Greg

Tana Toraja

Greg — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

bamboo bridge

hiking along rice fields

whats in a name?

hiking in the fog

cave graves in tana toraja

Tana Toraja traditional houses

rough road through nice country

dinner time

Tana Toraja is the main attraction for Sulawesi tourism. It is a valley in central Sulawesi with some strange traditions and unique houses. I was keen to see what all the fuss was about.
The road to Tana Toraja is a narrow winding road that snakes its way through palm trees, rice fields and evergreens. It was the most exhilarating ride Ive had so far. I was told it was a 7 hour journey, I made it in 5. I was never passed. In fact I can count on one hand the number of times Ive been passed in Indonesia. I spent 4 days in total in Tana Toraja, the highlight of the trip was the "ceremony". Its an elaborate funeral that lasts for several days, depending on the social status of that person. The one I was at was moderately large, 30 Buffalo and 80 pigs were slaughtered over 4 days! The more death and carnage the happier the guy will be in his afterlife. It was an interesting slant on the Catholic religion.
After that I headed up the next valley over, the Mamasa Valley. Similar to Tana Toraja in geography, it was a great place to do some treking and see the local villages. I was the only foreign tourist to visit for several months in some of the towns. But I had to shorten my stay there because my Indonesian visa expired in a few days so I have to leave the country for a bit, maybe Singapore.

Pantei Bira

Greg — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

my suzuki thunder

So from Makasar I made my way down to Bira on the southern tip of Sulawesi. They have deserted white sand beachs and warm water. It was a great place to spend a couple days, I met so many great people there. I even met one person that spoke a little english!
Its early on in the trip but I seem to gravitate towards the pool halls, the Indonesians seem to have a lot of time to play pool and they take it seriously.

Indonesia

Greg — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

the petronas towers...amazingly huge

what a view

After India I spent a couple days in Kuala Lumpur. Its a very clean city where most people speak english and drive nice cars. I did a fair bit of shopping and touristy kind of stuff, nothing too exciting.
Then it was off to Jakarta, the big durian. Jakarta is crowded, polluted and very few people know english. Not as bad as Delhi, but close. I met up with a couple guys from europe and spent a late night or two in the clubs with them.
Then it was off to Makasar, on the island of Sulawesi. The island is over 1000km long and has everything from mountain treks to white sand beachs. And it will be my playground for the next couple months. Step 1. buy a new motorcycle. Step 2. visit every nook and cranny of the island. Seems simple enough, until you see the way people drive here...they're nuts!

the old harbour

When in Rome...

Greg — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We spent our first day getting acquainted with the city of Leh and figuring out a plan for the next few days. My bike needed a good half day of work done to it before it was roadworthy again and their was a number of things I had to see before I left this place. Problem is that I only have a few days before I leave for Kuala Lumpur, and Im a hell of a long ways away. But if things go sorta smooth I should have 3 days in Leh before I have to race back to Manali to catch a bus back to Delhi to catch my plane.
That night I was sitting around drinking with the guys feeling a little smug, thinking to myself "how do you top learning to ride a motorbike on the 2nd highest road in the world?" Well I guess the obvious answer is to ride the highest road in the world. So the next morning I left fully geared in the rain for the highest pass in the world, I wasnt able to convince the guys to come with me so it will be a solo journey. From Leh the road rises quickly and doesnt stop, the rain was getting cooler on my face and then at some point turned to snow. I was soaked through to the bone and frozen, but I couldnt turn back now. And then finally there it was, covered in thick fog and still snowing I was at the top of the world. I got a few glasses of chai in me and snapped a few pictured and then headed back into the snow.
The next morning I headed back to Manali on my own, Jared and Will had a few more weeks left to explore the Himalayas. The three days it took us to get from Manali I shortened to 26 hours straight through the night! Minus 3-4 hrs repair time on my bike and a 3hr power nap somewhere. It got me into Manali around 10:30am, just intime to catch a 14 hour bus to New Delhi. Its was a long few days but it all worked out in the end.

Bike trip

Greg — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

my bike when its clean

my 500cc royal enfield

We Split the ride up into 3 days. The first day was a 6 hour ride up to Keylong, over some of the worst excuses for roads I have ever seen. We went over a pass that was covered in snow where people from all around go to try skiing or sledding or whatever. It makes for a great backdrop with the bikes infront.
Day 2 was a slower more technical day. Its only 105km, but it took us over 6 hours. There were numerous river crossings, some over 1 foot deep! The switchbacks up the side of 60 degree slopes were amazing. You could actually feel the power in the bikes disappear as you increased in elevation. Not that they had much to begin with, they are single cylinder engines with a carb. They were originally used by the british military in the 40s. So its cutting edge technology by Indias standards. We spent that night in a temporary town called Sarchu at 4253 meters, it is there only for the summers when the road is open. We rented a tent for 150 rupees that night and I had one of the worst sleeps Ive ever had.
We were up at the break of dawn to get an early start for the day. It would be a 12 hour ride into Leh, over the Tanglang pass at 5360m. The landscape changed several times on us, starting at baren mountains in every direction. It looked similar to the rockies above the tree line, then the rock turned purple and then it turned to desert. It was incredible to see desert sands with snow capped peaks in the background. And then we were there, we had made it to Leh in one piece. Our bikes had dropped a few parts along the way but they had served us well.

learning to ride

Greg — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Manali is a very cool place that attracts lots of foreign tourists with its endless outdoor activities. Everything from 10 day rafting trips to 15 day treks to heli skiing can all be aranged here no problem. This was our jumping point to go to Leh, over the 2nd highest road in the world
We met up with a cool aussie guy yesterday on our bus ride to Manali, we ended up sharing a room with him that night. The next day the 3 of us started thinking of anyway possible to not take another bus up to Leh. The best idea was to rent motorbikes and head up that way. The only problem is that neither I or Will know how to ride. Minor details. The 3 of us spent a full day trying to figure out how to get these bikes to go. It was a chore just to get them started. Even Jared was having problems because the gear box and rear brake are switched. But we managed to learn quickly and we felt confident that we could make it to Leh. So we leave the next morning, bright and early.

way up there somewhere

Dalhi Lama

Greg — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

These deluxe buses are getting old, I thought to myself as a stand shoulder to shoulder on another deluxe bus. I didnt even get a seat this time, and its another 10 hour bus ride from hell over to Dharamsala. Home to the Dalhi Lama and to thousands of Tibetan refugees, Dharamsala has a totally different feel then any other place in India. It is also the 2nd rainiest place on earth! The rainiest is somewhere near here, who would have though.
I spent a good day relaxing and getting used to having my personal space back. I finished reading Timeline by Micheal Chriton, not a bad book. The rest of my time here was spent shopping and drinking beer. Not a bad life...until the next bus trip.

india is a biomedical meca

wrong turns

Greg — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Its a scary 12 hour bus ride to Joshimath on what the Indians call a "deluxe" bus. But everything from the narrow wooden seats to the bottomed out suspension to the boy that leans over me to vomit out the window tell a different story. Joshimath is situated on on 45 degree hillside that seems impossibly stable. Terraced rice fields litter the hills awaiting the oncoming monsoon.
The next day we hiked 7 hours uphill into a town called Gungaria. It is only reachable by this hike and is the access point to the Valley of the flowers as well as some crazy temple by a lake. We Split a hotel with some Isreali hippies that night to keep the costs low. The next morning, keen to see the Valley of the flowers we started off with a fast pace up the steep switchback path. Several hours past and still switchback after switchback we went. Finally about 5 hours into it we caught up to our Isreali friends, they said "what are you doing here?" It was at that point we realized that we took a wrong turn and we were 3/4 up the hill to the crazy temple by the lake! The Valley of the flowers was the next valley over. So it looks like crazy temple by the lake today and valley of the flowers tomorrow.

crazy temple by a lake pic

valley of flowers in the rain

valley of flowers

nice view

following the beatles

Greg — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

drinking in rishikesh

busy streets

Rishikesh is a very cool place. From the high peaks in the distance to the countless hippies finding inner peace, this place is truly one of a kind. Through some internet research and lots of asking around we managed to find the huge hillside hotel complex that the beatles stayed in during the 60s. It has long since been abandoned and fenced in to keep people out, but that just inspired us even more to go inside. There were elaborate garden areas, over 100 private yoga huts and large common areas. We snapped a million pictures and it was a one of a kind experience that few have seen.
The holy river Ganga runs though Rishikesh and we took the opportunity to do some white water rafting down through the class 3+ rapids. And it was only 15 dollars. Jared has some great pictures of the trip. It is Sunday today and Jared and I plan on heading further into the mountains on tuesday. Both him and I are feeling a little under the weather right now, so hopefully things will clear before we leave for the Valley of the Flowers. Both of us will need to be at 100% to be trekking in those areas.

on top of the world beatles hotel

beatles abandoned hotel

changing plans

Greg — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

sunset on the temple

After Varanasi we switched directions and headed west for a bit. Over to a place called Khajuraho. It is a calm sleepy town that has a number of temples with erotic sculpures all over them. It is the only site like this in India and is rather amusing to see. So we rented a couple bikes and rode around to some of the temples in the area, it was a great idea until 10:00am when the heat became unbearable and we hightailed it back to our hotel showing mild signs of heat exhaustion. That day it hit 47, it was insane.
Due to some violence in the Rajasthan area, we are forced to change our route a little and we are now heading north to escape the heat and get a total change of scenery. Jared has now started up a blogabond account to showcase some of the pictures he has. Just search "jared" and you should find it.

The Holy City

Greg — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Mark Twain once wrote about Varanasi "it is older than history and older than time, and it looks twice as old as both of them put together." Varanasi is the holiest place in India, and because of that thousands of people come here to bid fairwell to their loved ones. Every day of the week, hundreds of people are cremated on the banks of the river with little more than a sheet over them! And the holiest people are floated down the river until they sink to the bottom with weights. So needless to say this was the most interesting boat ride of my life.

cremation ceremony in Varanasi

my little riskshaw driver

Silk rugs on the loom

Dum Aloo

Greg — Mon, 28 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Ok, so I met up with Jared in Delhi and we headed up to Ramnagar which is the gateway into the Corbett national park. It was the first national park established in India and today remains as a front runner for the conservation efforts all over the country. We saw 6 inch spiders, geckos and frogs, and that was just in the bathroom. We stayed in the park for two nights and went on 6 safaris including one on an elephant. We saw some amazing bird life, herds of wild elephants and even several bangal tigers up close! After Ramnegar we headed east to Lucknow where we went to all of the tourist sites in the morning, and in the afternoon wandered the streets checking out the shops and entertainment.
Jared is not much for the food here but I take great pleasure in ordering random dishes from their endless vegetarian menus just to see what comes up. Last night I ordered the Dum Aloo, which ended up being a delicious blend of curried potatoes and spices.

open plains in corbett national park

tiger in corbett

feilds of pot

sunrise in corbett

Delhi Belly

Greg — Mon, 21 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Well, its nice to be out of the pollution of Delhi, not that Agra is much better. The Taj Mahal made it all worth it though. It is the most amazing place Ive ever been to. After the Taj I went to a town called fatepurh Sikra, where I spent a couple days getting accustomed to the Indian way of life, and getting over a case of the "delhi belly". After that, a bus to Jaipur near the edge of the desert region...or so I thought. It is actually very hilly, almost mountain like. I took a elephant ride up to Amber fort for some pictures. Very cool. I staying in a 200+ year old hotel that used to be a palace. Now I sit in a air-conditioned internet cafe in delhi sipping kingfisher beer. Its all good.

curious boy in the temple

clean shave in fatepur sikri

elephant ride to the amber fort

brown skies

Greg — Tue, 15 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

picadilly circus

another perfect pint

white guys doing tai chi in the rain

My last 2 days in london were more about drinking than sight-seeing. Allthough I did see the national gallery with original Picassos, van goghs and rembrants. I also got a good deal on a matinee for Stomp, it was cool. A nighttime flight to Delhi has put me here at 6:00 in the morning. The heat and humidity is already too much for me so I have splurged on a nice hotel room. I am headed to agra in two days to tour the tajmahal and a couple national parks. It amazes me how a 5star hotel is right beside an abandoned building with a shanty town and a wildpig. The smog and pollution is beyond anything I have seen before.

cube van in india

luxury in delhi

delhi intersection on a rickshaw

red fort

left

day 2 in london

Greg — Fri, 11 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

After a delay on my flight I arrived in London at around 3:00pm local time and took the tube to my little hostel. I was disorriented and jet-lagged and I didnt accomplish much other than checking out some local pubs that day.
Today was a little more exciting, I started with a trip through the amazing Natural History Museum. The shear size and grandeur of the building was more than I have ever seen before. It look 4 hours to stroll through, and I could has easily spent 4 more. After that I checked out the science museum. It was cool but not as impressive as the Natural history museum. Afterwards I checked out some of the touristy places. The Tower bridge, London bridge, parliament building, big ben. They were all amazing arcitectural designs. The one thing that has truly amazed me is the shear oppulence of the place. It oozes with class. Keep in mind that I am staying in Kensington, which is fairly upscale. But I have seen more Bentleys, Rolls royce, Aston Martins and Mazerattis today than I have every seen in my life.

st pauls cathedral

tower bridge

natural history museum

natural hisory museum

natural history museum

preparation

Greg — Thu, 03 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Jared left for Oman 2 days ago. Via email we will meet up in Delhi around the 21th of May to start the journey... it really sunk in last week when I went to the indian visa office where I entered a overcrowded stinky rundown building and I was the only white guy. Everyone was waiting around and no one seemed to know what was going on, I asked several people and got conflicting answers. Finally through the caos I somehow left with a visa in hand and a little taste of indian culture.
Both jared and I have a taste for adventure and adrenaline, we are incourrigible and will surely get ourselves into some intersting situations. Whenever I have internet access I will add pics and stories to keep everyone informed and entertained!