Cleatus the West Virginian

Nepal, Tibet, India Golden Triangle

27 Nov 2015 – 31 Jan 2016

61 entries from Nepal, China, India and 1 more, 27 November – 31 January 2016.

Start here — Yak butter tea and armed oppression 12/27

Entries
61
Countries
4

Timeline · each node is an entry, spaced by date

Day by day

  1. 27 Nov And we're off! 11/27 Beth I like to get to the airport early. I can't help it. I can thank my mother for that. Andy likes to do things up to the last min. He can't help it.
  2. 29 Nov Sitting and waiting 11/28 Beth We've been traveling for over 36 hours. The flight to Frankfurt was fast since we passed out the majority of the trip w a little help from our pills.
  3. 30 Nov I'm gonna need some fresh air 11/30 Beth We slept for 13 hours, woke up at 4am and felt like champs. Andy needed some coffee so he went downstairs for hot water.
  4. 30 Nov We made it! Get me a beer 11/29 Beth We finally reached the gate for Kathmandu at 3 AM. Our flight was supposed to leave around 7 but it was scheduled for 8:45 so I took a nap sitting up on the chairs.
  5. 1 Dec A day w few plans turned out to be amazing 12/1 Beth Awake at 3, I guess we really didn't conquer jet lag after all. Relaxed until 6 then it was coffee time on the rooftop to watch the city come alive (and see dog fights).
  6. 3 Dec Finally nature! 12/3 Day 1 Beth Up at 6 and enjoying the sounds of the water rushing near us. We slept well in our sleeping bags, well I did.
  7. 3 Dec Travel day, a tiring one 12/2 Beth Up at 4:30 this am and one last coffee on the rooftop before heading to the bus stop at 7. Th ride was uneventful, we watched the countryside pass by, happy to be out of the city.
  8. 4 Dec Holy shit that was a lot of up 12/4 Day 2 Beth Whomever said this hike was moderately difficult I want to bitch slap them. Today was really hard. Up at 5 due to a large thud in the ceiling. No matter, plenty of sleep.
  9. 8 Dec Best day ever (so far) 12/7 Day 5 Beth Up at 6 and had breakfast w our new Croatian friends. I tried the local porridge which wasn't so good. Luckily Andy didn't eat much of his muesli so I killed it.
  10. 8 Dec Pressing on into pine tree forests 12/6 Day 4 Beth Up at 6 and breakfast at 7 in the tiny room they call a restaurant. This time we had museli w apples and and egg.
  11. 8 Dec The bee that almost killed me 12/5 Day 3 Beth Up at 6 again after 11 hours of fantastic sleep. Breakfast consisted of musli and two hard boiled eggs each.
  12. 9 Dec Kicking ass and acclimating at Ice Lake 12/8 Day 6 Beth We took our time today, had lunch at 7:30 of veg omlettes and hit up the bakery downstairs for a chocolate croissant and cinnamon roll- they were massive.
  13. 11 Dec I failed my duty of being the voice of reason 12/9 Day 7 Beth We didn't know what we were going to do when we woke up. Andy wanted to do Tilicho Lake w the others, I was up for it but didn't want to bring the heavy ass bags.
  14. 11 Dec Lake Tilicho at 16k ft 12/10 Day 8 Beth No rush today since we were only going up the mountain and back but we got up at the normal time anyway. It snowed last night. It actually woke us up and it sounded like hail.
  15. 11 Dec Prepping for the summit 12/11 Day 9 Beth We had to backtrack back to Manang today to get our heavy shit. I think Andy now understands the beautiful feeling of not carrying a heavy load because he's not discounting my…
  16. 14 Dec Climbing for 4 hrs plus a rest day! 12/12 Day 10 Beth Up at our normal time and a quick breakfast of apples and muesli w warm sugar yak milk and Andy had a veg omelette. I'm all about the more calories for my buck.
  17. 14 Dec Thorang Base Camp 16k 12/13 Day 11 Beth Not sure what happened last night but some dude started screaming at 11 and flash lights were going crazy. It was probably the roxi. It was cold this am!!
  18. 14 Dec Thorang La Pass F yeah 17.8k!! 12/14 Day 12 Beth Up before the alarm because of the loud ass kids. No worries, I slept like shit from a major headache and wanted to get the day started.
  19. 15 Dec Down the mountain we go 12/15 Day13 Beth We have no destination we must reach so we took it easy this am. Breakfast consisted of potato omelette for Andy, good ol Tibetan Bread w honey and boiled eggs for me.
  20. 16 Dec Annapurna done! Happy early bday to me! 12/16 Beth We woke up at 5 in an attempt to find a flight out of here. There's no one up. We walk w our headlamps looking for the airport.
  21. 17 Dec Bday in Pokhara 12/17 Beth Slept in a cush bed and it was so warm, no sleeping bag, and a fluffy pillow. What?! Andy had the hotel set up breakfast on our personal terrace.
  22. 19 Dec Moving on from the 1% 12/18 Beth We took our time this am to soak in the rest of the hotel. Andy got us some croissants and lattes and we ate the rest of the chocolate cake.
  23. 19 Dec The roller coaster ride to Sauraha 12/19 Beth Took our time getting up this am. The bed was really hard so the sleep was shit. We had an omelette and chapati for breakfast w some marsala tea.
  24. 20 Dec Rhinos!... and a tick in my eye 12/20 Beth Up at 6:30 for a toast and omelette breakfast before our jungle walk departure w our two guides into the Chitwan park. It was really foggy so we didn't go until 7:30.
  25. 21 Dec I touched a baby elephant 12/21 Beth Andy woke me up this am, it was supposed to be a sleep in kinda of day, but I guess 10 hours is enough. We walked around looking for breakfast and settled on a nicer hotel.
  26. 22 Dec Nepal review and back to Kathmandu 12/22 Beth Last night was the first time we encountered someone who needed punched in the face. There were several guys staying at The Family House who were drunk.
  27. 23 Dec Temples, Juju Dhau... and tick in my arm 12/23 Beth In bed at 8 after a cold ass shower! This is why it's not worth taking showers here. Even if you get warmish water, the air is so cold you end up freezing.
  28. 25 Dec Edge of Kathmandu Valley 12/24 Beth Took our timing getting up after a rough nights sleep on a hard ass bed. We walked around town and ended back at the rooftop restaurant w our fresh doughnuts and Juju Dhau for…
  29. 25 Dec Xmas Kathmandu style... and a tick on Andy 12/25 Beth Up at 3am. Andy alerted me that had as a tick. Really how do u know? I just do. Yep, right on his fucking collarbone. How does this even happen?
  30. 2 Jan 2 miles from the big E! 12/30 Beth Up for breakfast at 8, Chinese buffet style! We (mostly Andy) had seaweed, picked cabbage, bok choy, boiled eggs, pork buns, and peanuts.
  31. 2 Jan Debating monks and armed police vehicles 12/28 Beth We met X at 10 this morning. We headed for Phaphongkha monastery first. It was outside the city, up one of the mountains.
  32. 2 Jan Get me out of here 12/2 Beth So we thought there would be no issue getting the rest of the cash out to pay X since its a new day. I guess the bank considers a day in PST?
  33. 2 Jan Happy New Year Tibetan style 12/31-1/1 Beth We drove back to Shigatse yesterday. I slept most of the way since I didn't sleep last night from my cold.
  34. 2 Jan Hello Vegas! I mean Lhasa 12/26 Beth Annnnnnd we're back! No posts for the last week due to China oppression and their apparent dislike for anything Google. Assholes.
  35. 2 Jan Shigatse- the monks are watching you 12/29 Beth We started our car ride to Shigatse at 10 this am. We found out the reason our driver drives so damn slow is because there are radars all over the road, even in the middle of…
  36. 2 Jan Yak butter tea and armed oppression 12/27 Beth Up at 7 hoping this was going to be a shower day. The heater was working as much as it was going to so now we need hot water. I turned it on and let it run to no avail.
  37. 3 Jan Until next time Nepal you lovely country! 1/3 Beth Back to our regular early bed time of 9 so we were up before 7. Travelers' Inn wasn't bad! Hot hot water for a shower, towels, and soap for $6.
  38. 5 Jan Darjeeling unlimited 1/5 Beth Up at 6 after sleeping for 12 hours. We went to Glenary's cafe for wifi, croissants, muffin, and cappuccinos.
  39. 5 Jan Long travel day into India 1/4 Beth We reached the border at 8 after a shitty night of trying to sleep. We went through Nepal immigration then crossed the bridge to India for .25 of a mile downing the 3 oranges we…
  40. 7 Jan So where are we going? 1/6 Beth Up early, headed back to the cafe for some croissants, cappuccinos and wifi. Since the dang wifi didn't work no need to stay there so we hopped in a taxi jeep after 8.
  41. 7 Jan Taj- check! 1st stomach revolt- check! 1/7 Beth Up early to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. I forgot about the male (2)/female (1) line cue again and had to move.
  42. 9 Jan Goal weight achieved! 1/8 Beth Puked all night long and ate nothing during the day. Thanks India for allowing me to reach my target weight only by serving me some palak paneer from the hotel.
  43. 9 Jan Pink city monkeys 1/9 Beth Up at 6 w the first 10 min call to prayer (Jaipur is a Muslim and Hindu city). Today I feel like $1MM, well, at least $658k.
  44. 10 Jan I can't go for ghat, noooo, no can do 1/10 Beth That was all Andy's pun. Anyone who knows me know I'm not down w them but I'll make this exception. Anyhow, we stayed at a nice simple hotel in the country next to a rose garden.
  45. 12 Jan Don't get stuck between a tuk tuk and a cow 1/11 Beth The dogs bark and howl all night long, even in the city. Andy wasn't feeling too swift, said he feels like he ate a jar of mayo. Haha. No doubt.
  46. 12 Jan RIP Bowie (and we're in the desert) 1/12 Beth This am we walked through the streets and up to the fort, Mehrangarh, on top of the hill. I'm forted/palaced/templed out so I'm light on descriptions.
  47. 14 Jan Desert sunrise 1/14 Beth The sleep last night was very peaceful. No dogs howling, no horns honking. Andy wakes me to watch the sunrise. It was magnificent.
  48. 14 Jan Sleeping under the desert stars 1/13 Beth We headed out to tour the fort this am. Jaisalmer is the golden city because it's made out of sandstone. It's the only city that's stood up to its color name.
  49. 15 Jan Rats, real rats, on our feet 1/15 Beth We left Jaisalmer and headed out for Bikaner to break up the long drive back to Delhi. Along the way we stopped at a place out in the middle of nowhere that had thousands of…
  50. 16 Jan Goodbye kite runners 1/16 Beth We walked around the fort this am in Bikaner. Andy's getting pretty sassy w people. Good thing locals don't get sarcasm. If one more person asks if we want a guide... be afraid.
  51. 17 Jan Let's bounce this country 1/17 Beth We are so ready to go, we've been ready to go. Last night was a shit show of sleep. Music was blaring late- something w drums and a fucking kazoo. Why is a kazoo used?
  52. 19 Jan Two tickets to paradise 1/18 Beth Up so early at 4. That was a short 3 hour nap. We reached the airport quickly and hit up Coffee Bean (yay chain that won't make me sick-I hope).
  53. 20 Jan Diving in a fish tank 1/20 Beth We found the egg station for breakfast his am. That's good because it's very important to have eggs each am and they are wonderful. Out on the dive boats this am.
  54. 20 Jan This place is ridic 1/19 Beth Up at 7 to hit up the buffet before our dives. The spread was impressive so we stocked up and when I say stocked up I mean packed in some Nutella and fruit and nuts for post dive.
  55. 21 Jan Big ass sting ray 1/21 Beth Slept so well last night I didn't want to get up for our dives but powered through. Another filling breakfast and we were on our way. We dove again today.
  56. 22 Jan Snorkeling like a boss 1/22 Beth Amazing snorkel day!! We headed to the jetty after another huge breakfast and jumped in because we heard they feed the fish at 10:30.
  57. 23 Jan Last day for the Americans 1/23 Beth Many people commented on how we are the only Americans on the island. We proceeded to tell them that it takes two days to get here, plus a lot of Americans don't travel, much less…
  58. 25 Jan Liebe Deutschland! 1/24-25 Beth Our travel day was uneventful. Short 20 min flight to Malè, then to Sri Lanka, then Delhi, then a red eye to Zürich.
  59. 27 Jan Family time with schäufela 1/27 Beth Up early since we are a bit jet lagged then the amazing breakfast was had! Andy picked up some pretzels and baguettes from the local French bakery and we had all the cheese and…
  60. 28 Jan Schnapps and rotwürst 1/28 Beth Another beautiful sunrise over France, it looked like the sky was on fire. The first day that's been cloudy and I'm loving it.
  61. 31 Jan Alas- it has to come to an end 1/29 Beth It started to rain this am. We haven't seen rain since last spring so we were lovin it. We relaxed all morning since this is the last of the relaxation days.