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Puma’s Mother Group Bids Me Farewell
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 30 November 2010
Puma’s Mother Group is normally on hand to greet the few visitors who make it to this remote mountaintop but on the day I arrived they were performing traditional songs and dances of the Gurung caste in southern Nepal. Instead, on the morning of my departure the mothers trickled into Aama’s compound and climbed over [...]
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Life in Puma, Nepal – An Exercise in Sustainable Living
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 28 November 2010
The idea of sustainability, first proposed in 1854 when Henry David Thoreau published Walden, has come to mean a way of living that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In today’s developed countries, where the acquisition of material possessions is highly valued, achieving [...]
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World Travel Diarrhea – An Ugly Topic – Some Simple Cures
Blog: Vagobond.com - 23 November 2010
Montezuma's revenge, Delhi belly, Hong Kong dog, Tiki trots, Casablanca crud, Katmandu quickstep. But travelers from Mexico, India, Nepal, Morocco, and other places might call it the 'Lincoln's Loose Logs' or 'Shock and Awe', because they can get it when they visit the United States too
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Travel Back in Time to the Tiny Mountain Village of Puma, Nepal
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 16 November 2010
It was the 6th of Karthik in the year 2067 by the Nepali calendar but despite the future-sounding date, I had been thrust back in time. I sat cross-legged on a carpet rolled out over the chilled concrete porch of Aama Gurung’s mountain home, sipping tea sweetened with milk from the buffalo, gazing out over [...]
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A Little Volunteering…Continued Mentoring Years Later
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 7 November 2010
Two weeks ago I was playing around on Facebook as a way to procrastinate the real work I should have been doing when a chat window popped up – from a sweet young woman I met at the orphanage in Cambodia where I volunteered more than a year and a half ago. Many of the older girls at the orphanage asked for my email and Facebook details at the time and we have very sporadically kept in touch, talking every month or so, mostly just quick hellos and messages from them ...
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Head-On Encounter with Wild Rhinos In Nepal’s Chitwan National Park
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 6 November 2010
Our hand-hewn dugout canoe bumped against a muddy bank that materialized out of the soft fog hanging over the Rapti River in Chitwan National Park. Regretting that we had to leave the ethereal, misty river so soon, I gingerly walked the length of the narrow wooden boat, trying not to upset its delicate balance and [...]
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Run For Your Lives, Little Goats
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 2 November 2010
Like an old-fashioned 8mm movie rolling and flickering in an antique projector, the scene on a busy Kathmandu street unfolded frame by frame. I was on a bus bound for Chitwan National Park in southern Nepal for a three-day, two-night safari. The trip was supposed to take five hours but already we’d been sitting in [...]
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Two-Day Trek to Nagarkot and Changu Narayan Nearly Put Me Down
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 31 October 2010
In a serene valley ringed by low mountains I strolled past fields of patchwork bronze and green where whole families had gathered to harvest the rice. Some bent low, cutting the golden stalks with small curved scythes, while others carefully spread severed stalks in the sun to dry overnight. On a cleared portion of the [...]
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Five adventurous destinations around the world
Blog: Vagobond.com - 27 October 2010
Adventurous destinations are the stuff of travel dreams. This week, guest blogger Rebecca Kelly offers us plenty to imagine, work for, and dream of with five adventurous destinations from around the world.
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A Tout, A Tooth God, and A Tiff in Kathmandu
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 27 October 2010
After a good night’s sleep I felt sufficiently recovered from the previous day’s long layover in Bangladesh to tackle the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal. Armed with a simplistic map that showed streets but no street names, I stepped out the front door of Madhuban Guest House and tuned left, intending to head for Durbar Square [...]
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Photo of the Week – Annapurna Circuit Nepal
Blog: Ottsworld - 22 October 2010
October is the busy season for trekking in Nepal. The weather is perfect, the locals are out harvesting, and there are no monsoon rains! One year ago I was hiking the Annapurna Circuit with my father; having one of my most memorable travel experiences. We met a myriad of local children and adults along the [...]
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Thank God for Imodium
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 19 October 2010
Penang, Malaysia was good for me. It was comfortable and familiar, as if I’d been there before, and the island welcomed me with open arms. Initial plans called for me to visit Kuala Lumpur and Malacca as well, but there was so much to see and do in Penang, I reverted to the slow travel [...]
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Where to find Shangri La? – Comparing 3 Himalayan Kingdoms
Blog: Around The World On The Toilet - 4 September 2010
It might be one of the most overused cliches in the travel universe but the idea of a kingdom deep in the Himalaya’s inspired by James Hilton’s classic Lost Horizon has thousands of backpackers and jet setters alike grabbing their warm coats and hiking boots in search of this mystical kingdom. The sheer remoteness of [...]
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Mount Everest Base Camp, We’ve Arrived
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 31 August 2010
After revisiting our trek to Mount Everest Base camp through videos, we have come to the end. The day that we arrive at our destination. From the spectacular views of the Khumbu Ice Fall and the South Cole to the bonding with our guide Deep and Porter Sher, it was an amazing day.
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A Himalayan Adventure: Snapshot Sunday
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 29 August 2010
It has been a week of editing video and re-visiting our time at Mount Everest Base Camp. On September 8th we will be putting on a media presentation at Mountain Equipment Co-op in Toronto and it has been incredible looking at our previous posts, videos and photos of our time in Nepal.We had forgotten just how stunning the scenery is in the Khumbu Region. Every day felt as if we could reach out and touch heaven. This photo captures that magic of what we saw every day for almost two weeks while trekking to Everest Base Camp.
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Everest, The Day Before Base Camp – Video
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 27 August 2010
We have been re-visiting our time at Everest Base Camp lately as we slowly post our videos from our trip to Asia. It has been amazing watching the footage and it reminded me just how stunning the Himalayas are. Every day was a dream. Sure at times it was tiring and we didn't feel well at others, but as I wrote in a previous blog post about our EBC Trek, You feel as if you can touch heaven here in the Khumbu Region. The Views compare to nothing I have ever seen on earth and re-living the experience simply makes me want to return to tackle the Annapurna Circuit!
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Everest Base Camp Video – Monastery to Dingboche
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 22 August 2010
Day Five of our Mount Everest Base Camp trek was a beautiful day. We awoke to fresh snow at the Tengboche Monastery and clear views of the Mount Everest and Lotse peaks. Today we walked to higher altitudes and saw our first trains of wooly yaks. These guys can't live at low altitudes because it is too warm for them to survive below 3000 metres. They are beautiful.
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Everest Base Camp, Namche Bazaar to Tengboche
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 16 August 2010
Namche Bazaar to Tengboche on the EBC trek is an exciting day. It is the first time you catch a glimpse of Mount Everest. After spending a day acclimating at Namche Bazaar, it is time to work up to a higher elevation. Surrounded by astounding panoramas of the Himalayas the day is exciting and exhausting at the same time.
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Everest Base Camp Video – Day 2 in 2 Minutes
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 13 August 2010
Day two of our Everest Base Camp Trek was the longest day of our climb. It involved a 6 hour hike from Pakding to Namche Bazaar. We covered 10 km of mountainous terrain with a final elevation gain of 800 metres. The second day is a lot of fun though because you cross several suspension bridges, you get to challenge yourself by trekking up some steep mountains and you see a lot of Yaks and donkeys on the trails taking supplies from Lukla to Namche Bazaar.
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Everest Base Camp in About a Minute…Video
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 12 August 2010
Well, it's about time we started editing video from our travels in Asia. We were visiting our friends Bran and Dave this past weekend and they suggested that we start putting up more video on our blog and we couldn't agree more. While we were on our Princess Cruise, we chatted with Rick Griffin from Midlife Road Trip and he made a very good point. In general people browse the internet looking for video first, photography second and words last. As a Blogger, I tend to browse the internet and read words first. As a photographer, Dave enjoys looking at photographs first.
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The World in Black and White: A Photostory
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 6 August 2010
With the advent of digital cameras most people don't really think of photographing in Black and White. Well I think people are missing out. If you look back over time you will see that some of the most striking and evoking photographs were taken in Black and White. It gives images a certain impact. Ansel Adams is a perfect example.
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Toy Story
Blog: Ottsworld - 3 August 2010
Last week I wrote about how brave kids can be when it comes to travel; somehow when we grow up we grow scared. This got me thinking about some of my travels and the kids I meet along my journeys. My recent hiking trip to Nepal came to mind. As my father and I hiked [...]
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Eight Great Eats in Kathmandu
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 17 July 2010
One thing that we absolutely loved when we arrived at Kathmandu, Nepal was the variety of food. Once you have spent weeks eating Dal Baht (Traditional Nepalese Dish) while climbing to Mount Everest Base Camp or trekking around the Annapurna Region, it is heaven to be able to arrive back in Kathmandu and sample all the international cuisine. Here is a list of the best places we ate at in Kathmandu.
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Three Years and Counting
Blog: Trail of Ants - 30 June 2010
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Inspirational People We’ve Met in our Travels.
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 29 June 2010
One of the things we love the most about travel is meeting new people. While we could compile a list of a hundred people that we have met that have become great friends and have been an inspiration, we wanted to share with you a few of the special people that have really stood out and touched our hearts during our travels around the world over the years. 1. Mary Louise in Paris, France, 2. Hussein in Udaipur, India, 3. Ajith in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka, 4. Abdulla Ahmed in Wadi Halfa, Sudan, 5. Kul and Mim Das Tamang in Kathmandu, Nepal
