Christine and I meet up with Joe and Nate who are both traveling from Dubai. They both just left Dubai like me so we’ve got much to talk about. Its funny to hear that other travelers get the same experience when visiting Dubai and we all have a good laugh at how weird and backwards that place is. We end up checking out one of the best nightclubs in Kathmandu. Sadly to say it was far from what I expected. I guess in a country like this people don’t have much time party. Free time is spent much differently that how you’d normally expected.

The bus from Kathmandu to Besishar leaves early in the morning and are filled with tourists. Some people are heading to Pokhara and others to start the circuit at Besishar. Midway the bus changes and we left to wait for another bus. The last leg of the journey we end up taking an old rusty thick fume shooting bus. The funniest part is that there is no room in inside so we end up sitting up top with a goat, some chickens and bunch of bags. The only dangerous, well one of the dangerous, aspects of riding on the roof of the bus are the lower hanging tree branches and power lines. Its not a catnap or a sit back and enjoy the view ride as we have to keep a close eye for these things. That’s not to say the view wasn’t anything but stunning.

Besishar is tiny. I waited to get some items until the start of the trek, thinking that it might be cheaper here. Instead we find a place that has few hotels and not much in terms of gear and hiking essentials. Thus I am missing a down sleeping bag and Christine doesn’t even have hiking boots. So we split. Christine and I head over to Pokhara, the ending point for the Annapurna Circuit, via bus and Nate and Joe will be staying in Besishar to meet us up the next day to start the trek.

By the time I arrive to Pokhara it is already night and we find a hotel room and then eat dinner. The restaurants in Pokhara are amazingly modern and theres a wide select of western cuisine from all over the world. We choose an Italian place that has some really good thincrust pizza. Later in the evening we pick up two sleeping bags and then Christine grabs her shoes.

The next morning we get up early to catch the first group of tourist buses that leave. We walk towards the bus station and can’t seem to find it. With time running out, we hail the first cab. After taking a couple of minutes to secure our bags to the top, we take the first corner and pull into the first building to the bus station all while paying the full price for a cab. I’m in a zombie like trance as I zone out on the busy ride back to Besishar. The only thing that wakes me is an Isreali girl with an incredibly nasally voice arguing with bus driver about which seat she wants to sit in.

The Annapurna Circuit is one of the main reason for coming to Nepal. This is a world famous trek that draws hikers from all across the globe. I first heard about it in India. I ran across several groups of people that had done it, exclaiming that it was one of the best things they’ve done on their trip. This trek takes around 17-21 days, although I have heard of people doing it in 16. It showcases some of the best scenery in Nepal and takes us as high as 5416m, or 17,769 feet, nuff said.

Our preparation for the Annapurna Circuit was done mainly in Kathmandu. In the tourist area the streets are lined with outdoor stores selling fake northface, mountain hardware, mammoth, etc gear all aimed to get travelers prepared for the various trekking. I still had my boots that I first got in Dublin so I was mainly looking for clothing and some insulation. I had sent my down sleeping bag home a long time ago since I have been traveling in perpetual summer season. So now I find myself for the first time ever in a winter situation.

Christine and I hunt around pretty much all of the stores around the area. It gets to a point where I get stores mixed up and cant remember which prices correspond with which store. In our shopping I discover that there are various grades of the fake stuff and I opt to get the best quality fake gear. I end up getting a pair of waterproof/wind blocking trekking pants, a soft shell jacket, a synthetic shirt, fleece jacket and a LED headlamp. All of this comes to less than 100 USD.

In addition to gear I also have to purchase two different cards in order to trek anywhere in the Annapurna range. One is for access to trek that area and the other is insurance for the trek, which includes emergency evacuation. There are checkpoints throughout the circuit where you check in and the rangers keep track of trekkers in this manner.

Old Woman @ Monkey Temple - Kathmandu, Nepal

Kathmandu feels like India and in fact some of the Nepalese look very much like Indians. The food here is pretty closely related to the Indian food that we had in the north. There is a lack of quality meat and vegetables and that is quickly noticed within our first few dinning selections. This country is much poorer than India and in turn their cuisine is much poorer as well.

There is a power cut that lasts throughout the day. So during our daily exploration of the city the smell of diesel powered generators and that low generator hum can be experienced throughout the city. It seems that a hydro-electric power plant broke or was damaged a few years back. Since then Nepal doesn’t have enough energy for the demands of the capital. Their solution is to cut power from 11am to about 6 or 7pm daily.

Kathmandu is very polluted and the air is thick. On some days it is difficult to see into the distance. The constant exhaust fumes from the numerous motorbikes and cars seem to linger on the streets making it difficult to breathe. Most of the motorist wears masks, not the typical surgical masks. They actually have stylish ninja looking masks that they wear. Its actually pretty cool looking.

Nepalese people are extremely friendly and apparently I look Nepalese because they usually come up to me speaking Nepalese. Either way I am greeted by helpful people with warm smiles everywhere I go. It’s an amazingly welcoming culture.

From the tiny window of the Royal Nepalese Airlines flight I see a floating cloud in the distance. I squint to make out the details and come to realize that it is not a cloud at all. Instead it is the white snow capped peaks of the Himalayas. I shift in my seat with excitement and quickly reach for my camera while simultaneously trying to get Christine’s attention. “Those are just clouds” she tells me. Right. Did someone forget to put their contacts in?

Kathmandu appeared beneath a layer of white clouds. The landscape is surprisingly green. The city itself seems more spread out than what I had imagined for the capital of a country. Rather than building up like most big cities Kathmandu has only low buildings.

Upon landing, we come to find that there is no ATM. The visa for Nepal is 35 US dollars for some reason they don’t take their own currency. Even if you were to have Nepalese Rupees you had to convert it over to US dollars or Euros. Since neither Christine nor I have any cash on us, they let us outside the airport to use the lone ATM located just outside the main gate, which we come to discover doesn’t work.

While outside we get approached by a horde of taxi drivers asking us where we want to go. One of them offers to pay for our visa and gives us several thousand Nepalese Rupees to change to dollars. We get back through several checkpoints back to the immigration counter and purchase our Nepalese Visa.

It is already starting to get dark by the time we get into town and we decide to stay at the first guesthouse that we are taken to. The room is nice and has an excellent view into the courtyard. We are both exhausted from not getting much sleep the last few days. After a quick cold shower I crash hard and get some of the best sleep in my life.

The Goa airport is about an hour’s ride from Baga by taxi. I quickly learn how to repack my things so that I still only have one check in and one carry on. With Maxine as my primary carry-on I board a flight to Delhi and arrive in the afternoon.

I arrive in Delhi in the height of rush hour traffic. I guess traffic is always pretty bad here but right now its evening and people are getting off work so it is even worse. I find a nice hotel near the main train station and do a little exploring of the area. In the evening I wait for Christine who is coming from Rishikesh to Delhi by train. We will spend one day in Delhi and before heading to Agra and then Jaipur, thus competing the golden triangle.

The next day we get up early to head over to the Chinese embassy where we will be turn in our passports for a China Visa. After looking up the office hours of the embassy we arrive at the gate to find that it actually doesn’t open for another two hours. And since we rushed over to make the opening time, we both skipped breakfast and are starving. Once the gate finally opens, all the Indians rush ahead of us with blatant disregard for a queue. And once we start to queue inside for the windows the same things happens and one guy cuts right in front of me. I wait until we are next in line before saying “Hey asshole, there’s a line here” and point him to the back. At first he doesn’t react and to make sure I get my point across I push him back and stand in front of him. He finally turns and heads to the end of what is now a really long queue. The rest of the people in line give me an approving nod.

I feel like we rushed through the rest of Delhi. For such a big city with tons to see a single day was just not enough. However I was able to see the red fort, the Muslim quarter, the subway and many of the smaller attractions, none of which was that amazing. What did surprise me was how clean the subway was here. As soon as stepped down the stairs it felt like I was in another country. The place was actually clean, there were no homeless people lying around, no beggers, no trash, and everyone actually queued; well actually mostly everyone.

Christine and I reach Agra in the evening. A lot of the restaurants are already closed so we are quite limited to where we end up eating. I don’t remember the exact name of the place, but it was on a rooftop and by far one of the worst places I’ve eaten Indian food. Christine and I have been experimenting and eat as much street food as we can. During this phase we are always joking about how we’re going to get sick doing this. At the restaurant, she orders a banana lassi and mentions how this is going to do her in. It was really ironic because later that night I awoke to Christine puking her guts out in the bathroom.

The evening was actually really interesting. I didn’t get much sleep and kept waking up. At one point there was a dog outside barking nonstop. So I decide to out to our balcony and throw something at it so it would leave our hotel area. I threw a rock and it did the trick. I turn around on the railing next to the door going back into our hotel room sits a monkey. That thing scared the shit out of me. And for it to be so close to me I quickly jumped inside and slammed the door shut.
The next morning only I wake up early enough to see the Taj at sunrise. It’s only later that morning that Christine finally made it out of bed to join me. Getting into the area to see the Taj Mahal was a huge hassle too. You cannot bring any food, books, or a pocketknife as I found out. Furthermore I even had to argue with the guard to let him take in a backpack. I had to go back to the locker area three times before I actually cleared the entrance area.

The beauty of the Taj Mahal is indescribable and all the pictures that I’ve seen of it doesn’t really do it justice. In the morning the whiteness of the building is tinted in a glowing light blue and fades slowly to orange and then finally white when the sun is fully out. It was an amazing transformation to watch. In the morning the fountains are turned off. That is the time to get a perfect reflection of the Taj Mahal in the waters.

The next day we have a night train to Jaipur and then followed by another night train to Delhi. Jaipur came and went quickly with not much that really stood out in my mind. With the combination of Christine being sick from her banana lassi and my lack of sleep from the overnight train ride, we are pretty sluggish throughout the entire day.

In the evening we met up with some Americans that were doing a spring break India trip. They invited us to join them for dinner which we happily accepted since their driver would give us a ride. Their driver who is also their tour guide selects a restaurant for us. This place is the most expensive restaurant I’ve ever been to in India. It is definitely geared towards the package tourist. The drinks were the prices of a typical meal that I am use to eating. Furthermore after we got our overpriced food we found out that the portions were tiny and the taste not so great.

The last night train from Jaipur to Delhi was surprisingly cold. With nothing by two changes of clothes that I packed for this 3 day trip I don’t have much to keep me warm. During the night I resort to wearing all my clothes and using my extra dirty Tshirt as a blanket for my legs. The train was probably the dirtiest I’ve been on. Even after wiping my bench with a towel I end up with dirty clothes of the journey. We actually woke up to an empty train and all the lights turned off. Initially I thought we had stopped at another station for a little bit but then I happened to glance down to see empty bunks. I wake up Christine and we quickly realize that we have already missed the main Delhi station and have end up at the end of the line.

A rickshaw ride to the hotel to grab our main bags, then another rickshaw ride to the Chinese embassy to pick up our hotels and finally a third rickshaw ride to the airport and we’re ready to say goodbye to India.

 
The guitar is finally finished after I put on a second set of strings, I broke the first E string the first time. I am really glad I took this course. I not only learned how to build an acoustic guitar, but also how to rely mostly on hand tools. Really discovered how much of a job a chisel is and I can’t wait for my next wood project. The only thing I think I could have done a better job is the frets. I may go back and put in larger gauge frets later on. I’ve name her Maxine. Here are a few photos of the finished product.

Goa has much in the ways of day markets, night markets and just markets and gatherings in general. Here you can find all sorts of goods from clothes, sculptures, to spices, jewelry and Tibetan made items. There is so much traffic at these events its easy to figure out where and when these gatherings occur. I love going to these things as I get to meet new people and check out the live shows. The parties in Goa are getting less and less crowded as the main tourist season comes to an end.

The first market I go to is on Wednesday. This is before I had my scooter so I ended up taking the footpath over the ridge to Ajuna beach which is just north of Baga beach. With my foot injury from Hampi it takes me a little over an hour to reach Ajuna. There are small tents as far as the eye can see and it is here that I buy a lot of souvenirs to send back home. There are hand carved chess sets that I really want, but they weight too much and would cost too much to send back. So I opt for lighter things.

I hear about a night party from Raluca. She has been here in Goa for the last three months. I take my scooter there and party into the early hours of the morning. The party scene has been policed heavily as of late so the location and times of the parties are released at the last minute. A lot of the times people are riding from beach to beach trying to figure out where the parties are. Since I’m on a working schedule I can only attend the ones that are on the weekend, which is find for me as these things are really overpriced anyways.

Tasks:
1. Attach bridge

2. Shape nut and saddle

3. Final sand everything
4. Add strings
5. Adjust frets if needed

Progress after day 14: