Friday, December 19, 2003
Finally, Thailand. After the fiasco with getting here, I'm so glad to be here. Compared to India and Nepal, It's world's apart. People say that Thailand is a poor country, not from what I can tell. In fact, it seems pretty darn rich to me. Immediately I noticed how clean the place was. No litter. Also, no beggars. There was just an abundance of resources. Anything you wanted was there, like home I guess. I felt very spoiled at first, but comfortable because that's what I was used. Another thing that caught my attention was the abundance of waste. Everything has a bag, way too much packaging, and so much is disposable. In India and Nepal, very little went to waste. Bottles were always recycled. And there were can sodas here as well. Haven't seen that since Hong Kong. Thailand, a refreshing change though.
As far as what I have been up to, I spent two days in Bangkok with Nina, and the Canadian couple we me in Nepal. We didn't do much there, just prepared to go south to the beaches, the beaches. I got a hair cut and shave for the first time in almost 6 weeks! Check out the pictures to see me before and after. Bangkok was a busy town, and a bit too noisy for me on Koa San Road, the place where the street market was and all the tourists hang out. Food on the street was cheap and good. I didn't get sick at all. I could eat for less than 1 USD per meal.
Ready to go the beaches we took the overnight VIP bus to Phuket. Once again I felt spoiled. Better yet pampered. This bus was luxurious. It was better than flying first class on an airplace. Huge reclining seats, a tv playing island music videos, and fully equipped with a stewardess! See the Pics. It was like going from rags to riches. The ride down south wasn't even noticeable the bus was so nice. We got to Phuket early and took a tuc-tuc over to Karon beach to where there were some relatively inexpensive bungalows. We stayed 3 nights relaxing on the beach, getting thai massages, and doing nothing much at all but relaxing. Oh was it nice. Real nice. This stretch of beach was quite lower key than the much more popular, and expensive, Patong Beach. Following our stay there we moved over to Ko Phi Phi, a tiny island near where they filmed "The Beach." It was quite touristy like Phuket. Actually, it was extremely touristy, and expensive because of it. The island itself was okay, but the neighboring islands and beaches were supposed to be the highlight. We planned on going on a beach tour the day after we got there, but we were thwarted by bad weather, so instead we chilled out and I finally got a chance to see Matrix 3: Revolutions. It just came out a week or two before, and was already out of theaters in Bangkok, fortunately a VCD was available and playing at the local bakery. You can get anything here in Thailand. Finally, the next day was clear enough to go on the tour. I also realized why the long boat tour was much cheaper than the big boat tour. Choppy weather meant we all got soaked, to the point where some of us put on our snorkeling goggles to keep the water out of our eyes. I was going to be upset if the driver sank the boat. Fortunately he didn't. We went to Maya Bay where "The Beach" was filmed. It was most beautiful. Very picturesque. Check out the pics. We went snorkeling there, along with a few other places, but it was too choppy to do the whole tour. After Ko Phi Phi we moved on to Ko Lanta where there wasn't much going on and stayed at a resort for two nights for cheap. It's high season, but there aren't high season tourist numbers right now. From Ko Lanta we took another ferry to Krabi, a nice quite town that didn't have any beaches, but was a very nice place to relax. Krabi contains numerous limestone rock formations jutting out of the ground and sea. Much more so than the islands, Ko Lanta, and Phuket. Lots of caves there too. Nina and I took a Kayak tour to Hong Island and did some snorkeling there. We were visited by a Monitor Lizard while eating lunch. They are quite large and can be a bit intimidating. They weren't vicious though. The kayaking was a nice work out and we got to see lots of nature close up. Also went through holes in the limestone cliffs. Neat. The next day Nina left to go back home, and now I was all by myself for the first time, so I decided treat myself to some excellent diving. Conditions were perfect. Sunny, warm, no current. It was the best. Saw lots of fish, soft and hard corals, squid, box fish, anemone fish, anemones shrimp, swam through some swim throughs (holes in the island or between steep rock formations). It was very cool. Discovery Channel stuff. And I got a video of it all too! Following some more chill time in Krabi, I decided to head to Ko Pha Ngan where several people I met here and there are going for Christmas, so today I caught a short flight (40 USD) to Ko Samui and took a ferry to the Ko Pha Ngan island where I'm at now. It's quite wet on the eastern side of Thailand (Gulf of Thailand) versus the western side (Andaman Sea). I guess it's monsoon season on this side now. Oh well, makes it feel a bit more like Christmas. I'll be here for a week before doing a bounce back trip to the border to get my Visa renewed, then heading straight to Bangkok to pick up my two friends from the airport. Until Next Time. Now that I'm up to date, I'll be posting more entries real time.
As far as what I have been up to, I spent two days in Bangkok with Nina, and the Canadian couple we me in Nepal. We didn't do much there, just prepared to go south to the beaches, the beaches. I got a hair cut and shave for the first time in almost 6 weeks! Check out the pictures to see me before and after. Bangkok was a busy town, and a bit too noisy for me on Koa San Road, the place where the street market was and all the tourists hang out. Food on the street was cheap and good. I didn't get sick at all. I could eat for less than 1 USD per meal.
Ready to go the beaches we took the overnight VIP bus to Phuket. Once again I felt spoiled. Better yet pampered. This bus was luxurious. It was better than flying first class on an airplace. Huge reclining seats, a tv playing island music videos, and fully equipped with a stewardess! See the Pics. It was like going from rags to riches. The ride down south wasn't even noticeable the bus was so nice. We got to Phuket early and took a tuc-tuc over to Karon beach to where there were some relatively inexpensive bungalows. We stayed 3 nights relaxing on the beach, getting thai massages, and doing nothing much at all but relaxing. Oh was it nice. Real nice. This stretch of beach was quite lower key than the much more popular, and expensive, Patong Beach. Following our stay there we moved over to Ko Phi Phi, a tiny island near where they filmed "The Beach." It was quite touristy like Phuket. Actually, it was extremely touristy, and expensive because of it. The island itself was okay, but the neighboring islands and beaches were supposed to be the highlight. We planned on going on a beach tour the day after we got there, but we were thwarted by bad weather, so instead we chilled out and I finally got a chance to see Matrix 3: Revolutions. It just came out a week or two before, and was already out of theaters in Bangkok, fortunately a VCD was available and playing at the local bakery. You can get anything here in Thailand. Finally, the next day was clear enough to go on the tour. I also realized why the long boat tour was much cheaper than the big boat tour. Choppy weather meant we all got soaked, to the point where some of us put on our snorkeling goggles to keep the water out of our eyes. I was going to be upset if the driver sank the boat. Fortunately he didn't. We went to Maya Bay where "The Beach" was filmed. It was most beautiful. Very picturesque. Check out the pics. We went snorkeling there, along with a few other places, but it was too choppy to do the whole tour. After Ko Phi Phi we moved on to Ko Lanta where there wasn't much going on and stayed at a resort for two nights for cheap. It's high season, but there aren't high season tourist numbers right now. From Ko Lanta we took another ferry to Krabi, a nice quite town that didn't have any beaches, but was a very nice place to relax. Krabi contains numerous limestone rock formations jutting out of the ground and sea. Much more so than the islands, Ko Lanta, and Phuket. Lots of caves there too. Nina and I took a Kayak tour to Hong Island and did some snorkeling there. We were visited by a Monitor Lizard while eating lunch. They are quite large and can be a bit intimidating. They weren't vicious though. The kayaking was a nice work out and we got to see lots of nature close up. Also went through holes in the limestone cliffs. Neat. The next day Nina left to go back home, and now I was all by myself for the first time, so I decided treat myself to some excellent diving. Conditions were perfect. Sunny, warm, no current. It was the best. Saw lots of fish, soft and hard corals, squid, box fish, anemone fish, anemones shrimp, swam through some swim throughs (holes in the island or between steep rock formations). It was very cool. Discovery Channel stuff. And I got a video of it all too! Following some more chill time in Krabi, I decided to head to Ko Pha Ngan where several people I met here and there are going for Christmas, so today I caught a short flight (40 USD) to Ko Samui and took a ferry to the Ko Pha Ngan island where I'm at now. It's quite wet on the eastern side of Thailand (Gulf of Thailand) versus the western side (Andaman Sea). I guess it's monsoon season on this side now. Oh well, makes it feel a bit more like Christmas. I'll be here for a week before doing a bounce back trip to the border to get my Visa renewed, then heading straight to Bangkok to pick up my two friends from the airport. Until Next Time. Now that I'm up to date, I'll be posting more entries real time.
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
New Pictures in Photo Gallery of Nepal and Thailand.
ANNAPURNA CIRCUIT
Okay, finally... We started the day early in the morning to take the van about 6 hours to Besisahar. The road was windy with countless police check posts that didn't make me feel too comfortable. Arriving in Besisahar we met our guide, D.B., and had lunch. Just as we ready to actually start the trek, we ran into Ben, the Australian we made friends with in Kathmandu. Funny how things work out like that. So we all started off together.
The first several days of the trek we gradually climbed through valleys and various types of vegetation. From tropical flora and fauna to temperate and alpine forests, we saw an array of plants, countless waterfalls, and hundreds of donkeys. The trail was quite easy to follow with numerous towns and villages along the way. The Tea Houses we stayed in were surprisingly develped. Electricity in most, and hot water, sometimes. The trekking wasn't really difficult with porters carrying most of our things. 1 porter for two people, and these guys were smaller than me!!! Most of them spoke hindi as well so Nina could talk to them and as a result we all had better interaction with them. The most eventful part of the first leg of the trek was encountering the Moaists (communist rebels who occasionally clashed with Royal Nepalese gov). This one lady began speaking to Nina in Nepali, but Nina of course didn't understand. She then started to one of the guides, and later we found out she was Moaist coming to take our donation (extort us) to continue along the trail. She returned later and our guide negotiated with her to donate a smaller amount because we were a "school group" who didn't have much money. Then the question came, how much do we want to pay. No spoke up, so I did, 1000 Nps, half of what she was asking. She gave some long speech, then later agreed, but not after I attracted the attention of her companion who came and starred at me. We got a receipt, with my name on it, and were free to go...
The second leg of the trip was from Manang to Thorong Phedi (just before the Thorong La Pass). Manang was like an old west city. Very dry and plain with lots of old wooden buildings lined up side by side. In Manang we intended to stay one extra day to acclimitize to the high altitude, around 3400meters or so. We ended up staying an extra day because people were getting sick left and right. The first rest day we hiked up to the Gangapurna Glacier past glacier lake, the teal colored lake in the photos under Nepal. From the mountain side a lot of the peaks were within view like Pisang Peak, Tilicho, Thorong La, Annapurna III and IV, among others. It was quite a sight. Later that night some of us watched "INTO THIN AIR: DEATH ON EVERST." It wasn't a good film to see before doing the pass. I was hoping there wouldn't be a sequel, "DEATH ON THORONG LA PASS." No worries though, a few of us climbed up the other side of the valley the next day to see a Buddhist Lama who gave us a blessing to cross the pass safely. Amazingly, the 3 of us who got the blessing didn't get sick, or any sicker after that... I was fortunately one of the three. The third day in Manang we were finally ready to move on, away from hot showers (and the awful smelling Yak Steak), to the higher regions of the the Annapurna Circuit. Two days later the group reached Thorong Phedi, the stopping point just before we attempt to climb The Pass. This was around 4500meters. It was cold, real cold. The type of cold where once you make a warm spot in your sleeping bag, you don't want to move because only an inch away from your warm spot (in your sleeping bag) it's about a 20 degree difference in temperature. That is cold. The next day, the treacherous Thorong La Pass awaited us...
Waking at around 3:00AM we got our gear ready and had our last meal before going for it. Leaving at 4:22AM the sky was dark, but full of crystal clear stars and the moon. It was so clear that we could actually trek without lights because of the moon and star light. Climbing the first hillside was like walking on the moon. Jagged rock formations and rock chunks piled on the ground, and of course the stars and the moon which made for a really spectacular sight. The walking was slow but steady, I could really feel the lack of oxygen, and it was only going to get worse. After climbing the first hillside we arrived at Thorong Base Camp, the last site of salvation before crossing The Pass. The group stayed there for about an hour to rest, and for the ill to recoop their strength. After the sun brightened the sky we moved on. Moving at a faster pace than everyone else I pressed forward, eventually to the front of the group and past the porters. At this point I was determined to be the first to reach The Pass. Up up and up, over rocky hillsides I trekked, repeatedly tricked by the terrain to thinking I was at the top. Every 30 minutes or so waited horseman to take those who couldn't or chose not to proceed on foot. Around 9:15AM I saw bright prayer flags waving in the wind. Could this be the top? YES!!! I had finally made it. 9:22AM I reached the height of the Thorong La Pass, 17,592ft in elevation. I took a picture immediatley () Not far behind me was Dave. We chilled out for a minute, absorbed the moment, and waited for the others to arrive. About half an hour passed before others started showing up. At least half of the group ill we all celebrated, took photos, had tea, and cruised on down the other side towards Muktinah. All said and done the day was about 13 hours in total, the longest and toughest by far. Once at Muktinah my body still wanted to keep moving surprisingly, it's like I hadn't had enough. I suppose it was just the high of doing what I had just done.
After The Pass, everything was downhill from there, literally. We hiked down through valleys and gorges passing through many towns. After Muktinah we trekked towards this river bed we were going to follow for a few days. Man was it windy! It was blowing at a speed around 30 or 40 mph. Really. We made our way to Jomsom where there was an airport and picked up two of Steve's friends, and another one who miraculously showed up the morning we were going to leave. This reminded my of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. We were now a group of 11, and set to go.
The highlights of the rest of the Trek were Dana, Tatopani, and Ghorepani. Dana was a nice small town we stayed in just before Tatopani. There was nothing special about the town, but that night we all danced to traditional nepali music. The porters started us out, then we all joined in one by one. Even a spanish trekking group joined in. It was great fun.
The next day was a short walk to Tatopani where the hot springs were. Tato-pani literally means "hot water." This was a very un-Nepali place after going to the hot spring. The spring was like a huge hot tub, and everyone had a beer in their hand. I swear they were playing the Beach Boys too. It was good fun though. A nice place to finally let our muscles relax. I think my muscles relaxed too much. Tatopani was the first place we had meat the whole trek too. MMMMMMMM... Chicken Roast Sizzler, the best tasting chicken I thought I had ever eaten, at the time. Following our relaxing day here, and running into some familiar faces, which we had been doing the whole time, we pressed on to our next highlight, Ghorepani and Poon Hill.
A Maoist strong hold, Ghorepani was where Poon Hill could be reached, a place where all the Annapurna's could be seen (I through V) along with Dhualigiri and some other peaks. I was trying not to be the first one to town because I didn't want to have to speak to the Maoists and reveal my citizenship, so I tried to be slow, but couldn't help but be towards the front. I arrived at the edge of town 2nd, to see Sarah, ahead of me, sitting on a rock reading a pamphlet by these two young guys. I quickly deduced they were Maoists and stopped in my tracks and started whistling like I didn't see them. Okay, I didn't start whistling, but stopped and rested before actually reaching them, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive so I wouldn't have to talke to them. Once of the porters came and told them we payed, they told us to go and said we only had to pay once, and they did it with a smile. After the whole gang arrived at the Guest House we went to the school behind the guest house and proceeded to play vollasketball. Evidently a new sport I think is only found in the mountains where resources are scarce and the need for entertainment is high. It was basically volleyball using a basketball though, and no rules seemed to exist. It was quite fun though. Trekkers and Nepalis all played together, switched sides randomly, and never kept score. Fun factor was up there with dancing in Dana. Later we played pool at the local pool hall. An amazing pool table for being to high up in the mountains. It must have been quite a feat to get it up there. Anyway, the next morning we woke early to see the sunrise at Poon Hill. It was quite a site after climbing to the top. Many people go to just to see Poon Hill. It was nice and scenic, but not the same as a three week trek. After this we quickly fell out of the mountains about two days later to Pokhara where we spent two relaxing days before taking the bus back to Kathmandu.
Once in Kathmandu we proceeded to tie up some loose ends and arrange our flight to Thailand. Little did we know that we'd be stuck there for about 5 more days. FYI, DON'T EVER FLY ROYAL NEPAL AIRLINES. I don't feel too comfortable when they gotta take the plane for a test flight, and later hearing that it didn't go well...
While waiting to get the heck out of Kathmandu Nina, Mick (steve's friend), and I took a trip to Bhaktapur, a really old city, and some view point where we could get a really nice of the view of the mountains, if it wasn't cloudy. It was okay. We got a flat tire on the way back the next day. The driver had trouble putting it back on, so he only screwed in two of the four bolts. I told him that it wasn't good to do that and that he should get it fixed properly as soon as he can. Fortunately the drive was short back to the hotel. After being jerked around by Royal Nepal Airlines for two days and the very flight unworthy fleet of two airplanes we finally made our way to Thailand after meeting two Canadians we ended up spending about 12 days with in total. See next journal entry on Thailand.
Okay, finally... We started the day early in the morning to take the van about 6 hours to Besisahar. The road was windy with countless police check posts that didn't make me feel too comfortable. Arriving in Besisahar we met our guide, D.B., and had lunch. Just as we ready to actually start the trek, we ran into Ben, the Australian we made friends with in Kathmandu. Funny how things work out like that. So we all started off together.
The first several days of the trek we gradually climbed through valleys and various types of vegetation. From tropical flora and fauna to temperate and alpine forests, we saw an array of plants, countless waterfalls, and hundreds of donkeys. The trail was quite easy to follow with numerous towns and villages along the way. The Tea Houses we stayed in were surprisingly develped. Electricity in most, and hot water, sometimes. The trekking wasn't really difficult with porters carrying most of our things. 1 porter for two people, and these guys were smaller than me!!! Most of them spoke hindi as well so Nina could talk to them and as a result we all had better interaction with them. The most eventful part of the first leg of the trek was encountering the Moaists (communist rebels who occasionally clashed with Royal Nepalese gov). This one lady began speaking to Nina in Nepali, but Nina of course didn't understand. She then started to one of the guides, and later we found out she was Moaist coming to take our donation (extort us) to continue along the trail. She returned later and our guide negotiated with her to donate a smaller amount because we were a "school group" who didn't have much money. Then the question came, how much do we want to pay. No spoke up, so I did, 1000 Nps, half of what she was asking. She gave some long speech, then later agreed, but not after I attracted the attention of her companion who came and starred at me. We got a receipt, with my name on it, and were free to go...
The second leg of the trip was from Manang to Thorong Phedi (just before the Thorong La Pass). Manang was like an old west city. Very dry and plain with lots of old wooden buildings lined up side by side. In Manang we intended to stay one extra day to acclimitize to the high altitude, around 3400meters or so. We ended up staying an extra day because people were getting sick left and right. The first rest day we hiked up to the Gangapurna Glacier past glacier lake, the teal colored lake in the photos under Nepal. From the mountain side a lot of the peaks were within view like Pisang Peak, Tilicho, Thorong La, Annapurna III and IV, among others. It was quite a sight. Later that night some of us watched "INTO THIN AIR: DEATH ON EVERST." It wasn't a good film to see before doing the pass. I was hoping there wouldn't be a sequel, "DEATH ON THORONG LA PASS." No worries though, a few of us climbed up the other side of the valley the next day to see a Buddhist Lama who gave us a blessing to cross the pass safely. Amazingly, the 3 of us who got the blessing didn't get sick, or any sicker after that... I was fortunately one of the three. The third day in Manang we were finally ready to move on, away from hot showers (and the awful smelling Yak Steak), to the higher regions of the the Annapurna Circuit. Two days later the group reached Thorong Phedi, the stopping point just before we attempt to climb The Pass. This was around 4500meters. It was cold, real cold. The type of cold where once you make a warm spot in your sleeping bag, you don't want to move because only an inch away from your warm spot (in your sleeping bag) it's about a 20 degree difference in temperature. That is cold. The next day, the treacherous Thorong La Pass awaited us...
Waking at around 3:00AM we got our gear ready and had our last meal before going for it. Leaving at 4:22AM the sky was dark, but full of crystal clear stars and the moon. It was so clear that we could actually trek without lights because of the moon and star light. Climbing the first hillside was like walking on the moon. Jagged rock formations and rock chunks piled on the ground, and of course the stars and the moon which made for a really spectacular sight. The walking was slow but steady, I could really feel the lack of oxygen, and it was only going to get worse. After climbing the first hillside we arrived at Thorong Base Camp, the last site of salvation before crossing The Pass. The group stayed there for about an hour to rest, and for the ill to recoop their strength. After the sun brightened the sky we moved on. Moving at a faster pace than everyone else I pressed forward, eventually to the front of the group and past the porters. At this point I was determined to be the first to reach The Pass. Up up and up, over rocky hillsides I trekked, repeatedly tricked by the terrain to thinking I was at the top. Every 30 minutes or so waited horseman to take those who couldn't or chose not to proceed on foot. Around 9:15AM I saw bright prayer flags waving in the wind. Could this be the top? YES!!! I had finally made it. 9:22AM I reached the height of the Thorong La Pass, 17,592ft in elevation. I took a picture immediatley () Not far behind me was Dave. We chilled out for a minute, absorbed the moment, and waited for the others to arrive. About half an hour passed before others started showing up. At least half of the group ill we all celebrated, took photos, had tea, and cruised on down the other side towards Muktinah. All said and done the day was about 13 hours in total, the longest and toughest by far. Once at Muktinah my body still wanted to keep moving surprisingly, it's like I hadn't had enough. I suppose it was just the high of doing what I had just done.
After The Pass, everything was downhill from there, literally. We hiked down through valleys and gorges passing through many towns. After Muktinah we trekked towards this river bed we were going to follow for a few days. Man was it windy! It was blowing at a speed around 30 or 40 mph. Really. We made our way to Jomsom where there was an airport and picked up two of Steve's friends, and another one who miraculously showed up the morning we were going to leave. This reminded my of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. We were now a group of 11, and set to go.
The highlights of the rest of the Trek were Dana, Tatopani, and Ghorepani. Dana was a nice small town we stayed in just before Tatopani. There was nothing special about the town, but that night we all danced to traditional nepali music. The porters started us out, then we all joined in one by one. Even a spanish trekking group joined in. It was great fun.
The next day was a short walk to Tatopani where the hot springs were. Tato-pani literally means "hot water." This was a very un-Nepali place after going to the hot spring. The spring was like a huge hot tub, and everyone had a beer in their hand. I swear they were playing the Beach Boys too. It was good fun though. A nice place to finally let our muscles relax. I think my muscles relaxed too much. Tatopani was the first place we had meat the whole trek too. MMMMMMMM... Chicken Roast Sizzler, the best tasting chicken I thought I had ever eaten, at the time. Following our relaxing day here, and running into some familiar faces, which we had been doing the whole time, we pressed on to our next highlight, Ghorepani and Poon Hill.
A Maoist strong hold, Ghorepani was where Poon Hill could be reached, a place where all the Annapurna's could be seen (I through V) along with Dhualigiri and some other peaks. I was trying not to be the first one to town because I didn't want to have to speak to the Maoists and reveal my citizenship, so I tried to be slow, but couldn't help but be towards the front. I arrived at the edge of town 2nd, to see Sarah, ahead of me, sitting on a rock reading a pamphlet by these two young guys. I quickly deduced they were Maoists and stopped in my tracks and started whistling like I didn't see them. Okay, I didn't start whistling, but stopped and rested before actually reaching them, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive so I wouldn't have to talke to them. Once of the porters came and told them we payed, they told us to go and said we only had to pay once, and they did it with a smile. After the whole gang arrived at the Guest House we went to the school behind the guest house and proceeded to play vollasketball. Evidently a new sport I think is only found in the mountains where resources are scarce and the need for entertainment is high. It was basically volleyball using a basketball though, and no rules seemed to exist. It was quite fun though. Trekkers and Nepalis all played together, switched sides randomly, and never kept score. Fun factor was up there with dancing in Dana. Later we played pool at the local pool hall. An amazing pool table for being to high up in the mountains. It must have been quite a feat to get it up there. Anyway, the next morning we woke early to see the sunrise at Poon Hill. It was quite a site after climbing to the top. Many people go to just to see Poon Hill. It was nice and scenic, but not the same as a three week trek. After this we quickly fell out of the mountains about two days later to Pokhara where we spent two relaxing days before taking the bus back to Kathmandu.
Once in Kathmandu we proceeded to tie up some loose ends and arrange our flight to Thailand. Little did we know that we'd be stuck there for about 5 more days. FYI, DON'T EVER FLY ROYAL NEPAL AIRLINES. I don't feel too comfortable when they gotta take the plane for a test flight, and later hearing that it didn't go well...
While waiting to get the heck out of Kathmandu Nina, Mick (steve's friend), and I took a trip to Bhaktapur, a really old city, and some view point where we could get a really nice of the view of the mountains, if it wasn't cloudy. It was okay. We got a flat tire on the way back the next day. The driver had trouble putting it back on, so he only screwed in two of the four bolts. I told him that it wasn't good to do that and that he should get it fixed properly as soon as he can. Fortunately the drive was short back to the hotel. After being jerked around by Royal Nepal Airlines for two days and the very flight unworthy fleet of two airplanes we finally made our way to Thailand after meeting two Canadians we ended up spending about 12 days with in total. See next journal entry on Thailand.
