Shaun's 2012 World Tour

World Tour Wrapup: Travel Stats

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:07:00 +0000

Including my departure and arrival days, I checked off 36 calendar days but actually experienced 37, thanks to crossing the date line going east.

I flew 30,000 air miles in 17 fights totaling 60 hours air time. I spent 55 hours in 13 separate airports during arrivals and departures. That means I spent 115 hours or 4.8 days (13% of my vacation time) in the business of air travel.

I began in Nepal's autumn, moved to Cambodia's eternal summer, relaxed in Australia's spring and returned to early winter in Canada.

Beside aircraft, I traveled on/in buses, cars, boats, an elephant and on foot.

I spent 4 nights either waiting in airports or on night flights. It saved on hotel bills but wreaked havoc with my sleep cycle.

I visited 2 new continents and 4 new countries. (I don't include India or China since I did not leave their airports.) I made purchases in 8 currencies.

I climbed as high as 3880 meters above sea level and descended as low as 0.

I passed through all of the 24 major time zones and several that were either 30 minutes or 15 minutes different than their neighbors.

I crossed every meridian and spanned the latitudes between 51 degrees north (Brussels) to 43 degrees south (southeast Tasmania).

I added 143 new bird species and 16 mammal species to my life lists.

The best airport (based on thoroughness of services in the least time) was in Brussels. The worst was in Kathmandu. The best airports for free wifi were in Cambodia and Melbourne. Vancouver is OK too.

I posted 25 articles to this blog. This is the last.

Touring in Tasmania

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 08:46:00 +0000

My two full days in the Australian state of Tasmania I spent touring: one day to see the Port Arthur ruins; the other day out at sea looking for birds and ocean mammals.

During the period when England sent criminals and rebels to Tasmania, Port Arthur was were they sent one if you were considered very bad, or misbehaved as a convict elsewhere. It sits at the end of a remote and rugged peninsula.

Old Port Arthur guard towers

Port Arthur operated from 1830 to 1877. Generally, convicts sent there worked and lived under harsher conditions than elsewhere. Many died there and their bodies (nearly 1000) line on the Isle of the Dead just offshore. A bush fire in the 1880s, destroyed most of the buildings.

The boat tour traveled to Bruny Island on the southeast side of Tassie. The next land mass south of here is Antarctica.

Our boat was a so-called rigid inflatable, 12 meters long with three 300-hp engines. It is unsinkable, stable in rough water, and capable of 25 knots loaded.

One of the tour boats near one of many caves

In wind gusts the crew estimated at 80 km and choppy seas, we boated around the south end of South Bruny National Park. Lots of bouncing and sea spray--imagine the big slide at a water park.

The shore is rugged cliffs with many caves.

This day we got a ringside seat to a forest fire started by some idiot hikers. (To put it out, they kicked the embers over a cliff.) The day I was there, helicopters were on their third day of water-bombing.

We came close to a small colony of New Zealand fur seals.

My hotel in Hobart sits on the waterfront. Part of it goes back to 1846. It lies among a long line of buildings constructed from the 1820s to 1880s.

This block of trendy Salamanca was built by convict labor in 1828 as a temporary residence for new convicts.

The city of 200,000 lies on both sides of a deep inlet where the Derwent River joins the sea. Steep round hills rise from the water, like San Francisco without the earthquakes. While the city is about the same distance (42 degrees) from the equator as northern locations such as Chicago, the area is relatively warm in winter because of the ocean. It does not go below freezing in winter and the summers are hot.

Research and Sightseeing in Ballarat

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 10:36:00 +0000

I took a train from Melbourne into an inland city named Ballarat. The town has two things to attract me: it is one setting for my next historical novel; and, the only person in Australia I know lives there.

Downtown Ballarat is an architectural gem—there is a wealth of buildings from the late 19^th century (1868-1888) that line wide streets and boulevards.

The view across from my hotel

On the edge of Ballarat is Sovereign Hill, a recreated Australian gold rush town. Part of my next novel will be set in the gold rush (1851-1858); so, I needed to visit it.

Across the street from Sovereign Hill is the gold mining museum. It includes lithographs from a gold-rush era artist S. T. Gill. His drawings closely match the modern Sovereign Hill; so I believe it is close enough.

Snapshot of Sovereign Hill

This town is populated with re-enactors. Some of them, such as the blacksmith and the wheelwright, are talented artisans and masters of old trades. I watched one fellow build part of a wagon wheel using steam-driven lathes and other tools from the 1860s. Fascinating!

Part of the wagon wheel factory. In front is the lathe that carves wheel hubs from wood stumps. Behind it is the drill that carved mortise holes in the hub for the spokes. The belts turn the machinery.

My time spent there yielded some great pictures and notes that will add authenticity to my novel.

The next day, Barry Sullivan (who used to live near me), gave up time from his busy schedule to drive me into the “bush.” I wanted to see what the countryside looked like (again to add authenticity to the novel) and I hoped to see kangaroos.

We drove to Grampians National Park to a treed spot beside a creek where Barry had seen kangaroos before. Sure enough, we found a herd of eastern gray kangaroos lounging in the shade. They ignored us, which let me get close enough to get pictures. Driving back to Ballarat, we passed a flock of wild emus grazing in a field. Cool!

Touring the Southeast Australia Coast

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:07:00 +0000

On November 24 and 25, I took two all-day bus tours of the coastal areas around Melbourne, Australia. The intent was to see wildlife and scenery. I got my money's worth.

On the Saturday, the tour took us to Phillip Island. It was a sunny and hot spring day. (November in Oz is like May in Canada.) On the way, we stopped at a suburban park where 30,000 flying fox fruit bats hang out. They are named for the orange fur on their heads and back. They are active in the day, squawking and flapping about. They have one-meter wingspans.

At the island, we strolled in the chilly sea water at Woolami surf beach. We visited a pond loaded with waterfowl, including the black swan. On the nearby dunes, wallabies frolicked. At sundown we gathered in bleachers by the beach to watch hundreds of little blue penguins return from a day of fishing. Their fuzzy chicks came out to meet them. (No pictures allowed.)

Sunday was sunny again but a bit cooler. We stopped at many spots along the coast west of the city. The first was Bells Beach, a top surfing venue. The coast has an awesome number of sandy beaches, with good waves aplenty. The shore line rises quickly from the water to steep hills, sliced by creek valleys, and heavily forested in unsettled areas

The trees are home to many parrots, including cockatoos.

Crimson Rosella Parrot

Kenneth River, we visited an enclave of koalas. I spotted 8.

A bit inland we visited a temperate rainforest. Giant eucalyptus trees rise 80 meters. The forest has tree-sized ferns that are hundreds of years old.

The tour continued to a more rugged area called the Shipwreck Coast. High cliffs provided an unclimbable wall from the beach. Towers of rock rise from the surf.

Mentioning Melbourne

This city is one that works and seems designed for people. There are numerous parks and gardens, including miles of them along the Yarra river that runs through the city. Many of the downtown streets have leafy canopies of trees, mostly sycamore. There is an express bus between downtown and the airport.

Trams (electric streetcars) roll down many streets. Light rail and intercity rail is easy to access. Bike lanes are common.

The city of almost 4 million looks like any prosperous city in North America, except the cars drive on the “wrong” side.

The city has palms, so you know it is a warm place. This time of year (late November) is late spring and it gets hot. The city at latitude 37 South is just south of the Tropic of Cancer. In their summer, the sun sits almost overhead. Temps above 40C are common.

Changing Plans: a Day on the Water

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 09:59:00 +0000

Two days ago, as the plane from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, prepared to land at Siem Reap, I saw great expanses of marshland below. When I landed, I told my guide Sopheak that I wanted to spend one less day temple hopping and do some birding.

Today, we left the hotel at 6 AM and drove to a canal that leads to Tonle Sap Great Lake, the largest body of water in Southeast Asia. The lake increases its area from 2,700 sq km to 15,000 in the wet season compared to the dry season. Some of the lake is open water, but much plays host to trees, bushes and floating rafts of vegetation. The water rises 9 meters in the rainy season and submerges all shrubs and large trees other than the crowns of the tallest. The leaves underwater drop off and regrow as the water recedes. The lake was below half way down the day I visited.

After a pleasant two hour ride in a narrow, flat-bottomed, covered boat, we came to the floating village of Pret Toal, population 5,000. It has floating houses, stores, chicken coops, and a gas station. This village has a fixed school on stilts (others have floating schools) and kids row to school.

Pret Toal

The floating structure are built on bamboo rafts made buoyant by plastic or metal drums. If you want to move—maybe you don't like the neighbors--you tow your house by boat.

The villagers live off fishing. The lake teems with fish, judging by the many I saw leaping. Most electricity is from car batteries. To recharge one, villagers leave it out front. A guy in a boat picks it up, charges it from a generator, and delivers it for a small fee. Despite the remote area and primitive conditions, the marsh has communication towers. You can get better cell coverage here than in the rural counties west of Ottawa, Canada (where I live).

At Pret Toal, we switched to a smaller boat skippered by a local ranger, and headed into the wildlife preserve.

The boat on the right is the canal boat and the left one is the marsh boat we used.

The ranger guided us through a watery forest maze to a viewing platform built into a tree. After an hour in the treetop, we boated back to Pret Toal for lunch (grilled fish, fish and cabbage soup, fish and bean salad) at a floating restaurant. I was amazed that our ranger could find his way through the twisting and narrow bits of water.

View from the front of the marsh boat.

The area abounds in large water birds: egrets, herons, cormorants, pelicans, ducks, storks, and adjutants. Smaller birds flitter in the shrubs and a few kites and eagles soar overhead. We identified about 30 species, several which I'd also seen at Chitwan. I added maybe 20 species to my life list and had a wonderful day on the water. The day cost me extra--but was worth it.

The lake is recognized by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve.

If you enlarge this photo you will see dozens of large flying birds.

The rangers patrol the refuge and do fish and bird censuses. They navigate the maze of marsh using trees as landmarks, which must be difficult when the water level is so often different. Part of their success is that most rangers are former poachers, who now see the greater value in preserving their natural asset.

My birding guide, Savann, represented Osmose, an NGO that promotes conservation and community development at the lake. They have a floating ecology school for children and a floating community center for women in Pret Toal. With the Cambodian government, they promote ecology and sustainability at the lake. For info, go to www.osmosetonlesap.net. Contact my guide at kasovann@yahoo.com.

Visiting Angkor Wat, Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:42:00 +0000

The Angkor Wat complex includes 246 temples. Today I visited 8 of them.

When Europeans discovered the ruins of Angkor Wat in the early 20^th century, all buildings were blanketed by jungle. When the vegetation was cleared, many were just piles of rocks. A few like the main Angkor Wat temple and Banteay Srei were well engineered and less damaged.

Cambodia does not have the money to restore its best tourist attraction. For decades, that job fell to benevolent foreign countries—Japan, France, Switzerland, and India to name a few. Work on reconstruction and restoration continues and may for decades.

Each of the Khmer kings built temples during their reign. One guy commissioned 8. When a new king came to power, previous temples often fell out of favor and declined. Many show incomplete carvings; indicating that work just stopped when the patron died.

The official Khmer religion swung between Buddhism and Hinduism. When a new king came to power with a new religion, often the previous gods were erased from existing temples.

I took 70 pictures today. Below are a few.

Above is Taprohm built in the 12th century. The conservators left some of the largest trees in place so that people could see how the jungle affected the temples. This is a sponge tree estimated at 300-400 years old.

Next is Banteay Srei built in 968. It may be my favorite.

Constructed of rugged red sandstone, it remains one of the best preserved despite being the second oldest in Angkor Wat. The above picture shows the guardians, humans with monkey heads.

The above picture shows some Sanskrit carved into a column at Banteay Srei. Less than an inch high, the letters are still illegible over 1000 years later.

This carving over a doorway at Banteay Srei is still sharp, seemingly erosion proof.

The second largest temple group is Angkor Thom. The next picture shows some of the guardians of the temple.

Monsters and birds guard the temple

Within Angkor Thom, Bayon has two signature features. One is a wall of relief carvings showing everyday life in the kingdom like the one below.

The other is dozens of carvings of Buddha looking serene or smiling, as below.

Namaste!

Cambodian Reflections

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 09:36:00 +0000

In retrospect, Kathmandu seems like a city recovering from an earthquake compared to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia.

The two Cambodian cities are almost free of garbage and construction rubble in the streets, they have traffic lights that people obey, and there are a few treed boulevards in the capital (from the French colonial days).

People still take more traffic risks than in Canada. A family of four on one motorcycle is not an uncommon sight. In fact, the motorcycle may be a afctor in family planning, since 5 passengers is nearly impossible. :-)

As the next picture shows, adults often ride with infants hanging on precariously.

My hotels in Cambodia are approaching what passes for 5-star in this region. The hallways are marble. The bedrooms have dark, polished wood floors I suspect are mahogany. The door and closets are trimmed in similar wood. The rooms both had balconies.

The temperature at dawn is about 27C, rising to 32C and humid by mid-afternoon. In the jungle around the temples, a cicada that sounds like a turning rusty wheel screeches in the heat--it takes some getting use to.

I the late afternoon, I swim in the pool at my Siem Reap hotel—the water is just slightly cooler than the warm air. I have come a long way from the unheated hostel-style rooms on the Everest trail, with their thin plywood walls and hard beds. (I am now also at 17 meters above sea level instead of 3880.) While I like the conspicuous luxury, part of me prefers the simplicity and ruggedness of those plain lodges. (I don't miss the chilly rooms.)

I am a tour group of one, if that is possible. The modest fee I paid includes a fine hotel, a personal guide, a driver, and airfare from the capital to Siem Reap. I feel like a grandee.

The nearest part of the Angkor Wat temple complex is just 7 kilometers away.

My guide, Sopheak, who has a degree in tourism management, says the town received 3 million visitors last year and expects the number to double. The population of the immediate town is 30,000—most in the tourism business. Construction of new hotels is evident.

Sopheak

Note: Sopheak, 30, is the only child of his mother's second marriage. Her first husband and all 9 children died in the Killing Fields. You can contact Sopheak at angkortourguide@gmail.com

Landmines laid by the Kymer Rouge still kill and maim today. People with missing limbs are not hard to find. The country has recovered marvelously from the Kymer Rouge destruction of people and infrastructure. The spirit is strong. It is well worth visiting.

Visiting Angkor Wat, Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:42:00 +0000

An hour after I arrived in Siem Reap, my guide picked me up for the first temple tour. Angkor Wat is the general name for a group of old temples in a complex that covers 401 sq. km.

The first stop was the largest temple for which the complex is named, Angkor Wat. It sits on a man-made 200-hectare island surrounded by a moat. A wall extends around the island. Inside the wall and its ornate entrance is the temple grounds.

You cross the moat on a stone causeway and pass through the elaborate walls to get inside the grounds.

Causeway (far right) and gates

Five towers of the Angkor Wat temple viewed over lily pond

Built about 1113 for the reigning king, it started as a Hindu temple and the king's future tomb. It was left partly unfinished after the king died. A later king changed it to a Buddhist temple. The reigning deity, Vishnu, was then moved from the main temple tower to an atrium, and four Buddhas took his place.

Angkor Wat was abandoned in the 16th century and lost, overgrown with jungle. It was rediscovered by a French botanist about 1850. Renovations and reconstruction are ongoing.

A stone portico surrounds the four sides of the lower floor of the temple. While most temples had smaller versions of these arched corridors, the one at Angkor Wat was renovated to completeness.

Portico

The inside walls are carved with battles scenes, processions and depictions of the 32 levels of Hindu hell.

Sample of carving inside portico

Over 2000 carvings of Apsara (the dancer)--including 1600 unique carvings--grace the walls.

Five variations of Apsara

Remembering the Dark Past

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 04:08:00 +0000

My morning in Phnom Penh was to include three stops; but because Obama might arrive anytime for the ASEAN meeting and the late Cambodian king's funeral, my guide suggested we cut the tour short to get to the airport before the army closed the roads. I insisted we make one visit—to the Genocide Museum. I felt it important to be a witness to the atrocity that befell these kind people, to in some small way honor the victims.

The museum displays the short, brutal reign of the Khmer Rouge (KR) from April 1975 to late 1978. A sign at the start of the tour (below) lists the rules each prisoner had to follow. While #6 seems like the toughest rule, the first one, though ambiguous, means “always answer yes.” Imagine being asked if you were an enemy of the revolution and could only answer in the affirmative.

The museum buildings occupy a former high school that the KR used to hold and torture prisoners. Over 10,000 victims passed through. The poignancy of my visit was heightened because my local tour guide, Hong Seang, was a student at the school when the KR invaded the city. Seang is also a survivor of the Killing Fields.

Seang at his former school

The museum includes classrooms divided by crude brickworks into cells where prisoners were chained.

There are long displays of black & white photos of victims—the KR made each victim wear a number for the photo records. Some rooms display torture equipment and graphic paintings of how the KR employed the machines. The final room has several display cases of bones and skulls.

As we drove to the airport, Seang related how he was the sole survivor in his immediate family. His parents and a brother died of starvation. Two other brothers and the family of his aunt and uncle were executed. He spoke through tears.

Last Day in Kathmandu

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 11:45:00 +0000

On our last day, we visted two ancient cities that have now been subsumed by Kathmandu's sprawl. Bhaktapur and Patan.

Bhaktapur was once the capital of Nepal until the second half of the 15th century. Some of the construction goes back to the the 7th century. It consists of palaces, temples and bathing ponds. It is a UNESCO world heritage site. Patan is similar but less extensive.

The first picture below is from Patan. The rest are from Bhaktapur.

Chitwan Days 2 and 3

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 09:14:00 +0000

My second and third days at Chitwan were for the birds--several score of them.

The Royal Park Lodge were we stayed had four events planned for us. When I arrived, I requested a guide with good local bird knowledge. The resort assigned us a young Nepalese man named Raj. He was more than I expected. Raj could identify a bird in a split second. He'd call out the name, give me an accurate description of where to see it in the bush or sky and then show me the bird in his guide book.

For our first morning, we drove slowly in an open-backed jeep through the refuge. We saw about 40 species, including two local eagles so close I could snap their photos with my pocket camera.

Crested serpent eagle

Grey-headed fish eagle

That afternoon, Raj escorted us on a rambling walk through the scrub and grassland bordering the river near our lodge. Again, we saw dozens of species, plus a passive bull rhino at close quarters.

Rapti River

For the second and last morning, we went for a 45-minutes ride in dugout canoes. The water of the Rapti River is warmer than a heated swimming pool. It steams in the morning cool. In invites one to swim—but the many crocodiles suggest otherwise.

Marsh mugger crocodile

The canoe ride ends at an elephant breeding center. One of the baby elephants liked people so much, it came over to the fence for scratches and pets.

Raj helped ID 71 bird species over the two-day period: all but a few are new to my life list. He also knows his animals and trees too. If anyone needs a guide at Chitwan, I recommend him. Contact Yubaraj “Raj” Paudel at yubaraj19@yahoo.com or his sister's tourism company at doma_paudel@yahoo.com.

Wild peacock

Kathmandu to Chitwan

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 06:56:00 +0000

The four-hour drive from Kathmandu to the Royal Chitwan Forest is pleasant as long as you watch the scenery, not the road.

The road headed down from the capital via a long series of hairpin turns until it reached a river. It then followed the river's many twists. The rules of the road in Nepal are foreign to us westerners. It consists of mostly honking your horn. There is no safe place to pass; yet, all drivers pass others regularly.

I had to watch the river and mountains—the forward view was too scary.

After three hours we entered a flat lowland and an hour later we arrived at the Royal Park resort. The grounds consist of treed paths, flowering tropical bushes, and cute semi-attached cottages with flush toilettes and showers. Very comfortable!

At 3 PM, several busloads of us drove out to the game preserve and mounted elephants (four to each beast) for a stroll in the bush.

The riparian forest is spacious, deciduous tropical fast-growing trees with a shrub understory and some grassy open areas.

Forest viewed from the river

Our mahout (elephant driver) had great bush eyes. He spotted three species of deer (barking, spotted and sambar), a basking crocodile, and a jungle fowl (wild chicken). We also saw wild boar and two Indian rhinos.

Rhino mom and child

A very good afternoon! I spotted a few birds. I am making field notes and will determine what they are later.

Lukla Back to Kathmandu

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 06:14:00 +0000

I imagine taking off in a plane from the Lukla airport is much like launching from an aircraft carrier.

We headed back to Kathmandu from Lukla on the second morning plane. The sky was clear and windless.

The Twin Otter (DHC 6/300) landed shortly before 7 AM. The flight attendant hustled the passengers off while ground crew blew whistles to keep them moving in the right direction. Others emptied the rear hold of baggage.

A Twin Otter waiting for passengers

With everyone off, the 16 awaiting passengers were urged forward and up the steps. Inside we were encouraged to hurry toward the front and fill the seats. As we settled in, ground crew loaded the luggage. From the time the plane landed until we were loaded didn't exceed 10 minutes.

The twin-engine plane taxied to the horizontal patch at the top of the runway. The flight crew applied the brakes, revved up the engines to a scream, and released the brakes. The plane lurched forward, picked up speed as it started down the 12% incline, and rose into the air about 30 meters from the end. The ground dropped vertically below us as the plane passed the end of the promontory on which the runway sits.

The Lukla airport has room for just four planes to park at once. In peak periods, a plane is either landing or taking off every 5 minutes. Most of that traffic is to ferry trekkers. The nearby heliport can accommodate 4 helicopters at once and is often full.

With that volume of traffic and with planes in constant use, there are risks. A month before my journey started, a plane carrying trekkers to Lukla hit a bird on takeoff at Kathmandu and crashed. There were no survivors. Google searches tell me Nepal has one of the worst aviation safety records, with 6 fatal crashes in the last 2 years. I knew that going in. Yah takes yer chances.

After a perfect 30-minute flight, we landed in Kathmandu, a place with a whole different type of traffic. Like many South Asian cities, the rules of the road are as mysterious to we Westerners as the Nepalese alphabet. The roads are shared by cars, trucks, peddle rickshaws, motocycles, bicycles, pedestrians (limited sidewalks), dogs and the occasional monkey. There are traffic lights only on a 20-km divided highway build by the Japanese, few posted speed limits and few stop signs (both always ignored).

Drivers use both their lane and the oncoming lane as if they owned both. Inside a taxi, one thinks a crash is possible any second; yet, the scrum of vehicles seem to miraculously miss each other. Part of the reason is that top speeds rarely exceed 30 kph. After a time, one realizes there is intelligence and unspoken consensus behind the traffic chaos.

I am booked into the Shanghai-la Hotel. What a treat to have a heated room and a shower. I put my trekking clothes in a bag for the hotel's laundry service. I then took a shower—my first in 9 days. Despite all the exertion trekking, I was remarkably un-stinky. Maybe that is due to low stress, a mostly vegetarian diet, or the benevolence of Buddha—I don't know.

The hotel has a patio restaurant next to its lovely garden. There are poinsettia trees here (15 feet high) in bloom. Strange birds tweet in the shrubs and exotic looking trees.

I did a bit of sight-seeing with my fellow trekker Peggie. We took a taxi to a big market area called Thamel. While I didn't much care about the shopping, I did like the Garden of Promises, a restored palace garden that once belonged to a minor noble.

In the mountains, I saw no varieties of squirrels or chipmunks. In North and South America, members of that family abound. I found their absence here curious. Finally in that garden oasis in Kathmandu I spotted a chipmunk-like mammal called a palm squirrel.

What is common in Kathmandu is monkeys.

Tomorrow we mount vehicles for a bumpy 4-hour drive to a resort near the Royal Chitwan forest near the Indian border.

Everest Trail Hike Day 8

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 10:56:00 +0000

Most visitors to the Everest region pass through Lukla. It is the gateway to the frontier and the last town you visit on the way out. It is a sprawling town just a cut above towns further up the valley due to being the center of commerce.

We departed Phakding at 8:30 AM for the last hike of our Everest region trek. The trail rose and fell as we passed through temperate conifer forests (remarkably like in Ontario) and into the main agricultural area in the valley.

Small farm plots in foreground and terraced fields across the valley

We crossed two more suspension bridges. The ascent to Lukla (150 meters higher than Phakding) gave my lungs one more good workout.

As we entered the town, I spotted another technological contrast. Amidst a town of Internet, cell phones, and helicopters, I passed a teenager carrying a horse-drawn plough made entirely of wood. It is likely that the same device was in use in this area hundreds of years ago.

We reached the town by 11:30 and hiked through its slate-slab streets to our lodge beside the airport. I marveled again at the skill of the pilots as they flew in and out—about four planes an hour at peak times. The nearby heliport was busy too.

I ensconced myself in a Starbucks that offered free wifi—the first free access I've found in Nepal. The place was bright with natural light. It had comfy chairs and good coffee. I did some blogging and caught up with emails.

Lukla main street

After 7.5 days of sun, it began raining, heavily at times, just after we entered our lodge. Wet snow mingled with the rain. While it melted in Lukla, the white veil remained on the trees above town.

I hoped the weather cleared by dawn. Planes cannot land in Lukla if clouds or fog hide the runway.

Everest Region Hike Day 7

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:56:00 +0000

Today we began the hike back to Lukla and the airport. In 3.5 hours of walking we covered the same ground in reverse as day 2 and 3 together, going from Namche to Phakding.

We left Namche at 9 AM and reached the white waters of Dohd Kosi in an hour. We crossed the first of five suspension bridges we had to traverse that day. The air at river level is thicker and warmer.

Trains of mules and jokiyos also use the bridges. They have absolute right of way. On bridges, you can squeeze by mules but not the wider jokiyos. You have to back up.

On trails, you step aside when they approach. And if you get behind them on a narrow trail, you eat their dust.

Most of the trail is down with a few short ascents. While going down is easier on the lungs, it his harder on the old knees.

The river is never out of view as you hike the canyon forests. The roar is always with you. The untamed and undammed river offers miles and miles of superb whitewater, but nary a kayaker was in sight.

View of the river through pines and rhododendron trees

My nose became so aggravated by dust the previous days—constant runny nose—that I bought a buff (a thin fabric neck tube) as I'd seen many others wear. You pull it over your nose bandit-style. It helped. My shocked sinuses are recovering.

Everest Region Hike Day 6

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 08:49:00 +0000

As has been my habit, I rise when the first faint light of dawn illuminates the mountains and go for a walk before breakfast. Everest looks lovely in morning light.

Everest is on the left just peeking over a closer ridge

Thyangboche is the site of an impressive Buddhist monastery. As I walked about, I could hear gongs during the morning prayer service.

After breakfast, we retraced our route of yesterday.

The way we came and the way back

Down the steep slope to the river, across the suspension bridge and up the far side we trek. The ascents this day were only about 1/3 the time and effort as the previous day. It is the last serious uphill effort remaining on this trip.

The trail is dusty—a mix of granite dust and powdered dung. My nose runs continuously. Much of the dust comes from the many yak trains going up and down.

Yak up close

I take my time. I am trying to spot birds and mammals. My guide Pasang and porter Davess have good eyes and point out birds. They know the names of just two; so I make field notes. I will use the Web or a book later to get their names. Pasang spotted several monal pheasants, the national bird of Nepal. He also located a herd of Himalayan Tahr, a type of mountain goat.

Monal pheasant

We reach Namche by 12:30 and wolf down our lunch. After that I head over to the Namche Cyber Cafe. I've been here three times. They let me work on my blog and recharge the notebook's battery as I sip good coffee. When I have my posts ready and pictures edited, I rent some Wifi connect time to post the stories. They have a Canadian flag in the window.

I had several coffees today. I do not care if it inhibits acclamation. We are heading back tomorrow and it's mostly downhill. I may even have a beer.

Everest Region Hike Day 5

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 10:31:00 +0000

Today I was a much hardier trekker and I think I have Tang to thank.

Last night as I lay in bed, I pondered why I felt so wiped after a hike: I have hiked at altitude before. On the day we arrived in Namche, I even had a bout of the chills, and had to lay inside my sleeping bag until I stopped shivering. I had a flash back to cycling decades ago on a hot summer day. I had shivers then too. I found out later that I had an electrolyte deficiency. My veggie-only diet and a dearth of bananas has sapped my system.

At dawn this morning I searched the few grocery shops for Gatorade or equivalent. The best I could get was powdered Tang, so I gave it a try.

We set out this morning for a six-hour hike to Thyangboche, the next village up the Everest Trail. After a 50-meter climb out of Namche, we followed a more-or-less horizontal trail. It hugged the mountain at the tree line. The even ground provided a great opportunity to watch the scenery instead of focusing on my plodding feet. Everest was visible.

Shrine pointing to Lhotse with Everest on the left.

After 2 hours we headed down a steep, rocky trail through forests of birch, pine and fir. In one rocky pass by a stream stands a forest of rhododendrons and birch with dangling lichen.

Lichen in birch

We stopped at the trail bottom at a lodge at Phunkitenga (3250 meters). We are near the eighth and last suspension bridge over the swirling white waters of Dudh Kosi. The water comes from the melting ice of the Khumba glacier at Everest.

We had lunch at the lodge and rested for an hour. The climb to Thyangboche (3877 meters) is 627 meters up with no flat spots, the longest climb of the adventure.

Everest Trail

By the time I started the climb, I was on my second liter of mango Tang. I kept up a steady pace, with just short rests, for 100 minutes to the summit. I left my hiking mates behind. At the top, I did not feel flat. Tang Power!

Last suspension bridge

We are bunked in the Himalayan View Lodge. The rooms are like a low-rent hostel: small, only two tiny beds, no water and no heat. Like most lodges on the trail, the only heat comes from wood stoves in the dining room. Little warmth gets to the upstairs. (Another reality of most lodges I have visited is than none have a second exit. There is just one way out in case of fire.)

This high, most of the draft animals are yaks.

A cloud rolled in as we arrived. It is damp and chilly. I am glad Peregrine loaned us down jackets.

Thyangboche is the furthest along the Everest Trail we will go. It is still a four day hike to the Everest base camp. The dining room is crowded with trekkers seeking heat. As in other places, some are heading up and others down. The room hums with many languages and accents. It reminds me of the bar scene from Star Wars.

Everest Region Hike Day 4

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 10:52:00 +0000

Today we set out on a five-hour day hike that took us to the highest elevation of our trek and presented closer views of Everest.

Leaving Namche Bazaar before 8 AM, we trudged up steep trails and steps as the sun melted the night frost. For 2 hours, we climbed over 400 meters to a high-altitude hotel at 3880 meters.

Everest is the middle peak next to the black one. Lhotse is on the right

Everest is still many miles away. It takes another 4 days to walk to base camp, and the mountain summit is 5000 meters higher than our spot.

There are birch trees here with salmon-colored park. Streamers of lichen (like Spanish moss) dangle from branches. That suggests it is cloudy here often.

From there we hiked down 100 meters to the village of Khumjung. It is a largely agrarian village of nearly identical stone buildings. The town was a favorite of Sir Edmund Hillary, who helped found a school. Again the contrasts abound. There are Internets cafes but many people still burn dried animal dung for cooking.

The town is not on the main trail, and gets far fewer visitors. The trail had less traffic.

We visited a monastery that claims to have a yeti skull. For 50 rupees we were given a view behind glass. Looks more like a beaver hat to me.

Inside the monastery

In many villages and places along the trail, we pass prayer bells. You spin them. A bell rings at each revolution. Some are small like those below. Some are large. Some are connected to paddle wheels over streams so the water spins them.

We climbed back over the ridge and returned to Namche by a different route. I am glad we hike just 5 hours. The thin air wears me down. Climbing up the trails I do a slow step-breathe-step routine.

We passed the shrine above perched on the high point on the journey back. The trail goes on both sides like other shrines. It is custom to always pass on the left side of such shrines.

The schedule gives us lots of free time in the afternoon in Namche. I read on an outdoor patio, shop for gifts and hang out in an Internet cafe, where I posted this story..

The weather has been sunny and dry. Nights go below freezing but the sun heats the mountains by day. The food is reasonable and cheap. On the advice of my guide, we are staying away from most meat and cheese. There is little refrigeration and everything is shipped in, often overland. I am abstaining from beer at this altitude and drink lots of tea. Alcohol hits harder up here and can reduce the benefits of acclamation.

Everest Region Hike Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 10:30:00 +0000

We left Monju and enter the Sagarmathu National Park, which includes Everest. We had an easy hike along the Milk River for about an hour. At a fork in the river, we ascended to a high suspension bridge and thus began a tough 2-hour trek up a set of steep switchbacks through scenery so magnificent that an undisciplined person could easily drain a camera battery.

The trail is rougher here. In many places it is just a dusty track barely wide enough for the up and down trekkers to pass each other. Half way up, we get our first view of Everest's snowy peak rising above all her sisters. (The Sherpas believe Everest is a goddess named Chomolungma.)

Everest is on the left.

The half day hike took us up to 3440 meters and I feel every one of those 600 new meters in my legs. I was fine when we were under 3000 meters, but I feel the thinner air more now.

We arrive at Namche Bazaar, the biggest town in the region. It is a cluster of stone buildings on steep and narrow streets.

View of Namche. Buddhist shrine on my left.

Typical Namche street.

The town is a study in contrasts. Villagers wash their laundry in a mountain stream and chat on cell phones. Despite the fact that everything is either carried in or flown in to a nearby airstrip, prices are reasonable. A 500 ml beer is 500 rupees, about $6. A meal is between 200 and 600 rupees. A room in a decent lodge costs 200 rupees a night, 500 with a toilet. There are 85 rupees to a Canadian dollar. So the room or a meal are just a few bucks. Yet, Internet access costs 350 rupees for an hour. We stayed at the best lodge of the trek. A 2-day stay with 6 meals amounted to $54.

My trek mate and I paid an extra 300 rupees each to get rooms with toilets. For about $3.50, it was worth it.

View from my hotel room

Namche Bazaar marks the zone between relatively easy trekking and the hard stuff. In chats with others on the way back from treks, it is cold and hard on the trail to Everest base camp and other destinations nearby. The dust and cold can cause a cough, called the Khumba cough after the Everest glacier, so hard it can crack ribs. Sprained ankles and altitude sickness prevent many from making it. Occasionally people drop dead. I picked the right trek for me.

Everest Region Hike Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 14:27:00 +0000

I starting writing this post on a sunny afternoon patio in Monju (our second night stop), looking down the steep mountain gorge we hiked up this morning. Next to the patio are two solar water heaters and a solar cooker. The patio buzzes with many languages as trekkers lounge between hikes. A glass of local beer sits on the table.

We left Phakding about 9 AM and had a pleasant three-hour hike to here. The trail followed Dudh Kosi (Milk River) as yesterday and climbed to 2835 meters. At night in bed, I can hear the river's roar.

Dohd Kosi (Milk River)

The trail crosses the river in many places on suspension bridges.

One of 8 suspension bridges on the trail

Thamsherku Peak showed its head and watched us most of the day. Below I stand in front of it.

The forests here are mainly pine; the most common being a twin of our eastern Canada white pine (fine needle clusters with a white stripe). There are also close cousins of fir, spruce, willow, beech and walnut. There are also rhododendrons the size of trees. Birds too have familiar forms: variations on crows, chickadees, and thrushes.

Everest Region Hike Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 14:03:00 +0000

The landing in Lukla is like no other. There is no margin for error.

The single runway clings to a promontory jutting from the town. The runway begins at the top of a cliff, ascends at a 12 degree angle (to help planes slow down) and ends 400 meters later at a rock wall.

Lukla Airfield

Our fully loaded (19 people and baggage) Twin Otter touched down and immediately the flaps went fully up and the engines reversed with a roar. Just meters from the end, the plane does at hard right into the arrival/departure area. Our plane reloads and roars down the runway, leaving the ground 20 meters before the end.

After lunch, our small group begins hiking to our destination 4 hours away. The trail is very reminiscent of the Inca Trail in Peru. There are steps of varying height with more or less flatish rocks, a mosaic of of shaped cobbles, and patches of rocky dirt.

Typical trail in lower area

The trail is the single ribbon of commerce as we hike up the Dudh Kosi (Milk River) valley. Everything from beer to construction material goes up this trail. Goods are carried by men, mules, ponies, and most often cattle-yak cross the locals call jukiyos. All draught animals have bells. As they shuffle long, they sound like a discordant percussion group.

Trekkers outnumber the other trail users. While not crowded by people, it is rare you see it empty ahead of you. Tourism seems to be causing a building boom. There are many new buildings, usually made of hand-quarried and hand-shaped stone, with wooden poles embedded in the walls for floor supports.

The river and its many tributaries are spanned with metal bridges, including suspensions for the longer crossings.

In many places the trail goes past rocks carved with prayers (Hindu), such as below.

The first night we spend in a lodge in Phakding. We have actually dropped 200 meters to 2650.

Electricity (enough for lights) comes from a series of small hydro generators tapping the power of the tributaries. Cooking relies on wood and propane. Heating is limited to a wood stove in one common eating room, not bedrooms. A good sleeping bag is needed.

Kathmandu Temples

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:02:00 +0000

Today (November 4) we visited the Hindu temple of Pashupatinath on the banks of the holy Bagmati River, and the Buddhist temple of Bodhnath Stupa (next image)..

Pashupatinath (next few images) is a series of shrines and temples, some 1600 years old, that include cremation sites. Cremation is a public event. Several bodies were burning at our visit and the smell of wood smoke is pervasive.

Mumbai to Kathmandu: The Slow Road

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 16:51:00 +0000

I arrived at the Mumbai airport about 11:30 PM local time November 2. The jet passengers disembarked to a bus that unloaded us in a domestic arrival area. I was expecting to wind up in a secure transit area, as at other airports. So, I had to exit the airport and enter by another nearby gate. The young soldier who checked my documents nearly didn't let me in because my flight was 10 hours away. After I said I had no place arranged to stay, he waved me in. (He was a pleasant chap. No complaints.)

Note: security here is high. Lots of soldiers with automatic weapons. It is the only place where I and my baggage was screened twice. Understandable considering the Mumbai terrorism assault a few years ago.

I tried to get in to the secure departure area but an older immigration clerk said it was too soon and he was not about to bend. There are some waiting areas and cafes in the arrivals area next to the flight checkins and that is where I stayed. It has all the charm of a bus station.

I could not access the airport wifi because they require a mobile number for verification. You know me—no cell.

The airport is bustling but partially air conditioned, which is good considering the warm humid air outside. The airport never gets quiet. Even at 5 AM, knots of people move about.

I stayed awake, reading my Kobo and writing a few scenes from my next novel. I find I write well when sleep derived. How would have thought~

At 7 AM November 3, I tried to check in to the secure area again and was successful. I regret not getting in earlier.That area has more seating,more shops and is cleaner.

The Mumbai time zone is 9.5 hours ahead of Ottawa time and Kathmandu is 9:45 ahead..

The Mumbai airport lacks the efficiency and fast processing pace of the Brussels airport. The jet that was scheduled to leave Mumbai at 10:40 didn't taxi until noon. It was due in part to having to bus us 20 minutes around the airport to reach the jet, even though many gantries were empty.

After two hours flying time, we landed in Kathmandu at 2 PM. It is a small airport about the size of the one in Kelowna or Thunder Bay. What they lack in size, they make up for in complexity. A few hundred people stood in line for over an hour to pay our visa fees and get various papers stamped by a clutch of four men. In developing nations, functionaries proliferate. After yet another line to get through customs, I located the driver to take me to the hotel in Kathmandu.

Wow. It is like any movie of sprawling Asia you have ever seen. The traffic rules are beyond our Western comprehension. The roads are rough (keeps the speed down), and the route meanders.

The system worked. I did manage to get to the assigned hotel and meet the tour guide and the other trekker (yes, there is just two of us). After an hour's chat about the days ahead, I exited to my room for a “nap” after 29 sleepless hours.

It's the Destination, Not the Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Shaun J. McLaughlin) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:48:00 +0000

Emerson said: "Life is a journey, not a destination.” With jet travel, it is the destination that counts—the journey by aircraft is wearing.

The flight to Toronto and then on to Brussels took 12 hours. The trans-Atlantic flight was at night. I hoped for some sleep. Not a chance. There must have been 30 kids under 6. At least two could be counted on to be howling in close proximity at any moment. The narrow isles are not designed for an increasing weight-gaining populace. Many people cannot walk the aisles—and someone was always walking—without brushing against people in the aisle seats, like me.

So I arrived in Brussels a bit of a Zombie—not unusual for the day after Halloween—and took the train into the city and my hotel. I arrived at 9 AM local time, 4 AM home time. Fortunately, I could check in immediately. I napped for four hours.

Refreshed, I walked 2 km to the Grand Place, a pedestrian only central square and surrounding streets full of old buildings, shops and eateries. I had a Belgian beer and a sandwich at the Roy d' Espagne, an 1697 building that several friends recommended on the Grand Place.

Here's a few pictures of the Grand Place:

I leave tomorrow morning for Mumbai, India—a long flight followed by a 10-hour layover before the leg to Kathmandu. My journey to Brussels was just training for the next two days. Yikes!