What a difference a day makes

A pleasant surprise. We are camping in the yard of a tea house and took a walk to small mountain hotel


that has wifi. So I'm offering this special edition of the blog. I doubt I will post another one until next Wednesday.

Promod, our leader, is a wonderful man. He is 42 (he says he is 16 when he rides 😊), has two children, a boy three and a girl almost nine. He has worked at Himalaya Expeditions for 18 years. His wife Sujata must be a saint. Promod does six trips a year, some two weeks long, some three. In addition to this Pokhara to Katmandu trip he leads one Lhasa, Tibet to Kanthmandu. Part of that trip goes to Everest base camp. It's not for the feint of heart. It's not technical but you have to be strong and incredibly fit and able to handle very high altitudes.

Promod also occasionally leads trekking trips. Management just asked him to do Upper Mustang in a few weeks. Amazingly high altitude and steep terrain. Incredible. The online reviews about this trip are all very positive about Promod. Dersvingly so. He is terrific.

Today Promod led us from the hotel on a busy paved road for seven kilometers east out of Pokhra where we turned left on a obscure dirt road and then headed up a steep hill that continued for many kilometers. It was a challenging test to our fitness, but with a few stops along the way, we made it up the 4,000 ft. incline without incident.

The decent was about 15 kilometers, mostly on dirt roads and single track. There was one kilometer stretch along a newly paved winding road which was a great change of pace and provided something more within my comfort zone. I really flew in that section and enjoyed it immensely. The accompanying vista was to die for, so to speak. Miles and miles of different shades of green dipping into valleys along a bunch of placid lakes and peppered with colorful shacks and shanties.

We traveled through a number of small mountain villages, all with little children waving and yelling to us. Their excitement doesn't get old. These villages never have western visitors, certainly none on high-end mountain bikes. I feel like a celebrity when all the yelling begins. Hi, or I should say hiiiiii, echoes through the streets when we arrive. I return with a hi every time, without fail. I love it. Such joy in the kid's faces.

What a difference a day makes. I was so much more comfortable on the down hills today, even the technical ones. Tim provided a number of helpful tips. Lower my seat, sit way back, keep my eyes further in the distance, relax my body, let my bike do the work. I was even enjoying it. I kept my pace at a comfortable one, rattling over the rocks like a skier does moguls, letting my body rise and fall to the rhythm of the bike.

There was one segment at the end when Promod announced again that we were entering a tricky technical section but this one had stairs. He mentioned it so casually that I thought I would be able to do it. Well, only Tim could follow him and even he couldn't do the whole thing. It was a rocky decline that finished off with a steep 200 meter set of stone stairs that took two 90 degree turns, the first one right and the second one left. Promod is a fit (you should see his calves), fearless wild man. He had done this trip 40 plus times. In fact he spend four months specking it out himself. He know every nook and cranny of the 250 mile route. He is a wonderful man but he needs to be reminded that he is in a league of his own. I would think few people on this earth could take the route he just led us down.

Thanks it now. Namaste!

George



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Nepal

What a difference a day makes

A pleasant surprise. We are camping in the yard of a tea house and took a walk to small mountain hotel that has wife. So I'm offering this special edition of the blog. I doubt I will post another one until next Wednesday.

Promod, our leader, is a wonderful man. He is 42 (he says he is 16 when he rides 😊), has two children, a boy three and a girl almost nine. He has worked at Himalaya Expeditions for 18 years. His wife Sujata must be a saint. Promod does six trips a year, some two weeks long, some three. In addition to this Pokhara to Katmandu trip he leads one Lhasa, Tibet to Kanthmandu. Part of that trip goes to Everest base camp. It's not for the feint of heart. It's not technical but you have to be strong and incredibly fit and able to handle very high altitudes.

Promod also occasionally leads trekking trips. Management just asked him to do Upper Mustang in a few weeks. Amazingly high altitude and steep terrain. Incredible. The online reviews about this trip are all very positive about Promod. Dersvingly so. He is terrific.

Today Promod led us from the hotel on a busy paved road for seven kilometers east out of Pokhra where we turned left on a obscure dirt road and then headed up a steep hill that continued for many kilometers. It was a challenging test to our fitness, but with a few stops along the way, we made it up the 4,000 ft. incline without incident.

The decent was about 15 kilometers, mostly on dirt roads and single track. There was one kilometer stretch along a newly paved winding road which was a great change of pace and provided something more within my comfort zone. I really flew in that section and enjoyed it immensely. The accompanying vista was to die for, so to speak. Miles and miles of different shades of green dipping into valleys along a bunch of placid lakes and peppered with colorful shacks and shanties.

We traveled through a number of small mountain villages, all with little children waving and yelling to us. Their excitement doesn't get old. These villages never have western visitors, certainly none on high-end mountain bikes. I feel like a celebrity when all the yelling begins. Hi, or I should say hiiiiii, echoes through the streets when we arrive. I return with a hi every time, without fail. I love it. Such joy in the kid's faces.

What a difference a day makes. I was so much more comfortable on the down hills today, even the technical ones. Tim provided a number of helpful tips. Lower my seat, sit way back, keep my eyes further in the distance, relax my body, let my bike do the work. I was even enjoying it. I kept my pace at a comfortable one, rattling over the rocks like a skier does moguls, letting my body rise and fall to the rhythm of the bike.

There was one segment at the end when Promod announced again that we were entering a tricky technical section but this one had stairs. He mentioned it so casually that I thought I would be able to do it. Well, only Tim could follow him and even he couldn't do the whole thing. It was a rocky decline that finished off with a steep 200 meter set of stone stairs that took two 90 degree turns, the first one right and the second one left. Promod is a fit (you should see his calves), fearless wild man. He had done this trip 40 plus times. In fact he spend four months specking it out himself. He know every nook and cranny of the 250 mile route. He is a wonderful man but he needs to be reminded that he is in a league of his own. I would think few people on this earth could take the route he just led us down.

Thanks it now. Namaste!

George



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Nepal

Today Things Got Real

Today, things got real. We did a 30 miles up into the hills and returned mid day to Pokhara. I had thought that it would be a breeze given that I do more than than on my road bike most Saturdays and Sundays. Well, not so fast.

We left the hotel at 8 a.m. After stopping to buy me a water bottle (yet another thing that i forgot to bring), we headed out of town on the busy road north. For and hour plus we fought the heavy traffic. The motorcycles, scooters, trucks, cars and assorted jury rigged vehicles all jockeyed for the same space without much respect for who should be in the left or right lanes. Navigating through this was us, trying to predict driver behavior in an entirely unpredictable setting.

Around 9:15 we turned off of the main tarmac road onto dirt path and spent most of the next two hours tackling a steep incline. In total we biked for five hours and climbed 3,300 feet. On a mountain bike, it's the uphills that test your fitness and the downhills that challenge your courage. I found the ascent to be manageable. The descent was uneven, rocky, jarring, bone rattling terror. At least for me it was. The others blasted down over the boulders, roots and rocks. Their years of experience made this a dream thrill ride for them.

After a particularly frightening stretch, we came to a rest for a banana and water. Then Promod announces "Now we are entering a very technical section". 'Technical' is one of those mountain biking euphemisms. Translation; scary as crap - steeper, narrower, bigger and sharper rocks - you get the picture.

I emerged from the technical section well after the rest with lots of humility and with a flat tire. Silly me. I didn't know to hang my butt off the back of the seat to lessen the risk of going over the handle bars but also to take my weight off of rear wheel. Thankfully, Promod replaced the tube in a jiff and we were back on our way.

We pulled back into town by way of my bus incident yesterday, stop at a restaurant to order lunch, zipped back to the hotel for shower and then returned for a relaxing lakeside respite. I had a Greek salad. Tim offered me a glass of his water. It was a glorious spot to regain my equilibrium and to slowly nature my confidence for tomorrow. Because tomorrow, it starts for real.

After lunch the others returned to the hotel for some rest and relaxation. I went in search of an ATM that would recognize my six digit PIN. For whatever reason, most of the machines around town cap out at five digits. I finally found a place towards the end of town. I withdrew the daily max 10,000 rupees. Since there was an fun lakeside, bohemian looking coffee shop next door, decided to go in, use the wifi and maybe chat with a few people. With little notice, a violent storm, somewhat like the one in Kathmandu on Sunday, came whiping across across the lake; intense winds, hail and torrential rain. I captured the beginning of it on time-lapse video. A bunch of people crowed around. Time lapse was alien to them.

The storm lasted nearly an hour. I whiled the time talking with a German and a Brit. The German was there for a meditation retreat. The Englishman was in search of an adventure. He seemed to like the sound of our mountain biking. He said that he will research it and maybe give it a go.

As I was sitting there I remembered that I had left a bunch of clothes on my hotel balcony. The rain was so heavy it made little sense for me to rush back. Instead I pondered a bit. First, I was grateful that I hadn't convinced the shop owner to let me paraglide at this very moment. Second, i wondered whether the hotel would have some plastic garbage bags that I could put my wet clothing in for tomorrow's travel.

As I made my way back in the rain, I stopped into a couple of shops; first to look at sunglasses and then to check out some bike shorts. I could use another pair. I came away empty-handed. Nothing caught my fancy.

After picking up my laundry at the Busy Bee, a cold drinks - beauty spa - massage parlor- room for rent - laundry place across from our hotel (maybe I should open one of these in Boston), I returned to my room. From the courtyard I could not see my clothes on the balcony. I wondered whether the intense winds had blown them away. Low and behold, when I entered my room, there they were. The staff had graciously brought them in. They were all dry. What a nice touch. I had wondered whether my karma would be lost after the old lady incident at the airport. Apparently not. Phew.

Tonight is our last night in a hotel. Tomorrow morning we start our seven day bike journey to Kathmandu. We will be riding jeep roads, "technical" single track and a little bit of tarmac, camping along the way.

You can see our route for today in the adjacent map.


If there are any wired villages in route, I will try to blog. If not, I'll do so next Wednesday in Kathmandu.

Have a great week everyone.
-g.


Sent from George's iPhone

A Little Mishap

Yesterday was a long but rewarding day. We caught an early flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara. On the way to the airport Promod instructed us to board the tarmac shuttle bus last so that we would be the first ones off and in the best position to board the 25 seat Yeti Airlines puddle jumper. The best seats are on the right-hand side and would give you unobstructed aerial views of the Himalayas








and more specifically, the Annapurna Circuit. I couldn't miss that.

Promod's advice worked like a charm. He got out of the bus first. I was second. While waiting at the base of the stairs to board, an elderly woman walked up to the front of the line wanting to get ahead of us. At that moment the flight attendant waved us up. So intent on getting a choice seat, we blasted up the stairs leaving her behind. It was a horrible thing to do. I was guilt-ridden the entire flight, so much so that after retrieving our bags in Pokhara, I had Promod join me in approaching the woman so that he could translate my apology to her.

In the airport I met a father and son team (see photo)








who were going to spend the next 60 days climbing Mt Everest. They had planned to do it last year and had made it nearly to base camp when the earthquake hit. They were lucky to escape alive. Now they are here to try again. God speed fellas. You are brave soles.

After arriving in Pokhara around 8:30 we went straight to the hotel where we dumped our bags and ventured off to go white water rafting. We jumped into a rickety old bus, with a tour guide and a few helpers and drove about 45 minutes up towards

















the mountains where we jumped out, donned our wet suits, received a brief training from our guide Min, and launched the boat. We were accompanied








by a guide in a kayak whose sole job was to drag us to safety if we fell into the water.

What a marvelous two hours





it was. Along the way we saw a lots of little kids waving to us, men and women farming boulders and rocks and loading them on to dump trucks, a river bank funeral where a body was being cremated and spectacular views of white capped mountain peaks unlike anything I had ever seen. Spellbinding!
See video link for a brief look at our paddling; http://youtu.be/TPK_DyNGLeg

We got back to the hotel in the early afternoon, got dressed into our bike gear, set up the bikes and headed out for a 15 mile test ride.






It took awhile for me to get used to the bike but I started to get the hang of it after an hour or so. Of course the others were bombing through the streets moments after we left the hotel. As feared, these guys are accomplished mountain bikers.

I did have a little mishap on the way back. A bus packed with people, some hanging out of the windows and doors, was approaching us down a very narrow road. I assumed the driver would take the extra couple of feet to his left so that I could pass. No such luck. He continued to hug our side of the road. By the time I realized what he was doing it was too late. He squeezed me off the road. There wasn't time or space for me to clip out of my pedal. I went down, my bike half sliding under the bus. The bus was able to abruptly stop. Thankfully. I got away with a few scrapes and a bruised ego. It could have been much worse.

I think the incident was a good thing. It acted as a good reminder for me that this place has its own culture and different rules of the road. It also reminded me that I shouldn't try to exceed my riding limits. I'll do my best to adhere to this.

I now know why they told us to bring extra inner tubes and tires. After we got outside of town, the roads were all dirt and covered with rocks; large and small. Some were sharp and pointed. At first I tried to dodge them but that proved fruitless. There were way too many. Instead I learned to relax, take them head on and let the bike's suspension do the work. It worked. It was a ton of fun.

We are going on a 30 mile loop this morning into the low mountains and then coming back to Pokhara. I begged the adventure shop owner to take me paragliding in the afternoon.








He refused. He said the winds are too gusty and unpredictable in the afternoon. I offered him double but he said no. 😢

I've included some photos from the bus ride to the rafting. Enjoy!

G.

Sent from my iPad


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Pokhara, Nepal

A Change of Plans; White Water Rafting

We just had a wonderful dinner at the Killroy, a nearby place recommended by the locals. We were joined by the owner of the tour company, Bikram Pandey and Pande Shikharr, one of his senior employees. It was great of them to join us. Bikram is one of the leading voices in Nepal in trying to get post-earthquake tourism back on track. He expressed his gratitude to us (I captured it on video but the wifi isn't good enough to upload it) and said that we were pioneers in jumpstarting the Nepal tourism recovery. This country really needs Pete to start coming back. It's a magnificent place. If you enjoy challenging hiking, trekking or biking, Nepal is for you. Please come. Bring your friends too.
Shikharr was telling us about Mt. Everest and the effort necessary to get to Basecamp and then Camps 1-5. The physical toughest, the mental strain, the time, the money; it's insane. About one in five dies trying to reach the summit. I'm all for adventure but I'd prefer something with a little better odds than that. Shikharr organizes trekking and biking trips all through the region. He does an amazing job. There were many other stories told at dinner and we shared a lot of laughs. It was a marvelous night.
Now I'm packing in preparation for an early wake up call and a short flight to Pokhara. We've changed out plans a bit. We are going to spend the day white river rafting, rather than exploring the town. I can't wait.
Today, after a morning of sightseeing, a nice lunch and a trip to the bike shop to check out our mountain bike, we returned to the hotel. After dropping stuff in our rooms, we went to the pool to relax for a bit. Awhile later I was half asleep on my cot when I heard Stephen say, "The only good thing about being bald is that you know it's raining before anyone else." I opened my eyes as Nick added, "Oh yeah, it's starting to rain. Holy shit, look at that cloud. Pretty ominous." It wasn't ten second later that a violent wind gust blasted us from out of nowhere. Cushions started flying, trees were bending, the hotel's construction canvas was shredding, workers scrambled and the other poolside guests sprinted for shelter. I'd never seen anything like it. It was completely calm one minute and 80+ mph winds the next. I could tell by the workers demeanor that this was unusual for them too. I was a little slow in taking video but I did capture a few seconds towards the end. See link; http://youtu.be/fFoTxV6S9qY
Th accompanying rain is just what was needed around here. It knocks the smog and pollutants out of the air, at least temporarily. The dirty air really takes a toll on you. Besides the sore throat and coughing, a film of soot covers you. After taking a shower this afternoon, the water left in the tub was a reddish copper color.
Our sightseeing tour took us to the Monkey Temple (named for all of the monkeys running around) and Dubar Square, the site of the Royal Palace built in the 1400's. Unfortunately several of the buildings in the square collapsed in the recent earthquake.
That's it for now. Time to sleep.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Kathmandu,Nepal

Nepal needs Your Help

We just had a wonderful dinner at the Killroy, a nearby place recommended by the locals. We were joined by the owner of the local tour company, Bikram Pandey (see video) and Shikharr, one of his senior employees. It was so great of them to join us. Bikram is one of the leading voices in Nepal and India in trying to get post-earthquake tourism back on track. He was genuinely grateful for us coming on this trip and recognized us as pioneers in jumpstarting the Nepal tourism recovery. This country really needs your help. It's a magnificent place. If you enjoy extreme hiking, trekking or biking, this is the place for you. Please come and bring your friends.
Shikharr was sharing stories about Everest climbs and the effort necessary to get to Basecamp and the Camps 1-5. The physical toughest, the mental strain, the time and the money are insane. Shikharr organizes trekking and biking trips all through the region. He does an amazing job.
There were many other stories and a bunch of laughs. Now I'm packing in preparation for an early wake up call and a short flight to Pokhara where we will start the day white river rafting. Fun.
Today, after a morning of sightseeing, a nice lunch and a trip to the bike shop to check out our mountain bike, we returned to the hotel. After dropping stuff in our rooms, we went to the pool to relax for a bit. Awhile later I was half asleep on my cot when I heard Stephen say, "The only good thing about being bald is that you know it's raining before anyone else." I opened my eyes as Nick added, "Oh yeah, it's starting to rain. Holy shit, look at that cloud. Pretty ominous." It wasn't ten second later that a violent wind gust blasted us from out of nowhere. Cushions started flying, trees were bending, the hotel's construction canvas was shredding, workers scrambled and the other poolside guests sprinted for shelter. I'd never seen anything like it. It was completely calm one minute and 80+ mph winds the next. I could tell by the workers demeanor that this was unusual for them too. I was a little slow in taking video but I did capture a few seconds towards the end. See link.





Th accompanying rain is just was needed around here. It knows the smog and pollutants out of the air, at least temporarily. The dirty air really takes a toll on you. Besides the sorest throat and the coughing, your body gets covered from head toe. After taking a shower this afternoon, the water left in the tub was a reddish copper color. Gross.
Our sightseeing tour took us to the Monkey Temple (named for all of the monkeys running around) and Dubar Square, the site of the Royal Palace built in xxx. Unfortunately several of the buildings in the square collapsed in the recent earthquake.
Hindu has 32 million gods and 27 million people in Nepal.



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Location:Kathmandu,Nepal

I think I am in trouble

Happy Monday. I'm sitting by the pool waiting for the sun to rise. Crazy sounds all around; crows and dogs close by and motorcycles in the distance. A strong smell of smog and smoke is hanging in the air. There is a hotel worker keeping close watch. He clearly is waiting for me to ignore the sign that says "Pool open from. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m." Someone must have warned him about me.

The group got together for the first time last night. I think I am in trouble. I mentioned in my prior post that Nick owns three mountain bikes and travels to different countries to race. Tim and Stephen, also Brits, are avid bikers too. Tim was on a trip here ten years ago. On that visit he rode for 21 days and on some days surpassed altitudes of 17,000 feet. 17,000 feet! That's a few thousand feet higher than the highest point in the Rockies. I think the only part of the United States higher than that is Mt. McKinley in Alaska. Yikes! I have only been on a mountain bike twice in my life. What have I gotten myself into?

Our trip leader's name is Pramod. He's been doing these adventures for 20 years. He does about ten a year and leads people through the Himalayas in Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan. Many, like the one that Tim was, require that you acclimate for a couple of days before proceeding past 14K feet. On some you need to carry your bike across jagged, icy and otherwise unridable paths. Maybe next year.

Pramod's English is a bit difficult to understand. I'm hoping that it will get easier? If you want to read about the small family-run company that Pramod works, see http://www.himalayaexpeditions.com/home#mountain_biking .

Here in Kathmandu the signs of April's earthquake are everywhere, including at our hotel, the Shanker. The hotel is a palace-like place that occupies many acres and is accessible only through a long driveway from the major road. Unfortunately the facade


is covered with construction canvas. A team of people is repairing the structural earthquake damage to the front of the building.

Beyond the obvious infrastructural damage, the Nepal economy has also been hit hard. This country is reliant on visitors and since April, tourism has all but evaporated. There are only four of us on this trip. Normally there would be two to three times that. We have Pramod as our leader and two other people driving our support van. It's difficult to imagine how they can make it financially viable with only four of us.

I spoiled myself with an hour massage yesterday. My most significant challenge of the day was trying to decide what type to get.
From the menu;
AYURVEDIC MASSAGE
TREKKER'S MASSAGE
SPINAL MASSAGE
DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE
AROMATHERAPY MASSAGE
SWEDISH MASSAGE
HEAD AND SHOULDER
REFLEXOLOGY

Each is available in 60, 90 and 120 minutes. I didn't know what any of them were so I winged it. I asked for the 60 minute Swedish. It was terrific. No better way to get the muscles ready for ten challenging days on a bike. When we return, I just might opt for the two hour one.

Today we have our formal tour of the city. It will be nice to learn a few things about the place rather than just wander and soak in the environs.

Looking forward to it.

G.






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Location:Kathmandu,Nepal

"Trump is an asshole"

It's Easter Sunday here in a country that's almost entirely Hindu. No church bells, Easter eggs or families in their Easter finest. Just me, watching the orange sun rise glowing





through the smog, waiting for breakfast to begin and for another day of exploring this manic city. I'm a tinge sad not to be with family on this holiday. All the more reason to get out and going. The distraction will do me good.

Yesterday I awoke early, had a quick bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee and then ventured out into Kathmandu. Oh my goodness. I knew the pace here would be different but wow. It's crazy. Absolute chaos; buzzing scooters, barreling trucks, ceaseless honking,








left-driving traffic (for those that choose to follow the rules), dirt, smog, shrieking vendors, impoverishment, aggressive and endless beggars, deafening noise. Complete sensory overload. It was disorienting and unnerving and though I had to stop a few times to get re-centered, I enjoyed every minute of it. Every minute that is except for the pollution. The air quality in Kathmandu is a big problem.



My throat is already sore. When I blow my nose what comes out is black. Many people wear hospital masks. I'm tempted to get one too.

After wandering the Thamel district, doing some people watching and visiting a few temples, incredibly, I was able to find my way back to the hotel. I hung out by the pool for a bit watching a photo shoot for a new hotel brochure and chatting


with the young Nepalese models. I then took a brief nap before meeting Nick, a member of our group who also arrived early. He and I had arranged to get together for a walk to a guest house that I had read was a great spot to watch the sunset.

Nick and I met in the lobby at 5. Thankfully he had bought a map. The guest house was three miles away. Even with his map, it was a navigational challenge. Wandering through neighborhoods, weaving across traffic filled boulevards and frequently retracing our steps, it quickly became clear that we had mis-timed our adventure. I had thought we would easily make by the necessary 6:15. Not a chance. By 6 p.m. we had only made it half way. We continued on but with no street lights, it quickly became dark. We never made it to the guest house but we got close. Around 7, we saw a long private driveway leading up to Hyatt Regency hotel adjacent to a world heritage site. We decided to call it quits and go into the Hyatt for a beer. A good choice. A bit of luxury in a place surrounded by scarcity and hardship. As we thought about it, even if we had gotten to our destination in time, we doubted we would have seen the sunset. The smog was just too thick.

Nick is a thirty something Brit who now works in Kuwait after spending a year in Quatar. He is on a project remediating the oil spillage that still exist from the fires lit by the Iraqis 20 years ago when George Bush Sr. drove Saddam Hussein's army out of Kuwait. The project is massive. Nick showed me the images from Google Earth. The spills are the size of huge lakes and there are many of them. It will be many, many years before the project is complete.

Nick owns three mountain bikes and a road bike and races often, in Kuwait and in other countries. Oh boy. I pray I don't hold him back on our trip. I dread the thought.

After a couple of Nepalese lagers at the Hyatt, we hailed a cab back to the Thamel district where we went to Ship Restaurant and Bar, a place ranked high on Trip Advisor. We had a couple of more beers along with a great Nepalese meal of rice, mixed vegetables, spinach, curried sauce and crispy bread. Delicious. During the meal I abandoned Nick for ten minutes to introduce myself to the large group of folks, mostly Americans, who were sitting at a nearby table. It turns out that as part of Habitat for Humanity, they were on a mission to help rebuild a missionary in the mountains. The devastation from last year's earthquake is everywhere in Nepal. Organizations like Habitat are here to help. It's going to be a long, slow process of recovery. I admire this group's dedication and willingness to assist. I enjoyed chatting with them.

My flight on Friday from Dubai was mostly routine. The only incident of note was my interaction with the airport security agent. When I showed him my U.S. passport he muttered, "Trump is an asshole". A bit surprised I made eye contact and he added; "He's a racist jerk". No argument from me. I told him "if Trump wins, maybe I'll move here to Dubai." He seemed to like that. He nodded, stamped by passport and waived up the next traveler.

I've matured. In previous trips I might have engaged him in a little debate. I can't stand Trump either but I do enjoy a spirited discussion now and then. However, this was not the time. This guy was fired up and the United Arab Emirates is a strict place. I wasn't about to risk a verbal spat, not when my long awaited adventure was so close.

Later this morning Nick and I will transfer to another hotel to meet up with the rest of our group. Our first formal gathering will be for dinner tonight. Tomorrow we take an organized tour of Kathmandu together before catching a small plane to Pokhara on Tuesday morning.

Happy Easter everyone.


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Location:Thamel Marg,Kathmandu,Nepal

Hindu Festival

I'm not sure if it really is a Hindu festival or whether I just got conned.  I'm good either way.

Namaste.

Location:Amrit Marg,Kathmandu,Nepal

I changed my mind

It was a great flight. I didn't sleep a wink but it doesn't matter. For $1.00 I had all the wifi i wanted. I wrote a couple of student recommendations, caught up on email, cruised Facebook a bit and learned about all the pre-trip vaccinations I was supposed to get back in Boston but didn't. Oh well.

I had the entire left bulkhead row to myself. Heavenly. The best part was that I met Jana, a Swedish flight attendant that was strapped in facing me during take-off and landing. Jana was beyond kind, giving me tips on how to spend my day in Dubai. Mid-flight she brought me handwritten instructions on how to find the Metro, where to take it to, where to have lunch, where to explore and what to do. She was sweet and thoughtful and interesting and convincing; so much so that I changed my mind about the malls.

I'm now at the Dubai Mall drinking coffee at Cafe Barbera. This place is mammoth and it is packed. There is an indoor skating rink, a huge aquarium,







a waterfall and every conceivable high-end retailer that you can think of with prices to match. My coffee was $8.50. Just a plain old cup of coffee. Yikes.

I had hoped to go up to the observation tower at Burj Khalifa,






the tallest building in the world. Unbelievably, the next available tour is at 10 p.m., ten hours from now. Instead, I'll nurse my coffee for a little while, catch lunch at the outdoor fountains and maybe take a stroll down to the beach. It's a great place to people watch. What better way to spend a 80 degree day killing time in Dubai.

To save me some headaches, Jana gave me one of her personal Metro cards. If only I had thought to pay her for it. I'm sorry Jana. I'm very grateful for your generosity.

The only hiccup was that the Metro didn't open until 10 a.m. It's Friday. Weekends here are Friday and Saturday and everything opens late on weekends.

Not to worry. I ran into Ted, a recent immigrant from the Philippines. Ted escorted me to the bus station. He instructed me to get on the C5 bus for a 30 minute ride and then switch to the F11 bus.

Easy, or so I thought. Unfortunately Ted was confused. There is no F11. I hung out for 20 minutes at an industrial park outside of town waiting for the 29 bus instead. The 29 dropped me off 40 minutes later at the Burj Khalifa. I would have been better off waiting for the Metro to open. 🙂

Customs at the airport were wild. It seemed that overnight flights from around the world converge in Dubai at the same time.

There were thousands of people


waiting to get through. I didn't mind much. I was still running on adrenalin. I filled the time by starting this blog entry and looking at all the bleary-eyed multinationals. Given the recent events in Brussels, it was comforting to see so many people of different colors and faiths hanging out together. The world needs more of that.






Chatting with Jana whet my appetite for more travel. She talked about her adventures in Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Thailand, Scandinavia, New Zealand and Australia; all places on my bucket list. Coincidently, this trip was originally supposed to be to Namibia but was cancelled because no one else registered. Next year, perhaps.

I'm off to Kathmandu in a few hours. So excited.

Happy weekend everyone!

G.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Dubai,United Arab Emirates

"You should go to our malls"

"You should go to our malls. There is a big one with a waterfall and hundreds of shops. You'd love it. It's just like Las Vegas."  OMG please. I am not going to the other side of the world to go to a mall.

I arrived a few hours early to Logan so that I could get an exit row seat. Success. The extra leg room will really help on the 13 hour flight. I am now killing time in Logan's Terminal C. I just asked the Air Emirates greeter for recommendations on how to spend the eight hour layover in Dubai. "You should go to our malls...". Eric texted me saying the same thing. I thought he knew me better than that. I hate malls; long lines, high fashion, wasteful excess, hordes of people. Ouch.

I'll figure out what to do when I get there. I had thought I would go for tea at the Burj al Arab Jumeirah hotel; you know, the building on the peninsula that looks like a big sailboat. I Googled it. $175. Ha. I will just nurse my water bottle outside the front door instead.

I couldn't be more excited about this trip. I'll be mountain biking in Nepal for 12 days with three guys and a guide that I've never met. All I know about the other guests is that two are from England and one is from Australia. That's it. My only concern is that they are monster mountain bikers with years of experience. I've only been on a mountain bike twice. I will be horrified if I am holding them up.

That aside, it should be an incredible trip. I can't wait to get started.







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Logan International Airport, Boston, United States