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| GoBackpacking |
| Join me on a solo trip around the world! I will write about the planning and saving process, logistics, and my personal hopes and fears. Once the trip begins, I'll be posting updates and photos from New Zealand to Brazil. |
| Language: English |
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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 0 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 268 |
| Visitors Out: 3792 |
| Total Visitors Out: 4297 |
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| Wat Pho’s Reclining Buddha |
| 2008-07-19 00:49:00 |
I knew Buddha burnout was an occupational risk of delving into the world of Buddhist culture as early as Hong Kong, yet Wat Pho (wat=temple-monastery) held the 46-meter reclining Buddha I think was featured in and early scene from “The Beach,” or at least a photo from the back sleeve of the movie soundtrack’s CD [...]...
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| The Grand Palace And The Emerald Buddha Temple |
| 2008-07-18 00:30:42 |
On my second day in Bangkok, I took my first Thai tuk-tuk ride to the starting point of a walking tour suggested in my guidebook as the one I did in Kathmandu turned out to be a pleasant surprise. My first stop was the white-walled Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha Temple.
Before I [...]...
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| Culture Shock |
| 2008-07-17 00:20:45 |
What a difference a 4.5 hour flight can make in one’s travel experience. On my taxi ride to the Delhi airport, the driver had the gall to try and sell me on a trip to a rug shop even as I was clearly leaving the country. I shut him down immediately, I could be good-humored [...]...
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| Touchdown In Bangkok |
| 2008-07-16 00:00:29 |
The plane set down early at the brand new Suvarnabhumi Airport, 30km east of the capital city. Walking through the cavernous, empty halls on my way to immigration, it was easy to tell the country was on top of their game with regard to meeting present and future transportation needs.
Because everyone [...]...
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| Superstar Service On THAI Airways |
| 2008-07-15 00:52:04 |
My flight from Delhi to Bangkok was my 11th in 7 months so it seems fitting that I received the best service to-date after paying my dues to the air gods.
The plane was my biggest of the trip, a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. I always loved the second level afforded to passengers [...]...
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| Welcome To Thailand |
| 2008-07-14 00:30:52 |
It was around 7am when I settled on Ung’s Magical Jungle Safari as my first activity of substance on Thailand’s third largest island, Ko Samui. The glossy flier spoke of the same crocodile dens, waterfalls, genitalia-shaped rocks, and mummified monk as the others, yet it was the portrayal of carefree Western backpackers riding the roofs [...]...
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| Final Thoughts – Incredible India |
| 2008-07-13 00:00:39 |
I had to see India for myself, and am glad I did, but it was a challenge. There were moments of awe like seeing the Taj Mahal for the first time, and moments of being utterly fed up with the incessant honking of car/jeep horns from Darjeeling to McLeod Ganj. Why take on [...]...
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| Dare #11 - Failed - Ride The Roof Of An Indian Train |
| 2008-07-12 13:37:01 |
#11 - From Stefan:
Here’s a new dare for $20…take a ride on the roof of a train in India.
Reward: $20
Status: Failed
__________________________________
I must admit defeat with regard to this dare. I don’t have a choice….the beaches of Thailand are calling.
I only saw people on a train rooftop once, and never saw the [...]...
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| India’s War Memorial And Humayun’s Tomb |
| 2008-07-12 00:13:05 |
Feeling on top of the world after my Bukhara experience, I forced myself to walk out of the luxurious Maurya Sheraton. I deferred to my taxi driver at this point, and he drove me around the President’s house and government buildings. We then drove east toward India’s War Memorial, a large arch [...]...
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| Bukhara – Delhi’s Best Restaurant |
| 2008-07-11 00:56:28 |
For my last full day in Delhi, and India, I spent an hour walking around Connaught Place. The park in the middle of the big traffic/shopping circle is closed on Mondays, as were many other attractions. I returned to the guest house where I splurged, hiring an air-conditioned car for the afternoon.
The first [...]...
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| Family Night |
| 2008-07-10 00:39:40 |
Neil, a lifelong Delhi resident, is the nephew of a woman who works at my parent’s local bank branch. I met his Aunt while I was giving my mom permission to access my bank account. Apparently she’d taken an interest in my trip because she suggested I meet up with Neil while in Delhi.
He [...]...
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| Exploring Old Delhi – Jama Masjid And The Red Fort |
| 2008-07-09 00:43:21 |
After a halfway decent first night’s sleep at Sunny’s, I had a quick breakfast and grabbed an auto rickshaw to Jama Masjid, India’s biggest mosque. I negotiated a rate of 80 rupees ($2), only to realize a few minutes into the ride that there was a perfectly functioning meter tracking the appropriate cost based on [...]...
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| Doing The Delhi Hustle |
| 2008-07-08 00:41:45 |
First Half
I was confident from perusing my guidebook that a fair rate for an auto rickshaw to my first and second choice guest houses would be about 40 rupees ($1). Before I reached the rickshaws, I was picked out by a gaggle of taxi drivers. The first one quoted a rate of 550 [...]...
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| My Last Indian Train Ride |
| 2008-07-07 00:16:19 |
My 4am wake-up call came a generous 15 minutes early. Already packed, I laid in bed under the twirling fan trying not to fall asleep again. At half past four, I stepped quietly past the hotel employee who had returned to his bed, the lobby bench, for a few more hours rest. I picked up [...]...
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| The Surreal India-Pakistan Border Ceremony |
| 2008-07-06 00:52:35 |
Like the appeal of riding a yak in Sikkim, witnessing the daily India-Pakistan ceremony in Attari captured my imagination the moment I learned about it. In the case of the ceremony, I first saw it on a television show. If I’m not mistaken, it was part of Michael Palin’s “Himalaya” which was [...]...
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| Sikhism’s Golden Temple In Amritsar |
| 2008-07-05 00:18:15 |
The reason I made the torturous move to wake up at 4am to catch the direct bus to Amritsar was so I could see Sikhism’s holiest temple AND the India-Pakistan border ceremony in one day. Really, it was the latter event which captivated my curiosity, though once I saw the Golden Temple, I [...]...
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| Steve’s Birthday, My Departure |
| 2008-07-04 00:15:09 |
I was tempted to leave McLeod Ganj a day or two before Steve’s 27th birthday, but it seemed silly to not stick around to help him celebrate it. When my 32nd birthday rolls around in September, I hope to have a few travel buddies with whom to hang out.
We ordered dinner and a [...]...
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| Marie Arrives |
| 2008-07-03 00:46:02 |
It felt great to meet up with Steve again after having first hung out together in Pokhara, Nepal back in April. Since then, I’d also kept in regular contact with Marie. As a reminder, we all took the same 3-day meditation course. Since I had control over my schedule, I decided [...]...
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| My Daily Life In McLeod Ganj |
| 2008-07-02 03:23:38 |
Eating
Food…delicious food. McLeod Ganj is filled with great restaurants offering predominantly Tibetan, Indian, and Italian food. I became a regular at popular Carpe Diem after trying a few of their Indian dishes. The service was friendly and they had a great rooftop seating area with views of upper McLeod Ganj, and [...]...
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| Day 4 - A Return To Civilization |
| 2008-06-26 00:36:46 |
On our fourth and final morning of the trek, I awoke with surprisingly little soreness in my legs and body. And my headache was gone, again. Harold and I packed up our stuff, ate breakfast, and we were all on our way back to McLeod Ganj. A dog we had fed leftovers to the prior [...]...
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| Day 3 (cont.) - Dangerous Descent |
| 2008-06-25 06:20:00 |
When the photos were taken, the Tibetan freedom video shot, and the food consumed, we began our descent into the now cloud-shrouded valley. I was glad to have finished one of my two bottles of water so I could use both of my hands to steady myself on the way down.
The [...]...
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| Free Tibet! |
| 2008-06-24 12:25:39 |
Video Dedication Of My Climb
The world’s attention is on the Chinese government in light of the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics.To find out more about the Tibetan cause and how you can help, see the International Campaign for Tibet’s website.
Sponsored By: World Nomads - Online travel insurance affiliated with Lonely Planet and BootsnAll.
Adventure Sports, India, [...]...
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| Day 3 - Redemption At 4,320 Meters |
| 2008-06-24 00:08:15 |
We initially planned to wake at 5am, and head up to the pass at 6am, however there was a rain delay of an hour. I was again thankful to awake with no headache. A light breakfast of cornflakes, hard boiled eggs, and tea was served. Around 7:15am, Ashok lead Harold and [...]...
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| Day 2 – Crossing The Snowline |
| 2008-06-23 00:36:42 |
I was glad my headache had disappeared after 5-6 hours of solid sleep. Our second day was to be an easy one (2 hours walking, 300m gain) which would allow us to further acclimatize before the big climb on day three. Ashok cooked up some amazing banana porridge, omelettes, and toast which [...]...
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| Day 1 - Heading Into The Mountains |
| 2008-06-22 01:05:13 |
If I were as auspicious as Tibetans, I might have taken the giant black scorpion which appeared in my room the morning my trek was to begin as a bad sign. Instead, I wondered how to get rid of it. As the little beast scuttled toward the protection of my bed, I [...]...
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| Arranging A Trek To Indrahar Pass |
| 2008-06-21 00:53:20 |
I stopped into Eagle’s Height Trekkers one afternoon to gather some information about local trekking opportunities. The owner went over the details of the two options of most interest to me – a two day trek to the snowline (Laka Got glacier) and a four day trek to the top of 4,300-meter Indrahar [...]...
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| Class Schedule: Thangka Painting And Tibetan Cooking |
| 2008-06-20 00:42:43 |
There is so much going on in McLeod Ganj, it can make your head spin. I decided to start off nice and easy by joining Anastasia and Olga for their thangka painting class. The first few sessions are dedicated to drawing Buddha’s face and body according to standard measurements. The class [...]...
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| A Teaching By His Holiness The Dalai Lama |
| 2008-06-19 01:28:10 |
My first priority upon settling in McLeod Ganj was to reconnect with my friend from Nepal, Steve. He had arrived a few days before me, and attended the first of two teachings being given by His Holiness the Lama">Dalai Lama at a local Tibetan school, Attendance for everyone but the kids meant [...]...
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| Making My Way To McLeod Ganj |
| 2008-06-18 00:02:20 |
I missed my overnight train from Agra to Pathankot, the jumping off point for a bus to Dharamsala (which, in turn, is the jumping off point for a taxi to McLeod Ganj, home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile). I was not a happy camper by that point. I had [...]...
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| Agra Fort And Kites At Sunset |
| 2008-06-17 00:50:01 |
After touring the Taj Mahal, and grabbing some lunch, Laura, Dan and I hired a rickshaw for the return ride to Agra Fort. It is a large, sprawling complex, with much of the space still dedicated to India’s military.
It is situated along the same river as the Taj Mahal and each can be [...]...
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| The Taj Mahal |
| 2008-06-16 00:31:03 |
I rolled out of bed at 5:30am to see the Taj at sunrise, though from the hotel roof, it didn’t look too different from the night before. I met Laura and Dan at the eastern entrance, and we proceeded to tour the site along with everyone else trying to get an early jump on [...]...
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| Arriving In Agra |
| 2008-06-15 00:26:26 |
My overnight train from Varanasi departed at 5pm so I spent the morning in my air-con room, and the afternoon twiddling my thumbs beneath the fans of the Hotel Buddha restaurant. Once on the train, I chatted briefly with Laura (France) who mistook me for someone she had met in SE Asia.
I didn’t sleep [...]...
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| A Sunset Stroll Along The Ghats |
| 2008-06-14 01:29:27 |
Benares (Varanasi) is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together. – Mark Twain
After 6 hours of intentional confinement to my air-conditioned hotel room, I felt it was time to see Varanasi’s main draw, the ghats which run along [...]...
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| An Early Morning Visit To Sarnath |
| 2008-06-13 01:08:33 |
I awoke at 4:45am to the now familiar series of beeps from my Casio Pathfinder watch. I set my alarms the night before, figuring I could always go back to sleep if I didn’t feel like making my way down to the Ganges River for a sunrise boat ride along the ghats. [...]...
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| Hot, Hot Varanasi |
| 2008-06-12 01:06:04 |
I was beyond pleased to see my autorickshaw driver awaiting me at 4:20am outside the Karma Temple’s gate. I shook his hand, he started the motor, and we were off in the dim pre-dawn light. I realized my decision to take the early train to Varanasi meant a peaceful, cool ride back [...]...
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| Meditating Under The Bodhi Tree |
| 2008-06-11 00:50:58 |
The next morning I slept through the 6am puja held at my monastery’s temple. I deserved the extra rest. I also deserved to sit under the Bodhi Tree, alone, for a few minutes of quiet meditation! I made my way to the temple complex around 7am, sat on a stone bench [...]...
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| Monasteries And Mahabodhi Temple |
| 2008-06-10 00:42:48 |
I took an hour to unwind, shower, and get my bearings before heading out to sightsee. Due to the intense sun during much of the day, I knew I had to take advantage of the early mornings and late afternoons.
Bodhgaya is peppered with monasteries built by different Buddhist countries, each with their [...]...
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| Pilgrimage To Bodhgaya |
| 2008-06-09 02:37:38 |
34 hours….1 taxi….1 share jeep….1 overnight train….1 bus ride….3 autorickshaws….1 bicycle rickshaw….
I awoke around 6am to ensure I was on one of the first share jeeps south to Siliguri. I paid for the two front seats so I could have a little extra space on the four and a half hour drive. [...]...
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| Different Directions |
| 2008-06-08 02:36:28 |
The day after our jeep tour of the north, Cameron and Natalie set about organizing a six day trek to a 5,000 meter pass with close views of Mt. Kanchenjunga. As I got to know Cameron, it slowly became evident he not only liked to trek, it was his passion. In 2007, he [...]...
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| Day 3 - Yumthang - Valley Of The Flowers |
| 2008-06-07 02:22:56 |
I couldn’t sleep well the second night, so at 4:45am I got out of bed to check for mountain peaks like a kid checks for presents on Christmas morning. My insomnia was rewarded with views of snow-covered mountains in almost all directions. Perhaps not as much snow as I had hoped, however [...]...
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