Nepal Himalaya

Yes, the title is right. After a overnight train, 4 hour flight, 7 hour bus ride we are only a day away from the start of a 20 day hike in Nepal! We made this quick decision only a week ago and boom we are here. We will be returning to Thailand in May to see the southern part and spend time on the islands. However, now is the second hiking season in Nepal and we couldn't resist. The mountains have called us back. This time we are trekking through the Annapurna region and up to the Annapurna Base Camp (or ABC trek). It is said to be shaped like an amphitheatre by huge Himalayan peaks! It can be done in 10 days but we are planning on taking our time and add on a few smaller hikes to the end. Now, the only trouble with our last minute decision is that we have beach cloths with us and not hiking Himalaya cloths (we look hot). So we have left a bag of swim suits, tank tops, snorkels, and sarongs in a Kathmandu hotel (now we are naked). Then we went shopping! We now have new down jackets, long underwear, gloves, hiking poles, hats, a "yak wool" blanket (made of cotten and plastic most likely), and rented boots. We are all geared up for $100 each (our boots, left in Hong Kong, cost $250 a pair). Not too bad, but we don't expect our cloths to make it much more that the 20 days since they are all made with the cheapest of materials.

Since we have already put our lab top away for the hike we have no pictures to share with you this time but be patient and in a month we will show you more of Nepal and her glorious peaks.

Biking through Northern Thailand

The last 5 days we rented a motor bike ($5 a day) and went off to explore northwestern Thailand. It was wonderful to have such independence. If we got thirsty we stopped and bought a coconut from a local food stall. I am really loving all the fresh food available here in this tropical region. We never bring any food with us because it is always available and clean. So far we haven't gotten sick since Nepal (knock on wood).





The road we took from Chaing Mai to Mae Hong Son has over 1000 bends (one way). I am glad we were on a motor bike and not a car. Lots of people complained of motion sickness (some turns were well over 180 degees). It was an incredible ride going up these mountains on switchbacks. Even at the beginning of the dry season it was still green and lush all over. Banana trees right on the edge of the road. Lots of little bamboo huts in the middle of rice patties. It looks so peaceful and simple.





Out of the 15 hours we were on the bike I drove 5 minutes (longest 5 minutes off my life). During this time I managed to bend the little front basket, break off part of the break lever, scratch the muffler, and crack the break light cover (I think she is trying to kill me). On my own accord I remained in the back seat for the remainder of the trip, and Rob didn't object (send help). Both of us were unscathed and the repairs only cost us $15.

Time for a little teeth cleaning. Two cavities, and two cleanings set us back 45 US dollars (Leah had both of the cavities, I had several inches of coffee/tea stains to be removed)

Tham Lot is one of the largest known caves in Thailand. In one of the chambers we saw a teak coffin. It looked like a hollowed out canoe and was about 6 feet long. I am not sure why they needed such a long coffin for a Thai person but they are dated back 1200-2200 years old. Maybe they were taller then! At dusk the bats leave the cave to hunt and millions of swifts enter to find a nice sleeping spot. It is amazing to watch hundreds of thousands, of birds circling around till they choose their time to enter the cave at a really fast speed! It sort of reminded me of a round-a-bout ( cover your head though, because they dump a lot of crud, looks sort of like rain in the water).


We took a day off from our motor bike and took a little walk in the beautiful Karst landscape. (We got lost, and got cut up by thorns, at one point we were climbing a hill side, pulling on vines)

Rob is so good at being a Buddha look alike. The other day a Thai woman asked if he was Buddha it took him off guard for a moment till he realised she was asking if he was Buddhist.(Aummmmmmm)

I couldn't resist this perfect round frame! This was taken in the same temple as Rob's meditating picture. We had just rented one speed bicycles and attempted to bike up this momentous hill. Part way up Rob discovered that his bike, apart from it being Thai size (Leah hardly fit on her bike) and way too small for him, the handle bars twisted every time he pulled them (going up hill this can be a problem). We felt pretty accomplished to get to this spot and we chained our bikes outside this temple hopped on a cab for the rest of the way up the mountain.

"Dr. Fish" is how these little bottom dwelling sucker fish are advertised (sorry we had to kill the video, it just wouldn't come out). They nibble away at your dead skin on your feet and leave your feet feeling clean and silky smooth. I guess they have a unique property of continuing to nibble even when they are full! The feeling of these tiny fish is like electricity all around your feet. Also when the tails get in between your toes the tickling is almost unbearable...almost. We think we might do it again... $3 for 20 minutes is hard to beat.

Chiang Mai Thailand

During our first week in Thailand we have ridden elephants, trekked through the hills, rafted, toured many of the handy craft factories, patted tigers, took a cooking class, and shopped in the street markets!! Wow, we are loving it. I think we have taken more pictures in one week than we normally do in a month. We have definitely been doing the tourist route so far and it is well paved. Our guest house which cost $6 a night has arranged all of these activities for us. We have met a lot of other travelers and it is fun to hear their stories about their travels. It makes me realize just how much of the world there is to see!

Today we plan to get a bit of exercise after all of our Thai eating and bike around the city. Maybe we will see more the Thai culture! We will have to be sure to wear pants and no tank tops to get into the temples which will be a bit hot in this weather but worth it to get a glimpse.

Getting ready to cook the soup. One of the seven courses we cooked. ( I think the apron makes my head look too big. Don't you??)

Rob getting his fitting for a custom made suit. It is really quite a cool experience to pick out exactly what you want. Tonight we will get the finished product! (Man I look good!)

Don't we look like a happy trio? This tiger is 17 months old and actually has his eyes open! (we didn't include the picture of Rob being mauled)
Getting ready to feed our elephant, getting some calories for our ride. Latter in the walk, our elephant and anouther would eat and entire bannana tree!

Chinese New Year was Feb 14th this year. It is the year of the tiger. We were on our way to breakfast and happened upon the parade! Good Luck

Up on top of an elephant. I was sitting on the neck during the video. Not as comfortable as the seat so I soon moved back to where Rob is sitting.

Getting Ready for Thailand!

What you have all been waiting for.... The mystery fruit is called a Marang, and the winner is Christian. He got it within 5 minutes of us posting the question!


The last look at Bolobog Beach, where all our pleasant and not so pleasant kite boarding adventures took place.

One of the many Trikes we took in the Philippines

Rob in front of our room. So far this is the longest time we have stayed in one room during our trip, it really felt like we were moving out. We had lots of breakfasts and book reading at this spot.

The kite boarding has reached an end for us or at least for now. We plan to continue our new sport in Bali but not till June. For now we have packed it away under the bed in Macau. Again the Wilhelms have taken us in during our travel transition and are keeping our stuff safe for us while we go off and explore Thailand. We have two more days here in Macau till we fly to Bangkok. Last night we saw the Cirque Du Soleil show, Zaia. The theatre is amazing with performers coming from all over the place. There was even a polar bear suspended! We really enjoyed the performance and then we walked through the Venetian which is also an experience on to itself.

Walking around in the Venetian after Zaia. We were lucky to get a rose before the performance started. The clown kissed Rob's hand and offered him a flower, which Rob gave to me.

Still drinking salt water in Boracay

You may be wondering what these kids are doing under our kite. To tell the truth I don't know, but look how cute they are.


Seconds later, she was flying over the board, toward the beach, and the waiting trees. (okay it didn't really happen, but with a board like "slingshot" you have to have a good story.

Leah all packed for our first solo trip away from Bolobog beach to Union beach, on Panay Island. This trip, poor Rob, struggled against wind all day (using the 12 meter kite for the first time). Leah, had a amazing time on the 9 meter, and was flying each time she touched the board.

A

And now for the million dollar mystery, Drum Roll please, what the heck is she eating??? It smells like pine, but tastes rich, buttery, sweet, and a bit rotten, but not rotten in a bad way. We just don't know what it is. But you, our faithfull friends might know (no cheating Christian or Butch). Email us the answer and we will post the winner's name and answer in all it's glory on our next post. (unless we forget)

It looks like I am spitting out the fruit but really it is just the seed! (thanks Mandy for pointing that out)

Mystery Fruit- MARANG (The Winner is Christian, and yes he is from Manila!)