The Voyage to Tokyo

Tom dropped me off at Saskatoon airport with lot's of time to  spare,  so I had a quick overpriced supper at the spiffy and enlarged Saskatoon airport before catching my rather unremarkable flight to wet and windy Vancouver. After a night at the equally unremarkable and rather tired Airport Holiday Inn Express I awoke to an even more wet and windy Vancouver.

I got to the airport in lot's of time, and, after a speedy check-in at ANA (All Nippon Airways) was delighteeed to learn that my "Premium Economy" fare gave me access to the swanky Premium Plaza Lounge, where I was offered comjplimentary food and drink.  The premium economy fare was a promotion as ANA has just initiated a Vancouver to Tokyo flight on the Boing 787 Dreamliner to compete with JAL (Japan Airlines) and was offering very competitive fares.

Not a bad way to start an 11 hour flight. As I went to the gate the skies cleared, and as we took-off, right on time, had lovely views of Vancouver.

 The flight itself turned out to be one of the best I've had in recent years ... comfy, well spaced seats, with all sorts of little, and appreciated features - leg rest, large windows that darkenh or lighten by pushing a button, noise cancelling headphones connected to a great entertainment system.  You can stand up in the spacious (for a plane) washrooms, that can be made wheelchair accessible and have automatic bidets with heated seats.

I've found myself avoiding facebook the last few weeks for some reason ... so now I'm on the road again I thought I'd have a go at reviving the blog .....

So welcome back dear readers on this latest adventure.

The reason (excuse?) for this trip is to complete phase two of the reconstruction of my teeth under the able direction of Dr. Chanika at Grace Dental here in Chaing Mai .... the right side was completed last trip and I've been looking forward to being able to chew well on the other side of my mouth!

The fact that major renovations on our house at Birch Lake are in full swing (and anyone who knows me knows how I just love the chaos and dust of renos!) and that my itchy feet were becoming unbearable may have been minor contributing factors to my decision to embark on yet another Asian adventure.

I booked myself out of Vancouver to Bangkok via Beijing on Air China .... cheap, but that's about all the good I can say .... I thought that because they recently joined the Star Alliance (think Air Canada, Lufthansa, Swiss Air) their standards couldn't be that bad, but alas, I was wrong.

The plane was stuffy, prior seat selection cancelled, the seats themselves cramped and pretty hard after 12 hours. I thought I might down a couple of scotches and try and sleep (my usual strategy) but the only alchoholic drink I could get was half a paper cup of terrible Chinese wine. ....


So it was with some relief when I finally got to Bangkok, tired and a bit crotchety to be welcomed by a lovley Thai lady at the airport representing my hotel and whisked downtown to the most comfortable and spotless SILQ hotel.

The next morning it was off to Wat Po home of one of Thailand's oldest and most respected massage and traditional medicine schools for a 2 hour massage. No better way to get the kinks out of long haul jet travel!

Wat Po is also the home of a huge reclining Golden Buddha.

On the road again ......

Those of you that know me know that it's unlikely I'd be able to stay in one place too long ..... so having finally settled back in Canada ... with a lovley home and community at Birch Lake .... and a fabulous woman to share it with ... I'm leaving it all and setting off on a new adventure.

Actually there are also some other reasons for leaving on another expedition - not that I need any encouragement.

I'm on my way to Thailand to address some minor health issues - hypertension and GERD (time to get off the pills!) and get my teeth fixed - a crown and a bridge that will set me back thousands in Canada - and can be done at a fraction of the price in Asia.

I've booked in for two weeks at Tao Gardens in Chiang Mai (http://www.tao-garden.com) After that we will see - a few possibilities - the mountains or perhaps the long way overland to Europe by train - or directly home.

Currently, though, I'm in Taipei ... Taiwan - a convenient stopover to break the trip, recover from jet lag, avoid flying into Bangkok, and visit a place a bit off the usual Asian travel trail.

First impressions are of a modern, industrialized nation - clean, organized and fairly prosperous - abit like a Chinese Singapore. On other hand once out of the city, it's stunningly beautiful, mountainous with lot's of hot springs, great hiking, and an excellant transportaion system.

It's only been 48 hrs ... but here are the first pics .....

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/DharmaChef/TaiwanBlog1?feat=directlink

Facebook pictures ...

Times change ... there's always something new ... go to my facebook page and albums for updates ...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40809&l=d9884&id=559766964

Agonda

Well I must admit to having been a very lazy blogger the last few months

Upon coming back from Ladakh I took my rented Passion (an ageing 100cc motorbike) to southern Goa and stayed for a couple of nights at Agonda ...

Summer rice paddies near Agonda ...

First Leh photos ... and one of Delhi ...

Back in Delhi .....

It took a couple of days, but finally I heard the sound of a plane ...

I was lucky enough to get seat on the first plane out .. Air Deccan. The delay was due to the runway taking time to be cleared. Over 300 soldiers took 36 hours to clear the runway alone .... by hand! More were working on the taxiways. When we were ready to take off they lined the runway, huddled in groups, brooms and shovels in hand, and waved at us as we roared down the runway ... a very moving sight.

The Himalayas were absolutly stunning as we threaded our way out of the Leh valley. The snowfall was the biggest in many years, and that is great news not only for the Ladakhi's but the millions and millions who rely on the rivers that flow from the mountains.

I sat next to a Zanskari man on the plane who had walked out of the Zanskar via the Chaddar trek to Leh a few days before. He had fallen into the river twice he said ... my decision not to do the trek seems to have been a wise one!

I'm now back in Delhi, which, unlike my previous experiences is quite pleasant - much cooler now it's winter, and I'm much more comfortable with the chaos and craziness of the place.

I spent the morning at the big Appollo Hospital here in Delhi, having a major physical - long overdue - before heading off to Rajestan in a couple of days.

What am I doing here?

"Here" is Leh, capital of Ladakh, the northernmost part of India, nestled at 11,500 ft in the Himalayas above Kashmir.

I arrived here by air on Wednesday on an Indian Air flight from Delhi. The road into Leh is closed from October to June and the only way in, or out, is by air.

The arrival was spectacular as the Airbus 320 maneuvered between the snowcapped mountains to the airstrip that is operated by the Indian Army. There's a large base here, and the flight was full of soldiers - I was one of two westerners aboard.

I came here to be in the Himalayas again, which had so captivated me last year when I went trekking in Nepal. The plan was to acclimatize for a couple of days and then do the Chadar trek, a famous route up the frozen Zanskar River to Padum.

Despite the large military presence, it immediately felt good to be here among the smiling faces of the Ladakhi's (who are very similar to the Buddhist mountain people I encountered in Nepal.) Gompas, chorterns, prayer wheeels. prayer flags are everywhere.

I was warmly received at Padme Guest House - which is a good thing since I was freezing ... the temperature was about -5 when I arrived. Pretty soon it started to snow, and I began to feel the effects of high altitude - headache, nausea and later that night sleeplessness. As it turns out I'm the only person staying at the guesthouse - my hosts gave me a gas heater, lot's of blankets and an invitation to take my breakfast and dinner with them.

The snow continued, and after a pretty rough night, woke up to a blanket of about 3 cm snow .... which continued all day. Apparently this is the most snow they have had up here in years, and everyone is pretty happy about it.

I managed to do a pretty good fall on the ice yesterday and fell on my back - nothing serious, but a bit stiff and sore now.

This along with the snow and altitude problems, has led me to have second thoughts about doing the trek ... which is described as being quite challenging.

There was more snow today but it finally has stopped this evening, however more is forecast for tomorrow and the next five days. I'm booked on a flight back to Delhi tomorrow, but not sure if the airport will be open. It's been closed since I arrived, so I may be here for awhile!

The people here are incredibly tough, and many quite poor. There is quite a large tourist infrastructure here ... restaurants, guesthouses, trekking companies etc, but most all are closed. Some people in the tourist business work in Goa for the winter - I can see why now!!

Despite the cold (it's -10 now going down to -25 tonight)it's still a fascinating place, that I hope to return to when it's warmer.

Depending on the weather I may still be here for a while ... if so I'll try and post some photos ...