Warm Welcome from Namche Bazaar: 3445M

After 7 hard days of trekking for about average 9 hours a day going through mountain passes of 3500M or so I managed to get to Namche. So far the mountain gods have been kind to us, myself and Simon my trekking partner from Montreal. We are two days away from seeing Mount Everest for the first time. The weather has not been that great but in the mornings the snow capped mountain peaks are amazing.

One last challenge will be Cho La (pass) at 5330 meters and Kala Patthar at 4550 meters - the highest point on the trek. So far my body is dealing well with the altitude and we're slowly moving up to acclimatization levels of 4000 - 5000 meters.

All is good at the top of the world.
Cheers,
Robert

Myanmar Photos!

New photos at:

http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lloronapr/my_photos

I still have to do a cycling summary. Off to Everest Base Camp in two days, not sure if I'll have time... too many things to arrange.

Wish me luck!

Robert

Burmese Days are over, welcome to Nepal!

Happy new year from Kathmandu!

I have arrived in Kathmandu (KTM) two days ago and there is something mystical in the air. Other than the constant hassle in Thamal (the backpackers area of KTM) filled with merchants selling everything under the sun. There's a good selection of trekking gear, quite a bit of North Face and Mountain Hardware knockoffs.

Unfortunately, I picked up a stomach bug in Dhaka I guess, as did other people who travelled with me on the same itinerary. But I'm getting better right now ready to celebrate another new year, yes it is my 3rd new year celebration this year. I had another problem entering Nepal as they 'forgot' to give me a visa at the airport; and they let me out into the city. When I arrived at the guesthouse a lady noticed that my visa was missing. Going through all security checks in Dhaka and KTM and they for a minor thing such as a visa. Go figure.

Another problem was a missing screw of a steam which came loose during transport and fell out of a small hold hole in the box. I was lucky to get a replacement at the first bike shop I found. So everything is sorted out and I'm hoping to feel 100% in the next few days as I anticipate starting the Everest base camp trek on Monday. I already know that I'll have to extend my visa, as the EBC trek will take 21 or 25 days and Annapurna about 21 days. I'm really anxious to get out on the trail.

KTM has a significant army presence due to the Maoist conflict. You get a feeling, especially today, the something might happen. The blockade of KTM was lifted yesterday and the army killed just recently 100 rebels. Stating this, it does not seem to affect tourism that much as quite a few tourist can be seen bustling around town.

Cycling the last few days in Myanmar turned out to be quite fun as most days the sky was overcast with somewhat pleasant feel to the ride. The rolling hills followed the Irrawady river for most part on a somewhat rugged road covered by sand in a lot of places.

On one of the days the police escorted me from the town to Magway to Taungdwingyi for about 83 KM. I tried to lose them but they explained that it is their responsibility to look after tourists when the arrive in Magway. So I kept using them to fetch me food and water if I felt like taking a 15 minutes break, then I would send them to the next village to wait for me. It is really annoying when a motorbike is following closely behind you. At Taungdwingyi I stayed in a dodgy guesthouse, however the family was quite nice and I enjoyed eating dinner with them. The old man of the house had a problem with his legs and was unable to walk under his own accord, he kept joking that he's very thin but 'Oh, my wife she so fat!'.

The final cycling destination in Myanmar was Pyay, the town with a ten storey Budha. Quite a sight, have a look at the photo. After Pyay I took a bus back to Yangon as time was running short. The last two days in the capital were quite nice, it seemed that a lot of people I met along the way were in Yangon at the time, so it was a lot of fun drinking cheap draft (20 cents a pint) on hot days.

I was not aware until I left Myanmar that a major event have happened. Apparently the leader of Shan state rebel army was captured by the military and the rebels asked for his return or they would start fighting again. It came very close to all borders of Myanmar being temporarily closed. Shan and Kachin states seem to have the most problems with the gov't. Many locals as well as expats are aware of the massacres inflicted by the military. The reports of whole villages being slaughtered by the military as means of essentially scare tactics are far too many to be ignored. Locals are afraid to go into the hills and jungles in fear of being shot as well as people in smaller towns do not venture outside after midnight in fear of military. Many people live in fear and it becomes quite obvious when you try to get them to talk. I found the best way to talk to the locals is to go a bit outside of the town and have a real conversation.

But all in all, Burma was quite an experience. I'm still learning about life in third world countries. The poverty can really get to you sometimes and the people in Myanmar do not seem to have the same optimism and nationalists pride as Cambodians or Laotians have. They say that things have improved in the last few years, but it will take at least 10-15 years to see any significant changes. A change of gov't would be a most welcomed change, but many think it is quite unrealistic at this stage in history. Colonialism seems to still have its scars embedded within the country and many Burmese are not shy to talk about it.

Another big problem is the lack of adequate education. For the few that will go to university the level of education is quite substandard when compared to Thailand. They study for 6 months a year, five hours a day for 2 years. When you are to become a geologist or an economist it seems quite a short time.

Well, I'm of to celebrate the new year, yet again.

Cheers.

Robert

Myanmar Cycling Total: 624km
Summary:
Yangon - Bago 80km
Bago - Nyaunglebin 82km
Nyaunglebin - Taungoo 123km
Nyanwgu - Nagway 95km
Magway - Taungdwingyi 83km
Taungdwingyi - Auglan 91km
Auglan - Pyay 70km

Templed out in Bagan

Well, right now my email is not accessible due to 'Big Brother' watching over BaganNet. In some places shops manage to set up an encrypted firewall so you can get around this problem. If anything urgent has happened and you need to contact me please post a comment on my blog.

Last few days I have spent sick and this has not been good timing considering I have arrived in Bagan. One of the most interesting sites in SEA consisting of 40 Square Km filled with stupas (zedis) and pathos (ancient pagodas). The amount of ancient ruins is quite staggering, the official number is about 2500+, but is you take into account not fully unexcavated sites its more like 4000+. Climbing some of the temples reveals the plains dotted with pagodas.

As spectacular as they are, after 3 days you are so called 'Templed Out'. Most temples have a similar layout, four sided, main entrance from the east. I have visited about 30-40 different pathos and stupas in the last 3 days and I think I'll take a temple break tomorrow.

I want to get back on the saddle as for the last 10 days I have not done any long distance riding. Mostly due to the sickness and partly due to dull scenery. It is difficult to find books as well, so far I managed to get John Irving's "The fourth hand" and a George Orwell's classic "Burmese Days" (I guess you have to read this book when you come to Burma). I anticipate about 5-6 days ride into Rangoon that is if I feel better.

Unfortunately, I have not had that much interaction with local people as of late, however it was to be expected if you hang around tourist areas. The vendors are a bit too much sometimes as you are perceived as a walking wallet. Not to offend anyone, but packaged tourists really spoil the locals and kind of ruin the affair for other travelers. I understand the need for comfort that some people require but giving kids money and pens only prompts them to beg in the future. Thus the results of current situation, vendors and kids running after you from temple to temple holding out a hand and expecting a 'gift'.

Mandalay is a nice city, a bit to quiet for its size but pleasant to ride around in. A few overpriced tourist attractions but there's always a way to scan the system. I managed not to pay a single dollar to the gov't and got to see most of the places I wanted to go.

Coming back from Inle lake I boarded a train to a small town of Thazi. While booking my ticket I requested ordinary class instead of the gov't imposed 1st class and managed to sneak on board without any hassles. On the train I was seated with 3 old ladies and we had a bit of fun. They did not speak English and my Burmese is very non existent, but they kept feeding me food on the entire journey and one lady kept pointing to me then to her and then to a picture of her daughter. She was on my case for 4 hours to go with her back to her village and meet her daughter. I kindly declined pointing to my finger as an indication that I was married back home. I considered buying a wedding ring! But it was all in good fun, the people on the train were a lot of fun and happy to see a whacked foreigner declining 1st class in order to sit with the locals. Mind you the train ride was about 10 hours and my ass was hurting.
Another lady was quite funny looking she was missing two font teeth and the two beside the missing ones were very long fang like teeth, the looked like roger rabbit with missing front teeth, but she was a fun old gal!

Ok, gotta jet for now as my appetite is coming back, a good sign. By the way the guys back in Mektila bought me a whiskey and asked me to predict the results for last weekend internation games, luckily I got it right again. Too bad one of the guys turned out to be a military block, be careful what you say and who you drink with in Burma.

Cheers,
Robert