There has been no lack of excitement and activity during the past week. As I mentioned in my previous blog, the day after finishing the trek, the same group decided to embark upon a long downhill mountain bike trip on the highest motorable road in the world. The road eventually took us up to the Khardung La Pass at an elevation of 18,380ft. Aside from the frigidly cold air and noticeable lack of oxygen in the air, the views were stunning. After snapping a few memorable photos, we began our 3 our descent back to Leh. During the trip we descended almost exactly 7,000ft back to the town of Leh. It was great fun and didn't require all that much effort given the fact the entire ride was downhill, allowing the force of gravity to do ... read more

After nearly 7 months of constant movement and travel I have finally found a temporary settlement. For the next 6 weeks I will be residing in a small town called Mcleod Ganj up here in North India. When His Holiness the 14th Dali Lama fled Tibet after the Chinese invasion/occupation in 1959, Mcleod Ganj is where he made is home. In the surrounding area of Dharmsala and within Mcleod Ganj is an extremely large Tibetan-refugee community, creating a social and cultural environment that is in many ways distinct from the rest of India. Dharmsala and its environs is home to the Tibetan Government in Exile and a large number of artifacts, museums, and Buddhist monasteries which all contribute to preserve Tibetan national identity. Tibetan monks in their elegant maroon robes are often a more common sight ... read more

I knew the moment I arrived in Manali that I would enjoy my time here. Set in a large valley with snow-capped mountain ranges running adjacent to the town, the scenery around Manali is stunning. When compared to the 110+ temperatures of Delhi, the weather here is awesome. Ranging from low 70's in the day at high 40's at night, it's a great summer mountain climate. The several valleys and peaks around Manali are prime backpacking spots with more than 50+ different treks to choose from. Unfortunately because of the late snow this year I'll have to wait a month or more before the most desirable passes open up. I think I'll return in a little over a month and see what trips I can get myself involved in. On my second day I did take ... read more

In an attempt to not be too repetitive with my blogs I'm going to keep this one rather brief. As I've already "blogged" many of the places I'm now revisiting, I don't see a tremendous need to repeat tales of history and geography in Central Vietnam. That doesn't mean, however, that the last few weeks have been short of any fun and excitement. I think quite the contrary. Since I last updated this site, Dad and I have been working our way north toward our eventual final destination of Hanoi. There's only 11 days of our trip left and man has time moved by fast. It seriously seems like yesterday that we were wandering around Saigon while I watched Dad's bewildered reaction to the motorbike insanity that consumes the city. It's been a great trip ... read more

I guess I mentioned at the end of my last blag that I would give you gusy some sort of fashion show. Well, sorry to disappoint (I doubt anyone really cared). As much fun as it was getting tons of custom fit clothes made, I thought it would be a bit lame to post a dozen photos of me dressed up in different attire. I may have been a wee-bit over-excited about visiting Hoi An when I last updated the blog. Anyways.... A beautiful town filled with century-old buildings that date back to the French colonial days. The influence on the architecture is very much noticeable. I spent several days wandering the old town and visiting various tailor shops to find a place to make me clothes. There are over 400 tailors in Hoi An, all ... read more