Climbing

Now that we have this amazing opportunity at Maya Devi, I decided to do a bit more research on the area and what Pokhara has to offer. When Keri and I first started to project a trip, she came up with the idea of going to Nepal. She was in running for the Fulbright scholarship which provides selected candidates a year long stint in a certain country of choosing in exchange of instituting a way to educate/enhance the country of choice. With Keri's expertise in art, she wanted to involve art in the schools as well as create a program that would take recycled products and create useful items in schools or in cities. That might not be the best description of what it was but that's the gist.

If selected, the Fulbright need to know what I would do with my time while I was over there with her. They didn't want to shell out extra stipend for someone who was going to be sitting on his ass using free money. So I had to get on the ball and figure out how I was going to use my time.  The first thing that came to mind of course was, how can I involve myself in the local rock climbing scene? We were going to be in the center of the climbing world that is the Himalayas, there should be plenty of opportunities to get in on something.
Come to find out there wasn't much to offer in the way of "rock climbing" but plenty in mountaineering. Since I have no experience in mountaineering, my chances of finding anything were slim. There were a few companies out there that I wrote to that wanted some help, but nothing was made of it.

After we got word from the Fulbright that Keri wasn't selected out of the 12000 that applied we both stopped looking at our ideas in Nepal. We knew we still wanted to go but more on a trip of selfishness that a trip of giving back. Fast forward 5 months, Keri tell me the good news of Maya Devi. Hearing this news brings up the old ideas of helping the locals with climbing; the search continues.

Being at a job that involves me sitting at a desk for 8hrs will only drive me to insanity without the little escape that is the Internet. Getting to my point that the Internet is a hell of a tool to find unique opportunities that normally you would never come across. With some google skills that I picked up after 3 years at the travel job, I have become a master of finding the odd and quirky sites that hold some useful info. Numerous hours of word combinations lead me to a low profiled website that had one posting for climbing in Pokhara. Reply to the post desperately, I had little hope in a return reply since the post was from a year ago. This site was the last straw that I had in hopes of finding something climbing specific.

After a few weeks I heard nothing back from the post so decided to re-read the post and play Internet detective again. Finding a few helpful hints and words I came across the 3 Sisters Adventure website that was based in Pokhara. Shooting them an informal email about the rock climbing in the area they hooked me up with the email for the gentleman who posted the message a year ago on that bogus webpage. The man who posted was a Dutch man named Harry, who has slowly been establishing a local crag for the women of 3 Sisters Adventure. Emailing back and forth numerous times, I had finally found the one who could help me pursue my goal of teaching locals how to climb.

Persistence pays off in the long run but also can't help but think that good luck and the idea of keeping your doors open had some involvement with this. Slowly we learn not to be let down by missed opportunities (the island), because something else equally as great is just around the corner waiting. We will take this view of life into our journey because we have no idea what is in store for us on the trip that is life.
As for Keri's proposal, she is in current search for finding that school in Pokhara what will allow her to fulfill her ideas. She has high hopes for being inspired to create and educate her art once we arrive in Pokhara.

Everything seems to level out at some point.

Maya Devi

Its been a while since anything has been posted on this sucker. Things have been quite busy here the last few months. We have been putting in some quality time with research on where our adventures will start now that the caretaking job has fell through.  After numerous hours researching and dissecting the net, Keri came up with a site and a listing that would allow us to spend 5 months in Pokhara, Nepal house sitting. From the website, mindmyhouse.com, Keri posted an simple ad about who we are and where we were interested in going. The site brought up many options over the world but few in the areas we wanted to go. A few days/weeks passed before something came up. There was a posting that popped up that fit our ideas and time frame perfectly.

Maya Devi was looking for a couple to house sit from June to September as well as look after their birds for the duration. Kicker here is that this isn't no ordinary house, this house/village is the center for parahawking/paragliding in the tourist city of Pokhara. This couple (Scott and Anita) have set up a business that involves the thrill of paragliding and the art of falconry.


To be honest, falconry has never been that much of a point of interest of mine but it is something that will now be a part of my life. Learning something new that in foreign to me is important in keeping the mind young and fresh. Working with these animals hopefully open my mind to ideas that have not yet been open. From what we've been told these birds each has a distinct personality of their own. Both Keri and I have worked around various animals during our stint at the farm and know how animals personalities are very different just like humans. It will be interesting to see what these birds will bring to the table.


Getting away from the birds for a minute and back to the housing that we will be living in. This house/bungalow, sits right across from Phewa Lake on the outskirts of city center. Maya Devi is more like a small community than a single house. Maya Devi is a place where tourist come to vacation for a bit before taking part in the 20 day Annapurna Circuit. With a few other units on the property as well a restaurant, Maya Devi is a peaceful retreat to enjoy the serenity of the lake or the adventure of parahawking. With most modern amenities, wifi, running water, electricity (I think); this is a place where Keri and I will be able to en grain ourselves in the low key Nepali lifestyle. With a 10-20 minute walk to all main shopping areas, this is a great place to start our soul searching journey.

‎Tuesday, ‎March ‎08, ‎2011

Tiger Temple

With the news from Koh Ra that we will no longer be able to caretake, we had to set sail to the world of the internet in search of our next adventure. Always looking for something that will set this trip apart from all others, the unique opportunities are the ones that grab our attention. 

Tiger Temple.

It is a Buddhist Temple located western Thailand in the Kanchanaburi province which is a few miles from the Burma/Thailand border. Burma being know for the tiger hunting way back in the day, this is a place set up for conservation. There has been much dispute on whether the temple institutes humane practices or not. After much research on the net, it was hard to get a full grasp on whether or not this place is legit. There are activists out there that pretty much crucify the place saying that is a tiger concentration camp, but then on the other hand volunteers saying that the place was magical.

I personally have issues with zoos, and keeping animals from there natural habitat, but I feel that these monks are trying their best and reaching out to people to come help educate on the areas where they fail. They are monks for christ sake. The only way for us to get a complete conclusion on this place would be to stay and volunteer there.

The volunteer process requires a month long stay, that will involve working with the tigers one on one as well as being the tour guide of the temple. Food and housing are the exchange for our services, but with it being a Buddhist temple, I can have to physical interaction with Keri, no touching, no physical affection towards one another, as well as separate sleeping quarters; which I must say the guys have a much more luxurious quarter than the ladies.

Canon EOS 30D Digital SLR

The end to 2010 was a memorable one for me. An amazing year filled with all sorts of goodies. We finally purchased our tickets to Asia, we volunteered on an amazing farm for the summer, did some superb rock climbing, made some new friends; the year seemed to be one of the best on record. To top off the end of the year the "Goodwill God's" gifted me with a new camera.

For a whopping $150 the Canon EOS 30D Digital SLR was in my hands..The only down fall was that no lens was present, with a quick search on the net I found myself with a 18-55 mm for $90.

What a great way to end the year, and a great treat for the trip

Bad News Tuesday

Yesterday - Monday 29-Nov
With about four and a half months left until we depart from the states, I figured that I should shoot Kim (Koh Ra Owner) a follow up/check in email to see how things were going on the island. With hopes of good word and a bit more info on your duties on the island I awaited his email response with great anticipation. Having requested a day off from work for a trip to the Thai consulate to see which visa will allow us 5 months worth of stay on Thailand have already been granted. Our dreams of island life as we know it were within reach.

Today - Tuesday 30-Nov 9:00am
 "Hi Aaron, Things have changed here majorly. I cannot say if I will be here after April, including next year, so I cannot offer you a place here. I'm sorry, but I have no control over that and what has happened. I hope you still make it to Thailand but please don't base any decision on Koh Ra situation. Again, I'm sorry.
Kim"

The one versatile word that begins with the letter "F" was the only word that came to mind. The dreams of discovering, documenting and co-existing with nature has vanished, for now.

A few weeks ago, I brought up this scenario with Keri and asked her what we would do if the island fell through? We didn't come up with anything as extravagant as island care taking, but none the less we still have ticket to Bangkok. In theory we shouldn't have invested ourselves completely to the idea of the island, but was impossible not to.

I'm an honest believer in that everything happens for a reason, and if it the island wasn't ment to be then so be it. We now have to pick up our cards and start dealing again. Moral is down but hopes are always high, just another bumb in the every adventurous road.

Namaste

Mapping and Ideas

The last month or so, I have been compiling a list/map of adventures/destinations that we will hopefully be taking advantage of. Google maps help me, itemize ideas with little icons that designate what will happen in these areas.

If you click on the icons, a little bubble will pop up and give some info and links that I have added for the areas

The icons may not make sense so I will give a little run down of that they mean.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=210544611686653146042.0004906511f9159316ff1&z=2
Volcano - These icons aren't necessarily Volcano's (some are) but mountains that will involve either extensive trekking or technical mountaineering.

Landslide/Rocks - Were this strange icon is supposed to resemble rock climbing location

Swimmer - The swimmer represents areas worth surfing at

Camera - Areas that have historic/religious/educational relevance

Hikers - Hiking trails

Tent - Represents either camping or areas where we will be wwoofing (we will be wwoofing everywhere)

Sunburst - KOH RA ISLAND, where we will be caretaking

Boat - Ferry to island

Yellow Pin - Cities/Countries of Interest

Soccer Player - Stadium in Bangkok for Muay Thai events

Green Line - Trekking Map (specifically Annapurna Circuit and Everest Base Camp)

Blue Line - Driving Australia idea


This weekend we will be appling for our passports, and we will soon need to go to the Thai consulate to figure out what kinda of visa we will need for the island.


More to come probably not until after the holiday
Cheers

Success!

Last weekend during our last stint on the farm, we got word from Kim Obermeyer (Ecolodge Founder/Manager) that we will definitely be care taking the island. After reading and relaying the brief email there were no words that can describe the feelings that came over both Keri and I.

So our journey will begin at Koh Ra island on the Andaman Sea of on mainland Thailand. Currently signed up for 4.5 months, this adventure will test us mentally and physically. With most of the island undocumented, we will have our hands full during our free time after our duties to try to help with the island progression. Its hard to say what exactly we will be doing, but there is some base line work that is mandatory for us. Making sure bungalows are upright and in good condition, electricity, water supply, kitchen, housing amongst other duties. We will try to get a daily regiment down so we both don't go nuts, morning Qigong exercises followed by chores, afternoon yoga, kayaking, swimming, Exploring, maybe have some form of school or reading hour, really anything to keep our minds and body active will be essential.

To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. ~Buddha

Adventures

We are currently still in planning stages but starting for find opportunities and adventures that we both would like to tackle.

1. Koh Ra Ecolodge - Thailand

2. Everest Base Camp - Nepal

3. Teaching English Yangshuo - China

4. Mount Kinabalu - Borneo

This currently these are just a few of the places that we either have set in stone as well as proposed ideas. Hopefully we can start checking some of these of this list as completed. More to come.


Cheers

Is Traveling internationally considered Green?

This is a question that I ponder frequently. How much work do you have to put back in the Earth to supplement the amount of pollution during your travels?



Train, planes, bus, car, boat, even moped are all subjects of pollution and factors of the degradation of the planet. Obviously some of these have more of an impact on the environment than the others, but without such means, our ability to explore foreign places are limited if not inaccessible. To be truly green it would seem that you would have to travel via tall ship. Having low impact on the environment but taking forever to get to your destination, this would seem the likely choice for the true green thumb. Learning Japanese would probably be easier than finding a reasonable rate on a tall ship. There are working ships out there that in exchange for your services and low daily cost will transport you over seas; but honestly, how many people these days want to work during their vacation? Also how many people have the time to sail over seas to their destinations given there 20 days out of the paid time off? Hardly anyone. Along with the ever obvious air and land pollution that these transportation vessels contribute to the environment, the other contribution that people seem to neglect would be NOISE pollution, one of the more hidden/overlooked elements of travel.

Nothing breaks the peace of a fishing trip, the serenity of belaying 300 feet off the ground or the splashing of water against your kayak than the piercing sound of a helicopter. Noise pollution to me has an immediate impact on our experience with nature. Since we consumers are so accustomed to the instant satisfaction life style that we want to get to our destination as fast as possible with as few stops as possible, but we soon forget how damaging we are towards each other and our planet.

With the emergence of organization such as wwoofing and volunteering aboard we can now be philanthropists on our travels. Giving back to the earth through these types of organizations I feel we will somewhat replace the negative output that I have created to get there.

I wish I could back up these thoughts with some facts, but at this point I feel that all pollution knowledge is so widely covered that I don't have to. If we "consumers" can slowly implement a day of green in our travels, maybe it will some how put a small dent in the pollution that we cause. WHO KNOWS

Koh Ra Ecolodge

After booking our tickets last week, I decided to terrorize the web to see what out of this world adventures exist out there. With no particular insite, I stumbled upon an independent wwoofing site that had a posting for "unique opportunity", being in the market for a unique opportunity I decided to read on.

"The Koh Ra Ecolodge is located in the Andaman Sea of southern Thailand. If you are looking for a truly unique nature experience in Thailand, then we invite you to stay with us on Koh Ra and explore the pristine jungle, private beach, coral reefs and hidden bays of this amazing island. Our goal is to offer guests a simple yet comfortable place to stay in the heart of the most natural stretch of coastline remaining in Thailand, and the closest island to world-renowned Surin National Park. We strive to do this in a way that is sustainable and responsible by helping protect and even improve the local environment and provide benefits to the local communities that depend on the natural resources here."

HEEERRREEE's Johnny.!!!

They are looking for a caretaker May-October, seemed like the sort of adventure that we were looking for, being stuck on an island during "rainy" season in Thailand. First thing that crossed my mind was Jack Torrence. For those of you who have no idea who that man is, he is the kind hearted star of the book/movie "The Shining". A loveable husand, a role model father, one can only hope to turn out as great as him. Watch out Keri.. Just hoping bartender Lloyd will be present.

On a sersious note, we have contacted Kim Obermeyer head of Ecolodge on the island Kho Ra and he has given us his initial interest is us to become sole caretakers of the island for 4 months. If all works out Keri and I will work on the island in exchange for housing and hopefully food. Since this is just an initial interest we have not gone over specifics on what is included in the opportunity.

To busy at work to write anymore