Bangkok, Thailand
Today I travelled from Kathmandu to Bangkok. Temperatures in Kathmandu in the morning time now justify a long pants and fleece. When I landed in Bangkok this afternoon, the temperature was 38 degrees, and it is very humid. Tomorrow I'll begin heading north, in the direction of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, then possibly into Laos.

Paragliding above Pokhara

A Rhinocerous and her baby in Royal Bardia National Park


Kathmandu, Nepal

I had a very interesting and enjoyable trip to Royal Bardia National Park in south eastern nepal. Before I left Pokhara, I took the opportunity to go paragliding of of the top of Sarangkot hill (~500m above the city,) which was awesome! Bardia is BEAUTIFUL... and almost completely devoid of tourists (likely due to the 15 hour public bus rides required to get there.) The Tharus (locals to the region) are very warm and friendly. I found that the relationships that I formed with the people there were more "real" than those that I had had in more touristed areas. There was a feeling of mutual curiosity rather than an all out effort to grab tourist money. The most common request that I recieved was for me to take pictures of groups of kids. This is not to say that all of my experiences while trekking in the mountains were tainted by money, but in Bardia money felt like much less of a factor. I floated down the Karnali river on a rubber raft, went for all day walks through the jungle in search of big animals, and took a 3 hour trip through deep (otherwise impenetrable) jungle on the back of an elephant! very cool... I managed to see wild elephants, rhinos, crocodiles (marsh mugger and gharial,) several exotic species of birds, monkeys, deer, and several signs of the elusive tigers... alas, I was not among the fortunate few who catch a glimpse of a tiger. I had a very interesting and eventful 15 hour trip from the park to Kathmandu on nepali public transport (picture a bus packed to the gills with nepalis who have seen maybe 10 caucasians in their lives.) There was also the incident of my near mugging by some would be thugs outside the deserted Kathmandu bus park at 11pm... I got away ok though. I fly to Bangkok tomorrow morning.
- I finally managed to get some pictures uploaded! Check the other posts, as I have added to them aswell.

Annapurna South from the Gurung Hill view tower above Deurali.


Pokhara, Nepal

I made it out of the mountains alive! A few days after leaving Jomsom I developed a nasty stomach bug that slowed me down considerably. I'll spare you the details... suffice to say that several emergency trail-side pit stops were required. Fortunately, the wonders of modern anti-biotics saved the trip and I was back to normal within a few days. Highlights included: Sitting under the stars in the natural hotsprings near Tatopani, The views of Nilgiri south from my guesthouse in Tatopani, The views of Machhapuchre, Annapurna south, and Dhaulagiri from the Gurung hill view tower, The forest of giant (40-50 feet tall) rhododendrons, the bamboo jungle between Chhomrong and Himalaya, sunrise and sunset in the Annapurna Sanctuary. I had a second encounter with the Maoists outside of Chhomrong. The experience wasn't as interesting as my first meeting with the rebels. These guys weren't especially interested in talking politics or philosophy... They only wanted money. I've been hanging out and resting for the past few days in Pokhara, Nepal's 2nd largest city. I celebrated my birthday last night by drinking large bottles of Carlsberg with some locals. The plan for the next week or so is to spend one more day here in Pokhara before heading west to Royal Bardiya National Park, where i hope to see crocodiles, elephants, tigers, and the like. After a few days in the park i will return to Kathmandu for my remaining couple of days in Nepal. I fly to Bangkok on the 28th of november. From there i'll head.... who knows where... Loas, Cambodia, and Vietnam look interesting though...
Thanks to those of you who have posted comments. It's nice to read messages from home.

Jomsom

Jomsom, Mustang, Nepal (2710m)

I'm 8 days in, and around 2/3 of the way around the Annapurna circuit. It has been an amazing hike so far. The terrain and climates are so rich and varied. The beginning of the trek is in semi-jungle, with banana trees, big lizards, and other tropical critters. As I climbed higher, I passed through a walnut forest, then into pine and fir, and then alpine meadows. Yesterday I crossed the Thorong-La (5416m,) the highest point on the trek. There was a lot of snow, which made things slippery (and therefore very interesting) on the way down. I had some spectacular spills! Mustang (the area that I'm in) is very arid and empty. It's like walking on Mars. I had a run-in with the Maoist revolutionaries of nepal on my second day of hiking... we had a very interesting chat....
... more when I get to a less expensive internet access point!

Happy Halloween!
Kathmandu, Nepal
After a walk down the valley to Lukla, and an exciting (read: very short, sloped runway + turbulence) flight, I have arrived once again in Kathmandu. I spent yesterday relaxing, getting sick from bad indian food, and making preparations for the next stage of my adventure, the Annapurna region! My bus to Besisahar leaves tomorrow at 6:30am.