November 18, 2009 – Day 327 – Panaji, Goa, India

Today will go do in history as the most ridiculous search for a place to sleep. Hmm, where to begin? Maybe with the sleeper bus we took here last night that rocked violently all night on a curvy road and the “two person” bays were only long enough to accommodate 1.5 people in the fetal position. Or maybe the flat tire in the middle of nowhere. Or maybe with the hour and half fully loaded walk from the bus station, over the bridge into the city and then all around the city looking for a hotel that was (a) not full, and (b) not Rs. 1000 per night.

Lights on the interstate at night

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September 26, 2009 – Day 275 – Sauraha, Nepal

Up at 5:45AM. Not fully light outside yet. We have to check out of our room because someone else booked for it for tonight. We took our bags to the tour office we booked with and stored our things there until we get back later this morning to find another room. Since it was so early, very few places were open for a decent/cheap breakfast so a packet of coconut cookies and a bottle of water had to suffice.

Wild Rhino

September 20, 2009 – Day 269 – Pokhara, Nepal

A long and arduous climb into the mountains proved another fruitless effort for the Annapurnas in the distance. It was another day too hazy from the heat to afford a view of the snowy mountains. It took the whole day, several handfuls of “cow rocks” (used to ward off mean spirited water buffalo) and lots of rest breaks but we eventually made it to the top of Sarangot.

On the way up the hill

September 18, 2009 – Day 267 – Pokhara, Nepal

The day was hazy blue-white with the heat hanging stiffly in the air. Sitting atop the World Peace pagoda with our shoes waiting patiently at the bottom of the stairs, we surveyed tiny scale Lakeside and Lake Phewa below us. The hills are lush and green, the flowers are bright and the buzzing of unnamed bugs are all the noise pollution we endure at this height.

On the hike up to the stupa

August 10, 2009 – Day 228 – Chengdu, China

After a horrible night that made us want to die, we got up at 5AM to an orchestra of more spitting, snot rocketing, smoking, and shouting. It was still very dark and still raining outside but after 15 minutes, we could take no more. We were near delirious from having exhausted our bodies to the max yesterday, neither eaten nor slept since the day before we climbed the mountain, and on top of it, we were freezing.

Good Morning!

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August 9, 2009 – Day 227 – Mount Emei, China

Well, not much to report today as we spent 11 hours climbs stairs.

Ok, ok, so there’s a bit more to it than that but from 7:30AM until 6:30PM we were climbing the stairs toward the top of Mount Emei (Emeishan, said in Chinese). Our morning began with the first bus of the day at 7AM from the tiny town just at the base of the mountain to our chosen starting point, Wuxian Temple.

Qingyan Pavillion

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August 2, 2009 – Day 220 – Dali, China

Today was the best day we have had in China so far! We took the incredible cable car up Cangshan Mountain and hiked all the way around it (about 15 km in total). After the initial few flights of stone stairs, the going was smooth and easy on the flat stone path that snaked all around the mountain.

Up the mountain

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July 25, 2009 – Day 212 – Guilin, China

As if we didn’t have enough self-inflicted punishment on one tour yesterday, we took another one again today. This time our destination was to the Longji Rice Terraces.

Dog in the village

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June 14, 2009 – Day 171 – Goreme, Turkey

We clamoured up the hill past the stunning wildflowers of pink, purple, vibrant blue, and bursting yellow. It was our first outdoor glimpse of the countryside. In the morning light it was even more splendid and just unbelievably beautiful. Having surveyed our surroundings, we slid back down the hill and crossed the road. We traveled along a tiny stream running alongside the road lined with more wildflowers. (for more on Cappadoccia click here)

The Hill

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June 2, 2009 – Day 159 – Petra, Jordan

“The Pink City” of Petra holds true to its name and its allure. Feeling like Indiana Jones (ok, sans horse) we made our way through the 80 meter high walls of the amazing Siq and marveled at the random trees and bushes growing from cracks in the rock. How they can sustain themselves in such an environment is pretty incredible!

Burro in front of the Treasury

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