An after thought

Returning home, the first question I got from just about everybody was: so how was Nepal and Tibet? This got me thinking, yes, how was it? I cannot answer the question easily.

The truth is: it was not as contemplative as I hope it would be. Perhaps it is me who does not think hard enough. Or perhaps that is the whole point: to just go through it without thinking too much. Perhaps it is God’s way of saying: “darling, you’re thinking too much. Just walk on and enjoy life.”

But I cannot stop thinking. It is just the way I am.

If there is one lesson to learn, it is the fact that I should be, and I am, thankful of what I have.

For the body and how it managed to physically endure all the walking, load carrying, and changes of weather.

For the soul and how it could emotionally endure all the fatigue, changes in the plan and differences among friends. It is amazing how every step we took, every stranger we met, every view we encountered can be a hands-on lesson on life. No such thing as coincidence.

I am surely thankful for all the companion and friends I have during my trip. I could not possibly go through it on my own. I could not think of a better bunch of people to share this with. (Though I might have one or two other person(s) in mind to add to the group ☺)

And for the family and friends to go home to.

How can I not be thankful with all the blessings I have in life. Though sometimes I need to think hard before I can understand God’s plan for me. I still don’t have a good grasp of the big plan but what the heck. It’s an eternal journey for me. A pilgrim for life.

ps: thanks also for the Mavericks who have provided me with this to-die-for ipod shuffle. You could not imagine how entertaining it could be.

Bangkok: a perfect ending to the story

What’s Bangkok got to do with the trip? Objectively, not a lot. But personally, it has everything to do with our trip.

From the start, we set Bangkok as a place to cool down before returning to Indonesia. The only main itinerary we had in mind was Thai massage and Thai food. And we had a blast.

I cannot begin to tell you. I love Bangkok! Not only because the food is excellent, if you know where to go. Fresh fish, great vegetable dish, durians, etc etc. But also because I feel very safe traveling in the city as a tourist. They have great public transport, the train, the underground train and the bus as well as great places to stay. All great. Kuddos to Bangkok.

Our last night together. Sad. But happy to the possibility of returning home. After one month, we were ready to say "at last, the holiday ends.." We were determined to spend the last night together so we stayed up until about three in the morning, roaming around Bangkok. On foot. I supposed the old (Nepalese) habit dies hard. And enjoyed a hainan chicken rice at two o’clock in the morning in one of those street vendors. Was yummy as well. Imagine trying to order one plate of chicken rice, one plate of chicken and three cups of hot tea in a Bangkok's street food stall with zero ability to speak Thai.

ps: will try to find a suitable picture for this.

Lhasa: where tradition meets the modern world

Confession: glad to see a slightly bigger city after being on the road for some time. And to see a Giordano store in town ☺

Lhasa was surprisingly modern and well planned. Of course there is a polemic whether this is good or bad for Tibetan but let’s not go into that.

The good thing is there is a part of Lhasa that is kept traditional. I cannot get enough of walking in this old part of the city and just watching people from all over Tibet passing by wearing their variety of traditional clothes and performing their own religious rituals.

Oh and you should see for yourself how the town are surrounded, literally, by snow-peak mountains. Breathtaking.

Since it was the Ramadhan month, I had the pleasure to join the evening prayer – isya, tarawih (20 rakaat) and witir. It was, um, a bit different from back home. The clothes varied I presume depending on where they come from in Tibet. And the whole prayers were done in a matter of one hour. Once done, no speech, everybody just went home, lights out and the door of the mosque was shut. Efficient, my kind of mosque ☺

Our itinerary in Lhasa covered a visit to two monasteries, the Pothala palace (used to be Dalai Lhama’s palace), and the summer palace of the Dalai Lhama.

Ignorant me. You see one monastery you see them all. Not so, actually. Each has its own story. And the amazing paintings on the wall always tell a lot of story about Tibetan Buddhism (how I wish they could maintain the monasteries a bit bette)r. Unfortunately, the Guide was not all that expert on Buddhism. Luckily though, one of my travel companions has a strong interest in Buddhism. Horray.

We were also very lucky to witness a monk debate session. Numerous groups of monks debating on whichever topics they choose. They conveyed the argument with such enthusiasm, ease and respect to one another. Nothing got out of the way. When the session ends, the argument also ends there. A great habit to apply.

An overland tour to Lhasa

Four days of travel from Kathmandu to Lhasa – traveling across over one thousand km of desert, snowy mountains, small cities, monasteries, barley fields, beautiful turquoise man-made lake. And never under 3,000 meters above sea level.

First day we travel for about 300 km from about 1335 meters above sea level (Kathmandu) to a place called Tingri (5050 meters above sea level). Damned cold. Tips: stay near the stove, wear heaps of layered clothes and don’t stay out too long or at all for that matter. But you should see the night sky there (never seen so many gorgeous stars so close in my life!) and the morning view of the snowy mountains around you.

Then we moved from one town to another traveling on a loooong stretch of good and not so good (read: heavily bumpy) road. Of course, the car broke down a couple of times but who’s counting (I did, actually). Imagine being on the road for about seven-eight hours per day for four days? Yes, good companion who can talk and laugh on just about anything is crucial. And the ability to sleep wherever you can (bad for insomniacs like me).

We were very lucky to arrive at the Toshishunpo monastery in Shigatse just in time to see the monk dances. They only perform three days in a year and we arrived there on the third day. The show lasted four hours and we did not move until the end. Amazing vibe and colors. Not to mention those heavy earrings worn by the Tibetan elderly.

Tips: careful on catching the altitude sickness, warm thick clothes, sleeping bag, water, snacks, walkman (or ipod ☺), and lower your expectation on toilets ☹ Oh and better read more on Tibet and Buddhism before you arrived there.

More pictures of the Annapurna Range

Can't resist posting more pictures on the trekking. You have to see it yourselves to fully appreciate it

Trekking – got to experience to understand

“Who the heck suggest taking a holiday like this?” A comment made typically after four hours of walking up and down the mountains. The answer was, well, I did actually.

We trekked in what is called the Jomsom trek in the Annapurna range – small part of it, basically following the Kali Gandaki river upstream. From Kathmandu we took a car and raft (yes, a bit of rafting in Trisuli river) to Pokhara (about six-seven hours including three hours of rafting – cool!), then a jammed-packed non-odorless public bus to Beni and started walking from Beni to Jomson for four days.

Got to admit that this medium difficulty level trek is harder than I thought. But who am I to know. Never done such trekking in my life. I have just one tip to give you: keep walking.

Nevertheless, walking is great (yeah, right, now I can say that).

The scenery is breathtaking. Not only that, because we relatively going uphill all the time, the scenery changes everyday and so does the vegetation. Day 1 – is almost like any other forest you see in tropical countries, then the vegetation got thinner until we arrived in desert.

I must give you the statistics to let you have a better idea on the terrain we faced, both in terms of approximate distance (not calculating the (horizontally and vertically) winding roads) as well as the climb (sigh). The number in the brackets denotes the position of the town above sea level.
Day 1 – Galesor (?m) to Tatopani. Distance: 16 km
Day 2 – Tatopani (1190m) to Ghasa Distance: 12 km
Day 3 – Ghasa (2120m) to Tukuche. Distance: 13 km
Day 4 – Tukuche (2590m) to Jomson. Distance: 13 km
Lunch at the apple capital city of Nepal, Marpha.
Day 5 – Jomson-Kagbeni-Jomson. Roundtrip: 16km. Six bloody hours of horse riding through a wind-mad desert. It hurts – you know where. All I can say is: now I understand why cowboys walk the way they do.

From Jomson, we return to Pokhara. Using what? Small probably 20-seater aircraft. For how long? Ooh, just about 20 minutes flight ☹ Four days of trekking equivalent with 20 minutes air flight. Geez.

What to have: good trekking shoes and socks, (waterproof) jacket, extra clothes incase it gets chilly, hat, sunglasses, walking stick (yes, a must), waterproof rucksack with lock and a daypack, camera, water, and tons of sun lotion. Oh and good friends who can laugh on just about anything plus a good guide and a strong porter. AND a good sense of humor.

First stop: The Royal Chitwan National Park

Despite the use of the enticing term “royal” and “national park”, the harsh truth is, I was not very impressed with this most famous 932-sqm national park in Nepal. Apology for the direct comment. Perhaps it is the ignorant me, I don’t know. In fact, I was least impressed with my trip to Chitwan compared with other parts of my tour.

When I think of national park, I think of Africa. I think of Yosemite. I was thinking of being put in the middle of nowhere, perhaps in a valley surrounded by virgin forest or canyons. Obviously watching too many movies and reading too many novels.

We barely touched the outer ring of the national park, there was too much free time, and we did not see that much animals (for this: perhaps it is me who set my expectation too high). And perhaps when I first thought about Nepal, I had in mind this cold snowy country – not this hot humid tropical-like forest. Felt just like back home.

Don’t get me wrong. Not all is lost. I thoroughly enjoyed the canoeing, visiting the elephant breeding center, riding an elephant (three hours of it – it hurts, sniff), and the evening dance performance of the Tharu villagers. I especially loved the serene sceneries, when your eyes can travel as far as the eyes can see, when there is no sound other than the sound of nature (and occasional comments from my travel companions :))

The people - the host in the hotel, the guide, the locals - we met were also very nice. First time we tasted the Nepalese food. The usual meal is called Daal bat. A set of steamed rice with curry but not as spicy as the Indian curry. Not bad at all. Of course I rarely complained about food ?

Tips: mosquito repellent is an absolute must.

Entry point: Kathmandu

The flight from Jakarta to Kathmandu went through Bangkok. And even in Bangkok the mystery remain: so how cold is Kathmandu? Then we got suspicious, “why are those people wearing short sleeves?” And the answer is: because it is damned hot. Well, not damned hot. Excuse my french (no offence to the French) But it was hot. Even for tropical people like us. The other thing I remember about the airport was the long slow queue at the immigration. Let’s not talk about that shall we?

From the first time that I laid eyes on Kathmandu, the city was like any other major cities in developing countries: crowded, busy and buzzing with people wanted to get where they want ASAP. It’s an entry point and to me, let’s just leave it at that: an entry point then off to other places. And an exit point.

Wherever you go in Kathmandu, traffic is always packed, drivers impatiently honking yet people were not distracted (I was), and people are, excuse me, um, doing their 'business' on the side of the road.

Try fitting five people in a Kathmandu taxi (equivalent of an old Honda Live). We did once or twice. We even came up with a new advertisement slogan for the taxi: no more distance between us. Get the picture?

But Kathmandu does have what we call oases – places where we can chill and sip a cup of cappuccino (or black coffee) with ease. When you are on those oases, you too will forget about the bustling town around you. And it also has some very interesting shops including for travel, camping and trekking gears - but I especially love the pashmina, cashmere and those ethnic accessories, god give me strength!

I could not believe myself when I found such a lovely museum, Patan Museum, in the middle of the city. The Museum was amazing, the wooden classical design, the layout, the information provided. If only museums in Indonesia are like that.

Travel tips: If you have enough time, then travel light to Kathmandu, spend several days to do some shopping for your travel gears. Thamel market is a good place to get new or second-hand travel and trekking gears.

It started off very simple

As it always does.

Bumping into an old friend. Once. Twice. Three times. Hmm. Then we got off talking and Nepal was in the conversation. Then an SMS: shall we proceed with our wish to travel to Nepal? Then another SMS to another friend: or would you like to come with me to Nepal? Then another friend wanted to come along. The rest is history. Pictorial history that is.

So why Nepal out of all the places in the world? I don’t even consider that a question. How can one not want to go to Nepal and Tibet? The roof-top of the world. A center of global spiritualism. Origins of some of the oldest religions in the world. Breathtaking sceneries. Rich culture and tradition. The list goes on yet the question popped up. Oh well.

The trip was one of those “there is always a first for everything”. And for me this is the first for a lot of things. To travel to the likes of Nepal and Tibet. To travel for one whole month. With three trekker-wannabe dear friends: Arthur, Chitra, Intan. Twenty-four bloody hours times thirty days together. Got to be selective. I was. And lived to enjoy it.