So I realise I'm a bit behind on the blog, but in the immortal words of the Pixies: "Where is my mind?". I'm having trouble stringing together a coherent thought, let alone composing a month's worth of diary entries. Before, my problem was simply that I couldn't sort out which experiences to talk about and how to do them justice in my writing, now my brain's bouncing around the inside of my skull like a rubber ball. It seems that interplanetary travel has taken its toll. I use that term deliberately, because that's what arriving in Hong Kong after over a [View Full Entry]

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Let's quickly get some of the boring facts out of the way. The Annapurnas are a bunch of mountains in the Himalaya, a lot of them higher than 7000m, the highest being Annapurna I at 8091m. As a point of reference Mt Everest (or Sagarmartha as its known in Nepal) is 8848m, Mt Kosciuszko (the highest mountain in Oz) a mere 2228m. Simply speaking, the Annapurna Circuit trek takes you around this group of mountains by following a river (namely the Marsyangdi Khola) along one side of the range, steadily gaining altitude, culminating in the crossing of Thorung La (a mountain [View Full Entry]

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Flashback to my first few days in Nepal: To cut a long story short (like I'm capable of that), the cab driver, who lent me the Visa money, took me to a guesthouse in Kathmandu, where I discovered that Nepal's capital is not unlike Bangkok, only smaller, dirtier and more frantic still. In my imagination Kathmandu had been a quiet, chilled-out town, surrounded by picturesque mountains and catering to a small select group of people, who come to Nepal to experience the wonders of the Himalaya. As it turned out, Kathmandu is anything but quiet, it caters to every kind of [View Full Entry]

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So I arrive at the Kathmandu airport, I’ve filled out my visa application form (you can buy the visa as you enter the country) and I’m expecting to find an ATM in the terminal to get some Nepalese Rupees for the visa fee, as I have no cash on me. There is a currency exchange counter, but no ATM. They also won’t let me buy the Rupees with my credit card. What to do? There is a very long line for the visa processing and I don’t want to wait for an hour just to explain my predicament. I walk to [View Full Entry]

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Alright, last day in Bangkok, let's get this over with. It starts with a boat ride down the river, followed by a long walk through Chinatown, where there is even madder traffic than the rest of Bangkok. This is where I send my most treasured possesion, constant travel companion and personal bible, my Lonely Planet, along with the first dvd of photos back to Oz. I feel naked. Luckily I've written down the directions of all the places I want to visit for the rest of the day. For starters I'm once again looking for an art gallery, which turns out [View Full Entry]

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I had two days left in Bangkok to pack in as much as possible. I started by picking up my processed Chinese visa and then spent about an hour finding my way to the Thailand Cultural Centre, which was about a 15 minute walk from the embassy. Once there I took in a mixed bag of an exhibition on Thai people, culture and history. I found it interesting, that they didn't make mention of the fact, that Thailand is the biggest exporter of rice in the world, certainly something I would advertise. I followed this up with a subway trip to [View Full Entry]

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So I would much rather talk about trekking in the Himalaya, but I should really do a wrap up of my last few days in Thailand first. This will also give me a chance to further digest the experience and try to figure out a way of actually writing about it, which I've been doing over the last day and a half with the aid of coffee, cake and coca cola. It was time for a few days break from the maddening streets of Bangkok and so I caught a bus north to Kao Yai National Park in search of great [View Full Entry]

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....is about how long it takes to inhale exhaust fumes equivalent to a month's worth in other major cities around the world. My bus got stuck in traffic as soon as it got near the city, and that's where I would spend a fair chunk of time during my stay. Now, before I go any further, I have a confession to make. Due to the lack of convenient, fast-moving public transport in certain areas of the city, I did catch the odd taxi, tuk tuk and motorbike to get me to the nearest subway or skytrain station. As an advocate of [View Full Entry]

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I've been in Thailand for three weeks and by now I'm moving through the crowds as though I were a local. My Thai is near perfect with a slight Phuket province accent and my skin's a beautiful Southern Siam brown. I order food from streetside vendors without any hesitation, can argue my way to 50% discounts on anything from boat rides to massages (usually these things only amount to a few dollars Australian, but it's the principle) and I haven't used toilet paper in about a week and a half. Time has no meaning to me, I actually enjoy cold showers, [View Full Entry]

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Oh man, it's been a while. So where was I? Right, diving on Ko Phi Phi. I highly recommend it, scuba diving that is, not Ko Phi Phi. Saw a tiger shark, a big turtle and half the cast from Finding Nemo. I know I'm being flippant, but words fail the beauty of the underwater world. Simply put, it was spectacular. In fact, I stayed an extra night in cocktail-bucket hell after the three-day course just so I could slip in two more dives. And I managed not to hurt myself, mainly because of my excellent Swedish diving instructor Per. Always [View Full Entry]

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