Thanks to everyone who helped make our wedding so amazing. It really was a special experience. Meg and I are sorting through the photos taken by our photographer who did an excellent job. We will start uploading them in the coming days and we will do another post once they are all up!

Hi everyone, we are currently putting together everything for the  wedding information section.  Check back in a few days when it should be all set to go.

If you are planning on joining us for the celebration, it is best if you book your hotels and flights now. We will try to put up all the info you will need, but if you have any questions, just ask.

-Jb and Meg

Our Langtang/Gosainkund experiences had not yet quelled our enthusiasm for trekking (if anything they elevated it). So after a few days rest, we headed back out to do the Annapurna Sanctuary. While our previous treks had taken us through awesome, diverse terrain, they didn't have the 8000+ meter peaks that people come to the Himalaya to see; Annapurna was going to tick that box for us.

The route in our guidebook listed the trek as spanning 10 days but we condensed that down to 8 and then to 7 days when JB got a case of "Dehli Belly" the day we originally planned to leave. A huge upside to the Annapurna trek was that there was no 10 hour busride to prepare our nerves and backsides for; the start of the trek began just a 45 minute taxi ride away from Pokhara.

The first day was a very difficult one for several reasons. It was a very steep climb in what we were told was unseasonably warm weather. Furthermore, what had ailed JB a couple of days earlier had now made it presence known in me which made it a rather unpleasant walk to say the least! However, my stubborness refused to entertain the idea of turning around and we made it to Tolka, our overnight stop, albeit very slowly.Thanks to our good friend Ciprofloxacin, I felt much better the next day and could begin to enjoy the beauty that surrounded us.

Our breakfast view from Tolka:

From Thulo Syabru there were two possible ways to get to our next destination: the local route and the longer, yet easier to follow route described in our guidebook. Unfortunately neither of them allowed us to bypass the 1600m of ascent that we would have to conquer that day. We played it safe and chose the latter and we're glad we did as it was a beautiful stretch of the trek.The day started with a steep hard climb through tiered potato fields. As was often the case, we had to consult and reconsult our guidebook to make sure that we were turning at the correct fork or, in this case, "ancient chorten" (they all look pretty ancient!). Let's see was it this one...

When planning our trip, we had decided to link the Langtang Valley trek with the Gosainkund trek to enable us to see even more of the diverse mountain landscape north of Kathmandu. This meant that we had to descend much of what we had already climbed in the Langtang Valley and then traverse over to the next mountain range to begin another ascent. On our fifth day, we began to do just that. We left Lama hotel in the morning only after relishing in our first shower in about four days.

The first part of the walk was retracing parts that we had already walked up but after an hour or so we began to cover new terrain. We shared the trail with porters and mule trains carrying supplies up to the various villages along the way.

After a chilly first night in Kanjin Gompa, we were happy to awaken with minimal issues related to the altitude and were eager to explore the area (primarily because movement=warmth). Our plan was to hike to Langshisha Karka, a place further down the track from Kanjin Gompa where three glaciers all converged. We set out on what was a particularly cold and cloudy day.

After spending two days running around Kathmandu getting permits and gear, we bought ourselves a ticket on an 8am bus that left on the 3rd of March. The bus was notorious and was a prime reason why the region we were heading to wasnt touristy and recieved only a fraction of the trekkers that Annapurna and Everest do. To put it in perspective, it took us 9 hours to travel 115km. It was long, slow, dusty, bumpy, and cramped. Meg and I debated often as to which of us had the more uncomfortable seat. Occasionally the bus would stop and locals would pile on with giant canvas sacks which would fill the aisle and serve as additional seats.

There's not much to say about the bus ride to Pokhara besides the fact that it was long, dirty and uncomfortable. Parts of the trip were beautiful but it was hard to enjoy them when your butt had been bouncing up and down on a metal bar for fourteen hours. Needless to say, we were relieved to finally roll into Pokhara at 6pm that evening. Our timing was impeccable; we arrived just as a torrential downpour began.

We spent one final day in Darjeeling to do laundry, let our bodies recover after the trek and see the town when everyone wasn't on strike. 

Hi everyone,

We are safe and sound and having an amazing time. We just passed through a village that crazily enough had an internet connection so we thought we'd just let you know we are alright. We've just trekked through the Langtang Valley and are now heading out to do the Gossainkund and Helambu treks that will take us almost back to Kathmandu. This should take us 7 or 8 days.

Ok, love to you all!

JB and Meg

Hello all,

We are leaving tomorrow ( March 3rd) from Kathmandu for a 9 day trek (we are now addicted!) in Langtang National Park and will probably be out of contact during this time. Considering that Kathmandu, a major city, has power for only half the day we would consider this to be very distinct possibility up in the mountains. If you don't hear from us please don't worry! It is a well traveled route and we have registered with the national park and they know our route and our expected time of completion. We tried to get up to date with the blog before we left but the constant load shedding in both Pokhara and Kathmandu made it very difficult. Obviously we are now in Nepal and are dying to show and tell you all about Kathmandu, Pokhara, busrides, paragliding and crazy religious festivals but we will have to do that when we return. We hope everyone is happy and healthy and we can't wait to see some of you in April and May.

Sending much love,

Meg and JB

We awoke a little saddened that this was our last day of the hike. Our bodies were a little stiff from the long day before but luckily we only had about 2 hours walking ahead of us and then a good 4 hours in the jeep riding back to Darjeeling. 

The trail out of Sirikhola followed the river that snaked its way through the valley.

On the morning of the third day, a frost had moved in overnight and covered everything in a thin layer of white. Below is all that exists on top of Phalut.

The night before, we had spoken with our guide, Pemba, who had promised to wake us up for sunrise in the morning if things were clear (the sunrise at Sandakphu was rumored to be spectacular). That morning we were like two kids on Christmas Day waiting for our parents to come and say we could get up and see what Santa had brought us. I think JB woke up around 4:30am, saw that there were stars outside indicating clear skies and couldn't go back to sleep. We lay in bed in the darkness, impatiently waiting for the first sliver of light and the rap on the window telling us to get up (we didn't want to get up any earlier for fear of waking the lodge family sleeping nearby). When we heard the rap, we bounded out of bed and threw on our clothes. We were greeted with an astounding sight. Arriving in the fog and darkness the night before, we had no clue as to what was surrounding us. Looming in front of us, right outside our door, was Mt Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world - crazy!

We awoke early in the morning and were met by a jeep at our hotel. The four of us piled in with our two guides, Pemba and Rupesh, and headed to the trekking starting point. I'm not sure if the sea was angry on this day but the fog was sure thick. This was us at the first of many checkpoint/boarder crossings.

Our train to Darjeeling terminated south of the town center and so from there we had to navigate our way through the crooked alleys of Darjeeling to our hotel. Easier said then done when in the dark and armed with only a Lonely Planet map which, at the best of times, are only mildly helpful. But, as is the case I'd say... 90% of the time, we did manage to find our hotel and were relieved that for once, the review of the hotel was spot on; it was warm, cozy, clean and even had a well bathed dog hogging the best spot beside the coal burning stove. It was there that we met John and Beth, two Poms from London, defrosting their digits after the chilly train ride. We'd been on the same train as them but they'd been slumming it in 2nd class so we hadn't crossed paths. They were lovely and it was really nice to sit around a fire swapping traveling stories in what could have been their grandmother's living room it was so comfortable. To top it off, before going to sleep that night, one of the guys brought us hot water bottles to go to bed with-too perfect!

We boarded the train for Darjeeling at Kurseong. The train consisted of the engine and 3 tiny cars. 

Having escaped Calcutta, Meg and I found ourselves in what seemed like an entirely different country. At an elevation of 1400 meters, surrounded by tea plantations, was the town of Kurseong.

After landing again in Mumbai, Meg and I decided to completely rearrange our itinerary. We decided to head east to Darjeeling and then cross into Nepal. We had originally planned on 10 days in Nepal. But now we have changed that to almost 4 weeks, to allow us to do some real treking in the himalayas. 

To get to Darjeeling we flew from Mumbai to Calcutta. When we arrived we realized that Mumbai was a clean modern city in comparison. The poverty in Calcutta was confronting. As we searched for our hotel after arriving, we walked past families sleeping on the sidewalk. The air in Calcutta is a thick haze, the ground is grey with grime and dirt, and the streets are chaotic and noisy. One description I came across put it well: Calcutta, the former capital of the Raj, is decaying. 

On February 6th, while in Mumbai, I found out my grandma had passed away. Meg and I decided to fly to New Orleans for the funeral. It was good to be with my family again, though I was sad to have to say goodbye to my grandma. She was an amazing person and helped shape the person I am today. On Feb 12th we flew back to Mumbai.

Mumbai was a predictably overwhelming city that assaulted you from every direction but yet it was unexpectedly endearing. We flew in from Goa and, when we got below the line of smog, had an eye-opening view of the vast patchwork of slums that bordered the airport (think Slumdog Millionaire). We opted to keep our lungs clear for as long as we could and got an AC taxi for the one and a half hour trip to our hotel. Once we found our hotel after several trips around the neighborhood, we dumped our bags and headed downtown with the idea that we would go have a drink at the Taj hotel (the only thing we could afford to do there). Unfortunately our plan for a posh cocktail was thwarted by an official visit by the German chancellor which resulted in the hotel being surrounded by a multitude of armed officers and us going to a local dive bar instead. Oh well. We then headed back to our hotel for a much needed good night’s sleep but alas, it wasn’t to be. Our room happened to be across from the reception desk where the phone rang at all hours of the night which, accompanied by many a loud conversation, made sleep an impossibility and resulted in us checking out promptly the next morning. Luckily we found another hotel in the area that was infinitely more comfortable and were able to venture out into the crazy city knowing we had a refuge to come home to. We spent the day exploring the city on foot. With its somewhat notorious reputation, we were amazed to find the city relatively clean, walkable and full of grand old buildings. Of course the word “relatively” is noteworthy.

The central train station was one such building...

Ah Goa. Where else in the world do you get to share the beach with a cow?

We awoke on the Hampi Express amidst a completely different terrain than the day before. Gone was the city and instead we were surrounded by hills, brush, and boulders.

We arrived in Mysore in the early evening and discovered that using the words "old world charm" to describe a hotel is really just a euphymism for old and rundown but we were too exhausted from the hike and bus ride to be bothered to change hotels. We woke up the next morning and changed to a more updated hotel and then headed out to see what Mysore is known for, it's palace and it's ancient bazaar.

It was still dark when we trudged from our hotel down the hillside to the bus station to find a bus to take us to the Wayanad district in Kerala. The trip to the little town of Vytheri took us about 5 hours. Having spent the last three nights in three different towns and taken numerous minibus, bus and train rides we decided we would just take it easy for the afternoon and arrange a hike for the next day. Our guidebook told us that it was possible to climb the highest mountain in Wayanad, Chembra Peak. It also told us that there was very little tourist infrastructure in the area. Both proved to be true. We had an incredibly difficult time finding out anymore concrete information on the hiking in the area. So much so that we almost said " to heck with this, let's move on!". But after a lot of miscommunication and language issues, we finally seemed to have organized with our guesthouse a jeep ride to the base of the mountain and for someone to pick us up again six hours later (an important detail!). The next day, we were to reap the rewards of our perseverence.

We left at dusk and took a 45 minute bumpy jeep ride through heavy fog to the base of Chembra Peak.

Our trip to Ooty didn't really go as planned...one of the huge draws to the hill station is that one way to get there is by a miniature train that winds its way through the mountains. It's supposed to be one of India's most interesting train journeys. However, we were unaware that a couple of months before we arrived, there was an avalanche and the train tracks were damaged. We couldn't take the whole trip beginning from Mettapalayam like we banked on, but were told we could catch the train at the town of Coonor further up in the mountains. So we grabbed a mini bus to  Coonor. When we arrived there, the train was maybe leaving in 8 hours. Instead of waiting around for that possibility, we decided to just take the bus all the way to Ooty instead. The bus ride wasn't too shabby either.

Leaving Siem Reap to fly to Kochi in the south of India, we both had a feeling that our trip was now really beginning. Unlike in Vietnam and, in some respects, Cambodia, we had no idea what would await us in India. Flying into Kochi's airport everything was so lush and green, not at all the picture that is conjured up when one thinks of India.

Hi everyone, just a quick note. We are in India now and are finding it difficult to get a reliable fast internet connection. As a result our posts will be delayed when we are not in the big cities. I've added a current location feature to the site in the upper right corner. This way if we can only get a super slow connection, we can let you all know where we are and that we are well. If you click on the location, it will bring you to the map page. Ill be adding a previous locations and a route traveled feature to the map when i get some time on our next train ride. 

India has been great so far. It has been challenging and full of surprises. We will try to get our first India post when we reach Goa in three days. 

With Meg on the mend, and our time in Cambodia ticking down, we decided to skip Battambang.  Meg wasn’t 100% better and the including that town would have involved a 6 hour boat ride, with no bathroom in sight. So we hopped on a bus heading to Siem Reap.  We arrived in the evening, excited to be in a new place. We rented bicycles and explored the area.

We arrived in Phnom Penh via a 3 hour taxi ride unsure if we would love or hate the notorious city. For the first day and a half we loved being engulfed by the bustling chaos.

 The day after we climbed Bokor mountain, we rented a motorbike again to do some more exploring. One thing Kampot is famous for is its pepper plantations. Something about the soil from the Mekong, combined with the nearby hills and sea breezes, coming together to make the perfect climate for growing pepper.  We stopped in at a local plantation and the owner gave us a quick tour of his pepper plants. I had no idea that pepper grew in bunches on tall vines.

When I first started doing a little research for our trip to Cambodia, I came across an almost mystical picture of a palace perched atop of Bokor Mountain and thought, "We have to go there!".  Luckily for us (and our limbs), Bokor wasn't in one of the far flung mine-riddled  corners of Cambodia; we could see it from Kampot making it an "easy" daytrip. We were doubly lucky that they have now (for the time being) re-opened the trekking path that weaves it way up the side of the mountain and through Bokor National Park allowing us to gain access to the hill station. We still had to hire a guide though and were lucky and got a wonderful guide, Kay, who spoke great English and knew a lot about the park and the history of the area. We were also joined by an English couple, Jess and Lhoyd, who were a lot of fun to do the trip with. So it was the five us who piled into a car early one morning to go see this thing for ourselves. In typical Khmer fashion, there were more people than actual seats so Kay sat on the driver’s lap while he drove the 40km to the foot of the mountain.This is where the hike started.

We departed Phu Quoc Island via a fast ferry to Ha Tien, Vietnam. Once there we arranged a minibus to Kampot along with some other travellers who were heading in the same direction. Entering Cambodia via the crossing near Ha Tien, which opened to international visitors a couple years ago, was surprisingly smooth. A Cambodian minibus was waiting on the otherside to take us to our first destination in the country. The difference to Vietnam was immediately visually apparent.

If spending 24 hours in Rach Gia is what one must do to make it to Phu Quoc, sign me up! We spent 7 nights on Phu Quoc Island. In order to do so, we stayed at 4 different "resorts" and in 5 different rooms because most places only had one or two nights available....oh, so that's what they mean by high season. :) It was actually a blessing in disguise because having to move around pushed us to see different parts of the island. 

Below was one of the more rustic places that we stayed at...Thang Loi at Ong Lan Beach. 

We found our way to the bus station on the morning of the 29th readying ourselves for the 3 hour bus journey to Can Tho, a prominent city on the Mekong Delta. The lone Westerners in a packed station, we copped a few stares but miraculously found our way onto a bus. I guess Meg's smattering of Vietnamese is good for more than eliciting a few chuckles from motorbike drivers. The ride was quite smooth and air conditioned, rarities in Vietnam. We arrived in Can Tho expecting a beautiful, pastoral town and found a bustling city not unlike parts of Saigon;that's SE Asia for you, always defying expectations.

Once in Can Tho, we walked to a hotel suggested in Lonely Planet. I don't know if it was the young man belting out vietnamese karaoke, or if it was the lone window that looked out to a brick wall 6 inches away, but we quickly decided that even for 8$, spending a night there was not the kind of adventure we were looking for. I believe my exact words were:  "this is not how I want to spend my holiday" We apologized and excused ourselves and 10 minutes later booked ourselves in the 3 star hotel recommended on travelfish. 

Later in the evening arranged a boat and guide to take us to the floating markets nearby for the next morning. We awoke at 5:30 and met our guide outside our hotel.

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! Jb and I arrived on the 27th in Ho Chi Minh City fresh faced and raring to go after a 2 hour flight from Singapore. The combination of the heat, crowds, traffic and overall "foreigness" was quite dizzying and we were thankful that we'd taken the "easy" option and arranged a taxi to our guest house ahead of time. After we dropped off our bags, there was little time to get acclimated as we had only 2 days in the city and wanted to fit in as much as possible. We head out on foot (the taxi ride had rid any notions of motorbiking it) with our first stop being the sprawling covered markets of Ben Thanh for our first of many Vietnamese iced coffees (they make it with sweetened condensed milk so it's more of a dessert than a beverage but delicious whatever the nomenclature).

Meg and I are at the airport in melbourne, just about to board our flight to Singapore. We are spending the night in Singapore in what's called a 'transit hotel'. The hotel is in the international terminal, so we dont have to go through customs. We get in at 11pm and leave at 8:30am. This way we get to Ho Chi Minh at around 9:30 am and have the whole day. We are both very excited to be traveling again and almost can't believe today has finally come.

I'm still finishing up the site, getting things working right and cleaning up some bugs. So alot of the site wont work yet; Im going to finish it up on the plane, and ill let you know when its all working.