Episode 3 – GK World Tour
July 9, 2010 in Travel Stories, Videos
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Goa (Off season)
July 8, 2010 in Location, Travel Stories, Update
The rain is so heavy you can barely see 10m. The humidity is in the mid to high 90%, and I’m happy as a fat kid on free cake day. Coming to Goa in the off season was one of the best ideas I’ve had to date, even if it did take 46hours of travel.
I was told three things.
- It would be raining
- It would be dead
- It would be a waste of time.
Non of these things is true…. ok maybe Read the rest of this entry →
Another Day another Train..oh and a Bus
June 26, 2010 in Travel Stories, Update
Cramed into my bunk on the 32 Hour train ride from Varanassi
It’s 3am and for the fifth time tonight I’ve been awoken as someone tries to sit on my bunk. Kicking them off, as I’ve barely got enough space for myself, I look down at the ridiculous number of people crammed into the train carriage. Every inch of floor is taken up with snoring men, squirming children or luggage and up and down the walkway people are literally sleeping on-top of one-another.
Welcome to the Indian train network. Read the rest of this entry →
Varanasi
June 23, 2010 in Location, Travel Stories, Update
A religious man prepares to bath in the Ganges waters just before sunrise
A white haze floats across the surface of the Ganges river as the sun rises in the east. On the bank a burning wood pyre, atop a cloth wrapped body is placed on its journey to the next life.
Twenty meters down stream a group of young men are vigorously washing white sheets in the brown polluted waters, around them children and men enjoy an early morning wash.
Varanasi is a strange city filled with touts, telecommunications towers and rickshaws, but it is still the holiest in India. The myths state that the town was created by Shiva (God of Gods) as a gateway to the next life, although I have doubts a god would Read the rest of this entry →
“Death Marching; A story of Hiking in the Himalayas’
June 22, 2010 in Personal, Travel Stories, Update
Hiking, that’ll be fun!
Following my ‘just go with it’ attitude, the basis for this whole world tour thing, when two lovely Americans Natalie and Faye asked if I’d like to join them hiking in the Langtang region of Nepal I said ‘Why the hell not, how hard can it be to WALK’. The fact I’d just spent 2 weeks riding a motorcycle around Nepal, drinking, eating and generally sitting on my arse should have factored into my decision – sadly I’m male, both girls are attractive, smart and easy to talk to and I had nothing better to do while I waited for the India embassy to grant me a visa.
These things overrode any common sense I may have had and the next thing I knew we were heading off at 6am to catch Read the rest of this entry →
Safari
June 13, 2010 in Location, Travel Stories, Update
Chitwan National Park
The temperature is pushing 37degrees, the humidity is in the high 90s and I’m riding down a dirt road to the small tourist town on the edge of the Chitwan national park in southern Nepal.
On the horizon the dark grey clouds are building and I’m excited to find a hotel and get settled in before the rain arrives.
As the grassland on the far river bank descends into twilight the rain begins. At first a just a thin pattering of drops hit the rivers slow moving surface. Sipping my beer in one of the small riverside huts I’m prepared to wait it out, then the first ominous signs, larger splashed begin, hail stones the size of golfballs are now pelting the river and punching holes through the straw above my head. Five seconds later the thatch roof is torn off and thrown 30m down river as the wind reached hurricane speeds.
Watching the only protection I had from the rain, wind and hail, it crossed my mind that maybe I should seek a shelter that wasn’t made of straw and bamboo.. Read the rest of this entry →
Another Day, Another Bike
June 11, 2010 in Travel Stories, Update
It’s taken six hours to cover 200km. I’m soaked, sunburned and there’s still a chance I’ll be hit by lightning. My first day on the road was fun! I’ve hired a motorbike from one of the many hire companies in Kathmandu’s Thamel district. I’ve planned a 10day 550km round trip to visit Pokhara, Tansen and Chitwan National park, where hopefully I’ll see some Rhinos, bears and elephants.
Day 1 – It’s Go TIME!
The morning was filled with a two hour layover in the Indian embassy, they’re nearly as bureaucratic as the Chinese. After the slight delay I was on the road by 10:30am. Once you clear the sheer chaos of Kathmandu’s roads you are greeted by… Read the rest of this entry →
Kathmandu
May 26, 2010 in Location, Travel Stories, Update
His friend is holding him up as the hose is lowered into the watertank. All the action happens five stories up without safety equipment. On the street below tourist dodge the falling debris, a mix of dirt and coke bottles the the men knock off as they manoeuvre on the small ledge around the tank.
Welcome to Kathmandu.
The power is out and I’m on the roof garden of my hotel looking down at the sprawling maze that is Kathmandu’s Thamel district. A warren of shops, restaurants and bars mixed with seedy massage parlours, barbers and hostels. With the electricity off hundreds of generators fill the air with a mix of petrol and diesel fumes.
The western sky looks like it is on fire, the think smog reflects the fading sun making it seem much larger than normal.
It would be easy to hate this place, it’s dirty, full of beggars and scam artist. The power is as unreliable as the street food and the air smells of trucks and dust, but I don’t hate it, far from it. The city has a charm, a soul. Below me the hum and bark of a place alive is heard, Drivers call ‘taxi’ to passing tourists, children returning home after school laughing and yell to one another across the street and in the distance the whistle of a traffic cop trying in vain to hold back a sea of cars and motorbikes as they zig-zag their way home.
In every direction I’m surrounded by buildings, fronts packed with signs, each sporting Nepalese and English translations ‘Happy book place’ and ‘Food Shop of Heaven’. Kathmandu, once you get past the cover, is a brilliant place, a boiling pot. Well dress worshippers, their foreheads smeared with red blessings, walk the streets next to fuzzy faced backpackers, giant billboards advertise cigarettes and and long distance phone calls.
Below the surface is the old town, hidden behind the wall of markets and hostels. Temples, their stone and wooden faces a sunning combination of craftsmanship and the battering of time. Millions of footsteps have wore the stone steps smooth, a million hands have touched the brass idols of the Buddah and the Hindu gods, the metal now reflecting the light of the butter candles burning as an offering of good fortune. You can lose yourself in the back streets, literally. The maze of alleyways seem to stretch on forever.
For Backpackers travelling around Nepal, Kathmandu is a safe refuse to base yourself. The bars are filled with like minded adventurers, some here to trek and climb, some just for the cheap beer and fun. But it’s also a place to stay for the older generation of travellers. Amidst the crowds are aging hippies, their hair thinning but still long dressed in cotton shawls and necklaces of jade and wood. Then comes the buses, air-conditioned and filled with the over 60′s. They see the world through tinted windows, all sport identical hats and the outline of a money pouch around their waist. The large groups shuffle in and out of the restaurants and temples, cameras snapping away.
I’m glad I didn’t wait, emerging yourself in the local landscape, experiencing the good and the bad that comes with a town like Kathmandu is what travel is about.
I’ll be sad to leave, but know I’ll return to it’s maze of streets and chaotic roads, intermittent power and smog filled air.
So from a dusty, gem of a place
GK out
Day 14
May 24, 2010 in Travel Stories, Update
Day 14 – DOWNHILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The cool morning breeze before the sun had crested the mountains behind our hillside camp-site hid what would be quite a cold decent. Gearing up the buzz was that today was ALL downhill, a decent of epic proportions, into muggy, bug filled Nepal.
This would also be the first day I was allowed back on a bike, after my little miss adventure at 5000m ending with a rushed van ride over the worst road in the world to a shitty hotel in a village in the middle of nowhere.
I was excited, to say the least. The sad news was that Keith, Yorkshire-man now living in Scotland, was still feeling ill and wouldn’t be joining us on what is the largest vertical decent you can do on a push bike, 3km! As the ride began the felling in my hands and feet disappeared. The wind cut through my 10yuan gloves like they didn’t exist, the ice build-up, or at least in my mind, on my feet grew within seconds.
But I didn’t care….at all. Read the rest of this entry →
Day 11-13
May 21, 2010 in Travel Stories, Update
Day 11 – The morning After…
The night was rough but I somehow managed to get 3 hours sleep.
Laying in the dark, smoky smelling room, I felt better. I have no energy, which I discovered as I planted my feet on the floor where the rest of me joined them 3 seconds later, but the majority of my nausea had abated. Managing a 1/4 bowl of soup, a special ‘high altitude’ soup according to Champa, and some weak green tea (If I never drink it again I’ll be a happy happy man!) I’m waiting to hear the verdict.
Champa breaks the news that I’m not going home, I manage a small ‘yay’ then go back to slowly dying.
Climbing into the van was a struggle, I’m not going home but it does cross my mind can I physically continue the ride? I then get some more bad news, Champa says we’re meeting the group at the next camp-site, about 3 hours down the road, but first we had to drive over one of the passes, meaning I have to go back up to 5000m. After the previous 24 hours the thought of another AMS attack (mainly the vomiting part) has me worried.
For the next 2 hours we bounced, rolled and crunched our way over the same road I’d complained about two days before on the bike. As the van climbs back up towards the 5000m mark I try to keep my mind off the height and slowly building feeling in my stomach, the whole time imagining the rest of the riders fighting their way over what I was told was a very very bad road. The guys later told me it was little more than rocks washed down from the mountains.
I drifted in and out of sleep until we hit the top of the pass and hour after leaving the hotel. There on the horizon, shining in the midday sun, was Everest. As the van had driven away the night before I thought it would be the last I would see of the mountain, now sitting in the van I was smiling again as I watched the plume of snow flying from the summit.
For the next few hours the view from the pass kept my mind off the lack of food, sleep and my general lack hygiene (I must have smelled pretty bad at that point). I slept the rest of the journey, waking up only when the other riders rolled up next to the van and banged on the windows.
I’d only know these guys and girls for ten days but the sight of their faces did wonders to my spirit. I was back with the group, even if it was in the back of a van struggling to keep my head upright.
That night we camped next to some hot springs, conveniently located in a hotel which charged us 40yuan to use them. A warm bath in the metallic smelling water washed away the last 24hours worth of craziness, and a great deal of dirt and sweat. I managed a small amount of dinner before retiring to my sleeping bag to have a well needed nights rest.
Day 12
I’m not riding, I’m still weak and have very little in the way of an appetite as the normal porridge and eggs are presented at breakfast. The good news is a mix of exhaustion and drugs has gifted me 9hours sleep and I’m finally able to pick up a fork.
Back on the smooth tarmac the van ride is far removed from the bouncing roller-coaster of the last few days. I’m not missing out on much, the ride today is only 38km. Everyone is in camp by 1pm and we take the chance to have a wash and clean some clothes.
Something you notice on these trips is how fast the idea of not washing and cleaning clothes is adopted. Most of the guys are displaying a good growth of facial hair and even the top of my head is far removed from its normal smoothness.
At dinner the talk is of the last two passes, each of which are completed tomorrow before the 3km decent into Nepal the following day. I’m waiting to see if I’ll be riding. My appetite is returning and I’m feeling nearly 100%. Dan says we’ll talk about it in the morning.
Day 13
‘You can do the downhill tomorrow’ is the response about me riding today. Dan and Pramod had an early morning pow-wow and decided I’m still not fit enough to ride the last 2 passes or the downhill after them which is known as ‘the Windy Valley’ because according to Pramod ‘It’s windy!’
The prospect of sitting in the van over isn’t fun but Dan and Pramod know what they’re talking about when it comes to riding and pushing yourself.
Waiting at the top of the final pass is very bitter sweet. I’m overjoyed for the rest of the group as they pass under the pray flags, this is the last hurdle before the worlds longest downhill and they’ve earned the hi-fives and hand shakes, but I’m sad not to be with them riding.
We get to camp, a windy mountain side at the start of the downhill, and talk turns to the mornings ride. The prospect of the 3km drop is all I need to stuff my face and prepare. Nothing is going to keep me off the bike in the morning.
