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.

The waiting begins.

Last night, I reserved my spot on the Tibet tour but won't receive confirmation until early August. This means I won't be able to finalize the arrangements for the other parts of my trip (through India and Nepal), buy airline tickets or get my travel visas until then. Ugh.

Where the earth meets the sky - the Himalayas.

I remember, as a kid, visiting Yellowstone National Park with my family. One of the highlights for me on that trip was a drive to neighboring Grand Teton National Park. I still remember my first sight of the Tetons on that drive. From my vantage point in the car, I could see the entire range of snow capped mountains. It was a magnificent view and obviously one that has stayed with me all these years! Over the years, I have seen many a snow capped moutain range. I had a bird's eye view of Mount St. Helen's on a flight from Vancouver to San Francisco and many a view of the Cascade Mountains, on a trip to Seattle, including its highest peak - Mount Rainier. I've been to the Sierra Nevada, the Rockies, the Alps and the Andes. I have even flown in a Cessna over the snow capped volcanoes that ring Lake Taupo on the North Island of New Zealand.

Places worth visiting - UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites are places that have been identified, by a consortium of countries, as worthy of preservation from either a cultural or nature perspective. In my opinion, these are places worth seeing. So, no matter what country I travel to, I always check the list to see what UNESCO sites have been inscribed for that particular country and try to plan visits to them. In Peru, it was Cusco, the magnificent Machu Picchu, and the Nazca Lines. In Egypt, it was the Great Pyramids at Giza, unforgettable Abu Simbel, lovely Philae, the majestic Karnak, and St. Catherine's. In Jordan, it was the incomparable Petra.