).

Tomorrow is an acclimatization day. We are doing a day hike higher up where we are hoping to get a view of Everest if the weather cooperates.

Fly to Lukla and trek to Phakding

2009-05-02T01:54:00.001-07:00

We left Kathmandu very early in the morning to catch our 6:30am or so flight. After going through lots of security checks, we boarded our twin otter propeller plane. To my surprise, this 16 people plane, had a flight attendant that distributed candy and cotton balls (to be used as earplugs). The flight was pretty exciting as we clear passes really close to the ground, and we were surrounded by high granite walls on both sides. But the end was the best when we landed in what the guide claims is the "shortest runway of the world", a very steep uphill runway that starts on a cliff and ends on a rock wall. Everybody clapped after landing...

Welcome to the Tukla, the airport of the Himalayas. After the chaos of getting our bags, we went to town.

Tukla is a big town catering to trekkers heading to the many trails on the area as well as expeditions heading to the high peaks of the Himalayas. Anything can be bought there at 3x the prices of Kathmandu. Also, many cafes and all the convenience of home can be found too, including a "Starbucks Coffee". Rumors are that another one is opening at the other end of the town...

After breakfast in Tukla, we started our trek towards Phakding. This is an easy day as sometimes the flights from Kathmandu are delayed because of weather (ours got delayed 30 minutes which is considered unusually good). The trail is very good and it passes many Moni rocks, small temples, and praying wheels. Next to the trails, there are many fields where farmers grow potatoes, garlic, and onions. It's obvious that this trail is the lifeline of this regions with lots of porters carrying from food supply, to small refrigerators, to a one-foot diameter 12-foot long iron cast pipe.

After just 3 hours of walking, we arrived at Phakding which could also be name Lodge City. This is the first stop for many treks so there are lots of lodges. Being in the low season, most of them are closed which gives the town a strange empty feeling. The guide told us that during high season, every single room is taken and that sometimes lodge keepers transform the dining rooms into dormitories.

Accommodations are very nice, I could even call the luxurious. Being the only male in the group, I got my private cabin overlooking the river with a private toilet (no sink), After lunch, I decided to go for a walk. I found an old bridge that got me across the "Milky River" and from there I found my way to the river bank.

This is an cold, fast, glacial river that derives its name from the color of the water, a whitish tone given by the sediments that were carried from the glacier. After practicing some stone skipping and relaxing, it was time for dinner. Options included Pizza, water buffalo steak, and apple pie; but I opted (like most of the group) for the traditional Nepalese lentils, rice, and curry vegetable dinner. As we were having dinner, it started to rain. This is good as it will clear the air and improve the views for tomorrow.

Tomorrow, we are heading to Namcche, the Sherpa capital, were we will spend 2 days for acclimatization. It's a longer walk, 6-7 hours, and we may get the first views of Everest in our way there.

Second day in Kathmandu

2009-04-29T08:01:00.001-07:00

This morning I went for an early walk to Swayambhunath Stupa, commonly known as the Monkey Temple. Armed with a hand-drawn map and a sense of adventure, I decided to walk there rather than take a taxi. Kathmandu wakes up late, so at 8am, the streets were calm and pleasant. In the way there, I met a very nice monk that told me about Nepalese politics and how the Maoist grabed power and changed the country from a monarchy to a democracy.

After a 25 minutes walk, I was at the bottom of the steep steps that lead to the temple. The temple is well known by the large troop of monkeys that patrol it. The monkeys are a pleasure to look at, jumping all over, showing their climbing skills by using the praying flags and making use of the many pools in the lower part of the temple. They can be aggressive towards people with food, but as I didn't have any, they just ignored me.

The temple complex is bigger than it looks, with several levels, many shrines, and a monastery. In one of the shrines, a flag seller invited me to enter Shantipur which translate as the House of Peace. The temple is just a locked door surrounded by frescos. The flag seller told me that the door leads to two other locked doors that protect an underground chamber where a Tantric master lives since the 8th century. The Tantric master keeps alive thanks to his meditation techniques. He also has control over the weather, so in times of drought, the king will enter the chamber and ask the master for a mandala (scroll) to command the weather. The moment that the mandala is shown to the sky, clouds will gather and it will start to rain.

After visiting the temple, I came back to the hotel for a bit of a rest. The walk back was very different as it was time for kids to go to school, so they were thousands of children in school uniforms walking the streets.

Next I went for a "random walk" on the medieval streets south of Thamel. It was an amazing experience and a reminder of what makes Kathmandu an interesting city. Just around every corner there is a shrine. Very few are signed, but the ones that I was able to located on my book date from as further back as the 5th century. The sculptures in some of the shrines would be major pieces of art in any western museum.

After finding my way out of the maze of streets, I headed back again to the hotel for my introductory meeting with the Intrepid group with whom I'll be spending the next 2 week... It turned that it will be 4 Australian girls and me.

After the meeting, we headed to KEEP, a NGO that tries to minimize the impact of trekkers on the mountain environment. Most of the presentation was a rehash of Minimum Impact but they were some interesting comments about Sherpa and Nepalese culture (never point with your feet, don't walk on any "clean" surface, receive or hands things using both hands or your right hand).

I then headed to Durbar square. One of the main attractions of Kathmandu. This is an amazing square that reminds me of a square in a medieval European city. From the maze of tiny streets, you suddenly arrive to a large square with multiple temples. If you don't look Nepalese, you will be asked to pay about $4 to tour the square (if you have a passport picture, you can trade the ticket for a visitor pass that is valid for the length of your stay; or without a picture, you can get a 3 day pass for any three consecutive days of your choosing).

I hired a local guide that gave me an excellent description of each of the temples and a rare sighting of the Living Goddess. The current Living Goddess is a little girl just 4 years old. She is believed to be the incarnation of the goddess Taleju and she is selected by testing her under 32 different criteria, including beauty, intelligence, and courage. Her status of Living Goddess ends when she reverts to be just a human by having her first menstruation.

Tomorrow I'm heading to the mountains with a very early flight to Lukla and a 3-hour hike to Phakding. I'm not sure about Internet access during the next two weeks, but I'll update the blog as often as I can.

Kathmandu

2009-04-28T07:23:00.001-07:00

Namaste. Welcome to Nepal. I finally arrived...

My flight from Bangkok landed on time in Kathmandu. I didn't get the Nepalese visa in advance, so I had to go to the Visa On Arrival line. Despite the warnings about long waits, it wasn't too bad, it took just under 20 minutes. Something that nobody mentions is that in addition to the $40 fee, you need a passport picture to get the visa (fortunately I brought several passport pictures as I knew they were required for the trekking permit). At the airport, a van from the hotel was waiting for me and after a longish wait for three other passengers that were in the same flight, we headed into Kathmandu. My first impression wasn't that great. Kathmandu is an extremely polluted, dirty, and noisy city. Motorcycles and cars sound their horn all the time and the lack of sidewalks mean that you are surrounded by a pandemonium of people, bikes, motorcycles, cars, cows, and dogs. Lonely planet warns about a sensory overload when arriving at Kathmandu, they were not kidding.

After checking in at the Kathmandu Guest House (a historical lodge with a lot of character), I headed out for a walking tour. I stopped at the Kaiser Library which is an old building with historical paintings and photographs from the 19th century and early 20th century. The place is a fascinating portrait of Nepal under the colonial influence of Great Britain. From there, I was walking to one of the temples, when I was "approached" by a buddhist scholar that wanted to show me his temple. I tried to get rid of him, but he stuck to me as I was walking to Thahiti Tole (which turned to be his temple). He started explaining things to me and he turned to be a pretty competent guide, so I hired him for the rest of the day (he asked initially $80, we ended agreeing on $20).

With my guide, I visited Bouddhanath, the largest stupa in Nepal. The place is remarkable as a tiny entrance opens into a huge courtyard with the stupa in the middle. A stupa is a large dome, topped by a representation of Nirvana with the eyes of Buddha painted on it.

Then, we went to Panchadeval, a Hindu temple to Lord Shiva. This is a very strange place. There was a cremation going on by the river while monkeys were frolicking in the water. In a different area, Holy men were sitting around and they were very willing to start a conversation with anybody who cares to listen. There is also a fertility temple with very explicit wood carvings and hundreds of Linga where people wishing for fertility make offerings of rice and milk.

We finished the day by going to Kopan Monastery, famous because it was founded by the Dalai Lama and for being the home of more than 10,000 Buddha. The monastery is a working place of meditation and study full of monks on colorful robes. The monastery overlooks Kathmandu and it would have been a very nice view if it were not for the thick layer of pollution covering the city.

We then headed back to my hotel where I was surprised by the taxi driver turning off the meter and starting to re-negotiate the cost of the ride due to the fuel shortage in the city (they were actually hundreds of cars lined up waiting to fill gas in every gas station we passed). To my surprise, he started at $60. I ended paying about $30 which according to the hotel desk is about $5 more than it should have been, so I didn't do too badly (I'm a horrible negotiator).

Overall a pretty nice day and a great introduction to Kathmandu and its very rich heritage.

Departure Day

2009-04-27T00:50:00.001-07:00

After all the preparation, departure day finally arrived. It's kind of cool to to be blogging from seat 30A at 35000ft. Too bad I have to wait until I land in Japan to post this.

Today is going to be a long day... 11 hours to Japan, 2 hours layover, 6.5 hours to Bangkok, 11 hours layover, and then finally 4 hours to Kathmandu.

Some people asked me how did I pack for the next 5 weeks. My packing list is simple as I'm trying to travel with just a carry-on (an REI Grand Tour pack). Here is a list of what I'm bringing:

Travel Documents
Travel books: Trekking the Himalayas, Moon Thailand, and Frommer's Japan. Plus some selected copies from Lonely Planet and Hiking in Japan.
Clothing for 7 days. I'm planning on doing laundry.
Sunglasses, sun hat, and flip flops
Warm sweater, thermal underwear, and a warm hat for the mountains.
Toiletries
Sleeping bag and sleeping mat (I debated long about bringing them). Hiking shoes. Iodine pills.
HP Netbook for blogging
Electronics: Android Phone, Garmin Vista, SPOT Locator.
Photography: Canon SD850, Canon Rebel XSI and lots of memory cards.
An assortment of cables and adapters to keep everything charged (Japan uses US-like plugs, Thailand uses Euro-like plugs, and Nepal uses India-like plugs)

Next update when I get to Nepal.

My itinerary

2009-04-24T13:09:00.001-07:00

Google has a wonderful sabbatical program that allows employees to take 2 months off every 5 years. This is an unpaid leave, but all the other benefits continue. I passed the 5 year mark, so I decided to take advantage of it. Very soon, I'll be leaving for a trip and I'm planning to keep this blog updated with my progress. Here is my tentative itinerary:

Apr 24: Last day at work
Apr 26-Apr 29: in the way to Kathmandu
Apr 29-May 19: trekking in Nepal
May 19-May 28: Thailand
May 28-Jun 05: Japan
Jun 05- Jun 08: Back to the San Francisco Bay Area
Jun 08 - Jun 23: Galapagos
Jun 23 - Jun 28: Diving with my brother in Key West
June 29: Back to work!

If you want to know where I'm heading, don't forget to subscribe for updates or follow the blog.