TdM – what a day for a ride…

…a very long ride!!!  When the day is done, they will have been sitting in the saddle for at least 265km.

Today marked the start of the Third Annual Tour de Muskoka.  The ride begins in Oakville and winds it’s way north-east (skirting Lake Simcoe on the east side).  The destination…cottage country – a warm shower, a BBQ, and a few beers!

Dave, Scott, and Mark (rumour has it that Paul will be on BBQ duty this evening)…chose an ‘almost’ perfect day…the ‘almost’ comes from the fact they won’t have a tailwind, but wow…awesome weather!

Before they can get out of the city, they have to navigate their way through traffic, including some big-ass trucks!

And after a few kms, they were on their own…

Can’t wait for an update later today!!

Captured Moments

Returning home from a wonderful travel adventure brings with it a bit of sadness…knowing that it’s over.  Within a day or two, the routine that had been left behind to go exploring, quickly envelops us and forces the mind, and imagination, onto other more immediate issues.

But there are moments - seeing the wrinkled hand of an old man, making faces with a young child in the grocery check-out, savouring the spicy aroma of an exotic dish, or even wiping the dust off a pant leg – yes, these little things allow us to place ourselves back in time, to a place thousands of miles away. 

As long as we have a healthy mind, we’ll always have this treasure - recollection.  And, as the edges and details fade over time, we have pictures.

To see some of our moments captured in Nepal & Bhutan, feel free to click on the “What’s New?” link on the site:

www.RutsUp.com

I’ll leave them in that section for awhile and eventually, I’ll move some of them over to a separate site.

Namaste!

Chasing Legends – the documentary

I had posted quite awhile ago that I was looking forward to seeing ‘Chasing Legends’ when it finally made its way to Canada.  Well, as is typical for me…I couldn’t wait.  So, I ordered the DVD from the USA instead.

It then sat on the shelf while we waited to share the viewing with a bunch of friends.  Busy lives meant that we finally saw it last night.

Great documentary.  The behind the scenes footage of TdF, especially as it relates to tactics/strategy was intriguing.  There were some great interviews with the likes of Phil Liggett & Paul Sherwan – TdF commentators, riders, race directors, and etc.

It was amazing how quickly I was caught up into the whole TdF experience all over again - July cannot get here fast enough!!!

Edited to add:  I heard that TSN will be carrying TdF television coverage in Canada this year!  YES!!!!

Annapurna Sanctuary Trek

Adventure Treks Nepal (trekking company) had suggested we begin our trek in Phedi instead of Nayapul, the other common start point.  So, that is the route we would take - begin in Phedi and end in Nayapul.

Our guide – Gyanendra

Our porter (also a guide) – Ramesh

At times, Ramesh carried more than just gear…

Many trekkers will use 10-11 days for the trek to Annapurna Base Camp (with a side trip to Poon Hill for sunrise).  This would give them sufficient time to manage the long climbs and descents along the way.  Our plan would be 8-1/2 days and in the end, we ended up doing it in 8 days and that still gave us opportunity for a couple of more leisurely hiking days (i.e. not in speed as much as more time to relax at the planned teahouse destination) along the way.

Teahouses:

Beginning in Phedi meant that our trek would start with a long steep hike up.  One thing to note is that the trails are a mix of dirt, fields, rocks/boulders, tree roots, suspension bridges, log bridges…and steps - lots of steps, seemingly endless steps.  Some are high steps (think burning quadricep muscles) and others are lower, but deeper steps.  There were times where you looked forward to a plain ol’ dirt path to give the legs a break.

 

Apparently, there have been some individuals who have counted the number of steps between Ulieri and Tikhedhunga and we’ve heard everything from 3000 to 4600 stone steps, but it really doesn’t matter which one is correct, because that represents only a small portion that the trekker will face over the full route.  It is only one very short and very steep section.  In any case, there are a LOT of steps!

We travelled through farming areas, villages, jungle, rhododendron and bamboo forests.  We crossed streams, walked over icy rocks, frost-tipped grasses, and through snow.  We wandered past glaciers, waterfalls, scree slopes above the tree line…and we sat in amazingly warm hot springs to soothe the muscles and the soul.

 

We shared the paths with local residents, children going to/from school, trekkers, animals (buffalo, donkeys, sheep, goats, dogs, cows, monkeys, and birds), porters for trekkers, and porters for supplies being carried in and out from the various villages and teahouses along the way.

Since there were no roads, all supplies - incl building materials, food, etc – would be carried in.  The porters’ faces barely reflected the strain from the heavy loads their bodies undoubtedly were carrying.  It was a part of their life.  It’s not surprising that we noticed several elderly locals with walking sticks, bent over from what may have been the result of years of carrying such loads. 

The views were amazing – sunrise at Tadapani, Annapurna Base Camp, Poon Hill, and Ghorepani will not be quickly forgotten.  Sunset in Tolka, Chhomrong, and Birenthati was beautiful.  Winter solstice and the full moon made for bright skies in the evenings. 

An impromptu volleyball game between the trekking porters in Ghorepani was a highlight – these guys were amazing…and some were playing in open-toed sandals.  Ramesh, our porter is the one in the red and black down jacket and jeans.

We had a ton of fun along the way – Mark and Gyanendra had me laughing while they played mock-volleyball at a local school between Chhomrong and Chuli – with their packs on!

It is understandable why this is called the Annapurna Sanctuary trek – the mountains seem to envelop us as we reach base camp and everything is so peaceful.

We met other trekkers from around the world (photo below of a great group from Australia that were with us at base camp and then we were reunited with them again in Pokhara), others from Thailand, UK, Netherlands, USA, Canada, Nepal, China, Cambodia and many more.

Leaving footsteps and taking home a TON of memories – what a trip!

Trekking in Nepal – why Annapurna Region

Do we trek in the Everest region – possibly to Everest Base Camp, or in the Annapurna region – the circuit or Annapurna Base Camp?  Those were the questions that we needed to answer before arranging our travel plans to Nepal.

The decision would end up coming down to the amount of time we had available and our desire for a ‘less busy’ alternative to Everest Base Camp.  It seems that most people that travel to Nepal, recognize ‘Everest’ and as such, it’s a natural destination choice.  With that in mind, the number of trekkers and apparently, the amount of garbage left behind, meant that we wanted the ‘less travelled’ option.

The other benefit of Annapurna Base Camp route is it would allow us to have more time traveling through villages and meeting locals before reaching the higher altitudes, whereas with Everest Base Camp, the route is less populated by locals.

We should also mention that many people fly to Lukla from Kathmandu to begin their trek to Everest Base Camp.  The downside is the Lukla flight is often delayed or cancelled due to weather (fog, cloud coverage, etc).  Our travel plans didn’t have a lot of extra play for unexpected delays, especially if it meant several days of delays (which actually happened to some trekkers while we were in Nepal).

So, Annapurna region won – more remote, less busy, and better control over travel to/from the start point.  In our case, that would be Phedi, about 18km outside Pokhara.

Adventure Treks Nepal – we were wow’d!

We were thrilled with the service we received from this company and felt compelled to offer a testimonial to TripAdvisor.com, to the company itself, and of course, I wanted to post it here as well.

Adventure Treks Nepal (P) Ltd.
P.O.Box: 23092,
Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: +977 98510 65354 – contact Mr. Gyan Karki
Fax: +977 1 4260670

www.adventurenepaltreks.com

www.adventuretreksnepal.com

advnepal@wlink.com.np

Objects may be larger than they appear

Case in point…     MOUNT EVEREST

(taken from plane at 40,000’ cruising altitude)

The view of the Himalayan Mountains on our flights in and out of Kathmandu were amazing.

Happy New Year

It was a quiet night for us…dinner with our guide and driver and a couple of bottles of ‘Druk 11000’ beer, then back to the hotel where we had a bottle of Indian ‘champagne’ (called Zampagne) chilling outside our room.

Note to self, the French have Champagne…and champagne by any other name (Zampagne or otherwise) is still not champagne!  Let’s just say it was really, really awful tasting!  

I don’t think I was completely surprised.  The bottle was purchased from a small liquor store in Paro earlier in the day and the dust on the bottle either suggested it was a vintage bottle recently pulled from the dusty cellar…or…it had sat on the shelf for so long that even the shop keeper never expected that anyone would ever buy it…except some crazy tourist on New Years Eve!  Yes, one sip, one toast…for 700 Nu (about US$17).

It was not the bigger celebratory New Years of previous years, but still…to be in Bhutan on this day…we’re not complaining at all!

Strangely enough, there isn’t a countdown on television for Bhutan New Year’s Eve celebrations.  No Times Square, no Anderson Cooper, no Nathan Phillips Square, no fireworks…but the people in the room beside us were definitely from India, as they chose to begin their celebrations at 12:30am (time zone difference) and it was the Indian New Year countdown that was the only one I could find broadcast on TV.  So, we did the countdown for 12:00am and 12:30am…why not!?

When we arrived at the Paro airport the following morning, the New Years Eve celebrations were still being shown on television, but this time it was CNN coverage of NYC Times Square, then Nashville,… well, you get the picture.  Yes…we were there for quite awhile.  Our flight was delayed due to fog (snowfall last night).

The crowds got a little antsy, the airport staff brought in lunch for everyone, and finally 8 hours after getting to the airport, we finally boarded our flight back to Kathmandu.  Whew!  A New Years like no other.

Bhutan – Taktshang Monastery – Tiger’s Nest

The first time I recall reading something about Bhutan it was in reference to a monastery that was built into the side of a cliff.  I remember seeing the photograph online and couldn’t begin to imagine the work that went into building such a magnificent place of worship in such a precarious place.  What kind of visionary would think that this would be a good place to build (it sits at an elevation of 3120m or 10240 ft).

I was in awe.  In part, I think it was the image of the Taktshang Monastery that planted the seed that Bhutan was a place of mystery, beauty, and worthy of a place to add to our Bucket List.

Well, today is the day!  We are off to hike up the mountain side to finally see it in person.  We had arrived in Paro early this morning and were on the trail by 9:30am.   Nima had pointed it out to us on the drive up to the trailhead and we could barely see it.  It was a white speck on the side of a cliff.

Even as we edged our way up the gradual switchbacks, it still seemed to be far off in the distance.

 

With the zoom lens, it was a little clearer now.

And, now we are able to get a good view from a vantage point across the chasm between where we stand and the cliff edge where the monastery sits.

Amazing!!!!  We still had to descend back down and then up the other side to reach Tiger’s Nest.  No cameras are allowed inside (checked our bags at the guard’s office), but what an impressive structure.

 

Legend suggests that Guru Rinpoche rode on the back of a tigress from Tibet to this spot, chased away the demons, and went on to meditate here.  Thus the name – Tiger’s Lair or Tiger’s Nest Monastery.

The Taktshang was almost completely destroyed by a fire 1998.  It is believed to have been started by accident – possibly an overturned butter lamp.  You can still see the black burn marks on the rock face above the temple.  Now, butter lamps are kept in one part of the monastery only, as well as on the opposite side of the chasm facing the monastery.

Mark lighting a butter lamp:

 

What a remarkable place.  Yes, this on its own was worth the visit to Bhutan.

Bhutan – Thimphu sights (cont’d)

The Phelchey Toenkhyim (Folk Heritage Museum) was our next stop.  This offers the visitors the opportunity to see what rural life might have been like for Bhutanese people.  The three storey house is built in the traditional architectural style seen elsewhere in the country and dates back to the 19th century. 

Along with the house, furnishings, clothing, implements, equipment, etc. there is also a traditional water mill, rice paddy, wheat, and millet fields…oh, and yes…a phallus hanging over the front door.  It is something we see repeated in our travels here.  It is meant to ward off evil spirits.

Following a late lunch in Thimphu, we still had time before we were scheduled to see the Tashichho Dzong and so we made an impromptu stop at a local dart playing field as a tournament was in progress.  Now, I understand how Nima’s friend may have gotten hurt.  These darts are far more ‘dangerous’ than the lawn darts we played years ago.

Our final stop today would be Tashiccho Dzong.  It’s an incredibly impressive structure which houses a monastery, government/administration offices, as well as the throne of the King of Bhutan.  All visits can only occur once the offices close for the day.  As we await the lowering of the flag, we are able to get a view of just how big this structure is.