Last day in Asia

Whatever I say here (in fact whatever I have ever written...) is not mytrip.
My trip was every single moment of joy I had... Every transformation... obviously nothing that can be expressed in words.
Even the pictures are not enough.

I am now in Delhi. Enjoying my last hours in Asia. Enjoying my last Indian meals. Somehow Delhi is not that shocking any more, somehow I am not approached by thousands of Indians trying to sell me something,somehow, now, i blend in (the dirty clothes maybe:). [o sera porqueahora tengo los pies sobre la tierra].

I fly to Barcelona in a cuple of hours and I am another person. Thanks to India, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia & Nepal. Thanks to its people. Thanks to every single person I met in my trip and specially to the ones with whom I shared some happy, wonderful moments.

I am on my way back home.

Last Day in Nepal

I will really miss Nepal... walking in Kathmandu these days was really melancholic... also maybe because this whole trip is comming to an end. (and I say this with tears in my eyes). Nepal and its people... its mountains...

I did the last shopping and the last touristic visits in Kathmandu...

Pasupatinath, the most important Hindu temple in Nepal (dedicated to Pashupati, an incarnation of Shiva)

Boudha stupa, the largest Budhist stupa in the world.

Now I am back in India (Delhi) ... I haven't been out of the hotel, mainly cause' is too stressful ... but now I am used to it. I plan on doing the last minute shopping and eating my last amazing Indian dinners. Tomorrow back to the West! Barcelona... woowww... I can't believe I was right here 5 months ago...

The Annapurnas

1 Week trekking in the Annapurna region... SImpLEMENTE BEAUTIFUL !

The first couple of days we went up up up through some amazing valleys and rhodedendros forests... spring was there! in every flower glooming in front of me...

3 day... we climbed Poon Hill for sunrise... as you can see the views are worth waking up at 5am... we were blessed with amazing weather and incredible views!

View of the Annapurna range from Poon Hill (3500 msnm)

4th day to Tadapani with the most unbelievable sunrise FROM my bed... as you can also see it was worth forgetting to turn of my alarm for 5am from the day before!

Me, in my bed, and the sunrise from Tadapani

5th day in Chomrong, (again) really preety small town, in fact we arrived there the day before and decided to stay and relax in the mountains... pure magic. [I saw the most BEAUTIFUL and inspiring bunny!]

6th day to the hot springs! well deserved after walking up and down for days! then I spent the night in the picturesque town of Gandruk, really typical big mountain town... surrounded by terraces ( andenes )

Hot springs at Jhinu!

Now back in Kathmandu... very very very tired... I will do some shopping (at least try...) and the day after tomorrow I go to Delhi. The trip is slowly slowly comming to an end... mmmm....

Meditacion

I spent 3 days learning about Tibetan Buddism in the Pokara Budhist Meditation Centre... mind blowing, lot to think about... lot to meditate about...
(Of course nothing I can put on a picture)

Tomorrow I go to the Annapurnas! trekking again! I will do only 4 or 5 days (the whole circuit takes 21 days). I want to go to Pun Hill (3500 msnm) which is supposed to be one of the better spots to see the Anapurna mountain range. I will go without a guide this time since this trek is very popular and there is many many (too many I guess) trekkers on the way... So I promise more pictures when I come back.

See you in 5 days!

Pokara II

Still in Pokara...
waking up with the sun shining on my window and steping out of the room and having the huge lake in front of me makes me wanna stay here more and more. I have my bicicle and I bike around...
I have climbed a couple of really nice hills with "breathtaking" views of the himalaya... but the clouds make the mountains desapear... so... no pictures...
I found a bakery run by a french woman with excellent croissants and pain au chocolat... mmmmmmm... and also a decent gelateria... Today I think I will bike to another lake 10km. away from here and hopefully the clouds will not be there and I will be able to see the Annapurnas.

+If you want to receive a postcard write me your address in a comment.

Pokara

From my hostel... Pewa Lake, Pokara

I'm in Pokara... beautifull city by a lake with the mountains as background. Even the bus ride to came from Katmandu was amazing, it followed amazing valleys (que en realidad me recordaron mucho al Valle Sagrado in Cusco) with views of the mountains behind.

Here the days have been a little cloudy but normally you can see the mountains from everywhere in town... I think I will stay herte at least one more week, there is plenty of nice treks to do for a day or 2... and a very good place for realxing also...

View of Pokara from the World Peace Pagoda (you can actually see the stupa on the top of the mountain of the other picture)

Everest

I SAW EVEREST

(and from very very close)

Everest (8894 msnm) from Kalapatar (5550 msnm)

Andre

I am back in KATHMANDU... after being on the scariest airplane of my life, trekking for 15 days, climbing to 5550 msnm, sleeping at -10 degrees C, having the worst headache of my life, and seeing the most unbelievable lanscapes, people and mountains of MY LIFE... en resumen... I am back in KAthmandu after having the BEST experience of MY LIFE.

Describing these 15 days is difficult... I can say that it was (physically) the most difficult thing I've ever done. I am like the trees... after 4500 msnm there is no more trees, after 4500msnm my head wants to explote! soroooooche!

Day 1: Fly to Lukla... by far the scariest flight of my life. El avioncillo se mecia con el ventarron... landed in the 007 style airport of Lukla in THE MIDDLE of the mountains. 3 hour walk to Phakding

Day 2: Go up up up up up up to Namche (3400)

day 3: aclimatacion en Namche

DaY 4: up up up to Tyangboche (3900) beautiful monastery

day 5: Dingboche (4200)

DAy 6: Loubche (4900) - empezo el dolor de cabeza... constante... sin paracetamol q lo alivie

day 7: desde Loubche, I woke up at 5am... I would spit and it would inmediatly freeze... me congele los cojones!!!!! 3 hr walk to Gorakshep (5200) ... breakfast. 3 hr up to kala patar (black rock in nepali 5550 msnm!!!!!!!!!) lo mas dificil de mi vida. Increiblemente mis piernas estaban de puta madre... diria que mis pulmones al 80%... pero el dolor de cabeza no me dejaba... mareo... jodido. Increiblemente, el unico momento en todo el dia que no tuve dolor de cutra fue en la cima de kalapatar... magico, alucinante, indescriptible...

mi cara de boludo al ver la cima del mundo

then down kalapar 2 hr. and back to Loubche 2hr. the longest, most amazingly hard day of my life (07/03/07).

day 8, 9 , 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 - back to Lukla, a little bit faster (going down is a lOT easier)... visiting little sherpa villages. and today I flew back to kathmandu...

Ommmmmmmm mani peeeeemeee hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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Salito... la historia con el sherpa no fue de amor pero gran pata el Tzering... mejor dupla que Hillary y Tenzig. (1ros en subir al Everest)