tob around the globe

Anxiety.

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 13:43:00 +0800

Oli and I are about to head out on an 18 day trek in the Everest region. Yes, 18 days, of trekking up - and sometimes down - mountain passes at times over 5500 meters (and not showering).

We’re not doing the normal Everest Base Camp trek, instead we’ll be doing a circuit where we do a few additional high passes, see Everest from numerous different angles, stay by some of the most beautiful lakes in all of Nepal, and of course, visit base camp. This trek is apparently more difficult (and longer) than the normal base camp trip, but much more rewarding. I hope it is.

It’s going to be interesting (and incredibly difficult) to say the least, and I’m pretty excited (and completely terrified).

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:27:00 +0800

I’d been looking forward to getting to Halong Bay for years. In fact, it was only of the main reasons that I decided to come back to Vietnam, for some reason we had skipped it on my Gallatin Scholars tour of the country during my freshman year at NYU. It certainly did not disappoint…the scenery is stunning and its reputation, as one of the top tourist destinations in Vietnam, is well deserved.

The tour that we took, through the famed Hanoi Backpackers’ Hostel, left a bit to be desired. A night of mandatory intensive drinking games with 40 people was not exactly what I anticipated, but I luckily got through it relatively unscathed.

Overall, it was a great time and Halong is not to be missed!

Red River Delta, Northern Vietnam

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:14:00 +0800

I was excited to get to Hanoi, because it was where I was meeting up with my first friend from home, Zach Honig. After only one night in the crazy and hectic old quarter, we headed out on an overnight trip to explore the area around the Red River Delta. We *thought* the trip would be focused on cooking, yet that turned out not to be the case (although we did make spring rolls once). Despite being slightly mislead, we still had a great trip that included biking, walking, and boating around what Lonely Planet calls, “the Halong Bay on land.” The area is full of limestone karsts and rice patty fields, which makes for pretty beautiful scenery.

Mt. Kinabalu

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 22:52:00 +0800

So I’ve posted a couple of photos now, but they really don’t do the view from the top of the highest mountain in Southeast Asia justice…it really was probably the most stunning view I’ve seen in my entire life.

I had been throwing around the idea of doing this hike while in Borneo for a month or so, but the high cost and physical challenge of actually doing it prevented me from making any commitments in advance. Once I got to Kota Kinabalu, the largest city in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, and the jumping off point for the hike, I found out that the hotel (and I use this term loosely - there was no heat or hot water, and the beds were dorm style) that you need to stay in on the mountain was fully booked for the next two weeks. Along with an Australian guy who I met at the hostel, I decided to head up to the mountains, and see if there were any cancellations the following morning. Lucky for us, there were two beds available - unfortunately, a couple who came 5 minutes after us was unable to get beds, and therefore, unable to go up.

After a long day of hiking steeply up hill (3 hours of which were in an intense down pour) I finally made it to the hotel - my, very fit, new friend Paul had only arrived a short 2 hours before me. At 1:30am the next morning, we woke up to do the last 4 hours of the climb, and made it to the top in time for the most beautiful sunrise I’ve ever seen. The clouds cleared from the top, and it was glorious. Glorious enough to the justify hiking in the rain, having to wear wet clothes and boots for 2 days, waking up at 1:30am, and the pain in my legs over the last 4km of extreme downhill. Oh, and not being able to walk properly for the next 3 days. A lesson to take away: work out at SOME point in the month before attempting any strenuous hikes.

Everest Base Camp, here I come?

about to go wildlife spotting on the mighty kinabatagen river at...

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:34:06 +0800

about to go wildlife spotting on the mighty kinabatagen river at dawn (borneo)

the roof of southeast asia - mt kinabalu at 13,435ft (borneo)

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:28:00 +0800

the roof of southeast asia - mt kinabalu at 13,435ft (borneo)

Sipadan & Mabul Island

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:25:11 +0800

I passed! I’m a certified open water diver! It took a few times in the water, but now I understand why people like diving so much. To be able to see marine life above, below, and all around you is awesome, and totally unlike anything else I’ve experienced. I was planning to just do my open water course on Mabul Island, but after I finished the course, a permit for Sipadan became available. Sipadan is one of the best diving sites in the world, and you usually need to book permits in advance to secure a spot. Luckily, someone had been double booked and they offered the extra spot to me. It was a hefty $200usd for the day, but it was definitely worth it. I saw tons of giant sea turtles, white tip reef sharks, a tornado of barracuda (that looked just like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MNyFWATYhw), an octopus, moray eels, unreal coral, and a million other kinds of fish. At one point, we were diving along a coral wall that was 600 meters deep!

the food in KL

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:53:28 +0800

Kuala Lumpur was my first stop after Seoul, and after eating Korean food for one year, the food was AMAZING. The Malaysian population is made up of Chinese, Indian, and native Malays, and accordingly, the food reflects this. I had as much roti canai, naan, curry, popiah, biryani, and avocado juice as possible in the 2 days I was there, and it was all delicious.

the plan.

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 18:24:00 +0800

Now that the trip is officially underway, I thought it would be appropriate to share my tentative itinerary. All of this is, of course, subject to change, and the plan is obviously much more fleshed out for the next couple months than it is yet for the November/December/January. I have an idea of what I want to do, but I want to be as flexible as possible.

· Malaysia (solo): September 3^rd

o Kuala Lumpur

o Mabul/Sipadan (Borneo)

o Sepilok (Borneo)

o Kota Kinabalu (Borneo) - & Mount Kinabalu, if possible

o Tip of Borneo

· Northern Vietnam (with Zach): September 23^rd

o Hanoi

o Red River Delta

o Halong Bay

o Sapa (solo)

· Nepal (with Oli): October 5^th (October 4^th day/night in Bangkok)

o Kathmandu

o Chitwan National Park

o Everest Base Camp trek

o Pokhara

· India (part with Lindsey, with Josh in Mumbai): November

o Mumbai

o Goa (Palolem)

o Trivandrum (neyyar dam ashram)

o Kerala

o Dehli/Agra/Varanasi?

· Cambodia (part with Molly): December

o Otres Beach (Sihanoukville)

o Phnom Pehn

o Siem Reap (Ankor Wat)

· Laos (part with Molly): December

o Vientiane

o Luang Prabang

o Vang Vieng

o Huay Xai (Gibbon Experience)

· Thailand/Malaysia (east coast) (with Emma): end of December/first half of January

o Chang Rai

o Chang Mai

o Pai

o Koh Lipe

o Langkawai

and there you have it…

So unless there is a drastic change to the plan, I’ll be home in the middle of January!

Farewell Korea!

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:12:00 +0800

I’m finally bidding the ROK adieu after nearly 11 hours in the Incheon airport (thank you, AirAsiaX). It’s been a great experience and I’m happy to be leaving on such a positive note, but it’s time for the next adventure!