The Running Man

Email from Steve

My good friend Steve (whom you may have read about in my previous posts) is now in Asia (on the way back from his year long European odessey). Here is an account of his adventures...pretty interesting stuff for those who have never been to those places ;) I think he was going through S'pore (but too bad I wasn't there anymore :P)

Hey Team

I trust that you are all well.The last months have seen me through some tough terrain in China, Nepal, India and Cambodia.

China

Borrowing words from the wise Slim Shady, completely out of context, "[The Chinese] were acting like [they] never seen a white person before, jaws all over the floor as…" Thanks to Erika's blonde hair, a photograph of Erika and I must be on the mantle piece of at least 1000 homes around China, they must be really looking forward to all the white flesh coming in 2008. Apart from the constant pool of mucus with which the Chinese so generously, and loudly doused the footpaths, roads, trains and even bus floors with – China beat the former leading nation Laos hands down in the 'Hocking awards', - China was an OK country. The Sweet and Sour Pork as well as the Gungbao chicken were great (just like at home) but in spite of all the good food they did eat a lot of 'Maggi' cup noodles. Highlights. Climbing up the big wall near Beijing, saying hi to Mao and getting a gun (AK- 47) pointed at me in the process for having my hands in my pockets, checking out the crazy art and the zany, superfluous display of commercial structures in Pudong, Shanghai and the cultural Taoist temples of Ping Yao. Another must-mention experience involved a communal bath, an exfoliation glove, a short Chinese guy who smoked in the shower and a bucket of dead skin. Lowlights. Everyone trying to rip us off, the Terracotta Warriors of Xian, (there is a reason why they were kept underground for 2 millennia) and the Forbidden City in Beijing, I don't understand why is was forbidden, I wouldn't go there again if I didn't have to, although nice at first the monotonous red paint would eventually burn holes in one's retina. Fine print: My viewpoint may have been different if the concubines were still around.

Tibet

If chillin' out in blistering temperatures of 20 degrees below zero with burning yak defecation in a 'pot belly' as your only recourse and having yak and potato as your sole source of food sounds like fun to you, then Tibet is your kind of place. At least the cold slowed down the bed bugs and froze the aroma of a population that did not bath - who would at minus 20? Lack of creature comforts aside, the 4-wheel drive from Lhasa to Kathmandu was probably the most memorable – in a good way- of all my experiences over the last year. Seeing Everest from its base camp on the Tibetan side, 5200m above sea level as well as the picturesque turquoise lakes that swathe the base of the great Himalayan mountains was awing. The Buddhist monasteries including the Potala Palace in Lhasa are a testament to the rich religious culture that, despite Chinese efforts to destroy it, still thrives throughout the region. The people of Tibet were the loveliest folk I have met, greeting foreigners with a more innocent curiosity than their eastbound occupiers. Still in the native dress as rich in colour as the Incas of Peru and Bolivia the Tibetans made us feel at home without the need of any verbal communication. However, if a Tibetan man, most likely in a cowboy hat asks you to drink Tibetan moonshine mixed with lemon juice outside a monastery in a place call Sigatse, just pretend to drink it, that is unless you have a desire to reacquaint yourself with your last meal.

Nepal

In contrast to the desolate isolation of the Tibetan plateau, Nepal was a welcoming sight, but even the dense jungles surrounded by the great snow- capped conical towers of the Everest Range were not enough to distract us from what we were the most happy to see; fresh fruit and vegetables, and being a Hindu country Nepal did not fail in making them taste phenomenal. Apart from having to pay off a few Maoist party members purely because of the fact that they had guns and we didn't, the trek through Pokhara was fantastic. The 5-day walk saw us though terraced rice paddies, dense jungle and alpine environs always with the awesome backdrop of the snow-capped Annapurna Mountain Range. The sunrise on Poon Hill 3200m above sea level with a 360-degree view of the Range was the most sensational sight. Despite one close call that involved being stuck on a mountain at dusk with a broken torch thirty minutes downhill walk from the next settlement, Nepal was only highlights.

Sorry about the long-winded email folks, I am thinking of giving up my day job to write poetry.

Take it easy.

Steve

Email 2

Hey again Team,

It took 4 months for me to send my last email after the previous one, and now this one comes only 4 minutes since my last one. Talk about consistency. In any case, this will be last group email for a while. I will be home today.The last 2 months have seen me through India and Cambodia.

India
Highlights
Catching up with my old man and seeing the rest of the Raman clan
Going to a crazy South Indian wedding that involved some great dancing down the street and eating off a banana leaf.
The Taj
The Pink Palace in Jaipur
Dirty street food

Lowlights
Cutting my hand open so that it required stitches at Periyar wild life sanctuary in Kerala after not seeing any of the elephants I wanted to. I saw a bison though. Yay.
Seeing a rat run under the operating table whilst getting the above mentioned stitches.
Having 7 of my 7 flights in India delayed
Sneaky little Indians always jumping the queue
Being ripped off as soon as I opened my mouth and spoke English

Cambodia
Highlights
Playing Hide-and-seek in Angkor Wat after closing time. Good work team Mekong Dragon (Long story) I will explain it to you one day when inebriated.
Visiting the Killing fields of Phnom Penh. Quite and eye opening experience.
Cambodian people

Lowlights
Not being able to buy post cards from all the kids selling them.

I will see you soon. Fly home to real life in a few hours. How exciting.

Signing off
Steve

posted by Darren at 9:35 AM