I typed something longer, but alas, it was lost. Therefore, I'll just have to say that Honduras is a very cool, laidback country and let the photos speak for themselves. Happy viewing! [View Full Entry]

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I just returned from a 2-week business trip to Russia. I was with a joint Russian-American team who site visited 9 Russian universities in 6 cities in 4 different time zones. While the schedule was brutal and there was little time for fun, I wanted to post a few photos. I was lucky enough to get upgraded to business class on the transatlantic flight to Moscow, which was pretty sweet. On the same night I arrived, we took off for Irkutsk, which is a 5 1/2-6 hour flight from Moscow. Irkutsk has a tiny hut of an airport. They throw the [View Full Entry]

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Now that I have been back in the US for awhile, I thought I'd reflect on my trip and what I have learned. As my plane left US soil last January, I thought about how my life would never be the same. I was right that I would come back a changed person; I just didn't realize how completely different my life would be. Many people expect that you will just pick up where you left off and that things will essentially be the same, but it is simply not possible. A journey like this always changes you, usually for the [View Full Entry]

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After spending a couple of days in Bangkok, I am having a few days of beach time and getting sucked into World Cup soccer before returning to the US. The Thai World Cup broadcasts are not as entertaining as Indian ESPN. First, they are in Thai, with two very dorky commentators in yellow shirts (in honor of the King's 60th anniversary on the throne, which is this month). Secondly, I really miss that English commentator who knows absolutely everything (and then some) there is to know about soccer. I saw the England vs. Trinidad and Tobago game at an Irish pub [View Full Entry]

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After all that time in the mountains, the big city of Kathmandu seemed like New York. The streets were crowded and bustling, it was noisy, and it was hot with the sticky monsoon weather. The usual shady Nepalis were out in Durbar Square, and the “peanut gallery” was stationed at their everyday spot in Sundhara. It felt great to be “home” in good ol’ Kathmandu again. One of the best parts about returning to Kathmandu was eating fruit and Indian food again. Our eyes nearly popped out of our heads as we saw the variety of fruits and vegetables available in [View Full Entry]

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We finally walked into Lukla in the late afternoon, exhausted and needing showers. It was foggy and the town was quiet. We found a guesthouse and decided to treat ourselves by getting rooms with an attached bathroom. Wow! A sink, shower, tiles AND a non-squat toilet that flushed! No going outside for bathing or using the toilet! What luxury! Sita Air was closed, so we asked the hotel staff to call the airline for us. That was when we found out from the hotel staff and other guests that there had been no flights from Lukla to Kathmandu for the past [View Full Entry]

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After several weeks in the mountains, it was time to come back down. It was a much easier walk on the way down than it was on the way up. That bastard of a climb to Namche wasn’t so bad on the way down, though all those downhill switchbacks can be tough on your knees. When your lungs are accustomed to such thin air and you are at lower altitude with more oxygen, you suddenly have this amazing energy. The landscape had changed since we ascended the trail a few weeks before. Spring had arrived in the valley and everything was [View Full Entry]

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After recovering from the post-Everest Marathon festivities, we continued to the Gokyo lakes area. Originally, we were going to cross the Cho La pass, but the Cho La pass would have taken us to an even higher altitude than Gorak Shep, which was not a good idea since I had problems with the altitude there. In addition, other trekkers and Nepali guides reported that the weather conditions were not good and that there might be snow in the pass. That settled the matter, and we decided to go back to Namche for the marathon and take the scenic route to Gokyo. [View Full Entry]

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As we trekked up the trail, we kept meeting Nepali and foreign runners who were training for the Everest Marathon. This is a grueling, high altitude race over the uneven terrain from Everest Base Camp (5300 meters or 17,390 feet) back down to Namche (3440 meters or 11,290 feet). I found it hard enough to walk this trail, and I can’t believe that anyone would be crazy enough to run it. Our first encounter with the runners was a group of English fly boys (Royal Air Force-RAF) staying at the same guesthouse in Namche. We also met Ally and Rory, the [View Full Entry]

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There is no warm-up when you leave Dughla. The very first part of the trek is a bastard of a climb. As we were leaving, we saw some Korean climbers coming down. Most of them had huge beards and were so badly sunburned, their faces looked like bacon. I guess they’d been up there for awhile. Unlike other areas at lower altitude, there are very few small villages and teahouses between the larger stops. Few people want to live in such a cold, desolate place. A popular stopping point between Dughla and Leboche is an area called the tombstones. Most porters [View Full Entry]

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