Lazy Blogger on Ko Lanta

OK - so, in case anyone is still checking this blog, wondering what the heck happened to Kim, I am alive and well, Nepal trek is over, and I've found my way down to Ko Lanta in the Andaman Sea in southern Thailand, and have become incredibly lazy. I'm far from the political disturbances in Bangkok at the moment, and am lazing away my days doing yoga, riding a creaky bike with 2 speeds, sometimes 3 when it feels like it, eating my heart out, swimming and swinging in a hammock. It's a good thing my heart is bound for Hawai'i over the holidays, otherwise, I might never leave this place. The resort where I'm staying is called Relax Bay: http://www.relaxbay.com/. I've extended my intended stay twice so far!! I'll try to update this blog again at some point, but in the meantime, I'll have a Large Chang beer and a mango lassi for you!
aloha, kim

Trek Day 5

Short day today. Drying my laundry on the fence in the sun across the road from our lunch stop. Girls singing again - we are so lucky.

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Spending the night in freezing cold Pisang (3200 m) in a huge pink tea house. When seen from a distance amidst all the other natural colored buildings here, our hotel looks like Vegas atop an eternity of pink steps (I get altitude sickness just climbing the stairs from the road to my room, I swear). But I don't care, because we have OUR OWN EN SUITE TOILETS AND SHOWERS - WOOHOO!!!! AND HOT WATER!!! We have gorgeous views of the mountains from our rooms. We arrived here early this afternoon, and did a short training/acclimatization/sightseeing hike up to the largest gompa on the trek. From the gompa, we could see Heaven's Gate and almost 360 degrees of enormous snowy mountains. The combination of the view, and the serenity of the gompa and the prayer flags brought me to tears in gratitude for my presence in this incredible place that fills me with awe.

Photos Day 5 Pisang

Photos:

1) Our guide, Aman, explaining how the colors of the prayer flags represent the elements of earth, water, fire, air, and sky or space

2) Rachel below the gompa

3) View of Pisang

4) Our amazing room w/ hot water shower and private, indoor toilet (standing/squatting, of course)

5) John, Kylee & Izzy in front of Heaven's Gate

6 & 7) Rocks beautifully inscribed with the Buddhist mantra of compassion OM MANI PADME HUM

Trek Day 4

Photos:

1) Found out from this guy (who had a radio and a phone) that Barack Obama had won the US Election.

2) Porters at lunch in Gandaki: Kalpana, Tara, Bhima, Anita, Chandra, Sarita & Moti

3) Waiting for lunch in the sun: Tara, Kalpana with a random stranger's baby, Moti, Durga, Bhima, Tash & Izzy

4) Izzy, John & Nirma at the tea house in Chame (2700 or 2800 m - we're not exactly sure)

We are in Chame for the night with views of Manaslu from our courtyard. We had a short hike after lunch, and arrived here around 3pm. Early showers (warm-ish!), laundry in buckets, bought some spare batteries and safe drinking water (hooray - no iodiney taste), had tea, yoga in the room with Rachel, dinner in a snuggly cozy common room with warm coals under the table - met new friends funny, sweet Joyce from Hong Kong and adorable Neil from Israel.

Trek Day 3

Woke up this morning in Jagat in a 3 story pink tea house to the whistling and "hwah"ing and clanging neck bells of mule trains being driven through the village around 5:00am.

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As I tuck my toes in the footholds going up and down these mountain paths, I think often of all the of people, Nepali and trekker, whose feet have used these steps before....

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In lovely Tal (1700 meters) for lunch (dal bhat of course). Climbed an exhausting, steep trail to get here, then edged along the river. I have never been so happy to arrive anywhere as I was to arrive at this lunch yard and my delicious hot ginger lemon drink. Have been waiting for lunch to be prepared for an hour. It's possible I will lose consciousness if I don't eat soon (haha).

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Spending the night at Sarita's (my porter) family's tea house in Bagarchhap (2000 m). It is like a mountain retreat. There's nobody else here, but our joyous group. Smells like wood fire. Gorgeous, colorful common room. Warm water buckets for washing. Hike was long today, and I think I'm beginning to feel slight effects of altitude - a little dizzy and light-headed. Nothing else so far. Aman is cooking us fried vege egg noodles for dinner tonight. I am freezing.

Photos of Sarita's Family & Tea House

Photos:

1) My porter Sarita far right (with the Brittany Spears tshirt), with her sisters, mother and aunt

2) Bhima, another Nepali porter friend (she carries Rachel's pack and speaks terrific English, and thinks my fear of the suspension bridges is hilarious, but waits protectively for me at the other end of each bridge to make sure I survive), standing with the packs outside of the tea house

3) Inside the mostly warm common room w/ gorgeous display of dishes

4) Stacy, Sheila & John at tea on the other side of the common room

It is a gift to be here. We feel blessed and fortunate. It is special and personal to be here amongst Sarita's family. Every villager we passed on the hike in knew her, and we are priveleged to be accompanying her here, to her home.

Trek Day 2

US Election Day!! Well, they won't actually vote until tomorrow, which will be today in the US, but today's the date...wonder when I will find out what happened. Woke up this morning to birds and cows - reminded me of the sounds from my bedroom beneath Buster Brown at home, only I was in my sleeping bag in a flimsy plywood dorm at the foot of the Himalayas, anticipating my first of probably 5 "hot lemon" teas for the day.

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Either I'm getting used to the smell of other people's urine, or this was a fairly clean toilet. Not sure which of those options is better.

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Nice, steep uphill to our lunch spot at Bahundanda - the muscles in my legs felt good and strong and ready for the work of climbing these mountains (with Sarita doing the real work of carrying my heavy backpack, of course). We tourists followed Nirma in a snakey line up the switchbacks, like little chickens following our mother, so that she could keep our pace slow and steady. Sweating rivers - this damn pink Bugs Off shirt does not breathe, but it needs to last for at least 3 more days!

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Have had 1.5 liters of iodized water so far - need to finish 3 early enough in the day to keep myself hydrated, yet not having to make a trip outside to the squatting toilets in the middle of the night - and one Snickers bar. I brought 1 Snickers for every day of the hike, and am already wondering if that will be enough. Possibly nothing has ever tasted as delicious as that Snickers.

Annapurna Circuit Trek Day 1

We loaded 20 people into a 15 passenger minivan for a 5 hour drive to our starting location this morning: 4 Americans (including John, our only male tourist, married to Stacy, plus Rachel and me), 1 Kiwi (Izzy), 1 Canadian (Sheila), 2 Australians (Emma and Kylee), 1 woman without a country, although technically another Aussie (Tash), and 10 singing Nepalis - our lead guide Nirma (female), and our second guide Aman (male), 7 female porters (Sarita - my porter, Kalpana, Bhima, Moti, Tara, Durga, Anita), and 1 patient, smiling male porter (Chandra). At least half of the Nepali girls were sick on the drive, and simply threw up into black plastic bags, which were then demurely dumped out the van window onto the road, then continued singing. Finally arrived in Besisahar (900 meters), our starting location. We had dal bhat for lunch - the traditional Nepali meal of rice, lentil soup, curried vegetables, and a pickled relish with papadum - then started walking...

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We hit the first suspension bridge, and I slowly crawled my way over the river, which seemed massive and miles below me, through the flimsy wooden slats supporting my feet. Terrified of heights, I gripped the sides of the bridge during the eternity of my crossing, to the gleeful hilarity of all our porters.

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I remind myself of a dog at the standing/squatting toilets that are the norm here: I walk into each toilet, and can't stand the smell of other people's urine, so I rush to cover the stench with the odor of my own, which is infinitely better.

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These rice field villages are here in the warm, sunny bosom of the great Himalayas, looming just there, surrounding, engulfing this countryside and community, and yet simply a backdrop, barely glanced at. The closer the mountains get, the more it makes the blood rush to my heart to think I've got to climb those giant beasts.

Pokhara

We've been pretty lazy in Pokhara, pampering ourselves before our trek, which begins tomorrow. Lazy mornings on the rootop restaurant of our guest house overlooking Phewa Lake, window shopping (OK - and some actual shopping!), a little yoga, and 2 long day hikes to local sites. Pokhara is the base for all of the treks in the Annapurna region, so it's a comfortable, easy blend of Nepali culture and Western tourism, nestled below awe-inspiring, snow-clad mountains. The photos here include: 1) one of two adorable brothers (with matching skeleton necklaces) who paddled us across Phewa Lake to the beginning of our hike to the World Peace Pagoda, which can be seen in the distance atop the green hill, 2) view of the mountains from a city street, and 3) a shot of Rachel climbing the stairs to Sarangkot, a local viewpoint at about 5500 feet elevation, which was the destination of another day hike.

Tonight, we will have our first meeting and group dinner with the 9 trekkers, 9 porters and 2 guides who will be on the Annapurna Circuit together. We leave for the trek early tomorrow morning. I don't anticipate having email access before November 20.

Talk to you all then!

Kim