Trekking is something one has to do with a group. Unless one has really mastered the trek route and/or prefers solitude (like if you want to meditate in the forest), trekking alone especially in an unfamiliar territory (like the rugged terrain of Nepal), is just plain stupid (not to mention, dangerous). However, it was during a group tour in Laos when I realized that I can't trek with a group, especially with a bunch of people who lead a more active lifestyle than I am. Although I'm still young and reasonably fit ( im vegetarian, I go to gym, do [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Nangi village at 7 pm. It took us 12 hours to walk (and climb rocky hills) from our guesthouse in Beni to reach the hillside village of Nangi. The trek usually takes 7 hours, but I was really slow. Plus we took a lot of breaks - lunch breaks, snack breaks, tea breaks, wait-a-minute-I-have-a migraine-breaks, im-sooo-tired-i-need-to-drink-water-breaks. I really didn’t mind. This is why I preferred to trek on my own - I was able to do everything my way. What I cared about was I wanted to reach Nangi village before it gets dark-this was a rural [View Full Entry]

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Kulu and Maita - both are Magars whose families live in Nangi Village, took me to the local bus station in Pokhara. The Magars are one of the major ethnic groups in Nepal. They're of Tibeto-Burmese origin and live in the middle hills. The hardy and energetic Magar men constitute a big contingent in the renown Gurkha army. It took us five hours to reach the town of Beni (actually, it should just be a four-hour bus ride, but mini breaks (toliet breaks, waiting-for-more-passengers breaks, stoping-in-military-checkpoints-because of maoist rebellion-problem-breaks) stre [View Full Entry]

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My trekking adventure commenced in Pokhara - 200 km east, a 7 hour-bus ride away of Kathmandu. The laidback town of Pokhara is a gateway to the magnificent Annapurna range, and its also near the popular trekking routes. Which is why Pokhara’s Lakeside area is trekkers’ central - where guesthouses, trekking agencies, trek gear, massages for sored trekkers muscles can be found, bought, consumed. Fortunately, Lakeside’s not as crowded nor as filthy as Thamel. I stayed in the Chettri Sisters’ Guesthouse, at the northern part of Lakeside. It&rs [View Full Entry]

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Tomorrow I'm trekking at a rural village in Nepal, it's called Nangi Village. I'll be off for five days, but I'll def back with words and images for all you readers out there. [View Full Entry]

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It took me some time to update this blog as I was ill. For the past few days, I was dizzy and nauseaous. Everything I ate weighs like lead. I didn't have an appetite, but i had to force myself to eat biscuits, dhal or mashed potato just so that I'll at least have the strength to walk. Although I managed to do some sight seeing in Kathmandu (visiting Buddhist and Hindu temples), I spent most of my time, lying in my bed, praying to all Gods and Godesses (Christian, Hindu, egyptian, whatever!) that I be saved from all the [View Full Entry]

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Most of the time I travel light, preferring to buy essentials like pocketbooks, t-shirts or toiletries in any country where I'm staying. Given the might of the Singapore dollar (1 SGD = 2.2 ringgit = 22 baht = 5,000 kips=41 Nepali rupees ), I can easily stretch my budget without having to suffer from a backache or shoulder ache. As much as possible, especially now that I'm living a nomadic lifestyle (I spend most of my time in transit-waiting in airports, in bus stations), I really try to make my backpack weigh less than 15 kgs. After all, the only [View Full Entry]

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Despite the hot and dry weather (and the fact that I can't wear shorts and spaghetti straps in this conservative country) and my dizziness (side effect of the anti-malaria tablets that I ingested), I still managed to take a tour around the Kathmandu Valley, visiting some of Nepal's most important temples from September 6 to 8. I guess, the fact that I had a tour guide and a chaffeur helped (thank you so much to my Thamel-based travel agent Bishnu Subedi). On September 6, I went to Pashupatinath to witness the Teej Festival, also known as the Festival of Women. [View Full Entry]

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One of the first things I bought when I arrived in Thamel - Kathmandu's backpackers center - was a calculator. Given my propensity to convert everything (in Singapore, US and Philippine currencies) and also to curtail my spending, a calculator is a necessity for me. Although I stayed in Singapore for over four years - a country where shopping is a national sport and the shopping malls lining Orchard Road are considered major tourist spots - I was never bitten by a shopping bug. I don't like buying things that I really don't need. It's a waste of time. mone [View Full Entry]

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I flew from KL and had to spend a night in Bangkok to catch an early flight tomorrow for Kathmandu. For that, I went to Khao San Rd. The backpackers ghetto of Khao San in Bangkok isn't an ideal place to write. The whole area just assaults your senses, that you end up confused, distracted, dazed. Here's what Khao San is: loud music blaring from the stereo; fake cds, fake hair, fake ids clog the streets; tuktuks and motorbikes coming from just anywhere that you have to be extremely careful when you cross the street; a chockablock of guesthouses, bars, [View Full Entry]

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