Mae Hong Son Loop: 7 Day Road Trip in Northern Thailand

While playing poker in Chiang Mai I saw a post in the CS group from Joyce a friendly Dutch asking if anybody was interested in doing the Mae Hong Son Loop. I didn't know what it was but I hadn't done a whole lot other than play poker in the previous 15 days since India so it sounded like an excellent idea so I joined her. We each rented a scooter and did it in 7 days, stopping for 3 nights in Pai and 2 in Mae Hong Son along the way. Best part is she did all the planning (I think she expected more of me in that department). It got off to a shaky start as Joyce crashed her scooter the first day (wasn't part of the plan). I was behind her and thought the worst when I saw her face plant after hitting the ground but she only hit her helmet and was ok. Though the rest of the way she drove very slow! Safety First :)

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Spent about 10 days couchsurfing in Bangkok over Christmas and New Years Eve then headed to Chiang Mai.

This is the only picture I have to offer of Bangkok. I was really impressed by this squatter. 

Chiang Mai is North of Bangkok and home to 300 temples. It is super touristy and full of Westerners, both tourists and expats/retirees. After India I wont complain. Actually I love Chiang Mai, dig the wifi everywhere, good food and ease of everything. Also some huge outdoor markets/bazaars here.

Rented a scooter for a couple days and visited some Buddhist Temples. The temples in Nepal didn't have all the dragons etc. These look like Chinese temples to me, not that I know what I'm talking about. So I'll just post pictures

Agra, India (Taj Mahal)

I am pretty good at long distance travel but gotta admit the jeep ride from Srinagar to Jammu (Kashmir) was pretty awful. Due to the 24 hour curfew and large military presence it took a long time to get out of Srinagar. About 8 hours in we got pulled aside at yet another check point to be searched by the military. Thankfully after only searching one bag they decided to stop, I had a train to catch! Then we pulled over several times because a passenger had to vomit. After 10 hours of mountain driving I was feeling a little shitty myself. Ended up making it to the train station at 11:25pm, 20 minutes before my train. Was sleeping on the train at 3:30am and a Punjab police officer wakes me up, he wants to search my backpack. Irritating, I hate the police in general and don't appreciate having all my valuables (laptop etc) pulled out on a train in the middle of the night with 8 passengers watching everything, but nothing I can do. Then, I have no idea what time it is but I am sleeping and the same cop wakes me up, he says "are you sleeping?". "Yes, what". "Good, sleep". Then at about 11am he comes by again and tries to shake my hand, wtf. I just gave him a dirty look. Long story short train arrives 4 hours late to Agra past 10pm, almost 23 hours on the train, w/e. After 37 hours I just wanted to go get a quiet room w/ some privacy.

Kashmir

Took an 8 hour bus at 11am to Jammu, Kashmir (Hindu section). Worst traffic jam ever, bus must have turned off his engine 30 times along the way ( I'd let it idle w/e). Went to a restaurant for 2 hours across from the bus station. Everybody was curious to talk to me, was a great welcome to Kashmir. Then back on an 8 hour overnight bus to Srinagar (Muslim Kashmir). 

This place is heaven on earth. The 1,400 house boats on Dal Lake use to be a very popular place for both English and Indians to vacation. Over the past 20 years political tension, violence, occasional 24 hour curfews etc. have limited tourism making it affordable for somebody on a budget like myself. I have been reading the Kashmiri newspapers the past couple weeks, soo interesting. Long story short after the 1947 partition of India the Kashmir region was divided. Pakistan and India control roughly 40% each, China has a 20% slice. The people identify as Kashmiri and want their own state. This territory is the focal point of the tension between Pakistan and India. When tensions do flare and people speak of nuclear war between the two countries it is over this region. The Indians have deployed troops in order to quell separatist extremist. Most of the violence in the city I am in takes place between the Indian soldiers and separatist who want them out. The locals usually make like the Palestinians and throw rocks but there have been many casualties over the past 20 years, over 100,000. The troops are not going anywhere, depends who you ask there is a minimum of 250,000 Indian troops in Indian controlled Kashmir

Amritsar, India: Golden Temple

Arrived in Amritsar at 8am, the holiest place in Sikhism. I usually hate holy cities, they are interesting to visit for a couple days but I don't leave with much new found respect. Anybody who has ever been to the Old City in Jerusalem for example knows the whole thing is a giant market. You feel like your purpose for being there is so the locals can extract money from you. Similar held for Varanasi, India.
I first noticed a difference the moment I stepped on the train with all the pilgrims wearing turbans headed to Amritsar. A teenager approached me and told me his family has 4 berths (24 beds) and offered me dinner, told him I had just eaten. That is one thing that bothered me some in India, I shared compartments for several hours with families on two occasions who had big pots full of rice, potatoes, curry etc. but never offered to share. The weird part is that I never expected them to. Could run off a list of countries where that would never ever happen, nobody would ever eat in front of you like that in most places I have been. I know i wouldn't.
Anyway, arrived at the train station and took the free bus to the Golden Temple. The Temple offers free accommodation (donations accepted) to both Sikh pilgrims and tourists. Then there is a kitchen with 24 hour free food. You are not forced into walking past hundreds of stalls selling shit like at Borobudur (largest Buddhist temple in the world in Indonesia) or in Jerusalem etc. This is how a holy place should be! 

Rishikesh, India: 12 days in Hindu Ashram

After 2 buses with a border crossing inbetween, 2 trains, a rickshaw and 36 hours I made it to Rishikesh. 2nd class on the trains, Ghandi style, sleeping on the floor. 


I was on an 8 hour and 10 hour train, both jam packed over capacity without a seat. Should have been taking pictures along the way when it was day, but only snapped a bunch of shots over the course of about 10 minutes. Here are a few from the door of the train in India (between Lucknow and Haridwar)

Annapurna Circuit Part II: 17 days trekking in Nepal

Day 10 Continued:

Many people found the 5500 foot descent to Muktinah more challenging than the climb up, it is definitely harder on the knees. It is less exhausting so I was happy to be able to walk for more than a couple minutes without having to stop to catch my breath...

Annapurna Circuit Part I: 17 days trekking in Nepal

The Annapurna Circuit is considered one of the greatest walks in the world and after doing it I can see why. Virtually everything about it is perfect. Everything slowly unveils itself. It begins in Besisahar at 820 meters (2690 ft) walking along the river through rice fields. You continue to climb through the different zones into forests, then yak country, getting increasingly crisper glimpses of massive snow covered peaks. After about 8 days you are over the tree line looking over the clouds where only rocks and minerals are found. Up and over the pass at 5416 meters (17,769feet). Then a 5,500 foot descent in the same day to Muktinah where you get your first clear view of Dhaulagiri, the 7th highest peak in the world (26794 ft./8167 m.). Wasn't until about day 15 or 16 when a full panorama view of both the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna ranges opens itself to you. A well deserved and respected view after 2 weeks of walking!

The landscape is breath taking. The mountains are so incredible steep, something I don't expect to come across in the pictures. I believe only in Nepal can you hike 5,700 feet of vertical in one day, wake up early and do another 1,000 in order to watch the sun rise and be told you are on top of a fucking hill!! (Poon Hill). But this is no wild nature walk. The entire time you are walking from village to village, passing herds of goats, Tibetan stupas etc. All of the villages are admittedly touristy, offering food and lodging to hoards of trekkers, but their life several days walking away from the nearest road is no cake walk. It's a fascinating culture that adds an incredible dimension to the trek. 

Nepal

Off to Nepal!!! I was concerned about my passport because I decided to leave it in my pant pocket and give it a wash, smeared my India stamp along with others. However, when the immigration looks like this a smeared stamp is not a problem. Jesica, a Swedish girl that I took the bus with from Varanasi (22 hours) had more of an issue than me. The Nepal side said the "8" for the exit date from the Indian side did not look like an 8 (October 8). We had to go back to the Indian immigration and ask them to make it look like an 8, they dicked around for a while until I finally took a pen and give it to her to do herself. We also had issue because Indian Immigration asked us for 50 rupees each ($1.10). There is no fee, when asked the reason he said because we wanted a stamp HA corrupt fuck, but he was correct, we did need the stamp and it's not really worth arguing over a dollar when he has your passport in his hand imo. 

Varanasi, India

Varanasi, a "city situated on the banks of the River Ganges in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is regarded as a holy city by Buddhists and Jains, and is the holiest place in the world in Hinduism (and center of earth in Hindu Cosmology). It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and probably the oldest of India" (Wikipedia). There isn't any amazing site or Temple here. The best thing to do in Varanasi is people watch, get lost in the alleyways and try to take in Hindu culture. I stayed for 5 nights wondering the streets. It is a truly fascinating place, hopefully this will come across some in the pictures.

Darjeeling, India

From the University I went to Darjeeling for a weekend. The drive up the mountain got me excited for impending trip to Nepal, I was psyched to enter the Himalayas for the first time, the range with the 100+ highest peaks in the world. From Darjeeling there is a view of Kanchenjunga, the 3rd highest peak in the world behind K2 and Everest. There is also a view point near by where Everest can be seen. Sadly, I did not see shit. There were clouds my entire time there which is why now is not the high season, and why I am waiting for what is said to be prime time to trek in Nepal (Oct/Nov). If the skies look like this on my trek I will be utterly disappointed, but I will be returning to the Himalayas so will not complain about my trip to Darjeeling. 

West Bengal, India

The road to India was long. Took a ferry for 1/2 hours, 1 hour bus, tuk tuk, 13 hour train, 7 1/2 hour bus for a grand total of 29 hours to get from Koh Samui, Thailand to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Had my last drinks with Jeeva and Vina then the flight to Kolkata.

Showed up in India with the following information:
"Volvo bus to city center by Royal Cruiser. 5 routes, 3 prices (20/40/60) -> outside arrival at DOMESTIC terminal, from INTL turn left and walk 800 meters. Fuck the taxis, bunch of sheisty bitches

Sudder Street Area = Budget hotels"