Kathmandu Nepal

Kyle and I spent 3 nights in Kathmandu prior to starting our trek on the Annapurna Circuit. It was a hectic two days of sightseeing and shopping for the last few items we would need for the trek. We stayed in Thamel, the tourist district of Kathmandu. Everything in Thamel is walking distance and offers plenty to see and do, however it can be quite challenging to access the other parts of the city. Our hotel set us up with a driver so we wouldn't have to navigate the taxis and transit system on our first day in the country. It was expensive but well worth the cash as we were able to visit some of the major tourist attractions all in one day, and our driver would wait for as long as we needed.

Thamel: The Tourist District of Kathmandu. The place to go for souvenirs, international food and trekking equipment

Climbing Karst in Yangshuo China

Magical views of karst towers and rice paddies

China is a crazy place. It has crazy cities, landscapes and juxtapositions of modern and ancient. It is big, busy and a sensory overload. I landed in Shanghai with Brett and Alison after having done basically no planning for this trip. We spent our first two, very jet lagged days wandering the streets of Shanghai and eating dumplings for most meals. Still exhausted, we caught a quick flight to Guilin after meeting Jon and Heather in the airport on our second night. From there, we took a van to Yangshuo, arriving in the early morning. Fortunately our driver had waited for us despite the 2 hr delay. We checked into our disappointing accommodation but promptly went to bed. That was tomorrow's issue.

Two Weeks of Leisure in Penticton

Hours after writing the final exam of my University career, I jumped on a plane and flew to Kamloops to meet Kyle who had been cruising around the interior of BC for the two weeks prior. He met me at the airport and we made a B-line for Penticton where we would spend the next two weeks camped out in the front lawn of our generous hosts, the Stathers. Woody's family has an apple orchard on the Naramata Bench above Penticton and it was the perfect base camp for adventures!

The amazing view of the orchard from the Stather's porch