Dean and Cath in Asia
Our trip to Asia 2009 Oct 10 - Dec 19 (ish)Deaner71
We wanted to go for cheap and for a while and have an adventure = ASIA!
Our thoughts on what might happen:
Beijing, China: Oct 11 for four days - Great Wall trekin'
Nepal for 3-4 weeks Kathmandu, Pokhara/Beni. Trek: Dhaulagiri Circuit, Damphus Peak, Tilicho Lake, flight or walk out from Jomsom
India Nov 11th, until Dec 10th roughly Agra, Rajasthan, Jaisalmer, Utiapur, Mumbi, Goa, Kerala
Thailand and Cambodia for a week Dec 11 - 18 roughly ANKOR WAT!
Let's see what really happens! :)
Travel Blog Posts
December 21st 2009
Merry Christmas (I can't remember Hello in Khmer)! We travelled for 30 hours (Varkala-Cochin-Chennai-Bangalore-Bangkok-Siem Reap) before landing in Siem Reap. It felt like a 36hr race...same same, but different. Instead of biking/running it involved carrying heavy bags, going up escalators and getting searched in security. Siem Reap was amazing! First, we ended up staying in the best guesthouse EVER called the Shadow of Angkor - wow! We had a beautiful room with A/C and the kitchen made the most divine banana pancakes :) We spent two and half days visiting the various temples in the area by bike and tuk-tuk. Every temple had something amazing about it; like the 54 huge head statues at Angkor Thom, the jungle atmostphere at Ta Prohm, the delicate carvings at Bantei Srei, and the 1.2km of bas relief carvings at ... read more
December 11th 2009
Namaskar AGAIN! It has been a while since our last update, but we were in an area with NO INTERNET! Imagine that! WARNING: This entry contains quite a few photos :) GOA: Last time I wrote was from Patnem Beach in Goa which is a relatively quiet beach with mostly British people (but there weren't that many so it was o.k). Our biggest decision during the 3 days we were there was where to eat and which hammock to relax in. I have never seen Dean so happy :) And the sunsets...spectacular, best enjoyed with a Pina Colada. We tried the exercise thing again and rented a kayak. We paddled quite far to a beach called Agonda which is even more chilled out, but with bigger waves so we had fun landing on the shore. Lannie, ... read more
November 28th 2009
Namaskar from India! JAIPUR We started our whirlwind tour of Rajasthan on November 22nd and the first city on our list after Bikaneer (which has the best jalebi on the planet) was Jaipur. But on the way, we visited the Karni Mata Temple (aka Rat Temple). This temple visit is not for the squeamish because as soon as you step inside you are surrounded by rats. The devotees believe these rats are the re-incarnated souls saved from Yama (God of death). Jaipur is the land of textiles, jewelry and a beautiful Amber Fort. We opted to get some exercise and hiked up to the fort (20 minutes, woo hoo!) instead of taking an elephant ride which a lot of tourists do. We were hoping it would help us burn some some india-induced calories :) The Amber ... read more
India...can be a hair tearing experience
Published: November 22nd 2009Asia » India » Punjab » Amritsar
November 22nd 2009
Namashkar (means hello)! We landed in Delhi on November 16th and quickly realized that this country is quite different from Nepal. People there pester you, but the Indians take it to a whole new level. "Hello...? Hello...?...Mam?...what can I help?...You visit my store?...Only 20 rupees...hello?...Autorickshaw...? Where you go? Auto rickshaw...? We decided to stay in the area of Paharganj, which is the tourist area, but it was attractive to us because of it's proximity to the train station. November 17th - Happy Birthday to me! Dean and I decided that we would visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. What a great way to spend a birthday :) The only minus was that the alarm went off at 5:30am :) Oh well, our train was at 7:10am. We weren't able to get onto the express train so ... read more
November 16th 2009
Namaste from the Himalaya! We have just returned from a fabulous 24 day trek and are currently recovering in Delhi with hot showers, beds and good food. No more rice, cous-cous, powder soups, chapatis, noodle soups or Dal Bhat for us :) NAR/PHU VALLEY: As mentioned in our previous blog entry, oh sooo very long ago: our plan was to hit the Nar/Phu valley (near tibet border), attempt a summit of Chulu Far East (6049m) and end our trek in Jomsom via Tilicho Lake (largest glacier lake in the world at 5000m). We managed to do everything, but it took us a bit longer than expected. I guess we didn't factor in things like stomach viruses from hell :) On October 22nd 2009, Dean, Kaji (our awesome guide), Pinju "Pinzoom" Lama (our super porter) and I ... read more
October 20th 2009
We are no longer doing to do the Dhaulagiri Circuit. The weather has been unsual this year and the recent unexpected snowfall covered up a lot of the crevasses along the glacier making it quite treacherous to cross. We couldn't find that many guides who were willing to take us. Thanks to Google, Cath came up with an excellent alternative: The Nar and Phu valley followed by climb up Chulu Far East (6059m) and a side trip to Tilico lake. It will be a similar trek to the Annapurna circuit but in more isolated Tibetan valleys (permits required) so we can avoid the crowds in Annapurna. There are big crowds on Annapurna believe us! The whole trek will involve mostly camping, but there will be a few tea houses and should take about 20 days. Once ... read more
October 19th 2009
Happy Diwali! After a brief stop in India (one night in Mahaipalpur), we flew to Kathmandu. We landed in the middle of Diwali which is the Hindus' second biggest festival! We are staying in Thamel (touristy area) which is pretty loud as it is. Bikes, rickshaws and cars communicate by honking their horns, and by the time we leave for our trek, I am convinced we will be deaf. Plus, on top of cats and dogs, there are cows to contend with here as well. On our second day we decided to take tour of some nearby monasteries by foot. We haggled for a good taxi deal and realized that even if the cabbie has no idea where you want to go he'll tell you he does - any way to get some money. Our cabbie ... read more
October 15th 2009
Ni-Hao, Power failure, lost all my work - crap! Will try and re-create it, but might not be as funny :( Biking in Beijing is like playing Frogger or Chicken. Rentals don't have top of the line brakes, but most are armed with a bell. Hutongs are narrow and in order to navigate effectively amongst the vendors, pedestrians, cats, dogs and cars, it is best to ring that bell often because you will get cut off a million times. Plow forward and for God's sake don't be polite! This ain't Vancouver, this is China. Crossing the massive football-sized intersections can be entertaining. Local Beijingers like to get a head start so they begin crossing early which causes quite a bit of chaos and horn blaring from the drivers. When the light finally turns green, don't get ... read more
October 13th 2009
Hi all, Horking is an acquired skill that Dean and I hope to master by the end of our stay - just to fit in :) We have had plenty of demos; mostly from old ladies. Although our surly cab driver showed us a thing or two on our way to Huanghan to see the Great Wall. It was an awesome site! We hiked and sometimes scrambled up and down steep slopes, which in certain sections were quite sketchy. Yesterday, we rented bikes and zipped through the mazes of hutongs up to the Forbidden City. What an beautiful place! Dean took at least 1000 photos! Finding food has been tricky (bad for Cath!) because every menu and every sign is written in Chinese! Our lonely planet book has a few helful phrases and hand gestures and ... read more
The night before we leave
Published: October 10th 2009North America » Canada » British Columbia » Vancouver
October 10th 2009
It felt a bit strange taking myself off the blackberry server at work today. Feeling a bit free I'd say. No work for 2 1/2 months :) Here's a picture of Cath trying to fit everything in her new backpack. Take out the hairdriers! :) Blog entry by Dean. ... read more
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