Namaste from Nepal!

After an incredible delay and some serious exchange rate gouging at the visa/entry office, we were set loose on the city of Kathmandu. We were lucky enough to have the help of many friends made during the layover, so using power in numbers we avoided the mob of touts and other related con-artists to find a place in Themal, the tourist portion of the city.





From our hotel's roof, the city and portions of the valley were lit up by the morning sunshine. We woke up to a loud rancour of singing, chanting, bellringing and other loud forms of celebration. Our friends noticed a goat slaughter taking place outside their window as they awoke... Apparently, we were in the midst of some huge Hindu festival, possibly Dasain (Durga Puja), celebrating good over evil, symoblized by the victory of the Hindu Rama over Ravana and the godess Durga over Mahisasur, the devil who took the form of a buffalo. Subsequently, buffalo, goats, sheep and cockerels were being decapitated.

We ventured out into the city and found numerous butchered beasts being divided up. This shot shows what appeared to be a goat which had been dyed orange.

This is a shot from one of the streets of Themal; typical urban hiking for us includes Amaya packing. She loves the security and lofty views.

The outline of a typical Kathmandu building... You might imagine the traffic navigating not by any rules, but by horns and erratic defensive moves through crowds; people picking through rotten garbage for sustenance; others tugging at your sleve, begging for rupees or quasi legitimate business; the scent of exhaust mixed with insense and strong curries in the heat; cattle roaming peacfully through the city's chaos; power outages and generators... After so much time in Bangkok, this brief stay in Kathmandu confirmed that we were ready for a break from cities.

We have now relocated to Pokhara, a much more peaceful and less urban town located in lush green hills and next to a large lake. We plan on setting out for the Annapurna Circuit in the next couple days. After repeated reports that "monsoon over, time to clime" we have been experiencing heavy rains with the much cooler temperatures and distant memories of the pacific northwest. I'll try to post pics when it clears. Amaya is adjusting to the spicy food of limited varieties; missing the platters of fresh fruit we enjoyed every day in Thailand. She insisted the other night that Kathmandu "was not that wierd" and has been watching a lot of DORA from the ipod as we rest and wait out the rains.

More images from Thailand

Cannot resist posting just a few more photos of Thailand...





Here is one of so many amazing outdoor Thai kitchens. This shot was from a night market in the beach side resort town of Hua-Hin. I had the best panang curry w/ endless shrip. You could pick any kind of seafood imaginable for supper... after that, we hit the fresh squeezed juicebar in the background.

A floating market near our hideout in Bangkok.

On one of our walks, we ran into Wat Gan which was under construction. We were invited in and found hundreds of these guys sitting around...














Relief from too much travel? Our flight to Nepal was delayed for three days; fortunately the airline put us up in this fancy pants hotel where we took full advantage of five star treatment. Note the TV next to the tub? I was too busy gorging to photograph the multi-ethnic-gormet meals which were also comped. This was a dramatic break from the family bed and communal bucket showers that we had grown accustomed to.

Back in Bangkok

Sawadee Khap!
Greetings from Thailand.

Today marks our 30th day in Thailand. This has become a real "soft adventure" for the BusbyFreys as we have casually enjoyed both the urban vibes of Bangkok and the tropical island-time warps of easy living Thai beaches. Tierra had visited Thailand before; and I'd spent a few days in Bangkok back in 2000; but this time with Amaya; we really went about travel and leisure quite differently.

One of the favorite activities is shopping and gawking at the outdoor markets. These shots are from a morning market located somewhere near the Bang Phli suburb of Bangkok; where we did not find too many English speakers, or recognize-identify much of the fruit or flowers. This however did not detract from the experience; nor did it deter commerce when it came to bargaining Bhat.

Flowers for the Bhuddas.

Snails, snakes, birds and turtles.
Are these for food or domestic pets we wondered?

Amaya's favorite pastime---floatation. Here she is in the 'magic bananna' swimming pool at the Sananwan Palace, our Bangkok hideout. She's starting to swim a bit without the floaties, but finds them absolutely necessary for the big jumps into the pool.

Between the skytrain, public bus, public boat, and metered taxis, we were able to afford and enjoy navigating the congestion that is Bangkok. I continue to believe the most dangerous task in the city is just crossing the street. Despite hazards, we're into "urban hiking" here.

Some of the joys in life are universal? Amaya was delighted to find some playground festivity. Apparently, there is no common language necessary for kickin it at the park.

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So, moving on...

We took a bus to Trat; spent the night, then were ferried across to Ko Chang (island) located in the north eastern portion of the Gulf of Thailand. This was, at long last, the tropical island we had imagined finding for a long sought after holiday.

We learned that about fifteen years ago, most of the island was free of paved roads and development. This was very hard to believe given the plethora of destination resorts being constructed along the coastlines. We stayed for a few days at Lonely Beach which certainly was not lonely, but offered a really nice beach as well as numerous dining and a lot of party options.

Walking along the road, we met these monkeys whom were working away on the phone and electrical lines... Perhaps they were on their own tour of the development? They may have been taking a break from the national park situated in the center of the island.

Dancing to the last light of the day, Amaya appreciates the warm tropical climate and surf...

Whoa, someone gotta light?

Nature's resort (where we had a hut) held a Full Moon Party. It was much more scaled down from the more infamous versions; perhaps because its the rainy season here; BUT they offered some free cocktails; then the staff went about throwing fire around to some major techno jams. They certainly outdid the fireguy from the Grateful Dead shows... and you could tell that they enjoyed the dancing as much as we were entranced by watching all those tracers.

Then it was time to move to a more remote side of Ko Chang. We traveled to the Treehouse on Longbeach by a route best described as 4x4. Here we lived off the grid and away from the crowds, surrounded by the tropical jungle. The series of huts and big lodge are built on a beautiful bay offering endless snorkeling ops; days turned into weeks as we laid back, made some friends and adjusted to a slower paced life.

Amaya and her little buddy Milan, rock the house.

Sunsets to write home about...

Goofin Off with some new friends. Yea, thats the sunset still going off in the background!

How to complete a warm tropical breeze and the constantly changing color schemes of the Bay? Puzzeling prediciments.

A lazy afternoon on the deck of our hut; I can't believe I was able to get up and take a photo!

Thats it for now. I'll try to update with some more Thailand soon. peace love busbyfrey.