Hiking in the Himalaya's

After several chaotic days in Kathmandu I decided to head over to Pokhara, the second largest city in Nepal.  To get there I endured a very long 7-hour bus ride sitting next to a fellow American who felt the need to preach to me the entire time about how he found Jesus.  Needless to say, I was more than relieved when we arrived in Pokhara which turned out to be a small piece of paradise compared to Kathmandu.  Pokhara, situated on a beautiful lake, is a bit lower in altitude and much warmer than Kathmandu.  It was lovely to see palm trees with snow capped mountains in the background. 

                                                   

Nepal is a trekker’s paradise with treks through the Himalaya Mountains ranging anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks or longer.  Along the well-marked trails you typically encounter “teahouses” which are village-run guesthouses providing basic accommodation and food.  This was fantastic since there was no need to carry heavy backpacks filled with camping gear and food and you had the opportunity to interact with the local villagers.

Typical room on the trail ($2)

After talking to a few ex-guides around Pokhara I felt comfortable that there was no need to hire a guide or a porter to carry my things.  Being the independent person that I am, I decided to go it alone and was told that there would be lots of people on the trail so I would never really be alone.   My only concern was the weather.  The day before I left for my trek there was a torrential downpour in Pokhara that brought hail the size of quarters.  Imagine being stuck on the trail with no shelter while being pelted with hail of that size!

Porters would carry at least 3 backpacks each!

With a trail map in hand I caught the local bus to the trailhead and set out on a 6-day trek of the Poon Hill – Ghorepani – Ghandruk circuit through the beautiful and stunning Annapurna Range of the Himalaya Mountains. 

Annapurna Range of the Himalaya Mountains

For the next 6 days my days went like this: 

Wake up around 7am and eat a great breakfast at the guesthouse (sometimes with the most stunning view), pack up my gear and head out on the trail, hike for a few hours and hopefully find shelter from the daily rain (and sometimes hail), continue hiking and stop off at a little café for lunch, hike for a few more hours, find a guesthouse around 4pm and shower, enjoy a nice dinner, and then off to bed.

Typically I walked for 4-7 hours a day and most of it was either straight uphill or downhill, almost never was it flat.  The first 2 days were tough as it was a constant uphill battle but the views afterwards made it all worth it.  

View at Poon Hill

Along the way I met several trekkers headed in the same direction and we’d meet up at the end of the day and enjoy a great dinner together.  

Trekking friends along the way

The best part of my day was always arriving to the guesthouse in the late afternoon, taking off my sweaty and dirty clothes, showering in a hot shower, putting on warm - dry clothes and then eating a big dinner of Dal Bhat (the local Nepalese dish).  Such a fantastic experience!

Welcome to Nepal

Crossing the “Friendship Bridge” from Tibet into Nepal I could tell immediately that I was in a different country.  The people looked more Indian than Asian, the infrastructure was in disrepair, the food had more of an Indian influence, the streets were filthier, businesses closed down on Saturday (rather than Sunday), and even the time was a bit different.  When it’s 12pm in Michigan it’s 9:45pm in Nepal.   

Border town Kodari, Nepal

From the border the only affordable way to reach Kathmandu was to take a local bus.  I thought that a journey of 60 miles would be a piece of cake but instead it turned out to be the most grueling bus ride of my trip so far.  Besides being very uncomfortable (knees squished against the seat in front of me), people were crammed in the aisle, loud music was blaring from the speakers, both people and goats were riding on top of the bus, and it seemed that every 30 minutes we were stopped by Nepali soldiers who would board the bus, searching our bags.  The bus took 6 hours to travel 60 miles…  that’s 10 miles an hour!

After the long, excruciating ride on the bus we arrived to the bus station in Kathmandu.  A few fellow foreigners and I decided to share a taxi to save on cost.  It was quite hilarious to see all 4 of us (with our large backpacks) along with the driver try and fit into a car the size of a subcompact.  On the way to Paknajol, where the quieter hotels were located, we drove through Thamel, the main tourist area of Kathmandu.   The very narrow streets were crowded with people, taxis, motorcycles, rickshaws, and were lined with shop after shop selling trekking gear, restaurants which surprisingly served up excellent “western” food, internet cafes, and money changers (in Nepal you can easily change US Dollar to Nepalese Rupee but trying to change Rupee back into Dollar was impossible).

Nepali ladies in Kathmandu

I arrived to my candlelit hotel and soon realized that Kathmandu has some serious power outages.  The electricity is off most of the day and night on purpose, with “2 to 4 hours” of power twice a day (typically a few hours during the day and a few at night or early morning).  To make it more complicated, each day the power comes on at different time but to make it a little easier they publish a “schedule of power” so at least I was able to plan ahead to charge my computer, camera batteries, and to even take a hot shower.

Kathmandu for me was an exhausting place (and just walking around I could feel my blood pressure skyrocket to unhealthy levels).  Besides being a very dirty city with water that borders on being lethal, it was overcrowded with people, honking cars, motorcycles, and even cows.   It took some getting used to seeing cows wandering the streets with people and cars but after awhile it seemed so normal.  Being a country of primarily Hindus the cow is sacred and killing one carries the same penalty as killing a person.

Durbar Square in Kathmandu

The day I was to fly out of Kathmandu the entire city went on strike.  Nothing was open and there was no transportation.  Luckily the strike did not affect the international flights but getting to the airport was another story.  Also it was at this time that my ATM card stopped working.  After spending a very expensive 20 minutes talking to a representative I found out that in Nepal, someone had stolen my card number and now had access to my account.  Oh the joys of traveling…  

7 Days in Tibet – On the Road to Mt. Everest

After spending 2 full days in Lhasa and getting my fill of monasteries we set off for something a little different… Mt. Everest.  For the next 2 days we drove for 7 hours a day in order to reach base camp.  At the time I didn’t think 7 hours sounded that bad but the roads in Tibet are not so good and soon 7 hours seemed like an eternity.  Since the majority of Tibet is so high and dry the landscape was completely brown and the only thing that the surrounding villages grow is barley and wheat.  Along the way we passed by a village where the driver had come from.  He told us that it was very common in this village for the brothers of a family to share one wife!

 Tibetan landscape

We arrived to Everest Base Camp (EBC) in the early evening and our guide gave us the option of sleeping in the guesthouse at the monastery or in a tent near Everest base camp.  We chose the tent! 

Tibetan tent at Everest Base Camp

Since Mt. Everest was covered in clouds we rested a bit and then set out on the 2 ½ mile hike to reach base camp.  It was really just a simple walk along a dirt road but it felt like an uphill climb the way my heart was racing and how out of breath I was.  I guess that is what happens at 17,000 feet!

Everest Base Camp at 17,000 feet

Sadly when we arrived to base camp Mt. Everest was still covered in clouds but it looked like they were dissipating.  We decided to stick around for a few minutes but the chilly wind was blowing so hard that it took our breath away so we decided to give up and headed back to camp.   On the way back my hands were so cold that I couldn’t even use them.  I’m not use to this kind of weather.  Luckily when we arrived to the tent there was a fire going in the stove (using yak dung as the fuel source) and we sipped on hot tea to warm up.  The sun was getting ready set so we stepped outside just in time to see the most spectacular view of Mt. Everest lit up by the sun.  It was absolutely stunning!

Mt. Everest at sunset

The night in the tent was not one of my more enjoyable nights.  To begin with the Tibetans in the tent decided to play a loud card slapping and shouting card game into the wee hours of the night while chain smoking.  Imagine being stuck in a tent with 5 chain smoking guys!  Overnight the fire in the stove went out and the temperature dipped down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit.  In the morning the water in my water bottle was completely frozen (as was I)!

After eating a traditional Tibetan breakfast of tsampa (roasted barley flour mixed with water) and drinking salty yak butter tea, we set out on our final 7 hour drive to the Nepalese border.  We ended up making our own path “a shortcut the driver tells us” along a dried up riverbed, stopping occasionally to remove large rocks out of our way.  The drive was spectacular though, taking us through the Himalayan Mountains where it was snowing.

7 Days in Tibet - Lhasa

I arrived to Lhasa and was greeted by my Tibetan guide Gyalsten, and my fellow tour companion, Canadian Bill.  In the Tibetan language, Lhasa means the Holy Land or the Buddha Land and is the center of Tibet's politics, economy and culture. Our guide told us that it’s common for people to say that 87% of Lhasa is Tibetan but in reality it is only 60%.  The remainder 40% is Chinese who come to Lhasa to work.  Immediately you can see that Tibetans and Chinese are not similar in any shape or form.  In fact one tourist I met proclaimed, “Tibetans look more Mexican than anything else”.  And it’s true…

The city of Lhasa

Everywhere I went in Lhasa I’d see the presence of the Chinese army.  Soldiers and police were stationed on top of buildings, in front of monasteries, you name it...they were there just waiting for trouble to break out.  But to me Lhasa appeared to be such a peaceful place and the Tibetan people so harmless.

Arriving to Lhasa the first thing I noticed is how important Tibetan Buddhism is to the everyday lives of the Tibetan people.  Walking down the street (always clockwise around the temple) there would be hundreds of Tibetans making their daily pilgrimage around the temple, chanting, twirling prayer wheels, or fingering prayer beads.  I even encountered several people throwing themselves down on the ground in what the guide told me was prostration.  This was something I had never seen before.  In Buddhism, Buddhists carry out prostration before the image of the Buddha to show their respect for them. This was to become a common sight in Tibet… almost as common as prayer flags.  Tibetan Buddhists put prayer flags outside their homes and places of spiritual worship for the wind to carry the good vibrations across the countryside. They are said to bring happiness, long life, and prosperity to the person who put the flag there and also those in the vicinity.

Pilgrim performing prostration

We spent much of our time in Lhasa visiting the monasteries of which the most famous is Potala Palace.  This enormous monastery was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the current Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959.  The monastery is thirteen stories tall and contains over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and 200,000 statues in addition to many tombs of previous Dalai Lamas.

Potala Palace

The other monasteries we had the opportunity to visit were Norbulingka (Summer Palace) which was where the Dalai Lama would spend his summers. In fact it was here that the current Dalai Lama made his escape to India disguised as a Tibetan soldier in 1959.  At Sera Monastery, the 2^nd largest monastery in Tibet, we had the fortune to watch monks debate the philosophies learned that day.  This was quite an intense experience with lots of shouts and claps as they try to get their point across.  And at Jokhang Temple, in the center of Old Lhasa, we witnessed hundreds of Tibetans making their daily pilgrimage to this very important temple.

                                                 

Monks debating

7 Days in Tibet – The 44 hour Train Ride

The train from Chengdu to Lhasa was to take 44 hours and instead of riding in the loud and very cramped quarters of the hard sleeper I decided to treat myself and pay a little extra money for the roomier and quieter soft sleeper.  At the train station in Chengdu there was even a separate waiting area for those with soft sleeper tickets, much like a VIP area.  This was a very welcome sight since most train waiting areas have been cramped and covered with litter all over the floors.

Chinese train ticket to Tibet

After boarding the train I was required to fill out a health declaration form stating that I was in good health and able to travel at high elevations.  The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the world's highest railway with an average elevation of 13,000 feet.

The soft sleeper compartment was nice… the mattresses were bigger and more comfortable and I could actually sit up in my upper bunk.  There was a door to shut out the noise from the hallway and each bunk even had a TV but they didn’t work.  I was living it up… unfortunately I witnessed plenty of Chinese and Tibetan passengers that weren’t as fortunate.  They were stuck riding in a hard seat for the entire 44 hour journey.  I can think of nothing worse!

The comfortable "soft sleeper"

After 20 hours on the train we crossed from mainland China into Tibet.  The change was apparent.  No longer were there little villages and big cities scattered about.  We were now greeted by brown, barren, and empty land with the occasional wandering nomad with his herd of sheep or yak. 

Tibetan landscape

After 36 hours the landscape begins to change and we pass snow covered mountain ranges, turquoise lakes, and frozen rivers.  For as populated as China is, Tibet is not.  This entire time we have passed only a handful of tiny villages consisting of at most 5-10 houses. 

Tibetan landscape

Overnight I awoke several times to find myself uncomfortably gasping for air.  I could only assume that we were going over the pass that was at an elevation of 16,500 feet.   Luckily for those passengers that were having real difficulty breathing the train did supply oxygen masks (much like in an airplane) in each compartment.

Xi'an, China

After just one day in Chengdu I decided that it was not a place that could hold my attention for the next 6 days so I took a look at the map and decided to head to Xi’an, only a 16 hour train ride or 1 hour flight away.  I had hoped to take the train but Xi’an is a popular tourist destination and tickets for the night I wanted to depart were already booked so I settled for flying which surprisingly was only a little bit more expensive.

Xi’an is known for the Terracotta Warrior’s Museum.

Terracotta warrior 

In 1974 farmers digging a well near Xi’an uncovered pieces of pottery.  What they really uncovered was the underground terracotta army of the first Emperor of China, Emperor Quin Shi Huang (259-210 BC), which had been buried for over 2,000 years!  Emperor Qin had countless numbers of warriors made to guard his tomb and protect him in the afterlife.  To date over 7,000 life size soldiers, 1,000 horses, chariots, and even weapons have been unearthed.

Bits and pieces of warriors before being reconstructed

It took over 70,000 people to create this army and what’s amazing is that each warrior is about 6-feet tall and no two have the same facial features.  It is believe that the warriors were designed after actual people who were then killed since they knew the Emperor’s secret. 

Warriors as they were found - guarding the Emperor's tomb

Lijiang, China

After saying goodbye to my new Canadian friend (who bless her, thought I was 26!) and promising to meet up in Nepal for the Nepali New Year mid-April, I hopped on the bus heading for Lijiang.  The ride was quite scenic but very dusty and bumpy and 4 hours later we thankfully arrived.  After settling into my very hard to find hostel I set out to stretch my legs and explore town. 

Streets of Lijiang

Lijiang was a very scenic village filled with a maze of cobblestone streets.  If you weren’t paying attention you’d find yourself lost but eventually all roads led back to the center of town.  So far this was the most touristy spot I had been in China.  Outside of China I was use to the term tourist referring to “western tourists” but here the town was completely overrun by domestic tourists!  The Chinese are beginning to have more and more disposable income so it’s quite common for them to hop on tour buses to see the sights of their country.

Lijiang at dusk

Dali, China

I thought that with my English/Chinese map in hand, and having had the girl at the hostel write out (in Chinese characters) what bus ticket I wanted to purchase I could find my way to the bus station and get on the right bus to Dali.  Wrong… 

I hailed a taxi and pointed on my map to what I believed said “bus station” in Chinese since it was right below “bus station” written in English.  The taxi driver nodded that she understood and we set off.  A few minutes later she stopped the taxi and motioned for me to get off – signaling that this was my stop.  This was not the bus station and plus the meter was only at 8Y and it should have cost me 25Y.  I pulled out other maps that I had and looked in my Lonely Planet to see if the bus station it was spelled out in Chinese characters.  I find something and she nods that she understands. 

Surprisingly we arrived to the bus station and I walked up to the ticket window with my pre-written note describing exactly what I wanted (express bus to Dali) and just like that the woman gave me the right ticket with the best seat. 

Lesson Learned:  life is so much easier if you can anticipate exactly what you’ll need to ask or say and have the hostel write it for you in Chinese characters on a piece of paper.  Seriously, this makes life so much less complicated.

My $4 hostel in Dali

Since it was a warm night and Dali was such a cute village I stopped off at this little café for dinner with cozy outdoor seating right on the street.  Almost immediately I was approached by an older “traditionally dressed” woman asking if I wanted to buy some silver bracelets.  She then leaned over and in a quieter voice asked “you smoke the ganja”?  She was trying to sell me dope right there on the street!  Before the end of the night I had at least 4 other women approach me asking if I wanted ganja.   Crazy! 

The woman who tried to sell me ganja on the street

Kunming, China

After saying goodbye to Charles and Henry at the train station I jumped on a train bound for Kunming - 24 hours away.  I’ve noticed that the Chinese are in the habit of talking to each other in a very loud voice.  Most of the time it sounds like they are yelling at each other but it’s just the way they communicate. 

Unfortunately for me, the people in my 6-bunk train compartment were a very social and loud group who decided to talk (yell) nonstop until the lights went out at 11pm.  On the upside, that’s the nice thing about staying in the hard sleeper on the train  – at 11pm the lights go out and everyone goes to bed but at 7am the lights come back on along with the loud music, signaling time to get up.

After a somewhat painless 24 hours I arrived to Kunming and it was heaven – sunny and warm! 

Kunming was just a stopover on my way to Dali so I stayed the night at this great little $4 hostel and spent the afternoon wandering around the city, soaking up the great weather, and trying not to let the disgusting (and very common) sounds of the Chinese hacking up a lung and then spitting the mucus onto the sidewalk or into garbage cans ruin my day. 

I found myself on the local bus at rush hour, pushed up next to 2 young girls who obviously wanted to speak English with me as they were practicing (in English) what they are going to say to me.  To break the ice I asked them “do you speak English”?  From that point on I was bombarded with questions until it was time for one of us to get off.

I was quite surprised at how good their English was as just 12 years old.  When they asked me “do you think China is beautiful”?  I replied that I though China was very beautiful which prompted one of them to say “well I think you are very beautiful”!  As I got off the bus one of the girls calls out to me “I love you”.  Such a funny conversation!

Shenzhen, China

Two friends of mine were in Shenzhen for the weekend so I decided to stop over and see them.  Shenzhen, a big city of about 9 million people, is located right across the border from Hong Kong and was just a short trip from where I was in Guilin:  13 hours by train.  For China travel, that’s considered nearby so nobody thought I was crazy to travel for 13 hours in order to see friends for just 2 days.

At the train station in Guilin, I had my first introduction to Chinese “public” toilets.  I’ve gotten use to the fact that most toilets in China are “squat toilets” but here in the train station the “trough toilets” were far worse than anything I had seen before and smelly!  This type of toilet consists of door-less stalls with a long trough running through the stalls (sometimes with running water but most often not).  You basically squat over the trough while trying not to look over at your neighbor doing her business (who is typically squatting while texting on their cell phone – a funny sight).  Since the trough is shared by many people it’s common to see other people’s poo floating by.  Not the most pleasant experience!

My first introduction to China toilets!

China trains have several different seating options for travel but the ones I was most concerned with involved sleeping:  hard sleeper and soft sleeper.  Hard sleeper has open compartments with 6 bunks (upper/middle/lower).  Soft sleeper has compartments with 4 bunks (upper/lower) and the luxury of a door.  Since hard sleeper is quite a bit cheaper and I was only taking a short 13 hour train ride I decided that was the way to go.  Miraculously the travel agent had booked me the middle bunk which was a godsend once I actually stepped onto the train.  Turns out that everyone sits on the lower bunk during the day and well into the night and the upper bunk is where the speakers and lights are so if you are trying to sleep it’s nearly impossible.  The middle bunk was perfect and from then on I would always request the middle bunk anytime I took the train (which was often).

Hard sleeper on China trains

The 13 hour train ride was a breeze (except for the fact that I was near the disgusting toilets (a hole in the floor that empties onto the track) which also happened to be the place that all the chain-smoking men hung out) and I arrived to Shenzhen in the morning.  I met up with Charles and Henry who were all set to do a little shopping at the famous “Lo Wu Shopping Center”.  This is the place you dream about coming to for cheap knock-off brands but I have to admit it was a little too intense for me. 

After a delightful Chinese dinner (with something like 20 dishes) we treated ourselves to $5 Chinese foot massages.  The masseuse took one look at my feet and demanded that first she scrape off all the dead skin with something that resembled a chisel.  I guess that’s what happens to your feet when you live shoeless on a boat for 4 months.

Guilin & Yangshuo, China

After flying from Kuala Lumpur to Guilin I went straight from the airport to the hostel and I must have been in “cold weather” shock since I found myself “staying in” at the hostel for the next day until I was forced to leave in order to catch my bus to Yangshuo. 

Hostels in China typically charge around $4/night for a bed and throughout my travels I was continually impressed with the quality of the places I stayed (except for the fact that they all had hard as a rock 2” foam padding disguised as mattresses).  Almost always the staff at the hostels spoke good English and provided a fun atmosphere to swap stories with other travelers.

Typical mattress in $4 Chinese hostels

Yangshuo was a great place to begin my travels in China.… Not only because of the amazing scenery but also because it was super touristic, meaning that more people here speak English than in other parts of China and I could find a “western breakfast” and not have to settle for the typical Asian breakfast of noodles or rice.  I don’t mind that so much at other times of the day but not for breakfast! 

There was one day when it was not raining so ventured out with 2 Israeli guys from the hostel.  We rented bicycles and toured the countryside for 3 very muddy, misty, and cold hours.  It was incredibly scenic and fascinating to bike through little Chinese villages and see what daily life was like. 

The beautiful Li River in Yangshuo

After we got back into town I stopped off at the “wet market” where you can buy produce and other things.  I was shocked when I looked in the back and saw several stalls selling dog meat.  Dogs were crammed into cages, barely able to bark, while the butcher was chopping up meat from another that had been freshly slaughtered, and adjacent to that he was roasting a dog (just like you would roast a pig).  It was a very sad and disturbing sight.

Adventures with a Chinese Bus

At the hostel in Guilin I overhear 2 English guys ask the girl at the front desk about getting the bus to Yangshuo and I ask if I can tag along.  I’ve heard that travel in China can be a bit stressful due to the language barrier and I have to admit that I feel more comfortable traveling with others in situations like this. 

The girl at the front desk tell us “oh yah… the bus Yangshuo, very easy”.  She attempts to give us directions and afterwards we find ourselves more confused.  We end up at some kind of major transportation center with the routes and fares displayed on billboards high above the ticket counters but it’s written in Chinese symbols so we have no idea what’s being said.  After waiting in the long line we figure out that we’re at the train station, not the bus station. 

Standing in the rain, looking at our Lonely Planet maps, trying to figure out where the bus station is, we’re hounded by many Chinese touts trying to sell us overly priced tickets on their “buses” to Yangshuo. 

We’re determined to find the bus station and the map says it is only a few blocks from the train station so we set out on foot.  Ten minutes later we come upon loads of buses but can’t seem to find the ticket counter.  Looking lost in the bus parking lot we are approached by a guy telling us to get on his bus.  It’s going to Yangshuo and costs 20 Yuan which is close to what the Lonely Planet says it should be so we hop on and hope for the best.

Five minutes later the bus stops and we look out the bus window to see our hostel.  We all look at each other and burst out laughing.  Why the girl at the hostel desk could not have just told us to wait in front of the hostel to catch the bus is beyond me.  It would have saved us our sanity and at least an hour of hassle.

Once in Yangshuo the bus drops us off not where we expected to be dropped so we find ourselves standing on the curb once again looking at our Lonely Planet maps, trying to determine our location when we are approached by a local Chinese guy speaking English and trying to sell us on his hostel.  He tells us “other hotels, they rip you off; they suck your blood”.   Nice.

Li River in Yangshuo, China

Welcome to China

Some countries require you to apply for a visa to enter the country prior to arrival. India and China are two of those countries.  Both specifically state that they want you to apply for the visa in your home country, but since that was not going to happen, I decided to give it a shot and apply for both in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

After paying $20 and waiting over 5 days to be told by the Indian Embassy that my visa application was “rejected” I was excited when the Chinese Embassy told me that they “approved” my visa application and I would have my visa in 3 days.  The only downside was that the Chinese visa was expensive.  Every other nation who wants to visit China pays $40 for a visa but U.S. Citizens have to pay $150!

As I stepped off the plane in China I was in for a big shock…  for past 11 months I had been accustomed to warm, sunny days with temperatures in the 80’s and 90’s and here in the Guangxi Province of China I was greeted with chilly and rainy 40 degree weather.  Considering that I only had 1 pair of pants and 1 sweatshirt I was in serious trouble. 

-- Map of China --

I'll be traveling the southwestern provinces of Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, and hopefully Tibet.

Arriving to the hostel in the city of Guilin I soon realized that most places do not have heating. Sometimes you will see little clay pots where they burn small pieces of firewood to heat a room and it’s common to see Chinese drinking hot water to keep warm.   Luckily the hostels I have stayed at have thick blankets to keep me warm when the night temperatures dip down into the 30’s.  And the Israeli boys in my dorm room in Yangshuo have discovered that if you turn the air conditioner as hot as it will go it heats the room to the point of needing to remove your sweatshirt.  

Back on Land

Four months on the boat was a long time with too little physical activity.  After walking around Singapore and waking up the following day with sore leg muscles I knew I needed to spend some time getting back into shape before attempting to trek Nepal for 7 days at an altitude of 16,000 feet.  So I headed over to the more budget friendly Kuala Lumpur and made it my mission to search out a gym that would do weekly memberships.  After visiting many fitness centers with no such luck I settled on paying for an entire month… but it was worth it.

For the next 18 days I had a fantastic time in Kuala Lumpur.  I stayed in 3 different hostels, met loads of tourists (it’s amazing how friendly people become when you ask the simple question of “where are you from”); worked out daily next to 2 young German actors/stunt men filming a movie in Kuala Lumpur; tried to get use to the image of countless veiled Muslim women walking around covered from head to toe in black with only their eyes showing; was greeted every morning by a man with a scooter literally covered with numerous well behaved cats and a very naughty monkey; learned a few necessary Chinese words from the friendly lady running the hostel who also loved to feed me Malaysian fruits in the morning since she knew I was not a fan of the “free breakfast” of bread and butter; and enjoyed the daily ear piercing thunderstorms and less so the Malaysian singers attempting to sing American pop songs.

Sailing Micronesia - Week 17

Day 113 – February 12

“All we can do is sit here and wait for the wind to shift.  It may be another 2 days according to the weather report”, said Captain Bill.  So we bobbed around on the Pacific Ocean all day.  This is when boredom creeps up on me and I long for land.  According to the charts it’s only 150 nautical miles north until we reach Chuuk (Truk).  That could mean we’ll set foot on Micronesian soil in less than 2 days – as long as the wind cooperates.

Day 114 – February 13

At breakfast today we discovered a colony of little beetles called weevils living in our bag of oats.  Instead of tossing the infested oats into the ocean Captain Bill told us that weevil infestations in the tropics are a common occurrence and to just put the oats in water and scoop out the weevils that float to the top.  So that is what we did… scooped out at least 30 weevils while cooking the oats but still managed to find several more as I was eating my oatmeal.  Yummy!

Day 115 – February 14

Land Ho!  Around 4pm today we found ourselves entering a Micronesian atoll called Losap.  Once  we had entered the lagoon it was a beautiful sight with breaking waves all around us.  Looks like Becky has won the bet!

Day 116 – February 15

In the morning Becky and I snorkel over to Losap Island and were amazed at its beauty.  Around 3pm we set sail for Chuuk (Truk) in hopes of arriving at the entrance to the lagoon just before sunrise.  We had a great night sail with good wind and actually arrived at 3am, a few hours before dawn, so we sailed back and forth until it was light enough to see our way into the lagoon.

Day 117 – February 16

After 21 days at sea we have arrived to Chuuk (Truk)!  Customs and Immigration refused to come out to the boat and made us dock on the wharf next to a local passenger ferry that looked like it was ready to sink.  The locals were quite curious about us since they see less than 10 cruising boats a year and most of them tend to anchor on the south side of the island.

Chuuk (Truk) Customs gave us no problem but Immigration did not like that we had no advanced permit to enter the Federated States of Micronesia so they took our passports and told us we could have them back once they got clearance from the capital of Pohnpei.  Bill asked how long that would take and their response was maybe tomorrow or maybe next week.  Typical…

Day 118 – February 17

We spent the day settling in and searching out the most important things:  email, ATM, and a place to get a great meal.  Email was as easy as buying a prepaid card and using the great WiFi network.  Just down the road was the Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center which had great views along with good food.  But finding an ATM was a headache and a half.  There were no ATM’s on the island and I was told by some people that 1 of the 2 banks on the island may be able to do a cash advance on a credit card but you had to catch them on the right day.  Lucky for me today was that day!

While sailing across the Pacific Ocean I had decided that once on Chuuk (Truk) I would leave the boat.  Four months of sailing was enough for me and I was ready to venture onto new adventures.  Looking at flights I realized that Chuuk (Truk) was not the cheapest place to fly from.  It was going to cost me more to fly to Manila, Philippines (2000 miles away ) than it cost me to fly from LA to Bangkok, Thailand (8000 miles).  Now I just need Immigration to give us our passports back so I can book my flight. 

Day 119 – February 18

Today was Friday and Bill told me that he was going to force Immigration to give us our passports back before the weekend.  Lucky for us they stopped by in the morning with our passports in hand and charged us each $20 for the permit.  As soon as I had my passport in hand I booked my flight for the following day and spent the remainder of the day packing and booking other flights and hostels in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. 

While at Truk Stop Hotel having lunch I met 3 Danish guys who had spent the previous 2 weeks diving the wrecks in Truk Lagoon.  I found out that they too were flying to Manila the following day as were several other people staying at the hotel.

Day 120 – February 19

A local guy looking at the boat at the wharf offered to take me to the airport and so we set off in his beat up truck.  The roads in Chuuk (Truk) are horrendous; extremely muddy and filled with potholes.  He told me that the government is working on fixing the roads but realistically it might take 10 years for them to complete the project.  This local guy drives his old truck on these horrible roads and leaves his “nice” car parked at his house.  I asked when he plans to drive his car and he tells me “maybe in 3 years”.

I flew Chuuk (Truk) to Guam to Manila to Singapore and once at the Singapore hostel it felt great to finally take a warm shower, washing all the salt from the last 4 months off my body along with all the caked in mud on my feet from walking on the roads in Chuuk (Truk).  The things we take for granted.

Voyage to Micronesia - Week 16

Day 106 – February 5

Current position:  Latitude 3˚ South.  Only 240 nautical miles until we reach the equator - at least 700 nautical miles until Micronesia.  Seems like an eternity when our average sailing distance has only been 70 nautical miles over a 24 hour period.

A very trying day for me today.  Besides being exhausted from a sleepless night, there was little to no wind.  Most of the day was spent drifting in the hot sun with the sails flapping and the rigging creaking.  It drove me absolutely insane, testing my patience.

Day 107 – February 6

The one question that no one knows the answer to is “where are we headed”?  With over 700 nautical miles to sail and shifty winds some days it looks like we might end up in Micronesia and other days it seems we’ll miss it completely and end up in Palau or even Indonesia.  That’s what happens when you sail by the wind and not with the help of an engine.

Day 108 – February 7

Current position:  Latitude 1˚ South!  After being pushed in a NW direction by the wind it looks like we will miss the Chuuk (Truk) island group of Micronesia which is due north 480 nautical miles and will hopefully reach the Yap island group of Micronesia, which is even further away - at least 1000 nautical miles.  Sad to say we may be at sea for a few more weeks.

Day 109 – February 8

Salty bed sheets, salty clothes, salty skin… everything these days seems to have that sticky salty feel to it.  When sailing the open ocean bucket showers seem to happen only once every 4 days and to pass the time we read, cook, or just daydream while watching the huge ocean swells roll by.

Day 110 – February 9

Current position:  Latitude 0˚ – we’ve crossed the equator!  We celebrated as the GPS read 0˚00’ latitude and 150˚43’ longitude at 11 pm last night.  We’ve headed into the northern hemisphere and have gone from it being summer in the southern hemisphere to it being winter in the northern hemisphere.  But then again, being so close to the equator it’s always hot and steamy regardless of the season.

Day 111 – February 10

Just when I thought I’d have to endure another dinner of canned tuna for the 12^th straight night we caught a fish… and not just one but two!  To start off, we hooked a 3-foot grey shark but the lure was so embedded in his tooth filled mouth that we cut the line and he swam away with our lure.  As soon as we replaced the lure and put the lines back in the water we hooked our “first-ever” mahi.  Once we got him into the cockpit we immediately hooked a spanish mackerel, one of our favorites.  Such excitement for one day.

Day 112 – February 11

We’ve been spoiled with great wind the past several days that today when it suddenly died it was quite a disappointment.  Floating in the Pacific Ocean, fixing the engine which had flooded with water again was how we spent our day.  For a little refreshment, I swam in the ocean with schooling mahi swimming under me and when I got out I realized that I had a baby remora suctioned to my leg.  Crazy little guy!

Voyage to Micronesia - Week 15

Day 99 – January 29

Because of the 2 knot current overnight we drifted 22 miles and I awoke to see the southern tip of New Ireland just outside my porthole.

With no wind in sight, we bobbed around most of the day.  When the winds finally picked up at 3pm we sailed them where they took us which was east at first and then south (we need to go northeast to reach Micronesia).  Looks like we might just make it to Buka on the island of Bougainville which claims to have the blackest people on the planet.

Day 100 – January 30

Overnight the winds shifted unfavorably and we decided that our only option was to head back in the direction we had just sailed “100” nautical miles from.  As depressing as it was we tried to come up with alternate plans for getting ourselves past the islands of Papua New Guinea and into the great Pacific Ocean headed for Micronesia.

Luckily in the later part of the day the winds shifted in our favor and even though they were light they were getting us to where we wanted to be – on the eastern side of New Ireland.  When I went on my night watch at 2am it was dead calm and quiet.  I could hear dolphins coming up for a breath of air nearby.  Soon they were swimming and jumping alongside the boat.  Just what was needed to keep me awake and entertained!

Day 101 – January 31

Somehow we found the countercurrent to the current that was pushing us south in St. George’s Channel a few days ago.  Now we were being pushed NE.  Perfect!!  This is just what we needed.  

Becky and I have a bet going on the actual day that we will arrive in Micronesia.  I say February 9^th (which is 9 days from today) and she says the 14^th.

Since there was very little wind overnight we decided to hove to and drift NE with the current in hopes of making it to the nearby Feni Island or the Green Islands.  Just before I went to bed I heard splashing at the bow of the boat … it was dolphins visiting again!

Day 102 – February 1

Great morning wind let us sail directly to Nissan Island, part of the Green Islands.  Nissan Island is an oval shaped island with a big lagoon in the center.  After anchoring, a few local villagers canoed out to trade produce.  Lettuce in particular was a wonderful surprise so I made a great salad that night.  It’s not often we have fresh greens onboard.

Day 103 – February 2

From sunrise to sundown we had a constant flow of villagers in canoes (mostly kids) bearing produce in exchange for secondhand clothing.  By the end of the day we had more than we could possibly eat.  It was amazing to see how generous they were.  They even invited us to their village which was a treat for both us and them.

Day 104 – February 3

Rain… Rain… all day it rained off and on so much that we were able to fill up our water tanks and do our laundry.  The rest of the day was spent doing a few last minute boat projects in preparation for sailing across the Pacific Ocean.

Day 105 – February 4

Incredible sight!  Upon leaving Green Island we set out the fishing lines and immediately hooked a big eye tuna.  But before we could reel it in, two 6-foot grey sharks attacked the tuna, leaving us with only the head.  Afterwards you could see the sharks swimming under the boat.  A little bit scary!