Wowsers!! I really left the blog hanging! Basically we left Thailand (after having some custom clothes tailored and having thai massages- I would highly recommend both!) and flew into Hong Kong. HK was massive and full of skyscraper sized apartment buildings. Plenty of shopping around too. We treated ourselves to a higher end hotel...Steve was still unable to eat much. We were mentally and physically exhausted and began arranging our flights home. We decided to not venture up to Northern China as we had had enough- enough haggling, enough language barriers, enough temples, enough illness- we knew we were ready to get home! I was an emotional wreck- happy to be getting home but crying that the trip was over. Looking back, I think my tears were tears of relief. Steve couldn't physically go on. He lost so much muscle in his arms and shoulders that he was in constant pain. I would venture around HK on my own to check out malls and the streets while he rested in the room. We went to Shenzhen in China for a day. The vendors grabbed me and yelled and it was complete chaos. Steve bargained for a cute wallet for me and I finally got a knock off Jimmy Choo purse. steve got himself an electric razor. The day here confirmed our decision of not having the drive to get to the North.
Let me tell you that every airline we dealt with on this trip was fantastic- except for the one and only Air Canada. They are horrible!!! Nothing but a run around with them and then paying dearly to change our flight from San Fran to Vancouver.
We were more than happy to be home- and still are! We are blessed to live in Canada- but seeing what we saw was completely amazing! A day hasn't passed that I haven't thought about or reflected on our most amazing adventure!
While sick in bed in Thailand, I found our 'dream house' on the MLS. As soon as we got to Vernon we went and checked it out (thankfully it was still for sale!) and we have purchased it! Perhaps living out of the back pack for so long made us a little nutty and we were anxious to plant some roots!
We are back at work now and Steves muscle pain has disappeared and his bum has reappeared! He still has muscle to gain but he is feeling and looking much better.
Thank you all for following us through the blog. Thank you for the emails. And thanks for putting up with poor phone connections when we called.
I'm still trying to find the words to summarize our trip. I get the tears in my eyes. For now, what I know for sure is if you get the chance to live the dream- do it!
Over and Out,
Love BJ
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Wildlife minus the Wild
Weak and tired, we make our way back to the Banger. We pay twice as much to take a “VIP” bus overnight- this way we get bigger seats and a bathroom on board. It is worth it! We had planned to head to Angkor Wat (Cambodia) from here...we gathered information from several travel agencies and began planning. We have concluded that we have nothing left. No more drive. No energy. We are tired after walking short distances, our bowels remain completely unpredictable. We write off Angkor, the hassle of the visa, the 12 hour ride on a mud road, the landmines...we just aren’t up for the challenge and use our better judgement not to go. We will get there someday!!
I can let go of Angkor, but I hold tight to Chiang Mai! We take a 14 hour overnight train ride (equipped with bathrooms) and arrive to Thailands second largest city. Chiang Mai doesn’t feel like a city of 2 million, there are no skyscrapers and few modern buildings. We quickly find a hotel and across the street is a little cafe with a wide selection of international food. I find french toast with the option of ‘maple syrup’ or honey. I was soooo excited!! Although the syrup wasn’t the real deal, it was a taste of home :)
I really wanted to see some wildlife here in Thailand- I mean the cockroaches are really cute and all but I wanted elephants! So, we hired a car and driver for a day and headed out to see wildlife, but not in the wild. Chiang Mai has a bunch of “camps” or “schools” for animals. I don’t know where the “reserves” or “sanctuaries” are- I’m sure they must exist somewhere, but with limited time we are driven to the camps. First stop: Elephants. I think elephants are one of the neatest creatures! The size is unreal and the dexterity with the trunk is fascinating! You can’t even hear them coming- they are able to walk silently! The only thing I don’t like are the eyes, they have these beady yellow jungle eyes. There are over 70 elephants at the camp. They used to be used as working animals in Thailand but that industry has diminished. Now, its all about tourism. At home we would never feed animals (only squirrels and whiskey jacks) but this is Thailand and there are signs encouraging visitors to “please feed the elephants” and little stands selling bunches of banana’s and sugar cane. I guess it helps with the upkeep? So of course I’m going to feed them and Steve buys us some snacks for them. Steve is a logical thinker and prepares the food away from the corral of hungry elephants. This is smart, during the visit we watch as elephants steal entire bunches of banana’s out of the hands of unsuspecting feeders! They just shove a whole bunch right in their mouths! Its crazy! The bananas are smaller here, but the bunches are made up of at least a dozen bananas! We watch the trainers wash the elephants in a river and then there is an elephant parade/performance. This is where the elephant visit gets weird. Eating and bathing are natural kinds of things, but seeing elephants do trained things is strange. They play soccer and throw darts, they paint abstract art, they bow and wave...its neat to see how intelligent and trainable they are, but at the same time so completely unnatural. We get photos with the elephants- they smell like wet rags- and we say good bye.
Next stop: Monkey School. Although we’ve seen many monkeys during our trip we choose this stop because the other option was the snake center. Steve absolutely hates snakes so we went to see the “tree rats”. I saw some tiny monkeys in Ko Samui that looked like little stuffed animals and I hoped to see some of them here. But the only ones of this breed I saw were adults in a cage, I hadn’t realized the ones in the south were babies and that made me sad to wonder what happened with the mothers...I thought the elephants were trained to be unnatural but the monkeys were far more out there! They put on a show where the monkeys do human things like lift weights, ride bikes, play basket ball...all the while on a leash. These monkeys looked like little tiny people dressed in monkey suits. They ask for a volunteer from the audience, so I go. They tie ropes on my wrists and the monkey comes to untie me. They say “don’t make eye contact, he doesn’t like that” so then I was nervous. The monkey had soft wet fingers and was quick to untie me. Later he sat on my lap for a photo- they say “don’t touch him, he might pee on you” so then I was nervous. There were at least a dozen other monkeys at the school, sadly they were chained to posts in the ground and just ran in circles. There were signs explaining “monkeys can be dangerous and therefore must be chained, we untie them at 5pm” but I think it was a poor set up. I bought banana’s and tossed one to each monkey. Although the monkeys appeared ready to catch bananas three of them were so out of sorts or lacking hand and eye coordination that the tossed banana smacked them right on their heads. We saw some three week old babies in a small cage- no mothers in site...we didn’t like this place. Although monkeys can be brats and jump into your rooftop cafe and steal stuff off the table and run away, I would prefer to see them anywhere but in this school.
Final stop: Tiger Kingdom. The tiger kingdom seems like a nice place. We have lunch on a patio that overlooks a tiger den housing 5 large tigers. The tigers are playing in a pond, sleeping in the grass, and posing with tourists. Thats right, you can hang out in a tiger den here. Apparently the health and safety regulations regarding predatory animals are different here- or maybe non-existent. Either way, I am ready to take advantage of this rare opportunity while Steve watches from the safety of the balcony. I’m not ready to visit the rather super sized kitties, and Steve doesn’t want me going anywhere near them, so I head for the little ones. The ‘kittens’ are 5 months old and are already around the 200lbs mark. Its mid afternoon and the baby tigers are sleepy from the heat -phew! I was feeling confident before going in the den, but when I was actually in a fenced area with a pack of 5 brother tigers I began to feel a little vulnerable. There were tiger keepers in there with me of course, but we all know kitties like to play- and play can be quick and unpredictable! Anyway, there was an Aussie working there, I asked how he got a job here (ie: qualifications?) and he said “oh I just showed up and they hired me- do you want some work?” Yikes. The tigers were amazing! They are beautiful! The fur was coarse and their paws were bigger than my hands. The sleepiest tiger in the bunch was named Oliver! The Aussie grabbed Oliver by the front paws and slid him into my lap. Apparently a tiger’s body temperature is 2 degrees higher than humans- so little Oliver was one heck of a heating pad! This experience was awesome and absolutely unforgettable!
Later that night I enjoy some lemon meringue pie and Steve has a peanut butter cookie at the cafe, then we wander around the night market. I buy a couple necklaces and a teak elephant- which doesn’t have beady yellow eyes :) Our time here was short, tiring, and wonderful! Only three days in Chaing Mai and we are back on the train for Bangkok.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
A Lesson in Giardia (aka Beaver Fever)
The mere mention of the word “Giardia” can send a shiver down any hikers spine. We’ve always been diligent about treating water while out in the woods (ok, MOST of the time!!) and after experiencing Giardia first hand we will take this lil parasite more seriously. We’ve learnt a lot about this illness and its effects while in Ko Samui (aka Ko Sam pooie)- this may not be a pleasant update (I can assure you we are fine) but it is what we have been dealing with on this part of our Journey.
Ok, we left Railay and came to the Island of Ko Samui which is on the other side of Thailand. The day of travel was long as we made our way via long boat, bus, ferry, and then pick-up truck taxi. We found a room (well, the room found us) and conked out. We are on the busiest beach on the Island- Chaweng. There are many people and shops and restaurants and the beach itself has nice white sand and blue water.
We woke up and Steve was not feeling well and he began having the extremely watery stools that we both experienced in Bangkok. Oh man, that again? So, feeling fine, I set out on a mission to get Steve some goodies and was even planning to sign up for a tour of the island while Steve rested. I discussed the matter with a pharmacist and she insisted he needs electrolytes and good bacteria in his belly. I agreed however I was initially after some antibiotics. She thought that would be worse for him, so I agreed we’d try this other regime. All we could do was wait and see what would happen, but all morning he was going, and by the afternoon I too was experiencing our Bangkok bowel problem. So, we knew it wasn’t just travelers diarrhea and considering the places we’ve recently been we looked into giardia which we’d joked about it in Bangkok.
With any infection, signs and symptoms vary from person to person and each of us were exhibiting most of them. We both suffered from the loose stools, severe stomach cramping, gas, bloating and a lack of appetite. We became extremely fatigued. Steve developed a rash that looked something like acne all over his back, and I had the addition of yucky nausea. There are smells in the hospital that make me gag, but I have never gagged at my own smell- until now. The smell is unbelievably horrendous which sent up another red flag.
I read about the drugs for treating giardia and headed to three different pharmacies in search of the most effective one. Not available. But I found a pharmacist who knew what giardia was and seemed really knowledgeable on the subject and treatment. She gave me what we know as Flagyl (the antibiotic) at home which is effective in 85-90% of cases. She suggested no milk, fruit juice, or alcohol. We spent most of the next 3 days in bed/bathroom. It was awful- our bodies were aching from being so immobile. We were getting cabin fever and on one day Steve was bugging me so badly I told him to write a journal. Not one for typing, he made a few video journal entries where he accidently referred to his giardia as “gonnorhea”- it was pretty funny. I don’t know if it was the infection or the high flagyl dosing which made my stomach cramps even worse. I also had the lovely side effect of a metallic taste in my mouth, like chewing on tin foil. So, forcing oneself to eat while nauseated to lessen the cramping turns out to be quite the task! Mind over matter...
We started going less to the bathroom which gave us courage to venture out of the room for more than a few minutes. Steve decided to order a milkshake, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. But it caused him to spend the rest of the day curled up in a ball due to indigestion and stomach cramping. We didn’t realize that the pharmacists “no milk” warning wasn’t to do with an adverse reaction to the antibiotic (we actually give it with milk in the hospital to ease stomach pain), but because in many people the damage caused by giardia in the small intestine can lead to lactose intolerance for up to a month following infection.
Some of you have commented on Steve’s apparent weight loss in recent photos, good observation, due to Giardia he has lost 20lbs! I am down 15lbs, but it hasn’t been rapid like Steve’s weight loss, so hopefully its not giardia related and I can keep er off! lol.
Giardia can be contracted from water (where it can live actively for 3 months!), food, and even surfaces! It takes only 10 spores to lead to infection. Steve believes we picked up the parasite in India- his opinion is biased though because he hated it there- but it is a strong possibility. More animal poops can get into water and onto surfaces during monsoon, and the sanitation in India was poor. The incubation period can be up to a month, so I wonder if we got it in Nepal...we treated our water on the trek, but who knows how long water was boiled for for our daily hot lemons! Maybe from brushing our teeth with tap water...We will never know where we got it and I guess it really doesn’t matter anyway.
Its been a week now since all this started. Sadly, we saw very little of this island but on the bright side the weather hasn’t really been that great. We did have a nice walk on the beach together on one afternoon and Steve’s rash is getting better... We are feeling a little more energetic and have been eating one meal at lunch (usually a sandwhich) and then having a snack for dinner. We leave tomorrow for Bangkok. I’ve been praying every night for this to clear up so we can enjoy this part of the world a little more. But we are very thankful it hit us here and not in a place where our time was limited or we were out trekking! We should know in a couple weeks if the drugs worked...cross your fingers for us!
And remember to treat your water!!
Ok, we left Railay and came to the Island of Ko Samui which is on the other side of Thailand. The day of travel was long as we made our way via long boat, bus, ferry, and then pick-up truck taxi. We found a room (well, the room found us) and conked out. We are on the busiest beach on the Island- Chaweng. There are many people and shops and restaurants and the beach itself has nice white sand and blue water.
We woke up and Steve was not feeling well and he began having the extremely watery stools that we both experienced in Bangkok. Oh man, that again? So, feeling fine, I set out on a mission to get Steve some goodies and was even planning to sign up for a tour of the island while Steve rested. I discussed the matter with a pharmacist and she insisted he needs electrolytes and good bacteria in his belly. I agreed however I was initially after some antibiotics. She thought that would be worse for him, so I agreed we’d try this other regime. All we could do was wait and see what would happen, but all morning he was going, and by the afternoon I too was experiencing our Bangkok bowel problem. So, we knew it wasn’t just travelers diarrhea and considering the places we’ve recently been we looked into giardia which we’d joked about it in Bangkok.
With any infection, signs and symptoms vary from person to person and each of us were exhibiting most of them. We both suffered from the loose stools, severe stomach cramping, gas, bloating and a lack of appetite. We became extremely fatigued. Steve developed a rash that looked something like acne all over his back, and I had the addition of yucky nausea. There are smells in the hospital that make me gag, but I have never gagged at my own smell- until now. The smell is unbelievably horrendous which sent up another red flag.
I read about the drugs for treating giardia and headed to three different pharmacies in search of the most effective one. Not available. But I found a pharmacist who knew what giardia was and seemed really knowledgeable on the subject and treatment. She gave me what we know as Flagyl (the antibiotic) at home which is effective in 85-90% of cases. She suggested no milk, fruit juice, or alcohol. We spent most of the next 3 days in bed/bathroom. It was awful- our bodies were aching from being so immobile. We were getting cabin fever and on one day Steve was bugging me so badly I told him to write a journal. Not one for typing, he made a few video journal entries where he accidently referred to his giardia as “gonnorhea”- it was pretty funny. I don’t know if it was the infection or the high flagyl dosing which made my stomach cramps even worse. I also had the lovely side effect of a metallic taste in my mouth, like chewing on tin foil. So, forcing oneself to eat while nauseated to lessen the cramping turns out to be quite the task! Mind over matter...
We started going less to the bathroom which gave us courage to venture out of the room for more than a few minutes. Steve decided to order a milkshake, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. But it caused him to spend the rest of the day curled up in a ball due to indigestion and stomach cramping. We didn’t realize that the pharmacists “no milk” warning wasn’t to do with an adverse reaction to the antibiotic (we actually give it with milk in the hospital to ease stomach pain), but because in many people the damage caused by giardia in the small intestine can lead to lactose intolerance for up to a month following infection.
Some of you have commented on Steve’s apparent weight loss in recent photos, good observation, due to Giardia he has lost 20lbs! I am down 15lbs, but it hasn’t been rapid like Steve’s weight loss, so hopefully its not giardia related and I can keep er off! lol.
Giardia can be contracted from water (where it can live actively for 3 months!), food, and even surfaces! It takes only 10 spores to lead to infection. Steve believes we picked up the parasite in India- his opinion is biased though because he hated it there- but it is a strong possibility. More animal poops can get into water and onto surfaces during monsoon, and the sanitation in India was poor. The incubation period can be up to a month, so I wonder if we got it in Nepal...we treated our water on the trek, but who knows how long water was boiled for for our daily hot lemons! Maybe from brushing our teeth with tap water...We will never know where we got it and I guess it really doesn’t matter anyway.
Its been a week now since all this started. Sadly, we saw very little of this island but on the bright side the weather hasn’t really been that great. We did have a nice walk on the beach together on one afternoon and Steve’s rash is getting better... We are feeling a little more energetic and have been eating one meal at lunch (usually a sandwhich) and then having a snack for dinner. We leave tomorrow for Bangkok. I’ve been praying every night for this to clear up so we can enjoy this part of the world a little more. But we are very thankful it hit us here and not in a place where our time was limited or we were out trekking! We should know in a couple weeks if the drugs worked...cross your fingers for us!
And remember to treat your water!!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Back to Nature in Railay
Railay is a laid back and we take it easy. Steve doesn’t get his appetite back and is still irregular...I am feeling ok. We spend time hiking, walking the beach, and in the pool. We hire a climbing guide for a half day of climbing. There are over 700 bolted routes in the limestone cliffs around Railay. The climbing is fun- there are cool hand holds (in cracks and rock knobs) but I struggle with the foot holds. We are climbing on well used extremely popular routes and I wonder if that causes the rock to be smooth and shiney in spots- or maybe its the humidity making me slip...or the shoes...I don’t know! I’m far from pro and Steve scolds me when I classify myself as beginner. Despite his weakness Steve has a few rad climbs (yeah I said Rad- I think thats pro talk) he even starts one climb on an overhang. I am proud of my 90ft climb which started as a 5.8 and ended as a 5.10! I had a glorious moment on this climb when I lost my hold, fell, and landed on another climbers head. We didn't make heavy contact and I managed to get off his route- but it was rather embarrassing- the rocks were full of other climbers. Its a good time and we don’t meet any snakes in the rock cracks- but Steve thought he felt one in a hold and almost fell off the rock.
We want to see more of the area. There are boat excursions to surrounding islands (including Ko Phi Phi) and to patches of coral for snorkeling. I don’t know what possesses us to sign up for such trips- I don’t do so well on boats and Steve doesn’t like salt water- but I like marine life and islands. The speed boat holds 30 passengers and the guide was awful. He had a strong accent and would yell at people and get flustered when people didn’t follow his instructions (but we couldn’t understand him and many passengers were ESL). The excursion sites were fantastic though! The water was clear turquoise and full of beautiful fish. The water was warm and I felt like I was soaking in an epsom salt bath which was great considering my upper body was aching from the climbing! The guide brought rotten bread along and threw it in the sea causing hundreds of fish to surround the boat- so we didn’t have to venture far to see them, but then I got worried a fish frenzy would attract some larger fish with large teeth that could potentially mistaken my thigh for bread (my tan is weak). We visited some islands and then had a wavey ride to Ko Phi Phi for lunch. I was of course wearing my handy anti-nausea bracelets, but I got a little woozy. Despite being hungry, I only ate a small amount for lunch as a precaution. I laughed to myself when I realized my lunch of spag and pineapple were both delicacies in past vomiting experiences. We walked around Ko Phi Phi, it was pretty and had lots of shops and people. We boated to another beach and opted out of the off shore snorkeling. Ah, the dreaded boat ride back. It was an hour ride and the waves were definitely noticeable. I had befriended a British shipmate who luckily had a plastic bag with her. I chundered, but was really proud of my stealth barfing technique. I don’t think anyone would have noticed had it not dripped red barf drops all over my white towel. Steve offered me a headlamp and I just laughed.
As Steve forces food down with no appetite, I enjoy the great things available. Every morning I have muesli with fresh fruits and yogurt. The restaurants have BBQ’s every night, you choose fish of the day or chicken skewers. It comes with veggies, a potato, and a corn on the cob- all prepared on the BBQ. So delicious!! I feel bad for Steve who usually has no problem eating, he is losing weight and getting a little boney. Next destination- Ko Samui!
We want to see more of the area. There are boat excursions to surrounding islands (including Ko Phi Phi) and to patches of coral for snorkeling. I don’t know what possesses us to sign up for such trips- I don’t do so well on boats and Steve doesn’t like salt water- but I like marine life and islands. The speed boat holds 30 passengers and the guide was awful. He had a strong accent and would yell at people and get flustered when people didn’t follow his instructions (but we couldn’t understand him and many passengers were ESL). The excursion sites were fantastic though! The water was clear turquoise and full of beautiful fish. The water was warm and I felt like I was soaking in an epsom salt bath which was great considering my upper body was aching from the climbing! The guide brought rotten bread along and threw it in the sea causing hundreds of fish to surround the boat- so we didn’t have to venture far to see them, but then I got worried a fish frenzy would attract some larger fish with large teeth that could potentially mistaken my thigh for bread (my tan is weak). We visited some islands and then had a wavey ride to Ko Phi Phi for lunch. I was of course wearing my handy anti-nausea bracelets, but I got a little woozy. Despite being hungry, I only ate a small amount for lunch as a precaution. I laughed to myself when I realized my lunch of spag and pineapple were both delicacies in past vomiting experiences. We walked around Ko Phi Phi, it was pretty and had lots of shops and people. We boated to another beach and opted out of the off shore snorkeling. Ah, the dreaded boat ride back. It was an hour ride and the waves were definitely noticeable. I had befriended a British shipmate who luckily had a plastic bag with her. I chundered, but was really proud of my stealth barfing technique. I don’t think anyone would have noticed had it not dripped red barf drops all over my white towel. Steve offered me a headlamp and I just laughed.
As Steve forces food down with no appetite, I enjoy the great things available. Every morning I have muesli with fresh fruits and yogurt. The restaurants have BBQ’s every night, you choose fish of the day or chicken skewers. It comes with veggies, a potato, and a corn on the cob- all prepared on the BBQ. So delicious!! I feel bad for Steve who usually has no problem eating, he is losing weight and getting a little boney. Next destination- Ko Samui!
Bangkok
How glorious it is to be in Bangkok! A modern clean city where we blend in and where honking is not part of driving! I see cats- lots of cats, which makes me happy because where there are cats there aren’t so many freaky packs of dogs...and malls are everywhere! Every corner has something to buy!
We plan to stay long enough to sort out our visa’s for China. Finding a foreign embassy in a foreign city isn’t the easiest mission but after two attempts we succeed. Our plan for a short stay in BKK is sabotaged by our bowels...ah yes, every travelers worry. Along the way we have had only a few incidents of minor bowel disturbance, but nothing like this. I won’t release the nasty details (for your sake) but it was three more days before we dared leave our room for any extended period. We alternated turns walking to 7-11 to buy essentials like water, yogurt, M&M’s, and oreo’s. We both became exhausted from not eating much and being a little dehydrated. Finally, things were looking ok and we booked out of our room. We went to the mall where toilets are cheap and clean and readily available- just incase! We were ok. We decide to take an overnight bus to the Southern province of Krabi. The bus terminal is another mall! Its awesome. The bus is a double decker and we are on the upper level in the front. Similar to Turkey, there is a stewardess who brings us drinks and snacks. A few hours into the 12 hour ride, we stop at a roadside diner. Steve isn’t hungry but I’m a little rumbly. I follow what everyone else is doing and find out that a thai dinner is included in our ticket. I sit at a table with 5 thai strangers and follow their lead. A server fills my bowl with a watery type of rice. In the middle of the table is a choice of four dishes to add to the water rice. There are boiled eggs cut in half, a plate of what appears to be some kind of sausage, a plate of a boiled leafy green, and little tiny fishes with their heads on still- clearly too small to cut off. I actually thought the fish were grasshoppers at first. I’m just happy with the rice and I avoid eye contact and stare at my bowl. I can feel them glancing at me. I look up- and one of the Thai men with a big smile and a friendly nod offers me the fish plate. Oh no. Oh man. I panic and take one medium sized fishy off the plate and put it in my rice and smile back at him. Its tiny but I can still distinctly make out its eyeballs. He is still watching me and so is that fish. I feel like everyone is watching (maybe I’m still paranoid from India). I put it in my mouth and get a shock of salt flavor! Whooo! Its also very hard and barely chewable. Maybe I was supposed to let it soak in the rice water. I get ‘er down without damaging my esophagus and smile at the man. The old lady beside me tries to fill my bowl with more rice. I make brief eye contact with a young guy and he must have been waiting for it because before I get the chance to look away he is passing me the eggs and urging me to try. Ok, its just an egg so I take it. Its still in half the shell and the technique seems to be to scoop it out and add it to the rice or just eat it with the spoon. I take a small scoop and eat it and almost have to spit it out! Its a salt ball too! But its horrible tasting. Thankfully the table is emptying and the bus is being reloaded and I leave the egg. We sleep a little and arrive to Krabi at 0700hrs.
We are conveniently dropped off at a tourist office and immediately being assisted with tickets and a place to stay and all the usual stuff. The guy has a ride for us to the pier for 500baht- this is for five of us as we have joined forces with a czech and two irish. We are loading the packs and I think back to Bangkok where we took a few cabs and they were VERY cheap. Hmmm...this doesn’t seem right. “Steve we are paying too much, the pier is only 4km away” and he thinks about that and agrees. So does the Irish girl and we talk to the guy and he gets defensive and says its a fair price and I get in a minor dispute which involves Steve dragging me away. I’m glad we did. Its so easy to become glazed over after overnight travel and go along with whatever is presented to you. We go to a little bus that is parked nearby and he charges us 30baht each to the pier. Little buses here are actually pick up trucks with two benches in the bed. The truck brings us to the pier and then we negotiate for a “long boat” to Railay. The water is calm and we are at the Railay beach in 30mins. We have to wade through the water to hit the shore and this is a little tricky with my pack. One guy takes a major dive on the paved sidewalk going from water to shore so I walk in the mud instead. Steve, the master negotiator, gets us a bungalow with a pool for 200baht less than asking! He’s got skills! We are comfy in our latest home with a bathroom, fridge, tv, and airconditioning.
We plan to stay long enough to sort out our visa’s for China. Finding a foreign embassy in a foreign city isn’t the easiest mission but after two attempts we succeed. Our plan for a short stay in BKK is sabotaged by our bowels...ah yes, every travelers worry. Along the way we have had only a few incidents of minor bowel disturbance, but nothing like this. I won’t release the nasty details (for your sake) but it was three more days before we dared leave our room for any extended period. We alternated turns walking to 7-11 to buy essentials like water, yogurt, M&M’s, and oreo’s. We both became exhausted from not eating much and being a little dehydrated. Finally, things were looking ok and we booked out of our room. We went to the mall where toilets are cheap and clean and readily available- just incase! We were ok. We decide to take an overnight bus to the Southern province of Krabi. The bus terminal is another mall! Its awesome. The bus is a double decker and we are on the upper level in the front. Similar to Turkey, there is a stewardess who brings us drinks and snacks. A few hours into the 12 hour ride, we stop at a roadside diner. Steve isn’t hungry but I’m a little rumbly. I follow what everyone else is doing and find out that a thai dinner is included in our ticket. I sit at a table with 5 thai strangers and follow their lead. A server fills my bowl with a watery type of rice. In the middle of the table is a choice of four dishes to add to the water rice. There are boiled eggs cut in half, a plate of what appears to be some kind of sausage, a plate of a boiled leafy green, and little tiny fishes with their heads on still- clearly too small to cut off. I actually thought the fish were grasshoppers at first. I’m just happy with the rice and I avoid eye contact and stare at my bowl. I can feel them glancing at me. I look up- and one of the Thai men with a big smile and a friendly nod offers me the fish plate. Oh no. Oh man. I panic and take one medium sized fishy off the plate and put it in my rice and smile back at him. Its tiny but I can still distinctly make out its eyeballs. He is still watching me and so is that fish. I feel like everyone is watching (maybe I’m still paranoid from India). I put it in my mouth and get a shock of salt flavor! Whooo! Its also very hard and barely chewable. Maybe I was supposed to let it soak in the rice water. I get ‘er down without damaging my esophagus and smile at the man. The old lady beside me tries to fill my bowl with more rice. I make brief eye contact with a young guy and he must have been waiting for it because before I get the chance to look away he is passing me the eggs and urging me to try. Ok, its just an egg so I take it. Its still in half the shell and the technique seems to be to scoop it out and add it to the rice or just eat it with the spoon. I take a small scoop and eat it and almost have to spit it out! Its a salt ball too! But its horrible tasting. Thankfully the table is emptying and the bus is being reloaded and I leave the egg. We sleep a little and arrive to Krabi at 0700hrs.
We are conveniently dropped off at a tourist office and immediately being assisted with tickets and a place to stay and all the usual stuff. The guy has a ride for us to the pier for 500baht- this is for five of us as we have joined forces with a czech and two irish. We are loading the packs and I think back to Bangkok where we took a few cabs and they were VERY cheap. Hmmm...this doesn’t seem right. “Steve we are paying too much, the pier is only 4km away” and he thinks about that and agrees. So does the Irish girl and we talk to the guy and he gets defensive and says its a fair price and I get in a minor dispute which involves Steve dragging me away. I’m glad we did. Its so easy to become glazed over after overnight travel and go along with whatever is presented to you. We go to a little bus that is parked nearby and he charges us 30baht each to the pier. Little buses here are actually pick up trucks with two benches in the bed. The truck brings us to the pier and then we negotiate for a “long boat” to Railay. The water is calm and we are at the Railay beach in 30mins. We have to wade through the water to hit the shore and this is a little tricky with my pack. One guy takes a major dive on the paved sidewalk going from water to shore so I walk in the mud instead. Steve, the master negotiator, gets us a bungalow with a pool for 200baht less than asking! He’s got skills! We are comfy in our latest home with a bathroom, fridge, tv, and airconditioning.
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Golden Triangle
Our driver’s name is Parveen. His english is passable and he seems nice enough. We leave Delhi at 0900hrs and even though Jaipur is only 250km away, it will take the better part of the day to get there. The roads are decent (much better than the one to Varanasi) but they are packed with traffic and of course cows. There are also 4 or 5 toll booths along this stretch of highway. I’m looking forward to Jaipur, the Lonely Planet makes it sound like a little gem of a city. As we get closer to the city we see more and more camels, elephants, wild pigs, and peacocks. Parveen suggests a hotel for us (we know about the commission but at this point don’t really care anymore) and say ok. We get to this place and the guy is excited to see us and takes us to a room. He opens the door and its a massive fancy suite- for only 3500rps. Ugh. We are looking for something under 1000...he takes us to another room, smaller but still nice. Its 1600. We say no but thanks and try to leave. The negotiations begin. I don’t negotiate- that is Steves area. He gets him down to 1200 which we still think is too high so we leave. Its outside of town anyway. We give Parveen another chance. This time we go to a smaller less fancy place and get a room for 500. Its near the old city which is also known as the Pink City. A prince way back in the day painted the city pink (considered a welcoming color in Hinduism) and the tradition has been carried on. According to the Lonely Planet the city is beautiful and the pink glows at sunset, colorful sari’s blow in the breeze...etc. I am so excited! We freshen up and head out for the pink city. We’ve been sitting in the car all day so we decide to walk. Tuk tuk’s and rickshaws pester us and follow us. The streets are typical of what we’ve come to know in India, full of garbage, stink, animal excrement, and street food. Its a long walk to the gates of the Pink City. I’m not sure if they actually are the gates because they don’t look entirely pink to me. More of a rusty light red. Ok, I think, thats ok, lets go in, its evening and the city will be warm and glowing. We enter the gates, instantly the streets are smaller and more packed, we dodge traffic and people. Its so crowded we can’t walk together. There is mud and garbage everywhere and among that people are selling fruit and junk. So between all the people and chaos, we focus on not getting ran over- the side walks behind the vendors are used as the garbage dump and packs of dogs are lurking there. The buildings are in shambles and the rusty red color isn’t what I had envisioned. Its a horrible smelly hole and for the first time in our travels I am disappointed in Lonely Planet. I am entirely disappointed in this so called “pink city”. We push through the crowds and traffic for a few minutes, I turn to Steve and say “I’m ready to go.” He has been so patient with this and he gladly gets us a tuk tuk and we make our way back to the hotel. There is a performance with dancers, musicians, and a magician at our hotel that night. Its interesting and we enjoy it. The magician is really entertaining and Steve likes his homemade top hat complete with skull and crossbones.
Parveen picks us up to take us to more sites in Jaipur. We tell him we walked into the pink city and he says “oh how was it? nice isn’t it?” Steve says “yup it was nice” and I am just thinking to myself how not nice it was but Steve says we shouldn’t complain about India to Indian people. He has a point and I hold back about how it needs a paint job and a good cleaning. The monsoon rain is pouring and the streets flood. People walk around barefoot and carry on about their business. We go to the Amber Fort which is up on a hill just outside of Jaipur. It is a massive place!! Huge courtyards and all sorts of passages and walkways. The views from the fort are impressive and we have a nice time exploring- and of course dodging the cameras of men. We enter one room and there is a distinct strong sour smell. I look down a well and it is full of bats!! I try to take some photos but the noise or flash or my presence bothers them and a few fly around- we run away. We’ve been warned about the rabies in India! There are elephants carrying tourists up the hill to the fort. They enter the courtyard to off load the passengers. We stand next to them as they pass- they are really amazing creatures! Their size is unreal! Their feet are so neat! Then the driver beats them over the head with a stick. Elephants are intelligent animals and I am worried they are beat like this.
I am looking forward to visiting the Hawa Mahal. There is a photo of it in Lonely Planet and it looks fantastic! When we get to it, I am surprised. It is on a very busy street surrounded by dilapidated buildings. Parveen advises us not to go inside as “its full of garbage”. I had imagined it to be standing alone in grandeur! It is still an interesting structure- I jump out to take some photos and have yet to take one before a man is directing me to some building to get a better view. I kindly decline but like most people here he chooses not to listen and joins me on the side of the street trying to convince me to go. While this is happening a woman is holding her baby at Steve’s window and asking for money. We visit the city Palace and by then end of the day we are exhausted.
We leave for Agra in the morning. I am super stoked to finally see the Taj Mahal! Its down pouring for most of the drive but we still stop at a famous fort/mosque. We get soaked and our umbrella from France is falling apart. The fort was widespread like the last one with many passages. We enter one building and smell that distinct bat smell and leave. We wander around and I begin to feel unwell. A young girl latches on to us as we walk back to the car. She says to Steve “your umbrella broken sir, its a gift for me?” then she points out piles of cow poo for us along the path. We are soaked and back on the road. Being on the road means passing more toll booths. We laugh at one when we see one man collecting the toll, one counting the change, and one marking down the number of cars! Three men working in one booth! We have noticed this in other places too. We go in a purse shop, one man to open the door, one to follow you around, one at the cash register, and one cleaning the bags- twice as many people working there as necessary! At least they are “working”...another example: We see 5-6 police men around one radar gun with only one car. Hmmmm...
We get to Agra, its crowded and polluted like every other city we’ve seen. The last bit of highway was rugged and rough. I am really feeling unwell and my anti-nausea bracelets don’t seem to be helping. We get to the hotel and I lay down. I am contemplating which end to go over the toilet! Soon enough I am chundering while sitting on the can. I’m crying and moaning and basically in agony. I am all cramped up and absolutely miserable. Steve, my fabulous nurse, is rustling around in the room. He comes into the bathroom with a headlamp. A headlamp???!! What the heck? A cool cloth or a gravol might be nice, but a headlamp? I groaned “what is that for?” He answered “I thought you want to see what your doing” at the moment I just shooed him away and cried some more...but now, I see how well he listened! My last vomiting session was in Nepal behind a tea house in the pitch black and I asked for some water and a headlamp. However, the light was on in the bathroom and I could see just fine! Hahahha! He is so funny. Once again Steve tucks me into bed and cleans out the bucket I used. We had arranged an Agra tour with a friend of Brandi’s, but after a couple more hours of misery we decided we should cancel. That sucked, I was looking forward to meeting an Indian woman (I’ve had enough of the men) and was planning a little shopping with her. I have only bought 2 pillow cases and some chai tea the whole time! In the end it was a good choice as I am up most of the night with stomach pain and frequent bathroom trips.
We do see the Taj. We take a nice little tuk tuk through the garbage strewn streets and are at the gates. Foreigners pay 750rps each whereas locals pay something like 50. We walk along a nice path towards a giant gate. Through the gate is the Taj- and its absolutely amazing! It looks like a painting and is stunning! I have time to enjoy this for a moment and take one photo before I hear a “click”- I look to my left and a man has his cellphone camera at my head. This time I am soooo mad! I am tired and cranky and now I am mad too. Ugh. Steve says “let me see that, let me see” and points at the phone. The guy is all smiles and proudly shows Steve the picture. Steve is mad too and says “you like my wife? you take her picture? thats 50rps” Apparently the guy didn’t speak english...or decided to appear that way. I scowl at him and his group of friends and say “why do you do that? Your a bunch of pigs!” Maybe they understood that or they could tell I was mad because they all looked uncomfortable. We walked around the Taj for an hour or so. The detail in the building is wonderful and from every side it looks the same. I’m happy we went and saw this!
After a shower and some toast I am feeling a little better. We visit Agra’s Red Fort and are then on the highway back to Delhi. Its a long drive (not for distance but for time) with 4 more toll booths. We have Parveen drop up off right at the airport even though our flight is seven hours away. We are done with India and have no desire to see anything more. Parveen has been ok, but I’m tired of listening to him complain about how poor he is. Its not a place we have really enjoyed, but at the same time nothing really horrible happened. I don’t like how I feel in India. Not trusting anyone and being stared at and being ripped off...makes me dislike them and put them all in one bucket of badness. I know there are good people there, but I didn’t meet them. When I build up this wall of distrust I feel like a bad person. I don’t want people near me, don’t talk to me, just get away. I feel like now, the sites in Egypt were worth the hassle, but I can’t say that about India. I think I need more time to reflect on all this...I’ll do that on the beach! Thailand here we come!
Parveen picks us up to take us to more sites in Jaipur. We tell him we walked into the pink city and he says “oh how was it? nice isn’t it?” Steve says “yup it was nice” and I am just thinking to myself how not nice it was but Steve says we shouldn’t complain about India to Indian people. He has a point and I hold back about how it needs a paint job and a good cleaning. The monsoon rain is pouring and the streets flood. People walk around barefoot and carry on about their business. We go to the Amber Fort which is up on a hill just outside of Jaipur. It is a massive place!! Huge courtyards and all sorts of passages and walkways. The views from the fort are impressive and we have a nice time exploring- and of course dodging the cameras of men. We enter one room and there is a distinct strong sour smell. I look down a well and it is full of bats!! I try to take some photos but the noise or flash or my presence bothers them and a few fly around- we run away. We’ve been warned about the rabies in India! There are elephants carrying tourists up the hill to the fort. They enter the courtyard to off load the passengers. We stand next to them as they pass- they are really amazing creatures! Their size is unreal! Their feet are so neat! Then the driver beats them over the head with a stick. Elephants are intelligent animals and I am worried they are beat like this.
I am looking forward to visiting the Hawa Mahal. There is a photo of it in Lonely Planet and it looks fantastic! When we get to it, I am surprised. It is on a very busy street surrounded by dilapidated buildings. Parveen advises us not to go inside as “its full of garbage”. I had imagined it to be standing alone in grandeur! It is still an interesting structure- I jump out to take some photos and have yet to take one before a man is directing me to some building to get a better view. I kindly decline but like most people here he chooses not to listen and joins me on the side of the street trying to convince me to go. While this is happening a woman is holding her baby at Steve’s window and asking for money. We visit the city Palace and by then end of the day we are exhausted.
We leave for Agra in the morning. I am super stoked to finally see the Taj Mahal! Its down pouring for most of the drive but we still stop at a famous fort/mosque. We get soaked and our umbrella from France is falling apart. The fort was widespread like the last one with many passages. We enter one building and smell that distinct bat smell and leave. We wander around and I begin to feel unwell. A young girl latches on to us as we walk back to the car. She says to Steve “your umbrella broken sir, its a gift for me?” then she points out piles of cow poo for us along the path. We are soaked and back on the road. Being on the road means passing more toll booths. We laugh at one when we see one man collecting the toll, one counting the change, and one marking down the number of cars! Three men working in one booth! We have noticed this in other places too. We go in a purse shop, one man to open the door, one to follow you around, one at the cash register, and one cleaning the bags- twice as many people working there as necessary! At least they are “working”...another example: We see 5-6 police men around one radar gun with only one car. Hmmmm...
We get to Agra, its crowded and polluted like every other city we’ve seen. The last bit of highway was rugged and rough. I am really feeling unwell and my anti-nausea bracelets don’t seem to be helping. We get to the hotel and I lay down. I am contemplating which end to go over the toilet! Soon enough I am chundering while sitting on the can. I’m crying and moaning and basically in agony. I am all cramped up and absolutely miserable. Steve, my fabulous nurse, is rustling around in the room. He comes into the bathroom with a headlamp. A headlamp???!! What the heck? A cool cloth or a gravol might be nice, but a headlamp? I groaned “what is that for?” He answered “I thought you want to see what your doing” at the moment I just shooed him away and cried some more...but now, I see how well he listened! My last vomiting session was in Nepal behind a tea house in the pitch black and I asked for some water and a headlamp. However, the light was on in the bathroom and I could see just fine! Hahahha! He is so funny. Once again Steve tucks me into bed and cleans out the bucket I used. We had arranged an Agra tour with a friend of Brandi’s, but after a couple more hours of misery we decided we should cancel. That sucked, I was looking forward to meeting an Indian woman (I’ve had enough of the men) and was planning a little shopping with her. I have only bought 2 pillow cases and some chai tea the whole time! In the end it was a good choice as I am up most of the night with stomach pain and frequent bathroom trips.
We do see the Taj. We take a nice little tuk tuk through the garbage strewn streets and are at the gates. Foreigners pay 750rps each whereas locals pay something like 50. We walk along a nice path towards a giant gate. Through the gate is the Taj- and its absolutely amazing! It looks like a painting and is stunning! I have time to enjoy this for a moment and take one photo before I hear a “click”- I look to my left and a man has his cellphone camera at my head. This time I am soooo mad! I am tired and cranky and now I am mad too. Ugh. Steve says “let me see that, let me see” and points at the phone. The guy is all smiles and proudly shows Steve the picture. Steve is mad too and says “you like my wife? you take her picture? thats 50rps” Apparently the guy didn’t speak english...or decided to appear that way. I scowl at him and his group of friends and say “why do you do that? Your a bunch of pigs!” Maybe they understood that or they could tell I was mad because they all looked uncomfortable. We walked around the Taj for an hour or so. The detail in the building is wonderful and from every side it looks the same. I’m happy we went and saw this!
After a shower and some toast I am feeling a little better. We visit Agra’s Red Fort and are then on the highway back to Delhi. Its a long drive (not for distance but for time) with 4 more toll booths. We have Parveen drop up off right at the airport even though our flight is seven hours away. We are done with India and have no desire to see anything more. Parveen has been ok, but I’m tired of listening to him complain about how poor he is. Its not a place we have really enjoyed, but at the same time nothing really horrible happened. I don’t like how I feel in India. Not trusting anyone and being stared at and being ripped off...makes me dislike them and put them all in one bucket of badness. I know there are good people there, but I didn’t meet them. When I build up this wall of distrust I feel like a bad person. I don’t want people near me, don’t talk to me, just get away. I feel like now, the sites in Egypt were worth the hassle, but I can’t say that about India. I think I need more time to reflect on all this...I’ll do that on the beach! Thailand here we come!
Delhi
We’ve worked on the just ‘go with the flow’ plan...but man I get frustrated here!
We arrived to Delhi around 0800. I hardly slept on the overnight train despite having a sleeper. We couldn’t get a sleeper with AC but we did have three big fans blowing on us and open windows all night. I would like to know where all the women are in India!!? We see so few! I saw only two in our cabin on the train and the rest were men- dozens and dozens of them! The sleeper we were in was one big train compartment and is similar to an army barracks! Basically, you walk down an aisle and on one side are cubby holes containing 6 beds (two rows stacked three high). On the other side are two bunks running parallel to the aisle. So, anyone walking by can see you...there are no doors and no privacy. There is a half wall and a mini sort of chain link fence between us and the other upper bunks. The compartment is huge! Until later in the night, everyone sits on the bottom bunk- to eat or visit. People come down the aisles selling various foods like chai, omelets, veg burgers (which is raw veggies on a hamburger bun). The train also serves dinner if you want it. Steve ordered a veggie dinner and as we were waiting for that two oversized police men came towards us. They shooed away sitting passengers and took their seats. The one who appeared to be in charge said “What country are you from?” Steve answered ‘Canada’ and he even did it without the squirmy hesitation that strikes him at every U.S. border crossing. The one in charge handed me a paper in a plastic cover. It was a dozen or so warnings to tourists traveling on Indian rail. For example we are not to talk to anyone, not to give anyone money, not to accept food or drinks from anyone as they may contain poison, we are to keep all money and valuables next to skin, lock our bags, and not to leave our bags unattended, and to find one of them if we have any trouble, etc. Then we sign a paper saying we read the warnings. I asked “where do we find you” and he just nodded and gave me a look that said ‘don’t worry- we find you’...I have heard they are always near us. So off they go and then comes Steve’s dinner. He finished that up and we read for a while. When the train stopped, poor people, disabled people, and performing people, entered the train for baksheesh. A little boy sang and played the rocks- just like some people play the spoons! He should go on “India has Talent” because he was pretty good! A little boy came on holding an old blind mans hand- the blind man sang and the little boy collected coins. One guy came on and his legs were deformed so he used his arms as legs. Half naked dirty kids came on...
Soon enough we climbed up to our top bunks, cable locked our bags to our beds and tried to get comfortable. The bunks are hard and narrow. I looked down and see men sharing bunks! I don’t know how they did it- they slept at opposite ends of the bunk. Also, through the night the train picked up more and more people- and these people had no seat, they were in the aisles and on the floor. There was a rather heated argument in hindi that broke out in the cubby hole next to me at 0200 and lasted for a long time.
Finally that train gets to Delhi, it has barely stopped and a women is thrusting her child through one of the unbarred windows and the kid starts gathering bottles. We get off the train and are pounced on by rickshaw and cab drivers. We have found a hotel on tripadvisor, we know its near Jassa Ram Hospital and that it should only be 3km from the station. Everyone here is trying to make a buck, and the drivers are notorious for taking tourists to hotels where they receive a commission (the commission is of course paid by us and can be rather high) or to a travel agency where they also receive commission. So we are looking for the pre-paid taxi/rickshaw booth but when I say we are being pounced on I am not exaggerating. We can barely push through this crowd- all of whom are vying for our business. With no pre-paid booth in site, we give in to frustration and get a motorized rickshaw. We agree on 200rps for both (WAY over priced- we find out later it should be 50rps!!!) and we ask to be taken to Jassa Ram. We thought the man setting the price was the driver but no, he is the tout. So we all pile in the rickshaw and the whole way he is fishing for information- do you have a hotel, a tour booked, I know this place, I know that...we just keep saying we need to go to Jassa Ram. We are so happy to get there, but we know we have to get rid of these guys. Steve goes to pay him and the tout says “220” and Steve says “No way, 200 is enough” and we walk to the hospital entrance. We can see in the reflection of the doors that they aren’t leaving, they are watching us. So we enter the hospital and go to the front desk, Steve asks to use the bathroom, and he takes his sweet time doing so. Finally the rickshaw disappears. Now on foot, we take a couple wrong turns, but find our hotel in less than 30 mins. Yay! It isn’t a bad place, we have AC, wifi, and breakfast included. Its also near a shopping district of the non-tourist area- so prices are marked and locals are shopping. There is even a McDonalds a few blocks away- complete with metal detectors and guards! We settle in nicely and rest for the day.
The next morning Steve is not feeling well. He is sneezing like mad, has a sore throat, a cough, and fatigue. By the afternoon he has a fever, chills, and diarrhea. Swine flu crosses my mind so I download some info on when to seek medical help but keep in mind that the hubs is perfectly healthy. No sense in getting panicked, so we wait. I ventured out solo to a corner store to get him some juice and water. The fever subsides by the evening but he is so weak. He has no appetite and I am starving, I haven't eaten since my toast for breakfast. So, Steve being the best husband, musters up the energy to walk with me to get some take away dinner. It nearly knocks him out! He spikes again through the night but the next day no more fever. He feels weak but well enough to take a little tour around Delhi. We hire a driver and guide...Instantly I don’t like the guide, I don’t like how he talks to me and I don’t like how he talks to the driver- like we are of lower quality. We visit popular sites around the city- a massive hindu temple, the government buildings, India gate, Indira Ghandi’s Memorial/museum, and my favorite- the Lotus Temple. While trying to enjoy Indira’s memorial, a group of five guys keep trying to take my photo- I keep turning away, but it really starts to annoy me- I’m trying to enjoy and learn at this place and at the same time avoid them. We wait for them to get ahead of us. But as soon as we walk outside they are there waiting- this time with video. I am so irritated, I said something along the lines of don’t do that and leave me alone and Steve acts as my shield. In the courtyard they ask Steve for a photo. I am walking away because we know they want my photo but Steve plays dumb and jumps in for a pic with them and asks for 5 rupees. They say “we want a picture with her” and Steve said “that will cost 50 rupees” hahaha! They look at him like he is crazy. A similar sequence of events happens at the lotus temple. Its incredibly frustrating.
The contrast between rich and poor in Delhi is unreal. We see massive shiny skyscrapers with shacks built from garbage at their bases. Some streets look like they could be anywhere in North America and the next street is a dump- literally. The poverty here is depressing and widespread. Beggars are everywhere and tap on our car windows at almost every stoplight. The tour guide is annoying to me. We have about 20 mins before the Lotus Temple opens for visitors. He says “we go to government emporium” which is like a shopping place. We are cool with that because its always better to be in air conditioning than in the heat. The vendors at the place are aggressive and pushy. We go into the jewelry section and I spot matching ankle bracelets I like. I ask how much, he says “3600rps” then says “its real silver” so I inspect it. No stamp. I am proud of my recently acquired assertiveness and ask “where is the stamp?” he fumbles around with it and then says “you try on here” and points to a mirror. I have enough junk jewelry to know what feels fake and it certainly doesn’t feel real...hmmm. I reply “you said its silver and there is no stamp and it feels fake” He says “its real” I say “no its not and you are a liar” and walk away. I know the stamp can be counterfeit too- but they didn’t even bother faking that. Steve is beside me now and says “whats wrong?” I tell him what happened. The other jewler says “I will show you real stuff!” but I am so mad I get out of that scammer joint. Our guide is following us and asking what is wrong- why we aren’t shopping. I tell him they are scammers and try to sell me fake silver. “Ok, I know another place” and we walk around the corner. This time its the pillow cases that catch my eye. I bought two similar ones in Turkey and two from India would be nice. “How much?” and the guy says “900 rps.” I said “thats way too high.” Twenty dollars for one??? I paid maybe $2-3 in Turkey! Nothing was marked in the ‘emporium’ and I read that gov. emporiums have fixed prices. Knowledge is power and we bolted. No commission for our scuzzy guide either. By the end of the tour, Steve is completely exhausted. He hasn’t been eating and has no energy left.
We planned to see Jaipur and Agra by storing our packs at the hotel and just jumping on trains with small day bags. But thus far our encounters with people here have not been good- I trust absolutely no one and feel like we are constantly being preyed upon for money. We change our plans. Instead we hire a car and driver to take us to these places. This way we don’t have to worry about booking the train tickets which allows us more flexibility and best of all- less interaction with the people. We scope out the Air India office (with much hassle- “its not here anymore”, “it moved to the airport- I can take you there for 40rps” etc etc) at Connaught Place and joyfully change the departure dates on our tickets. We wander around Connaught Place and I see a lady selling cushion covers! Hmmmm....”how much?” and she says “100rps” I almost jump with glee! I don’t even bother haggling and I buy two. I feel like I have won something. Finally we head to the Red fort (its closed due to the upcoming Independance Day) and then go back to our hotel.
We arrived to Delhi around 0800. I hardly slept on the overnight train despite having a sleeper. We couldn’t get a sleeper with AC but we did have three big fans blowing on us and open windows all night. I would like to know where all the women are in India!!? We see so few! I saw only two in our cabin on the train and the rest were men- dozens and dozens of them! The sleeper we were in was one big train compartment and is similar to an army barracks! Basically, you walk down an aisle and on one side are cubby holes containing 6 beds (two rows stacked three high). On the other side are two bunks running parallel to the aisle. So, anyone walking by can see you...there are no doors and no privacy. There is a half wall and a mini sort of chain link fence between us and the other upper bunks. The compartment is huge! Until later in the night, everyone sits on the bottom bunk- to eat or visit. People come down the aisles selling various foods like chai, omelets, veg burgers (which is raw veggies on a hamburger bun). The train also serves dinner if you want it. Steve ordered a veggie dinner and as we were waiting for that two oversized police men came towards us. They shooed away sitting passengers and took their seats. The one who appeared to be in charge said “What country are you from?” Steve answered ‘Canada’ and he even did it without the squirmy hesitation that strikes him at every U.S. border crossing. The one in charge handed me a paper in a plastic cover. It was a dozen or so warnings to tourists traveling on Indian rail. For example we are not to talk to anyone, not to give anyone money, not to accept food or drinks from anyone as they may contain poison, we are to keep all money and valuables next to skin, lock our bags, and not to leave our bags unattended, and to find one of them if we have any trouble, etc. Then we sign a paper saying we read the warnings. I asked “where do we find you” and he just nodded and gave me a look that said ‘don’t worry- we find you’...I have heard they are always near us. So off they go and then comes Steve’s dinner. He finished that up and we read for a while. When the train stopped, poor people, disabled people, and performing people, entered the train for baksheesh. A little boy sang and played the rocks- just like some people play the spoons! He should go on “India has Talent” because he was pretty good! A little boy came on holding an old blind mans hand- the blind man sang and the little boy collected coins. One guy came on and his legs were deformed so he used his arms as legs. Half naked dirty kids came on...
Soon enough we climbed up to our top bunks, cable locked our bags to our beds and tried to get comfortable. The bunks are hard and narrow. I looked down and see men sharing bunks! I don’t know how they did it- they slept at opposite ends of the bunk. Also, through the night the train picked up more and more people- and these people had no seat, they were in the aisles and on the floor. There was a rather heated argument in hindi that broke out in the cubby hole next to me at 0200 and lasted for a long time.
Finally that train gets to Delhi, it has barely stopped and a women is thrusting her child through one of the unbarred windows and the kid starts gathering bottles. We get off the train and are pounced on by rickshaw and cab drivers. We have found a hotel on tripadvisor, we know its near Jassa Ram Hospital and that it should only be 3km from the station. Everyone here is trying to make a buck, and the drivers are notorious for taking tourists to hotels where they receive a commission (the commission is of course paid by us and can be rather high) or to a travel agency where they also receive commission. So we are looking for the pre-paid taxi/rickshaw booth but when I say we are being pounced on I am not exaggerating. We can barely push through this crowd- all of whom are vying for our business. With no pre-paid booth in site, we give in to frustration and get a motorized rickshaw. We agree on 200rps for both (WAY over priced- we find out later it should be 50rps!!!) and we ask to be taken to Jassa Ram. We thought the man setting the price was the driver but no, he is the tout. So we all pile in the rickshaw and the whole way he is fishing for information- do you have a hotel, a tour booked, I know this place, I know that...we just keep saying we need to go to Jassa Ram. We are so happy to get there, but we know we have to get rid of these guys. Steve goes to pay him and the tout says “220” and Steve says “No way, 200 is enough” and we walk to the hospital entrance. We can see in the reflection of the doors that they aren’t leaving, they are watching us. So we enter the hospital and go to the front desk, Steve asks to use the bathroom, and he takes his sweet time doing so. Finally the rickshaw disappears. Now on foot, we take a couple wrong turns, but find our hotel in less than 30 mins. Yay! It isn’t a bad place, we have AC, wifi, and breakfast included. Its also near a shopping district of the non-tourist area- so prices are marked and locals are shopping. There is even a McDonalds a few blocks away- complete with metal detectors and guards! We settle in nicely and rest for the day.
The next morning Steve is not feeling well. He is sneezing like mad, has a sore throat, a cough, and fatigue. By the afternoon he has a fever, chills, and diarrhea. Swine flu crosses my mind so I download some info on when to seek medical help but keep in mind that the hubs is perfectly healthy. No sense in getting panicked, so we wait. I ventured out solo to a corner store to get him some juice and water. The fever subsides by the evening but he is so weak. He has no appetite and I am starving, I haven't eaten since my toast for breakfast. So, Steve being the best husband, musters up the energy to walk with me to get some take away dinner. It nearly knocks him out! He spikes again through the night but the next day no more fever. He feels weak but well enough to take a little tour around Delhi. We hire a driver and guide...Instantly I don’t like the guide, I don’t like how he talks to me and I don’t like how he talks to the driver- like we are of lower quality. We visit popular sites around the city- a massive hindu temple, the government buildings, India gate, Indira Ghandi’s Memorial/museum, and my favorite- the Lotus Temple. While trying to enjoy Indira’s memorial, a group of five guys keep trying to take my photo- I keep turning away, but it really starts to annoy me- I’m trying to enjoy and learn at this place and at the same time avoid them. We wait for them to get ahead of us. But as soon as we walk outside they are there waiting- this time with video. I am so irritated, I said something along the lines of don’t do that and leave me alone and Steve acts as my shield. In the courtyard they ask Steve for a photo. I am walking away because we know they want my photo but Steve plays dumb and jumps in for a pic with them and asks for 5 rupees. They say “we want a picture with her” and Steve said “that will cost 50 rupees” hahaha! They look at him like he is crazy. A similar sequence of events happens at the lotus temple. Its incredibly frustrating.
The contrast between rich and poor in Delhi is unreal. We see massive shiny skyscrapers with shacks built from garbage at their bases. Some streets look like they could be anywhere in North America and the next street is a dump- literally. The poverty here is depressing and widespread. Beggars are everywhere and tap on our car windows at almost every stoplight. The tour guide is annoying to me. We have about 20 mins before the Lotus Temple opens for visitors. He says “we go to government emporium” which is like a shopping place. We are cool with that because its always better to be in air conditioning than in the heat. The vendors at the place are aggressive and pushy. We go into the jewelry section and I spot matching ankle bracelets I like. I ask how much, he says “3600rps” then says “its real silver” so I inspect it. No stamp. I am proud of my recently acquired assertiveness and ask “where is the stamp?” he fumbles around with it and then says “you try on here” and points to a mirror. I have enough junk jewelry to know what feels fake and it certainly doesn’t feel real...hmmm. I reply “you said its silver and there is no stamp and it feels fake” He says “its real” I say “no its not and you are a liar” and walk away. I know the stamp can be counterfeit too- but they didn’t even bother faking that. Steve is beside me now and says “whats wrong?” I tell him what happened. The other jewler says “I will show you real stuff!” but I am so mad I get out of that scammer joint. Our guide is following us and asking what is wrong- why we aren’t shopping. I tell him they are scammers and try to sell me fake silver. “Ok, I know another place” and we walk around the corner. This time its the pillow cases that catch my eye. I bought two similar ones in Turkey and two from India would be nice. “How much?” and the guy says “900 rps.” I said “thats way too high.” Twenty dollars for one??? I paid maybe $2-3 in Turkey! Nothing was marked in the ‘emporium’ and I read that gov. emporiums have fixed prices. Knowledge is power and we bolted. No commission for our scuzzy guide either. By the end of the tour, Steve is completely exhausted. He hasn’t been eating and has no energy left.
We planned to see Jaipur and Agra by storing our packs at the hotel and just jumping on trains with small day bags. But thus far our encounters with people here have not been good- I trust absolutely no one and feel like we are constantly being preyed upon for money. We change our plans. Instead we hire a car and driver to take us to these places. This way we don’t have to worry about booking the train tickets which allows us more flexibility and best of all- less interaction with the people. We scope out the Air India office (with much hassle- “its not here anymore”, “it moved to the airport- I can take you there for 40rps” etc etc) at Connaught Place and joyfully change the departure dates on our tickets. We wander around Connaught Place and I see a lady selling cushion covers! Hmmmm....”how much?” and she says “100rps” I almost jump with glee! I don’t even bother haggling and I buy two. I feel like I have won something. Finally we head to the Red fort (its closed due to the upcoming Independance Day) and then go back to our hotel.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
More pics
Hello everyone, here is the link to our another account. This is where all the new pics will be
http://picasaweb.google.com/stevebjandtheworld
S&BJ
http://picasaweb.google.com/stevebjandtheworld
S&BJ
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Holy Men, Holy Cows, Holy River...
Each time we venture into the streets of Varanasi, I become more and more convinced that there is absolutely no other place like this in the World...
For those who don’t know, Varanasi is on the River Ganges which is considered a holy river by the Hindi people. Its considered a crossroad between physical and spiritual life. People come here to die and we see little shops displaying photos of how you can be “done up” for your cremation. Along the river are “ghats” which are used for bathing, washing the water buffalos, swimming, and several ghats are used for cremating people in a public ritual. So, that being said, you can imagine there is a lot to see around here! We walk along the ghats and see people bathing and rinsing their mouths with the Ganges water. Its so brown you can’t see any part of the body under the water. There are 30 sewage drains polluting the river and it has become uninhabitable for life due to no oxygen. Just past some swimmers we see a dead goat floating amongst all the garbage. We see funeral processions everyday- the deceased is carried on a stretcher and is wrapped in white cloth, over the cloth is an elaborate red and gold fabric and then some type of glittery garland decorating it. There are men carrying the body but they don’t go slow and they don’t seem to worry about going smooth. The body bounces around as they half run - avoiding cows, motorbikes, and people in the narrow street. The streets are only as wide as sidewalks...they also chant and there is a mass of people (assumed to be family) following the stretcher. We had a good laugh today after Steve pointed out how the chanting got quiet and all eyes were on me when the procession trotted by. Stay focused people. The staring and gawking is obvious here- and we caught one guy taking my picture on his cell phone. Other men are really obvious and use cameras. So I take their photo too. But we are sticking together and taking it all in stride- the men usually just talk to Steve. We are offered drugs numerous times every day. Hash, opium...The children scratch at my arms or try to grab my hands but I don’t let them, I just smile and say hello or namaste. We are loving the food. We have yet to work up the courage to eat the street food. Once while on the street (remember its a side walk) we had to jump out of the path of two massive running bulls- it was very scary. There are also packs of dogs running around and we have seen them fight other dogs. That is scary too. But then we also saw puppies in a wagon cart- they weren’t moving and I think they were nearly dead. With all the garbage, dogs, cows, and goats, and men peeing, the streets are filthy and stink and there are flies everywhere.
We watched a Pooja ceremony which was interesting and took a boat down the Ganges. I was worried that the oar would splash me with ganges water. We had the option to cross the Ganges and walk the shore. We did not go to the other shore because it is littered with decaying bodies and skeletons. Not everyone who goes in to the Ganges is cremated. If you are a holy man, a pregnant woman, young child, missing any body parts, or have died from a snake bite you are tied to a rock and thrown into the middle where its 30m deep. Sometimes the bodies float up, so if a body makes it to the Ghat side of the river it is retied to a rock and tossed again, if it goes to the other side of the river, the dogs and eagles eat it and the monsoon cleans the leftovers. Now lets talk cremation. The main burning ghat (which is a 1 min walk from out hotel) burns 200 bodies every day! Its a 24 hour operation. There are wood dealers around the ghat and they have giant scales to measure out the wood. It costs 5-7 rps/kg and take 300-350 kg for one cremation. We walk by the ghat and see the silhouettes of bodies on the fires, this is more than enough for us and we never go close enough to see detail. The smoke is always around, when we are eating on the balcony, walking in the street, and we know its not a wiener roast down there... so its a little creepy. This is all so far from our culture I don’t think we will ever understand. I am particularly dumbfounded with the fact that the ‘holy river’ is a giant sewer that people bathe in.
We are getting into the flow of chaos...are chilling out a bit more...and I've only had a couple minor outbursts...there is a sweeper at the hotel and I was standing at the sink brushing my teeth. Unknowingly I was also standing on a small drain that the sweeper puts all the dust in. So, instead of asking me to move or waiting for me to finish, he sweeps the dirt onto my feet! ARGH!
For those who don’t know, Varanasi is on the River Ganges which is considered a holy river by the Hindi people. Its considered a crossroad between physical and spiritual life. People come here to die and we see little shops displaying photos of how you can be “done up” for your cremation. Along the river are “ghats” which are used for bathing, washing the water buffalos, swimming, and several ghats are used for cremating people in a public ritual. So, that being said, you can imagine there is a lot to see around here! We walk along the ghats and see people bathing and rinsing their mouths with the Ganges water. Its so brown you can’t see any part of the body under the water. There are 30 sewage drains polluting the river and it has become uninhabitable for life due to no oxygen. Just past some swimmers we see a dead goat floating amongst all the garbage. We see funeral processions everyday- the deceased is carried on a stretcher and is wrapped in white cloth, over the cloth is an elaborate red and gold fabric and then some type of glittery garland decorating it. There are men carrying the body but they don’t go slow and they don’t seem to worry about going smooth. The body bounces around as they half run - avoiding cows, motorbikes, and people in the narrow street. The streets are only as wide as sidewalks...they also chant and there is a mass of people (assumed to be family) following the stretcher. We had a good laugh today after Steve pointed out how the chanting got quiet and all eyes were on me when the procession trotted by. Stay focused people. The staring and gawking is obvious here- and we caught one guy taking my picture on his cell phone. Other men are really obvious and use cameras. So I take their photo too. But we are sticking together and taking it all in stride- the men usually just talk to Steve. We are offered drugs numerous times every day. Hash, opium...The children scratch at my arms or try to grab my hands but I don’t let them, I just smile and say hello or namaste. We are loving the food. We have yet to work up the courage to eat the street food. Once while on the street (remember its a side walk) we had to jump out of the path of two massive running bulls- it was very scary. There are also packs of dogs running around and we have seen them fight other dogs. That is scary too. But then we also saw puppies in a wagon cart- they weren’t moving and I think they were nearly dead. With all the garbage, dogs, cows, and goats, and men peeing, the streets are filthy and stink and there are flies everywhere.
We watched a Pooja ceremony which was interesting and took a boat down the Ganges. I was worried that the oar would splash me with ganges water. We had the option to cross the Ganges and walk the shore. We did not go to the other shore because it is littered with decaying bodies and skeletons. Not everyone who goes in to the Ganges is cremated. If you are a holy man, a pregnant woman, young child, missing any body parts, or have died from a snake bite you are tied to a rock and thrown into the middle where its 30m deep. Sometimes the bodies float up, so if a body makes it to the Ghat side of the river it is retied to a rock and tossed again, if it goes to the other side of the river, the dogs and eagles eat it and the monsoon cleans the leftovers. Now lets talk cremation. The main burning ghat (which is a 1 min walk from out hotel) burns 200 bodies every day! Its a 24 hour operation. There are wood dealers around the ghat and they have giant scales to measure out the wood. It costs 5-7 rps/kg and take 300-350 kg for one cremation. We walk by the ghat and see the silhouettes of bodies on the fires, this is more than enough for us and we never go close enough to see detail. The smoke is always around, when we are eating on the balcony, walking in the street, and we know its not a wiener roast down there... so its a little creepy. This is all so far from our culture I don’t think we will ever understand. I am particularly dumbfounded with the fact that the ‘holy river’ is a giant sewer that people bathe in.
We are getting into the flow of chaos...are chilling out a bit more...and I've only had a couple minor outbursts...there is a sweeper at the hotel and I was standing at the sink brushing my teeth. Unknowingly I was also standing on a small drain that the sweeper puts all the dust in. So, instead of asking me to move or waiting for me to finish, he sweeps the dirt onto my feet! ARGH!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Off to India
We bought a used India guide book in the Kat. Another traveler gave me some advice I like- she said “don’t try to understand India, or you’ll go nuts, just go with the flow”. So thats my plan, go with the flow and kill em with kindness. We’ve decided to take the bus to Varanasi. We get on the overnight bus in Kat and find it to be the least luxurious bus we’ve been on...ever. Its painted like all the other buses, in a Partridge Family/Hippie style colors with “good luck” painted on every side and hindi or buddha gods on it. The seats are school bus bench style with little padding. No A/C but the windows open. It takes nearly two hours to get out of Kat because they stop everywhere. Our packs are in a back compartment which is fastened with a little peice of wire. I’m not so happy about that. We eventually make it to the “highway” but its pitch black out and we can only see the silhouette of the landscape when a lightning strike flashes. We can feel that the road is a steep descent thats very twisty, when other vehicles are encountered the bus slows to a crawl so they can pass each other. Its probably better that we don’t see what we are driving on! The road is full of potholes and the ride is a rough go. We make stops through the night and the men jump off the bus (there are only 3 women) and take a whiz- but I never see a bathroom for women. I doze off a couple times only to be jerked awake by a pothole or the slamming of the brakes. Steve sleeps a little...At 0630 we arrive to the last stop, which is a couple km’s from the border crossing at Sunali. As we pull into the station, a guy is chasing the bus and yelling something. The bus stops and the running guy climbs on the side of the bus and is trying to slide open our window- seems that he is calling dibs on us and yelling it to the other tuk tuk drivers. I ignore him. I get off the bus and go to the back to find our bags still in the compartment- I am so relieved. The crazy yelling tuk tuk man is trying to negotiate a ride for us. He is asking far too much (150rps) and we know that. Another driver comes up and says “I’ll take you for 50rps” and we go off with him. Tuk tuks are ok around the city, but down a road for a few km’s and they are just annoying- we need to catch the bus in India! We finally make it to a hotel we’ve been directed to and get our ticket finalized. The hotel guy will meet us on the other side of the border and get us on the bus. The bus is leaving later than we thought and we have time to use the squatter and eat some toast at the hotel. There is a water leak somewhere which has made a lake in the hotel where Steve sees a boy taking a pee...sanitary.
We get through customs with no problems- as we are leaving the checkpoint a man is taken to a small room off to the side and is being beaten. We get out of there. Our hotel guy gets us to the bus and introduces us to the ticket checker. He warns us “Do NOT talk to anybody, do NOT give money to anybody, the only person who needs to see your ticket is this man” and off he goes. The bus is not crowded. Its a crappy bus. But you can sit in a row with 3 seats which gives us more space. Two israeli and one japanese guy are on the bus too. The staring has begun. Its like they just can’t help it! The man sitting in front of us keeps turning around and looking at me- I finally stuff my daybag between the seats. Now, I assumed the road to Varanasi would be a highway but its far from it. Its a crowded road with people, rickshaws, and COWS all over the place. The cows just lay in the middle of the road. We seldom drove through nonpopulated areas! Just people and people and more people. I swear I couldn’t look out the window for more than five minutes without seeing someone peeeing on a wall, peeing in a gutter, peeing in a canal, squatting on the side of the road! The bus becomes full and we have to share our three seater- the bonus for me is that I always get the window to prevent any groping. Its hot/humid and its crowded. We cannot leave our seats or else we won’t have one anymore. Steve gets off the bus to pee but with no washroom I stay on and keep the seat safe. We finally arrive to Varanasi and its 7pm. We have been on these buses for 24hours! We are hungry, exhausted, sweaty, dirty, overheated, and in a new city/new country, and don’t know how to get to our hotel. Also, Steve is still bitchy about coming to India and has litterally said to me “I can’t wait to say I told you so.” This is basically a recipe for disaster. A rickshaw driver begins the negotiations with us. We agree on a ride to the old city for 50rps. I said “For Both” and he agrees. Ok, we get in the rickshaw and the Japanese guy gets in the front. We are all stuffed in there with our packs but before we leave some man is sticking himself in there giving us his card and telling us to “just come look at my place” etc etc. I am sweating and have packs on me and we kindly say no thank you but he is persistant and won’t leave us alone. Finally I just say “leave us alone, we are tired and want to go” he gets all mad and storms off. We make a mistake here, we havn’t renegotiated the price since the Japanese dude has jumped on- or rather the Japanese guy hasn’t sorted out his fare. We finally get near the old city (we find out later the rickshaw could have gone much further but he didn’t) and get out. Steve offers him 60rps for us (the 50 we agreed on and a little tip) he says “NO! Its 150rps! 50 each!” Steve said we agreed on 50rps for us two (meaning me and him) he is arguing saying “NO! Its 150!!” I can understand that the Japanese guy needs to pay, but we had a price for us. This is the EXACT scam Brandi warned us about- thats why I made sure it was 50 for both when we got on. The argument goes on and on. My kill em with kindness plan goes out the window. I didn’t yell, but it was a bitchy assertive voice and I couldn’t hold back “This is why people hate India. Because of people like you- trying to rip us off!” Steve and the rickshaw man look at me- the argument has ceased. Steve puts the money on the seat and we walk away. I swear I have a split personality and she is mean- I just have to fast for 24 hours, not sleep, be covered in sweat, be day one menstruating, and get mad- then out she comes. The guy was a scammer, I think he knew we would fight back so he stopped way before the boundary for rickshaws and we ended up walking a really far distance anyway. We are trying to find the Shanti House we are planning to stay at and it turns out the Japanese guy is dead weight. So Steve is all mad that he is tagging along and we are about to lose the Amazing Race because of it. I tell him to chill out. Then, a boy asks where we are going. Steve says Shanti House and the boy says he can take us there- for 200rps!!! We are following him through a maze of streets and its dark and there are cows and stray dogs and men. Steve offered the kid 10rps and they continue to negotiate while we walk. I think this is a poor tactic. We must set prices before doing anything with anyone- otherwise we are giving them the advantage. They have more control. The kid gets us to Shanti house and Steve offers him 30rps. And, like the rickshaw driver he says no and won’t take the money. Steve likes it when they do that, he says take it or leave it...he takes it. Let me give you a perspective of money here. For us to buy a bottle of Pepsi in a restaruant it costs 12rps. This is a restaurant and tourist price. So, 30rps to walk with us for less than 10 mins is not too bad! There is a room for us, the Japanese says he doesn’t like it and leaves...Steve was happy for that. We have a ceiling fan but no window so its muggy but ok. Not too bad for $3 CAN/night. We shower and go up to the rooftop restaruant. We see other travelers! Yay! We meet some druggy hippy types and share butter chicken, naan, and rice! It takes over an hour to come but its worth the wait! We sleep like logs.
We get through customs with no problems- as we are leaving the checkpoint a man is taken to a small room off to the side and is being beaten. We get out of there. Our hotel guy gets us to the bus and introduces us to the ticket checker. He warns us “Do NOT talk to anybody, do NOT give money to anybody, the only person who needs to see your ticket is this man” and off he goes. The bus is not crowded. Its a crappy bus. But you can sit in a row with 3 seats which gives us more space. Two israeli and one japanese guy are on the bus too. The staring has begun. Its like they just can’t help it! The man sitting in front of us keeps turning around and looking at me- I finally stuff my daybag between the seats. Now, I assumed the road to Varanasi would be a highway but its far from it. Its a crowded road with people, rickshaws, and COWS all over the place. The cows just lay in the middle of the road. We seldom drove through nonpopulated areas! Just people and people and more people. I swear I couldn’t look out the window for more than five minutes without seeing someone peeeing on a wall, peeing in a gutter, peeing in a canal, squatting on the side of the road! The bus becomes full and we have to share our three seater- the bonus for me is that I always get the window to prevent any groping. Its hot/humid and its crowded. We cannot leave our seats or else we won’t have one anymore. Steve gets off the bus to pee but with no washroom I stay on and keep the seat safe. We finally arrive to Varanasi and its 7pm. We have been on these buses for 24hours! We are hungry, exhausted, sweaty, dirty, overheated, and in a new city/new country, and don’t know how to get to our hotel. Also, Steve is still bitchy about coming to India and has litterally said to me “I can’t wait to say I told you so.” This is basically a recipe for disaster. A rickshaw driver begins the negotiations with us. We agree on a ride to the old city for 50rps. I said “For Both” and he agrees. Ok, we get in the rickshaw and the Japanese guy gets in the front. We are all stuffed in there with our packs but before we leave some man is sticking himself in there giving us his card and telling us to “just come look at my place” etc etc. I am sweating and have packs on me and we kindly say no thank you but he is persistant and won’t leave us alone. Finally I just say “leave us alone, we are tired and want to go” he gets all mad and storms off. We make a mistake here, we havn’t renegotiated the price since the Japanese dude has jumped on- or rather the Japanese guy hasn’t sorted out his fare. We finally get near the old city (we find out later the rickshaw could have gone much further but he didn’t) and get out. Steve offers him 60rps for us (the 50 we agreed on and a little tip) he says “NO! Its 150rps! 50 each!” Steve said we agreed on 50rps for us two (meaning me and him) he is arguing saying “NO! Its 150!!” I can understand that the Japanese guy needs to pay, but we had a price for us. This is the EXACT scam Brandi warned us about- thats why I made sure it was 50 for both when we got on. The argument goes on and on. My kill em with kindness plan goes out the window. I didn’t yell, but it was a bitchy assertive voice and I couldn’t hold back “This is why people hate India. Because of people like you- trying to rip us off!” Steve and the rickshaw man look at me- the argument has ceased. Steve puts the money on the seat and we walk away. I swear I have a split personality and she is mean- I just have to fast for 24 hours, not sleep, be covered in sweat, be day one menstruating, and get mad- then out she comes. The guy was a scammer, I think he knew we would fight back so he stopped way before the boundary for rickshaws and we ended up walking a really far distance anyway. We are trying to find the Shanti House we are planning to stay at and it turns out the Japanese guy is dead weight. So Steve is all mad that he is tagging along and we are about to lose the Amazing Race because of it. I tell him to chill out. Then, a boy asks where we are going. Steve says Shanti House and the boy says he can take us there- for 200rps!!! We are following him through a maze of streets and its dark and there are cows and stray dogs and men. Steve offered the kid 10rps and they continue to negotiate while we walk. I think this is a poor tactic. We must set prices before doing anything with anyone- otherwise we are giving them the advantage. They have more control. The kid gets us to Shanti house and Steve offers him 30rps. And, like the rickshaw driver he says no and won’t take the money. Steve likes it when they do that, he says take it or leave it...he takes it. Let me give you a perspective of money here. For us to buy a bottle of Pepsi in a restaruant it costs 12rps. This is a restaurant and tourist price. So, 30rps to walk with us for less than 10 mins is not too bad! There is a room for us, the Japanese says he doesn’t like it and leaves...Steve was happy for that. We have a ceiling fan but no window so its muggy but ok. Not too bad for $3 CAN/night. We shower and go up to the rooftop restaruant. We see other travelers! Yay! We meet some druggy hippy types and share butter chicken, naan, and rice! It takes over an hour to come but its worth the wait! We sleep like logs.
Trek 15-22
Day 15: Back to Namche
Turns out yesterday we actually covered over 15km. We sleep in until 0800 and leave Pangboche at 0900. Up and down to Tangboche. Arrive to Tang. at 1130. Visited a buddhist monastery where we see monks wearing red, burgundy, and gold sari’s. They all have shaved heads and wear sandals. The monastery was much less immaculate than I imagine it would be. There are weeds growing everywhere, bird poo on windows, and its just untidy. We enter the temple and see a massive golden buddha, it was very nice. I eat pineapple for lunch and steve has fries. I’m so tired of the food. The onions and garlic make me stink worse as it all pours from my pores. The other day Steve said “mmm. I smell salsa!” as we were hiking in the middle of nowhere. I said “no dear, thats me you smell!” Anyways, I should have had more for lunch, only if I knew what the trail was like ahead of us! We descend the mountainside all the way to the river!! The old bridge is submerged, the boulder it was built on turned to its side. We cross the river and then climb back up the mountain. Its cloudy today and we spend most of the afternoon in the clouds. I’m so happy to be going to Namche Bazar- we know there is more food there :) We are at the Everest Hotel by 1630. Shower time! Once again its so hot it scalds the skin, but I don’t really care this time. There is two weeks of buildup on my skin that needs to come off! Dinner Time! We both jump off the vegetarian wagon and order chicken. Its sooo good! Steve has some chocolate pudding and I order fruit salad which has apple, banana, mango and something that looks like a plum. My eyes have been itching and burning off and on for a couple days now. Steve ( my nurse) ensures I wear my sunglasses whenever outside- he is worried I’ve had too much UV exposure and the itch/burn may be a version of snowblindness. The eyes are too sore to stay up and visit with our new friends (brazil/spain) and once again Steve helps me to bed.
Day 16: Rest Day
We sleep in. We decide to have a day of rest in Namche as the last two days have been a pull and we are ahead of schedule. We eat eggs and chapatti with hash-browns for brunch. We walk around Namche with Tony and Laura (brazil/spain). Steve buys a Mammut jacket that looks pretty authentic...but could be a fake. Spent $1000rps (approx. $14). My eyes are burning and watering constantly.
Day 17: By Steve
Walked to Lukla in the rain. Its been a real monsoon day. Rain pours down, stops for a bit, and does it all over again. Went to Mohan’s house and saw his woman and little boy. Had awesome shower, ate a good dinner and started to wait for the weather to lift. BJ’s eyes start out good then go all red and hurt. Just the right one now. Lots of people in tea house- all Nepali.
By BJ
We make good time to Lukla...its raining and my feet are soaked- but I don’t care because we are getting outta here! I finally get some use out of the poncho I brought along, but its hot like a sauna. Steve and Horka hike with umbrella’s- which is funny to see, but all the nepali carry umbrella’s during monsoon. The trail is muddy. We are crossing a long bridge and a big cow decides to cross from the other side. We yield as the cow barges past us. We stop in at Mohan’s tea house. They give us hot lemon. My eyes are burning and I don’t know if its due to the smoke in the tea house- they cook on open fire. His son, almost 3, is running around doing karate moves. He gives us a “namaste” and then “handshake”. We go to our tea house. I have saved my cleanest clothes so I can travel and not stink too bad! My right eye is burning- feels like it has sand and soap in it. I take a shower- must go outside through monsoon rain to get to shower. Should just shower in monsoon rain! The shower is nice because I can control the heat, but not so nice because I am half blind.
Day 18: By Steve
Wake up to rain and clouds. No plane today... We start to wait. BJ’s eye is not better. We will go to hospital today.
By BJ
We hike up a huge hill to the Lukla hospital. Paid 4000rps ($60) to see an eye doctor. Dx: Conjunctivitis in right eye. The hospital is nice- we must take off our shoes and wear sandals before entering. Its neat and clean, it even smells pleasant. I am issued antibiotic eye drops, antibiotic ointment, and anti inflammatory/pain killer pills. The doctor put in a couple eye drops and I thought my eye was going to burn out of the socket. In the afternoon we lay down for a rest. Someone knocks on our door and opens it. The young worker boy says something and we interpret it as asking us if we want another blanket. We say “oh yes, sure why not...” A few seconds later the tea house owner busts through the door and yells “Make ready!! Make ready!! Airplane!!” We frantically pack our stuff. The lady yells “bag too big!” and Steve says “only 22kg” and she yells “OK!” and loads it onto the young boy who is pretty small. He runs it to the airport. Horka is with us and we rush to catch up. Suddenly we hear a plane. Half of Lukla is heading to the airport. The plane lands, it is not yeti air. It is loaded in a few minutes, I stand on the path above the landing strip and take footage of the plane flying off the cliff. What a site! I rush to the terminal and we wait. Finally an air yet flight arrives! Unfortunately it is “Yeti #1” and we are on “Yeti #2”. Yeti #1 takes off and we wait some more. We can hear a plane but can’t see it. Suddenly everyone is leaving the airport. The clouds move fast and they are too low. Yeti #2 cannot see the runway and is returning to Kathmandu. Back to the tea house. There will be no more flight attempts today. Its 1400,we eat popcorn and drink tea. We go to Lukla “Starbucks” (a complete knock off) to use the internet. Steve bargains for internet time and gets us an hour for 300rps. Later we go back to Mohan’s tea house with Horka. Mohan is out feeding his pig so we have hot lemons with his wife. Horka and Rossin (the son) drink Chang. I laugh at the thought of a western kid drinking home brew at three years old...
We return to our tea house. Eat dinner of chicken sizzler and chips, I have veg curry and rice. A Japanese group of five are having a goodbye dinner with their 15 porters/guides/cooks! They were trekking and camping...They sing/dance- its very nice and something to watch. Must wake up at 0530 to check for airplane. My eye is feeling better already! I love drugs!
Day 19: By Stevie
Got up to a weather opening at 0600. Had some tea and all of us at Lukla headed to the airport with big smiles. We checked bags and got out tickets again and started to wait for the plane. Around 0900 some people start shaking their heads and start to leave. The plane could not see the runway since the clouds rose up. We waited some more but no plane. I spent most of the day with BJ and she spent most of her day with me. We feel like we are really stranded in Lukla now. We have no board games and we have read all our books. It is really boring. We are lucky we don’t have a flight booked out of Kathmandu or we would have missed it. BJ’s eye is soooo much better already- that is good. One less thing to complain about. My beard is huge, way longer than the hair on my head. BJ still does not like it. Some monks are staying in the tea house tonight too. Since they need the cheap room we have been upgraded to a room with a bathroom. Its nicer but we miss the double bed. We met some dude from New Zealand today. He is weird but at least he speaks english. He doesn’t have any games or books either so that sucks too. At least we can talk to him if we want, but I don’t want to yet...
Day 20: Rain rain go away!
Fog at 0530. Horka gets us up at 0700 because the sky is clearing. We can hear the airplanes. Once again we all gather around the airstrip but the planes never land. :(
Fog and rain come back. I go back to bed, getting frustrated now. All we do is eat, sleep, and stare at each other. There are more stranded people now. Steve meets a brit who tells of the worst stories of his time in India. Now Steve doesn’t want to go...he says “its too much hassle”. The group of Japanese are talking about hiring a helicopter.
Day 21: Get me outta here!
Fog @ 0530. Clear @ 0630. Fog @ 0700. Fog @ 0900. Japanese are leaving by helicopter. Another loooong day. We hang out with some more brits and an american. They teach us to play spades and hearts- nice to play new card games! Good laughs. They are the funniest people we have met in a long time. Steve and I hike up to a “golden buddha”. We then go for a chocolate walk- its become a part of the routine of being stranded with nothing to do. After dinner, Horka returns to the tea house after drinking Chang. Our guide of few words is much more chatty when he’s on the Chang. He is hilarious! Only wish he would share so much about buddhism and their culture when I’m not so tired! I go to bed while they pound back the beers...
No clean clothes. No place to wash dirty clothes. Too cloudy and cold out for anything to dry outside. I stink. My towel reeks too. Everyone stinks. We have a prolonged discussion regarding leeches. They can jump from trees and run. Horka says they come in all sizes. ewww. He explains you can get hundreds of them on you at once. I’m so happy we are above the leech line. We could walk to Jiri- which is 5 days away- then take a 10hr bus ride to Kathmandu but There is no way I am walking below the leech line. Not to mention the tapeworm... A trekking group of 62 is supposed to arrive tomorrow so the planes will make extra attempts at landing. We are hopeful.
Day 22: Where are you Yeti!? By Steve & BJ
We get up at 0500 to find a semi-clear day. Have the usual RaRa noodles and BJ has a pancake. We have been offered a heli ride for $200USD per person. We said no but are worried we will have to stay because of the clouds. At 0700 we go to airport for our daily recon. We are very hopeful- they told us planes are coming. Dozens of people are waiting. It is the best weather day so far. The heli comes and picks up the people who were willing to pay for the ride. But we are still hopeful. Everyone is anxious. People demonstrate their personal squatter positions...we are so bored. At 1000hrs we go back to the tea house and eat a second breakfast because clouds have come in. We are not so hopeful. The clouds move away and they tell us planes are coming! We all run back to the airport. At 1200 a plane lands! It is not our plane but they say ours is next. A few minutes later a second plane lands but it is not ours either. We are very bummed out to see all these people leave and we have to stay here longer. They say more planes are coming but we don’t know what to believe. We are not going to leave the airport until later because if a Yeti plane does make it, we do not want to miss it! A couple hours later and another plane can be heard! Its not ours. Finally, after so many ups and downs a Yeti Air lands! Freedom!! We are all cheering and laughing and hugging! We take off- its like a rollcoaster ride! We shoot off the runway and the mountains are right beside the plane. The ride is a bit turbulent and BJ almost blows chunks on the plane. The Nepali woman across from Steve prays the entire trip. We are soooo happy to leave Lukla. Namaste Bitches! We are back in the Kat!
Your crazy, your dirty, and we love you Kathmandu!
Getting back to Kat was great! People everywhere, horns honking, garbage in the streets, dogs running around- and we are happy! We return to the hotel we were in when we first arrived. We have decided to stay only one night and then move to the “Kathmandu Guest House” where the people we met in Lukla are staying. Our hotel is boring, no other people, no action, no fan, most of the lights are burnt out, and this time we encounter a super bad ant infestation. We return our rented gear (down jackets, boots, water bottles) and jump back in the action in Kat. There is an energy in this city that I can’t put my finger on, but its here! People are friendly, we feel safe, and we meet travelers- all with an interesting story! Us stranded passengers now friends, meet at the Everest Steak House for some steaks- delicious! Everyone is showered and people are surprised by how Steve looks without the mountain man beard. The day after our return, Horka took us to some sights around the city. We went to the “Monkey Temple” which isn’t about monkeys, they just live there and its easier for tourists to say Monkey temple as opposed to its real name. And, I think the idea of monkey’s draw tourists who have to pay 100rps to enter. The monkey’s are lil’ creepers. They will take food right out of your hands! They are not shy. To reach the temple we climb stairs up up up! Its hot and we are soaking in sweat. Beggars line the steps. The temple is ok, but the view of the Kat is great! Worth the hike!.We walk through the temple park and get to a busy road. Horka gets us on a public bus- which is like a VW van type thing. The driver’s side kick is yelling “Botha!! Botha!!” And soon the bus is PACKED. I am sitting face backward beside an old old woman. She looks like the type to be photographed for the cover of National Geographic...very traditional and wrinkly and interesting. The van door stays open as we swerve through the streets and the sidekick yells for more passengers going to Botha. The old lady pats my leg and through body language she tells me she is getting off and that Steve (who is crammed into the far back with Horka) can come sit with me. I relay this to Steve and he just waves his hand and says no- its all good...she thinks thats funny and laughs, she climbs over me and several other people and off she goes. The public transit is a great way to see the people...but its soooo hot! The sweat is running down my legs. We finally make it to the largest stoopa in Kathmandu and get off the bus. Near this place, Horka and his friends own a shop that makes and sells Thuka (don’t know spelling) paintings. These are traditional buddhist art. We see the painters and students working on the Thuka’s. We sit down for a coke. Its airconditioned. I appreciate the art- the detail is absolutely amazing! Some of the paintings take four months to complete. Now, so far in our trip I think we have been open to other cultures and accepting and respectful..etc. But the sales guy is trying to sell me one- and they are really beautiful, but I really can’t see myself having a painting of a god I don’t believe in. Its the same when the Hindi holy men come up and try to “bless” me with red paint on the forehead- absolutely not! So, I finally see one that is of gold writing in a circular pattern on black paper. The writing is a meditation phrase/mantra that sounds like “oh ma neh pat me om” which we always hear being sung. Its also very pretty. So I decide it is a neutral piece and buy it. We go for lunch on a rooftop and people watch. After our late lunch we walk around until monsoon rain comes. It was a nice day to spend with Horka. We spent time with the brits, american, and they introduced us to some guys from Bangledash- we toured more of Kathmandu and went to well known places like the Yak & Yeti to gamble and to Rum Doodle and Fire & Ice to eat. We had a whoot! I would try to tell some of the stories, but they just wouldn’t soung funny...had to be there!
Turns out yesterday we actually covered over 15km. We sleep in until 0800 and leave Pangboche at 0900. Up and down to Tangboche. Arrive to Tang. at 1130. Visited a buddhist monastery where we see monks wearing red, burgundy, and gold sari’s. They all have shaved heads and wear sandals. The monastery was much less immaculate than I imagine it would be. There are weeds growing everywhere, bird poo on windows, and its just untidy. We enter the temple and see a massive golden buddha, it was very nice. I eat pineapple for lunch and steve has fries. I’m so tired of the food. The onions and garlic make me stink worse as it all pours from my pores. The other day Steve said “mmm. I smell salsa!” as we were hiking in the middle of nowhere. I said “no dear, thats me you smell!” Anyways, I should have had more for lunch, only if I knew what the trail was like ahead of us! We descend the mountainside all the way to the river!! The old bridge is submerged, the boulder it was built on turned to its side. We cross the river and then climb back up the mountain. Its cloudy today and we spend most of the afternoon in the clouds. I’m so happy to be going to Namche Bazar- we know there is more food there :) We are at the Everest Hotel by 1630. Shower time! Once again its so hot it scalds the skin, but I don’t really care this time. There is two weeks of buildup on my skin that needs to come off! Dinner Time! We both jump off the vegetarian wagon and order chicken. Its sooo good! Steve has some chocolate pudding and I order fruit salad which has apple, banana, mango and something that looks like a plum. My eyes have been itching and burning off and on for a couple days now. Steve ( my nurse) ensures I wear my sunglasses whenever outside- he is worried I’ve had too much UV exposure and the itch/burn may be a version of snowblindness. The eyes are too sore to stay up and visit with our new friends (brazil/spain) and once again Steve helps me to bed.
Day 16: Rest Day
We sleep in. We decide to have a day of rest in Namche as the last two days have been a pull and we are ahead of schedule. We eat eggs and chapatti with hash-browns for brunch. We walk around Namche with Tony and Laura (brazil/spain). Steve buys a Mammut jacket that looks pretty authentic...but could be a fake. Spent $1000rps (approx. $14). My eyes are burning and watering constantly.
Day 17: By Steve
Walked to Lukla in the rain. Its been a real monsoon day. Rain pours down, stops for a bit, and does it all over again. Went to Mohan’s house and saw his woman and little boy. Had awesome shower, ate a good dinner and started to wait for the weather to lift. BJ’s eyes start out good then go all red and hurt. Just the right one now. Lots of people in tea house- all Nepali.
By BJ
We make good time to Lukla...its raining and my feet are soaked- but I don’t care because we are getting outta here! I finally get some use out of the poncho I brought along, but its hot like a sauna. Steve and Horka hike with umbrella’s- which is funny to see, but all the nepali carry umbrella’s during monsoon. The trail is muddy. We are crossing a long bridge and a big cow decides to cross from the other side. We yield as the cow barges past us. We stop in at Mohan’s tea house. They give us hot lemon. My eyes are burning and I don’t know if its due to the smoke in the tea house- they cook on open fire. His son, almost 3, is running around doing karate moves. He gives us a “namaste” and then “handshake”. We go to our tea house. I have saved my cleanest clothes so I can travel and not stink too bad! My right eye is burning- feels like it has sand and soap in it. I take a shower- must go outside through monsoon rain to get to shower. Should just shower in monsoon rain! The shower is nice because I can control the heat, but not so nice because I am half blind.
Day 18: By Steve
Wake up to rain and clouds. No plane today... We start to wait. BJ’s eye is not better. We will go to hospital today.
By BJ
We hike up a huge hill to the Lukla hospital. Paid 4000rps ($60) to see an eye doctor. Dx: Conjunctivitis in right eye. The hospital is nice- we must take off our shoes and wear sandals before entering. Its neat and clean, it even smells pleasant. I am issued antibiotic eye drops, antibiotic ointment, and anti inflammatory/pain killer pills. The doctor put in a couple eye drops and I thought my eye was going to burn out of the socket. In the afternoon we lay down for a rest. Someone knocks on our door and opens it. The young worker boy says something and we interpret it as asking us if we want another blanket. We say “oh yes, sure why not...” A few seconds later the tea house owner busts through the door and yells “Make ready!! Make ready!! Airplane!!” We frantically pack our stuff. The lady yells “bag too big!” and Steve says “only 22kg” and she yells “OK!” and loads it onto the young boy who is pretty small. He runs it to the airport. Horka is with us and we rush to catch up. Suddenly we hear a plane. Half of Lukla is heading to the airport. The plane lands, it is not yeti air. It is loaded in a few minutes, I stand on the path above the landing strip and take footage of the plane flying off the cliff. What a site! I rush to the terminal and we wait. Finally an air yet flight arrives! Unfortunately it is “Yeti #1” and we are on “Yeti #2”. Yeti #1 takes off and we wait some more. We can hear a plane but can’t see it. Suddenly everyone is leaving the airport. The clouds move fast and they are too low. Yeti #2 cannot see the runway and is returning to Kathmandu. Back to the tea house. There will be no more flight attempts today. Its 1400,we eat popcorn and drink tea. We go to Lukla “Starbucks” (a complete knock off) to use the internet. Steve bargains for internet time and gets us an hour for 300rps. Later we go back to Mohan’s tea house with Horka. Mohan is out feeding his pig so we have hot lemons with his wife. Horka and Rossin (the son) drink Chang. I laugh at the thought of a western kid drinking home brew at three years old...
We return to our tea house. Eat dinner of chicken sizzler and chips, I have veg curry and rice. A Japanese group of five are having a goodbye dinner with their 15 porters/guides/cooks! They were trekking and camping...They sing/dance- its very nice and something to watch. Must wake up at 0530 to check for airplane. My eye is feeling better already! I love drugs!
Day 19: By Stevie
Got up to a weather opening at 0600. Had some tea and all of us at Lukla headed to the airport with big smiles. We checked bags and got out tickets again and started to wait for the plane. Around 0900 some people start shaking their heads and start to leave. The plane could not see the runway since the clouds rose up. We waited some more but no plane. I spent most of the day with BJ and she spent most of her day with me. We feel like we are really stranded in Lukla now. We have no board games and we have read all our books. It is really boring. We are lucky we don’t have a flight booked out of Kathmandu or we would have missed it. BJ’s eye is soooo much better already- that is good. One less thing to complain about. My beard is huge, way longer than the hair on my head. BJ still does not like it. Some monks are staying in the tea house tonight too. Since they need the cheap room we have been upgraded to a room with a bathroom. Its nicer but we miss the double bed. We met some dude from New Zealand today. He is weird but at least he speaks english. He doesn’t have any games or books either so that sucks too. At least we can talk to him if we want, but I don’t want to yet...
Day 20: Rain rain go away!
Fog at 0530. Horka gets us up at 0700 because the sky is clearing. We can hear the airplanes. Once again we all gather around the airstrip but the planes never land. :(
Fog and rain come back. I go back to bed, getting frustrated now. All we do is eat, sleep, and stare at each other. There are more stranded people now. Steve meets a brit who tells of the worst stories of his time in India. Now Steve doesn’t want to go...he says “its too much hassle”. The group of Japanese are talking about hiring a helicopter.
Day 21: Get me outta here!
Fog @ 0530. Clear @ 0630. Fog @ 0700. Fog @ 0900. Japanese are leaving by helicopter. Another loooong day. We hang out with some more brits and an american. They teach us to play spades and hearts- nice to play new card games! Good laughs. They are the funniest people we have met in a long time. Steve and I hike up to a “golden buddha”. We then go for a chocolate walk- its become a part of the routine of being stranded with nothing to do. After dinner, Horka returns to the tea house after drinking Chang. Our guide of few words is much more chatty when he’s on the Chang. He is hilarious! Only wish he would share so much about buddhism and their culture when I’m not so tired! I go to bed while they pound back the beers...
No clean clothes. No place to wash dirty clothes. Too cloudy and cold out for anything to dry outside. I stink. My towel reeks too. Everyone stinks. We have a prolonged discussion regarding leeches. They can jump from trees and run. Horka says they come in all sizes. ewww. He explains you can get hundreds of them on you at once. I’m so happy we are above the leech line. We could walk to Jiri- which is 5 days away- then take a 10hr bus ride to Kathmandu but There is no way I am walking below the leech line. Not to mention the tapeworm... A trekking group of 62 is supposed to arrive tomorrow so the planes will make extra attempts at landing. We are hopeful.
Day 22: Where are you Yeti!? By Steve & BJ
We get up at 0500 to find a semi-clear day. Have the usual RaRa noodles and BJ has a pancake. We have been offered a heli ride for $200USD per person. We said no but are worried we will have to stay because of the clouds. At 0700 we go to airport for our daily recon. We are very hopeful- they told us planes are coming. Dozens of people are waiting. It is the best weather day so far. The heli comes and picks up the people who were willing to pay for the ride. But we are still hopeful. Everyone is anxious. People demonstrate their personal squatter positions...we are so bored. At 1000hrs we go back to the tea house and eat a second breakfast because clouds have come in. We are not so hopeful. The clouds move away and they tell us planes are coming! We all run back to the airport. At 1200 a plane lands! It is not our plane but they say ours is next. A few minutes later a second plane lands but it is not ours either. We are very bummed out to see all these people leave and we have to stay here longer. They say more planes are coming but we don’t know what to believe. We are not going to leave the airport until later because if a Yeti plane does make it, we do not want to miss it! A couple hours later and another plane can be heard! Its not ours. Finally, after so many ups and downs a Yeti Air lands! Freedom!! We are all cheering and laughing and hugging! We take off- its like a rollcoaster ride! We shoot off the runway and the mountains are right beside the plane. The ride is a bit turbulent and BJ almost blows chunks on the plane. The Nepali woman across from Steve prays the entire trip. We are soooo happy to leave Lukla. Namaste Bitches! We are back in the Kat!
Your crazy, your dirty, and we love you Kathmandu!
Getting back to Kat was great! People everywhere, horns honking, garbage in the streets, dogs running around- and we are happy! We return to the hotel we were in when we first arrived. We have decided to stay only one night and then move to the “Kathmandu Guest House” where the people we met in Lukla are staying. Our hotel is boring, no other people, no action, no fan, most of the lights are burnt out, and this time we encounter a super bad ant infestation. We return our rented gear (down jackets, boots, water bottles) and jump back in the action in Kat. There is an energy in this city that I can’t put my finger on, but its here! People are friendly, we feel safe, and we meet travelers- all with an interesting story! Us stranded passengers now friends, meet at the Everest Steak House for some steaks- delicious! Everyone is showered and people are surprised by how Steve looks without the mountain man beard. The day after our return, Horka took us to some sights around the city. We went to the “Monkey Temple” which isn’t about monkeys, they just live there and its easier for tourists to say Monkey temple as opposed to its real name. And, I think the idea of monkey’s draw tourists who have to pay 100rps to enter. The monkey’s are lil’ creepers. They will take food right out of your hands! They are not shy. To reach the temple we climb stairs up up up! Its hot and we are soaking in sweat. Beggars line the steps. The temple is ok, but the view of the Kat is great! Worth the hike!.We walk through the temple park and get to a busy road. Horka gets us on a public bus- which is like a VW van type thing. The driver’s side kick is yelling “Botha!! Botha!!” And soon the bus is PACKED. I am sitting face backward beside an old old woman. She looks like the type to be photographed for the cover of National Geographic...very traditional and wrinkly and interesting. The van door stays open as we swerve through the streets and the sidekick yells for more passengers going to Botha. The old lady pats my leg and through body language she tells me she is getting off and that Steve (who is crammed into the far back with Horka) can come sit with me. I relay this to Steve and he just waves his hand and says no- its all good...she thinks thats funny and laughs, she climbs over me and several other people and off she goes. The public transit is a great way to see the people...but its soooo hot! The sweat is running down my legs. We finally make it to the largest stoopa in Kathmandu and get off the bus. Near this place, Horka and his friends own a shop that makes and sells Thuka (don’t know spelling) paintings. These are traditional buddhist art. We see the painters and students working on the Thuka’s. We sit down for a coke. Its airconditioned. I appreciate the art- the detail is absolutely amazing! Some of the paintings take four months to complete. Now, so far in our trip I think we have been open to other cultures and accepting and respectful..etc. But the sales guy is trying to sell me one- and they are really beautiful, but I really can’t see myself having a painting of a god I don’t believe in. Its the same when the Hindi holy men come up and try to “bless” me with red paint on the forehead- absolutely not! So, I finally see one that is of gold writing in a circular pattern on black paper. The writing is a meditation phrase/mantra that sounds like “oh ma neh pat me om” which we always hear being sung. Its also very pretty. So I decide it is a neutral piece and buy it. We go for lunch on a rooftop and people watch. After our late lunch we walk around until monsoon rain comes. It was a nice day to spend with Horka. We spent time with the brits, american, and they introduced us to some guys from Bangledash- we toured more of Kathmandu and went to well known places like the Yak & Yeti to gamble and to Rum Doodle and Fire & Ice to eat. We had a whoot! I would try to tell some of the stories, but they just wouldn’t soung funny...had to be there!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Trek! Days 1-14
Day One- Nose Dive Landing.
Wake up at 0430 after sleeping only 2 hours- we are too excited to sleep! Mr. Horka (our guide) and Kristi (from trek company) greet us and we all drive to the airport. Domestic side is different from international. There is a pile of dog poo on the floor! People are bringing supplies and goods to be flown to Lukla- we see bags of rice, doors, plywood, chicken soup, and a wood stove. We board an 18 passenger ‘twin otter’- it appears to have made many trips to Lukla. The stewardess points us to seats and hands out cotton balls to plug our ears and candy to suck on- the cabin is not pressurized- daylight comes through the door seams after its closed. I’m a little anxious. The combination of a small plane from a third world nation flying into the highest mountain range on earth scares me. We take off. Fly through clouds for a few minutes adn then emerge above them- but we are not alone- to the left is the Himalaya! The peaks sore above the clouds- the peaks are higher than the otter! The flight lasts 30 mins and by the time we approach Lukla we are surrounded by mountains- in fact, we are flying directly towards one...I feel the plane slow and we suddenly dip, I see the mountain side out the pilots window. We dip again and I have Steve’s arm in a death grip- I see the mountain base. We dip steeply and I see the ground but no runway. I’m freakin out and weird noises of fear escape me. I think we are nose diving to the ground but then I see runway! The pilot swoops the plane up at the last moment and we bounce along the pavement. The plane comes to a stop in less than thirty seconds! We exit and see that the runway is very short and goes uphill. At the far end is the mountain and the other end is a drop off. The airport is on the mountain ledge.
We have breakfast at a tea house- porridge for me and eggs for Steve. Horka arranges a porter to carry our pack. Our pack weighs 22kg and I feel guilty that someone else will be carrying it for 3 weeks. However, its not long before my guilt subsides. Not only is day one being done on little sleep, the terrain is constantly up and down. The trail is rocky and a little slick from the rain. We learn that porters carry up to 120kgs! An average load is 40-50kg. Our bag is a simple load. Our porter catches up to us as we break for lunch at a tea house a few hours in. He is maybe 4’5’’ and looks like a Himalayan hard man. He seems to be grateful to be hired in the off season because he thanks us heartily for the job. He jimmies up the pack to his forehead strap and burns up the trail- he is wearing flipflops. We pass through several villages. No roads, just paths, farm animals are roaming and locals are working. We both feel like trespassers in some far off land. I want to tip toe and apologize for being there...people just smile and go about their business. Children pause to give us a folded hand ‘namaste’ then run off.
Two hours later we arrive to Manjo at 2835m (9300ft) and stop for the night. Our feet are sore from the rental boots- happy to be resting.
Day 2- By Steve
Slept good but kept waking up, some sort of rodent running around our room
BJ said it was in the walls, but don’t believe her
Took 3 hours to get to Namche Bazar
Heart rates both at 72 resting
Saw REALLY small kids, maybe 3 years old but less than 2 feet tall, we call them buddah babies.
Sherpa granny passed us on trail- at least 70 years old/4 ft tall/ no teeth/ wearing flipflops
took showers but were too hot, no cold water, staying at “everest hotel”
New discovery: RaRa noodles = Ichiban noodles! This is good :)
Clear morning but rained a little at noon
Saw injured woman riding in a porter basket- on way to hospital in Lukla
Today is July 12th, 2009 AD. In Nepal it is July 12th, 2066 BS. I think BS stands for “Before Sherpa” but I don’t know for sure
No headaches, no AMS symptoms
Day 3: By Steve
Woke up to clear skies
Hiked to lookout ridge above Namche, 400m elevation gain for acclimatization, took 2.5 hours.
BJ has big blisters all over her feet. She is a trooper.
Saw part of Everest!
Today is the best day because BJ turns 84 in Nepali years! She is older than me and I feel young :)
Bad news: BJ has head cold. She shows no signs of AMS but has little energy. I will keep a close eye on her. I love her way more than any of these mountains.
Mailed post card to mom and dad. Little hope it will make it. Don’t have address book so couldn’t mail anymore.
Day 4: “Showers Ready!”
I feel better than yesterday. I can’t think of a worse place to have a head cold. Its hard to breathe when I lay down and my throat is swollen and sore. We loaded up on drugs in from the shops in Namche. You can buy all sorts of drugs here! We decided to push on and leave Namche Bazar. Clear skies and we see all of everest- so exciting!!!
Trek in view of Everest and Lhotse for an hour and then turn up a valley. Going up to 3979m today then back down to 3500m. Get to 3979 and stop for lunch. I have zero appetite and have to force myself to eat the RaRa. I feel like I’ve just had turkey dinner and have to eat another turkey dinner. Takes a long time to eat. Steve has no problem- he pounds back a mountain of dal baht. I just stare at him in disbelief. We see kids at the teahouse and they wrestle and fight, some things are universal! We see yaks on the trail. They look like small cows with big horns who are covered in wooly fur!
Sunburnt faces/necks/arms. Temperature in the mid 20’s. Despite duct taping my blisters most of them are worse. Its very painful. I will wear my own shoes tomorrow.
We arrive to Phortse Tanga. I’m not feeling well. My lunch time RaRa is sitting in my stomach like a rock and the blisters are really raw. Steve is playing cards with H & M and the tea shop worker. I stink and decide a shower will do me good. Steve runs to the room and says “shower is ready!” So I go. I get in and turn on the water. Its very cold. I wash my feet with the cold water. Its not getting warm. I decide to wash my hair while the water warms up...I get it shampooed and partially rinsed then suddenly there is no water at all. AH!!! I fiddle with the tap. Nothing. I have to dry my legs and feet and get redressed. I go to the sink and finish rinsing the shampoo out. I am freezing cold. I go back to the room and use baby wipes to finish my ‘shower’. I can hear Steve and the others laughing and having a good time, I am miserable. Steve comes bouncing into the room and asks “how was your shower?!” We find out later that they have add a bucket of hot water to the water supply on the roof when someone wants to shower. That didn’t happen for me. Everyone has a good laugh at my expense, I hold Steve fully responsible :) I feel like crap all evening. No appetite.
Day 5: Blisters
-I wake up feeling better and am even hungry!
I eat some Yak milk rice pudding with raisins for breaky- mom’s is WAY better
- I wear my own shoes.
-I make little padded band aides using tissue, antibacterial gel, and duct tape for the really open blisters
Hit the trail- clear skies with cloudy patches
Yak had diarrhea all over trail for at least a kilometer
Monsoon rain makes trail muddy but at least it only rains in evenings/night
Many waterfalls along trail today
Climb 500m over 2 hours. Both feeling well
Elevation at Dole 4084m
Hungry at elevation!
Wash stinky clothes in river.
Eat lunch of RaRa noodles and MoMo’s (no meat here)
Food sits in stomach like rock. Again.
Play cards/play chess/read.
Hope my feet heal
Day 6: By Steve
-Trek to Macherimo @ 4410m
-Both feel good with no AMS symptoms
Had great view of Cho Oyo!
Above tree line now. Sun is HOT, wind is COLD
This tea house is empty. It is very nice though.
Tried on Pack “sherpa style” today. It was ok but could not walk very long like that.
02 level at 57% (relative to sea level)
Played cards and taught H&M new gambling game. They love it. They teach us Nepali card games. Mohan’s english is fast and random. Its funny.
BJ’s feet are a little better, but blister splits open when in squatter shitter position.
Extra Large fly in BJ’s potatoes.
Day 7: Missing Home
-Slept off and on. Made 2am dash to squatter in my undies. I like being the only one here!
Been bona-fide vegetarians for several days now. No meat here in the low season. Even fruit (canned or fresh) seems to be non-existent.
Food mainly consists of starches- Potatoes, rice, pasta. Veggies include onion/garlic/ and something similar to bok choy but they call it cabbage and it tastes like sand.
Steve got a little bit of cauliflower in his dal baht today
We eat yak milk (technically nak milk b/c a yak is a boy!) and yak cheese.
Hike today was nice. Made it to Gokyo in 3 hours
Glacier lakes and frikkin awesome mountain views.
Wind is cold and the sun still burns.
Walked by a rustic yak farm
A horse walked up the trail to us today. I put out my hand and he came up to me for a scratch.
Blisters are on the mend but I may have to wear torture boots for climb tomorrow.
Missing luxuries of home and thinking of home alot
I miss my shower gel and puff ball. Miss running water and power.
Our tea house guy just loaded up the wood stove with dried yak shit.
Miss all things bad! Ice cream, pizza and TV.
Miss breathing normal. Any exertion here makes you short of breath and dizzy.
Day 8: Gokyo Ri
Go to bed early and sleep horribly. Constantly tossing and turning, hot and cold
Wake up at 0430 to climb Gokyo Ri
Eat chapati and tea before leaving at 0500
I can’t bear to put on those boots- I wear my own shoes.
Cold out! A few clouds in sky
Hard to breathe as we switchback up the mountain
Moment of weakness an hour in. “Thats it!!! Steve, we are going home and Making babies!!! No more of this Shit!!” Steve laughs and gives me water as we rest.
Keep climbing up up up!
See strange bird family. They fly like kamikaze style but soar like eagles.
Can’t breathe well as sinus cold has gone to the chest...coughing sputum
We summit in 2 hours and have wicked clear view of Everest/Lhotse/Makalu
Took many photos @ 17590ft!!!
No wind but clouds move quickly around other mountain peaks
Its Amazing and this is the highest we have ever been!
Its OUR top of the world!
Spend 45 mins at summit
Eat chocolate and nuts.
Takes 1 hour 20 mins to de-summit
We are proud of our climb. We eat RaRa and go back to bed
Both wake up with massive headaches
My head pulses with every heart beat. My eyeballs bulge out of the socket with each heartbeat. I pop Ibuprofen. Crawl back into bed.
Later I find Steve in the dining hall chatting with an Irish girl. Her name is Tracey. We play cards and chat.
Finally eat dinner and sleep.
Day 9: Down we go
-Coughing through night keeps me awake
Leave Gokyo and make way back to Phortse Tanga. It takes 7 hours.
Sadly lost 800m in elevation.
Should feel like super woman with all these extra red blood cells but I don’t- I’m dead tired and have chills.
Steve is having a problem with his right leg. He thinks its nerve related not muscular. We suspect it could be due to his ambitious attempt at wearing the pack ‘sherpa style’
I barely eat dinner, appetite is low and the chemical flavor of the packaged spaghetti sauce is highly unappealling.
Play cards and read, in bed at 2000hrs.
Day 10: A rough day
Steve’s Account:
Left Phortse Tanga for Pangboche. BJ has hit her lowest mental level yet. She got REALLY p.o’d at all the ups and downs on the trail today. She even threw her hiking stick on the trail (it almost went off the side of the mountain...) I didn’t say anything because I was afraid. I was praying that her ipod would not run out of juice, I’m sure that it would have been the cake topper. She got a hold of herself and we continued. Made it to Pangboche in about 3 hours. We washed some clothes and our hair in the river and tried to eat some lunch. BJ had potato salad and soup. I had “potato’s with on top two eggs”. We played cards and chilled until dinner. I had dal baht and she had some fried rice. We watched some of a Nepali movie then BJ felt like she was going to puke. In ten minutes she was behind the building blowing chunks by light of her headlamp. I stood by her and comforted her. After she was done I put her to bed. We think it was the rice. She had a very rough day. She slept like a log. In the morning we checked to see the puke, the stray dogs ate it.
BJ’s Account:
Another night of coughing. We ate RaRa for breaky and hit the trail. Climbed three of the four hundred meters in 30 mins! WOW! We must be uber loaded with red blood cells! We stop for tea at Phortse. We keep going- more elevation- then more, and more- WTF? Every time we cross a ridge on the mountain side we see more trail with more elevation to be gained. Knowing we only have a 400m gain for our next stop and we have already gained 300m means we were working really hard and will inevitably descend. ARGH. Thats It!!! We’ve been ascending and descending for ten days!! I have a death grip on my hiking pole and begin stabbing it into the trail. The anger is brewing- I think H&M sense it and are keeping some distance behind us. I’m so mad. I turn on my ipod and try to get in a groove- I try to find my happy place. So frustrated! I’m crying but no tears come. I throw my pole at the mountainside and it nearly goes off the edge of the cliff. I decide I’m just being ridiculous and try so hard to cheer up but not even the views can pacify me. Steve says “its a mountain in the himalaya- its going to be hilly.” I’m just tired of it all. We see some mountain goats which are much different than the ones at home. I am happy to see some wildlife. We make it to Pangboche. I have pen tip sized water blisters all over my right arm from the sun. It feels like reptile skin. Steve’s head is peeling from his sunburn and the new skin is burning- its very painful for him. We wash in the river. Tracey makes it to our hut. Nice company. There are the cutest stray dogs here- they look like little bears. The locals are mean and kick them, toss water at them, and fire rocks at them. There is a sherpa here who has summited Everest four times. We play cards. I attempt to eat dinner but am unable to finish my fried rice- something is wrong. I am barfing my face off behind the hut in no time. Can’t think of a worse place to be barfing. Steve preps my bed and gets me gravol- he’s been a good nurse for me. I sleep all night- only get up once to use squatter. Feel better in morning. I eat a pancake and Steve eats RaRa. Horka agrees we are ok to go on.
Day 11: We find Bread!
Leave Pangboche and walk 3 hours to Periche. The walk is gentler than yesterday and the little black bear dog has followed us. Steve lets me pretend the black dog is ours and refrains from kicking it :) We pass memorials to those lost on surrounding mountains. We see a yak farmer and no one else (except for Tracey and her guide). We stay at the nicest tea house yet- its very clean and warm. We even have our own flushable toilet! We wash clothes in the river- I am really tired of stinking. I think the diet makes us stink worse- all the onions and garlic added to everything. While at the river a massive brown yak creeps up to less than ten feet behind us. He is walking away by the time I get a photo. Horka has some exciting news for us- the tea house has bread!! Its the first place that has bread! They also have tuna! Steve orders a grilled tuna and I get a grilled veg sandwich! Its made of onion, garlic, cabbage, AND carrot! Its delicious! The bread is light and fluffy! Later this night we even eat a can of fruit salad! I am finally feeling better (other than the loose cough) and we celebrate with some chocolate.
Day 12: Up up and Away
I slept so well I could barely pull myself out of bed @ 0700. The usual routine- porridge for me and RaRa for Stevie. On the trail by 0830- followed for some time by three stray dogs. I feel good, can breathe clear and the cough is loosening up. We have to take the long path to Thukla d/t the bridge being washed out on the shorter route- it adds an hour and a half to the hike. An hour or so in we spot Tracy's guide but no Tracy. The guide talks to H&M in Nepali. Steve asks ‘where is Tracy?’ he replies with “she wants to go back down” and quickly walks away. Hmmm...we see no sign of Tracy and I’m worried. We ask Horka what was said. The guide told him that she is mad that they walked too far yesterday and she wants to go back. We keep walking and it is sometime before we finally see Tracy- I am relieved to see her. As we approach each other on the trail we see she is upset and crying. Turns out her guide was a total creeper and thought they should share a room together for each others safety. She refused and he became angry and called her a stupid woman and then refused to talk to her. Freaky!! She was heading back to Kathmandu and he was no longer her guide. I was pretty shocked though that he would not arrange for someone to walk with her! We suggested she head to the lodge we were just at b/c it was nice and comfortable. There was a woman there waiting for her family and Tracy had met her before...perhaps they could trek down together.
Later we saw a sick woman coming down the mountain on a horse. Then at Thukla we met another woman with a fairly bad case of AMS on her way to lower elevation. AMS is scary and serious! Go slow! Thats the rule! After a RaRa lunch and macoroni for Steve, we start climbing and gaining big elevation. We hike up a steep rocky valley. While Steve and I are breathing hard and breaking, H&M chat and sing! I love when they sing. The wind is howling and cold on our backs but then it will suddenly stop and the sun bakes us. We get to the valley top and are met with a sombre site. There is a memorial site for climbers and sherpas lost on Everest. There are prayer flags on the stoopa’s and the clouds are blowing between them. Spooky and sad.
We arrive at Labouche at 1400hrs. Its the most expensive place yet! A cup of tea is 55rps compared to 30 when we started out. RaRa us 260rps- we paid 120rps at lunch! No other trekkers are at the tea house- only locals. The clouds have blown in and obscured everything so we play cards/chat/read. We eat a traditional yak meat snack. They don’t have fridges or freezers here...so they dry the yak meat. Then they cook it with spices. We have not yet had yak meat because its not the on season. I find it much much too spicey- it burns. And its like chewing on leather. The locals wash it down with a homebrew called Chang. It looks like milkshake but it is made from fermenting rice. We try that. Its horrible shit. Tastes like rotten yeasty loaf of bread with more rotten flavor added and a hint of alcohol. Its getting dark, they start playing with the power to get some lights on. A tiny old man stands on the plastic lawnchairs and rubs the florescent light tubes...apparently massaging the lights makes them come on...
One week left! Tomorrow we hike to Gorak Shep and then to EBC after lunch!
Day 13: EBC
- I have a PB&J pancake for breakfast, the PB is so dry it crumbles out of the jar! Tasted ok though, Steve ate RaRa.
- Leave Labouche at 0830. I felt like I couldn’t get going today despite a good sleep. My legs were like jelly. Still, we made good time to Gorak Shep- just two hours and 15 mins!
Steve still has pain in his right leg.
Clear blue skies in the morning. Sun burns us and my water blisters reappear all over my arm
Passed more memorials today
Hiked along the Khumbu glacier and up steep moraine
considered hiking kala pathar today but the clouds came in
Went to base camp instead! YAY!
Was great to be “where it all begins” but there wasn’t anything there! No prayer flags, no stoopa’s, couldn’t see any litter. Just glacier rock.
We couldn’t walk to the Khumbu ice fall because the glacier we were on was melting and shifting, across from us was Nuptse- who is making noise! Rockslides and avalanches are constant!
Horka broke a peice of glacier off for us. Steve ate it and it was full of sand.
I like the glacier dust here, its sparkly and makes my pants sparkle
Very tired now and cold. We are huddled in the tea house wearing down jackets, wrapped in blankets, and playing cards.
Its raining out
Kala Patar in the am.
Day 14: Kala Patar
What a day! Long day! Woke up at 0430 to climb Kala Patar. My lips were sore when I woke- felt like there were 2 cracks down the sides of my bottom lip. It was painful to form some words. I tell Steve something is wrong with my mouth. I get my headlamp and find a mirror- my lips are swollen up like sausages! Your kidding! I turn on the light to show Steve- he learns in to get a closer look and starts laughing- “you look like buba!” The sun from yesterdays climb must have burnt my lips! I brush my teeth but can’t spit. I take ibuprofen. We go to eat at 0500 and I spill my hot chocolate and oatmeal. The swelling seems to be going down by the time we are on the trail- but I can’t smile because it feels like the lips will split. I know what I will look like with collagen implants.
Turns out the peak visible from Gorak Shep is not the true summit of Kala Patar. It takes an hour and 45 mins to summit. KP isn’t as steep as Gokyo Ri and I make it without any moments of weakness ;) We find tonnes of prayer flags on the summit and they are something of a hazard! They get tangled up in your shoes easy and with a shear drop to the left of the summit it makes us extra cautious. The views were absolutely incredible! Clear skies and we are directly across from Everest. We can see the south col, and hillary step. We are directly below Pumor Ri. We take photos for nearly an hour at 18210ft (5550m). The O2 level is below 50%. Takes an hour to descend and we decide to have some RaRa and then hike to lower elevation today. A man enters the tea house and following him is Tracy! Wow! I was surprised and super happy to see her. She took some time at Periche and decided to push on. I’m so happy she gets to finish her trek and she is heading up KP for the clear views of the morning.
We leave Gorak Shep and set our sites to Thukla. Its a long climb down but we keep a steady pace. We finally get to Thukla- a little tired and a lot hungry. Mohan has a headache so we agree we should have a rest and food at Thukla and then keep going lower. Steve and I both order macoroni with tomato sauce. The food comes and we dig in- the sauce is separate from the noodles and this is how we notice something weird. The noodles look like they been boiled in dirty water. Steve finds a small oval brown piece inside a noodle. Then I spot one in mine. Hmm...Steve says “it must be a spice” and I said “yeah right, its a mouse shit.” Steve disagrees but I know what a mouse shit looks like and we dig out 8 more mouse shit containing noodles. Appetite lost. Steve says to the tea house worker who has black toe nails “What the hell is this? Mouse shit??!” The guy stares at it, picks at it, and can’t answer. We all decide its mouse poo. Barf! There are no health inspectors out here...the worker didn’t even apologize. I am so happy we are continuing down...
We hike on. Steve and I chat about home and what we want to do when we have a home. I want to learn to can food- make some pickles and salsa. A few hours later and we get to the tea house we were aiming for. It was closed! We hike on. We get to the next village- all is closed! We hike on. In the end we hike all the way to Pangboche. We are so tired and stiff- overall we hiked over 12 km and lost over 1.2 km in elevation. A 12 hour day of exertion. My lips are still puffy, anything salty burns like acid on them, but they are getting better. We will sleep in.
Wake up at 0430 after sleeping only 2 hours- we are too excited to sleep! Mr. Horka (our guide) and Kristi (from trek company) greet us and we all drive to the airport. Domestic side is different from international. There is a pile of dog poo on the floor! People are bringing supplies and goods to be flown to Lukla- we see bags of rice, doors, plywood, chicken soup, and a wood stove. We board an 18 passenger ‘twin otter’- it appears to have made many trips to Lukla. The stewardess points us to seats and hands out cotton balls to plug our ears and candy to suck on- the cabin is not pressurized- daylight comes through the door seams after its closed. I’m a little anxious. The combination of a small plane from a third world nation flying into the highest mountain range on earth scares me. We take off. Fly through clouds for a few minutes adn then emerge above them- but we are not alone- to the left is the Himalaya! The peaks sore above the clouds- the peaks are higher than the otter! The flight lasts 30 mins and by the time we approach Lukla we are surrounded by mountains- in fact, we are flying directly towards one...I feel the plane slow and we suddenly dip, I see the mountain side out the pilots window. We dip again and I have Steve’s arm in a death grip- I see the mountain base. We dip steeply and I see the ground but no runway. I’m freakin out and weird noises of fear escape me. I think we are nose diving to the ground but then I see runway! The pilot swoops the plane up at the last moment and we bounce along the pavement. The plane comes to a stop in less than thirty seconds! We exit and see that the runway is very short and goes uphill. At the far end is the mountain and the other end is a drop off. The airport is on the mountain ledge.
We have breakfast at a tea house- porridge for me and eggs for Steve. Horka arranges a porter to carry our pack. Our pack weighs 22kg and I feel guilty that someone else will be carrying it for 3 weeks. However, its not long before my guilt subsides. Not only is day one being done on little sleep, the terrain is constantly up and down. The trail is rocky and a little slick from the rain. We learn that porters carry up to 120kgs! An average load is 40-50kg. Our bag is a simple load. Our porter catches up to us as we break for lunch at a tea house a few hours in. He is maybe 4’5’’ and looks like a Himalayan hard man. He seems to be grateful to be hired in the off season because he thanks us heartily for the job. He jimmies up the pack to his forehead strap and burns up the trail- he is wearing flipflops. We pass through several villages. No roads, just paths, farm animals are roaming and locals are working. We both feel like trespassers in some far off land. I want to tip toe and apologize for being there...people just smile and go about their business. Children pause to give us a folded hand ‘namaste’ then run off.
Two hours later we arrive to Manjo at 2835m (9300ft) and stop for the night. Our feet are sore from the rental boots- happy to be resting.
Day 2- By Steve
Slept good but kept waking up, some sort of rodent running around our room
BJ said it was in the walls, but don’t believe her
Took 3 hours to get to Namche Bazar
Heart rates both at 72 resting
Saw REALLY small kids, maybe 3 years old but less than 2 feet tall, we call them buddah babies.
Sherpa granny passed us on trail- at least 70 years old/4 ft tall/ no teeth/ wearing flipflops
took showers but were too hot, no cold water, staying at “everest hotel”
New discovery: RaRa noodles = Ichiban noodles! This is good :)
Clear morning but rained a little at noon
Saw injured woman riding in a porter basket- on way to hospital in Lukla
Today is July 12th, 2009 AD. In Nepal it is July 12th, 2066 BS. I think BS stands for “Before Sherpa” but I don’t know for sure
No headaches, no AMS symptoms
Day 3: By Steve
Woke up to clear skies
Hiked to lookout ridge above Namche, 400m elevation gain for acclimatization, took 2.5 hours.
BJ has big blisters all over her feet. She is a trooper.
Saw part of Everest!
Today is the best day because BJ turns 84 in Nepali years! She is older than me and I feel young :)
Bad news: BJ has head cold. She shows no signs of AMS but has little energy. I will keep a close eye on her. I love her way more than any of these mountains.
Mailed post card to mom and dad. Little hope it will make it. Don’t have address book so couldn’t mail anymore.
Day 4: “Showers Ready!”
I feel better than yesterday. I can’t think of a worse place to have a head cold. Its hard to breathe when I lay down and my throat is swollen and sore. We loaded up on drugs in from the shops in Namche. You can buy all sorts of drugs here! We decided to push on and leave Namche Bazar. Clear skies and we see all of everest- so exciting!!!
Trek in view of Everest and Lhotse for an hour and then turn up a valley. Going up to 3979m today then back down to 3500m. Get to 3979 and stop for lunch. I have zero appetite and have to force myself to eat the RaRa. I feel like I’ve just had turkey dinner and have to eat another turkey dinner. Takes a long time to eat. Steve has no problem- he pounds back a mountain of dal baht. I just stare at him in disbelief. We see kids at the teahouse and they wrestle and fight, some things are universal! We see yaks on the trail. They look like small cows with big horns who are covered in wooly fur!
Sunburnt faces/necks/arms. Temperature in the mid 20’s. Despite duct taping my blisters most of them are worse. Its very painful. I will wear my own shoes tomorrow.
We arrive to Phortse Tanga. I’m not feeling well. My lunch time RaRa is sitting in my stomach like a rock and the blisters are really raw. Steve is playing cards with H & M and the tea shop worker. I stink and decide a shower will do me good. Steve runs to the room and says “shower is ready!” So I go. I get in and turn on the water. Its very cold. I wash my feet with the cold water. Its not getting warm. I decide to wash my hair while the water warms up...I get it shampooed and partially rinsed then suddenly there is no water at all. AH!!! I fiddle with the tap. Nothing. I have to dry my legs and feet and get redressed. I go to the sink and finish rinsing the shampoo out. I am freezing cold. I go back to the room and use baby wipes to finish my ‘shower’. I can hear Steve and the others laughing and having a good time, I am miserable. Steve comes bouncing into the room and asks “how was your shower?!” We find out later that they have add a bucket of hot water to the water supply on the roof when someone wants to shower. That didn’t happen for me. Everyone has a good laugh at my expense, I hold Steve fully responsible :) I feel like crap all evening. No appetite.
Day 5: Blisters
-I wake up feeling better and am even hungry!
I eat some Yak milk rice pudding with raisins for breaky- mom’s is WAY better
- I wear my own shoes.
-I make little padded band aides using tissue, antibacterial gel, and duct tape for the really open blisters
Hit the trail- clear skies with cloudy patches
Yak had diarrhea all over trail for at least a kilometer
Monsoon rain makes trail muddy but at least it only rains in evenings/night
Many waterfalls along trail today
Climb 500m over 2 hours. Both feeling well
Elevation at Dole 4084m
Hungry at elevation!
Wash stinky clothes in river.
Eat lunch of RaRa noodles and MoMo’s (no meat here)
Food sits in stomach like rock. Again.
Play cards/play chess/read.
Hope my feet heal
Day 6: By Steve
-Trek to Macherimo @ 4410m
-Both feel good with no AMS symptoms
Had great view of Cho Oyo!
Above tree line now. Sun is HOT, wind is COLD
This tea house is empty. It is very nice though.
Tried on Pack “sherpa style” today. It was ok but could not walk very long like that.
02 level at 57% (relative to sea level)
Played cards and taught H&M new gambling game. They love it. They teach us Nepali card games. Mohan’s english is fast and random. Its funny.
BJ’s feet are a little better, but blister splits open when in squatter shitter position.
Extra Large fly in BJ’s potatoes.
Day 7: Missing Home
-Slept off and on. Made 2am dash to squatter in my undies. I like being the only one here!
Been bona-fide vegetarians for several days now. No meat here in the low season. Even fruit (canned or fresh) seems to be non-existent.
Food mainly consists of starches- Potatoes, rice, pasta. Veggies include onion/garlic/ and something similar to bok choy but they call it cabbage and it tastes like sand.
Steve got a little bit of cauliflower in his dal baht today
We eat yak milk (technically nak milk b/c a yak is a boy!) and yak cheese.
Hike today was nice. Made it to Gokyo in 3 hours
Glacier lakes and frikkin awesome mountain views.
Wind is cold and the sun still burns.
Walked by a rustic yak farm
A horse walked up the trail to us today. I put out my hand and he came up to me for a scratch.
Blisters are on the mend but I may have to wear torture boots for climb tomorrow.
Missing luxuries of home and thinking of home alot
I miss my shower gel and puff ball. Miss running water and power.
Our tea house guy just loaded up the wood stove with dried yak shit.
Miss all things bad! Ice cream, pizza and TV.
Miss breathing normal. Any exertion here makes you short of breath and dizzy.
Day 8: Gokyo Ri
Go to bed early and sleep horribly. Constantly tossing and turning, hot and cold
Wake up at 0430 to climb Gokyo Ri
Eat chapati and tea before leaving at 0500
I can’t bear to put on those boots- I wear my own shoes.
Cold out! A few clouds in sky
Hard to breathe as we switchback up the mountain
Moment of weakness an hour in. “Thats it!!! Steve, we are going home and Making babies!!! No more of this Shit!!” Steve laughs and gives me water as we rest.
Keep climbing up up up!
See strange bird family. They fly like kamikaze style but soar like eagles.
Can’t breathe well as sinus cold has gone to the chest...coughing sputum
We summit in 2 hours and have wicked clear view of Everest/Lhotse/Makalu
Took many photos @ 17590ft!!!
No wind but clouds move quickly around other mountain peaks
Its Amazing and this is the highest we have ever been!
Its OUR top of the world!
Spend 45 mins at summit
Eat chocolate and nuts.
Takes 1 hour 20 mins to de-summit
We are proud of our climb. We eat RaRa and go back to bed
Both wake up with massive headaches
My head pulses with every heart beat. My eyeballs bulge out of the socket with each heartbeat. I pop Ibuprofen. Crawl back into bed.
Later I find Steve in the dining hall chatting with an Irish girl. Her name is Tracey. We play cards and chat.
Finally eat dinner and sleep.
Day 9: Down we go
-Coughing through night keeps me awake
Leave Gokyo and make way back to Phortse Tanga. It takes 7 hours.
Sadly lost 800m in elevation.
Should feel like super woman with all these extra red blood cells but I don’t- I’m dead tired and have chills.
Steve is having a problem with his right leg. He thinks its nerve related not muscular. We suspect it could be due to his ambitious attempt at wearing the pack ‘sherpa style’
I barely eat dinner, appetite is low and the chemical flavor of the packaged spaghetti sauce is highly unappealling.
Play cards and read, in bed at 2000hrs.
Day 10: A rough day
Steve’s Account:
Left Phortse Tanga for Pangboche. BJ has hit her lowest mental level yet. She got REALLY p.o’d at all the ups and downs on the trail today. She even threw her hiking stick on the trail (it almost went off the side of the mountain...) I didn’t say anything because I was afraid. I was praying that her ipod would not run out of juice, I’m sure that it would have been the cake topper. She got a hold of herself and we continued. Made it to Pangboche in about 3 hours. We washed some clothes and our hair in the river and tried to eat some lunch. BJ had potato salad and soup. I had “potato’s with on top two eggs”. We played cards and chilled until dinner. I had dal baht and she had some fried rice. We watched some of a Nepali movie then BJ felt like she was going to puke. In ten minutes she was behind the building blowing chunks by light of her headlamp. I stood by her and comforted her. After she was done I put her to bed. We think it was the rice. She had a very rough day. She slept like a log. In the morning we checked to see the puke, the stray dogs ate it.
BJ’s Account:
Another night of coughing. We ate RaRa for breaky and hit the trail. Climbed three of the four hundred meters in 30 mins! WOW! We must be uber loaded with red blood cells! We stop for tea at Phortse. We keep going- more elevation- then more, and more- WTF? Every time we cross a ridge on the mountain side we see more trail with more elevation to be gained. Knowing we only have a 400m gain for our next stop and we have already gained 300m means we were working really hard and will inevitably descend. ARGH. Thats It!!! We’ve been ascending and descending for ten days!! I have a death grip on my hiking pole and begin stabbing it into the trail. The anger is brewing- I think H&M sense it and are keeping some distance behind us. I’m so mad. I turn on my ipod and try to get in a groove- I try to find my happy place. So frustrated! I’m crying but no tears come. I throw my pole at the mountainside and it nearly goes off the edge of the cliff. I decide I’m just being ridiculous and try so hard to cheer up but not even the views can pacify me. Steve says “its a mountain in the himalaya- its going to be hilly.” I’m just tired of it all. We see some mountain goats which are much different than the ones at home. I am happy to see some wildlife. We make it to Pangboche. I have pen tip sized water blisters all over my right arm from the sun. It feels like reptile skin. Steve’s head is peeling from his sunburn and the new skin is burning- its very painful for him. We wash in the river. Tracey makes it to our hut. Nice company. There are the cutest stray dogs here- they look like little bears. The locals are mean and kick them, toss water at them, and fire rocks at them. There is a sherpa here who has summited Everest four times. We play cards. I attempt to eat dinner but am unable to finish my fried rice- something is wrong. I am barfing my face off behind the hut in no time. Can’t think of a worse place to be barfing. Steve preps my bed and gets me gravol- he’s been a good nurse for me. I sleep all night- only get up once to use squatter. Feel better in morning. I eat a pancake and Steve eats RaRa. Horka agrees we are ok to go on.
Day 11: We find Bread!
Leave Pangboche and walk 3 hours to Periche. The walk is gentler than yesterday and the little black bear dog has followed us. Steve lets me pretend the black dog is ours and refrains from kicking it :) We pass memorials to those lost on surrounding mountains. We see a yak farmer and no one else (except for Tracey and her guide). We stay at the nicest tea house yet- its very clean and warm. We even have our own flushable toilet! We wash clothes in the river- I am really tired of stinking. I think the diet makes us stink worse- all the onions and garlic added to everything. While at the river a massive brown yak creeps up to less than ten feet behind us. He is walking away by the time I get a photo. Horka has some exciting news for us- the tea house has bread!! Its the first place that has bread! They also have tuna! Steve orders a grilled tuna and I get a grilled veg sandwich! Its made of onion, garlic, cabbage, AND carrot! Its delicious! The bread is light and fluffy! Later this night we even eat a can of fruit salad! I am finally feeling better (other than the loose cough) and we celebrate with some chocolate.
Day 12: Up up and Away
I slept so well I could barely pull myself out of bed @ 0700. The usual routine- porridge for me and RaRa for Stevie. On the trail by 0830- followed for some time by three stray dogs. I feel good, can breathe clear and the cough is loosening up. We have to take the long path to Thukla d/t the bridge being washed out on the shorter route- it adds an hour and a half to the hike. An hour or so in we spot Tracy's guide but no Tracy. The guide talks to H&M in Nepali. Steve asks ‘where is Tracy?’ he replies with “she wants to go back down” and quickly walks away. Hmmm...we see no sign of Tracy and I’m worried. We ask Horka what was said. The guide told him that she is mad that they walked too far yesterday and she wants to go back. We keep walking and it is sometime before we finally see Tracy- I am relieved to see her. As we approach each other on the trail we see she is upset and crying. Turns out her guide was a total creeper and thought they should share a room together for each others safety. She refused and he became angry and called her a stupid woman and then refused to talk to her. Freaky!! She was heading back to Kathmandu and he was no longer her guide. I was pretty shocked though that he would not arrange for someone to walk with her! We suggested she head to the lodge we were just at b/c it was nice and comfortable. There was a woman there waiting for her family and Tracy had met her before...perhaps they could trek down together.
Later we saw a sick woman coming down the mountain on a horse. Then at Thukla we met another woman with a fairly bad case of AMS on her way to lower elevation. AMS is scary and serious! Go slow! Thats the rule! After a RaRa lunch and macoroni for Steve, we start climbing and gaining big elevation. We hike up a steep rocky valley. While Steve and I are breathing hard and breaking, H&M chat and sing! I love when they sing. The wind is howling and cold on our backs but then it will suddenly stop and the sun bakes us. We get to the valley top and are met with a sombre site. There is a memorial site for climbers and sherpas lost on Everest. There are prayer flags on the stoopa’s and the clouds are blowing between them. Spooky and sad.
We arrive at Labouche at 1400hrs. Its the most expensive place yet! A cup of tea is 55rps compared to 30 when we started out. RaRa us 260rps- we paid 120rps at lunch! No other trekkers are at the tea house- only locals. The clouds have blown in and obscured everything so we play cards/chat/read. We eat a traditional yak meat snack. They don’t have fridges or freezers here...so they dry the yak meat. Then they cook it with spices. We have not yet had yak meat because its not the on season. I find it much much too spicey- it burns. And its like chewing on leather. The locals wash it down with a homebrew called Chang. It looks like milkshake but it is made from fermenting rice. We try that. Its horrible shit. Tastes like rotten yeasty loaf of bread with more rotten flavor added and a hint of alcohol. Its getting dark, they start playing with the power to get some lights on. A tiny old man stands on the plastic lawnchairs and rubs the florescent light tubes...apparently massaging the lights makes them come on...
One week left! Tomorrow we hike to Gorak Shep and then to EBC after lunch!
Day 13: EBC
- I have a PB&J pancake for breakfast, the PB is so dry it crumbles out of the jar! Tasted ok though, Steve ate RaRa.
- Leave Labouche at 0830. I felt like I couldn’t get going today despite a good sleep. My legs were like jelly. Still, we made good time to Gorak Shep- just two hours and 15 mins!
Steve still has pain in his right leg.
Clear blue skies in the morning. Sun burns us and my water blisters reappear all over my arm
Passed more memorials today
Hiked along the Khumbu glacier and up steep moraine
considered hiking kala pathar today but the clouds came in
Went to base camp instead! YAY!
Was great to be “where it all begins” but there wasn’t anything there! No prayer flags, no stoopa’s, couldn’t see any litter. Just glacier rock.
We couldn’t walk to the Khumbu ice fall because the glacier we were on was melting and shifting, across from us was Nuptse- who is making noise! Rockslides and avalanches are constant!
Horka broke a peice of glacier off for us. Steve ate it and it was full of sand.
I like the glacier dust here, its sparkly and makes my pants sparkle
Very tired now and cold. We are huddled in the tea house wearing down jackets, wrapped in blankets, and playing cards.
Its raining out
Kala Patar in the am.
Day 14: Kala Patar
What a day! Long day! Woke up at 0430 to climb Kala Patar. My lips were sore when I woke- felt like there were 2 cracks down the sides of my bottom lip. It was painful to form some words. I tell Steve something is wrong with my mouth. I get my headlamp and find a mirror- my lips are swollen up like sausages! Your kidding! I turn on the light to show Steve- he learns in to get a closer look and starts laughing- “you look like buba!” The sun from yesterdays climb must have burnt my lips! I brush my teeth but can’t spit. I take ibuprofen. We go to eat at 0500 and I spill my hot chocolate and oatmeal. The swelling seems to be going down by the time we are on the trail- but I can’t smile because it feels like the lips will split. I know what I will look like with collagen implants.
Turns out the peak visible from Gorak Shep is not the true summit of Kala Patar. It takes an hour and 45 mins to summit. KP isn’t as steep as Gokyo Ri and I make it without any moments of weakness ;) We find tonnes of prayer flags on the summit and they are something of a hazard! They get tangled up in your shoes easy and with a shear drop to the left of the summit it makes us extra cautious. The views were absolutely incredible! Clear skies and we are directly across from Everest. We can see the south col, and hillary step. We are directly below Pumor Ri. We take photos for nearly an hour at 18210ft (5550m). The O2 level is below 50%. Takes an hour to descend and we decide to have some RaRa and then hike to lower elevation today. A man enters the tea house and following him is Tracy! Wow! I was surprised and super happy to see her. She took some time at Periche and decided to push on. I’m so happy she gets to finish her trek and she is heading up KP for the clear views of the morning.
We leave Gorak Shep and set our sites to Thukla. Its a long climb down but we keep a steady pace. We finally get to Thukla- a little tired and a lot hungry. Mohan has a headache so we agree we should have a rest and food at Thukla and then keep going lower. Steve and I both order macoroni with tomato sauce. The food comes and we dig in- the sauce is separate from the noodles and this is how we notice something weird. The noodles look like they been boiled in dirty water. Steve finds a small oval brown piece inside a noodle. Then I spot one in mine. Hmm...Steve says “it must be a spice” and I said “yeah right, its a mouse shit.” Steve disagrees but I know what a mouse shit looks like and we dig out 8 more mouse shit containing noodles. Appetite lost. Steve says to the tea house worker who has black toe nails “What the hell is this? Mouse shit??!” The guy stares at it, picks at it, and can’t answer. We all decide its mouse poo. Barf! There are no health inspectors out here...the worker didn’t even apologize. I am so happy we are continuing down...
We hike on. Steve and I chat about home and what we want to do when we have a home. I want to learn to can food- make some pickles and salsa. A few hours later and we get to the tea house we were aiming for. It was closed! We hike on. We get to the next village- all is closed! We hike on. In the end we hike all the way to Pangboche. We are so tired and stiff- overall we hiked over 12 km and lost over 1.2 km in elevation. A 12 hour day of exertion. My lips are still puffy, anything salty burns like acid on them, but they are getting better. We will sleep in.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Namaste!!
Hello from Kathmandu! We made it here safely and leave for our 3 week trek in 2 more sleeps! :) We will post when we get back :) Steve says he'll have an Everest beer for everyone...so I guess he better start drinking now (they are one litre bottles!)
Namaste
Namaste
Tour Egypt
Day one of the tour takes us to the first ever pyramid in Sakkara and the great pyramids and sphynx in Giza. The pyramids are incredible. It is believed by many that the tomb of King Cheops still remains in the great pyramid and the one ‘discovered’ is a fake. Unfortunately there are many hustlers and sellers at the pyramids. Steve was approached by a large arab man who said “I have a gift for you” and Steve kept saying “no money, no money” and the guy kept saying “its a gift, welcome to egypt” etc... So the arab pulls a white cloth/headband out of his bag. He puts it on Steve and its like an arabian head cover for the desert. His sidekick puts a scarf around my head and we pose for a photo with the arab. The arab proceeds to take Steves sunglasses off to show him his reflection, and then puts them on himself. The guy shakes Steve’s hand and tries to walk away- but Steve doesn’t let go of his hand. He takes his glasses back. At this point the Arabs side kick is trying to put the same thing on me and I insist no (remember the do not engage rule) so the guy puts it in my hand. I am trying to get to Steve but he is blocking me. I’m getting mad and calling to Steve “nothing is free!” The guy blocking me starts saying “Its a gift, low price, its a gift, low price”. Scammers! Steve isn’t buying from the arab so his buddy thinks I will?! I am mad now. I have been saying no and trying to return the rag in the bag but he puts his hands up and says “its a gift, low price.” GRR!! I see the big arab getting too close to Steve as he flicks his chest pocket, nobody touches my hubby. I feel that this is all getting too aggressive. Thats it. I drop the bag at my guys feet and push my way to Steve. I pull the rag off Steve’s head, stuff it in the Arabs shoulder bag, take Steve by the arm and drag him away. The arab yells “you lucky man!” Relentless!!! They just don’t give up! Steve was a little mad at me because he didn’t get his free hat. I had to explain through my clenched teeth that NOTHING IS FREE HERE and how his buddy was trying to make me pay for the rags! Besides, he agreed he would never wear it again anyway. I was actually getting nervous with it all- there are many tourist police around but I have a feeling these scammers can disappear before we can get help. Other people come up to us with crystal pyramids, postcards, and jewelery. I am getting impatient because I just want to see the pyramids! One woman is following us and won’t leave, I lose it and yell “just leave us alone!” I felt bad after- I don’t usually yell at complete strangers. I felt like crying. Steve took me to a quieter corner of the pyramid so we could get some photo’s. I have developed my technique of “veering left”. When people start walking to us I just veer extreme left. I think its an obvious signal to stay away from me and it gives me space so I can keep walking...it doesn’t always work. We all made it back to the van and shared out various hustler stories. Our guide is Wyall- he explains that the hustlers have a scam that goes like this: they offer a price, say “5 egyptian pounds” so you go to pay your five pounds and they say “no no, I said 5 hundred pounds” and once you’ve engaged, good luck getting away. Wyall advises that we ask him what the prices should be before we buy stuff and he will give us an idea of a fair price. We went to a view point to see the pyramids from some distance. We are warned not to snap photos of the camels nearby or the hustlers will demand large sums of money. I am only interested in the pyramids anyway. They are something else! Finally we go see the Sphynx, which is much smaller than I imagined! My camera dies so we borrow a battery from one of the Aussies to snap a couple shots. We are being harassed there too, so I don’t care that we leave after only a few minutes. We stop at a market to get dinner and breaky for our overnight train ride to Aswan. We return to the hotel to shower and I charge the camera battery. We head to the train station. A third class train is pulling out of the station- locals are jumping on as it moves, there are people stuffed between the cars and on the back. A second class train pulls in. Its a gong show. The train is packed, the sides appear to be covered in various liquids that have been thrown out the windows, its really gross. There is obviously no AC so the windows are opened as far as they go- maybe six inches, The windows are too dirty to really see in there so we only see arms hanging out the windows and peering eyes. I am relieved that tourists are not allowed to ride second or third class. The train pulls away and people jump on to fill the spaces between cars...
Our train arrives. The AC’d cabin is spacious, our chairs are reclineable, there are only tourists on board. We eat our snack dinner. We have really started to notice the chemical/preservative flavor in foods- our roomies called it ‘chemical bombs’. We have been eating mostly fresh breads and not much refrigerated or packaged stuff. We took a few bites of our cake and it was too chemically. The pretzels were nasty too. We each had an apple and hot dog bun for dinner. The train ride was uneventful but uncomfortable - we both tossed and turned.
We checked into our Awan hotel, showered, and were off to see the High damn of Aswan. We are stopped and inspected at a road check before accessing the damn. Its one of the largest in the world and spans nearly 4km. Although its long, it is only 111m high. Many people were displaced when this damn was built and over ten temples/ancient monuments were relocated. The damn controls water flow on the Nile but produces only ten percent of Egypts power. The international bank wouldn’t fund the damn (as it was displacing people so it would make them look bad) so the Soviets stepped in. There is a monument on the damn signifying the friendship between Egyptians and the Soviets...when all the ancient sites had to be moved before lake Nasr filled up the Egyptian government refused to fund the endeavor! So, UNESCO and western nations piled resources to save the sites! Later, when we saw these places I found it strange that the rest of the world paid to save these monuments and today Egypt is undoubtedly reaping the benefits. Scammers.
Our next stop was the Temple of Philae located on an Island. It was beautiful, peaceful and secluded. We wandered in the quiet. We stopped by an ancient rock quarry to see the unfinished obelisk and then returned to the hotel. We took a boat at sunset to a Nubian village for dinner. Nubians consider crocodiles to be a symbol of good luck, so low and behold there was a young crocodile in the house- caged of course. One of the hosts took the croc out so we could each hold it. The first girl held it with out incident, then it was my turn. I was instructed to put my hands where the host had his hands- one on the body and the other around the neck and head. The croc was mad, and squirming, so when the host let go it thrashed and I freaked and let go of the head- apparently thats not a good idea. I was screaming and everyone took cover- I jumped back but I didn’t let go of the tail part- I didn’t know if the croc was going to swing around and bite me. It felt like one of those toy snakes where you hold the tail and the body slithers around. I wanted to drop it but I didn’t want to lose this families lucky pet. The host grabbed the neck and I let go and ran around shaking my hands and basically freaking out. The croc was just a little one (maybe 2 ft) but powerful! I try again. This time I hold further up the body and I clamp down on its ugly little head. I get my picture and give it back. I thoroughly scrubbed my hands after so I don’t contract salmonella or some reptile disease. Steve doesn’t even go near it- he hates reptiles. Dinner was delicious and we sailed back down the Nile to our hotel. But we only sleep a few hours, wake up call is at 0300hrs. We are heading to Abu Simbel and the “convoy” leaves at 0400hrs. Convoy? Yup. Convoy. I ask Wyall about the convoy, he sorta beats around the bush and says its for safety but more so to control the speed on the highway. Yeah right. I call bull shit on that. I asked if any other places needed convoys and he said “they used to, since ’97, but most of them are no longer deemed necessary”. No one in the group seems to show any concern. Apparently I’m the only one in the group aware of the attacks on tourists and because this excursion is optional I would like some details. I whispered to Steve “97 is when they killed all those tourists” we wait for the others to scatter and I press for more details. Wyall describes the disaster of 97 to us- where he was, its effects, and what has been done for safety. There is still a threat in Egypt, but the radicals “don’t have any weapons.” Wow, thats just great. We take the excursion. At 0400 we are lined up with dozens of other tour vans and busses. All vehicles are inspected. The convoy is led with armed guards and no one drives with their lights on. I don’t know if no lights is just how they roll here...but seemed strange considering it was dark out! The drive is 3 hours, I doze on and off but don’t really sleep. We arrive to Abu Simbel. This place is fabulous! We enter the temples, there are signs saying “no photos” but Steve and I sneak a couple flash-less shots. Its incredibly hot at this place even early in the morning, so we quickly tour then join an early convoy back to Aswan. The drive back was the worst ever. Our driver was a maniac. He was following the van in front of us close enough to not see the bumper. Thankfully we had seat belts and even more thankfully we never crashed. I don’t understand the driving. Wyall and most of the group was sleeping and I thought for sure we were toast. The driver would tailgate kitty corner to the van in front of us, sometimes he would drive up beside the van and they would exchange gestures and laugh. Other cars zoomed by and he would pull in behind the van. I should have said something...I told Wyall when we were safely off the maniac mobile that the driver was psycho and reckless- some of the others who saw the driving also complained. In Aswan our group was split in two. Four members were leaving to cruise the Nile on a small ship while the rest of us were sailing on a felucca. The felucca was spacious. With only five of us on board, a captain, his mate, and Wyall, we had plenty of space to lounge. The deck was one big mattress shaded with a sheet- we could not stand upright. Our bags were stored in a crawl space under the deck. We drifted down the nile for 22km. No washroom on board so when you had to wee you just told the captain and he pulled over. There were too many people on shore for me to ever feel comfortable enough to go, and when we did get to shore more people seemed to appear out of nowhere. We finally stopped for the night, the mate prepared us a delicious dinner, then we went on land for some nubian music and a bonfire. The classic dancing around the fire got under way. No wood to burn in the desert so dead palm leaves were used. The leaves produced an intoxicating smoke but it was all fun. We returned to the Felucca and slept on the deck. We were given blankets but they weren’t necessary with the heat- Egypt doesn’t really cool off. We slept soundly while the mosquitoes feasted.
We had a little breakfast on the felucca and were then headed to Luxor. This would be our hottest day in Egypt. In the 48 degree heat we visited Kom Ombo and Edfu temples. On the east bank of Luxor we visited the massive Karnak temple, here we could see some interesting hieroglyphics. Steve was occupied by an ancient calendar dating 4000 years. It was the first discovered and the calendar we use today is based on it. I liked the carvings depicting ancient surgical tools. After this stop we were too darn hot and visited the Luxor temple from the comfort of the air conditioned van. I can’t explain the heat of this day! We were sweating profusely, just like in spin class, minus the exertion. The wind was hot and it was torture when it blew. We couldn’t sit on anything- even in the shade the stone was burning hot. Wyall explained that people are allowed to go home from work if the temperature reaches 50 degrees, so at 48 they stop gaging it :-) I told Wyall how our school closed at -40 degrees and that was shocking for him...This hot day also happened to be Canada Day! We went to an Irish pub to play pool and rehydrate. The next day we toured the west bank of Luxor which included the Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple. We started the day early to avoid the intense heat but even at 0800hrs the Valley of the Kings was HOT! This valley was chosen for its dry climate and hidden location. We were permitted to enter three tombs. We were amazed at the condition of the paintings and hieroglyphics in them! The colors were beautiful. All the temples in Egypt were originally painted but the weather and time has taken its toll. To see the colors and work in the tombs still remaining after 3000 years was super neat! I mentioned earlier how no pictures are permitted in the tombs. Other than the “no photo’s” sign there is no warning of what will happen to you if you break the rule...Wyall explained if you get caught your camera is taken away and you have to pay to get it back from the guard (no set fee, its a bribe). Then the perpetrator is usually marched to the tourism police where they charge you 50 egyptian pounds per photo and erase them off your camera! If you bribe the guard enough you can avoid the police action. Steve and I decided it wasn’t worth sneaking any photos in any more tombs. Our group was busy admiring a tomb when it happens- a flash goes off! We all give eachother the ‘oh shit balls’ look and rush to see who broke the rule. We saw a european woman and her man...an egyptian security guard was running to her. He basically lunged for her camera. She bent over to hide the camera, he was reaching over her shoulder trying to snatch it from her hands. She was yelling “its my camera and my photo!” The struggle continued and her man tried to block the guard too. The guard isn’t wearing a traditional uniform, he is in a blouse robe that reaches the floor and a white turban so I don’t know if the couple knew he was a guard. After a few minutes we started to leave but they were still fighting- the guard was yelling for back up, as we walked by I told the man he has to pay... I found the physical aspect of this episode surprising. If a guard did that to me I know Steve would jump in and help me-probably kick some ass! We left the scene and went to a tomb higher up in the rocks. We had to climb a large stair case into a crevasse and then climb down into the tomb. It was sweltering in this tomb. After a few minutes my legs were too wobbly and the thick hot air was barely breathable. I had to leave- by the time I climbed out I was drenched and sweat was running down my face, arms, legs...the air outside felt better. Its amazing how the heat penetrates the rocks and the rocks retain the heat- that tomb was like an oven. The Hatshepsut Temple was incredible too! But holy moly the heat!!! We did a quick visit and bailed. Hahaha! I look back at my photos and wonder why I didn’t take more, but then I remember that unbearable heat. You breath in and feel the hot air in your lungs. There aren’t hustlers in the perimeter of the sites in the south which is a relief. But from the exit to the parking lot you have to push through a gauntlet of people shoving things in your face to buy. I have concluded that these people go to the same hustler school because they all use the same lines! They always ask “where you from?” we either ignore them (which makes me feel rude) or we say Canada- they all reply “Oh, Canada Dry!” and then “welcome to Alaska.” Everywhere they said this. Steve finally has enough and would say “you don’t even have Canada dry here anymore.” Sometimes we just say “no english” so then they try spanish. The men really like Steves beard and compliment him endlessly. They also inform him “you lucky man” because he has me- and I agree and rub it in how lucky he is :) And then they ask “how many camels?”
Later in the afternoon we drive 3 hours to the city of Hurgada located on the Red Sea. We go out for a seafood dinner and are soon in bed. The next morning we board a large ship and head out for a day of snorkeling and swimming. The water is beautiful- deep shades of blue, turqoise, and green. The water is clear and we see many fish among the coral. We have the next day to do as we please...we opt to sleep in! Later we all decide to hit up the Hard Rock Cafe. Wyall flags us a cab and tells us it will cost between 15-20 pounds each way. No problem, we can manage an unescorted outing. Steve and I pound back a plate of nachos and they were soooo good! We should’ve stopped at the nachos, but no, we share a brownie with icecream and we are so bloated and full we just want to go back to sleep. We have to get back to the hotel. The cafe is a little out of the way so some time passes before a cab appears. Steve tells him where we are going and says ’20 pounds’. We all pile in. The cabbie drives 130km/hr at one point. His meter is ticking away- in piasters, which are cents. We make it to the hotel after a few wrong turns. The meter says 896 piasters. We all get out and Steve is left to pay the tab. Now, 896 piasters is equal to almost 9 pounds, but the cabbie says “896 pounds.” Steve says “No, its in piaster” the cabbie argues and says “your friend said you pay in straight egyptian” whatever that means...so Steve says “no, you get 10 pounds” and the cabbie didn’t move or say anything, Steve knows it should cost 15-20 but he wants to scam this scammer. Steve finally threw 20 pounds over the seat and got out. Imagine paying $200 CAN for a 10 minute cab ride!!!
We leave Hurgada at midnight and drive to Cairo. We arrive at 0700 and have a nap before heading to the museum. We saw the goodies from King Tut’s tomb- the only one in the Valley of the Kings discovered to be completely intact. It was incredible! King Tut’s mask is unbelievably beautiful. Some estimate it to be the single most valuable item in the world. We see more really ancient stuff and some mummies of the animal and human kind. We also see a copy of the rosetta stone. For some reason the original is in the British museum. We also visited the old city of Cairo and saw the area in which Mary, Joseph, and Jesus hung out for 2 years while hiding from King Harod. We finished the day at a bazaar- nothing like a big hassle in the heat!
Overall, we enjoyed our time in Egypt but have decided its a “been there done that” kind of place. We found it to be a constant hassle, I couldn’t handle the people anymore- we cannot recall meeting one single nice genuine person in Egypt. Sorry, but from what we experienced there are too many scammers who constantly stare and hustle- women are not equal. I won’t even write some of the comments that I heard...At this point in time I am not interested in ever going back. Ever.
Our train arrives. The AC’d cabin is spacious, our chairs are reclineable, there are only tourists on board. We eat our snack dinner. We have really started to notice the chemical/preservative flavor in foods- our roomies called it ‘chemical bombs’. We have been eating mostly fresh breads and not much refrigerated or packaged stuff. We took a few bites of our cake and it was too chemically. The pretzels were nasty too. We each had an apple and hot dog bun for dinner. The train ride was uneventful but uncomfortable - we both tossed and turned.
We checked into our Awan hotel, showered, and were off to see the High damn of Aswan. We are stopped and inspected at a road check before accessing the damn. Its one of the largest in the world and spans nearly 4km. Although its long, it is only 111m high. Many people were displaced when this damn was built and over ten temples/ancient monuments were relocated. The damn controls water flow on the Nile but produces only ten percent of Egypts power. The international bank wouldn’t fund the damn (as it was displacing people so it would make them look bad) so the Soviets stepped in. There is a monument on the damn signifying the friendship between Egyptians and the Soviets...when all the ancient sites had to be moved before lake Nasr filled up the Egyptian government refused to fund the endeavor! So, UNESCO and western nations piled resources to save the sites! Later, when we saw these places I found it strange that the rest of the world paid to save these monuments and today Egypt is undoubtedly reaping the benefits. Scammers.
Our next stop was the Temple of Philae located on an Island. It was beautiful, peaceful and secluded. We wandered in the quiet. We stopped by an ancient rock quarry to see the unfinished obelisk and then returned to the hotel. We took a boat at sunset to a Nubian village for dinner. Nubians consider crocodiles to be a symbol of good luck, so low and behold there was a young crocodile in the house- caged of course. One of the hosts took the croc out so we could each hold it. The first girl held it with out incident, then it was my turn. I was instructed to put my hands where the host had his hands- one on the body and the other around the neck and head. The croc was mad, and squirming, so when the host let go it thrashed and I freaked and let go of the head- apparently thats not a good idea. I was screaming and everyone took cover- I jumped back but I didn’t let go of the tail part- I didn’t know if the croc was going to swing around and bite me. It felt like one of those toy snakes where you hold the tail and the body slithers around. I wanted to drop it but I didn’t want to lose this families lucky pet. The host grabbed the neck and I let go and ran around shaking my hands and basically freaking out. The croc was just a little one (maybe 2 ft) but powerful! I try again. This time I hold further up the body and I clamp down on its ugly little head. I get my picture and give it back. I thoroughly scrubbed my hands after so I don’t contract salmonella or some reptile disease. Steve doesn’t even go near it- he hates reptiles. Dinner was delicious and we sailed back down the Nile to our hotel. But we only sleep a few hours, wake up call is at 0300hrs. We are heading to Abu Simbel and the “convoy” leaves at 0400hrs. Convoy? Yup. Convoy. I ask Wyall about the convoy, he sorta beats around the bush and says its for safety but more so to control the speed on the highway. Yeah right. I call bull shit on that. I asked if any other places needed convoys and he said “they used to, since ’97, but most of them are no longer deemed necessary”. No one in the group seems to show any concern. Apparently I’m the only one in the group aware of the attacks on tourists and because this excursion is optional I would like some details. I whispered to Steve “97 is when they killed all those tourists” we wait for the others to scatter and I press for more details. Wyall describes the disaster of 97 to us- where he was, its effects, and what has been done for safety. There is still a threat in Egypt, but the radicals “don’t have any weapons.” Wow, thats just great. We take the excursion. At 0400 we are lined up with dozens of other tour vans and busses. All vehicles are inspected. The convoy is led with armed guards and no one drives with their lights on. I don’t know if no lights is just how they roll here...but seemed strange considering it was dark out! The drive is 3 hours, I doze on and off but don’t really sleep. We arrive to Abu Simbel. This place is fabulous! We enter the temples, there are signs saying “no photos” but Steve and I sneak a couple flash-less shots. Its incredibly hot at this place even early in the morning, so we quickly tour then join an early convoy back to Aswan. The drive back was the worst ever. Our driver was a maniac. He was following the van in front of us close enough to not see the bumper. Thankfully we had seat belts and even more thankfully we never crashed. I don’t understand the driving. Wyall and most of the group was sleeping and I thought for sure we were toast. The driver would tailgate kitty corner to the van in front of us, sometimes he would drive up beside the van and they would exchange gestures and laugh. Other cars zoomed by and he would pull in behind the van. I should have said something...I told Wyall when we were safely off the maniac mobile that the driver was psycho and reckless- some of the others who saw the driving also complained. In Aswan our group was split in two. Four members were leaving to cruise the Nile on a small ship while the rest of us were sailing on a felucca. The felucca was spacious. With only five of us on board, a captain, his mate, and Wyall, we had plenty of space to lounge. The deck was one big mattress shaded with a sheet- we could not stand upright. Our bags were stored in a crawl space under the deck. We drifted down the nile for 22km. No washroom on board so when you had to wee you just told the captain and he pulled over. There were too many people on shore for me to ever feel comfortable enough to go, and when we did get to shore more people seemed to appear out of nowhere. We finally stopped for the night, the mate prepared us a delicious dinner, then we went on land for some nubian music and a bonfire. The classic dancing around the fire got under way. No wood to burn in the desert so dead palm leaves were used. The leaves produced an intoxicating smoke but it was all fun. We returned to the Felucca and slept on the deck. We were given blankets but they weren’t necessary with the heat- Egypt doesn’t really cool off. We slept soundly while the mosquitoes feasted.
We had a little breakfast on the felucca and were then headed to Luxor. This would be our hottest day in Egypt. In the 48 degree heat we visited Kom Ombo and Edfu temples. On the east bank of Luxor we visited the massive Karnak temple, here we could see some interesting hieroglyphics. Steve was occupied by an ancient calendar dating 4000 years. It was the first discovered and the calendar we use today is based on it. I liked the carvings depicting ancient surgical tools. After this stop we were too darn hot and visited the Luxor temple from the comfort of the air conditioned van. I can’t explain the heat of this day! We were sweating profusely, just like in spin class, minus the exertion. The wind was hot and it was torture when it blew. We couldn’t sit on anything- even in the shade the stone was burning hot. Wyall explained that people are allowed to go home from work if the temperature reaches 50 degrees, so at 48 they stop gaging it :-) I told Wyall how our school closed at -40 degrees and that was shocking for him...This hot day also happened to be Canada Day! We went to an Irish pub to play pool and rehydrate. The next day we toured the west bank of Luxor which included the Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple. We started the day early to avoid the intense heat but even at 0800hrs the Valley of the Kings was HOT! This valley was chosen for its dry climate and hidden location. We were permitted to enter three tombs. We were amazed at the condition of the paintings and hieroglyphics in them! The colors were beautiful. All the temples in Egypt were originally painted but the weather and time has taken its toll. To see the colors and work in the tombs still remaining after 3000 years was super neat! I mentioned earlier how no pictures are permitted in the tombs. Other than the “no photo’s” sign there is no warning of what will happen to you if you break the rule...Wyall explained if you get caught your camera is taken away and you have to pay to get it back from the guard (no set fee, its a bribe). Then the perpetrator is usually marched to the tourism police where they charge you 50 egyptian pounds per photo and erase them off your camera! If you bribe the guard enough you can avoid the police action. Steve and I decided it wasn’t worth sneaking any photos in any more tombs. Our group was busy admiring a tomb when it happens- a flash goes off! We all give eachother the ‘oh shit balls’ look and rush to see who broke the rule. We saw a european woman and her man...an egyptian security guard was running to her. He basically lunged for her camera. She bent over to hide the camera, he was reaching over her shoulder trying to snatch it from her hands. She was yelling “its my camera and my photo!” The struggle continued and her man tried to block the guard too. The guard isn’t wearing a traditional uniform, he is in a blouse robe that reaches the floor and a white turban so I don’t know if the couple knew he was a guard. After a few minutes we started to leave but they were still fighting- the guard was yelling for back up, as we walked by I told the man he has to pay... I found the physical aspect of this episode surprising. If a guard did that to me I know Steve would jump in and help me-probably kick some ass! We left the scene and went to a tomb higher up in the rocks. We had to climb a large stair case into a crevasse and then climb down into the tomb. It was sweltering in this tomb. After a few minutes my legs were too wobbly and the thick hot air was barely breathable. I had to leave- by the time I climbed out I was drenched and sweat was running down my face, arms, legs...the air outside felt better. Its amazing how the heat penetrates the rocks and the rocks retain the heat- that tomb was like an oven. The Hatshepsut Temple was incredible too! But holy moly the heat!!! We did a quick visit and bailed. Hahaha! I look back at my photos and wonder why I didn’t take more, but then I remember that unbearable heat. You breath in and feel the hot air in your lungs. There aren’t hustlers in the perimeter of the sites in the south which is a relief. But from the exit to the parking lot you have to push through a gauntlet of people shoving things in your face to buy. I have concluded that these people go to the same hustler school because they all use the same lines! They always ask “where you from?” we either ignore them (which makes me feel rude) or we say Canada- they all reply “Oh, Canada Dry!” and then “welcome to Alaska.” Everywhere they said this. Steve finally has enough and would say “you don’t even have Canada dry here anymore.” Sometimes we just say “no english” so then they try spanish. The men really like Steves beard and compliment him endlessly. They also inform him “you lucky man” because he has me- and I agree and rub it in how lucky he is :) And then they ask “how many camels?”
Later in the afternoon we drive 3 hours to the city of Hurgada located on the Red Sea. We go out for a seafood dinner and are soon in bed. The next morning we board a large ship and head out for a day of snorkeling and swimming. The water is beautiful- deep shades of blue, turqoise, and green. The water is clear and we see many fish among the coral. We have the next day to do as we please...we opt to sleep in! Later we all decide to hit up the Hard Rock Cafe. Wyall flags us a cab and tells us it will cost between 15-20 pounds each way. No problem, we can manage an unescorted outing. Steve and I pound back a plate of nachos and they were soooo good! We should’ve stopped at the nachos, but no, we share a brownie with icecream and we are so bloated and full we just want to go back to sleep. We have to get back to the hotel. The cafe is a little out of the way so some time passes before a cab appears. Steve tells him where we are going and says ’20 pounds’. We all pile in. The cabbie drives 130km/hr at one point. His meter is ticking away- in piasters, which are cents. We make it to the hotel after a few wrong turns. The meter says 896 piasters. We all get out and Steve is left to pay the tab. Now, 896 piasters is equal to almost 9 pounds, but the cabbie says “896 pounds.” Steve says “No, its in piaster” the cabbie argues and says “your friend said you pay in straight egyptian” whatever that means...so Steve says “no, you get 10 pounds” and the cabbie didn’t move or say anything, Steve knows it should cost 15-20 but he wants to scam this scammer. Steve finally threw 20 pounds over the seat and got out. Imagine paying $200 CAN for a 10 minute cab ride!!!
We leave Hurgada at midnight and drive to Cairo. We arrive at 0700 and have a nap before heading to the museum. We saw the goodies from King Tut’s tomb- the only one in the Valley of the Kings discovered to be completely intact. It was incredible! King Tut’s mask is unbelievably beautiful. Some estimate it to be the single most valuable item in the world. We see more really ancient stuff and some mummies of the animal and human kind. We also see a copy of the rosetta stone. For some reason the original is in the British museum. We also visited the old city of Cairo and saw the area in which Mary, Joseph, and Jesus hung out for 2 years while hiding from King Harod. We finished the day at a bazaar- nothing like a big hassle in the heat!
Overall, we enjoyed our time in Egypt but have decided its a “been there done that” kind of place. We found it to be a constant hassle, I couldn’t handle the people anymore- we cannot recall meeting one single nice genuine person in Egypt. Sorry, but from what we experienced there are too many scammers who constantly stare and hustle- women are not equal. I won’t even write some of the comments that I heard...At this point in time I am not interested in ever going back. Ever.
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