One of the great travel joys in India and Nepal is taking photos of street signs.
A few samples …
Category: travel
en route to South Africa
today I fly,
the reason why
I spent 3 weeks in South Africa last year. And I’m going back to southern Africa for at least 6 weeks this time. Hiking. And as a Gymnastics volunteer.
I’ll be based out of JoBurg. Visiting Lesotho and Mozambique.
Johannesburg claims the best climate in the world. 🙂
farewell Port Townsend
I was back once again in Port Townsend, WA just after Christmas. Stayed a couple of weeks. 🙂
This time Carrie, James and I were videotaping Games & Activities for Tumbl Trak, based on a script I wrote 14yrs ago.
James has moved to Port Townsend from freezing Michigan — for 3 months, at least.
He’s living in Doug and Diana’s new guest house dubbed “The Lodge“.
The weather was far better than most anywhere else in North America. But it did rain.
Actually, I spent more time on Doug’s Cycleops 200 Pro Indoor Cycle trainer than on that guest bike. Watching episodes of House of Cards.
Good food. Good fun. Good conversation.
James is a member of the Wall Street Journal Wine Club. He gets a select collection every 3 months.
January in Port Townsend is a time of Tumbl Trak brainstorming for the new year. We’ve hatched plans.
George Takei on the Sharing Economy
George Takei chats with Michael Buckley about Airbnb, Lyft, and all that’s unique and interesting when it comes to the sharing economy …
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Rick’s travel calendar
I’ll be updating my travels on a Google calendar linked on this page.
Colin Lorback home for Christmas
With Mom.
He’s been touring his homeland:
Time on road 6 months, 10 days/205 days
Kilometres travelled 28,184
Litres of petrol 4,406
Cost of Petrol $7,155
[Average cost per litre $1.62]
Accommodation $5,011
Food/Liquor $4,705
Tours $1,757
Car expenses $1577
Van expenses $106.45
Miscellaneous expenditures $1,775
TOTAL: $22,087 [average $107.74/day)
details on the blog – Counter clockwising Australia
Where are Garth, Michelle and Caroline?
In 2013 they’ve been to San Francisco, France, Montreal, Toronto, Northern Ireland, & Equatorial Guinea (West Africa).
Garth and Michelle are currently renting an apartment in Berlin.
Caroline and friends “drove our old Subaru all over Western Canada and the Western States in search of good ski tracks and gigantic outdoor music concerts”. She spent time in Melbourne, Sydney and Tasmania.
Carolyn got accepted for a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning at the University of Toronto. On scholarship.
🙂
Pokhara, Nepal
14yrs ago I loved Pokhara.
My favourite mountain in the world is Fishtail, a stunning sight from town. If haze and pollution don’t obscure the view.
In 2013, Pokhara is bigger. Busier.
The tourist strip of Lakeside is not as ugly as Thamel in Kathmandu, but it’s still ugly. The same 14 kinds of businesses endlessly repeated.
The lake itself is pretty.
Pokhara … is the third largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu and Biratnagar respectively with … a population of 264,991 … situated about 200 km west of the capital Kathmandu.
… Three out of the ten highest mountains in the world — Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and Manaslu — are situated within 30 miles (linear distance) of the city, so that the northern skyline of the city offers a very close view of the Himalayas. …
… the city is also a base for trekkers undertaking the Annapurna Circuit …
… There are two 5-star hotels and approximately 305 other hotels that includes five 3-star, fifteen 2-star and non-star hotels in the city. …
Adventure sports such as base jumping, paragliding, canyoning, rock climbing, etc. are targeted towards tourists. …
On the other hand, after 17 days in-a-row on the trail, it was glorious to get back to civilization.
I ate nearly every meal at Lemon Tree. Fantastic!
I stayed a Phil’s Inn for $9 / night. Hot showers. Comfortable. And quiet. Phil, a lay Christian preacher, is a terrific host.
In November 2013 flights Pokhara to Kathmandu were $106. The luxury bus $20.
That includes a terrific all-you-can-eat buffet en route at this resort.
Take the bus, if you can.
see my Pokhara pics & a few of the bus ride back to Kathmandu
India hates tourists
You still need a visa in ADVANCE to visit India. Getting one is a pain.
I spent hours in a Kafkaesque office in Calgary, trying to get the paperwork right.
WHEN is India going to improve the process for applying for a tourist visa?
In Canada you are recommended to go through a 3rd party – BLS India. That helps. A bit.
All foreign nationals except those from Nepal and Bhutan need a visa to enter India. But the following nationals can probably get what we all want — a visa on arrival:
Finland
Japan
Luxemburg
New Zeeland
Singapore
Vietnam
Philippines
Laos
Myanmar
Cambodia
India is fascinating, once you finally get a visa.
On arrival at Mumbai International terminal, I changed cash at Thomas Cook.
US$200 got me … 11,250 rupees (“Trans Fees, Service tax, Education Cess., Higher Education Cess., etc)
Google (same day) told me $200 was worth 12,410 rupees.
So I lost 9.35% by going through Thomas Cook. Par for the course, I believe.
Using my Visa card cash advance was, the Thomas Cook agent told, was going to cost me about 16%.
There seems to be no good way to get cash when traveling abroad, these days. My plan in future is to try not to exchange currencies more than once. You get burned each time.
Fly Turkish Airlines
Many — including me — are finding the best fares and routing for long trips on Turkish Airlines. They boast more destinations than any other airlines.
Istanbul is trying to compete with Emirates and Qatar as the most desirable hub in that region.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Rick McCharles 