On our way to India, we stopped at Lumbini, the supposed birth place of Buddha. Then, for some reason, we decided to purchase bus tickets and train tickets for India on the Nepal side of the border. Not sure what I was thinking, but as you can imagine, once we finally made it into India, we got scammed and had to pay an additional $6 to get our tickets. To make matters worse, it was very hot, our bags were heavy, the bus was packed with people and it took 3 house to get to the train station. Tired, ticked off [View Full Entry]

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Okay...so now I am in Jaiupr, India and have finally uploaded my photos. So, here is my update from Chitwan National Park in Nepal: We made it to Chitwan National Park which I can only imagine is very similar to the African Safari land. It is very flat with a river which surrounds the park. In the park are elephants, rhinos and tigers as well as lots of birds and wildlife. We found a great place to stay (and as I keep getting many emails from people looking to travel and asking for recommendations, I will now on list the places [View Full Entry]

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Sorry for the tardiness of my postings but it has been trouble finding a place to upload photos. Even though it is now Sept. 9th and I am in India, here is my posting from Pokhara, Nepal: Well, Ollie and I finally left Kathmandu after 20 days. We boarded a 7am bus in the pouring rain and joined 14 other people for a two day rafting trip down the Trusili river. We were lucky enough to hook up with our friend Keren again along with her Guest House mates Colin, Giggs, Portugal (that was where the guy was from but I [View Full Entry]

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Our group found its way to the border of China and Nepal and, aftering scaming the Chinese gov't out of its 200 RMB fine for not having a guide, we walked out of China and into Nepal. After getting our visas, I arranged for transport to Kathmandu, about 3 hours away. Not long after arriving, I found my self laying in a king-sized bed at the Earth House Hotel (thanks Scottie Berkson for the recommendation), a nice change from the small Chinese beds I have been using for 2 months. Well, it's been two weeks and 3 days since that day [View Full Entry]

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It has been a while since my last post as I have been traveling across Tibet via 4x4 with no access to the net. After a cool couple of days back in Chengdu, I hopped on a flight to Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet. On the flight, I met two English blokes (Oliver Tayler....aka OLLIE; Dominic...aka Junior). It took us a few days to get used to the altitude of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet (at 3500 meters above sea level), so we spent the first few days napping, eating and drinking. I was a bit taken back by the [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Songpan at 11am and I immediately signed up for a horse trek which left at noon. My other travel partners were unsure about their next plan so I said goodbye to them after about a month traveling together. The other horse riders on the trek consisted of two french girls, one Italian guy and two new yorkers (go figure). We rode up some steep mountains and walked down the other sides to reach a small lake where we camped for the night. The guides preparred some great food including noodles, fresh breads and excellent tea! The night was [View Full Entry]

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A 12 hour bus ride (including a 1.5 hour stop due to a bus accident) from Chengdu landed the five of us in Jiouzhaigou, home to a nature reserve which boasts beautiful hiking, pandas, monkeys and a few Tibetan villages. We bedded down at a new hostel (thanks to Sim of Sim's Cozy Guesthouse). That night, Yael realized her passport was missing (along with her whole money belt) so she split the next morning back to Chengdu. The four remaing travelers took off for the nature reserve which was outstanding with great views, crystal clear rivers and lakes and lush greenery. [View Full Entry]

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A 4 hour bus ride, followed immediately by a 12 hour bus ride (in a sleeper bus), spending a night is a very sketchy train station "slum" hotel and finally a 13 hour train ride the following day landed us in Chengdu. Feels great to be back in a large city after being in the mountains. I met up with two great English couples (Hugh & Helen and Billy and Sarah, the later are on a round-the-world in 18 month program...NICE!) and a french canadian gal (Genny) at the hostel we are staying at (Sim's Cozy Guest House....highly recommended). One morning, [View Full Entry]

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It has been a week since I have had access to the internet....hell, it has been a week since I have had electricity! we have been trekking the mountainous area between the Yunnan and Tibet provinces. The small villages do not have electricity and the bathrooms are usually just a shed with a hole in the ground. Surprisingly, the do have solar hot water heaters so we are able to shower but that is usually in a shed with either mud and/or wooden planks for a floor. The food as well has been ify....not much meat and thus only vegetables, eggs, [View Full Entry]

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A three hour bus ride north of Dali landed the four of us in Lijiang, a town which on the surface is frightening to us travelers. Imagine a Chinese-esque Disneyland-type town. Eveything looks fake including the cobblestone steets, the houses and even the people. We did manage to find a woman to put us up in her guesthouse which had an authentic Chinese feel. To add injury to insult, we bumped into EVERYONE we met in Dali (other isrealis, the austrian couple, the two American lawyers) which made me even more anxious to get out of town fast. And finally that [View Full Entry]

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