At a roadhouse restaurant on the road from Lhasa to Gyantse. From left to right. Claire, Margaret, Jo, Bec, and Barry.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Kathmandu. Getting from Point A to Point B.
On my first full day in Kathmandu, I hired a driver and car to chauffeur me around. It was a very comfortable way to move around and considering the distances that I had to travel, probably what made the most sense to do given my itinerary for the day.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Kathmandu. The Serene Boudhanath.
I went to visit Boudhanath stupa twice and I loved it both times - my refuge from the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Back to Nepal. Zhangmu to Dhulikhel to Kathmandu.
This was the day we would be leaving China and entering back into Nepal. It was also the first time I've ever crossed a country border on foot!
I woke up well rested despite the fact that the bed I was sleeping on was a straw mattress - lots of things poking up at me all night long and that Margaret, Claire and I had stayed up late - chatting and giggling the night away. We all met up at the breakfast table and soon enough, we had to get our backpacks and get going for the day.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Rongphu to Zhangmu.
It was early morning at Rongphu Monastery. Baikuntha's alarm clock went off at 7:30am. Barry braved the freezing cold to watch sunrise over Mt. Everest. I had had a difficult night sleeping and I was toasty warm in my sleeping bag (with two blankets piled on top) - no way I was going to join Barry. Within the hour, we all had to get out of bed - just a few minutes to brush our teeth and grab a cup of altitude sickness tea. We quickly packed up and piled back into the LandCruisers for the day's ride.
One Yak Towns. Sakya and Lao Tinggri.
Tibetan village nestled into the foothills of a mountain.
Okay, there are some pretty remote places in Tibet. We passed by a lot of little villages and hamlets on our drive towards Kathmandu. Some had signposts announcing their names. Others were just made up of clusters of homes - no name, no entry road. Towns got a lot smaller once we left Gyantse. Here are my recollections and photos of two that we visited.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Offroading in Tibet.
On the road from Lhasa to Gyantse.
Our return from Lhasa back to Kathmandu was going to be an overland journey. Though I knew it was going to be a long trip, I was still excited at the thought of driving across the Tibetan plateau and then cutting through Himalayan mountain passes to reach Nepal.Everest, Baby!
Can you remember where you were and what you were doing on October 14th at 1pm? I can. I was in the Mt. Qomolangma (pronounced "Cho mo lahng ma") National Nature Preserve standing and looking at the great Himalaya Range of mountains.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Tibet. Shigatse.
We left Gyantse after lunch and headed down the road to Shigatse.
We arrived in Shigatse in early afternoon and had the rest of the day to explore the town. Baikuntha had told us that Shigatse was primarily a "Chinese" town so as we entered it, we were prepared to see China and not Tibet. I must admit, that was a bit disappointing.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Tibet. Gyantse.
Welcome to Gyantse, Tibet, China! Gyantse is the third largest city in Tibet and was our first destination after Lhasa. We arrived the night before - after a long 10 hour ride.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Tibet. Lhasa to Gyantse.
Me and the accidental yak :-)
It's October 11th. Today we finally left on our road trip through Tibet. It would take two drivers and two Toyota LandCruisers to carry us on our road trip.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Tibet. Ganden Monastery.
It's the morning of October 10th and I'm feeling much better after having spent yesterday afternoon in bed fending off the flu. I missed the tour to Sera Monastery so I'm excited about this morning's trip to Ganden Monastery. The trip to Ganden is not included in our itinerary but everyone elected to go so Baikuntha arranged for a car and driver to take us there and back.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Lhasa. Drepung Monastery.
After having met Gung Chu, a Tibetan monk studying at Gomang College in Drepung Monastery, I was really interested in seeing where he spends his days.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Lhasa. The Potala Palace.
A simple red wooden door beckons you inside the Potala Palace, the former Winter Palace of the Dalai Lamas.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Me and the Monk.
Okay, I admit it. My image of what a Tibetan Buddhist monk would be like was stamped into my brain courtesy of the Lonely Planet guidebook and the dozens of images that I had seen on the web. I imagined their dress to be extremely modest and behavior to be pious and contemplative -reflections of the self sacrifices they had willingly accepted in order to achieve their ultimate goal of enlightenment. So you can imagine how disappointed I was when I came across this pair, with backpack and sneakers, walking the kora in Barkhor Square.
Lhasa. The Jokhang Monastery and Barkhor Square.
Sightseeing on the first day in Lhasa began with a visit to the Jokhang Monastery. On the way, we walked through some of the sidestreets surrounding Barkhor Square. The streets were packed with locals - some to do their daily marketing and others on their way to join the pilgrim circuit that circumvents Barkhor Square.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Tibet and Lhasa. First Views.
Our group arrived by air from Kathmandu yesterday afternoon. It was an uneventful flight except that we got to see Mt. Everest and Yamdrok Tso (Turquoise) Lake as we flew over the Himalayas. We would get to see both up close in the days to come.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Nepal. Street scenes.
As much as I enjoy seeing the major heritage sites in and around Kathmandu, I also love just wandering the backstreets to see how people live their day to day lives. Here are some the images that I capture as I walked the backstreets of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur and at Boudhanath and Swayambunath stupas.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Kathmandu. Cruising around in a rickshaw and Swayambunath stupa.
Meet Ramachandra, my driver for the day. 42 years old, father of 4, grandfather of one and rickshaw driver for the past 15 years. Physically smaller than me all the way around, this man must have legs of steel to have been able to haul me around Kathmandu for several hours!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Nepal. Visions of Beauty.
Wow! What a great first day I had in Nepal!
Today, was a feast for the eyes. I took so many photos that I exhausted nearly 3 camera batteries so I'm only going to post up a few snapshots for now to try and give you a sense of what I saw - will post up more when I get home.
Kathmandu. Historic Bhaktapur.
From Patan, my next destination was Bhaktapur.
Bhaktapur, literally meaning "The Town of Devotees," is believed to have existed from the early ninth century AD. The town is laid out in the shape of a conch shell, area covers four square miles and is divided into twenty-four toles or sections.
Kathmandu. The Lovely Patan.
Also known as Lalitpur, Patan is the second largest city in the Kathmandu Valley and I fell in love with it the moment I stepped foot in its Durbar Square. In fact, I loved it so much I went there twice.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
India. Lasting Impressions.
Today is Mahatma Ghandi's birthday which is celebrated as a national holiday. It's also my last day in India.
It's been an incredible 5 days in India! There's not a whole lot you can learn about a country in such a short time but I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience what I did. I still have a lot of photos and text to post up - especially of all the sites I visited but I will leave that task for when I get home. For this posting, I wanted to share a few images and thoughts of my short time in India.
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Monday, October 1, 2007
Agra. Sikandra.
Sikandra is the burial place of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. It was built by Akbar himself during this lifetime.
It's bright and early on October 1st and I'm well rested and ready to go!
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Sunday, September 30, 2007
Fathepur Sikri.
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The Incomparable Agra Fort.
Me, sitting on the steps of the Hall of Public Audience at Agra Fort.
You go to the Taj Mahal. You "ooh" and you "ahh" and you say to yourself that you've never seen as anything as beautiful as this building standing before you. Then you remind yourself of the romantic tale - the one of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who emptied the coffers of the country to build this great monument in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal - and your heart melts.
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Friday, September 28, 2007
Delhi. Culture - Heritage and Pop.
Yesterday, my day started at 8:30am and I didn't get back to my hotel room until almost 10pm. It was go, go, go - no time even to recover from jet lag. So by the time I got back to my room, I had just enough energy to take a shower, find my pj's and get into bed. I slept well that night :-)
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Thursday, September 27, 2007
Day 1. Delhi, India.
Me, standing in front of Humayun's Tomb, Delhi, India
Before I left for this trip, I had arranged to go on a tour of the city - covering all the major highlights, including Humayun's Tomb. The plan was for me to meet with the tour guide at 9am in the lobby of the hotel. Well, my watch was incorrectly set an hour behind and the guide was 20 minutes early so my 1st day in India started off with a mad dash out of bed, in/out of the bathroom and down to the lobby. No time even for quick breakfast! There, the guide introduced himself as ??? - with his multi-syllable name masked by a thick Indian accent, I, for the life of me could not catch his name so he told me to just call him "J", which I gratefully did for the rest of the day.
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007
I'm off to India, Nepal & Tibet!!
Today's the day!
I was up late last night doing last minute stuff for the trip and was physically exhausted by time I fell into bed.....but as so often happens with me, I just couldn't turn my brain off - half filled with excited thoughts of the trip and half worried that I forgotten to do something or pack something.
Eventually, I drifted off and then awoke well before the alarm clock went off thanks to a small battalion of helicopters hovering above the Beltway which is just a stone's throw away from my house. I found out later on on the morning news that there was a 4 or 5 car pile up and all lanes were blocked but one so I presume the copters were hovering overhead to get a good vantage point to report on the accident. Whatever the case, the whirring of the rotor blades was not the way I wanted to woken up!
I was up late last night doing last minute stuff for the trip and was physically exhausted by time I fell into bed.....but as so often happens with me, I just couldn't turn my brain off - half filled with excited thoughts of the trip and half worried that I forgotten to do something or pack something.
Eventually, I drifted off and then awoke well before the alarm clock went off thanks to a small battalion of helicopters hovering above the Beltway which is just a stone's throw away from my house. I found out later on on the morning news that there was a 4 or 5 car pile up and all lanes were blocked but one so I presume the copters were hovering overhead to get a good vantage point to report on the accident. Whatever the case, the whirring of the rotor blades was not the way I wanted to woken up!
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Thursday, September 20, 2007
T minus 5 and counting.
I leave in just a little over 5 days and I'm pretty much set to go.
My final week of preparation began with packing my backpack this past weekend. I had to do it 3 times to get it packed the way I wanted to.
The good news is that I got all my stuff packed in crammed in and there was A LOT of stuff - more clothes, medicine and food than I've lugged along on my previous trips. Not to mention a winter weight sleeping bag, down vest and other "acoutrements" for trekking through Tibet.
My final week of preparation began with packing my backpack this past weekend. I had to do it 3 times to get it packed the way I wanted to.
The good news is that I got all my stuff packed in crammed in and there was A LOT of stuff - more clothes, medicine and food than I've lugged along on my previous trips. Not to mention a winter weight sleeping bag, down vest and other "acoutrements" for trekking through Tibet.
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Friday, September 14, 2007
Prayer Wheels and Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum.
Prayer Wheels. They're an integral element of practicing Tibetan Bhuddism and before I join the pilgrims in circumambulating the monasteries, I thought I ought to know what they represent so that I can more fully appreciate the experience.
Simply put, a prayer wheel is a device for spreading spiritual blessings and well being. Rolls of thin white paper, imprinted with the mantra (prayer) "Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum", in ancient Indian or Tibetan script, are carefully wrapped and placed inside the wheel and then the opening of the wheel sealed. Typically, the mantra is also inscribed onto the exterior surface of the wheel.
Simply put, a prayer wheel is a device for spreading spiritual blessings and well being. Rolls of thin white paper, imprinted with the mantra (prayer) "Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum", in ancient Indian or Tibetan script, are carefully wrapped and placed inside the wheel and then the opening of the wheel sealed. Typically, the mantra is also inscribed onto the exterior surface of the wheel.
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Itinerary. Rongphu, Lao Tingri and Zhangmu, Tibet, China.
Oh boy. Best I can tell, when we leave Sakya, we pretty much are entering the wild, wild west of Tibet. First stop. Rongphu which is known for its monastery and for the fact that it's the launch point to Everest Base Camp.
Situated at an elevation of 4980m (16,338 ft), Rongphu Monastery holds the distinction of being the highest monastery in the world. According to the Lonely Planet guide, Rongphu once served as the center of religious activity for around a dozen neighboring religious institutions but is now experiencing quieter times with only about 20 nuns and 10 monks in residence. With Mt. Everest serving as the backdrop, the Monastery and its chörten in the foreground should provide for some spectacular photo ops.
Situated at an elevation of 4980m (16,338 ft), Rongphu Monastery holds the distinction of being the highest monastery in the world. According to the Lonely Planet guide, Rongphu once served as the center of religious activity for around a dozen neighboring religious institutions but is now experiencing quieter times with only about 20 nuns and 10 monks in residence. With Mt. Everest serving as the backdrop, the Monastery and its chörten in the foreground should provide for some spectacular photo ops.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
How many रुपया for a dollar?
It's time for me to buy some currency for the trip - specifically, Indian rupees and Chinese yuan. Nepalese rupees are not available outside of Nepal. As usual, I was curious about the different currencies so more reading.
Indian Rupee.
As of the date of this posting, the exchange rate (according to xe.com) is 40.6 Indian rupees to one US dollar.
The Indian rupee is divided into 100 paise (singular paisa). The ISO 4217 code is INR. Locally, the abbreviations Rs and Rp are frequently used. Banknotes worth Rs. 5, Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 500, Rs. 1000 are currently in circulation.
All notes are issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The current series, which began in 1996, is called the Mahatma Gandhi series and can be easily identified as the obverse face of each note has a watermark image of Mahatma Ghandi and differing images on the reverse.
Indian Rupee.
As of the date of this posting, the exchange rate (according to xe.com) is 40.6 Indian rupees to one US dollar.
The Indian rupee is divided into 100 paise (singular paisa). The ISO 4217 code is INR. Locally, the abbreviations Rs and Rp are frequently used. Banknotes worth Rs. 5, Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 500, Rs. 1000 are currently in circulation.
All notes are issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The current series, which began in 1996, is called the Mahatma Gandhi series and can be easily identified as the obverse face of each note has a watermark image of Mahatma Ghandi and differing images on the reverse.
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Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Itinerary. Shigatse and Sakya, Tibet, China.
Shigatse.
Continuing on a southwest path from Lhasa to Kathmandu, our next stopover after Gyantse is
to the town of Shigatse. Shigatse is the second largest city in Tibet and the seat of the Panchen Lama, traditionally based in Tashilhunpo Monastery.
The Panchen Lama,is the second-highest-ranking lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Continuing on a southwest path from Lhasa to Kathmandu, our next stopover after Gyantse is
to the town of Shigatse. Shigatse is the second largest city in Tibet and the seat of the Panchen Lama, traditionally based in Tashilhunpo Monastery.
The Panchen Lama,is the second-highest-ranking lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Itinerary. Gyantse, Tibet, China
According to the tour itinerary, we leave Lhasa after a 4 day stay and our trek into the remote wilderness of Tibet begins!!
Our first road stop is Gyantse. Along the way we will skirt Yamdrok Tso, a mountain lake a located about 100 km southwest of Lhasa. Yamdrok' in Tibetan means 'upper pasture' and 'Tso' refers to 'lake'. Yamdrok Tso has no perennial source of water and not outlet -it's essentially a "dead" lake. The lake is currently the subject of controversy as the Chinese government has plans to drop the level of the lake by nearly 900m - leveraging the gravitational drop of the water to harness hydroelectric power. Protesting this plan are the Tibetan Bhuddists who consider Yamdrok Tso to be sacred.
Gyantse is the third largest town in Tibet and was the scene in 1904 of a major battle between Tibetans and British troops under Colonel Francis Younghusband as the British invaded Tibet. Despite previous brushes with British firepower, the Tibetans didn't really seem to know what they were up against - they believed that a charm marked with the seal of the Dalai Lama would protect them from British bullets. Firing began with a false alarm and in what has been described by some as one of the most one-sided battles in history, 700 Tibetans were killed in just 4 minutes.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
No queue. No hassle. I like!
Compared to my experience of getting a tourist visa for India, getting the same for Nepal was ....well, a straightforward experience.
Hand over application, passport and $80 (for a multiple entry visa).
Return in a week and pick up the visa.
Where's the drama?
Where's the confusion?
Where's the hassle?
Where are the queues?
Why am I complaining?
I'll shut up now and just be grateful that I actually got my passport back with the visa attached. I can now enter Nepal!!
Hand over application, passport and $80 (for a multiple entry visa).
Return in a week and pick up the visa.
Where's the drama?
Where's the confusion?
Where's the hassle?
Where are the queues?
Why am I complaining?
I'll shut up now and just be grateful that I actually got my passport back with the visa attached. I can now enter Nepal!!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Stupas and Chörtens.
The stupa is the earliest form of Buddhist religious monument and was originally only a simple mound made up of mud or clay to cover supposed remains of Buddha. In Tibet, stupas are known as chörtens. Examples of stupas, that I will be visiting on my travels, include Swayambhunath and Boudhanath in Kathmandu and the Gyantse Kumbum in Gyantse, Tibet.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Itinerary. Lhasa, Tibet, China
Going to Tibet was my original inspiration behind this trip. I've always wanted to travel to this remote destination and more so now than ever as I think the cultural heart and soul of Tibet will quickly disappear as the Chinese government seems so determined to assimilate Tibet into the larger "mainland" Chinese society. I fear that when that happens, all that is unique about Tibet will be lost to the world.
Tibetan Prayer Wheel
By the time I reach Lhasa, I will be on the Intrepid tour so I can kick back a bit in terms of not having to plan out each of my travel days in advance. We'll a guide who can give suggestions on things to do and see. Of course, I've pored through my Lonely Planet guide several times and have read my share of fellow travelers' blogs to have put together my own "must see" places.
We'll be in Lhasa for four days to give us time to acclimate to the high altitude. At an elevation of 3658m (around 12,000 feet), Lhasa is the highest city in the world. Though I acclimated well to Cuzco, Peru, I'm still not taking any chances so I will take a slow pace for the first couple of days.
Tibetan Prayer Wheel
By the time I reach Lhasa, I will be on the Intrepid tour so I can kick back a bit in terms of not having to plan out each of my travel days in advance. We'll a guide who can give suggestions on things to do and see. Of course, I've pored through my Lonely Planet guide several times and have read my share of fellow travelers' blogs to have put together my own "must see" places.
We'll be in Lhasa for four days to give us time to acclimate to the high altitude. At an elevation of 3658m (around 12,000 feet), Lhasa is the highest city in the world. Though I acclimated well to Cuzco, Peru, I'm still not taking any chances so I will take a slow pace for the first couple of days.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Going down.
Though it's the middle of August, we're enjoying a brief cool wave in temperatures - this after a period of what was for me, unbearably hot and humid weather. I woke up this morning to temps in the high 60's and thought I was in heaven. I can't wait until fall comes around and then winter. Some people absolutely dread cold weather but I don't mind it as long as I'm appropriately dressed.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Queue? What queue?
Today, I went to the Indian consulate to pick up my passport and visa.
Flashback to two days ago.
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Monday, August 13, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Itinerary. Agra, India.
No offense to people who live in Agra, but as far as I can tell, the only reason to go there is to visit the incomparable Taj Mahal. The Taj was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in loving memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died giving birth to his 14th child. Construction on the Taj began in 1632 and was completed in approximately 1648 and I read somewhere that it took 20,000 laborers to complete the job. There's lots of facts that one can read up on about the Taj (the architecture, the precious jewels embedded in its walls, etc) but at some level, I don't really care about the facts. To me, the image and story behind it are enough - in my eyes it's the world's most beautiful mausoleum in the world and for my heart, it was built by a man in tribute of woman that he loved so deeply that he wanted her to be remembered for eternity. Could there be a more romantic tribute?
In planning my trip to Agra, I read that it's best to see the Taj either in the early morning or late afternoon because visiting during mid-day a) can be unbearably hot and b) with the bright sun shining, the monument just looks like a big, white marble building - apparently, not resulting in the impressive vision that visitors are expecting to see.
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Friday, August 10, 2007
Planning is so much easier when you have help....
After I settled on my itinerary for Delhi, I decided to see if there were any India based travel agencies offering city tours that would cover the sights (major tourist spots) that I was interested in seeing. Google "Delhi City Tour" and you'll get a slew of hits. I pored over one tour company website after another and finally found the one that offered an itinerary that appealed to me. More importantly, from what I can tell, it is a reputable agency that has been in business for 20 years.
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Monday, August 6, 2007
.....and the wait is finally over!
I booked my spot on the Tibet tour on July 5th and at that time was told I would have to wait for a month for final confirmation that the tour would depart as scheduled - we needed a minimum of 5 passengers and only 4 had signed up at that time. If not, I had the option of joining a group that was leaving a few days earlier - which I could do but didn't want to because it would have been smack dab in the middle of the week which, according to my friend Lei, is when all of China takes off on vacation and goes traveling. Lhasa would be a mob scene - not something I would have enjoyed being in the midst of.
So yesterday I emailed Intrepid to find out about whether or the tour was on. I got a reply back that because there were still only 4 passengers signed up they needed to check with the Tibet field manager and would let me know the next day.
Then, today I got the word that the tour was ON!! Potala Palace, here I come!!
......now, all I have to do is finalize the rest of my travel arrangements - airline tickets, visas, etc.
So yesterday I emailed Intrepid to find out about whether or the tour was on. I got a reply back that because there were still only 4 passengers signed up they needed to check with the Tibet field manager and would let me know the next day.
Then, today I got the word that the tour was ON!! Potala Palace, here I come!!
......now, all I have to do is finalize the rest of my travel arrangements - airline tickets, visas, etc.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Itinerary.
Swayambhunath Stupa (Temple), Kathmandu
As with all my trips, planning begins with research and there's no better place to start than the web. In surfing, I came across several travel blogs and websites that had conflicting information about the safety of travelling in Nepal - there were numerous reports of violence by Maoist rebels. Even the US State Department website had a travel advisory posted for Nepal. My heart sank with each bad "report". But I really wanted to go to Nepal so I felt compelled to get an "insider's" view of the security situation before deciding whether or not to cancel out.
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Friday, July 13, 2007
New Delhi, India. Itinerary.
Humayun's Tomb, Delhi, India
New Delhi, India is my first stop after a grueling 18 hour trans-Atlantic, trans-continental flight. I've only planned for two full days in town and there's lots to see. To plan my simple itinerary, I used a few references including the official tourism website of the Indian Government as well as Frommer's and wikitravel websites. In Delhi, the tourist information office is located at 88 Janpath - near Connaught Place. Once in Delhi, I will go there to get additional information.
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Thursday, July 12, 2007
The packing list. India, Nepal & Tibet.
I must admit, I've never worried about running out of suitcase or backpack space - I've always been a very light traveller but not so this time. I'm actually wondering whether or not I'll be able to fit everything into my backpack. So what's different about this trip from the others?
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Saturday, July 7, 2007
The New 7 Wonders and memories of Chichén Itzá.
Today is July 7th, 2007 or 07.07.07 which some "superstitious" people believe will be an auspicious day.
It just so happens to also be the day that the New 7 Wonders of the World, as voted on by people around the world, was announced. Here's the list of finalists.
It just so happens to also be the day that the New 7 Wonders of the World, as voted on by people around the world, was announced. Here's the list of finalists.
- Great Wall, China
- Petra, Jordan
- Machu Picchu, Peru
- Taj Mahal, India
- Chichén Itzá, Mexico
- The Roman Colosseum, Italy
- Christ Redeemer, Brazil
The process to come up with a new list was spearheaded by an organization called the New7Wonders Foundation. As "snipped" from the foundation's website, here's some background information on the project to name the 7 New Wonders.
"The Foundation was created in 2001 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber, with a mission to protect humankind's heritage across the globe.........Now, the N7W campaign is in its most exciting, and crucial, stage. At the end of 2005, the N7W panel chose 21 candidates from the top 77 nominees that had earned the most votes, and these 21 are now in the final stage of the competition. The official N7W 21 finalist candidates were announced by the panel's President, Prof. Federico Mayor, on January 1, 2006 in Zurich.The final round of voting for the New 7 Wonders will continue through the first half of 2007. Then, on July 7, 2007 -07.07.07, the dream of the N7W initiators will become a reality as the globe joins together to celebrate the New 7 Wonders of the World, as chosen by the world's population using modern communications technology. You can join the N7W Society now. Become an official part of this dynamic community and support this historic project. ... be a part of the making of history !"
I have been very, very lucky to have been able to travel to all of the new 7 wonders except for the Great Wall and Christ Redeemer. I'm hoping to see the Great Wall next year and fulfill a dream of visiting this world treasure in the land of my ancestors. As for the other two sites, they're on my list of places to see before I die so someday...... I've also been fortunate to have visited the Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt - one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.
I have blogs to document my travels to Machu Picchu, Petra and the Taj Mahal. Unfortunately, blogs did not exist when I went to the Yucatan Peninsula 20 years ago. Back then, memories were written into journals and photos pasted into albums. In a moment of nostalgia, I decided to dig up my photos from that trip - I don't know where the journal is and it saddens me as there's much I'm sure I've forgotten.
In January, 1987, I went to the Yucatan with 2 friends and one day, we drove from Cancun to see the Mayan ruins at Chichén Itzá. What a memorable experience that was! In an homage to that trip, I thought I would post up a few photos here.
Here's me (no comments on how skinny I was back then!) standing at the top of the "El Castillo" (the Castle) with the Templo de los Guerreros (Temple of the Warriors) in the background. It was quite a climb to get to the top of the El Castillo which is a step pyramid. I remember the steps being very high in height and there were a lot of them. There was a chain link rope that you could hold onto to to help you get up the steps. It was an effort to get to the top but as you can see, the view at the top was breathtaking! You could see the jungle landscape that makes up much of the region surrounding Chichén Itzá.
Here's a photo I took of El Castillo.
I have blogs to document my travels to Machu Picchu, Petra and the Taj Mahal. Unfortunately, blogs did not exist when I went to the Yucatan Peninsula 20 years ago. Back then, memories were written into journals and photos pasted into albums. In a moment of nostalgia, I decided to dig up my photos from that trip - I don't know where the journal is and it saddens me as there's much I'm sure I've forgotten.
In January, 1987, I went to the Yucatan with 2 friends and one day, we drove from Cancun to see the Mayan ruins at Chichén Itzá. What a memorable experience that was! In an homage to that trip, I thought I would post up a few photos here.
Here's me (no comments on how skinny I was back then!) standing at the top of the "El Castillo" (the Castle) with the Templo de los Guerreros (Temple of the Warriors) in the background. It was quite a climb to get to the top of the El Castillo which is a step pyramid. I remember the steps being very high in height and there were a lot of them. There was a chain link rope that you could hold onto to to help you get up the steps. It was an effort to get to the top but as you can see, the view at the top was breathtaking! You could see the jungle landscape that makes up much of the region surrounding Chichén Itzá.
Here's a photo I took of El Castillo.
I remember we were planning to only spend a couple of hours at Chichén Itzá but I couldn't leave until I had explored every inch so a couple of hours turned into the better part of a day! Those were the days when we didn't have a clue about sunscreen so by the time we left Chichén Itzá, I was burnt to a crisp!
Back then, Cancun was a relatively sleepy town - there were only a handful of hotels and restaurants, a bull fighting ring and one gas station. You could walk on the beach and not see anyone else in sight. I have not been back there since but friends of mine who have tell me it's now very touristy. I'm not sure I would enjoy going there today - high rise hotels, crowds and all.
Here's a photo I snapped of downtown Cancun 20 years ago.
Back then, Cancun was a relatively sleepy town - there were only a handful of hotels and restaurants, a bull fighting ring and one gas station. You could walk on the beach and not see anyone else in sight. I have not been back there since but friends of mine who have tell me it's now very touristy. I'm not sure I would enjoy going there today - high rise hotels, crowds and all.
Here's a photo I snapped of downtown Cancun 20 years ago.
....and of our favorite orange juice vendor.
In those days, we didn't have much money so conserving pesos was always a goal. After a couple of trips to the orange juice vendor, Ed decided that it would be cheaper to squeeze our own so we bought a hand juicer at a nearby department store and then negotiated with one of the vendors to buy a sack of oranges. There must have been well over 50 oranges in the sack! To this day, I can remember just how sick and tired I was of drinking and eating oranges by the time I left Mexico for home!
Looking at the photos, from the trip to Cancun, brought back a flood of fond memories but as wonderful as those times were, I'm excited at the thought of the new experiences that future trips and adventures will bring!!
In those days, we didn't have much money so conserving pesos was always a goal. After a couple of trips to the orange juice vendor, Ed decided that it would be cheaper to squeeze our own so we bought a hand juicer at a nearby department store and then negotiated with one of the vendors to buy a sack of oranges. There must have been well over 50 oranges in the sack! To this day, I can remember just how sick and tired I was of drinking and eating oranges by the time I left Mexico for home!
Looking at the photos, from the trip to Cancun, brought back a flood of fond memories but as wonderful as those times were, I'm excited at the thought of the new experiences that future trips and adventures will bring!!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
More shots.
Although I had gotten a slew of vaccinations for my trip to Peru last year, I decided to check International SOS to see if I needed any additional vaccinations and sure enough, I did. I'm missing Hepatitis B. So today, at lunchtime, I went to a nearby travel clinic and got my first of three shots for Hep B - another stamp in my vaccination booklet. I'm going back next Thursday and two Thursdays after that for the remaining two shots.
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