Travel Footprints

After 35 minutes in-flight of what seems like the route to ‘Hallelujah mountains’ in the movie Avatar because you see mountain peaks on either side of the plane (except, of course, this is rooted to the ground not floating like in the movies), we made it to the quaint mountain town of Lukla. I will not even talk yet of the extremely exciting landing in the short runway of the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla, I will reserve that for another post because it deserves a whole write-up on its own.

As soon as landing in Lukla, first order of the day for both Mr. Rono and I was to rummage through our bag for our fleece jackets. It was so cooooold! Weather forecast has recorded temperature at 20 degrees Celsius, but real feel must be about 15 degrees!

Mr. Rono poses with our Sherpa, Ang Dawa Rai, in front of 'Starbucks' Lukla

In one of the exhibits we saw during the trek, Lukla was described as the “major point of entry to Sagarmatha National Park Buffer Zone. Its bitumen-surfaced airstrip is particularly busy during the trekking season with more than
50 flights landing per day. Over 90% of the visitors to the area arrive by air at Lukla. The quiet herding village of Lukla has now developed into a bustling town with numerous lodges, restaurants, bakeries and internet cafes.”

You might wonder why only 90% of the visitors arrive via air transportation. We actually met a porter who had to WALK, yes walk, for 3 days to get from Kathmandu to Lukla due to unavailability of seats. Apparently, you can ride a bus from Kathmandu to a town called Jiri and then trek the rest of the way to Lukla…for 3 whole days!

Porters from a big expedition group getting organized

Our trekking team was finally completed after we met our 2 porters in Lukla. The porters and Sherpa got our bags organized while we drink our milk tea and think of the Himalayan adventure slowly unfolding before us.

Mr. Rono and Mrs. Rono for last-minute shopping before the trek begins!

Day 1 of our Himalayan trek started very early in the morning on March 28 (Sunday). We are to be picked up from the hotel by our tour provider, Harkar Pariyar, at 5am to bring us to the domestic airport for our 35-minute flight from Kathmandu to Lukla.

Farewell Hotel Everest! See you in two weeks!

Just yesterday, Harkar introduced us to our Sherpa (guide) throughout the trek while we had our briefing in his office and our group of 3 (Mrs. Rono, Mr. Rono and Chin – a friend) will be flying together with our Sherpa to Lukla in the wee hours of the morning. As soon as we arrived in the airport, there is no mistaking the air of adventure around us. Everyone inside the airport were either a trekker, a porter or a Sherpa! And almost everyone was bound for Lukla too!

After the usual airport check-in process, we were whisked off to pre-boarding. Security checks consists mainly of bag inspection while the officer asks you if you are carrying any lighter or knife. Chin was carrying batteries in her pack and that almost got confiscated if not for our plea that it will be used just for her headlamp. And so we boarded the bus that will take us to our tiny 16-seater plane –

Our twin-otter plane to Lukla!

It would take a lot of patience, and about 5 other planes taking off, before we were finally allowed to board our plane. This airport sure is busy in the morning! Onboard, the stewardess got busy giving us…cotton balls! Haha. We were really amused with the thought, we didn’t even know what to do with it at first and then saw others using the cotton as ear plugs!

Everyone gets a...cotton ball!

And we’re off to Lukla – 2,840 meters above sea level!

We are currently Day 9 of our adventuure holiday in the wonderful Himalayas and thought I’d share with you my Facebook updates so far. I’m currently sending this out to all of you from Namche Bazar, a quaint but very busy, touristy place lying about 3,440m above sea level. Yes, we are high up and we have internet! Isn’t that awesome? Anyway, since they charge an arm and a leg for this kind of connectivity up here, just thought i’d share with you some of my Facebook updates so far –

Posted March 29 at 6:10pm: Day 2 of our Himalayan Trek and we’re here at Namche Bazar at 3,440m – the highest elevation we’ve ever climbed in our lifetime! such a nice surprise to stop over in the commercial center of khumbu region – we even have internet! amazing! 8 more days of trekking to go

Posted March 30 at 5:30pm: Day 3 of our Himalayan Trek is the most interesting so far! Day started out sunny, then windy, then cloudy then finally – snowy!  Chin (my friend( and I were trekking in the winter wonderland that is the Himalayas on our half-pants! Mr. Rono not coping well with the altitude and had to stay behind in Namche Bazar. Highest altitude reached today – 3,720m!

 Posted April 5, 6:44pm: Day 9 of our Himalayan Trek and we’re back in Namche Bazar after 10++ hours of walking today all the way from Machermo. We did it! Mr. Rono and I trekked all the way to Gokyo Ri – our personal best at 5360m! I’m so proud of my hunny for beating the odds – altitude sickness, mental stress, physical fatigue – to be with me til the last leg! Aww…I love the Himalayas (and I think the mountains love me! :p)

It will take us about 2-3 days to get back to Kathmandu. I’m so looking forward to get back to the city comforts, to my laptop and to a serious dose of pampering!

As a UNESCO-declared World Heritage Site, Kathmandu Durbar Square attracts throngs of locals and tourists alike that makes it an ideal place for hawkers to sell their goods. This post gives a glimpse of the fascinating shopping scene in one of the busiest, most crowded attraction I’ve seen in Kathmandu so far.

These sellers set up their mats by the entrance of Durbar Square everyday.  Close of business is usually at around 7pm.

You get a whole range of trinket selections. These pendants are supposedly from Tibet. Some had meanings that the hawker was trying to explain but I didn’t quite get.

More souvenir items from Nepal…

I was with a Buddhist Thai friend who had to buy Thangka (Tibetan silk painting with embroidery) for her mom depicting a medicine buddha. This signifies good health for the family. We went to this small shop in the heart of Kathmandu Durbar Square with a sign boasting that they are ‘featured in most travel guide books.’

They also sell these local food like our pan de sal in the Philippines…

…and have a version of our very own ‘dirty ice cream’

As soon as I got out of the Tribuvhan International Airport in Kathmandu, the chaos – sight, sound and smell – around me seemed to evoke memories of my first arrival in Uganda a couple of years back. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there really is something about Kathmandu that I find very similar to Kampala (capital city of Uganda).

Maybe it’s the fact that it’s dry and dusty or the crazy honking of cars and motorcycles as pedestrians mindlessly cross roads while vehicles weave in and out of traffic or that the electricity goes off every so often (load-shedding/ brownouts/blackouts of 16 hours in a day at most).

I have been told countless stories of how it is like this side of the world but really experiencing what it has to offer is a whole different thing. This is the first time I ever set foot in a South Asian country. No words can ever describe how my first impressions are. Everything still looks surreal.

Since we have more than 12 hours of transit in Bangkok en route to Kathmandu via Thai Airways, it was important for us to find a place to stay where we can rest and have a good night’s sleep. We found out from the internet that there is a day room hotel just within Suvarnabhumi Airport called Louis Tavern Day Rooms. We’ve never stayed here before (which was probably a good thing) but like they say, there’s always a first time for everything.

We got a double room good for 10 hours which looks like this –

Pretty cozy eh? Especially when you compare the atmosphere to the airport scene just outside our room’s window –

The room also comes with free snacks and buffet breakfast –

as well as a hot shower right inside the airport!

The catch? This little airport luxury sets your travel budget back at USD197 for 10 hours. Minimum allowed stay in the Louis Tavern Day Room will cost you around USD115 but only for stay of 6 hours. Not such a good idea when leisure travelling on a budget but great for stress-free business travels! Hehe. We will definitely stay in another hotel on our way back to Manila :p

We’re leaving for Nepal today. After months of training and travel planning, our Nepal holiday will finally start today. It will take us 2 days – today and tomorrow – to travel to Kathmandu alone (Thai Airways flight has a stopover in Bangkok). We are expected to arrive in Kathmandu mid-day tomorrow.

During the weekend, we once again scoured outdoor shops for additional gears we will be bringing along for our trek. It was important for us to bring thermal clothing that are water-resistant AND lightweight. Majority of the gears we bought were from Columbia. We even got to be certified Columbia Titanium card holder because of our ‘loyalty’ to the brand. We hope Columbia lives up to expectations during our trek in the Himalayas. And we do promise to give a gear review after our trip along with the other gears we bought (e.g., North Face, Aigle, Habagat) from ROX.

We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we will be safe and sound (and comfortable!) throughout the trek. In the meantime, cheers to pad thai and tom yum soup as we take time to relax in Bangkok first before the next great adventure of our lifetime!

Last Sunday, we went with a group of friends and family to see the long-anticipated return of Avenue Q in the Philippines. Mr. Rono managed to catch the first run of this Tony Award-winning musical play here in Manila back in 2007. He was so amused by the play that he bought the soundtrack home with him. His little sister was particularly fascinated by the play’s music. Maybe it did have a ring of Sesame Street songs to it, albeit more mature, but the music particularly appealed to this grade schooler. So when we told her we are bringing her to see Avenue Q last Sunday we were met with big, loud cheers! This was gonna be our pre-graduation gift to her as she enters high school next term.

Avenue Q is hugely entertaining! Not just the music and the funny lines (politically-incorrect most of the time but that’s why we love Avenue Q!), the performers were certainly astounding and awe-inspiring starting from Rachel Alejandro (pre-school teacher Katie Monster/seductive Lucy the Slut), Felix Rivera (new graduate Princeton/closet queen Rod) and Joel Trinidad (pervert Trekkie Monster, bum roommate Nicky and one of the Big Idea Bears). Aiza Seguerra as forgotten child star Gary Coleman, Frenchie Dy as a Japanese psycho-therapist Christmas Eve (with songs like The More You Ruv Someone) and Calvin Millado as an aspiring stand up comic with Thea Tadiar in a supporting role were also sheer delight to watch.

Acting and singing (sometimes for two characters in one scene!) while holding a puppet is no easy feat. The cast delivered their stellar performance like one well-oiled machine and Mr. Rono’s little sister had the time of her life all throughout the play with shy giggles and heartfelt laughter scene by scene! The talented cast really had us all stupidly grinning throughout the show

Avenue Q is on its final run this week until March 27. If you want to catch Rachel Alejandro and Felix Rivera in their next musical, don’t miss out on Xanadu! This surprise broadway hit musical will be brought to the Philippines for the first time this September and we are oh so excited to see it. Rachel and Felix is again paired as the two lead stars – Clio the Greek muse and Sonny the struggling artist. Their encounter will lead Sonny to achieve the greatest creation of his life – a roller disco! Yes, the performers will be on skates onstage and Felix says this is gonna be one uber-fun musical! Do catch the show this September! Check out www.xanadumanila2010.blogspot.com for ticketing details

Last Saturday, we were at Fort Bonifacio for our usual weekend work-out in preparation for the Nepal trek. Mr. Rono wanted to let loose on his bike so he hit the route within Fort Bonifacio we call AFP Trail. I, on the other hand, did not feel like biking so I instead went to Boni High Street, parked my car and did some running.

I soon stumbled upon an event happening in the Fort Boni Open Field called the Nestea Fit Camp Hot and decided to check it out. For only Php50, I got an all-access pass to all the ‘classes’ offered like Beach Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, Touch Football, Hip Hop, Beach Basketball, Flag Football, Yoga, Zips. Since I was waiting for Mr. Rono anyway, I decided to join the Yoga class which was slated for 1.5 hours. That pretty much got me preoccupied until Mr. Rono arrived from his biking session

I’m glad we got to catch the Nestea Fit Camp Hot before its final schedule on March 27! Some more pictures from my phone camera:

P50 all-access pass comes with one cool Nestea iced tea bottle!

Yoga session for everyone!

This was one short Guimaras getaway so we were already packing our bags soon after we arrived! Instead of a motorcycle taxi (habal-habal), we opted to use the tricycle (3-wheeler) on our way to Jordan Wharf from Brgy. Alibuhod in Guimaras. This ride would have cost us something like Php250 but we successfully negotiated it down to Php150 including one stopover in Trappist Monastery. The young tricycle driver seemed joyful with the thought of us stopping over at the monastery.

I was interested to drop by because the locals strongly recommend bringing home pasalubong from their store. So off we went and finally got to Trappist Monastery making a beeline for their gift shop. This store is the Guimaras counterpart of Good Shepherd in Baguio. Except for the fact that…wait…the shop was really manned by monks! And monks dressed heavily from head to toe despite the uber-humid summer heat!

Purchasing the products I decided to bring home, mostly mango bars and mango jam, I managed to strike a conversation with the monk behind the counter (I was shy, I didn’t know if they would be accommodating with small chats). Turns out he has been with the monastery for 7 years now. He used to be a civil servant, working for a national government agency, before he decided he wanted the sanctuary a monk’s life provides, devoting his life to prayer and work within the monastery.

Our tricycle driver took us to see the Chapel within the Trappist Monastery and suggested we meet a monk that we can talk to about prayer intentions. We had a long conversation with a monk who gave us an idea what they do within the monastery and the help they extend to communities. I saw boxes and boxes of medicine in one corner of the room available to those who need them. He asked us to write down our prayer intentions and that they welcome donations. All the sob stories I heard over the last hour makes anyone feel generous about giving this humble people more resources for their service to the community. Before we left, the monk gave a bag of rice to our tricycle driver. I felt better about leaving Guimaras at this note.

Accommodations are available within the Trappist Monastery for tourists. Contact Fr. Bruno Mendoza (09184212852 / 033-5813385) for rates and reservations