Let's go again..

We've been back for a few months now and the itch has quickly returned. Where to go next? How soon can we leave? 

China

Our travels through China took us from the south up the middle-east towards our last stop in Beijing. We chose a few places along the way that gave us the greatest variety from bustling metropolises to serene national parks. After starting in Honk Kong, we headed to mainland starting in Xingping before taking various buses towards Fenghuang with a stop along the way in Hongjiang but not until after a night sleeping in a bus terminal on an empty bus. Next it was onto Zhangjiajie National Park to bear witness to the most incredible limestone karste pinnacles. Xi'an was next where we saw the Terracotta warriors but the spirit of the city was what grabbed our attention most. Finally, Beijing presented the long-awaited trip to the Great Wall and we found ourselves wandering Hutongs for hours on end.

 

Annapurna circuit

Here is a sample of pics from our hike in Nepal. Sorry about the delay....internet was alwasy too slow in Nepal and site was always blocked in China.

India, Nepal, China

We arrived back in Canada last night to bring our incredible 3 months to an end. We apologize about the lack of posts for the past few weeks as we did not expect that this website would be one of the many blocked in China.
Over the next week or so we will post some pics and let you know what we got up to over the past almost month in China.
Right now we are a mix of emotions, having just had another indescribable world experience we are grateful to have seen what we did, a little saddened that it is over but appreciative to be home in such a great country to looking forward to what lays ahead.
 

Xingping

Visas were approved and so we have made our way to mainland China! after a train, an overnight bus and a local bus, we made it to Xingping. It is a cute little town right in the middle of high limestone peaks and along the Li River. We still really want to post some pics as I am sure it is much more interesting than our posts but it is hard to find good internet. On another note, we loved Hong Kong! We are both not city people but it is such a great city! Lots of things to do, things to see and great transportation which makes it so easy to get around.
We look forward to spending our last few weeks working up towards the great wall to end our trip! We cannot believe it is already April!

Hong Kong

Arrived safely in Honk Kong. We are in the middle of figuring out visas for mainland given that it is Easter and all the government offices are closed until Tuesday. We will spend today exploring the city and the surrounding islands while hopefully getting visas processed at the airport. 
We are excited to be in a new place but leaving Nepal was really hard given the incredible people we met and the amazing experiences we will never forget.

Over the pass and around Annapurna

We completed the Annapurna circuit yesterday after 17 days of hiking in the Himalayas. We will post more details and pictures as the internet connection permits. All is all is was, once again, one of the best experiences we have had to date. Amazing landscape, great people and a successful summit makes for great memories added onto an already unforgettable trip.

 

Before the pass...

We are currently on day 7 of the Annapurna trek and it has been incredible so far! We found a place with internet that just works so thought we would post a quick message.
We are on a rest day before we attempt the pass over 5450m in the next few days.

Gone Trekking

We have made it to the start of our approximately 3 week trek in the Himalayas. Despite the power outages and government strike we were able to get here and are really looking forward to doing Annapurna Circuit Track!

Bandipur

We are currently in a little town called Bandipur, it is so cute. We love it here. We did some hiking to a rural Nepali village and some amazing caves yesterday and found out last night that the country is now on strike given the We are currently in a little town called Bandipur, it is so cute. We love it here. We did some hiking to a rural Nepali village and some amazing caves yesterday and found out last night that the country is now on strike given the political hardships. It is unknown how long it will last and it means no cars on the roads and most things are closed. We could think of worst places to be stuck but we hope to find out way to start our hike in the next few days. could think of worst places to be stuck but we hope to find out way to start our hike in the next few days.

Kathmandu picture sampler...

Nepal and the Aussie embassy

We left India with excitement to arrive in Nepal but wondering if Nepal would live up to our expectations. After only a few days we can already say that Nepal is a very special place and that we are so excited to explore it! We arrived in Kathmandu and were greeted by a friend from western, Kieh, who has been living here since 2010. Her fiancé works for the Australian embassy and so their living quarters are inside the compound. Who would have ever thought we would be staying with our Canadian friend inside the Australian embassy in Nepal.
We are planning our next move and cannot wait to get into the Himalayas and start some trekking!!!

Namaste India...

It is always hard to summarize a trip and find the words to express how you felt about a place. India was an amazing and unique experience that neither if us will soon forget! We met incredible people, saw things you can never put into words and left India knowing that we will likely someday return.

We were reading through an older lonely planet and it featured a summary that was more eloquently worded that we ever could write so here it is... We think it sums it up pretty well.

India, it is often said, is not a country but a continent. From north to south and east to west the people are different, the languages are different, the customs are different, the country is different. There are few countries on earth with the enormous variety that India has to offer and it's a place which somehow gets into your blood. Love it or hate it, you can never ignore India. It's not an easy country to handle and more that a few visitors are are only too happy to finally be getting onto that aircraft and flying away. Yet a year later they will be hankering to get back.
It all comes back to that amazing variety - it is as crowded as it is vast, as luxurious as it is squalid, the plains are as flat and featureless as the Himalayas are high and spectacular, the food is as terrible ad it can be magnificent (we actually found the food to always be incredible!) , the transport as exhilarating as it can be boring and uncomfortable. Nothing is ever quite as you expect it to be.
India is by far the easiest country in the world to travel around. It can be hard going, the poverty will get you down , the bureaucracy would try the patience of even a Hindi saint and even the most experienced travellers find themselves at the end of their tempers at some point in India.
Yet it is all worth it as it truly is one if the most special places on earth.

Varanasi

What to say about Varanasi...India is unlike anywhere else and yet this city is completely foreign even here. Between the washing ghats, bathing ghats and burning ghats, holy Sadu men roam amongst pilgrims making their way to the holy Ganges river. It is a place that offers more sights, smells and sounds packed into each square inch. This will likely be our last stop in India and it is quite a place to wrap things up!

Great retreat!

The past 5 days in the mountains have been a great retreat. We have been so lucky to be welcomed into Dane's home and to be able to relax in such an incredible setting. Although it is freezing cold, we all huddle around the fireplace each night and put heated rocks into our beds to help take the chill off in the night. This is truly a special place, it is almost hard to believe this is still India as it is so tranquil. Tomorrow, we get right back into the thick of it and head for Varanasi. We are going to try to make it to the Kumbh Mela festival if possible.
Now that we have the opportunity, we wanted to post a few pics from the past few weeks, we hope you can enjoy the beauty and diversity of what we have been exposed to so far.