The other side of the Mekong

I mentioned that I was forcing myself to leave Thailand and go to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, right?

Well, a few days ago I crossed the Mekong river from Thailand into Laos. It's beautiful here. The people are just as friendly as in Thailand, the food is similar (though not *quite* as good!), it's actually cheaper, and there are absolutely breathtaking places. 

(Sunset over the Mekong, looking onto Thailand on the other side)

Why didn't I come here sooner!? :) 

From the border town of Houay Xai, I took a local bus to Luang Namtha, a place close to a beautiful National Park of 96% protected forest. 

I met some people on the way, Sam from Spain and Pauline from France. We all wanted to do some trekking, so we decided to look for something and book together. 

The first day, after we booked our 3-day trip, we rented motorbikes and went out exploring. We were riding on this tiny road going up the mountains and passing by lots of little villages. 

Our lunch spot, by a little creek, high up in the mountains... 

Then back to town, shower and dinner. 

The next day, we started our tour at 9am. The first day was kayaking down the Namtha river.

(Sam and I on the kayak)

At first it was a little slow going, we had to paddle a lot and I was tired... Then we stopped for lunch and I got some more energy. 

In the afternoon the river was flowing faster, and we had quite a few rapids! It was a lot more fun, and a lot less work... :) 

Then we got to the village where we were going to spend the night and leave the kayaks. The people are cery friendly, and even though we can't really communicate with them, we tried to interact and somehow always understand each other... 

I was pretty exhausted, hadn't slept much at all the night before, so I went to bed early. 

The next day, the trekking was pretty tough. It was uphill most of the way, and I mean straight up, through the tropical jungle. But we made it, and the view from the top was incredible!! 

(Arriving at the top!!)

(Sunset panorama)

After sunset, Tanoi (our guide) cooked us dinner, and then we went back to the viewpoint to look at the stars for a while. Absolutely incredible!! I've been really lucky in this trip, with lots of opportunities to be in the middle of nowhere, with no light polution, no electricity, no internet, nothing. A chance to disconnect, look at the stars, and see the beauty of this world... 

On the third day we trekked back to the village, completely downhill, at knee-busting angles. Finished with a swim, and playing with the little kids from the village. 

(Namtha river)

(Adorable giggling girls spinning around)

Then back to Luang Nam Tha for a looong shower, dinner and bed!

My first 5 days in Laos have been amazing... :) 

Annapurna Trek -- Nepal

Hi folks... Sorry for the lack of news the last couple of weeks... 

I made it to Pokhara under torrential rain almost 2 weeks ago, and didn't think that rain at low altitude meant snow, and a lot of it, at high altitudes. 

I met a German girl who wanted to go trekking, so we got our permits and planned to leave on Thursday. Then the news started showing that a lot of people got trapped under avalanches, or lost their way in the snow, exactly where I was going, the Annapurna Circuit trek. 

I hesitated. 

But let me put this into perspective for you guys: I first heard about the Annapurna Mountains 11 years ago, in a magazine. I fell in love instantly and started planning the trip in my head. I even emailed a friend who traveled a lot, and asked if he knew about it and wanted to go. He actually replied with a picture of himself at Thorong La, the pass at 5,416m which you have to cross on this trek. He'd already done it. He encouraged me to go. 

Then, 8 years ago, I came to Nepal for the first time. It was January and I only had 9 days, so it was impossible to do the trek. I went to Pokhara anyway, because I wanted to at least see the mountains. But they were hiding behind a thick curtain of clouds and I didn't get even a glimpse of them... 

(View from lakeside in Pokhara with the mountains in the background)

Now, I planned my trip perfectly. The weather is supposed to be perfect this time of year, crystal clear skies, sunshine, no snow. But a typhoon in India messed everything up and created a storm up here. Last I heard, 39 confirmed dead and about 100 missing... http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/18/world/asia/nepal-snowstorm/

But the weather cleared, and I decided to go, at least as far as possible. I had been waiting for this for too long... Got an experienced Nepali guide (just in case) and went. 

So we took a bus to Besi Sahar, where the trail starts. I could see the mountains getting closer and closer... 

(Lunch spot at Chamche, beginning of the trail).

We hiked 4 days up through the mountains, for a total of about 80km and an altitude of 4,000 meters. 

The views from the trail were incredible, the pictures really don't do it justice... Every day, getting closer and closer... 

And then, on a beautiful, sunny day, you hear a noise that sounds like thunder, and you look at the mountain in front of you and watch an avalanche.. (The cloud-like thing in the middle of the picture is actually snow coming down...) 

Then you have to actually climb over an avalanche, and wonder if there's anybody trapped underneath it... We saw rescue helicopters all day, every day... 

(All 3 of us, Larissa - my German trekking buddy, Iman- our Nepali guide, and I, on the upper trail from Pisang to Manang)

We finally got to Manang (3,540m), and were told that the pass at Thorong La (5,416 m) was still closed. We took a "rest day" and only climbed up to a monastery at 4,000m. (If you think 400m is not much, think of climbing the steps all the way to the top of the twin towers in NYC... They were 417m tall...) 

That's me at Praken Gompa, at 4,000 meters, with Annapurna II in the background, standing at 7,973m. The view from up there is just breath-taking... We just sat for a while, and admired the beauty and majesty of those mountains. 

It was a great place to meditate a while, and think about Chad... There were a few things still weighing heavy on my heart, but I think I made peace with it now... 

Walking up and down a mountain gives you a lot of time to think... 

The next day they reopened the pass, but said there was still a lot of snow on the top, and specially on the other side where you have a 1,600m *descent* and no sunshine... Slippery, icy, windy and potentially dangerous. 

I waited 11 years to come here. I really wanted to go over that pass and down the other side... but I wanted to make it *alive* and not stay permanently in Nepal, buried in the snow for some unsuspecting trekker to find next year when the snow melts... 

So we decided to come back down the way we came... that's 80km down the mountain again. We walked 160km in 7 days (4 up, 3 down). But not over the pass, which only means I'll have to come back to Nepal! :) 

Lunch spot with a view, already far down, somewhere just above Dhorepani... 

And today, back in Pokhara, with a beautiful sunset over Phewa Tal... 

Alive and well, with more muscle in my legs than ever before. A little tired, a little sad (I really wanted to make it over that pass!!), but alive. Happy. In peace. 

I think that's all I can ask for...