I am now back in Bangkok, Thailand and leave here tomorrow to return to Saigon, Vietnam for Tet.
As you all may or may not know, from January. 7th through 21st I had no data services while I was in both Kathmandu, Nepal and Lhasa, Tibet,Kathmandu and all of Nepal were incredibly exotic. Kathmandu's elevation is about 1300 meters and does take some time to adjust to - especially since I had been at or below (diving) sea level for months.
There are 2 major problems in Nepal:
1) there are no data services which means I could not send/receive emails, and;
2) since the Maoist won elections, all of Nepal is having major power problems - currently they have electricity only 6 hours per day (at irregular times)!
The power problem means no heat at hotels when power is down! While there, I did much showering, packing/unpacking, insulin injections, and reading by candlelight.Lhasa, Tibet was a Nepalese side trip I felt was a must and worth the incredible costs and hassles getting a "visitor's permit" and visa - 2 separate documents required.
What makes it even more of a hassle as well as expensive is the fact that I had to have an "escort" 24/7. The fact that I am an American (who seldom venture into Tibet) further complicated matters. At best, from Kathmandu, the Chinese restrict Americans to a maximum 4-day, 3-night visa - hence my short stay there. Lhasa's elevation is 3,600+ meters and, during my entire stay there, I experienced symptoms (nausea, light-headed) of what is called acute mountain sickness or AMS - which all "tourists" experience to some degree because of sudden and considerable changes in altitude (kinda the opposite of "the bends"). Fortunately, within hours after returning to Kathmandu I was fine!
Because of no data services for 2+ weeks while I was in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Lhasa, Tibet I will be sending many "catch-up emails" with pics the next few days while I am here in Bangkok and Saigon - where I can link with data services. I will try to spread sending these emails (total about 21, ea with 2 pics) as much as I can - but they could choke your mail boxes. So please check your emails often during the next few days. I will be sending emails in the sequence that events occurred. There are really some amazing pics - including Nepal's stupas with their world famous all-seeing Buddhahood eyes, Hindu Holy Men and cremations, what I think are awesome pics of Mt. Everest and the Himilayas, Tibet's famous Potala (for centuries home to the Dalai Lamas), Buddhist temples and monasteries! Like so much of my journey, National Geographic Magazine has very much "come alive" for me these past few weeks
So - I hope you receive and enjoy all of my thoughts, experiences, and pics!I apologize for any problems this email surge may cause.For those who do not receive my travel emails, please check the blogspot (http://veteran-sojourner.blogspot.com/) for updates. But be patient because my good friend that maintains the blog will have a surge of updates and it will take considerable effort and time for him to post them to the blog.The next emails/pics you receive will be about Kathmandu, Nepal. These will be followed by a much smaller set of Lhasa, Tibet emails/pics. Again, I hope that you enjoy.
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