So I left India. IN the middle of the night, strange to be back again in the Delhi airport, leaving but knowing I would be back soon! And three flights later, it was cloudy over Tanzania but Mt Kilimanjaro was there, tall and majestic, with all the white clouds at its feet. It was really something to see, knowing I would be standing on top of that beautiful mountain within the next few weeks if all goes well. I was a bit sick and very tired when I landed, and dreaming of a good night in a hotel room, after a [View Full Entry]

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It is very late in the evening, more like early morning, and I just officially finished my first trek as a guide. It was a really good experience, and now I am almost on my way to Africa, for a very different experience. But the last few days have been good, I visited the "classics", the Fort in Delhi, the one in Agra, the TAj and Fathepur Sikri. Quite a different experience after a trek in the isolated mountains of LAdakh, but also wonderful. I always wanted to see the TAj and it is, indeed, lovely. Amazing what a person can [View Full Entry]

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How could I possibly summarize almost 3 weeks of trekking and travelling by bus across the Himalayas... It was almost 3 weeks ago that my group of 5 clients and I left Leh for a beautiful trek in Ladakh. With a local guide, 3 cooks, 4 horsemen and 12 horses. Waw. It was amazing scenery and a lot of fun. with some long more difficult days and some shorter ones, and even a few rest days. We went up about 5 moutain passes of about 5000m or more, saw kyangs, cranes, marmots, hare, yaks, dogs and also a few trekkers and [View Full Entry]

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Back from the first trek... 10 days ago or so, a Ladakhi picked me up at my guest house with some kind of a Jeep, with what I would call an interesting suspension and squeaky brakes, and my guide Puntsok and I were on our way to Rumtse, where our trek was to start. On the way we stopped in a village for tea, then I visited the Chemrey Monastery, always interesting, especially when you ask questions to the monks or the locals... Then you realize that the buddhist iconography is very complicated... No wonder I am lost. Then we took [View Full Entry]

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For the next 2 weeks, my job is to explore the area and learn about Ladakh. This is a lot of fun, and yesterday, I was sent out on a mountain bike down to the Tikse monastry. Needless to say, it was an indian bike with little issues, and a little on the short side for my long legs. But it was a lovely morning, already hot, with not a cloud in the sky. I happily rode down the hill all the way to Tiske. I was having a wonderful time looking around this really arid and beautiful part of the [View Full Entry]

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In a way it is hard to believe... I am already back in India. But it is not a big surprise at the same time, as I loved it so much. For those who don't know, I have been offered a job to guide in Ladakh, Nepal and Tanzania. So I am now in Ladakh, exploring the area for 3 weeks before the group shows up... So after a long day flying from Montreal to Amsterdam and then Delhi, I arrived late at night in the International airport. The local guide I will be working with was waiting for me, and [View Full Entry]

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So here I am, in Africa for the first time! And I am experimenting a strange cultural shock. Not from seeing Africa, but from staying in the fanciest hotel I have ever seen, and will ever see. But first thing first.... After Nepal, I landed in PAris, where I was meeting an old friend. It was a blast to try to see all of PAris in... 48 hours!!! So we walked and took taxis and metros to see all the most famous places. I will not even try to list them all. Of course, I didn't really visit any of them, [View Full Entry]

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I came back from the mountains, after 3 weeks of trekking... What a great adventure that was. The trek around Manaslu was amazing. I know I live in a remote place in Canada but this was a different remote... When you are walking days away from a road, from stores, from Internet... It was remote in all these ways, so much, that it was literally like traveling through time. Like we were in medieval age. And I am not kidding. It was like going to Tibet as well. Houses made of rocks, cold weather, the most basic food you can imagine [View Full Entry]

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This will be a very short entry because I am about to leave for the mountains... Only one more day to pack, explore the city with the group and off we go! Manaslu is the destination, not on top, but around it, and also in another valley that is very rarely visited by westerners. I am extremely excited! My time in Kathmandu was interesting, a realize how this city changed in 12 years, it is quite modern in THamel, the tourist area, and you can really find all kinds of things, and all kinds of food, and the book stores are [View Full Entry]

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If I had closed my eyes and imagine a perfect city in which to live, I would have imagined a city with friendly people, outdoorsy travellers, lots of outdoors stores and of course many book stores, specialized in mountaineering books, good novels, traveling books, philosophy, etc. A place with good restaurants even, a few bakeries, many cafes. The climate would but hot at times and cool at times. Well, this morning, I opened my eyes and found myself in heaven! Waw! I honnestly have to refrain from laughing out loud. I can't believe what I see! I suppose I should do [View Full Entry]

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