bivouac

East Java – the fiery breath of the Earth

bromo-sutrin

The volcano Bromo

09.07

We are ten kilometers away from Ngandjuk. After breakfast we start hitchhiking. A strange couple takes us – a transvestite and a young driver. Magy doesn’t even realize that this is a man and believes that the driver is his/her son and that s/he has three more as s/he tries to convince us. Anyway the people are nice. After that we start hitchhiking using the new method: walking and waving. One car tries to stop, almost causes a crash, and then continues. In a while it comes back, forms a traffic jam and takes us. Inside is an amiable family from Madura. They will takes us directly to the incredible Elizabeth, our host from Jakarta, who is now in her hometown Surabaya. This time we travel really fast and take the 100 km for just 6 hours 🙂
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The Batek Tribe – one of the last hunters gatherers on earth and the night watch for wild animals

Orel

07.03

In  the morning we acquaint with a retired American who is photographer and his Thai wife. They are the only tourists we meet here. They give us eggs and some bread and then they agree to take us to the close-by town Gua Musang.
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How we got mistaken for terrorists… twice, Manipur – rebels, clans and stags, Myanmar – here we come!

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Ima Market (Mothers’ Market), Imphal

16.11

MAP_SilcharIn the morning we have the chance to meet our benefactor and his whole family. It turns out he is the uncle of the men whose door we knocked on yesterday. The surrounding other 3-4 houses, with the belonging land which is quite vast, also belong to their family – they are in fact rich Brahmans. Our guy is the eldest of all and this is the reason why they take us to him so he can decide how to proceed. He looks young and has lived 20 years in Canada where his wife and sons still are. Continue reading →

Last Himalayan trek and walking through the fearsome canyon, the monastery with the 1000 years old wall writings and the mummy nobody knew about

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Parang River

26.08

Last day of rest before the final seven days of the trek. We spend the whole day at the beach, enjoying the sand, reading books, bathing in the nearby lagoon where the water is warmer. I know bathing is supposed to be something mundane, but we couldn’t take a normal bath in the last ten days. The only thing we could do was to wash one selves rapidly here and there. It is known that Tibetans don’t bathe for months, but now I totally understand them. It is just impossible – even in August, which is the warmest month here, it is still tricky to do it. Continue reading →

The crazy, surreal wedding celebration that we witnessed, the old man who told us how people lived in this harsh places in the winter: Om mani padme hum

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Phugtal Monastery

27.07

Today we can barely walk, but we cook all the food food we had left and we head to Karsha Village. Two hours and a half later we reach it. There is only one shop in it and it is open which makes us really happy. We buy some lentils and pasta and find a place with no people where we can cook. The old man from the shop hasn’t obviously seen this kind of travelers  ever and is quite shocked that we go behind the shop to cook. Continue reading →

The fearsome electric storm in the mountain, attending Buddhist celebration with the locals at a small village and epic passes with flabbergasting views

 

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Yaks under Singi La Pass

20.07

We wake up pinched with cold and with a headache that is probably caused by the high altitude. One of my shoulders is very stiff and hurts terribly which is coupled by the headache. The weather is still cloudy and rainy. Continue reading →

First bivouac into the wilderness and the Hazaras-saviors

Putq kum Murree 2

On the way to Muree

02.05

We get up late and we start hitchhiking. We need to take three mini buses to get out of the city. This time there are no fights and no crowds because it is Saturday. We have breakfast in the outskirts of Islamabad – samosas and airan (yoghurt mixed with water and supposedly salt). Every time we order airan we ask not to put sugar in it, but they almost always do anyway. The other thing one should be careful about is, when one orders fresh or sugar cane juice, not to let them put salt in them, which happens quite often especially with the street vendors.

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