http://www.flickr.com/photos/walthamphotography/ of recent hiking trips I have done around Bavaria and photos of Prague are hopefully not too far off and then it's back to work on Nepal. Sorry for the delay, it's time to get back to business.
Waltham Photography
Wednesday, August 25
Laziness
Wow, total laziness on my part has kept me from posting here in over a month. I guess I need a kick in the pants. I've posted a few photos over at
Monday, July 26
Back to The Annapurna Circuit
The first few days on the Annapurna circuit took us threw many small little villages surrounded by growing mountains, green life and for the most part, smiling locals. Not everyone is happy to see you, and who can blame them. 70,000 hippies, gear heads, racers, trekkers and all around cheapskates tramp through their backyard every year asking to take photos of cute children and wrinkled grandparents. Hell, I wouldn't want to smile for that many trespassers in a year either.
Others look at the flashy boots and bags, compare them to their flip flops and tattered clothes and ask for a donation to the grocery bill. Then, others flash a gigantic smile and give you their address in exchange for a printed copy of the final photo.
No matter your experience, many trekkers memories of the faces they see rival those of the monstrous mountains. From old to young, snotty nosed and dirty handed to dread locked hotel owners, the locals who live on and make a living from the Annapurna Circuit are just as important as the views.
Waiter in Bhulebhule
Standing on guard
Posing
Family portrait
Here's to you
Mother and daughter
Local girls pose
Luckily, we stayed at the same hotel as local local leaders on a trek and got treated to the best meal on the trek.
Friday, July 2
Dachau
This is the main entrance to Dachau. The writing on the door says, "Arebit Mach Frie." Work Will Set You Free
Once you enter the compound, the main processing building which has been converted into a museum, is on the right. Inside is an incredibly detailed timeline and many artifacts from the operation of the camp.
Inmate uniform
Arm band for disinfection area
Table where prisoners were held down, and beaten.
This is a memorial depicting the prisoners and the pain they went through while in Dachau.
Disguised as a shower room, it is still unknown why the gas chamber was never used.
Port for gas.
The grounds once housed 32 barracks.
The Jewish Memorial at Dachau
The Menorah at the top of the Jewish memorial, seen from inside
Any prisoner caught trying to escape was shot on sight. Many purposely entered the trench to end the suffering they endured.
Thursday, June 17
Kathmandu काठमांडौ
A city of 2000 years and 950,00 people, Kathmandu is a heady mix of old and new, west and east, and Buddhism and Hinduism. Stepping onto the street feels like entering a strange time machine. Old wooden buildings house internet cafes and outdoor shops with climbing equipment to tackle an Everest assent. Merchants patrol the streets selling flutes and Tiger Balm and Sadhus look to tourists for a handful of rupees in exchange for a blessing and a Tikka. Taxis from the 70's troll the streets honking at dizzyingly loud levels and compete with scooters and pedestrians for space on the dirt roads.
Even dogs receive Bindis
Kathmandu is a wonderful city of great food, great people and amazing history. Unfortunately, it is rife with pollution. There seems to be no infrastructure to deal with the most minimal of household garbage. A Nepalese man who I met on the bus had a conundrum: Is Nepal poorly developed or poorly managed?
This is one of the main rivers in Kathmandu and the water runs black. The stench of rot fills the air yet amazingly, plants manage to grow on the banks and feed cattle and pigs.
Wednesday, June 16
Sagamartha
Most people have to pay to go on a scenic flight over the Himalaya and keep their fingers crossed in hopes that they can see Mt. Everest. In my second post I mentioned that we flew over Sagamartha (Mt. Everest) three times. Each time we got extremely lucky and got blue skies. I posted one photo before, but here are five much better ones that I took from my seat in the plane.
Summit on the right
The view on the way back to Lhasa
Monday, June 14
Waltham, now in Munich
Hey everyone,
If you are still checking, I'm sorry about not posting ANYTHING for almost three months. Computer crashes, moving and being generally grumpy have gotten in the way of any creative process.
Koeun and I made it to München two weeks ago after visiting her parents and announcing our future intentions with each other.
Our first week in Munich was very Vancouveresque. Rain, all day, everyday (this is when the grumpiness took hold, not that that's a rare occurrence). Then last week showed up. Beautiful warm weather, and sun so Koeun and I made the best of it. Searching town with no absolutely no specific directions other than Starbucks or San Francisco coffee for free internet, and hiking from lake to lake, and in the mountains behind Neuschawnstein Castle.
Surfing on the Isar
Friday, April 9
Kathmandu
It's my third time in Kathmandu, and Koeun's second and it's every bit as hectic as I remember. En route from Seoul, we had to fly first to Hefei, then Chengdu. Stay overnight and then fly via Lhasa. Everything went smoothly, except for landing in Kathmandu. There was a lightning storm so we couldn't land and were turned around to Lhasa. I immediatley thought we were going to get a free day in Tibet, but all we got was a free sit in the plane for another four hours. The bonus of this was: I got to see Everest three different times that day.
Mt. Everest on the way to Kathmandu
Wednesday, April 7
Heading Out
So here I am again. Another photo blog attempting to document another attempt at moving to Europe. This time, the trip is a little more streamlined, and ever so slightly more planned.
I attempted to take the ferry from Tomakomai to a town called Mito to visit my best friend from University, Russ. Little did I know, but the on the day I chose to depart, there were no ferries running. Fortunately my first room-mate in Japan, Paddy, was back in Tomakomai. A quick text and fortunate taxi ride took me to his house.
The next day I awoke, and Paddy's father-in-law drove me to Chitose airport where I got the last seat on the early flight to Tokyo.
I wandered round Yokohama (hugely over rated city) for the day before heading out to drink with Russ and meet his wonderful new fiancé, Noriko. Time was short, so we had only one night to drink before I started to feel sick.
When I arrived in Korea, I felt like shit. My face was beaming red and on fire. I was obviously hot since I got stopped at the heat scanners in the airport and got asked a million and one questions and had to talk to a doctor. They were worried I had H1N1 but it turned out I have a sinus infection. My ears ring all day as though I have been at a rock concert. Lots of coughing and not a whole lot of energy. Thankfully the weather came through and now I'm feeling a little better, and look a little pinker.
So, it's Wednesday morning and we are packing to head off to Kathmandu, where we will hike the Annapurna trail and then head south to The Royal Chitwan park to hopefully catch up with some one horned rhino and Bengal tigers.
here are a few photos from my previous trips to Kathmandu:
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