« June 2005 | Home | August 2005 »
July 27, 2005
Kathmandu Pictures
Kathmandu, Nepal
Total KM 6531
I just spent way too much money on a new camera, a Sony Cybershot DSC-828, it's kinda big but it's quality. To celebrate I went out and took pictures of people with umbrellas when there wasn't a cloud in sight.
Please click on the images to display them at full resolution.
Looks pretty dry to me...
Posted by tyler at 02:03 PM
July 26, 2005
Heaven or Hell
Kathmandu, Nepal
Total KM 6531
Kathmandu - a noisy, dirty, bustling, little city with constantly congested roads and awful air pollution. The tourist haunt of Thamel is the place where trekkers, mountaineers, climbers, kayakers and mountain bikers meet, eat and sleep (not to forget those travellers who don't really do too much, those smoking themselves around the world). In Thamel, whatever you desire is no more than a crooked, twisting alley away. Backpacks, rare books on Tibet, yak-steaks, tacky hats, hashish or a sleeping bag - no problem, just make your way around the cycle rickshaws, taxis (constantly abusing their horns), hashish peddlars, tiger-balm sellers and freelance shoe-repairmen. This one guy has been stalking me for the past week, eager to fix my shoes. Yes, there is a hold in the bottom of one shoe and consequently my big toe now rubs the pavement, with me cringing everytime it gets wet (I really hope that was just water...) There's no question of the fact that my shoes desperately need some work, but I'm not going to be bullied into getting them repaired.
The Maoist situation in Nepal is driving thousands of tourists away, and it is really hurting those in the tourism industry. But it's great for really driving down the prices at hotels(!)
I'll be here for over a week, waiting for my Indian visa. In the meantime I need to tune-up my bike, replace some parts, thoroughly clean and repair just about all my gear, put the weight back on that I lost from all the instant noodles in Tibet, but generally I just try and relax and eat myself stupid.
Posted by tyler at 05:50 PM
July 20, 2005
Tyler's Tibetan Numerology
Kathmandu, Nepal
Total KM 6531
Elevation 1300 M
"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world."
-The fat man himself, Buddha
Numerology is the study of cycles. We lead our lives in 9-year cycles and we can also track cycles for individual months and days.
In Numerology, we work our Personal Year Number by adding the month and day of our birth to the current year, and then deducing the answer down to a single digit.
I'll use myself as an example: I was born on October 29. In 2005 I am a 1 Personal Year.
10 Month (October)
29 Day
2005 Current year
-------------------------------
2044
2 + 0 + 4 + 4 = 10
1 + 0 = 1
I found it very interesting that 2005 is a 1 year for me.
1 Personal Year- This a a year of new starts, as a whole nine-year cycle of experience is just beginning. The person will be full of enthusiasm, energy, zest for life, and will be wanting to start something.
That's all well and good, but here are some better number stats. I hope you enjoy -
Tyler's Tibetan Numerology!
# of days in Tibet - 45
Km's cycled - 2421 KM
# of packages of instant noodle consumed - about 50
# of flat tires - 17
# of mountain passes cycled - 15
# of mountain passes cycled over 5000M - 5
# of hot showers - about 10, all but 4 of them were at my hotel in Lhasa (what can I say, Tibetans don't wash, I'm serious)
# of wash basin showers - 2
# of times I woke up and found people watching me - 5
# of times someone has been peeing (with their back towards me) and they had their head turned around so they could watch me as they drained the lizard -6
# of times someone has been peeing (facing me!) and staring at me at the same time -2
# of times I was offered jasmine tea at Everest Base Camp - a dozen times in half an hour, easy.
# of people who stroked my arm hair (creepy) - at least 10
# of people who tugged my arm hair (not as bad...) - not as many
# of times children threw stones at me - 5
# of children I made cry - 1
# of people who begged for Dali Lama photos - a dozen
# of people who offered money for Dali Lama photos - 3
# of people at the largest staring squad I ever managed to muster up - 35. At one restaurant in East Tibet over 35 people all crowded around watching me and Matt eat. I was eating dumpling and Matt had noodles (in case you were interested...they sure were)
# of people who stuck their tounges out at me (to prove they were not devils, of course! Devils have green tounges even after they take the form of humans) - 2
# of people who came up to me with their hands out and said "Hello money!", as if "money" was my name - 8
# of times I replied "Hello, but my name isn't money." and then cracked up laughing - 6
# of times they understood what I was laughing at - 0
# of Tibetans who asked to borrow my pump - 11
# of times it came back broken - 1
# of times I was sleeping by the side of the road and people drove/walked by honking or shouting "Hulo!". I suppose they weren't content with just watching me sleep, they wanted to see a real-live foriegner in action - 5
# of times I reciprocated the favour towards sleeping Tibetans. It's payback time! -4
I hope you've enjoyed Tyler's Tibetan Numerology
Posted by tyler at 12:33 PM
July 16, 2005
Grief
Somewhere between China and Kathmandu, Nepal
Total KM 6481
Elevation 1800 M
"The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
- Albert Einstein
This morning, while trying to cross the border into Nepal, the officer at Chinese immigration scolded me because my Alien Travel Permit has expired over a week ago and because I was travelling solo (without the requisite guide). I pleaded with him that bike problems at Everest cause my delay and as for the whole "must be on a guided tour" non-sense, I just kept repeating that I'm cycling and don't have the money to hire a guide, driver, Land Cruiser and all that.
He then questioned me as to where I had been in Tibet.
"Where have you been in Tibet?"
...Well, let me think, I rode here illegally threw East Tibet, going through all the checkpoints at night while handing out pictures of the Dali Lama to everyone who smiled at me. Then there was the illegal trekking in the Everest region... "Uhhh, I flew into Lhasa and then went to Shigatse and Everest Base Camp."
"You shouldn't be doing this. Next time get a guide."
STAMP
Me breathing a collective sigh of relief.
I was quite worried that he was going to try and fine me. Because of my spur of the moment purchase of an extra bicycle at EBC I was down to about $10 in cash at this point, and there was nowhere within 500km (besides Kathmandu, on the other side of the border) where I could use my ATM card of cash a traveller's cheque. A fine would have meant that I would had to have gone out in the street and try and sell some of my gear.
"Would anyone like to purchase a pair of used socks that haven't been washed in a week? They are actually white, I swear."
I would probably have better luck charging people to tug at my arm hair.
"Come stroke the monkey's arm hair for a dollar."
I hate it when Asians call me a monkey because of hair.
Have they never used a mirror?
That's not racist, I'm not racist, I hate everybody equally.
Posted by tyler at 12:05 PM
July 11, 2005
wet dream
Somewhere along the Friendship Highway, Tibet
Total KM 6223
Elevation 4390 M
"To die will be an awfully big adventure."
- Aristottle
After so many cold nights up at higher elevations I was kind of relieved to be down lower. I wanted to celebrate by sleeping under the stars (and I couldn't be bothered to put up my tent...) I just unrolled my sleeping mat and climbed in my sleeping bag. Perfect. What a beautiful night!
About 3 hours later I woke up feeling a little wet. "Have I pissed myself?" I thought. No, it can't be, it's wet everywhere. Quickly the rain poured down, and even quicker I set up my tent.
Posted by tyler at 11:49 AM
July 10, 2005
When One Isnt Enough
Everest Base camp, Tibet
Total KM 6055
Elevation 5200 M
"To alcohol! The cause of... and solution to all of life's problems!" -Homer J. Simpson
Some more irrational behaviour was exhibited today, I bought another bike. I was having a few problems with my Bianchi and I was enquiring to the owner of the tea tent in which I was staying if I could get some parts off his mountain bike. Eventually I just bought the whole thing for 610 RMB (approx. $75 US) the bike is easily worth at least 5 times that price, but the tea tent owner got it for really cheap from a climbing expedition that was up at Everest.
I took apart my Bianchi and strapped it to my trailer, and the guys from the "Hotel California" tea tent wrapped a prayer scarf around me and my new bike, signifying a safe journey.
Just like that I was off, I've now got less that $20 cash left and I have about 500km to get to Kathmandu, Nepal. It going to be tough riding (what with the burden of an extra bicycle!) but it won't be too bad, after all I came up here with about 7 kilo's of food.
Posted by tyler at 06:52 AM
July 08, 2005
dogs
Camp 2 on Mount Everest, Tibet
Elevation 5970 M
"Adventure is just an excuse to do something stupid. But it's one excuse that I can accept."
Yesterday my gloves somehow disapeared, so it was a bone chilling trek up to the Advanced Base Camp (ABC) today. ABC is at 6340M and the site is littered with garbage and feces, but nonetheless, it is breathtaking.
I took a rest day yesterday, while the Danish fellow and his "guide" went up to ABC and back. I almost died laughing when the dup came back about 9 hours after setting out - they both looked like complete shit! The "guide" (and I use that term loosely) didn't bring any food with them. That must have been a long day, so they were understandably tired. I wasn't at all suprised when the guide - I can't keep using this word to describe this, this boy. Yes, Even though he was probably 35 he will now be referred to as "the boy." As I was saying, I wasn't suprised when the boy couldn't manage to get a fire going with his yak dung (seriously, they use dung for fuel- waste nothing of an animal) and bamboo. What I want to know is where in the hell are they getting bamboo from? I haven't seen a tree in a month, let alone bamboo! He coudln't get a fire going so he wanted to use my stove. On the first day he was giving me a hard time b/c I was using a stove and not a campfire, like he was a big man and I was just some loser who couldn't start a fire. Now he wants to use my stove. Seeing as how he could speak neither English or Chinese I pretented to be blissfully unaware of what was happening and watched as he, in vain, tried to light a fire. Eventually I gave him my stove.
Posted by tyler at 10:08 PM
July 06, 2005
Warning Sign
Camp 2 on Mount Everest
Elevation 5970 M
"There once was a man from nantucket..."
I'm experiencing some breathlessness and a little bit of a headache, but that should almost be expected at an altitude with less than half the amount of oxygen compared to sea level. I'd like to take a rest day tomorrow, I've been going pretty much non-stop since I left Lhasa. It would be nice to just lay in my tent, reading, eating and sleeping all day while enjoying the views and listening to the rocks fall. But, I should do at least a short day hike to further aid acclimatization.
Besides breathlessness and a headache, I was experiencing another sympton of mild altitude sickness - irrational behaviour. Some people may say that everything I do could constitute as irratuional behaviour, and maybe they are right, but this was different. For example - I was following a Danish trekker who had hired a local Tibetan guide who could speak neither English or Chinese. Well, that's not entirely true, in addition to "Jasmine tea, sweet tea, sleeping?" he could also say "this is, NO, tomorrow, Base Camp, SLOW!"
Anyways, I was keeping about 50 meters from the duo and the Tibetan guide, when he wasn't littering candy wrappers and cigarette butts, kept turning around and yelling "SLOW!" I wasn't even with them, why was he so interested in my pace?
Eventually I just lost it on him - "If you don't keep your mouth shut I'm gonna throw you off this fucking mountain!" I was filled with rage by the dirty little Tibetan, and for a split second I contemplated grabbing the Danish fellow's walking stick and charging the unwashed fool. He didn't understand what I had said and I didn't feel any better.
Posted by tyler at 08:10 AM
July 05, 2005
EBC
Mount Everest Base Camp, Tibet
Total KM 6055
Elevation 5200M
"Not all who wander are lost."
-J.R.R. Tolkien
I am finally here, there is more life than I had imagined, you can't walk anywhere without being pestered by "Tea Tent" owner's trying to sell you some jasmine or sweet tea. The tone of their sale's pitch is truly hilarious though. It goes a little something like this - "Jasmine tea, sweet tea, sleeping? Jasmine tea, sweet tea, sleeping? Jasmine tea, sweet tea, sleeping? Jasmine tea, sweet tea, sleeping? Jasmine tea, sweet tea, sleeping? Jasmine tea, sweet tea, sleeping? Jasmine tea, sweet tea, sleeping?" This just keeps on going until you are out of earshot.
Tomorrow I will follow a Danish guy and his guide up the mountain, the guide is one of the tea tent owners but hopefully he won't be humping any goddam jasmine tea up the mountain and pester us to buy some.
Posted by tyler at 07:30 AM