Mark and Lauri's Trip Notes

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to our forum! Please enjoy yourself.

Mark and Lauri

Mark & Lauri’s Travel Itinerary 2004/05

On the 27th of July we fly to Frankfurt, then to Berlin, arriving early evening on the 28th (German time...9hrs later).
We have a couple of weeks to visit with Sabine in Berlin, and then we take off on our tour of Europe on August the 8th, including England (3 weeks) then Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and Prague .

Then, on Sept 27th we fly to Delhi, India and 3 days later Nepal, as long as things are ok there. From here we will trek the Annapurna Circuit trail. Our trekking tour will take about 30 days including a short stay in Kathmandu and Pokara (during this time we will not be in contact with anyone as there is no phone or email service on the trek).

Early November we leave for Varanasi, India for a five-week tour of the North of India, including "cultural relief breaks" in some wildlife parks. We continue our tour west toward Udaipur and then down the coast to Bombay, Goa, Mysore, Cochin and finally end in Madras on the 20th of January.

On the way home we have a short stopover in Dubai and continue on to Toronto, for a visit with Mark's family. That's it!

We may post a more detailed itinerary of the on-land India travel agenda when we have it created. It would include all the places we plan to visit throughout India. You could pick up an “Eyewitness Travel Guidebook for India” probably available through your local library. It is the best guide for this as it gives interesting information and many pictures for the various locations. You just need to look it up in the index, and there are you are… travelling along with us!

**Remember the above travel agenda could change depending on what we encounter and how we feel. We will try to keep you informed every few weeks.

We have developed a website and we will be posting regular updates on this site. There will be a link for our “trip bulletin board” where you will find these updates. We will not be sending personal emails but you may go to our website at any time and find out where we are. The address is http://www.marklauri.com

Hi Everyone,

Just a note to let you all know we have arrived safely here in Berlin. In the morning we are off to visit the island of Hallig Hooge in the North of Germany. We'll return Sunday evening, German time. We miss you and love you,

Lauri and Mark

I really liked the new pictures. There is something special about picture6. Does anyone think it looks like yogic flying? Very nice trick.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for your lovely messages. It is a really rainy and stormy day today and we've taken the opportunity to quickly check in on the Internet, before heading off to the Lake District back in England. Our trip is going great. We are having a wonderful time. And yes we are eating incredible food, although we must admit that the food in the UK isn't quite as good as what we've had in Germany and the rest of Europe.

Haven't too much time to write now. Just wanted to let you know that we are well, happy and healthy, and coping quite nicely too the very narrow streets and continuous roundabouts here in the UK. Lauri is doing all the driving here and doing an excellent job, and I'm sitting in the passenger seat with a map in my lap navigating our route, which is quite a full time job given all the streets here!

We're having lots of fun. Hopefully we'll be in touch soon with more pictures. Thanks for your great compliments on our previous photos!

RE: Photo 6 - yogic flying - this was taken in Mt. Robson park. Lauri is seated on a rocky outcrop high on the hill across the valley from the Robson glacier seen in behind. The scenery is so glorious, it does seem a bit like your heart is flying here in beautiful BC!

Miss you all,
Much love,
Lauri and Mark

Just a friendly note to say hello, I hope everything is going well as planned. I've taken at the time to go through your wonderful pictures that you have posted , what an excellent experience; I am grateful that you are able to share it with the rest of us. The day to day life here has been excellent we've enjoyed some wonderful weather over summer which has given us the ability to take the odd camping trip. Jaden and family is doing well, it seems as though we have another summer passing by us as quickly as it came. look forward to talking to you please feel free to give me a call any time it would be nice to chat with you for a few moments.

Buon Journo!

We can hardly say it, much less spell it. Our italian is a little rusty.. But there are enough broken English speakers here, that it is easy to get by. So some of you are wondering if we are still alive and well. We are indeed, and are having a great time here in Italy. We just survived a Jam Packed day of sightseeing in Rome with a grand finale roller coaster ride in an Italian Taxi back to the train station. So much to see and so little time left.

We rarely see an internet cafe here, and when we do, it is usually extremely expensive, noisy and with long lines to wait for a terminal. Right now we are enjoying a coffee before heading out to the Tuscan Hill towns, and there are some free inexpensive terminals in our campsite.

Heading up to Germany soon, with a few stops on the way, Florence, Venice. After droping off the car we head to Cesky Krumlov and then Prague, then back to Berlin on the 24th. Then we are off to Nepal and then India on the 27th. Be in touch again soon.

Thanks for your emails, and guestbook entries. We LOVE hearing from you. Please do keep your emails short as we do not have time to read long letters, but do write us. It is exciting to hear from you.

Thinking of you with love.
Lauri and Mark

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for your lovely messages. It is really great to hear from you. Please once again remember to keep your messages short, as it is difficult to read long messages as we rarely can get enough time on the Internet.

We have added a new selection of photos from our Britain and Europe travels over the past 2 months. There are very few descriptions as creating the photo webpage does take a lot of time.

We look forward to building a more complete photo website when this trip is over, for you to enjoy.

There will be shorter albums to follow, while we are in India, so stay tuned!

We are off to India tomorrow, and then Nepal soon after.

During the month of October, from the 10th until November the 15th (approx), we will be trekking on the Annapurna circuit in Nepal, and will be completely out of contact and unable to receive or send messages. Please send your prayers and good thoughts (no worries please!), and we will receive them with open hearts.

Love and Blessings to You All,
Lauri and Mark

Hi Again,

Arrived safe and sound in Delhi, India, delivered by the exotic airline carrier, Emirates. We had a nice experience eating our gourmet airline food, and watching Harry Potter on an almost turbulent free flight. In between we had a 4 hour stopover in the Dubai airport, which has a full sized 24 hour mall enclosed for "your convenience"! The airport was decorated with tacky light fixtures, and palm trees, wrapped in strings of lights. Dubai sounds like an interesting place to visit, completely designed for business and for the wealthier tourist, it seems. Glad we missed it.

Delhi, India is a pretty crazy scene. The streets full of cars, noisy buses, cycle-rickshaws, people walking everywhere in every direction, and in the middle of it all, cows! Today, while walking up the main bazaar from our hotel (in Paharganj), we saw a large rat jump off truck, and scurry into a nearby store. Moments later, all the guys in the store jumped on the counter, as the bravest of them tried to scoop the rat out of the store. We were all laughing.

And then there's the Rickshaws. You ask them to take you to a specific place, and they repeatedly want to extend your journey to the entire day, and give you the complete tourist package. To top it off, there's your required "visit" to the local "department store", the emporium, where they can collect their tips for bringing you there. Today our Rickshaw took us to the same emporium (even after we told him we had been there) as yesterdays rickshaw. This was a nice laugh for the staff there.

It's a different slice of life here, that's for-sure. Actually, we do really love it here. It's a major attack on the senses, and completely over stimulating, but still, it's incredible. Amongst the mess of it all, we feel completely at home.

We are just starting to adjust to the waves of life here and trying to recover still from the bad colds we arrived with. The spicy food is helping, we think, although it sure stirs stuff up. Today we visited the Red Fort and Jama Masjid. Beautiful, but intense... Especially getting there. We are operating ALOT more slowly then on our European adventures. On October 2nd, Saturday, we have booked a train to Amritsar to see the GOLDEN temple! We are back here again on Monday for a few days of "relaxed" sightseeing. On Thursday we are hoping to fly to Kathmandu.

Hope all of you are well. We are thinking of you!!!
Our love,
Lauri and Mark

Namaste!

We have recently arrived here in Kathmandu, and are running around preparing for our upcoming trek through the Annapurna Circuit. We have met with our trekking guide and finalized all the details of our tour, and packing needs. Kathmandu is pleasantly clean and less crowded than our recent time in Delhi and Amritsar! The people here are exceptionally beautiful: humble, and pure-hearted. There has been no trouble since we have arrived, although we do try to be in our hotel by 9pm, as the shops on the streets close up quite early. Also, eating and sleeping here is very inexpensive! We are paying 11 us dollars to stay at the Potala Guest house, you can check the internet for it if you want a peek. It has a lovely inner garden courtyard, and is very peaceful.

Yesterday, our guide his brother in law, took us around Kathmandu to see some of the important Buddhist and Hindu temple's here: the famous Monkey Temple, the temple of the Living Goddess, who actually peaked out the window and made a short appearance while we were there, and later the Hindu Pashupatinath Temple, with the sacred river and cremation ghats - this is one of the holiest Hindu sights.

Tomorrow we leave, at 6AM for a long 8 hour bus ride to Besi Sahar where we will begin our trek on the next day. We have scheduled to be away for approximately 28 days, and during this time, will not have internet or telephone access. We may extend the trip a few extra days, if we like to stay in one place, or are feeling a little sick. Unfortunately we will not be able to reach you during this time. But we would LOVE to hear some short messages from some of you! We are missing you all very much, and always love to receive your mail, even if we cannot respond individually or immediatlely.

We hope you are all well and looking forward to the beauty of the fall season, and the peace that it brings.

Love,
Lauri and Mark

This is the 10th day of our 30 day trek in Annapurna Circuit, Nepal. We left Katmandu on Oct 11th on a long 8 hour bus ride to the town of Besisahar. The next day we began our trek, a short distance from the town. The morning was warm and pleasant but dark clouds hang above. It was a long walk, descending and climbing again through the deep river gorge. The trail is rough in spots due to the large rainfall the previous night. We ford through streams and cross the river several times over somewhat precarious hand built bamboo bridges and long suspension bridges. Soon we encounter a light rain that worsens to a great monsoon-like downpour by the time we reach the village of Ngadi at 825m. The rain continues through lunch, we decide to stay here for the night. We had a wonderful evening gathered around the warm kitchen in our very small teahouse, singing and dancing together to the joyful sounds of the Nepali folk dance music. The next day, the clouds disappear, the sky opens and soaks us in warm sunshine. We have another long walk with several ups and downs through vibrant green rice terraces, subtropical forests and small hamlets to our next destination, the village of Jagat.

Our daily routine is beautiful medicine for the mind. We walk at a moderate and even pace climbing up step-by-step, a perfect pace for reciting the mantra and stilling the mind. The physical effort, combined with the majestic scenery, and simple daily routine is our idea of a perfect spiritual retreat. We usually walk 6-7 hours a day stopping around 9 for tea and 11 for lunch. The food along the trail in the local tea houses is excellent, Ashram style, delicious vegitarian dhal-bhat, rice and veg. curry.

We share the trail with many others: local villagers, donkeys loaded up with supplies for the upper villages, chickens, goats, sheep, occasional herds of horses and of course the porters who are loaded high with heavy bags and sacks.

It is so wonderful to be in a place that is not driven by typical western values and ideals. Here in the upper regions, there are many buddhist gompas and monestarys and spiritual life is woven into every part of their daily life. As we come into the villages along the way, we are always greeted by happy faces, bright smiles and friendly service. The children enthusiastically call out, "Namaste, Namaste," when they see us. Even the tiniest of them sweetly place their palms together and sing out Namaste as they welcome us with love.

We are having a wonderful time and feel so blessed to be here.

Today is our rest day. We are now in the village of Braga at 3300 meters. Due to the elevation, the evenings are becoming quite cold, and we sleep with warm fleece clothing, sleeping bags and blankets! We expect to be going over the Thorong La Pass (5416 meters) in about 8 or 9 days.

Our guide and porter are absolute angels, taking care of our every need. Our original schedule was to be back in Kathmandu approximately Nov 10th. We now are considering lengthening our trek and including an 8 day extension into the Annapurna Sanctuary trail, returning to Kathmandu roughly 8 days later than planned.

We love you all!
Namaste from the middle of the Annapurnas!
Looking forward to hearing from you all soon!

Lauri and Mark

Hello Again from Nepal. This is the second time we've found internet access on the circuit so we thought we'd let you know how we're doing. Its been surprising to actually find a lot of lodges with power, so we are often able to recharge our camera batteries as well. We stayed in the beautiful village of Braga for 4 days, in one of our favourite lodges on the circuit - the Hotel Buddha. The first day and a half we rested lazing around on the sunny outdoor deck with gorgeous vies of the Marsyandi river, Annapurna III and peaceful river valley with grazing animals. In the evening, all of us trekkers collected in the fireplace room at the front of the hotel to snuggle around the fire and share life experiences and travel stories. The following days we did some wonderful day hikes to Milarepa cave and monestary (4100 m) and the Ice lake (4600 m) which was really helpful for our acclimitisation. Dawa playfully called the Ice lake hike, our evevation exam - if we could make it to the lake with no altitude problems, then we'd have no problems with the pass. From Braga, the Ice Lake is a steep 1200 m climb with enormous panoramic views of Annapurna III and the majestic valley below. In the distance we can also see the stunning Tilicho peak and Gangapurna Glacier. Dawa and Manaj continue to ask to carry our packs, but we insist on taking them ourselves as training for the soon approaching steep climb over the Thorung La pass (5416 m). It takes about 3.5 hours to reach the Ice Lake where we all sit huddled in a rock shelter wrapped in our various warm clothes (and still a little chilly). The sun is warm, but the wind is cold, and thankfully, our descent is much quicker. The next day, we move on to the village of Lethdar (4200 m) where the nights become much colder. Every morning we awaken to the sweet sounds of Dawa's singing voice and cheerful nature, as we rise and begin packing and preparing for the day ahead. Dawa is a devout Buddhist, and throughout our journey he lends interesting insights into the teachings and practices of the Buddhist philosophy. He is a wonderful guide, exemplory spiritual mentor, and admirable human begin. In a gentle, loving way, he greets each moment with joyful enthusiasm, turning possible obstacles into a playful dance, and lends his wise spiritual teachings into his everyday experience. It is so beautiful to be around someone so lighthearted and free.

In the Himalayan hills, there are many Buddhist Gompas (monestaries) and as westerners, we are warmly welcomed into their temples and ceremonies. In the upper village of Braga we visit a lovely 600 year old monestary. The elders are sitting and chanting from scriptural books and rhythmically turning their prayer wheels as they pray. We sit for some time sipping up the beautiful energy. Upon leaving, Dawa stops to explain a large and colourful Buddhist painting. In the centre there are 3 images: the snake represents anger, the pig, laziness, and the peacock with the large stomach and small neck, greed. He tells us the Buddhists believe these are the 3 evils in life.

From Lethdar, the following day, we hike the final path on route to the pass. Our narrow trail climbs across a high and unstable scree slope through a dry and desolate rock strewn meadow. We reach the Thorung Phedi base camp at 9am and after a quick tea, begin to climb the relentless winding switchbacks to the Thorung La High Camp (4850m). Almost breathless, we reach the top happily greeted by Manaj who offers to release us from our bags and guide us to our hotel. Our room offers us an incredible view of the glaciated peak - the Gangapurna Mtn. In the afternoon our view diminishes as the clouds roll in and it begins to lightly snow. The cold combined with some minor high altitude symptoms makes for a nearly sleepless night (Lauri has a racing heart beat of nearly 180 beats per minute, and we both find it a little difficule to breath and sleep). On a couple hours rest, we rise at 3:30am. The evening snow has collected and a fresh blanket of white lay all around. The night is cold, but the sky is clear and studded with brilliant stars. With a small bowl of our typical garlic-apple porridge (we think they use the same cutting board for the apples as the garlic!) and a cup of tea, we set out on our snowy trail at 4:30 am. Our head torches light a small path before us. Occasionally we catch a glimpse of the steep drop off next to our narrow path, reminding us to be mindful of our every step. It's day 15 and the previous 4 days of strenuous hiking along with our altitude adjustments makes the 600 m climb seem more challenging than it would normally be. We walk like snails to the top, and reach the pass successfully, on Oct 25th at 7am. The warm morning sunshine sparkles on the snow covered Thorong Peak that is set against a brilliant blue sky... and begins to thaw out our water bottles which had frozen during our ascent. Wishes of congratulations are exchanged, photos snapped and for us a silent prayer of gratitude said, and the Shiva Arati sung before we descend the 1600m long and steep trail to Ranipawa. We find our wonderful teahouse where we'd like to collapse, but do a small bag of laundry instead. Ninety meters above Ranipawa is the temple and religious shrines of Muktinath, situated in a grove of trees adorned by many prayer flags. Around the Padoga style Hindu temple is a wall from which 108 water spouts pour forth sacred water. Even more sacred is the Gompa a short distance below. Inside this gompa are small naturally-occuring gas jets that produce a perpetual holy blue flame alongside a spring that is the source of the sacred water. The auspicious combination of Earth, Water, Air and Fire is responsible for the religious importance of Muktinath. We have a rest day with a visit to the temples and two small villages, Dzong and Caingur, across the valley. Yesterday, we trek through the dry and barren landscape to the village of Kagbeni (2810m), now losing a lot of elevation as we descend down the Kali Gandaki valley.

In Kagbeni, we enjoy a relaxing day, and our second hot shower on the circuit, the rest being cold to slightly freezing. Today we are passing through Jomsom, a large administrative centre, on our way to Marpha. We race early in the morning to avoid the dusty winds that will soon gather in this valley. Our schedule has us back in Kathmandu on November 4th, stopping in many interesting villages along the way, as the landscape becomes excitedly warmer and more tropical. We have met many wonderful people from all over the world, and are having a truely wonderful time in Nepal.

With hearts of love,
Namaste!
Lauri and Mark!

Since our last posting in Jomson we continued trekking beyond Marpha to Tukuche and the following day, Ghasa. Here the scenery becomes more green and jungle-like. The next night we stayed in Tatopani in a lovely lodge room with views of the Kali Ghandaki river and the Niligiri South snow-covered peak, towering above a foreground of green hills. Tatopani sits at 1190m and has a wonderful hotsprings (2 cement pools of hot water on the banks of the river). Our lodge has a pretty outdoor courtyard with relaxed seating area surrounded by colorful gardens. A path behind the courtyard leads down to the springs where we spend a few hours relaxing in the very hot soothing waters.

From Tatopani, the next day, our trail climbs endlessly through extensively terraced farmland to Ghorepani at 2775m, a 1600m ascent from Tatopani. It was like spending the entire day on the stairmaster machine at the gym (although the scenery was much more beautiful =) It was our highest ascent ever (in a single day). This is one thing for us, but harder to imagine how Manaj could possibly manage the same climb with our 25kg bag attached to his head (and still at the end of the day he has a smile that lights up a room).

It is here, in Ghorepani, we finally must make our so-called "voluntary" donation (of 1200 RS each) to the Maoist political group. Aside from the initial "Namaste", which is the only part of the conversation we understand, the exchange of our money for a token receipt appears to happen quite cheerfully. The next morning we awaken at 4:30 AM to start the vigorous but short climb to Poon Hill to greet the morning sunrise and see panoramic views of some of the beautiful peaks of the Annapurna region - the Annapurna's, Machhapuchhre, Hiunchuli, Tukuche and the Dhauligiri Peaks. We are joined by the rest of the tourists staying in Ghorepani who huddle together in the cold morning air awaiting the sunrise with much anticipation. After breakfast we pack up and are on our way to Bhiritani descending down many elaborate stone staircases into the valley of Oak and Rhododendron forests, rice-terraced fields and gorgeous waterfalls.

We spend our final evening on the circuit in the quiet village of Bhiritani enjoying our last daylight moments taking wonderful photographs of the local villagers. The children are especially beautiful and it is so fun to watch their reactions to this new technology - the digital camera. When we call them over to see the photo they are immediately thrilled and excited. They all gather round pressing their foreheads against mine as they try get in closer to view the picture. Our hearts are so touched by these moments.

At our lodge hotel we meet a beautiful young boy of 12 years old whose serves us our meals and takes care of our requests. He is so sweet and works with such love and enthusiasm. We expect he is the son of the lodge owner, as most children must help with many of the household and business chores. Later, we learn he is a servant boy who has come from an outside village. He hasn't any parents and now must work to find his way in the world. How difficult it is for us to witness these cases, of which there are many, and how much we wish would could just sneak him in our bag and take him with us. The heart connections we make with the people here are so easy, so instant, so genuine and so free from expectations. It is the kind of relationship exchange that is the truest experience of community that we have ever come across.

The next morning we have only an hour walk to reach Naya Pool and our first signs of noise pollution and city life we have seen in 22 days. It still feels minor compared to the culture shock of returning to the Western world. Here in Nepal there are no fashion billboards, no consummer addicts and no SUV's =) We still find it interesting to see so many 1970 and 1980 cars. Although some are missing various external parts, they're still running and all have very well-oiled horns! The trucks and buses are flamboyantly decorated with various religious motifs: colorful garlands and glitter, floral and lotus-shaped decorations and paintings of praying hands and Namaste messages on the back.

On our drive to Pokhara we pass by many groups of school children and teenagers dressed in lovely blue and white school uniforms and colorful hair ties. It's quite a contrast to the many teenagers in the West who dress in skimpy little sensual outfits and are constantly looking for attention. Despite the poverty of Nepal the people maintain a constant sense of dignity, respect, humility and industriousness in their everyday interactions. Most of the population has some form of spiritual practice and code of ethics to live by which makes Nepal a very pleasant and enjoyable place to visit. The people serve with a deep sense of honor and always bow with great humility as they offer something to you. It is a common practice here. Everyone who serves the public takes the greatest care to make sure you feel welcome and well taken care of.

Those of you who have had questions about the food... it is GREAT! We are eating very well. The food is delicious and we have had no digestive problems. In Pokhara we're back to the world of Western toilets, hot showers and the long-awaited banana lassis. We did a little sightseeing here and in the evening enjoyed a 2 hour traditional Nepali folk dance show at our beautiful outdoor tropical restaurant.

Yesterday we arrived in Kathmandu after a long 8-hr "tourist" bus ride (a little more expensive bus ride - on a bus with all the parts). We are not sure what our next plan is yet - but we'll keep you posted. We so much enjoyed our time spent with our trekking guide and porter, Dawa and Manaj, and are having thoughts of staying in Nepal a while longer, possibly doing another trek in either the Everest or Langtang region. We feel very blessed with our experience and grateful that we have had no altitude problems or serious issues during our trek. Our Dawa is very happy with our success as he has encountered many people who have not been able to cross the Thorung La (due to the high altitude of the pass) and have had to turn back. It is a journey that we have been awaiting for many years and are so grateful to have made it with so many wonderful moments and memories.

Keeping you all in our hearts and minds.
Lauri and Mark

Tomorrow, we are leaving again for another trek, this time in the Langtang region north of Kathmandu. The first day of our journey consists of an 8 hour ride on a local bus. We expect the road to be very bumpy and unpaved. Just hope the Gravol works!!

Langtang is a narrow valley that lies just south of the Tibetan border. It is sandwiched between the main Himalayan range to the north and a slightly lower range of snowy peaks to the south. This high and isolated region is inhabited by Tamangs whose religious practices, language and dress are much more similar to those of Tibet than to the traditions of their cousins in the middle hills. A visit to the Langtang Valley offers an opportunity to explore villages, to climb small peaks and to visit glaciers at a comfortably low elevation (roughly 1000 meters less than the Thorong La Pass).

We begin our trek in Dhunche, following the path into the Langtang region, cross the Gosainkund pass at 4300 meters, completing the circuit in the Helambu area. We will return to Kathmandu on the 24th of November and have airline tickets booked to fly to Varanasi India on the 27th, for those of you following our footsteps through these ancient lands.

We have updated our photo website with 63 sneak preview shots of the first half of the Annapurna circuit. More coming! When we return, we hope to include the second half of the journey, including shots of the Thorong La pass at 5416 meters. Hope you enjoy them!

Our love,
Lauri and Mark

Hi There Again =)

We have just returned from our trekking adventure in the Langtang National Park in the north of Nepal. Back in Kathmandu again, it's hard to believe we've spent close to a month and a half hiking nearly every day, usually for at least 6-8 hours a day.
Our Langtang excursion began with a wild and crazy all day bus ride to the town of Dunche. We wanted to hire a Landcruiser (4-wheel drive) and driver for the journey but due to a recent landslide in the area we were forced to take a bus. They told us the bus would stop near the landslide where we would all disembark, hike beyond the rock-covered road and then jump on another bus for the remaining part of the journey (In some ways this bus trip required more courage for us than passing the Thorung La).
The next morning we load up on gravol, board the bus and offer our prayers to Ganesha for a safe trip. The first section of road is paved and although winds and twists, snaking its way through the valley, it is relatively comfortable. However, after lunch the pavement ends. The dirt road ahead is full of potholes, deep rock-covered ditches and the bus rocks and shakes bouncing us up and down like a trampoline. The leather-covered foam seats beneath our sitting bones feel as hard as cement as we bounce up and down with the motion. As the bus gears down to handle the relentless switchbacks ahead, we glance out the window, catching a glimpse of the steep drop-offs below that our bus seems to narrowly miss. People climb the side of the bus and ride on the roof. Others cram themselves into the aisle, sitting on top of the rows pepsi boxes that were loaded on recently to be transported to the next town. An elderly Nepali woman seated in the aisle next to us, up-chucks into the small plastic bag she carried with her for the journey. The mixture of human smells and diesel exhaust lingers throughout the bus and we are very thankful that our gravol is actually working. Finally, at 5pm covered in dust, exhausted we arrive at the end of our journey in the town of Dunche.
On the way to our hotel Dawa meets a friend he hasn't seen in some time. We are invited into their home and sit sharing conversation and tea together. The wife is very welcoming and friendly. She sits on the floor, crouched over her clay oven roasting soybeans and popcorn for us to snack on. Her husband, who was sleeping when we arrived, has already drank several cups of Rakshi (local alcohol, made from various combinations of barley, millet, rice and always yeast) we think. He is very happy to see Dawa but sits complaining about his bad situation. Dawa translates for us, he says, "I am an old man, I have six daughters, no sons, I am very sad... I have no sons... I am so sad", he repeats. His complaints continue, the same story, again and again. Finally, Dawa says in his sweet singing voice, "Me too, I have a wife and two daughters, same as you... but I am very happy man!" With a brilliant smile he says, " I am so blessed to have two nice daughters and a lovely wife, so I am very happy". The old man keeps searching Dawa's eyes, wishing and wondering how he too could be happy. For us, it's just another perfect example of Dawa's great attitude and state of mind - a wonderful reflection of the wise teaching, 'One's experience in life is quite simply a result of what one focuses on'.
The next day we begin our mountain trek, descending down a rough stone staircase, beyond the green terraces of rice, to the distant margins of the Langtang Khola (river). Several hours later we reach the town of Syaphru Besi (1460m). Our days are filled with music, singing and laughter. We are all so happy to be together again and back to our daily treking routine. Beyond the town of Syaphru Besi the trail begins to climb leading us back into the moist and vibrant green jungle. All afternoon we continue to ascend. Suddenly, at the top of a cresting hill, we hear the rustling of crisp leaves. We stop to notice the tall bamboo trees swaying in the distance. Dawa has keenly spotted the Langur monkey amongst them. High above us, a mother sits, perched amidst the bending branches, clutching her baby against her breast. Below her the other monkeys jump from tree to tree in a graceful acrobatic dance. We all linger for a while silently observing and admiring their playful world. The whole experience feels very magical! Back to the trail again we discover a new found excitement in our step.
We break for lunch in a small settlement called Bamboo Lodge and enjoy three abundant helpings of Dal Bhat under the welcome shade of a tarp-covered hut. Having done virtually no research for this trek, it is wonderfully exciting to watch the villages along the trail, which appear as mere foreign names on our map, come to life!
Our trail for the next three days continues to climb upwards. On our way we spend one night in Rimche (2440m). On our map Rimche appears like a village but upon arrival we discover it consists of only two small lodges. We stay in Hotel Ganesh. This small lodge is perched on the hillside and has beautiful views of the Langtang valley from which we have just come. It is run by a lovely couple, Dindup and Tsering and their three children, Sangmo, Lopsang and Gylasang, whose ages are 15, 14 and 12. We are touched by their warm-hearted and benevolent nature. The children busy themselves attending to duties and chores with loving enthusiasm and mindful attention. The next day their one month vacation will end and they will need to return by foot down the valley to the town of Syaphru Besi. Here they will study for the rest of the year in Kathmandu and will only return home the following year on their next vacation. The lodge owners also have a third son. His name is Karma Tenzin. They tell us that when he was just seven years old, he left the family and moved to Dharamsala, India. At this very young age he decided that he wanted to become a monk. He is now twenty and still lives in Dharamsala. Later in the evening we all gather in the rustic warmth of the kitchen, where we are lovingly welcomed in as part of the family. Dindup and Tsering share stories of their life, upbringing and some interesting history of the local area. We ask how they felt about their first son leaving at such a young age. With a loving smile Tsering replies, "we are so blessed to have a monk in the family, and we are very happy". Our experience and time spent in this cozy lodge is one of our favorite memories of our Langtang trek.
The next village on our journey is Langtang (3330m), and our final destination on this part of the trail is Kyanjin Gompa (3730m) on day 4. The small and picturesque village of Kyangin Gompa, is set in a valley of dry scrub vegetation and surrounded by majestic snow-covered peaks. We spend an extra day here taking a day hike to Tsergo Ri (4984m) to view these magnificent mountains close up. At these higher elevations, the lodges have a warm wood burning stove around which we sit reading, writing, playing cards, chanting or just relaxing. On day 6 we retrace our steps down the same trail, loosing 3000m of elevation, only to regain it again on the other side of the valley. Just beyond Bamboo Lodge (1400m) our trail forks and again immediately climbs. We spend the following night in Dursagang (2600m), and the next in Lauribinayak (3930m) which is surrounded in clouds by the time we arrive at 2pm. In the morning we awake to a brilliant blue sky, a dusting of snow and an outstanding view of the northwest Himalayas. On the trail by noon, now in alpine country, the clouds follow us all the way, blanketing all views of what lies ahead. At the top of a rocky ridge, we are nearing the settlement of Gosainkund when suddenly the misty cloud dissipates to reveal a glorious look at the first of the famous lakes, Bhairuv Kund. Just a few metres beyond is the location of a few small lodges, all offering wonderful lakeside views. Ours sits perched above the beautiful Gosainkund Lake (4380m) which now shimmers in the afternoon sun. We sit by the lakeside, nearly freezing, sipping on tea and snacking on Snickers. Gosainkund is the third and largest lake. It has a large black rock in the middle, said to be the head of Lord Shiva. According to legend, Shiva himself created this high altitude lake, when he pierced a glacier with his trident to obtain water to quench his thirst after consuming some poison. On the NW side of the lake there is a shrine and several small stone shelters for pilgrims. Hundreds of people come here to worship and bathe in the lake during full moon festival each August.

Rising early the next morning, on Mark's birthday, November 20th, we ascend from this very auspicious setting, on a rugged and snow-covered trail to the Lauribinayak Pass (4610m). At the top there is a small windy hillock marked with many prayer flags, a rock chorten and outstanding views in all directions. We finish the day (10) with a big descent to Ghopte (3260m) and the location of two small lodges. Here, we are back to the gorgeous green landscape, terraced farmland, and buffalos, goats and chickens blocking our path. On our final two days the trail climbs up and down several times with many losses and gains of up to 500m. We spend our last night in Chisopani (2215m), where we have only a three hour walk to Sundarijal the next morning, and then a short taxi ride back to Kathmandu. The clouds appear, and an hour from Sundarijal the sky opens and begins to dump in a great thunder shower. We break for lunch just in time to save ourselves from a royal bath.

Pollution, smells, noise, crazy drivers, honking cars, and numerous tiger balm wallas... we're back in Kathmandu once again! It does all grow on you, in some strange way, and feels much like home after a while. Our memories of trekking in Nepal are now sparkling and shinning in our minds in colorful detail. Hope to share some of our photos soon. We will miss our dear ones, Dawa and Manoj very much and hope to return one day to visit again. Nepal is a wonderful place and despite all the press on political problems with the Maoists, we've had no trouble at all. Well, thanks for joining us again on our travel and trekking journals... we'll talk to you next in India... flying to Varanasi, Nov 27th. Our apologies for spelling and grammatical errors, we type our posting very quickly usually while we are burning our photo CD's. Our Love to you all!!!

QUOTE India! A subcontinent with exceptional potential wealth - yet where areas and social groups of overwhelming poverty survived. A land of intense spirituality and of savage racial, political, and religious conflicts. A land of saints like Gandhi, Aurobindo, Ramakrishna, and Vivekananda, and of political leaders who were sometimes odiously corrupt. A land that manufactured rockets and satellites but where eight out of ten of its inhabitants had never traveled faster than their oxen could pull their carts. A land of incomparable beauty and variety, and of hideous prospects like the slums of Bombay or Calcutta. A land where the sublime often stood side by side with the very worst this world can offer, but where both elements were always more vibrant, more human, and ultimately more attracting than anywhere else.

(Lapierre, Dominique, The City of Joy)

Dear Friends,

We are very sorry, as we are long overdue on our postings. We wish we could include some photos with this posting, but unfortunately the Internet service here is typically too slow for uploading photos, or it's just not a convenient time. Here is a quick look of where we have been since leaving Nepal: (We know some of you like to follow along.) Varanasi, Khajuraho, Orchha, Gwailor, Agra, Bharatpur (for Keoladeo National Park), Sawai Madhopur (for Ranthambore National Park), Bundi, Jaipur, Shekhawati, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and the villages of Marwar, Pushkar, Udaipur, Kumbalgarh, Ranakpur, Ajanta and Ellora Caves, and Mumbai. More recently we have traveled to Goa and now are relaxing on the beautiful beaches of the west coast. Traveling by train from Mumbai, our first stop was in the north of Goa in Arambol - a quiet beach location for independent travelers. After a few days, we traveled further south by taxi, visiting the capital city of Goa, Panjim and the nearby historic Old Goa, as well as a very interesting tour of an organic spice plantation farm (www.sahakarifarms.com) along the way. Right now, we are taking a little time out to thoroughly enjoy some rest and relaxation. We are on the southern coast of Goa in Palolem - a "paradise" beach, lined with coconut palms, whose bay forms a perfect curve of golden sand. Unfortunately over recent years there has been an increase in construction of bamboo huts along this palm fringed coast, and now it is not as idyllic as it once was. Still it is a perfect nature retreat for us. We are staying at Bhakti Kutir (www.bhaktikutir.com), in a tree house hut (with our resident frog), which looks out on a tropical forest of palm trees and flowering plants. Our little hut is full of rustic charm, with its bamboo and antique furniture, it's a perfect place to read, contemplate and relax. Every morning we rise to fresh squeezed juices, tropical fruits, organic salads, wonderful (hatha) yoga classes and lazy afternoons sun-tanning and swimming on the beach. In the evening we sleep with a chorus of crickets, and the sound of the distant ocean rolling in. It's hard to leave this exotic place, but soon we must move on and continue the rest of our travel plans in the south of India. Within the next month, we hope to visit Hampi, Mysore, Ooty (on the Blue Mountain Nilgiri express steam train journey), Cochin (and the backwaters boat tour), Madurai, Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, Srirangam, Kanchipuram, and lastly Chennai. We are so much enjoying our time in this exotic and interesting land.

Until next time, we hope you are all well.

Love,
Lauri and Mark