How being a Hindu made me rich

I am sitting on a terrace, spoiled with a panoramic view that would take a book to describe - but I'll give it a try. Just in front of me, two Nepali men are fixing up some water boiler on the only roof that somehow interrupts the 180 degree view on a blue lake that reflects some Himalaya mountains behind it. On the left, a dozen of kids is playing with the new swing they got installed, apparently a nation-wide custom to celebrate the upcoming Dashain festival.
I inhale.
I exhale.
This is true rest. The two past weeks consisted mainly of getting up early, eating, walking, eating, sleeping.

Graham, Godspeed I found. I found it in Fleur, a slightly over-disciplined Dutch woman who walked so fast that I even had to let her go at the end of the 14 days we needed to get around the Annapurna's (!).
The Himalayas brought me the longest and most strenuous adventure so far.

Godspeed Fleur in action

A cock nearby screams as it would like to have some attention. It works - I look around; the sun is getting lower, like she would like to dip in the lake, and the temperature follows her slavishly. The host-lady of the guesthouse brings me my tea. She drops a tear, her husband had an accident while he was motorbiking to get the goat for Dashain (he was alright, btw, thanks for asking).
When she leaves, I remember some emotions I witnessed in Nepal; men chanting while carrying a deceased person on their shoulder - woman behind, crying. The old man, founder of the agricultural projects in the Mustang valley, who, after he gave me a tour through his house, apples, tea, walnuts included, got angry with other oldies after we gave him some small donation.

Next day, I wake up early. The lake is still cloudy and while still drawing butterflies with the kid downstairs, the parents invite me to join them for a ceremony to inaugurate the construction site of their next house. A Hindu astrologer and a young boy dig a hole, some offers are precisely thrown in while one of the men sings and a few moments later, I find myself with a tika blessing on my forehead... and ten rupies (10 eurocent) in my pocket. Looks like being a Hindu could make me rich!

Inauguration - everybody happy!

And so the story continues. Next day I had a delicious goat-dinner with the family. The goat eventually got home and I witnessed how the men slaughtered the goat by slashing off its head in one move. And that's even nothing compared to the action I saw performed today on a big yak...

Anyways, although Nepal is a country where spaghetti tastes like noodles and vice versa, the nature, the people and the adventure itself getting through it all made it once again an unforgettable part of my life.

Is that a ... cow on the road?

Again, we had heard a lot of different opinions about Hong Kong, but it ended up being one of our favorite cities so far. During the days we were there, the huge streets were mostly devoid of passenger cars. Instead there were lots of double-decker buses AND double-decker trams. Below, there was an efficient and cheap subway system, with the longest underground trains we have ever seen. (Of course, the traffic experts among us were excited.)

HK traffic in action

There was plenty to see and do in Hong Kong as well; from the astonishing skyline, to an impressive 'dragon fire dance' as well as a beautiful 'lantern festival'. But we knew what we had to do: blend in and experience the famous nightlife. One night, we met Paula, Eva and Erica, funny ex-pats who took us to the cool places and proved that, unlike some other countries in Asia, the party does not stop at 11PM.

 
HK's surroundings are also quite diverse with giant buddha's on hilltops, desolate temples, the longest suspended bridge in the world and even beaches. To reach these places, one day we took a pleasant yet speedy ferry through Victoria Harbour. On board, Dimitri and I had a (slightly odd) conversation about what we would do in the event the boat would start sinking. We were perplexed only a few days later to find out that a very similar ferry had found itself in a disastrous and shocking crash with 36 fatalities. Surely made us think.

Next stop was Nepal. Our first days in Kathmandu felt chaotic and unreal. We hurried from one "administrative building" to the next to settle our hiking permits as well as some of Dimitri's visa's. Walking through the streets of Kathmandu we encountered amazing temples in alleys and squares, but the streets themselves were not quite as inspiring. Large crowds, strangely placed shop stands, swirling motor bikes, cars, buses and even cows in narrow roads! The pedestrian is evidently not the king of the road, and due to the large mass of people, a lot of drivers never lift their hand from the horn. After dusk, the experience is even more surreal if you find yourself in heavy traffic during one of the frequent power outages, literally bumping into strangers in the dark...

The true meaning of life

It was all surprisingly stressful so we were glad when we escaped the city to commence our treks. The mountains of Nepal offer strenuous walks but with sheer amazing views along the way. It was at times a spiritual experience and one of the extremely friendly inhabitants of the region offered me the true meaning of life.

And that was also where Dimitri and I parted after about 11 fantastic months of travel. He will carry on the legend of the journey on his own, (but I hasten to add that my trip isn't quite over yet either). At the time of writing, Dimitri is tackling a treacherous 5000m+ mountain pass at the other side of Mount Annapurna. No need to worry, I have already received word of his safety, but I think I speak for us all when I say:

GOOD LUCK AND GODSPEED TO YOU DIMITRI!

Bangkok: it's all about the money

Wow! Bangkok is crazy. We met so many travelers who actually didn't like Bangkok. We decided to return to Thailand and check it out for ourselves. And guess what, we loved it.

Dimitri invested in transport engineering expertise and hired a mototaxi to cruise around the city. Check out these pictures!

The movie is even better ;)

Anyways! We got a cool surprise in Bangkok, when Nudjaree, the Thai cook school master of Dimitri, showed up. Of course, we never found a restaurant which could reach our own Thai cooking skills, but we forgave them all during our visits in the several temples.

We couldn't ignore the sex industry. Under supervision of Anne, we ended up in a kind of bar where enthusiastic girls were trying to dance in such a way we would become particularly interested in having a (paid) conversation with them. We can assure you: we only had conversations without paying. Many old men are hooking up with (way too young) girls and as the song goes, it's clearly 'all about the money'. We were kinda shocked, and decided to behave well and suit up - wait for it - literally:

Suit up!

So we went to one of the best tailors in Bangkok, Armani Tailors Studio. We gifted ourselves with trousers and shirts. Since these guys are not only super friendly and professional and they provided us with high quality clothes, we can only recommend you to pay them a visit when you'll be in Bangkok one day.

Bangkok is busy, bustling, bangelijk.