We caught up with Tyler again, to spend Thanksgiving Day together on a chill Thai beach before heading on down to Malaysia.  You have to take a boat to get there, and then it’s all relaxing, swimming, playing in the sand…and more snacking.  :)  Happy Day of Thanks, everyone!  We have to admit we are!  10 photos.

 

Have we mentioned that we are professional photo moochers?  Yeah, we’re much better at begging pictures off of other people that we hang out with than being motivated to pull out our little camera….  Which might partially explain how we spent a whole ‘nother week in Kathmandu, another in Delhi, and another in Bangkok with not much to show for it, photographically.  We might also mention that we didn’t do much that was too exciting: a few museums, a few temples, and mostly alot of wandering.  So here you go…65 photos of wandering in markets.  We can’t call it shopping, cuz the rupees and baht only left our pockets for food…but boy was the wandering, snacking, and looking a good time.  Enjoy.

 

The last few days of our trek seemed like lots and lots of stone stair-stepping.  It was a really cool part, actually.  So green and rolling.  The very last day kicked all our butts because it was a full day of downhill on steep steps.  22 days trekking, and it was time for some relaxation in the chill town of Pokhara, then on to our next adventure.  So long, beautiful Nepal!!  28 photos.

 

The main route for the next few days mostly involved the new road.  We wanted to avoid it as much as possible, and so crossed the river to hike on trails and through villages on the other side when we could.  Most people grab wheels before now, or fly out of Jomsom, so we suddenly had the trek to ourselves again, which was nice.  Highlights: a small self-appointed trekking guide, and giant, cow-eating birds.  Yes.  20 photos.

 

We’ve experience an almost instant scenery change: so dry, and not much plant-life.  I love the desert, by the way.  I feel right at home.  In Muktinath, our friend Gabe joined us, and the 5 of us spent the next couple days hiking down a very dry, dusty, windy-in-the-afternoon river valley.  The old medieval town of Kagbeni was fascinating, and probably one of our favorite places on the trek.  35 photos.

 

From our rest day, we spent 2 more short days getting to the basecamp of Thorung La Pass.  It is cold!  But between the one rented sleeping bag we have (to share, ha) and a fat blanket at night…we’re pretty cozy.  Hiking over the pass was an epic day.  75% of us were higher than we’ve ever been, and it was stunningly beautiful.  The other side down was crazy too.  My favorite: watching a whole train of pack mules calmly ‘ice-skate’ past us on a very icy, very steep part of the way down, while we were hugging one wall of the ravine, trying to avoid collision.  Man, I wish we’d gotten video of that!  24 photos.

 

…which involved some easy, gradual hiking for 2 days, and then another rest day, because we’ve ascended enough that we needed to stop and acclimatize a bit.  Don’t have to tell us twice.  We discovered yummy baked goods on the way to, and in Manang: bad news for a rest day.  The scenery is starting to look dry and like Utah, which makes it an instant hit.  We also met a new friend: Gabe, day-hiked to great views, and played with the slack-line that Tyler accidentally brought.  Ha.  30 photos.

 

Our fourth day of the circuit was another of gruelling ups and downs.  Starting to wonder if we’ll toughen up to it.  More rain, but not too unpleasant until the last pass when it was getting cold and windy on top of the rain.  The river is bigger than ever, and so alive.  When we arrived in the riverside village of Tal, everything was jam-packed full because trekkers ahead of us had been stuck or turned back due to some pretty gnarly landslides ahead.  Fortunately we were able to find a place that could squeeze us in.  Tyler and Jewell slept in the porter’s room, and Spence and I crammed into a tiny little single room.  We could hear landslides across the river crashing down all night long.  The way opened up the next day, but we decided to take a rest day to let the masses get ahead of us and dry our stuff.  Reading, relaxing, cards, warm food.  On day 6, under clear skies, we made good time, along with the pack-mule trains.  We arrived at our destination with plenty of time for hanging out….which included a hotspring!  Oh yeah.  29 photos.

 

Bright and early on a Monday morning, we set off by mini-bus to start our trek of the Annapurna Circuit.  Day one was bus and then stayed in the last town with cars.  Started hiking on day 2, and put in about 13 km.  It rained all that night, and then ALL the next day, while we hiked along the (huge) river.  I’ve never gotten to play out in the rain for an entire day before.  There was lots of up and down, and despite chafed, bloody feet….we think this is AWESOME!  23 photos.

 

A handful more photos around Kathmandu, these from Spence’s bro Tyler.  13 photos.

 

Next Page →

• Where in the world??!?

  ..well, well, well: Salt Lake City, USA

• What time is it there?

  Saturday, July 31st, 2010 • 1:15 pm
So, we're back in the USA... ...for now – and these are the adventures we still need to fill you in on: rice farmin' in Malaysia, wedding fun with the fam, Ouray Ice Climbing Fest 2010....and more if we keep procrastinating this!

• Search
• 

Spence & Heather...
...are two like-minded souls who have an itch to really live, no matter where they are. They are currently living out of a backpack, traveling the world in search of good experiences and adventure. This is their personal blog, and everyone is welcome!

• Categories

  • India
    • Arunachal Pradesh
    • Rajasthan
    • Southern India
  • Nepal
    • Annapurna Circuit
  • Thailand
  • Uncategorized
  • Volunteering
  • Wow!

• Archives

  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009

• Handy Links

  • Animal Aid
  • Jhamtse International
  • Jhamtse News
  • Walters Creative

• Admin

  • Log in