Mt. Everest Reflections, the best and worst day of my life

From Everest Trek Part 2

It's been a few days now since I finished the trek to Everest. Looking back I can say it was one of the most important moments of my life to be able to make it to Base Camp. I can't really describe what I was feeling. I was just overjoyed and felt blessed to be able to be there, in my mind at Mother's feet. All along the trek we had met a lot of people who had to turn back the other way whether it be because they got altitude sickness or because it was just too tough for them. We had seen rescue helicopters nearly every day, and that was a little bit unnerving to us. We had a lot of doubts of whether we could make it without getting sick. Dave had a lot of headaches, I felt a bit dizzy and lightheaded. We were both exhausted, dirty, and cold. But, we knew that one day we'd look back at that trek from a comfortable place, and we'd be extremely disappointed if we hadn't put our best efforts to achieve our goal.
My original goal was more Kala Patthar than Everest Base Camp. Kala Patthar is a 18,200 foot mountain rising above the village of Gorak Shep that has the best views of Everest in Nepal. Base Camp as I'd heard didn't have any views of Everest, and was basically full of trash. So, in my mind I thought that I'd rather have great views of Everest than be able to say I went to Base Camp. We did do both, but how unexpected it was to feel what I felt when we reached Base Camp. Being able to actually touch Everest was a spiritual moment for me. Going back to the village from Base Camp, I would have been completely satisfied if I didn't go up to Kala Patthar and see the great views we had heard so much about. We had spent so much time in Base Camp, that the sun had begun to set. We were the last ones there. I think we spent about an hour and a half there. Time just flew by. We trekked back in near pitch black. What had just been the best day of my life, soon became the worst. We had been hiking for 10 hours at this point, longer than any day we had hiked so far, and we were at the highest altitude we had ever been to. There was no trail like I mentioned before, it was cold and dark. I was so tired that I felt like I was drunk. I was stumbling down rocks, and I could barely keep my balance. It was as if my body was saying 'Enough, I can't do anymore.' Not only that, we had to do some climbing to get back to the village. It's not just a straight climb up to Base Camp, it's a series of ups and downs. On every uphill, me and Dave struggled. We would sit down to rest, taking long gasps of air. We tried to motivate each other to continue. Dave kept telling me the village was right around the corner. But it wasn't. How many corners it took us! At one point, I just sat down and said I'm going to camp here. I can't make it. But, I heard Anju's voice and my Dad's voice telling me to keep going. So we did. Somehow we made it back without using any headlamp at all. I became real adept at making out the shapes of the rocks with just moonlight (Viv, your eyes really do adjust to night vision, haha!). After 12 hours of hiking, we had finally made it back to our room. We promised to never do that again (little did we know our guide would do this to us again the very next day). But, it was worth it, even though at some points along the way down I was seriously questioning if I could make it.
We were both so exhausted, we highly doubted we could do Kala Patthar the next morning. But the next morning I woke up, and with my limited memory of the pain the night before, I stupidly said "Let's do Kala Patthar." Kala Patthar just about finished me off. It was the steepest incline of the entire trek, and it was at 18,000 feet. Perfect. Exactly what we needed after a day trekking for 12 hours. I don't know how I made it up Kala Patthar. After every few steps I would run out of air, and keel over gasping for breath. But, we actually made good progress. We made it up in 1 hour and 45 minutes! Pretty fast, considering the circumstances. The view from Kala Patthar was just incredible. The panorama of the highest peaks in the world surrounding made me realize how unimportant we are in the scale of the cosmos. These mountains had been around for millions of years, and they'd continue to be around long after I'm gone. I cherished that moment, for it would be the last clear view of the ever elusive Everest.
We weren't done though. We still had 5 hours of hiking left for us that day. And we ended up trekking in blackness again. Yes, coming down is a lot faster, but you still have to cover all that ground you made going up. We made it to Dingboche at 7 pm. That day we went from 18,200 feet to 14,800 ft in one day. I think the end of that day was the moment we had had enough of the Himalayas and just wanted to be a part of civilization.

Anyway, I'll write more later. Here is the proof of me making it to Everest ;).

Everest Trek Part 2

Congratulations America!

What a fantastic day! I watched Obama's speech this morning. What an inspiring moment, I wish I was there. The rest of the world is happy America voted the right person this time!

Some Pics

Here is the first part of the pics. There a lot more but this internet cafe's connection keeps going down. I'll try to upload more when I can.

Everest Base Camp Trek

I made it!

I made it to Everest Base Camp at 17,594 ft. , and Kala Pattar at 18,200 ft. I'm safe, I have all my limbs, and my mind is fine...now. All I can say is that the past 10 days have been the toughest in my life. I'm drained physically, mentally, and emotionally. But, I made it. Well, I have one more day to get back down to Lukla where I will take a flight to Kathmandu the following morning. Thank you Everest!! Pics to come soon, when I get back to civilization!

I saw Everest today!

It was everything you'd expect it to be. I mean I'm still far away from it, but I saw the entire lineup, Everest, Lhotse, Peak 41, Ama Dablam, Kumbili, etc. Everest is behind Lhotse and you can only see the tip, but what a view! It's now Day 3 of this trek. The past 2 days have been pretty brutal. For the firt day and a half , the hike was so easy I was beginning to think getting to Base Camp would be no big deal, but I was really really wrong.
The last few hours yesterday of hiking were so hard. We climbed 600 something meters to the town of Namche Bazar at near 12000 feet I think. It was one of the hardest things I've done physically. I think we went too fast. Most people do it in 6 or 7 hours, but me and Dave did it in 4 hours of hiking. Dave got a headache yesterday night which is the first sign of altitude sickness, so we learned our lesson. Our guide has been dissapointing. He doesn't speak very good english, and he responds to all questions with 'Yes, maybe.' You can ask him how many hours of climbing to such and such town, and he just says 'Yes,...maybe.' It's beyond frustrating. Thankfully, we got a lot of information yesterday night. This Indian guy from London who is part of a 14 member group doing Gokyo/Kala Pattar/Base camp in 21 days overheard our frustration with 'Kopin' (or Kipin we haven't figured out his exact name) and told us to take aspirin every day, and to take neurophrin at the first sign of a headache. Aspirin, thins the blood which allows it to carry more oxygen, which is good because as you climb higher up your blood thickens and less oxygen is carried by the cells. We are trying to avoid taking Diamox for the moment. It's the altitude sickness pills you take when you really get AMS.

Anyway, besides the lactic acid pain that my legs are suffering from, the lack of oxygen, sleeping in the same clothes for the past 3 days, eating the same Dal Makhani every day, and the guide who says 'Yes' to everything, I am having the time of my life! Just the sight of Everest made it all worth it. Now to get closer!

At Phakding

I made it through the airplane flight to Lukla! That was a scary ride. I flew on a small 10 seater propeller airplane, and we had to land on a cliff. Anyway, hiked for 3 hours today from Lukla to Phakding. It's an amazing area. We are still in the 'lowlands' relatively speaking even though I think we are near 6000 ft. In the background is this huge wall of snow capped mountains known as the Himalaya. It's an impressive sight. Anyway, just wanted to check in, I won't have much interent on this trek, so I'll take a lot of pics, and post them in 2 weeks.

Off to Everest!

Tomorrow is the day we finally leave for the Everest trek. It's been a long week in Kathmandu. Dave was injured, I got sick. Well I still feel a little sick, but I'll get over it in a couple of days. We're flying to Lukla tomorrow at 8:30, and from there we trek to Phakding for the first day. Only a 3 hour hike for the first day, but a 6-7 hour monster hike the day after to Namche Bazaar.

I'm excited, but I feel a little numb to it right now. I've been waiting for a long time to do this, and now that its here I don't know what to think. Anyway, I'll be away from computers,internet,maybe even electricity for 2 weeks. I'll be away from all the comforts of the world. Wish me luck, I'm going to Everest no matter what!

Pics!!

From Thailand/Nepal

Thailand/Nepal

Here are some pics! Now write me some comments you ungrateful bastards!! ;) Just kidding.

Trekking is delayed

...for the moment. My friend Dave who is trekking with me got bit by a brown recluse spider (or could have been a mosquito ;)) around his ankle. He itched it and it got swollen pretty big, about 3 times the size as normal. We got some boiling water and submerged his foot in it last night, and that helped a bit, but it was still really swollen and red this morning so we went to a clinic here run by American doctors. The doctor cut away some of the mucus/pus and gave him antibiotics, so we're going to see how it is for the next couple of days. We had originally planned to start the Everest trek on the 17th, but now it's delayed to at least the 18th or 19th. I have my own wounds to take care of also actually. The back of my feet is worn away from wearing flippers a size to small while diving. I've actually been wearing sandals for the past few days because wearing my shoes hurts too much.

So, this turn of events sucks on the one hand, but on the other hand I can't help but think this is maybe a sign to delay our trek because maybe something bad might have happened if we went tomorrow. I don't know, just trying to reason our bad luck. But, I am still going to see Everest no matter what!

We've been in Kathmandu for 2 or 3 days now, I can't remember. We're staying in the area called Thamel which is backpacker central. Very touristy, with hundreds of stalls selling all kinds of stuff. I want to get our of this area and see the real Kathmandu, so tomorrow we may rent a motorcycle and do that. Although, getting around town with a vehicle here is basically like daring Death mano e mano. So far my general impression of Kathmandu is it's very similar to India. A lot of people here look indian, and the nepalese people look like chindians ( i guess they are). What's funny is that everyone here assumes I'm Nepalese! They come up to me and start talking to me in Nepalese. I feel like I'm letting them down a bit when I open my mouth and sound like a complete tourist. But, I do seem to get better discounts because of it. Haha.

I took so many pics, but the computers here just suck. I really wish I brought my laptop because these computers here can't handle the RAW format pics my camera takes. It's dissappointing. I wish I could share all these great things I've seen.

Anyway, will post back in a couple days before I start the trek!

I'm going to conquer Everest!

Well, not quite conquer Everest, but conquer the bottom of it ;). Tomorrow I will be in Kathmandu, Nepal. I'm going there to to go on a 2 week trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC). Weather is not so good at the moment. It's -17 C at EBC, and snowing. I'm hoping it will clear up in the next couple of days. My plan is to hire a porter in Kathmandu who is knowledgable enough to take me and my friend there. I'll also need to buy or rent cold weather gear in Kathmandu because I didn't plan to do this earlier! It will be an adventure of a lifetime. I can't wait to meet Amma in person.

I survived 60 ft and blew my O-ring!

I'm a PADI certified Open Water Diver now! I'm allowed to dive to about 60 ft. I never thought diving would be as dangerous as it is. Not in the sense of getting hurt by marine life or anything (though my friend dave did get pricked by an Indian Walkman, wasn't a pretty sight), but in the sense that diving puts your body under a lot of stress. For instance, there is a limit on how many dives your body can handle in a certain period of time because of the risk of Decompression Sickness (DCS). There are specific rules on how long each dive can be depending on depth, and how long you have to wait before you can dive again.

The scientific reason: Your body absorbs Nitrogen when you are underwater and breathing compressed air unlike when you are on the surface. This nitrogen gets absorbed by your tissues, and there is a danger of the nitrogen basically fizzing out of your body like a can of coke when you go from a deep depth to the surface. In an extreme case, the nitrogen bubbles causing your blood to foam out of you. Pretty gruesome. If you have any of the symptoms of DCS you have to go into a recompression chamber for 3 or 4 days. It actually depends on how deep you go, commercial divers who dive to like 100m for work purposes, have to live in a recompression chamber for 3 months after they are done. It's pretty astonishing what the pressure of water does to you. As little as 10 m of depth puts you at 2 Bar of pressure, double surface pressure. Every 10 m deeper you get another bar of pressure.

Open Water Diver

I'm in Koh Tao now which is an island about an hour north of Koh Phangnan , the previous island I stayed at. I'm doing a 4 day Open Water Diver course,so I'll be certified to dive all over the world. I'm not exactly a water person, but I'm pretty excited to see how it will be. The plan is to dive in 3 days in a place where there are schools of barracuda, corral reefs, manta rays, and possibly even bull sharks.

Link to pics

From Hong Kong, Singapore, Koh Phangnan

Hong Kong, Singapore, Koh Phangnan

I'm Free, I'm Free Fallin'

From Hong Kong, Singapore, Koh Phangnan

From Hong Kong, Singapore, Koh Phangnan

From Hong Kong, Singapore, Koh Phangnan

From Hong Kong, Singapore, Koh Phangnan

So yesterday, me and my buddy Dave (I met him earlier in Beijing, and we met up again here in Thailand) hopped on some scooters we rented and went to go find an ATM. Little did we know the adventure we would get into. We got to the ATM, then decided to go to the nothern part of the island which is not really inhabited. We followed the paved road (believe me paved is stretching it, it looks like it's been through a war) until it became a dirt road. We took our scooters as far as they could possibly go, then got off and decided to trek along this trail. Well we get to the end of the trail, and go down a dry creek bed. At this point we are in the midst of the jungle, and a machete could have been real handy. Anyway, we continue through thick brush until we see water. We came upon this rocky shore, and we had the bright idea of doing some cliff diving!

We did a couple of practice dives at smaller heights to make sure the water was deep enough until we came upon the man's ledge. It was a 50 foot behemoth with on the right side a wall of rock, and on the left razor sharp shells. We were so high up you could even see the curvature of the earth ;). We figured we had to jump far out in order to avoid getting thrashed by the rock wall, or cut up. It took me a few minutes before I could muster up enough courage to jump. Dave, jumped first holding his camera (it's waterproof) and yelled out "I have no regrets!" I was taking pics. After, he came back out, it was his turn to take pictures. Well, I figured I should also yell out a profound statement as I jumped. I figured out what I would say in my mind, and then when it came to jumping, it turned into a garbled "I woaahaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!". Splash. "Woooooohh! Ya baby!!!"

It was one of the best moments I've had on my trip. Conquering a fear is always a beautiful thing. I did pay the price of losing my scooter key in the ocean, but that was a small price to pay. Great, great day!

From Hong Kong, Singapore, Koh Phangnan

Hong Kong, Singapore

From Hong Kong, Singapore, Koh Phangnan

A lot has happened since my last update. Let me fill you in. I survived a typhoon (what they call a hurricane in asia) in Hong Kong, watched the first night race in Formula 1 history, and am now looking for some adventures off a tiny island in the Gulf of Siam. This is going to be a very long post, forgive me.

Well, let me begin with the typhoon. I had originally had a 5:30 pm flight from Shanghai to HK, but they put me on an earlier flight because of quote 'very bad weather' in HK. I didn't realize it but HK was getting pummeled by the 8th typhoon of the season here in Asia. Needless to say, the plane ride was probably the scariest flight I've ever been on. The turbulence caused by the high winds made the plane rock violently up and down. At point, I just decided to say some prayers, because I didn't if the plane could land in that type of weather. I decided I would be grateful for anything as long as I survived that flight. We landed safely obviously, but at the cost of a punctured tire. Apparently, one of the tires blew up when we hit the ground.

After I landed, I had to figure out how to get to the hostel, but HK was basically shut down. There were no cars, or buses allowed on the streets, so my only option was to take a more expensive train into the city. Looking for a hostel located in a high rise in a foreign city carring 50 lbs of luggage on your back, while trying to not get swept of the ground because of the high winds was slightly challenging (Yes, i know that was a run-on). Anyway, long story short, made it to the hostel, and was basically ready to write off being able to see anything in HK the next day. Amazingly, the next day was much calmer. Sky was still cloudy and it was windy, but it stopped raining. So, I was able to see some of the HK sights, like taking the Star Ferry across the harbor. I went to the HK Museum of History, and I went to the top of Victoria Peak and was able to take some really cool pics of the entire skyline. HK, I have to say is up there with NYC and Chicago in terms of beautiful skylines. It may be the best actually. HK, like Shanghai but to an even greater degree, is a westernized city. Even though it is now technically a part of China, it is more like a city you'd find in the States than a Chinese city. Pretty much everyone can speak English, you can get any type of food you'd find in the States there, and everyone wears suit and tie.

From Hong Kong, Singapore, Koh Phangnan

After a day in HK, I took a flight to Singapore. I stayed with my former co-worker Erik. For the next 6 days there I got barely any sleep, ate really badly, and spent way too much money. But, it was a fun experience. I've always wanted to see an F1 race live, and I can now say I did. To people who do not know too much about F1. It is basically creme de le creme of racing cars. No car is faster around a track than F1 cars. They are more like jets than cars actually. In fact, an F1 car can drive upside down at 200 mph because they produce so much downforce. Ok, enough of the geeky facts, what is it like in person? Just imagine the loudest noise you have ever heard, and multiply it by 2. They produce this wall of sound that shakes everything as they go by. It's just amazing how much energy is produced by these cars. Everything vibrates, it feels like the ground is even shaking as they go by. The drivers are unquestionably some of the finest athletes in the world to be able to process so much information so quickly. And they did it at night! I highly suggest if you have the chance to see F1 live, you go. You can't appreciate the violence and raw speed of the cars on TV.

From Hong Kong, Singapore, Koh Phangnan

Besides F1, I did a few other things in Singapore, like visit Little India. I really like Little India because it really does feel like India, except it's cleaner. I went to Komala Vilas and had some authentic South Indian Thali. Mom, you'll be happy to know I took a break from eating bird brains, and had sambar satham, thyer satham, and brinjal curry. I visited a temple there, and got into a debate with this Hare Krishna guy about the nature of God. I, of course, visited Mustafa's shopping complex. It's like the Walmart of Singapore. It's huge and messy, and very easy to get lost in.

After six days in Singapore, I got tired of city life, and decided to fly into Koh Samui, an island off the coast of Thailand. From there, I took a boat to a smaller island called Koh Phangnan which is the mecca of the Full Moon party. Thankfully, I'm too early for the full moon party because I'm partied out. I'm in the northern part of the island where it is much more relaxed and village like. It suits me better I think.

Shangri La

 
 

Well I'm in Shanghai. Took 12 hours to get here via train. What a mess the Beijing Rail Station is. Not only is it just a colossal mass of people trying to get on their trains, but most of the signs aren't in English. I had to ask some of the locals in sign language if I was in the right place by comparing tickets. Chinese people do not know how to wait in line. Lines are not single file, they are just first come first serve. So you have a few hundred people trying to squees themselves between a narrow gate. Old people, crippled people, small children in their way? Doesn't matter. Everyone just gets squeezed through. I thought maybe I'd get over the fact that Chinese people have no sense of personal space, but no it still annoys me when I am so squished next to people that I can smell hundreds of flavors of BO. It's not a pleasant experience. Anyway, so my on my train ticket it has the train #, carriage # , and seat # on it. The carriage # (1) is preceded by something in Chinese. So, I walk to the front on the train because that's carriage #1. When I get there the train attendent says I must go to the back of the train, not the front. Apparently the Chinese in front of the carriage # meant 'Last' as in "last 1". I can't believe the ticket could be so poorly printed with all the foreigners in China nowadays. It's just so maddening you can't help but laugh.

When I arrived in Shanghai, it was hot,muggy, and raining. My goal was to get to my hostel but I had forgotten to print out the directions to the hostel. So, I spent the next 15 mins sharpening my Mandarin. I went around asking "Fujin yang wa ba ma", which means "where is the local internet cafe?". After wandering back and forth being given bad directions I finally found it. From there I looked up the directions and the cheapest way to get there was on bus 113. It cost 2 yuan or basically less than 30 cents. So, I wander around with my 35 lb backpack and find the bus station. The only problem with directions here is that no one knows the English equivalent of the Chinese. For example, I had to get off at Bejing West Lu station. Everyone I asked just looked at me like I was crazy. I imagined them thinking, "is this guy nuts, this is Shanghai not Beijing". I realized the locals were useless in helping me out, so I was looking at every street judiciously, trying to see something that I would recognize. I was stressing a bit, but I knew even if I got lost I could get a cab, and get to the hostel no problems. Well, amazingly enough I saw a street that I recognized from the directions, and got off. Then I hunted around, and found the hostel in an alley far away from the main road. I was so relieved. Sometimes, you amaze yourself by doing things you think you can't do. I was pretty sure I would get lost, but I guess I have a knack for finding things.

Anyway, enough of getting to Shanghai. I've spent 2 days here, and my impression of Shanghai is that it's much more Westernized than Beijing. It's more compact, and dense. My impression of the people is that they aren't as friendly. The hostel is bigger but I dont' get the same community type vibe of the hostel in Beijing. Nobody talks to each other. I think its because the hostel is mainly used by local kids who speak Mandarin. So they have their own cliques. But, even the travelers here don't seem to be quite as open as in Beijing. Anyway, I'm leaving tomorrow, and moving on to Hong Kong. There isn't much to see here anyway. I went to this area called the Bund, and that's where I took the skyline picture. It's pretty cool, everything is lit up. The other picture is the famous shopping area here called Nanjing.

Everyone here thinks my name is Mr. DVD, or Mr. Watch. I keep having to correct them, but it gets annoying ;). Just walking through Nanjing will drive you nuts, as you have a few hundred people coming up to you and saying "Hello, dvd, watch, clothes?" It's as if they're waiting for a person to be like "A DVD and a watch? That's EXACTLY what I was looking for!" But, one thing I have realized is that these big cities are just like big cities anywhere else. They are pretty much westernized and not really interesting to visit. I will have to go to a more remote place later.

Here's a link to my Shanghai album pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/srirammanian/Shanghai?authkey=XZbUgBzK18Y#

Time to move on to Shanghai

Well, today is my last day in Beijing. I've been here since the 11th, so 9 days. It's gone by so fast, yet this place has felt like home. I'm a little sad to be leaving this hostel. I've met many people and made some good friends from all over the world. I hope the future hostels I stay at are as cool as this place. Anyway, I highly recommend the Red Lantern Hostel if you ever go to Beijing. You will not be dissappointed.

My plan for the day is to go to the famous Silk Market where they sell everything at low prices if you're up for a little haggling. After that I catch a 11 hour train to Shanghai. I got a Soft Seat which is basically an airline type seat. Should be comfortable enough.

Oh yeah, yesterday I went to dinner with my old co worker and some people from the hostel. We went to try the famous Peking Duck at Da Dong restaurant. It's known as the best duck restaurant in Beijing. Anyway, it was an interesting experience. You eat the duck sort of like a burrito. The 'tortilla' part is duck skin, and you put the meat inside along with some toppings like celery, radish, and some other weird stuff. And the treat if you are brave enough to try it is what you see in the picture above. If you can make it out, its part of a duck head. You can eat the beak, and if you want scoop out the mushy stuff inside the head. Yes, the brain. Tastes a bit like eggs. After dinner, I had a weird craving for bread crumbs. Just kidding.

BTW, thank you for your comments. I've read all of them and I really look forward to them. Sorry, if I don't always respond back or make updates. I will try to update more in Shanghai!

Killing some time at an Internet Cafe

So I went with my Canadien friend, Dave, to this electronics mall so that I could buy a memory card for my camera. If you've ever been to Bangkok, it's similar. There are probably thousands of stores that sell every type of electronic thing you could think of. The vendors are aggressive so they'll try to stop you to come to their shop. It's irritating after a while because they won't leave you alone, when you just want to look around.

The prices are pretty cheap for anything that's a knockoff, but any real, legit brand is almost always more expensive than in the US. I was looking at an Apple Macbook Air laptop, and the best price I could get from them was $2300. I think you could buy the same laptop for like $1900 in the US. I do get a kick out of low balling the vendors and seeing their reactions. The first price they give you is of course a sucker's price. I usually respond with "Ta que la" which means "that's too expensive." A lot of people were suprised to hear me say that, they didn't expect me to be able to speak a little chinese. One person then assumed i knew how to speak Chinese, and started going off. Anyway, I ended up buying a 8 GB flash card for $24 USD. I think the same thing in the states is like 40 or 50. So, it's a decent discount.

I'm going to meet my buddy Morris in an hour near Tianamen square. Should be a good time discussing the shit hole the markets are in right now. I hope I don't wake up tomorrow in my hostel, and have to pay like 600 yuan instead of the 60 I pay right now LOL.

Wrapup of the last few days

Ya so I've been a little lazy with the updates,so sue me , I'm on vacation ;). Last few days I've really gotten comfortable with Beijing. I know the subway system pretty well. It's great because it loops around the city, so if you miss your station you could just sit on the train till it comes back around, of course it would probably take a couple of hours. I can also say a few phrases, like 'ni hao (hello)' or more importantly 'pijiu (beer).' I've also had the local delicacies like pork entrails, ox tongue, peking roast duck, and chicken heart. Ok, I didn't try the chicken heart. But I got close. Who knows what I'm actually eating though. Everything is pretty much mystery meat.

I've met a few people here that are pretty cool. I went to the Paralympics with this guy from Calgary, Canada, and a girl from New Zealand. We got tickets to Wheelchair Rugby , more accurately known as 'Murderball.' It's actually more a wheelchair version of soccer or basketball than rugby. But let me tell you, these guys are INTENSE. Especially the US Team. This one guy on the US Team (#9) has no hands, but he was easily the best player on the floor. I can't count how many times I saw him go full speed into a guy and knock him out of his wheelchair. The cruel (sort of funny though I have to admit) part is that the referee is apparently not allowed to help the fallen player. So for a few long seconds the guy is just sitting there tipped over in his wheelchair while a couple of able bodied guys from his team saunter over taking their time to tip him back right side up. Anyway, I watched about 8 hours of wheelchair rugby, and ended up watching the US beat Great Britain in the semi finals.

What else...I've been roaming the city. Went to Summer Palace today. It's basically a massive lake surrounded by palaces from the Jin Dynasty. The lake is probably 5 or 6 times the size of lake elizabeth in Fremont. In the winter the locals apparently go ice skating on it. I can't imagine it getting cold enough for all that water to turn to ice. I mean its mid Sept and its been over 90 degrees every day and humid as hell. But, the crazy Chinese probably wouldn't care if they lost a few people falling through the ice LOL. I also rented a bike the third day I was here. That was quite interesting. I didn't feel nervous at all about it actually. I'm used to splitting lanes with my motorcycle so I had no problems staying alive on the bike. I rode the bike to this tea house and had a tea ceremony. Then went to the Lama Temple and Confuscious temple. I got lost on the way there, but this woman going the opposite direction from me stopped and asked me in broken english if I was lost and "wheree doo u go"? The amazing part which totally humbled me was that she then told me to follow her, which I did for a couple of miles to the temple. People are so kind here it's amazing. I always sort of believed the stereotype that Chinese people were machine like, and they don't show much emotion. That couldn't be more wrong. People here are nicer in general than back at home I think. I don't know if they just treat foreigners well or what but regardless, some of the friendliest humans are here.

So, I've been in Beijing for 6 days now, and at this point I think I've seen everything there is to see. I have a flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong on the 23rd so I have to make it to Shanghai, but I sort of don't want to anymore because I've heard its just like Beijing except bigger and more modern. I'd rather see the countryside but trains take 12 or more hours depending on where you go (China is big.) So, I have to figure out my next destination tonight. My former co worker is flying in tomorrow afternoon so I may stay long enough to see him. Not sure yet. Anyway, that's the wrapup. I know I'm forgetting things, I'll try to fill in more once it comes back to me.

Here is a video of this famous food market where they sell chicken heart, fried scorpion, crickets, starfish, basically anything they see moving in front of their stands that's not human. Well actually I did eat this thing called "Preson". I think they just misspelled "Person", so who knows.
Edit, my camera died. So i'll have to upload the video later.

What a day!

I'm tired beyond belief...went to Tianamen Square, Forbidden Palace, Wafujing, Jingshan Park, and other random places. Let me tell you if you didn't know already, but the Forbidden Palace is BIG. 9,999 rooms big. But even with its size, the number of people who visit it makes you wish it was even bigger. I hope that tells you something about the number of people in China. No words can describe it. This city makes LA look like a small town. I think Beijing has got about 12 million people, can't imagine what Tokyo feels like. At one point I was waiting to take the subway to Wanfujing (a shopping area). I bought a ticket (which only cost 2 yuan or about 30 cents) and waited for the train. A train arrived so squished with people, they were literally leaving nose marks on the windows. So I passed on the first train. Somehow some of the locals managed to fit themselves in any spare nooks and crannies left. Waited another 5 mins for the next train. Same situation. After striking out twice, I was determined not to be such an obvious foreigner. I dove into the third train and probably crushed a few kids while doing it. Thankfully I only had to go one stop. One of the locals on the train struck up a conversation with me that went like this:
Local:"Ni hau" (hello)
Me : "Ni hau"
Local: "Where are you frem?"
Me: "America. From San Francisco."
Local: "Oh San Francisco! I am 23, how old are you?"
Me: "29."
Local: Makes some weird noises.I couldn't figure out what he was saying, finally realize he's giving me his name. "What is your name?"
Me: "Sri"
Local: "You're cute."
Me: Surprised look on my face, totally embarassed. "Uh, thanks."
Local: "Sorry , are you gay?"
Me: "No."
Thank god the next station arrived just in time. I said "Bai Bai" as I ran out of the train. I think the "from San Francisco" part excited him. Who knows. My day wasn't quite as interesting after. I went to this gigantic shopping mall that is just like any mall you'll find in the US. Probably close to Valley Fair, but more upscale. The prices are crazy. Nike Air Force 1 shoes go for around $110 USD. How do Chinese people afford this stuff? I was going to buy these Armani Exchange shorts but they it is the equivalent of my entire hotel stay in Beijing.
After spending some time in the super commercialized area, I decided to go to Jingshan Park, which is basically a temple that overlooks the entire city of Beijing. I suck at deciphering where the bus stops (plus I'm easily distracted), so I ended up walking a few miles to get there. I walked through this old area with houses called hutongs that line the Forbidden Palace. This is what the old China looks like. It's such a drastic difference. I was thinking these people who look poor must be wondering what happened to China to change so quickly. I admit this is my Western biased view. Maybe Beijing wasn't as poor and developing as we were led to believe back in the day. Anyway, I found this cool place to take pictures, where I met this guy on a bike who kept giving me advice on what angles to take. Every time I showed him the picture I had taken with his suggestion, he would nod disapprovingly and wave his hand to follow him to a new location to take pics. After doing this for a while, I just gave him my $2k camera and told him to take pics. It was pretty funny watching this old man try to figure out how to use it. He did take some good pics though. I got his email address so I'll have to send them to him. Our entire exchange was done through sign language. He didn't speak a word of English and me Mandarin.
Anyway, I'm about to collapse. So far I've been around China in taxi,bus,subway, on foot, and tobagon. Tomorrow, I'll rent a bike and give my feet some rest. Here is a little piece of the Forbidden Palace for you before I hit the sack.

Uploaded Pics

http://picasaweb.google.com/srirammanian/FarEastBeast#

Pizza mansion?

I decided to go to pizza hut for a quick meal. I would eat some
authentic Chinese but after my lunch I don't feel like eating more
pork in weird shapes. I'll take my pork in American circles thank you
very much. I ordered the 'americn special' - pepperoni pizza.

Pizza hut is more upscale here BTW. They sit you down , no ordering
from the counter. This place looks like a restaurant you might see in
a nice hotel.

Great Wall

I went to the Great Wall this morning. Decided to skip doing the city tour by myself because they had a group tour going to the wall this morning. Went with a Canadian daughter and mom, plus an Aussie. Pretty cool bunch.

Anyway, about the wall, all I can say is it really is 'great.' Its pretty mindboggling that humans built it. Certain sections of the wall are so steep you need to climb with your hands and knees. It was extremely hot, must have been in the upper 90s. After taking a cable tram up to the wall, we were allowed 4 hours to explore the wall by ourselves. This was plenty of time, in fact too much time because after 30 mins of hiking along the wall, combined with the heat, everyone was scampering for some shade. Every few sections there are these twoers which used to be inhabited by guards but now are guarded by people selling Coke, beer, and cookies. They ask you "Wheeeree areee u frem?" And then say "You want buy coluh , beer?" You could walk by them ignoring their catcalls, turn around literally right past them and they would still ask you to buy 'coluh'.
After a few hours of doing the equivalent of a month of stairmaster, I went back down the mountain via a tobagon. What I love about countries in the East is that they don't have any concept of liabilities, and waivers, or just plain safety. You go down the mountain in a Chinese made plastic sled with a lever that if you push forward makes you go faster, and if you pull back slows you down. You slide down in this metal slide that goes down a 2000 ft mtn. It's insanity. In the US, they would have you wear football gear, and ask you to sign a death waiver, while selling you life insurance at the same time.
After that, I was exposed to more hawking my street vendors selling all kinds of trinkets. I played hacky sack with this one guy who goes by 'Bruce Lee.' We then had lunch which consisted of rice, chicken , and 'Grind Pork in fish taste sauce.' Surprisingly, I was the only one who was brave enough to try everything right away. I thought that the Aussie and Canadiens would have no fear, but they were really hesitant. Tasted good BTW.
I'm back at the hostel now , and feeling jet lagged. Going to sleep now.

I'm in China!

Reached Beijing after a relatively smooth 12 hour flight. Everything was fine until I ate the fish meal they had. Then my stomach got a little upset. I'll spare you guys the details (Anu I can go into more detail for you if you'd like lol).
First impression of Beijing: So clean. Everything literally looks like it's brand new. I"ve never seen roads this clean, except for maybe Singapore. The airport is one of the best I've ever seen. Everything seems so orderly. Maybe there is a seedy underbelly to this town that is being brushed aside? The city transportation system, state of the roads, and infrastructure is miles ahead of the States.
My Mandarin Language Iphone app came in handy today. I was able to converse with the taxi driver on how far the destination was, and how bad traffic is here. They have a cool Taxi Driver Language Interpreter program where the driver calls this English speaking guy so you can have him translate for you.
The hostel I'm staying at is pretty cool. It's run by young looking people (but in China who knows how old they actually are) , and they arrange tours, bike rentals, phone calls , pretty much anything you'd want to do here.
Anyway, I'm pretty tired. Tomorrow I'll tour the city.

No tv screens in the seats!!

I'm going to have to try to keep myself occupied just by reading. I
brought 3 books: Life of Pi, A New Earth, and The Monk who Sold his
Ferrari. Anyone have any recommendations for other books I can read
in China?

Waiting to board

Waiting to board air china flight to Beijing. I gotta say that the
SFO international terminal kicks ass. It's so fresh and so clean.
I've taken china air before which has the worst service record of any
airline, but I've heard air china is actually pretty good. Here's
hoping for a good flight.

Btw, went to the duty free and the lady there was trying to steer me
into buying cigs that are not available in china. Thought that was
pretty funny.

Packed and ready to go!