Reset search
Merry goes placesMerry goes places
SatelliteEdit route

Merry goes places

July 2016 - April 2017
A 290-day adventure by Merry Goes Round & Merry Read more
+8
  • 114footprints
  • 16countries
  • 290days
  • 611photos
  • 0videos
  • 82.5kkilometers
  • 68.8kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • Merry goes places
    1
    1
    Day 108

    Paradise found

    October 30, 2016 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    So glad I did this little detour through Thailand. It's basically the same archipelago where I was in Myanmar, just a little further south. I saw a few more animals on the island (lemurs, bats, monkeys and a waran)
    and we were brought to 3 more snorkeling sites. I've been trying to book kayaking through the mangroves but it never worked out, so I was extra happy our local guide showed us a short hike through the mangroves in the morning :)

    In the late afternoon, I went back to the mainland with a large guided group of 60 French tourists. Reminded me of how happy I am to be traveling by myself :-p

    Now I'm on a night bus to Bangkok, where I will work one day and then head north for Nepal. I cannot wait to be hiking in the mountains again!    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    Day 109

    To be continued...

    October 31, 2016 in Thailand ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Life doesn't always go according to plans. Lately for me, it doesn't most of the time. But that's OK, I'll just take it one day at a time and make adjustments as I go.

    One of the most important people in my life is in the hospital back home with a severe condition and I've decided to fly home to be there for him and the rest of my family.

    I'll be back and continue my planned travels, to trek Renjo La in the Himalayans and visit Sri Lanka. For now, other things matter more. I'll be back to blogging soon!    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    Day 132

    Back on track in Nepal

    November 23, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    After a three week detour to be with my family in Germany, I made it to Kathmandu. Knowing my loved ones well back home, I'm now beyond excited to explore the Himalayans.

    First stop: one day in Kathmandu. I love exploring places on a scooter, it makes you part of the busy city life rather than just an observer from a taxi. My guide Ganesh had never ridden one, and so I became his personal driver for the day :)

    Kathmandu is big, busy, dusty, surrounded by mountains and full of culture and history. Hindus and Buddhists live side by side here, about which I'm eager to learn more on the following days!    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    4
    Day 133

    One jeep, twelve people

    November 24, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    I think today was the craziest and most exciting drive of my life. At 5 in the morning, my guide Ganesh and I began our 12-hour odyssey through the Nepalese countryside. It was out of an adventure book: 12 people in a 8-person vehicle, all our backpacks tired up on the top rack, bumpy roads that lead you directly through rivers and right along steep, steep mountains. Only missing were 12 chickens on our laps to make the picture complete ;-)

    The landscape is absolutely beautiful - mountains, windy roads and small villages on the slopes wherever you look.

    We got to Salleri in the late afternoon and hiked for one short hour to a charming little tea house and family home, where we will stay tonight. Before dinner, I got to do some reading and math homework with my new friend Soman.    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    Day 134

    Life on foot

    November 25, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    I'm quite fascinated by the life in these small mountain villages of Nepal. Life is simple, family oriented and happens mostly on foot. While most villages are somewhat accessible by jeeps, you do not see vehicles here, but plenty of mules, porters and people walking from one village to another. There are small shops in every other village, and items are mostly carried in by porters. There was a guy on this remote trail, carrying a satellite dish to bring home. The kid from yesterday, Solam, walks 1.5 hours to school every morning and then back home again in the afternoon!

    But before you get this romantic image of remote life in the mountains here - I'm sitting in a guest house, waiting for dinner and on a little TV they're watching an American women's wrestling show, followed by a Manchester United soccer game.

    PS: Picture 4 shows a boy we met who showed us these vines to swing from. We each took a turn :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    3
    Day 135

    Up, up, up

    November 26, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    What a fantastic day! I'm completely beat from some of the steepest trails I've ever been on. Always hiking right on the edge of the mountain, the views were incredible. I'm now in villages that are solely accessible by foot or helicopter. And many porters and mules crossed out path again.

    Most beautiful moment of the day: I made jokes with three extremely shy Nepali kids and ended up sharing my breakfast with them, opening up and laughing together :)

    Here's a 360° view of a tea house kitchen where we shared lunch with a local family http://bit.ly/2gyTDl0 unfortunately they moved so you can't really see them but you get a sense for the inside of the local houses    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    Day 136

    Eat, hike, sleep. Repeat.

    November 27, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    I've been seriously enjoying the long days of hiking, good local food and lots and lots of sleep. And that have been pretty much my days so far :)

    Today we only hiked til 2pm as we got to Lukla half a day early. We're now at 2800m, getting ready for 3000+ soon. From here, I'll have to take it slowly to avoid any issues with the altitude.

    Fun fact: Lukla has one the most dangerous airports in the world, with a runway only a tenth (460m) of the standard length. Luckily on my way back, I will only be flying out of here, which is the less dangerous option ;-)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    1
    2
    Day 137

    In the land of suspension bridges :)

    November 28, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    After waking up to a 5.2 earthquake (no injuries or damages) at 5:20 in the morning, we had an early start and left the tea house around 7.

    It was the day of suspension bridges - going back and forth over the Dhudh Kosi river, we crossed about 10 of them! Oh, and the day of poor views, as it was foggy all day.

    We got to Namche, at 3440 meters, in the early afternoon and have decided to hike to Everest base camp instead of the initially planned route to Renjo La Pass. Firstly, because it might snow and if it does, base camp will be easier. Secondly, because we've been hiking almost twice the planned distance per day. Finally, training in Norway is paying off ;-) We will take it easy though for the next 2 days, as I will need to get used to the altitude. But I'm very excited and am loving being back in the mountains.    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    1
    Day 138

    Crossing the 4000m mark

    November 29, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Of course there's not an actual mark, but I knew we'd get to 4000 just before our tea house, which is at 4070 ;-) I can tell the altitude a bit as I'm going slower than usual, especially steep inclines take more time than they would otherwise. But we're in no rush and got to our destination around 3pm.

    We had a fantastic day! So many beautiful views, some even of Mount Everest (picture 4). Picture 5 shows you the last 40 minutes of our hike to our little tea house, which is the last building on the hilltop, where I'm chilling and writing this as you can see in picture 6 :-)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    1
    2
    Day 139

    A day in slow motion

    November 30, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    I've been between 4000 and 5100 meters today and up here, you do things slowly: eating, hiking, laundry, reading, thinking, .....

    We started early and caught a beautiful sunrise. From here, the landscape changed drastically - no more trees and eventually barely any bushes, but glaciers and 8000m peaks wherever you look. And it's cold in the morning, my drinking bottle valve froze every 15-20 minutes :)

    It was a steep incline and we did another 200m incline (to 5100m) after getting to our tea house to acclimatize. The trick is to sleep lower than your highest elevation of the day. I'm feeling completely exhausted and am looking forward to some slow motion sleep soon.    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English