We made it to Annapurna Base Camp!

Hello Everyone,

We made it back from the 10 day Annapurna Sanctuary trek safe, sound, and a little out of breath... After spending over a month in SE Asia doing almost no physical activity walking uphill six hours a day was a very rude awakening to how out of shape I "was." I'm in a little better shape now, but I promise it won't last for long...

The combination of being overly excited about a new country and being silly young travelers put us in a vulnerable position upon arrival at "Hotel Encounter Nepal" in Kathmandu. Before we had even unpacked, we were talked into buying an all inclusive trekking package by Ram (Rambo) the hotel manager. The package was supposed to include an excellent guide, as much food as we could eat, and all our transportation from Kathmandu to India. Sounded great... In reality it included a drunk guide named Prem, one serving of food for each meal, and overpriced bus tickets. We failed to see through the generous helpings of Nepali tea, the perfect English and the dapper suit/tie combination of the hotel manager in Kathmandu...

When we started trekking it only took us moment to realize two things: that a guide was not at all necessary and that our guide was not so nice to say the least. Almost all youngsters were traveling without guides except us. After four days of trying to find some positive qualities in our guide, we gave up. He told us we were moving too slow, lied to us, and stole some of our budget. The straw that broke the camels back is when he told us "You are stupid babies who know nothing." No joke... He even told an American at our tea house that from Bates that he is a "cocky American for thinking you don't need a guide." Other guides, porters, and trekkers shared similar feelings about our guide and convinced us to go our separate ways from Prem. So we got up the courage to tell him the bad news. We were surprised by his response: "I was ready to tell you guys the same thing..." Haha. I guess everyone was happy.

NOTE: Nothing against getting a guide or a porter. Every other guide we met was super cool, funny, and smart. And the vast majority of Nepali people are super amazing. Prem is just a rare exception. Moral of the story: if you hire a trekking guide named Prem you should probably think twice.

Enough complaining. You know that Annapurna Sanctuary is really something special when you can have Prem as a guide and still have an amazing time trekking! We found two Israelis to travel the remainder of the trek, Shaul and Omri. (They're everywhere.) Standing at ABC surrounded by peaks over 8000 meters at 360 degrees was a humbling experience. There was only one activity that tops ABC and that is sitting in the tea houses eating a friend snickers spring roll. Mmmmhhh... As Ari always reminded me "the snicker roll is very good for trekkers. You have the right mix of fats, proteins, and carbs." With the snickers rolls fueling us down the mountain we had one thing on our mind: The Pokara Steak House.

We made it back to the steakhouse in time for happy hour! Free popcorn and coke. Nothing better after 10 days of hard trekking and sub-par food than a London steak, coke, and of course popcorn (which no none really wants, but its free). I think the steak house is the reason we're still in Pokara and have an expired visa. Tonight, I go back for the fourth night in a row!

We are off to Varanasi, India tomorrow morning, so we should really get to test out the travel skills we've acquired so far. And probably still get taken advantage of...

Take care, Sam

The Nepali Way

Namastae,

Our Royal Nepal flight was the best way to start a new adventure in a new country. The completely empty flight meant one thing: comfort while traveling (something I forgot shortly after the first overnight bus from Hanoi to Hue). Without wasting a second I jarred the armrests up, stretched across the three empty seats, and pressed play on a album guaranteed to put me to sleep: The Wall (disc 2). Welcome to Kathmandu!


The Nepali people are so genuine and welcoming. I'll add to this post and write more about my stay in Kathmandu when I get a chance. Need to get some sleep at the moment...

I leave trekking early tomorrow morning up to the Annapurna base camp. I'll be out of contact for 2 weeks, but should have some amazing pictures when I return.

Peace,
Sam

"3 Weeks, 1 Post"

Hello Hello,


I finally have a couple hours to reflect on the past few weeks. I've only updated you through Nha Trang. Right now I'm in Nepal. Between now and then I've been to Thailand and Cambodia. Very sorry to those of you who have been checking my blog daily (or bi-daily) for the past three weeks eagerly anticipating a new post, only to be continually disappointed...

It's nighttime here in Pokhara, Nepal and my mind keeps wandering due to a full day of busing from Kathmandu. I apologize in advance if I get too far off topic. I'll keep the twenty rupi coffee flowing for the next few hours to make up for lost time.

Here's my best attempt at sharing three weeks of my travels with you through a single post:

Saigon - My nighttime adventures remained minimal in the Westernized city of Saigon due to my unfortunate encounter with Escolar two day before. I managed to "wobble" out of the hotel room to see the two major attractions: The Vietnam war memorial, a breathtaking display of pictures that is a must see for even those who are not the museum type (like myself). We, also, toured the Cu-chi tunnels near Saigon that served of the Vietcong's station in the south. After only a two day stay in Saigon we were ready to move our way out the big city into the lush Mekong Delta.


Mekong Delta - The majority of our time in the delta was spent boating on the Mekong River. The experience can be best described by viewing my photos. Notice the floating markets, villages along the river, rice noodle plantations, and coconut candy factories. From the delta we boarded a little "slow-boat" to Cambodia! Unfortunately, I forgot my sea-sickness medicine at home.

GOODBYEEEEE VIETNAM! stupid joke for those who get it... We only planned to spend two weeks in Vietnam, which somehow turned into 4 weeks. I'm not sure how that happened. Actually, if I had to point blame, it would be towards billards and the beach. But, I feel like we did everything, went nearly everywhere, learned a great deal about the Vietnamese culture, and even picked up a bit of the language. Vietnam was an excellent place to start the first backpacking adventure of my life. And surely not the last...


Phenom Phen, Cambodia - Cambodia was a change of scene from Vietnam. Definitely a different culture due to its shocking history (of which I knew nothing before my travels). Between 1975-1979 the Khmer Rouge attempted to kill everyone in the country that could read or write with a goal of creating the perfect socialist nation of peasants. An estimated 2 million civilians were killed. Our first stop in Cambodia was the capital, Phenom Phen. Our one day in Phenom Phen was not enjoyable, but a day that will not be forgotten. We started at S-21 prison which has been turned into a museum. The barbed wire, cells, floor tiles, and torture devices have not been removed. After S-21 we made our way to on of the nearby killing fields which has only partially been cleaned up since the genocide. All the adults we spoke with had been directly affected by the Khmer Rough Revolution.



SMALL WORLD STORY: While waiting in line to by my tickets for S-21 I received a gentle tap on the shoulder. I turned around to shoo away the normal haggler. Due to our geographic location, the "haggler" spoke with a shaking uncertainty in her voice: "Did you go to Mercer Island?" What... Is this possible. Am I dreaming.... No way... Natasha? We hugged each other in shock. The "haggler" was Natasha L. a high school classmate. We had even volunteered together for the DARE program. I soon found out she's on a semester at sea program. It's a small world...



Seim Reap, Cambodia -It was nice to depart the depressing nature of Phenom Phen to Seim Reap, one of my favorite places so far. We found a great hotel with many fun young people and spent four nights. Much of our time was spent watching back to back episodes of The Wire. If you're look for a great place to chill on you're own Southeast Asia adventure, Seim Reap is "Sam's Pick"! Stay at the Garden Village Hostel... (and no, I don't get commission).


Bangkok - We spent two nights in Bangkok before jumping on Royal Nepal Airlines. Two nights on Koh San road is more than enough time to get a feel for the city... The street food is amazing! I ate Pad Thai and beef skews almost every meal and didn't get sick. Sam ran into one problem in Thailand. I'm very much attracted to Thai girls, but they were much more interested in my wallet than my super suave "game" and the sexy tailored shirts I had purchased in Hoi An. When I told Ari that some Thai girl really "likes me for me" he laughed and set me straight. Just kidding. That never happened...


The momentary energy from the coffee is draining, so I must say goodbye. Forgive me for the 3 weeks of a post less blog. If I caused anyone a near-fatal amounts of stress, I hope you feel a bit better.

Hope all is well,
Sam

Nha Trang: Tasty Escolar!!

Hi all,

Sorry for the delayed post. I've been traveling in the Mekong Delta on an organized tour so haven't had much internet time.

After Hoi An, we took yet another overnight train to Nha Trang, a beautiful beach town. More of the same. Nice hotels, good bars, beautiful beach, and some sunny days. We spent a full day at the local hot springs soaking in mud baths, mineral water and getting massages. One day we went on an island hopping tour. One day was dedicated to Vinpearl, the amusement park island. This town was so relaxing, we ended spending an entire week there. You can find the pictures under the Nah Trang section in a few days.

CAUTION: WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ IS INTENDED FOR ADULT AUDIENCES. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!!!

One Nha Trang memory will remain very vividly in my mind:

I've been very ill the past week along with two of my friends, Jo and Thomas. After some extensive internet research we have incontrovertibly diagnosed ourselves. Watch the puzzle pieces fit together!

For every town/city Lonely Planet chooses an inexpensive and tasty restaurant called "Our Pick." We always like to try one meal at this place, which is always delicious. The "pick" in Nha Trang was a fresh seafood place right off the beach. The owner was a friendly Vietnamese fellow who has been running the restaurant for 17 years. I hadn't ate any fish yet on my trip, but figured it would be a crime if i didn't eat the fresh fish at this famous restaurant. The owner insisted that we get the grilled fish. Within minutes a giant fish steak steamed before Jo, Thomas, and I. I had never seen any fish like this. It had the size and shape of a 22 pound Chinook salmon, but its skin looked like that of a ling cod, brown with orange spots.

While lifting the first the first bite into my mouth, I knew this fish was something special. I enjoyed the tuna-like texture and the unique taste. There was not butter on the fish or plate, but the fish tasted like butter throughout. I asked the waitress, what type of fish this was and she confidently told me "white-tuna" in broken English. I laughed to myself and thanked her for answering my question. I've had enough tuna to know that the fish I was enjoying was not tuna. Jo had a similar reaction to me and told us and the waitress that, "this is the best fish I've had on my trip." The food was so great, we went back the next day for lunch before heading to Saigon. I tried the steak slices, but Joe ordered the fish again. As soon as Joe finished, he went out side and joined the owner for a cigarette. The same question arose: "What type of fish is this?" The owner also insisted it was "White-Tuna" caught locally.

The next morning, let's just say I was having some very specific and unusual problems, which I do not wish to write. When I exited the bathroom, my roommates could tell by the look on my face I was a little worried. I explained an abridged description and they laughed. Joe wouldn't be laughing for long... Within minutes he exited the bathroom with a disappointed look. Soon after we found out Thomas suffered the same problem. When the problem did not fix itself after 3 days, the three of us became a bit worried. I started antibiotics.

We had computer access the next day, and entered our symptoms into the google tool bar, anxious for the results. Apparently many people have had this problem. Every problem resulted from a fish named Escolar. Look it up on wikipedia. The fish is illegal in many countries and has been deemed toxic. The fish descriptions and symptoms on wikipedia were identical to our experience. The fish is often referred to as "butter-fish" and passed as white-tuna in restaurants. The mystery is solved!

I don't understand how this restaurant can serve this fish over and over again. Escolar was "3 for 3" in making Tom, Joe, and I ill. By the way I'm back to normal and will no longer eat "white-tuna" on my trip.

More to come soon now,
Sam