photo by Prime Sarmiento
First published Sept 19, 2005 at www.travelblog.org/bloggers/gypsygal Nepal —Trekking is something one has to do with a group. Unless one has really mastered the trek route and/or prefers solitude (like if you want to meditate in the forest), trekking alone especially in an unfamiliar territory (like the rugged terrain of Nepal), is just plain stupid...
First published Sept 13, 2005 at www.travelblog.org/bloggers/gypsygal Nangi Village, Nepal — We arrived in Nangi village at 7 pm. It took us 12 hours to walk (and climb rocky hills) from our guesthouse in Beni to reach the hillside village of Nangi. The trek usually takes 7 hours, but I was really slow. Plus we...
First published Sept 12, 2005 at www.travelblog.org/bloggers/gypsygal Beni, Nepal — Kulu and Maita – both are Magars whose families live in Nangi Village, took me to the local bus station in Pokhara. The Magars are one of the major ethnic groups in Nepal. They’re of Tibeto-Burmese origin and live in the middle hills. The hardy...
First published Sept 11, 2005 at www.travelblog.org/bloggers/gypsygal Pokhara, Nepal —My trekking adventure commenced in Pokhara – 200 km east, a 7 hour-bus ride away of Kathmandu. The laidback town of Pokhara is a gateway to the magnificent Annapurna range, and its also near the popular trekking routes. Which is why Pokhara’s Lakeside area is...
First published Sept 11, 2005 at www.travelblog.org/bloggers/gypsygal Pokhara, Nepal — It took me some time to update this blog as I was ill. For the past few days, I was dizzy and nauseaous. Everything I ate weighs like lead. I didn't have an appetite, but I had to force myself to eat biscuits,...
First Published Sept. 11, 2005 at www.travelblog.org/bloggers/gypsygal Pokhara, Nepal —Most of the time I travel light, preferring to buy essentials like pocketbooks, t-shirts or toiletries in any country where I'm staying. Given the might of the Singapore dollar (1 SGD = 2.2 ringgit = 22 baht = 5,000 kips=41 Nepali rupees ), I...
First Published September 8,2005 at www.travelblog.org/bloggers/gypsygal Kathmandu — Despite the hot and dry weather (and the fact that I can’t wear shorts and spaghetti straps in this conservative country) and my dizziness (side effect of the anti-malaria tablets that I ingested), I still managed to take a tour around the Kathmandu Valley, visiting some...
First Published September 5,2005 at www.travelblog.org/bloggers/gypsygal Kathmandu — One of the first things I bought when I arrived in Thamel – Kathmandu’s backpackers center – was a calculator. Given my propensity to convert everything (in Singapore, US and Philippine currencies) and also to curtail my spending, a calculator is a necessity for me. Although I...
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