Nepal’s Himalayan Mountain at Sunrise

My 2nd full day in Kathmandu began with a 5AM driver pickup for a 1.5 hour drive to the foothills to see the Himilayan mountains at sunrise. The trip was disappointing due to poor visibility, but worth reporting.

Because it was disappointing, tomorrow I am going to pay a outrageous fee for a Mount Everest fly over!

These are the famed Himilayan foothills' terraced gardens.




Sunrise with Himilayan range in background. Buddhist and Hindu prayer flags are in foreground because this was taken from a foothill monastery.




It was a beautiful sunrise and the snow-capped Himilayan mountain tops glowed. But the ole BB wasn't able to capture the moment. This is me (freezing my tail off) at sunrise with mountains in background.




I tried to zoom in with by Blackberry’s camera, but getting a clear shot was still not possible.

Given my disappointment with mountain pictures, I am off on an expensive Mt Everest "sunrise fly around" tomorrow at 6AM - so standby for better pictures of "the big one"!

Back in Bangkok

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.

A Dispatch from Bhaktapur, Nepal

Bhaktapur (located on the rim of the Kathmandu valley about 35k from Kathmandu city) has a very magical, medieval feeling to it and entering the area is like walking back in time.

left: The 16th century, 55-room palace is unchanged and has only needed minor renovations since originally built.

right: Located near the palace, are the king's royal baths - which is huge!




left: Nepali potters have been making and firing clay pottery in the same location since the 1100s!

right: This is the famous Dunbar Square in Bhaktapur. Again, incredible medieval feeling. Note the ever-present crystal blue sky of Nepali winter!



left: This 14th century Chyasilin Mandap reminded me a lot of the Angkor Wat temples which were also originally built by Hindus..

right: Me in front of the most famous structure in the city - the 13th century Nyatapola Temple. Many Hindus make pilgrimages to this temple where many animals are sacrificed throughout the year.

Back in Kathmandu from Lhasa Tibet

I just got back to Kathmandu, Tibet from Lhasa, Tibet. Tibet was incredible! But the ever-present and heavily armed Chinese military was a little unsettling. I was stopped by them and asked for my "ID" (passport) and visa many times. Each time they did this, they also interrogated my Tibetan guide (who had to accompany me everywhere I went outside my hotel.

I will leave Kathmandu on Wednesday, Jan 22 to go to Bangkok where I will stay for one night. I will then leave Bangkok for Saigon on Friday, Jan 23. I will begin sending my "catch-up" emails and pics from Bangkok and will spread them over several days.

- David

David Writing from Tibet

Hello All-

David wrote this morning and asked us to let you all know that he still has no data services. We got a kick out of him trying to use a Chinese keyboard so we thought we would pass on to you what he sent to us. Have fun reading it! He will have service when he returns to HCMC for Tet on the 22nd.

Heather and Jim

David's e-mail to us:

Sorry tobotheryouwiththis again =butifound out late lastnightafter hrson
phone withATT thatI do nothave data servoces hjere. Would u [please let the group know this. I will have data services when i getback to Thailand on Jan 22.

ThisChinese keyboard is killingme!
Thanmks.
David

A Message to Those Emailing

David just called this blogger to say that he is in Nepal, but has found that he has no data there. Having received a number of voice messages about his lack of connectivity, he asks for your patience.

He looks forward to getting in touch by email again as he's flown over Mt. Everest and has stunning photographs to share.

Further, he will be in Tibet for 3 days come Monday, and may be able to email us from there, but could not say with any certainty that it would work properly. He will be in Nepal for two days thereafter, and following that, returning to Thailand where his connectivity isn't an issue.

I'm sure you look forward to hearing from him as much as I do.

Kathmandu Update

Lots happening here - so I thought that I would ask you to send an update:

I am just now finishing my 3rd full day in Kathmandu. Today included aflyover of Himilayas including Mt Everest - awesome experience and somegreat pics to follow when I can link with a data service.Will probably do a 3-day jungle safari excursion this week. If my"Visitor's Permit" and visa are approved by the Chinese, I will be going toLhassa, Tibet Jan 17-20. Good news is that I should be able to get dataservices in Tibet. If so, I will be sending catch-up emails and pics whilethere.

I hope you all weathered the ice, snow, wind you mentioned before!? And that all else is well there.

What did the ladies think of the elephants?

Safe, but Cold in Kathmandu

My initial reactions to Kathmandu: very dusty and dry climate/air, half the roads in city are unpaved (dirt), probably the least clean city I've seen since leaving the US, and the coldest weather I've seen for almost a year (60F when I landed at airport and down to below 50F last night).

Everything about my hotel is very 1950s vintage and it was once the palace of a raj. Really gloomy and spooky - very much reminds me of the hotel in the movie "The Shining" staring my main man Jack Nicholson! But my room is large and has a balcony overlooking what can best be described as shabby streets.

Soon after checking into hotel, the power went out. The manager explained to me that the power grid in Kathmandu is incredibly outdated. As a result the power company has planned, rolling power outages 24/7 throughout the city. At best, the manager explained, each section of the city gets about 12 hours of power a day. I have been in the city for about 15 hours and
there has been no power at the hotel since I checked in. It was a very cold night in my hotel room without heat!

Soon after checking into my hotel I starting roaming the nearby narrow streets - the hotel is located in the center of Kathmandu's "shopping district". Because I have only t-shirts and shorts, I was in quest for warm clothing! Ended up buying a North Face down jacket and a pair of long pants. Total costs $62 - because they were Chinese knock-offs. That price also included the cost of some fairly complex tailoring (shortenting pants) that was done within 15 minutes! But they are doing a good job keeping me
warm.

I must say that what I have seen of Kathmandu is incredibly "exotic" and it feels more foreign than anyplace I have ever visited. The people are very exotic looking as well - mix of mongels (sp?), Indian, and Asian. And they are very friendly, polite, and have good senses of humor. Most also speak English. Evidently very few Americans visit Tibet, so they are all very happy to hear that I am an American.

I am very much looking forward to exploring this isolated part of the world where Hinduism, Buddhism, animism, and many, many religious cult derivatives/blends have coexisted peacefully for millennia. Experiencing this blend of religions, cultures, ethnicities, and languages (evidently more than 50 languages/dialects are spoken here), not to mention the topography should be fascinating.

At the moment I have no set plans - but I am working on a possible trip to Tibet. I’ll probably hire a guide/driver today to explore the city itself.

Vietnam Visa Successful - Kinda

I went to the Vietnam embassy today to get my visa. After a couple of hours there trying to explain what I needed and how quickly I needed it - one of the clerks suggested that I go to a "visa agent" and pay them to get my visa for me. I went to the one she referred me to (and from whom I am sure she gets kickbacks).

Long story short, I was only able to get a 30-day, single entry visa - I wanted a 6 month, multi-entry. Costs to the agent was a despicable rip-off $150!?!? But - I DO now have my Vietnam visa and will be able to celebrate Tet in Saigon!

My next stop will be Kathmandu, Nepal. I will be heading there from Bangkok on Wednesday, January 7th.

The River Kwai

During WWII, the Japanese occupied Thailand and built (using primarily English, Canadian, and Australian POW slave laborers) what became known as the "Death Railway" from Bangkok to Burma - 460 kilometers (about 275 miles) long. More than 10,000 POWs died constructing the railway.

234 - The Bridge over the River Kwai is located in Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Built 1943-1946 by prisoners of the Japanese as part of the Thailand/Burma (Myanmar) Death Railway used by the Japanese as a logistical line for supplying war supplies to their forces in Burma. The original wood bridged was bombed and destroyed by American forces in 1946. This steel frame bridge is built on the same location where the prisoners constructed the original.

235 - Memorial Cemetery containing remains of 6,900 (of 10,000+) "Death Railway" English, Canadian and Australian soldiers, airmen and sailor prisoners who died building the railway. This cemetery is located just over 100 meters from the Bridge Over the River Kwai.

236 - Train used by Japanese on their Thailand/Burma "Death Railway". Ironically built in 1921 in England!

237 - Only a little over 100 kilometers of the Death Railway is still in use. I spent part of the day riding on about 30 kilometers of it. This is me riding in the only "class" they offered which I believe was pretty close to being WWII vintage! Riding a stretch of the Death Railway gives one a good idea what a difficult undertaking it was to build this railway.

Left: View of wood trestle on still in use on Death Railway.
Right: Much of the Death Railway had to be hand cut through stone mountain sides!



Left: Saiyok Noi Waterfall - Death Railway ran next to it.
Right: Another train used by Japanese on their Thailand/Burma "Death Railway". Ironically it was also built in England!