WALK FLY PINOY: Travel, Photography, Asia

Trek to the Annapurna Himalayas in Nepal: Preparations

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 10:23:00 +0000

Trek to the Annapurna Himalayas in Nepal

Introduction. What's where and where's what.

Teahouse Trekking. What makes trekking in Nepal a cheap and easy activity to organize.

Preparations. Organizing the trek: permits, transpo, guides and/or porters, etc.

Things to Bring. Gear, clothes, meds, water, etc.

The Trek. Tackles the trek from day 1 to day 10.

Budget. Trekking doesn't have to costs that much. I promise.

The Take Away. Lessons learned and what not.

Now that you have been given an introduction to the Himalayas and Nepal as well as to the wonderful concept known as Teahouse Trekking, it's time then that you begin organizing your trek. And by that, I mean organizing your independent trek. Do it your own. No trekking or outdoor agencies involved (essentially, of course). Otherwise, this will be a very short post. The details here will be specific to the Annapurna Himalayas (the trek that we did) and maybe a bit on the Everest Region as well.

This post will deal with five topics in relation to preparing and organizing your trek: securing your permits, booking your transportation, hiring guides and porters, health and conditioning, and a note on responsible trekking. Let's begin.

Thamel, where all your travel and trekking needs are met
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Trek to the Annapurna Himalayas in Nepal: Teahouse Trekking

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:19:00 +0000

Trek to the Annapurna Himalayas in Nepal

Introduction. What's where and where's what.

Teahouse Trekking. What makes trekking in Nepal a cheap and easy activity to organize.

Preparations. Organizing the trek: permits, transpo, guides and/or porters, etc.

Things to Bring. Gear, clothes, meds, water, etc.

The Trek. Tackles the trek from day 1 to day 10.

Budget. Trekking doesn't have to costs that much. I promise.

The Take Away. Lessons learned and what not.

What makes trekking in Nepal such an easy and relatively cheap thing to do is a concept known as Teahouse Trekking. Basically, along the more popular trekking trails, such as those in the Everest region or the Annapurna Conservation Area, you will see small villages every hour or so, villages often as old as the trails themselves. Within these villages, there will be number of teahouses, or more accurately, mountain lodges, that offer room and board.

These teahouses are run by local cooperatives, so room rates and food menu options in all the villages in the entire trek are very much a fixed thing. No kidding! They basically photocopy the menu and distribute them in all the lodges in the trail. That is why they discourage bargaining with these kinds of services. You are not getting ripped off because everybody will have the same prices. One thing to note though is that the higher or deeper you go into the trek, prices go up in these lodges, which is understandable, of course. The only way they get all their supplies is through the backs of human porters. Give them their due, I beg of you.

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Trek to the Annapurna Himalayas in Nepal: Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 02:55:00 +0000

If somebody were to ask me what would be the highlight of my trip thus far, I would be able to give an answer easy. Our 10 days in the Annapurna Sanctuary Trek was the most grueling, most difficult yet the most enjoyable and most rewarding experience of my life. I would do it again and again and yes, again in a heartbeat. Hell, if you give me enough resources now, I'd hop on the next flight to Kathmandu and return to the country I left my heart in.

Breathless scenery at the base camp
of Macchhapuchhre (Fishtail Mountain), Nepal
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That Long-lost Newbie Backpacker Feeling

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

I wasn't really feeling that well the day I arrived in Hanoi. It was a combination of a lousy hostel experience in Hue, another grueling sleeper bus ride, and a stomach needing regular doses of gastroenteritis meds. It did not help that Hanoi was cold, cloudy and drizzly.

I admit. I felt down the next couple of days. Travel was not exciting anymore. That is one of the effects of long-term travel, I think. Because you are traveling all the time, you lose sense of what is normal and what is usual. And when you lose that sense, nothing is new and exciting anymore. You don't know what's "old," so how do you know what's "new?" I used to relish that feeling, that feeling of being away from your city, your everyday, that fascination for the new place you just arrived into. Now it's gone. Add the fact that I was feeling trapped by my own very well laid-out plans for the next few months and you have yourself a veritable dose of travel fatigue.

Cloud and gloom over Hanoi's Old Quarter
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India's Monument to Love: The Taj Mahal

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

It's Valentine's Day today and I thought it appropriate that I time this post today. It was a chilly, smoggy autumn morning in Agra that day. But it did not matter. That's because that day, we were seeing the greatest monument to love ever built by man—the Taj Mahal.

© Paul Xymon Garcia 2011
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How to Prepare Traditional Vietnamese Coffee

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:03:00 +0000

It's probably no secret that I love Vietnamese coffee. I think I have written about it at least two times on this blog. I love its very sweet, very bitter and very strong taste. Add the fact that they almost always drink it with ice, then I'm fully and hopelessly sold.

The traditional preparation of Vietnamese coffee, or ca phe sua da (iced milk coffee), is a bit unique. Like everything else in this country, they have their own way of getting things done. An uninitiated foreigner may not know what to do when served with it. I have noted the few steps. Here we go.

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Photos from the Holiest of Holiest Places in India: Varanasi

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

If there was one place in India where spirituality and religion take center stage, it would be Varanasi. Varanasi is a city in northern India that sits right on the banks of the most sacred river in all of Hinduism, the River Ganges. On this river, they bathe, they wash their clothes, they go about their daily lives, including performing the last rites for their dearly departed. For Hindus, to be cremated on the banks of the Ganga, their charred remains allowed to flow on the water, is to attain moksha and break the unending cycle of reincarnation and rebirth.

I learned in my very first day in this holy city how things are done here. What is shocking and rattling about India is magnified ten times in Varanasi. The foul smells, the filth, the abject poverty, the congestion. This is not to say that I hate Varanasi. I travel not to see what I set out to see but rather see what is there. And you sort of have to be ready for that sort of experience when you go to Varansi.

Clearly, I wasn't. But I had to be. I was not able to take a lot of photos for this leg of my journey. It was too hard to even get out of the hotel room. But the few photos I took, I consider them some of my best from India.

Quintessential Varanasi. One of the high walls flanking the river.
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The Cold, Clammy Hands of the Man from Varanasi

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:07:00 +0000

It did not matter that we have been traveling for more than 12 hours then. When we got to Varanasi that day, despite feeling exhausted and dizzy from all the chaos going about, we wanted to go out and start exploring. The thing with Varanasi is that, everything that is shocking and rattling about India, it's ten times more in Varanasi. The streets are busier with people and cars and rickshaws. The alleyways, which they call gali, are more pungent with all the trash, cow manure, incense, and flowers for the dead.

Varanasi is the picture you have of India where people descend down a wide staircase, which they call ghat, to bathe, wash and go about their daily business right at the banks of the most sacred river in all of Hinduism, the River Ganges. Thus, more importantly, Varanasi is where, in keeping with Hindu practice, they burn their dearly departed and let whatever charred remains there is flow down the river.

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How to Apply for a Tourist Visa to China

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:00:00 +0000

Having included China in the second half of my six-month itinerary, I knew there was one more reason I had to go home for the holidays. I had to take care of my Chinese Visa last week while I was still in the Philippines. It was easier for me this time. I was just basically renewing it. However, it would be for a slightly longer period—30 days.

I wrote a step-by-step process on visa application a few months ago based on my first experience as an applicant. However, visa application rules have changed since then, as I found out on my second application. Thus, let me update that post right here: How to Apply for a Tourist Visa to China.

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Why Travel Tuesday: Back on the Road

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

(Every Tuesday, I will be featuring a photograph from a place I have gone to, a photograph which I believe will inspire others to go out and see the world for themselves. For this week, Why Travel Tuesday talks about the oftentimes insatiable feeling of starting another journey, whether it be for just a few days or a even a few months. There is nothing like the feeling of being back on the road.)

Rough riding on a 4x4 through the sand dunes of Mt. Pinatubo
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Packing List Redux (A Much Needed Evaluation)

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

I should consider myself extremely lucky that I am able to sit back and evaluate the list of things that I have on my backpack halfway through the trip where else but in the comforts of my own home. Yes, I have been back home since the day before Christmas Eve and I am still in the Philippines. However, I am leaving very soon to continue what I set out to do August last year

Thus, it is only appropriate that I revisit my packing list. I have to pack lighter and bring only what I learned I needed the most. I need to ask myself:

How many pieces of clothing did I really use? Which ones?
What item was most useful?
What item I should not have taken with me in the first place?

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Why Travel Tuesday: Visiting Famous Landmarks

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

(Every Tuesday, I will be featuring a photograph from a place I have gone to, a photograph which I believe will inspire others to go out and see the world for themselves. For this week, Why Travel Tuesday talks about something we all like to do when we travel: tick off famous landmarks on our bucket list. And if at all possible, goof off in the process.)

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9 Backpacker Districts Every Budget Traveler in Asia Should Know About

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:38:00 +0000

More often than not, when we talk about budget travel, we usually refer to traveling backpacker style. This usually means hostels instead of hotels, street food stalls instead of restaurants, and do-it-yourself sightseeing instead of packaged tours. There is a lot more flexibility nowadays, of course. But it is still well worth knowing which area in your next travel destination to check out when you want to find the cheapest options available.

In my travels around Asia, I tended to trod along the backpacker trail. (Why wouldn't I?) Thus, I had been able to see first-hand how each place checks out. I have my favorites and, of course, my not-so favorites. Let me list them all down here:

1. Pham Ngu Lao, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

The very busy Pham Ngu Lao street juts out southwest from the Ho Chi Minh City Bus Station. That alone is a plus point for me. It's close to the center of everything. The area is a dizzying combination of street signs, bootleg book peddlers, sidewalk food courts, bright and gaudy bars and restaurants, and of course, motorcycles! I have been to Ho Chi Minh twice (thrice, if you count my transiting there from Cambodia) and I know I will stay in the Pham Ngu Lao area the next time I am in Ho Chi Minh.

Recommends: My My Arthouse (hostel's a bit tricky to locate but great value at 7 USD per bed)

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Bangkok's Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Photo Essay)

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Even though I was still hung over from the simple lifestyle and the mountain vistas that trekking in Nepal afforded me, I knew that I was already in another country with its own rich culture waiting for me to explore it. It was the first time, too, that I was traveling solo. My trekking partner has moved on to Vietnam, whilst I opted to stay in Thailand. So on that day, I decided to get out of the hostel and walk around Thailand's capital Bangkok.

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Roomorama Has Got It Going On*

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:04:00 +0000

I first heard of Roomorama when I attended a backpacker event in Manila organized by the amazing duo of Lois and Chichi of We Are Sole Sisters. The concept was very interesting. People from all over the world rent out their properties via Roomorama to people who are looking for an alternative to hotel accommodation when they travel. I talked to the Roomorama rep present in the event and was offered to try it out for free.

At this point, do you really need to know why I signed up? Okay. If it wasn't for free, I can honestly say that I will still try it out. Here are six reasons why:

1. Easy to use website

I signed up on Roomorama.com (which in itself is free, by the way) and found the website very easy to use. No need to read up or anything like that. The design is easy to navigate and you instinctively know where to go and which button to click on. Process was simple, too. Inquire to confirm availability of the property and then book. In my case, the owner of the property answered within 24 hours and in no time, I had booked a one-night stay in a decent-looking property in New Delhi: The Estate.

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The Big Six-Month Backpacking Itinerary (Part 02)

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

As it stands now, I have completed half of my originally planned six-month backpacking journey. And as expected, much of my plans for the first three months didn't really go as I imagined them to go. Few things:

India: Missed the train to Jaisalmer. So we went to Dharamsala and later to Amritsar instead.
Nepal: Flight to the jump-off point of the Everest Base Camp Trek was cancelled twice in two days due to bad weather. So we did the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) Trek instead.
Southeast Asia: Opted to explore northern Thailand instead of hurrying to cover the length of Vietnam north to south in less than three weeks

Thus, in my first three months, I covered Singapore, India (Dharamsala, Amritsar, New Delhi, Agra and Varanasi), Nepal (Kathmandu, Pokhara and ABC Trek), Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pai), and Vietnam (Saigon). (See full map in my Where I Have Been page. Also, please stay tuned for more posts on these places!)

With an extended trip like this, there are just some things that are beyond one's control. So you learn to roll with the punches. That is one of the most important things I have learned traveling this long. That said. Here's Part 02 of the Big Six-Month Itinerary, the places I intend to cover early 2012. Operative word, intend. I am most definitely open to changes.

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Best of the Best Travel Experiences of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:01:00 +0000

So the year is finally winding down. I can't really say that this year has not been good for travel. Because it has! It totally has. Probably, the most travel I have ever done in my life. I mean, I did decide to bite the bullet and go backpacking for six months. And I will say that it has been the best year ever. There, I said it. There were highs and lows, of course. But it's all good. It's all part of the adventure. I had the most rewarding experience, the most exhilarating, the most delicious, etc., etc.

As a way to commemorate all of them, and as my yearender of sorts, I decided to do my 12 best of the best travel experiences of 2011. Here we go.

1. Most Jampacked Trip

We only had four days to explore one of the biggest countries in the world, which happened to be one of the oldest civilizations in the world. So what are we to do? Jampack it all, tourist-style! In all four days, we covered two huge, and I mean, huge cities, three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, our first winter experience, a high-speed sleeper train experience and a super high-speed Maglev train experience. We went to China.

(See more posts about China: China: Beijing, Forbidden City, China: Great Wall at Mutianyu)

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The Holy City of Amritsar and the Golden Temple

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:00:00 +0000

On our way down the mountain from Dharamsala, we figured we did not want to bus it to Delhi for another 14 dark, ass-numbing hours. We did our research and found a city worth breaking our journey in. Again, this was a part of India different from the rest of it primarily because of religion. We decided to stop by another one of India's holy cities on our way back to the capital. This holy city is not Hindu nor Buddhist. It is Sikh. And it is called Amritsar.

I realized looking back that Michael Palin also stopped by Amritsar in his BBC series, Himalaya. First, we went to Dharamsala, it being our contingency plan having missed our train to Jaisalmer. Now, we were heading to Amritsar on a whim. Later on, we will be following his itinerary in the Nepal Himalaya. And that wasn't planned as well! Freaky.

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Why Travel Tuesday: India-Pakistan Wagah Border Ceremony

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:26:00 +0000

(Every Tuesday, I will be featuring a photograph from a place I have gone to, a photograph which I believe will inspire others to go out and see the world for themselves. For this week, Why Travel Tuesday features the bizarre India-Pakistan Wagah Border Ceremony.)

© Paul Xymon Garcia 2011
Now here's a real treat for borderholics. When in the holy city of Amritsar, India, one of the more touristy things to do is to head to the India-Pakistan border in the village of Wagah at sundown. Wagah, split right in the middle between the two countries, is the only road border crossing between the rival countries. And every sundown, the village gets packed with people on both sides as there takes place a bizarre military ceremony between the India Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers.

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How to See the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:29:00 +0000

If you, like us, found yourself in Dharamsala, India, with the rare chance to see most famous Buddhist in the world, the living incarnation of the boddhisatva of compassion, His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, then better seize the opportunity. You are most likely just spending a few days in this little Tibetan town in northern India, just like the holy man himself, who circles the world seeing heads of states as well as Tibetan refugees scattered all over the globe for the better part of the year.

But the question is, how? It's simple really. Here are seven simple steps.

© Paul Xymon Garcia 2011
Step 01: Check if the Dalai Lama is giving a public audience (most likely, a lecture) anytime soon. You can do that by going to www.dalailama.com. Yes, His Holiness has a website. If he is giving a lecture, check if it is open to the public. We had the good fortune of being in Dharamsala when a group of Korean Buddhists was also there for a lecture with the DL, a lecture which they had earlier scheduled and opened to the public. I assume by now you get that the DL is a very busy man.

Step 02: Secure yourself admission into the lecture. No, they will not accept walk-ins. Security is very tight in and around his residence and the main temple, the Tsuglagkhang Monastery. So better have proper identification when you enter. First things first, make sure you have two passport-sized photos and a photocopy of your passport. If you do not have them, then McLeod Ganj is littered with ID photo stalls and shops. Walk in and have your photo taken and your passport photocopied. Simple as simple can be.

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Bungy in the Nepal Himalaya

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 06:35:00 +0000

Bungy jumping was something I was determined to do on this six-month trip. Hey, I was jumping out of my comfort zones anyway. So why not jump all the way. Plus, ever since two friends of mine, Angelica and Cindy, did it a year ago, I knew I wanted to put myself on that ledge, like they did. My original plan was to do it in Rishikesh, India. But the travel gods had other plans and I had to tweak my northern India itinerary and forgo Rishikesh.

Good thing there was another outdoor adventure facility along our way. This was in Nepal. I knew I had to do it there. Else, it will be a while before I get the chance to do it again. And wouldn't you know it? The facility's name is The Last Resort. I know, scary when I first heard it. Why would an outdoor adventure facility name themselves that way? As soon as I got over the name, I signed up. They have an office in Kathmandu's tourist district, Thamel (a place which I will write more about later). We signed up there and booked a day trip for around 86 USD. The cost will include, apart from the jump itself, a round-trip bus to the facility and a buffet lunch.

© Paul Xymon Garcia 2011
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The Backpacking Story So Far

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Another month has come and gone and yes, I am still on the road. Traveling. Clearly, I have a lot to be thankful for. I left home October and even though it has only been a couple of months since, I feel like a lot has happened already. And I'm only in my third country on this trip!

Unlike other monthly wrap-ups I have done on this blog, this one will sum-up, not the best content in the travel blogosphere (which are plenty), but rather the goings-on in this small world I call my travel life.

THE TRIP SO FAR*
I started in Singapore, seeing, well, more like tasting it, through a few friends who have become locals there. Bash it all you want, Singapore to me remains to be the tiny 700 square kilometer island where you could sample all the best foods (and therefore, cultures) of Southeast Asia.

© Paul Xymon Garcia 2011
A few days after that, we flew to India, keen on seeing desert landscapes, mad urban sprawls, and peaceful temples. I got to see the last two, but due to Indian transportation misfortunes, we had to forgo Rajasthan. We, instead, opted for mountains and found Tibet in the heart of northern India.

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Daytrek to the Dhauladhar: Prelude to the Himalayas

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:00:00 +0000

My first taste of the Himalayas was, in fact, not in Nepal, where I am now. No, I saw my first snow-capped peaks in the Indian Himalayas—the Dhauladhar Mountains. And this was a good thing. It was some sort of a prelude for what was to be one of the most rewarding and most breathtaking experiences, literally and figuratively, of my travel life. But I am getting ahead of myself.

© Paul Xymon Garcia 2011
Let's begin with our accommodations in Dharamsala, where the Dhauladar Mountains can be viewed and accessed from. Our hotel on this leg of our Indian journey was one that was a above the Tibetan town center of McLeod Ganj. Technically, it was not even part of McLeod Ganj, but rather in a village above it. We can either get a cab to get to our hotel. Or walk up to it, an effort which took 30 minutes as the trail was all uphill. The first time we did walk the trail was at night, which I was not a fan of. Night-trekking, I mean. But again, that's alright. It was beneficial, in fact. It gave me a taste of what it was like trekking in the cold air of the Himalayas. Also, have I mentioned it was all uphill? It was.

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Why Travel Tuesday: the Most Beautiful Plane Ride in the World

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 23:00:00 +0000

(Every Tuesday, I will be featuring a photograph from a place I have gone to, a photograph which I believe will inspire others to go out and see the world for themselves.For this week, Why Travel Tuesday features the most beautiful plane ride in the world: one long uninterrupted wall of the snowy mountains of the Himalayas.)

© Paul Xymon Garcia 2011
It was to be the third country in my six-month backpacking adventure and I wanted to do everything right. I read in Lonely Planet that when flying in to the Nepali capital Kathmandu from Delhi, India, request a window seat on the left-hand side of the aircraft, which was precisely what I did. When I got to my seat, however, someone was already occupying it requesting that I transfer to his seat by the aisle. Normally, I’d concede. But not this time. Which is a good thing. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had that shot. Or that experience for that matter. We flew right along the highest mountain range in the world and it was all we could see for most of the one and a half-hour flight. It was amazing.

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Keeping a Candle Burning for Tibet: the Norbulingka Institute

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Xymon Garcia) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 02:00:00 +0000

Preserving a culture's heritage is very important, especially now that the west seems to penetrate every modern city in the world. Preservation becomes even more important, I think, when the culture in question is exiled in another country. Fortunately, for the Tibetans exiled based in Dharamsala, India, they have the Norbulingka Institute.

© Paul Xymon Garcia 2011
The Norbulingka Institute, named after the Dalai Lama's summer palace back in Tibet, is a learning institution dedicated to Tibetan studies, which includes the preservation of Tibetan arts (painting, embroidery, literature, etc.). The institute also has two guesthouses, a cafe, shops and a temple which houses a 4-meter high gilded copper statue of Sakyamuni Buddha.

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