September 13, 2009 – 262 – Kathmandu, Nepal

Not a great start to an already, universally bad kind of day: border crossing day. Our guide overslept by half an hour and our driver had hired a local taxi driver to take us down to the border because he didn’t want to. In the questionable taxi down the mountain that suffered from horn abuse, goat collision, and overheating brakes that were, thoughtfully no doubt, cooled by pouring rainwater collected from the road directly onto the brake pads.

Plays 5 musical notes at ear bursting levels

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September 12, 2009 – Day 261 – Tibet

Woke up smelling like a smoked yak. Compliments of the incompetent woman who can only seem to produce smoke instead of fire and her endless piles of unwashed yak scented blankets. Every time the fire would start to get going she would douse it with a health heep of sheep shit until we finally had to tell her to stop and just let it be. It was better to be cold than to die of smoke inhalation.

Everest in the Morning, Tibet

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September 11, 2009 – Day 260 – Everest Base Camp, Tibet side

A full day of driving with only a few stops along the way. Lunch was in a tiny unpleasant town with nothing to offer but a warm, cheap meal. We had traditional Tibetan noodles, a kind of thick noodle soup in a yak broth for about $0.45.

Everest at night

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September 10, 2009 – 259 – Shigatse, Tibet

Spectacular (but dangerous) driving today. Our driver is absolutely insane and drives a minimum of 100 kph around gravel covered hairpin mountain curves with the back tires skidding (and sometimes squealing) behind. We have had our share of crazy drivers but this one seems the most ridiculous of all. At any rate, we were able to see some beautiful views of Tibet as we drove toward our home for the night, a little town called Shigatse.

Yak at Yamdrok Lake

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September 9, 2009 – Day 258 – Lhasa, Tibet

Being in Lhasa is literally being in a whole different world. It is absolutely nothing like China and it is difficult to see just why China insists on maintaining ownership over this small, poor region. The people are so wonderful and even though they do stare, they are honestly curious instead of nosy and will return your glance with a big smile.

In the streets of Lhasa

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July 1, 2009 – Day 188 – Zadar, Croatia

Since Morgan has to leave on a late flight tonight, we had to head back to Zadar this morning. Saben and Lin checked into the hostel and then we spent a warm sunny day at the beach. The water is still quite cold but it is just as clear and blue as the famous pictures of Croatia suggest.

Ice cream tends to be where the action is

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June 30, Day 187: Sibenik, Croatia

Sightseeing in Sibenik. Very interesting and famous cathedral, a lovely old city, and dilapidated remains of the old castle walls. From the high walls, much of the city is visible but most spectacular is the view over the sea. It was a warm, clear blue day and we were able to see the nearby Kornati islands and boats of all sizes zipping through the azure water below.

Heads around the Cathedral

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June 29, 2009 – Day 186 – Sibenik, Croatia

A good base for visiting the Krka National Park, Sibenik is only an hour or so away from Biograd. When we arrived, we were scooped up immediately by a very flamboyant man with a bad toupee and a cheap room to rent. It was decent enough for a couple nights and after settling in, we set out for “Skradin,” the bus stop for visiting Krka. It was maybe 20 minutes from town and dropped us right at the park entrance.

Path through the park

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June 28, 2009 – Day 185 – Biograd, Croatia

In the park, we savored our pastries and passed around the orange juice in the early morning light. Today we spent a sunny, warm day on the pebbley beach of Biograd far away from the loads of naked and nearly naked vacationers and locals.

Beach...obviously

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June 27, 2009 – Day 184 – Biograd, Croatia

Picked up Morgan at the little airport in Zadar before heading to charming Biograd, about an hour and a half away! We’re really excited to have company and glad he could visit us all the way in Croatia!

Lin at the airport

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