on the evening of the 30th of april i was supposed to pick up my passport from the agency and leave the next morning with a bus towards the chinese border. when i reached the agency i was told that we are leaving in half an hour. in streets people were already gathering for a… Continue reading tibet
Author: mat
patan
patan is the twin city of kathmandu south of the bagmati river and like kathmandu was an independent kingdom until 300 years ago nepal was united under one king. the durbar square… former home of the king. patan is wonderful to take a walk and to get lost in the small alleys. still it feels… Continue reading patan
boudhanath stupa
on the other side of town in the east is another stupa, again unesco world heritage site but easier to access without monster stairs to climb. the stupa is the center of a round square around which nice little buildings are forming a ring with mostly tourist things: eat, sleep, buy, chat. but also nice… Continue reading boudhanath stupa
swayambhunath stupa
one morning i visited the swayambhunath stupa per cycle. without the luggage it is always amazing how close it feels to flying. there is almost a small village surrounding the stupa. today the buildings are mostly occupied by little handicraft shops. and the view over kathmandu… i’ll leave for tibet the 1st of may and… Continue reading swayambhunath stupa
pokhara – kathmandu
after some days rest in pokhara and feasting in my favourite restaurant around the corner, i started towards kathmandu. the scenery was beautiful most of the time though the traffic was not. to take a rest at places to escape the traffic and honking became necessary. luckily such places could be found. after the last… Continue reading pokhara – kathmandu
coming down
the way down wasn’t much easier and i was thinking about cycling once in a while where mostly going uphill is the effort… after the pass, the head filled with impressions and the big goal no longer in front, the trekking felt as if coming slowly to an end… one of the highlights on the… Continue reading coming down
thorong la
before reaching the pass we made our way to the high camp. some hundred meters in altitude in one hour. we started early in the morning to make it to the pass before sunrise. it was a wonderful sight all the dancing flashlights moving slowly uphill, sometimes reflecting on fields of snow or illuminating the… Continue reading thorong la
manang
with 3500 meters above sea level, manang was the first place where i felt the decreased amount of oxygen in the air. but after a good night’s sleep my body seemed to get along pretty well with that. built on a hill facing the annapurna peaks II, III & IV, manang is a nice place… Continue reading manang
trekking
there were some things to do before starting the trek. getting a permit and the equipment being the most important things. good shoes, warm sleeping bag, sunscreen and cream for dry lips as well as some dried fruits and nuts for energy. but after two days i got most of it together. especially the renting… Continue reading trekking
birthday breakfast bliss
31.03.2010. pokhara. nice breakfast with mountain view. the rest of the day i spent preparing for the trekking.