President Palin...

..and other things that didn't happen.

Not wanting to withstand a brutal layover situation (I was originally scheduled to have mindnumbing 12-14 hour layovers in Delhi and Bangkok enroute to Auckland), at the last minute I canceled flights and opted to go to Singapore and hang out with Cindy on her home turf. So instead of gouging my eyes out in airports, I endured a harsh three days of sleeping in, swimming in a pool and eating savory and cheap Singapore cuisine. Known endearingly as "Asia Light" to Westerners, Singapore seems to blend the comforts of western life (sit down toilets, clean and organized city life) with the best of the East (food and travel). I fill with blind, raging jealousy when I see how Cindy visits some exotic, pristine locations (Lumboc, Bali, Vietnam, etc etc etc) y'know, just for a weekend getaway.

No warm spots in the pool at Hotel Wangster

The aftermath. You can't see Yuan who is lying on the floor in a blissful food coma.

Heaven? No, it's hawker stand.

Professor Wang, National University, Singapore

Pokhara and Bakhtapur

After the trek we spent a day in Pokhara, the launching town for many Annapurna treks. We then flew via, yes, Yeti Airlines back to Kathmandu where we got a stunning view of the Himalayas. In Kathmandu we visited a beautiful neighboring area called Bakhtapur.

Yuan buying brass goblets and plates to serve dahl bat.

Durbar Square, Bakhtapur

Abominable name, indeed.

Phewa Lake, Pokhara

Machapuchhre (6993m = 23,076 ft) and Annapurna III (7555m which is 24,931 feet, folks) off in the distance.

Annapurna Part II

Blogger not allowing me to move the pics...this is the us celebrating the end of our trek with Fanta.

Stone walls in Gandruk

Our trek coincided with Deepavali, a major Hindu holiday, so locals were in good spirits and often dancing and singing and adorning themselves and animals in flowers.


Breakfast of Champions: Hot porridge, boiled eggs and piping hot coffee for b-fast before a long day's hike.

Interesting purplish legumes in Baranthi

Tatopani

Annapurna Region, Nepal

Namaste from Nepal. I just completed a 5 day hike through a portion of the Annapurna region of Nepal. This is a condensed region that holds many of the world's highest peaks, looming high over 8000 meters. I came out here with a close, old friend Cindy and her older brother Yuan to get some good views of these majestic mountains and get a taste of Nepalese culture.

Lunch with my friend Gabriele who lives in Kathmandu. Gabriele works as an advisor for social policy in developing countries for UNICEF. She is the mother of one my very close friends, Gracia.

Kids playing on homemade swingset made of bamboo outside of Pokhara

Monkey Temple in Kathmandu


Monkey Temple, Kathmandu

Dal bhat and curry, staples on the Annapurna Trek

Waking up at 4 am for a painful uphill hike to Poon Hil...

for panorama views of the Annapurnas

Warming up with Everest beer, a snoozing pooch and more ex-pats, including a nice young fellow, Steven that joined us for a portion of the trek

The whole gang of ITrekNepal including our guides Dipesh and Beer, and our ridiculously strong and swift porters.

Next stop is a last minute change of plans...heading to Singapore for some much needed R & R time at Cindy's home.

Read: "Lamb" by Christopher Moore. Sarcastic and surprisingly educational. One half of "Nine Stories" by JD Salinger before I idiotically left it on an airplane

Reading: "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer, can't put it down.