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Up to the Roof of the World
  • Rita Yee
  • Rita Yee

Up to the Roof of the World

After Lares and Patagonia, why not Everest? The only catch is, it's monsoon season.
So who's up for an adventure? Leer más
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  • Inicio del viaje
    26 de julio de 2018
    Rita YeeUp to the Roof of the WorldRita Yee

    Up up and away

    25 de julio de 2018, Canadá ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Off again, this time to Nepal and Tibet. No more checking the weather. It’s monsoon season and silly me didn’t realize it when I booked this. The itinerary was just too great. But alas, someone once said, there’s so aug thing as bad weather, only not being prepared for bad weather.

    To that end, there’s nothing I can change about it. Me vs Mother Nature and I can only hope perhaps it will be true and only rain in the late afternoon and overnight. That and all I’m asking for is 5 minutes where we can actually see Mt Everest. Not impossible, but we’re definitely testing our luck.

    A bit of a short trip, I miss the longer ones already but I know I’m lucky to have been able to go where I’ve gone. Anyhows trips are what we make them and hey, a positive attitude will always go a long way. Besides, it is an adventure after all :)    Leer más

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  • Rita YeeUp to the Roof of the WorldRita Yee

    The Transit Continues

    27 de julio de 2018, Nepal ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    The best layovers are 2-3 hours or 12+ hours. You’re either going to explore an airport (which I like doing) or get out and explore one more city (which I love doing). Both of which I get to do this time, except my 1st layover is 5 hours. Not quite enough to get out without worrying about making it back, but a little too long for my liking.

    The weather is beautiful so I do wish I had a chance to step out, even if it is 31 outside. It feels a bit weird checking out Hong Kong International. Perhaps I expected more and it was a bit off to be surrounded by Chinese speakers. Definitely a difference from watching tv at home.

    It took quite awhile to get our gate number and a bit of patience charging the phone as our previous plane didn’t have USB ports in the seats. Bit odd considering it was Cathay Pacific, though I last flew with them 5 years ago.

    ***second and last leg of flights, Hong Kong to Kathmandu. It’s a lunar eclipse night but the moon still gleamed white. The reflection on the water below though had the red hue. I would’ve liked a photo as we flew on but it was too mesmerizing. That and the twinkling lights of Hong Kong below.

    Arriving into Kathmandu, we boarded a bus to take us to the terminal itself. Immigration wasn’t as crazy as we were told to expect. Neither were visa photos necessary as machines did it all, except for processing payment.

    The night air was warm and a few drops of rain fell but otherwise nothing to suggest monsoon. It’s quite late as I settle into the hotel and ready myself for a 7am tour in the morning.    Leer más

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  • Rita YeeUp to the Roof of the WorldRita Yee

    Touristy Things and Not

    28 de julio de 2018, Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Fresh after my street photography workshop, it was on my own for the rest of the day. Returning close to my hotel, I decided to visit the Garden of Dreams first as it was close. The entrance fee is only 200 rupees ($2US roughly) and you can also purchase wifi for 50 rupees hourly.

    The garden isn’t large but it’s idyllic. As a morning shower hovered above, I sought shelter under a gazebo to hang out, watch the rain and wait it out. A few other people joined me while others huddled under umbrellas and other shelter points.

    Next, off to find Freak Street, a former hippie area that today is mostly small restaurants and shops. It’s just past Durbar Square though I did get a little turned around before finding it. My hopes of finding Ganesh Restaurant (as noted on Wikitravel) weren’t to be as I couldn’t quite find it, nor Snowman Bakery for cakes. Oh well, on with the walk and back in the direction of the hotel.

    I decided to forego my map app for the time being since I knew the general direction to head in. It’s nice to just wander random streets at times and I found myself on the backstreets where locals came and went minding their stalls, chatting with friends and children roam free. When I came to the river though, I realized I hadn’t quite gone the right way.

    No worries though as a map consult reoriented me, taking me onto different back streets before making it back onto a main road leading back to Thamel.

    Thamel for those unfamiliar is the tourist district with lots of shops aimed at tourists but there’s not much in terms of sights. The Asan market and Durbar Square is a close walk but the main temples are further out.

    Close to the hotel, I stopped in at Gaia Restaurant for momo’s before a quick rest for tonight’s rickshaw tour.    Leer más

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  • Rita YeeUp to the Roof of the WorldRita Yee

    Getting into Street Photography

    28 de julio de 2018, Nepal ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    Don’t be shy. Be fast. Be patient. Find interesting subjects. Tell a story. These were just some of the lessons I learned on this morning’s Street Photography Tour with Backstreet Academy. My local guide Ajay is a photographer in Kathmandu. He’s won a few awards and works in town as well. Media shoots, portraits and more. There’s a lot more to street photography that meets the eye and there’s always a tip to make a good picture better.

    We set off at 7am to explore Asan market. It’s early but the locals are already up and about. Street vendors selling vegetables have taken over the narrow streets. Spread out before them are various vegetables as people buy their food for the day. Breakfast stalls and temples as well as shrines are also greeting early morning visitors. Come later and these folks will be gone, replaced by shopkeepers who operate shops just behind them.

    We take our time in the market, focusing on various people and what’s happening. I’m getting new lessons in composition for street photography. Not cropping and expanding the frame to tell a story. Looking for different angles, being more observant. Mornings are also great for lighting as is framing from various small doors and alleyways.

    We didn’t quite luck out completely with the weather so I did get to try out my camera raincover but it was easier just to switch cameras. If you’re shy like me, the point and shoot will be easier to break out of your shell and capture street stories. Less conspicuous and the morning locals are also more welcoming.    Leer más

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  • Rita YeeUp to the Roof of the WorldRita Yee

    Kathmandu by Night

    28 de julio de 2018, India

    Nicknamed the helicopter of the street here, I met a local guide tonight for a rickshaw tour of Kathmandu by night. These rickshaws are powered by bikes but some of the streets have potholes and ditches making certain stretches bumpy. The streets are also crowded with pedestrians and motorbikes as everyone shares the sidewalk-less roads.

    We’re nearly shoulder to shoulder, wheel to wheel as horns sound. The chaos from the morning resumes again after a slight afternoon break. It was quite interesting to see the same ground I covered twice already earlier but at a different time.

    Lanes and squares first occupied by morning vegetable vendors gave way to shopkeepers minding their stalls during the day and then back to vendors in the night. From the market we stopped by a few temples    Leer más

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  • Rita YeeUp to the Roof of the WorldRita Yee

    Last Day in Nepal

    12 de agosto de 2018, Egipto ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Last Day in Nepal, last day in Kathmandu. All my tour friends have departed now and I will too tonight. I have nothing planned except a quiet day of staying in, reading, watching tv and getting some writing in.

    This morning I had Nepali milk tea once more, not as good as the one from Mama’s Tea Shop at Durbar Square but that’s ok. It’s 1pm now, I’m partway through a PD James novel (after a short nap) and about to head out for lunch. Still thinking about last night’s momo’s and that I can eat them again before taking off.

    A rain storm had suddenly blown in. Not unusual in the monsoon season. Big fat drops fall hard and fast as people head on for shelter. Across the street, servers at a restaurant put away cushions from patio chairs, and a father dances with his young daughter. I watch the sky, content to just take it all in from my third floor perch.

    We’ve been incredibly lucky weather wise these past two weeks. What rain we’ve encountered has been on a travel day, partly at Everest Base Camp (and even then the clouds parted to reveal Everest at her finest). Yes we strode to our village cultural show in sari’s in the rain and even walked back to the hotel under showers last night, but we’ve had more time without rain than with.

    This current downpour is simply nature, designed to bring green to the region, relief from the heat. It settles dust in the streets and challenges our ears to distinguish between the sounds of thunder and the rumble of a motorcycle.

    There was a break in the rains this afternoon and then Mother Nature resumed her downpour on the city. A perfect cue to depart on. The rains show no sign of letting up tonight. We crawl through traffic to the airport as the rain intensifies. I won’t miss the blaring horns and chaotic traffic but I will definitely think back fondly on this adventure.    Leer más

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  • Rita YeeUp to the Roof of the WorldRita Yee

    Layover Hong Kong

    13 de agosto de 2018, Egipto ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    The rain didn’t follow me to Hong Kong, but heat and humidity made it a challenging one as the day went by. I was very fortunate that my departing flight got delayed otherwise chances are I might’ve missed one for the first time ever. But more on that later.

    I had a plan for my initial 8 hours in Hong Kong. Mom said I was crazy and wouldn’t be able to fit it in. I thought I was conservative enough in my planning.    Leer más

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    Fin del viaje
    13 de agosto de 2018