Oh, the Places We'll Go

Thailand is famous for its street food.  Food stalls and rolling carts whip up your favorite kebabs, noodle dishes, and fried goodness, hot and fresh while you wait.  It’s dirt cheap, it’s widely available, and it’s better than any Thai food I’ve ever found in the States.

Our favorite street kebabs on Khao San Rd

Every meal, every snack is exciting - hard to go wrong with Thai Food!

Many times, you have no idea what you're getting

Ok, maybe you can go wrong. Here is an assortment of fried bugs and scorpions

Late-night pad thai and spring rolls on Khao San!

The numeric story of our time in the Indian Subcontinent:

• 35 – Days we spent in India
• 29 – Days we spent in Nepal
• 47 – Hours spent traveling by train
• 72 – Hours spent traveling by bus
• 0 – Hours spent traveling by plane
• 18 – Hours spent on our longest single commute in India (Jodhpur – Amritsar)
• 31 – Number of beds we slept in
• 1112 – Photos taken (and kept) in India
• 1621 – Photos taken (and kept) in Nepal (the most of any single country)
• 7 – Average number of times we had to say “no” before Indian people got the hint
• 2 – Elephants we encountered in the streets of India’s cities
• 3 – Yoga classes taken in Rishikesh, Ted’s first ever
• 11 – Days we spent hiking the Annapurna Circuit
• 90 – Miles we hiked on the Annapurna Circuit
• 14,337 – Vertical feet climbed on the Annapurna Circuit
• 15,912 – elevation of Thorong High View Camp, the highest we’ve ever slept
• 17,769 – elevation of Thorong La Pass, our highest hike in Asia
• $59.18 – average price per day in India (for both of us)
• $71.55 – average price per day in Nepal (for both of us)
• 100+ – Number of cups of delicious Chai tea

Be sure to check out our Best of India, Best of Nepal, and Annapurna Highlights albums to see some of our favorite moments of this chaotic land.

Thai massages and spas are a necessity of any visit to Bangkok.  For a mere $5, you can have your feet, your back, or your whole body worked in the age-old tradition of Thai massage.  Some spas have expanded their offering to “fish massages”, tanks full of hundreds of little fish that will eat the dead skin right off of your feet and lower legs.  WTF?!

"Happy Feet with Dr. Fish"

The tanks

A demo

We’ve gotten pretty used to chaotic, challenging, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes annoying, sometimes outrageously inefficient, sometimes completely unsuccessful situations and interactions during our travels throughout India and Nepal. It’s the developing world, it’s poor, and it’s packed with people struggling to survive. That’s what you put up with, but it’s a fight worth having, because the rewards, tastes, interactions, lessons, and experiences are so worth it.

When we stepped off the flight from Nepal to Thailand, we entered a different world – a world of functionality, efficiency, comfort, and relative peace and quiet. It’s amazing how you come to appreciate the little things when they’ve been absent so long. A few things that put smiles on our faces:

• No honking!
• Highways, with lanes that people stay in, and traffic laws that are followed!
• 24-hour electricity!
• Drinkable ice!
• Air-conditioned taxis with leather seats!
• 7-11 stores every 100 meters, full of everything an American 7-11 would have (plus alcohol)!
• Vendors actually listen when you say “no thanks” and leave you alone, often while maintaining a smile the whole time!

While the creature comforts are nice to have again, there are some cultural trade-offs that made everyday interactions a bit more bland. White people are everywhere. EVERYWHERE! Aussies and Brits galore, complete with their boisterous (and fun) attitudes. Local people just are not as interested in us, who we are and where we’re from. Initiating interactions is more difficult, as they are a more reserved culture very accustomed to tourists.

For better or for worse, we’re happy to be here. It might take a bit more effort to get away from the crowds, but the cultural traditions are equally as intriguing, the food is equally as amazing, and who doesn’t like a little comfort after roughing it for, say, 4 months!

Nepal, one of the poorest countries on the planet, is full of scenes that beg the question, WTF?! Check out a few funny things we encountered during our last week here:

A semi-full bus

That's a lot of containers on one head

Sometimes, you gotta stretch the powerlines

Mobile juicer

The Nepalese are, generally speaking, pretty small people (at least in comparison to us). But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some bad-asses in the country. And those that are the most bad-ass of all become Gurkhas – special force soldiers in the British Army. A legacy from the British rule days (dating back to 1815), Gurkhas are still recruited for the Queen’s army. Known for their bravery, toughness, and dedication, Gurkhas are carefully selected – 28,000 men apply each year for only 200 slots. The process is one of the toughest in the world and is fiercely contested. One unconventional physical test – run uphill for 40 minutes carrying a wicker basket full of 70lbs of rock. The competition may be fierce, but the payoff is valuable – post-service Gurkhas are granted UK citizenship.

Gurkha tryouts

We didn’t encounter any Gurkhas in person, but did see some recruitment signs for schools that prepare young Nepalis for the application process.

Gurkha training academy

Between pre- and post-trekking and the Buddhism retreat, we spent nearly 2 weeks chillin in Pokhara – the longest of any place we’ve been to date. Though a bit overdeveloped in terms of tourism services, we really enjoyed taking advantage of the many activities and great restaurants in the town. Some highlights of our time here:

Growing trekking beards is a must when you’re on the trail, but when you get back to town, there are many barber shops ready to help you clean up. Dave and I couldn’t pass up the $2 shave (including post-shave massage!).

Pre-shave

Mid-shave

Post-shave face massage

Across the lake and up the hill from Pokhara’s Lakeside neighborhood (where we stayed), lies the Peace Pagoda.  We spent one hot morning hiking up and enjoying the views.

Phewa Tal Lake

Ride across Phewa Tal

World Peace Pagoda

World Peace Pagoda

It was a very hot day...

Gorgeous views

Some nice locals we met on the way back

While we had phenomenal weather on the trek, apparently it rained every afternoon in Pokhara. Upon returning, we witnessed the torrential downpour that fell at about 3:30 every afternoon. No big deal for us – we were busy eating and drinking our way through town. Hard rains just meant more beers!

pre-monsoon rains

Caught in the rain

We got caught too, here at a waterfall on the far side of town

We intended to leave Pokhara 2 days earlier than we did. But, somebody (well, probably a lot of somebodies) in Nepal was angry, and strikes were organized. Nepali strikes focus on freezing transportation, road blocks are put up, and cars that drive on strike days are likely to get stoned. Being stuck in Pokhara for a couple extra days ain’t all that bad though! We took the opportunity to rent some bikes, ride around the lake, and explore some of the neighboring communities.

Cruising the shores of Phewa Tal

We picked up a couple hitchhikers along the way

Bike riding on strike day

Potentially the best thing about Pokhara’s overly-developed tourism ghetto is the extensive options of delicious food. The best and cheapest pizza on the trip – Pokhara Pizza: $2. Our favorite local food (well, kinda local, the recipes were brought over by the exiled Tibetans) was undoubtedly momos – steamed or fried dumplings stuffed with veggies, potatoes, or meat. We ate lots of momos on the trek, but we really embraced these dumplings during MoMo Fest 2011, a tour of all the local momo shops in Pokhara. Read Jesse and Dave’s hilarious account of our momo progressive party here.

Pokhara pizza - best $2 we spent on the trip!

MoMo Fest 2011 begins!!

MoMo Fest 2011 continues!

Needless to say, Pokhara was good to us, and I’m certain that we’ll be back someday.

Check out this machine – the universal work vehicle in Nepal.  I call it a Nepali Utility Vehicle (NUV).  Part tractor, part truck, part bus, part wheelbarrow, part loader, part tuk-tuk, the NUV is about as bare-bones as they come.  Max speed – not fast.  Max load – well, that depends on how high you can pile up!

The NUV

The fancy version even has a roof!

I think he's got 3 more layers left, at least!

Well, it’s been a few months.  If you followed us regularly during the trip, you probably thought we’d fallen off the blog-posting wagon completely.  We did, but now we’re back, and bound and determined to finish this blog.  Of course, you can just call us now and we can tell you these stories in person, but we want to have a completed log of our tales and photos.  So, feel free to continue following along if you’re interested.  We still have 2 months of stories and pics to share!  Hope you enjoy…