Today we went to another national park, and saw deer, monkeys, birds, lizards, and a snake -- plus agoutis, a little pig/deer thingie. we saw a Hacienda House where the American William Walker tried to invade all of central America, including Costa Rica -- he was defeated. we had a nice guided tour by the park ranger of the house, and he told us lots. i was only able to understand about half of it.

tomorrow, we are planning to go to La Fortuna, where there´s the most active volcano in central america and many hot springs. our plan to travel to Nicaragua were deplayed due to their Mother´s Day causing all of the buses to be filled. we are also thinking about going to Monte Verde, a cloud forest filled with many tourists.

Yesterday, at a different national park, we first hiked two hours through rain forest, tropical dry forest, and savanah to a 80 ft water fall, where we proceded to swim in the cold water. there where little fresh water crabs all over the rocks next to the water, that got angry with us. we then hiked across the park to view sulfurus mud pits, bubbling and steaming away. the steam was (of course) very hot and smelled horrible. these were relitively small pits, that seemed out of place in the middle of the forest. there was a volcancito that bubbled gray stuff and steam.

So I´ve gone to Costa Rica. First, being the cheap man that I am, I flew with two layers, making the entire trip take around 14 hours.

I flew in to San Jose and spent my first evening at a hostel around the arround the airport. I had some black bean soup at the Soda down the street. It had been raining before I got in that evening, and the humidity was still very high, and the trucks and taxis were still spashing in the street. Trucks and SUVs are very numerous here, given the condition of many of the roads and the weather.

When chosing a room I had asked, ¿con auga calient? had a resuring Si for a hot shower. In the guidebook, they call these things, one of which was in my room, sucide showers becuase two eletrical wires from the wall run to a small plastic contraption that is a large shower head. It had a switch on it for mulipule positions of hotness, i only assumed. after shivering in cold water for a few minutes, i decided top accept my fate. I have not yet figured out how these things are supposted to work despite staying in three hotels which feature them.

The next morning, i got up early and went to the lobby of the hostel, which was also the living room of the owners, and adjacent to the kicthen. I was first brought first rate coffee, and then hardy helpsings of fruit, bread, egss, and beans and rice. I chatted with a few other Americans staying there while stuffing as much food as i could -- the airlines have really cut back upon their food. for 14 hours of flying, i got a single meal, and i guess that isn´t bad cosidering today´s standerds. I quick taxi ride to the airport, i and was confussed. ¿donde esta la termina para Sansa? was replied to with no words that i could comprend at that speed, but luckily she pointed. i tried to follow where she pointed, but was lost, so i asked her again. this time, i caught a single word -- trees. so i went to the trees and found a large shack that was the terminal for my airline. i checked in and was asked my weight, and they weighted my luggage carefully. this shack was on the tar mack, so there were large jets taking off drowning out what ever spanish someone was trying to speak to me. after a 1 hr wait, including a chat with some Lewis and Clark alumi, i was on a plane. i got a seat literally behind the pilot -- my feat were resting on his seat. the other 5 passgengers didn´t seem as enthusatic as i was to be in such a small plane. the copliot buclded us in with multipule belts. the takeoff was bouncy, and we climbed quickly to great views of the country side. San Jose is a valley that is surrounded by large moutains, so the view was great. i tried to follow with my eyes, these windy roads through the mountains and i started to undestand why driving would take so long. besides a few houses in the mountains, i saw river, and a palm plantation. after ten minutes in the air, i could see the pacific coast, with waved lined tropical shores. we started to desend to what appeared to be a planation, but then a airstrip appeared and we landed. we were the only plane there. a taxi run by the airline drove all of us to town. the other passengers were american and there for someone´s weddening -- they seemed dumb and were dropped off at a fancy hotel. i then climbed to the front seat with the driver and cheated with him in spanish. i was dropped off on the beach at a small town. the beach had many people lying about sun bathing, and fewer people surfing and swimming. i took a seat on the beach after buying sunglasses. i baught a bottle of water and chated with the seller. i was supposed to meet Andy and Molly on this beach at noon, and at the exact time I found them.

we hiked over to the national park and saw monkeys (that grabbed someone´s lunch), many crabs, a slothe, and lots of inspects that bight. it a tropical rainforest staright to the sand. we hiked around for a bit, a were quickly out of breath due to the humidity and heat. we were drenched in sweat, so we took advantage of one of the best beachs in the word. it´s a little bay off of the pacific that is curved with a diameter of around 1000 feet. the beach is sandy and the water is deep with gentle waves. the beach is shadowed by palm trees. We decided upon a two in the water, and one watch the stuff policy which turned out to be a good idea. we noticed some very large inguanas walking around. soon they were interested in the area where we were. andy and i were to scar them away, but that too proved to be dificult. we swam around for a bit and played in the waves.

the next day, we took a bus to take a ferry to take another bus to get to a small town that couldn´t be more than 100 miles away. Montazuma was a little fishing village that got discovered by hippies and tourists and is now a haven for travelers. the second bus ride was jaring -- your tipical Latin American ride in a old bus on twisty roads. the seceery was amazing: forest of tropical species everywhere. everything was green or some bright color.

we found a hotel that was right on the beach. the steeps down to the beach were about 15 feet from high tide. the pourch over looked the pacific. nearly every night there were lighting storms, which would illunimate the entire sky with a wired purple color. we just hung out on the beach and found dinner. the next day andy and i went to some water falls. we waded in the creek to the first one, hopped in to the brown muddy water (because of the rain) and swam about. we then nearly scaled a hill, and made our way to the next two. we swung froma rope in to the pool and had fun.

there are lots of travel adgencies advertising trips in town they happen to have AC. molly had been feeling sick, so she went place to place pretending to be interested in trips so that she could cool down. they did a go job of talking to her, so we were booked for a trip to Turtle Island the next day.

we got up early and had breakfast. we walked to the beach in a group, and after being fitted with life jackets, waded in to the water and in to the boat. the outboard motor was surprising fast and loud. we jeted along the coast, and basically saw a tropical paradise. rainforest met the beachs that were sandy and the beachs were interspaced by jagged volcanic rocks that the waves would vilently crash againts. the dropped off from the shore to the ocean was very steep and deep, so the waves would hti with nearlt full force, creating a huge splashs and sprays.

the island was similar, but simply only a small island. we arrived and motored out a smaller rocky out cropping. we prepared to go snorkling with lots of sunscreen, flippers, mask and snorkel. we hoped in and it was like being in a huge tropical fish tank with waves. we could see all kinds of fish, coral, schools of fish, USO, and cool schools of fish. there were lots of large blue fish, a few large orange fish, some long skinny, fish, and lots of schools of tropical fishys.

this was followed by a lunch and swim on the beach, and then another stint of it in the afternoon.

the next day (monday) Julie flew in and meet us in Montezuma.

i´ll update more soon but here´s the highlights:

horseback riding on the beach
national park with an active volcano
cowboy town

see some pictures at http://dudesdodelhi.smugmug.com

England is now a fading memory, just like Asia. I arrived home early on Thursday evening after a long trip with too many transfers. It was a surprise for all. My mom's mouth literally dropped open upon seeing me; she then started screaming and jumping up and down. It's nice to be back in the comfort of home, but, if all goes to plan, I won't be here for too long.

Before Christmas:
- AI 111 -- A long but pleasant enough flight with a wonderful lack of other passengers. I discovered green mango juice.
- Cambridge -- cool medieval town with lots of colleges. still picturesque in winter contrary to rumor. we got a nice little house to sit.
- Family -- The cousins (girls 3 and 5) were nicer and funner than I remembered and expected; we have a good time. Mia and Patrick are still their wonderful selves.

Christmas:
- Food -- Christmas cake is good; christmas pudding is not.
- Family -- Patrick's mom, Wendy, was here for x-mas and was absolutely lovely company. the girls had lots of fun (and presents).

After Christmas:
- Friends -- Peter comes and visits from Ireland; nice guy, good company. Mia and Patrick entertain nice folks.
- Oxford -- Looks like one would expect. I might go there for a year.
- London -- spent two days and saw tons (including Greenwich), but hardy anything. I will live there some day.
- (Peter leaves)
- Norwich - An interesting city with a history and a uni. wonderful castle and cathedral.

a few pictures at http://dudesdodelhi.smugmug.com

So i've been up for around 24 hours now since waking up way too early on a night bus from Goa to Mumbai. You wouldn't believe the sapce they call a double sleeper on those things. Bombay is much more pleasent than Delhi -- I almost want to spend more time here -- almost.

In an hour, we'll catch our flight to London on Air India (where they'll serve INDIAN food). I'm just hoping I won't end up in 'Bathroom Class' again like on BKK-DEL. that sucked. this flight is long. I don't even know, but at least 11 hours. internet at the airport is expensive.

London calling.

It's getting challenging to fill our days. One can only sit in the sun so long.

In the past few weeks, here are the books I've read:

Catcher in the Rye - A Classic that I read with new eyes.

Into Thin Air - A riveting and well written personal account of an ill-fated Mt. Everest climb written by a Northwestener. It was a great deal better than I thought it would be.

In to the Wild - By the same author, Jon Krakauer, as the previous book. This is the better of the two, in my opinion. He tells the tale of a recent college graduate who gives up his possessions and travels as a hitch-hiker for two years. He ends up dead in the Alaskan wilderness. (that wasn't a spoiler - it's on the front cover). Very powerful and well told.

Love in the Time of Cholera - I knew the Gabriel Garcia Marquez was good after reading a short book of his in IHS, but I didn't know how good. He amazes me with his prose, wit, and humor. Most literature needs to be re-read as one reads it, but this just flows beautifully. I'm impressed.

Today we rented mopeds and we were young, fast, and reckless. Driving in Indian traffic is really fun skill to have. I'll have a hard time controling myself when I get back to the States. My lunch consisted of (eaten in this order): water-melon, ice cream, cashew nuts, ice cream, water-melon. I was full afterwards.

there are so many Churchs in Goa. The Portuguese did some damn good misionery work -- I can tell you. There must be at least two churchs whithin a 5 minute walk of every house in the state.

One of these Churchs


The Beach.


Suart punched Santa (again). Both times we claimed he was just joking around, but the Police thought differently.

Here's our plan for the day: get up, eat breakfast, use the internet, beach (noon to six), dinner, and then a walk on the beach. At the end of the day we are surprisingly tired. The sun just wipes it out of you like no other. our beach time is mostly spent sitting in laid back chairs under big umbrellas in front of a restaurant. the nice owner brings you what ever you want. I've been getting lots of fresh lime sodas and, to eat, the best french toast i've ever had. sometimes, when we feel like it, we even get some fresh pineapple on a plate.

we've been doing this for three days now and I dont' see an end to it anytime soon. maybe, we'll rent some mopeds and explore more of goa and its Portuguese heritage.

we were thinking about bringing back "Goa". Goa is a dude dog who has been sitting under our chairs for the last few days. he's really chill and enjoys just sitting there. unfortunately, it would be too complicated to bring him back. to think, so people only get t-shirts here when one could a get a cool little black and brown doggie.

i've been reading (on and off, mostly off) this Kiwi turn of the century literature for over a month now. I'm almost done. One would think that I would read more, seeing how much time we spend on the beach, but that would be underestimating time spent for napping, eating, and general nothingness. sitting on the beach is almost a form of meditation.

I have spent hours looking out at the Arabian Sea and it doesn't get old.

If you're one of those people with lots of finals and papers, don't get mad reading this entry. It's a hard life: last night I had some bad ice cream and I was sick for the night. Even in paradise things do go wrong. Oh, and my bank account for the trip is down to two digits. See, life is still life.

we finally made it to Goa. the flight was nice enough. we get the best indian food on the plane.

There is everything we expected, expect a lot more indian tourist -- there's tons of them. to think, indians in india. we have palm trees, sand, and sun.

We're back in Delhi. The only causalities have been a little bloodshed in mid-air and a little argument with our taxi driver. Soon we'll be in Goa and getting some sun. In less than 7 days, we will have gone from freezing Tibet to tropical-party-land Goa.

Today I rode over 12 hours in three different Land Cruisers in two different countries.

And then I got a piece of Apple Pie and a cup of Hot Chocolate.

Looking up at the white Temple in Lhasa.


Pilgrims outside of a temple is Lhasa.


The awesome view of the huge lake from the pass.


The mountain we climbed.


A monk walking in the cold at a monestary.


The sunset over a small pond as we drive.


The view looking North from the first 5000 meter pass.


Looking southwest towards the Himilyans from the pass with pray wheels in the foreground.


The Land Cruisers at the pass. Our's is the last one which Stuart is getting something out. It was cold.


Another view from the pass.


The long, cold (and bumpy) "highway".

Yesterday we visited one of the most important temples in Tibet and this morning we saw another huge temple that was, once again, just brillant.

But what's much more important and interesting to my auidence is my new discovery. This evening after walking around for a little bit, we went to eat in a new restaruant. On the menu, they had something which was on the menu at a few other places, but I had always overlooked for other, more conventional, food. So, this evening I finally ordered it.

Yak burger is very good. Like, I would go as far as saying, it was the best burger I have ever had in my long memory. And this is coming from me -- a person who eats a lot.

So, in conlusion, I encourage you all to try yak burger.

After a day of sightseeing, and then a day of driving, we're in Lhasa, the largest city in Tibet. (Tibet is larger than Texas, but only has around 300,000 people.) The day before last we were in, according to Lonely Planet, the least Shino influenced town in Tibet. It seemed no different than the other towns -- many Chinese everywhere, good roads and sidewalks (in town) (paid by the Government of course), and fast and cheap internet access. Unfortunately, our hotel room lacked a heater, so it was a fun night. That afternoon, we toured a monestary that had a huge temple and an even larger stupa. The temple had four non-gold statues outside (representing the compass), and then inside, three huge (30+ feet) gold statues towards the back (the past, present, and future Budhas) and against each side wall, four huge (20 feet) gold statues of Budha in different states. It was once again amazing. We then went outside to climb the stupa that must have been at least a 150 feet tall. It was one of those stupas that contained 1000 statues of Budha. Thee last time we saw one, the statues were no taller than a foot. However, this time, there were many larger ones. Some at least 25 feet tall. The larger ones all had there own little room. Most of them were smaller, but it was still quite brillant. The rooms were dark with a few rays of light coming inside and that only added to the magic. You have to rememeber, when I say a statue I mean a base of a huge gold persona cover in many robes and clothes; on the side there are many smaller statues of animals, demons, and various other things; and there seemes to usually be a background painting as well. So don't think that a statue is a smiple thing as it is back home.

We climbed to the top of the stupa and I arrived so out of breath that I had to rest on the hand rail for a good few mintues (we were at over 4000 meters). From up there, there was a nice view of the surrounding area, including old town and the castle (which was 500 years old). The castle sat upon a jagged hill that was on the edge of town in the middle of the valley. In the background, at least 10 miles away, there were huge mountains (at least by Oregon standards) covered in white. The castle was set against a blue and white sky; it looked like something out of a "Germany Ferrie-tale," as our Finnish friends put it -- very magical.

Our tour group then broke off and we wondered around town. The air is so cold and dry than chap-stick is very neccesary. We stopped in a little store to get some and commincated what we wanted by hand signles. I got strawberry flavor and Stuart got "goat" (or, maybe, yak) flavored stuff.

That night was bad. I was awoken by painfull cramps in the middle of night (upon, hindsightful spectulation, maybe that sussage was really uncooked or the rasins I ate were not so healthy). After some advice from Stuart, I took some Demox, which is a steriode that mask the symtomps of altitude sickness; i then felt much better, even if it was just a phlecbo effect.

The next day, we had a long drive to Lhasa. It was bumpy, dusty, and had many amazing views -- just like the other days. However, this time when we went over a 5000 meter pass, there was a huge mountain lake in the foreground (and I mean huge, we were driving around it's edge for at least an hour). The lake was terques and pretty; in the background, there were once again huge mountains (including one that was 7200 meters high). It contrasted to the blech plain where the last high pass was (but the first one had even larger mountains in the background). At the top of the pass, there was also a Chinese Army convoy. On the way up, we had passed two others. The convoys consisted of six to ten large trucks carring soldiers in the back and an SUV in the back. We got a picture of us standing up there. (Chinese batteries really suck -- don't ever buy them).

We finally ended the day in Lhasa. It's a change in both its size and tourist climate. It's over 100,000 people and where most tourist to Tibet end up. (we calculated that only around 20 or 24 tourist drive overland to Tibet per week; while it's possible for people to fly to Lhasa.) I was finally able to buy painkillers because the pharmachists spoke a little English. At the resteruant, they we were able to order in oral English -- what a change. There are very few Tibtians here and many Chinese.

This afternoon, we're off to see another monestary and then tomorrow to see a palace. And then we drive back to Kathmandu.

After two days of sitting in the back of a bumpy Land Cruiser, we are now in Shigatse, Tibet. It's the second largest city in Tibet at around 20,000 people. In the last few days, we have gone from Kathmandu at 4000 ft to a pass in the middle of nowhere, Tibet at just over 5100 meters (17,000 ft). At these heights, one begins to suffer from Alitude Sickness. In our case, it means that we're easily winded, have mild headaches, have a hard time sleeping, and have to pee and fart a lot. The air is very dry and cold. Our first night spent at 12,000 feet was the coldest temperature I had ever experiened. The town was nothing more than maybe 20 buildings clustered along the highway. "Highway" is a generous term. It's the "Friendship Highway" that runs between Kathmandu and Lahsa, the largest city in Tibet. It's nothing more than a gravel track, and some times not even that. Every single vehicle was a Toyota Land Cruiser (expect for a Toyota Hi-Lux and a 4-runner) on the highway. There were a few large Chinese trucks as well carring cargo. The road is just carved in to the side of the bleak hills. All we have seen for the last three days is dirt, rock, sky, snow and ice, and a few brown and black planets. Very occasionally there are yaks or hardy small sheep. (What you probably think of as a yak, is most likely half yak, half cow. Full breed yaks are even larger and hairier.) We had passed around five small towns in two days of driving.

Our room lacked a heater, but it came with a two heavy blankets. That night, we had every piece of clothing we owned on us (save the very heavy down jacket) and were inside our sleeping bags and had two heavy blankets on and we were still a little chilled.

At every resteraunt, the first thing they serve you is hot tea. As you sit down, there's a glass of green tea and thermous full of hot water placed on your table. It's really nice. Resteruants here look more like living rooms. there are couchs along the wall and then small tables, almost coffe table like, in front of all of them. It's cozy. Insead of solid doors, heavy blanets are used, so to keep in the heat. It also gives every place a cave like feeling. Often they are smoke filled by both the stove and cigs. the stoves burn animal dung. Surprisingly, it smeels fine.

The landscape is amazing, especially the sky. Of course, being so remoute, the air is very clean and fresh, thus making for nice views. But over 3000 meters, the sky changes colors. It's a lot deeper and viberant -- a pure blue blue. This makes for very drammtic views -- the sky contasrsted with pure white clouds, many snow capped mountains, black and brown hills, and little else. Some times there is water. The smaller creeks and water falls are all frozen solid, while the larger river manage to still flow with large chunks of ice along the side. It's the basic elements of the Earth in a very simple, hetrogenious form.

Prayer flags are around every Tibetian house and at each mountain pass. They are almost silent in the wind, but when there is nothing else to hear, one knows it. The colors of the flags represent the basic elements of (Sun, sky, earth and two other things). One can see the influence of the environment very easily on these flags. They often provide the only color for miles, save the sky.

We're in China and they don't want you to forget it. I don't think even without the reminders one could ever forget that one is in China. Every thing is different. Tibet has the least English spoken of any country we have visited. Exchanging money at the Bank of China was a lession in paper work. Since we have entered China, we have had our passports checked at least six time. Every where else, once at the border was all that was required -- even in Nepal with all of its military checkpoints. There are many Chinese flags flying -- they fly them at a higher rate than even in the US. On TV, it's all Chinese progarmming. Even in India, they had the BBC, CNN, and HBO.

In order to get from Nepal to China, one has to be part of an organized tour. Our group consist of us two, a nice young Finnish couple, our Tibiean guide, and the driver. Three in the back seat of the Land Cruiser and three in the front. It's an old fadded yellow late 80's FJ-60. It has been nice traveling indeepentally in SE Asia and South Asia, but here in China, I am very often thankfull that we have a guide. At the Bank, it would have taken me three times as long to change the money, assuming that I had found the correct bank. Finding a hotel would be deficult since all of the signs are in Chinese. (and with the blankets in place of doors, one can't see in). Every where else, there was at least a little english. At resteruants, they bring you the menu in Chinese and, thankfully, English. next to each dish there's a western number and then you write that down a little pad of paper. the system works very well. Our guide also takes care of checking in and out of hotels and various other small tasks. the hardest task that our guide (and his company) was to get us, not only our Chinese visa, but the Tibet Travel Permit. As Americans, they aren't to friendly and charge us twice as much as EU citizens for the visa and permit.

The ride was long to Shigatse. Over 21 hours in the Land Cruiser in two days. Though our driver trys to be careful, sometimes we go over huge bumps at 60 kph and my head hits the top of the truck hard. not only do i get head aches from being so high up, but also from the punishment of the road. Sometimes, though we're creeping along, the track is still so rough, that we get banged around on the ceiling. Just in gerneral, we're getting banged around a lot. It's basically all off road driving that whould put most vechiles to waste. Driving to Tibet is a very tiring and dusty experince. Without seat belts, your only defense is to brace youself against the roof and the seat in front of you. Now, after some time, i'm pretty good at holding myself in place. We still have two more days of driving until Lahsa; spend a few days there and then drive back to Nepal.

Besides the ubiqutiious the green tea (which is different than what we call green tea), there is also "sweet tea" which is simply boiling hot yak butter with sugar. it's really good and warms you up quickly. The green tea here is more planty and comes with a touch of citrius in the form of orange seeds. tea is a food group here since it's drunk so often and in such quanities.

the towns we have seen so far are all very Shino-fied. they have nice sidewalks and paved roads (only within the town). there are trash cans and street lights which are maintained nicely. most buildings are concrete centrally planned blah things. On the drive in the country side, we saw a few tibetian villages where the buildings are made from stone and earth and are painted white, red, and orange. These Chinese buildings are very contrasting to that. tomorrow, we are to spend the night in the least chinese influened city of Tibet.

This morning, we visited a huge an acient monestarty. It was simplly brillant. There were four main huge temples. in the first one, they had a gold statue of Budha that was a least 50 feet high. In front of it there's a place for offerings. next to it, there are many candles in huge bowls. the entire palce smeels like yak since the candles are burning yak butter. You walk around the satue clock wise. the walls are covered in murals, and thge lighting is bad, so it creats a un-wordly like sense. in the last courner, there are four old monks chanting in unison. It is an experince that is not to be forgotten, and is dificult to describe. Our guide did his best to explane things, but there is just so much of everything every where, that we got a superfical understading, if any.

latter, we climbed a mountain. It must have been at least 1300 verticle feet up. With the thinese of the air, it took us two hours. If we could have breathed, we would have made it up in half the time. After mabye 10 or 20 steeps, i would be completely out of breath. After 30 mins of this, i felt like i had ran a marathon, but we still had a long ways to go. Finally, at the top, we got to catch our breath and admire the view. (I had to stop a few times just to sit down, or else, i would have thrown up or passed out; remember, we're at 13,000+ feet.) We could see the Himlayas, and the mountain range of the west and north of us. the view was aweome. a little bit down from the summit, there was a huge collection of prayer flags. everything was stunning.

our cameras are having to hard time due to the tempature. batteries do not want to give out voltage when it's cold. that means i have to keep the camera inside of my coat. i then can only take a single picture outside before it dies and has to be wamred up again. fortunately, we have gotten lots of great pictures.

Our trip has been great and keeps on improving. can you belive that we are in China?

Satus: Alive
Condition: Tired
Location: KTM, soon to be Tibet

The kayaking was awesome. Four days on the river complete with camping. It turned out there were three of us clients and two kayaking guides, and two guides in the gear rafting to cook and set up the tents (and on ocasion, pull us out of the water).

In those four days, I flipped over 15 times while Stuart did only twice (with only one being is fault). Of those 15 times, I went swimming ten times, including a nice one through Class IV whitewater. I have a few cuts on my hands and feet, but, overall, I'm in good shape. It was awesome. Unfortunatrely, my cool Tevas (Aug. 2003 - Nov. 2004) were lost at river. they were a good and faithful pair of shoes if I ever had one.

We hurt, and soon we'll be in China.

In Nepal, there are two types of soldiers. There are those under the control of
the His Majesty's Government and hence called the "Royal Nepalese Army" (RNA).
These guys are funded by, and favored by, the governments of India, the UK, and
the US. How ever, problems begin to arrise when the communist come in to play.
Surprisingly, they are refered to as the "Maoists". They control a good portion
of the counrty. The government's newspaper claims that the rebels control about
25% of the villages, while other, more reliable sources, say that it's closer
to 50%.

Both parties are found of calling Strikes -- "banhls". This is proclomation made
that in any given area, motorized transport is not allowed and most commerical
happenings are not. It used to be that only the rebels would call them to prove
their power and control while showing the support of the people. But now, the
government supporters also call them.

So, for the last two days, there has been a strike here in Pokhara valley area
-- i am not aware of its source, maoist or gov. Touristy places are generally
self-excempted from the strike because no one wants to drive away tourism. The
governemnt of Nepal charges a Treking Fee to enter some national parks and the
like. The rebels, in their respective areas, also ask for a "donation" from
tourist. Tourism is a major source of money, especially of hard curnecies.
(here, indian ruppes are considered "good" money).

This strike has made it so that there is barely any traffic on the roads in the
entire valley and everyone acts though it was a holiday. there has been
wonderfully clean air and absolultely no noise coming from the roads. this
morning, i woke up, and all of teenagers where playing criket in the street.
parents and neighbors were gathered around wachting them. bikes would move out
of the way to make sure they weren't hit by the ball. even the fruit vender --
who is usually kinda pushy -- was nice and chilled. everyone either walked or
road their bike. it makes this chilled out town even more chilled out.

today was also the first day of our kayaking clinic and then trip. today was on
the lake, literally on the edge of town. we carried our gear and boats out
there and looked very silly in lifejakets and skirts walking on the street
which was filled with bikes and people. we spent about 4 hours today on the
water, with a lunch break. we pratice paddling and rolling. going strait in a
white water kayak is a lot harder than it looks on still water. rolling is also
a lot harder than it looks. after learning that i cannot swim while in a
upside-down boat, i learned how to roll with about a 50% succes rate.
fortunately, our instructor was always there to help us ket upright again.
stuart had some gear problems and came out of his boat twice in mid-lake for
two refreshing swimings. this have us some adavance pratice at empyting a boat
of water while in water. we are accompied on this trip by a nice Irish man who
has been traveling for over a year.

on the rolling, it seems very unnatural to flip oneself over and then try not to
drown by flipping upright. But, that's what kayaking is. Tomorrow, we have our
first day on the river. it's a drive away, so we only get two hours on the
water, but that's plenty. today we could barely carry our boats back afterwards
because our arms were so tired. it should be an awesome trip for four days.

getting back to the rebels: usually, it seems, the RNA wear uniforms of varering
degree, but at least can be indentified as RNA. however, i haven't yet seen a
confrimed rebel, but i suspect that they do not have uniforms. this evening,
during the strike mind you, there was a beat-up Toyota pick-up driving with
heavily armed men in the back. this was the only car i saw all day, save a
special tourist taxi. this wouldn't be out of the norm, hovever the men were
not in uniform. this means that they were either rebels, or RNA special forces
(model after the US Amry rangers) either way, not people to mess with. for a
counrty in what some have dubbed a "civil war," people and even the soldiers
still seem civil -- at least to tourist.

There was a report in the paper of a clash. The RNC went in to a village after
the rebels barrowed 50 kids from a small village to bring them to their
political school. It left 20-some rebeles and 10 or so RNA men cold without
finding the children. it's cool being in a place with such excitment within the
country. yet, it still seems so very peaceful.

our kayking had views of foot hills out done by snow clad mountauns that would
put Mt. Hood only on par. not to mention, we were on the second largest lake in
Nepal. it was pretty nice.

We had an eight hours bus journey that begun before dawn. The seats were cramped, the ride rought, and the driving was crazy, but it was nice. It was only about 90 miles, but it was a not a freeway. There were a a few military checkpoints, two patrols, and many broken fown vehicles along the way. The guys looked like they were trying to find someone and were ready to once they did. It reminded me of Vietnam movies withe soldiers walking along side the road weaey eyed.

It's also nice seeing chared remains of bus and SUVs as your driver passes a TATA truck on a blind cruve (on a two lane road). But since the driver sounded his horn, it magiaclly cleared the path. We spent over an hour in traffic because so many big trucks had broken down on a pass. In the US, this pass wouldn't hurt more than the oldest VW's speed, but here it killed at least four of Indian's finest made trucks. ("Tata - a century of trust," as their ads say.)

The views were amazing. Nepal is a very dramatic and colorful country. We passed so many farms. Farmers terrance their plots in to small oddly shaped, muilti-level mini-fields and each one of them are a slighly different color. From the top of a hill, it makes for a nice moassic.

Surprisily, there are many bannana and ornage trees in the hills. It's winter and the dry seasons, and we've found it cooly pleasent. We're only at about 4000 feet, and at night it gets chilly, but nothing like a real mountain yet. that should change once we're on the river or on our way to Tibet.

The men under the waterfall on the second day of the trek in Chang Mai, Thailand.


Ko Samet, Thailand


The Taj Mahal, Agra, India


The Ganges in Varanasi


Kathmandu, Nepal

Not much news here, yesterday we planned, payed, and shopped for gear and gifts. We've been eating lots of oranges and fresh bread from the local bakery which is very tastey. they have the best apple pie here. back in the day when Kathmandu was the last stop on an overland tour from Europe, people who could cook european food stayed and Kanthmadu developed a infamous repuation as a mecca for food after long trips. And what could be better than hot, huge, apple pie after weeks of coldness and dhal? anyways, for a dollar a piece, one gets a huge piece of really good pie.

At night, we bundle up in fleece because our room doesn't have a heater. It's really quite cozzy. In Nepal, the Economist sells for a $1.20 as compared to $5+ back home, so I've read the lastest issue cover to cover. We also got a Newsweek. Back in my youth, I thought of it as a good magazine, but now I have a complaint with almost every article. However, it is kinda lite reading and I would say it's more cutting edge at the price of quality. It also has execellent maps and photos, which is something the Econmoist lacks. Kathmandu is asleep by 9:00, and now we don't have a TV, so we've been reading plenty. It's expensive, but the Internaltional Hearld Times is a very good paper. It costs $2.50 over here. Comapred to the horrible Indian papers in English it's a real treat.

Anyways, if all goes to plan, we should be on the river tomorrow.