Ok, I’m back and I’ve updated my photos…

Ok, where did we leave off?

The next part of my trip after Burma and a nice diving trip in Thailand was Nepal. When people ask we what my favorite place was on my trip, I tend to give different answers depending on my mood, as each place was a favorite for different reasons. But the place that I most often blurt out is Nepal. Nepal is just a fantastic place, and I had a terrific time there.

I purchased a second digital camera in Bangkok before heading off to Nepal, and it was for this reason that I reluctantly hired a porter for my trek around the Annapurna Range. This allowed me to shoot a lot of photos, as my load was lightened to carry just my camera gear, a few clothing layers and some hiking essentials. Shakti, my porter, carried my sleeping bag, a few extra clothes, my image storage hard drive and extra food along with his own things. Actually he shaved off less than half the weight I would have been carrying on my own, but it was enough to make a difference. [CHECK OUT THE NEW PHOTOS!!!]

Now, ultimately Shakti and Mala, the guide who came with us, ended up being a huge pain in the ass and stole all my money. But I don’t regret having them along on the trek. We had a great time on this trek, and whatever happened afterwards doesn’t diminish this. Had I been smarter, I would have left them in Pokhara. I wanted to leave them in Pokhara. I had decided to leave them to Pokhara…. come to think of it, I DID actually leave them in Pokhara! But they ended up at my door in Katmandu a few days later with a story of how Shakti’s mother needed an emergency operation. I did the nice thing (i.e. stupid, naive thing) and gave him 200.00 dollars. It was a mistake. I couldn’t get rid of them after that. Why? Well for one, they made promises about paying me back by getting me some nice thanka paintings. This of course never materialized. What did happen was that they ended up leeching money from me for two more weeks, always wanting me to pay for their food, their transportation, etc. I actually wasn’t too upset to do this, since in exchange I got two guides and saw more of Nepal than I possibly would have without them, but at that point, I was growing tired of them and would have preferred to have gone it alone without them. hanging out with them was preventing me from meeting new people. I just couldn’t get rid of them. When I finally did announce that I had to go on without them after a week together in Varanasi, they took the first opportunity to rob me off all my cash ($1200.00) and run off. Rotten bastards. These guys were friends, or so I thought. We had been hanging out together for nearly 2 months and although the last week was sort of tense because I knew I had to get rid of them and they knew I wanted to get rid of them, I didn’t think they would betray my trust and steal from me. Live and learn. It cost me a lot of grief and fairly ruined my time in India as I dealt with the anger of being betrayed like that. But I did realize the power of meditation and yoga and discovered “The Power of Now”. After a month of simmering anger, I managed to get back into my trip again. If these guys really are Buddhist/Hindu as they claim, then they know about karma. Unless they gave that money to a charitable organization or did something good with that money, they are going to pay for it one way or another. However, I’m more certain that the money is going to drugs and good times in India. I hope that one day I will be able to go back to Nepal and India and that, by some miracle, I will find them.
I’ve been working for over a month doing construction, and I’ve now earned 1200 dollars. That’s how much time and work it takes to make 1200 dollars. I’ve been conscious that I am working to make back what was stolen from me. $1200 a month doesn’t even cover my basic monthly expenses here in Seattle. But that amount could easily get you by for 3 months traveling in India. And so it goes. So here’s my latest rationalization: I hope I can earn back all of the money I spent on those betrayers by selling the photos they helped me to create. I hope to earn enough to fly back to India and spend a month actually enjoying myself. Karma. Check out my Nepal and India photos and let me know if you are interested in purchasing prints of any of them. Prices are going to start out cheap at $10.00 per 5×7 and $25.00 per 8×10, unmounted. 11×14 and bigger can also be made. I’ll give you a discount if you order more than 5 prints at a time.

So, back to Nepal. I had so many fantastic experiences in Nepal I can’t even begin to talk about them. I’ve been editing photos from my trip, but they don’t really tell the story of my experience. Trekking around the Annapurna mountains was not only one of the best times of my trip, it was one of the best times of my life. I LOVED it and would do it again in a heartbeat. Sadly, this classic trek may soon no longer exist: They are building a ROAD from Pokhara to Multinath. Some of the road is already completed. It was certainly a shock to see motorcycle taxis in Multinath. Though there were only about a dozen that I saw, soon the road will be good enough for trucks, and then I fear it will be spoiled for good. Still, It’s an amazing trek and I can’t recommend it enough. Not only is it filled with stunning mountains, rivers, gorges, forests, and villages… But also the WONDERFUL people I met along the way and, surprisingly, the delicious food. In two words, Dal Bhat. Dal Bhat is a variety of lentil beans, spices, chilies, pickled fruits, and rice. Everyone makes it a little differently, but every way I tasted was wonderful. We ate it every day, with our hands, and I NEVER got tired of it. It’s just that good. Also very good is dried yak meat sauteed in chili oil, and to drink, Raski, hot chai, or a tall glass of fresh buffalo milk with coconut cookies. mmmm. Heaven on earth. I was surprised by how good the food was, but I shouldn’t have been. Kathmandu had great food. Besides that, fresh food always tastes fantastic after you’ve been hiking all day. I trekked part of the way with Nir from Israel and Sam from Australia. They were great guys, but they went ahead after the pass and I was left with Mala and Shakti for the rest of the journey. I’ve actually written a long story of my trek, but as it’s about 20 pages long, I’m not going to post it here. If you are interesting in hearing all of the sorted details, I’d be happy to email it to you.

So enjoy the photos! I am currently about half way through editing them. Please do me a favor and leave me comments under the photos you like most, and check back in a little while: I still have to add India, Egypt, Jordan, Palastine, Cyprus and the rest!