1. Partying in Kathmandu. The Thamel area of this town is built for tourists: good hotels, restaurants, bars. This is where all the backpackers go to hang out and socialize. I did this for several days. It was hard to leave.
2. Mountain-biking in Nepal. Awesome. Just a 3-hour climb from Kathmandu yields a 710m descent through a national park. More info: Along the way, I got lost, and had to bike through the National Park for a couple hours in the dark :) For normal people, this is a problem. But, thanks to my time in Whistler, I have lots of night-riding experience (both sober and otherwise). I cruised out of the forest in the darkness without any problems except coming across to pairs of eyes in the darkness (belonging to large, unidentified animals) that scared the shit out of me before running into the bush.
My ride. A mere 3 inches of travel on the front. No rear suspension. No disc brakes. No clips. It weighed 800 pounds. (what's this?? After one summer of biking in Whistler, and now I'm a bike snob?? haha). But, renting it was some of the best money I spent on my trip so far :)
3. Elephant-back safari through the jungle in search of one-horned rhinos and the elusive Bengal Tiger (an animal deserving of capitalization). Man, what a way to travel. As we lumbered around we spotted some rhinos, but no tigers (not surprising)
An elephant carries people through a river. Watch out for the crocs!
4. Swimming with the elephants. What fun to play around with these animals in the water! They have a built in water-gun: they can shoot water with there trunks. If you want to play and feel like you are 8 again, this is it
On second I'm on the elephant, next time i'm off
5. Full-day walk through the jungle. Here we saw all sorts of wildlife. Walking through the tall grass is creepy because you have no idea what is 5 feet away. We stumbled across a rhino. Let me tell you, it is a lot more exciting to see these animals on the same level (as opposed to the safety of an elephants back). It fake-charged us. We jumped, took our warning, and left. Also, we saw a croc and tried to sneak up on it to get a closer look. All the while I'm thinking this is not a good idea. Luckily, I think, it heard us coming and took off into the river with a splash!
Mr. Rhino, sir, we were just leaving...
6. Witnessing the 2008 World Elephant Polo Championships. I'm serious. I have the t-shirt to prove it. Here is a quick video of a goal
Can you spot the ball amongst all that elephant
7. Riding the roof of a bus in Nepal. What freedom. Reminds me of the first time I rode a motorcycle down the highway after being in the protective bubble of a car years. A quick video
8. Seeing the Taj Mahal with my own eyes. Beautiful. And I rarely use that word for anything built by man, reserving it for the great natural beauty of the planet. But, it is appropriate here. I went just today and I don't have pics with me, but just trust me on this one
Quick administrative note:
I admit that I am having difficulty keep this blog up-to-date. As it turns out, having a good time is pretty much my whole life, if you see what I mean (and has been for a long time now). I have no reason to do anything else. In a way, it is my full-time job. But its even more than that. It's all I do. It's the goal of my existence right now. [I joke a lot on this blog, but this time I am actually serious here :) ] Thus, it is difficult to update this blog with all the good times I am having, largely because there is so much of it, and because I'm always out having a good time (oohh, the irony). So, keeping track of my good times is an overwhelming task. However, you will have my finest effort :)
You kids keep your elbows high going into the corner. Cheers from the Taj Mahal
-Shawn
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