Getting High...

... in terms of altitude of course ;-). Poon Hill (10531 ft./3210 m) is where things start getting serious trekking-wise and panorama-wise...

Got up at 4:30am for sunrise. Totally worth it:

Last Country!

As a last hurrah, I pick Nepal as my last country (finish on a high ...). After landing in Kathmandu, I head yo Pokhara, the departure point for the Annapurna treks. I settle on a 10 day trek to the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC).

Pokhara Lake:

Kevin, my #1 trek buddy as we head off to the Annapurnas:

 Yak fur

Momos, the local take on ravioli

Everything is carried up by donkeys, yaks or humans. It's a weight-based economy and prices get as you go up the mountain.

Day one: I'm still smiling...

King of the moutain...

Freakazoid interior decoration at one of the tea houses along the way

Local innkeeper

White horse considering his options on village's main square...

First peek at the himalayas...

 

House with a view...

The trek itself is mainly made of these stone steps. You walk up 19-20,000 of these little suckers on a full day's trek...

Local dog decides to walk us to the next village...

Absolutely stunning views...

Day 3: So far, so good...

Some basic accommodation along the way...

It was animal's day so dogs, buffaloes and so on had a flower necklace :-)

 Typical tea house village...

Malaysia - in Bits and Pieces

Malaysia and Singapore are huge hubs for flights within Asia, so over the last four months I ended up spending some time between planes in different Malaysian cities

Kuala Lampur:

View from the towers at sunset

I did not recognize a single item in the markets...

It's a weird mix of old and new and different cultures, all on top of one another

An afternoon in Singapore and its boat-shaped roof spread across three towers. Makes sense...

Overnight in Penang. Actually a city I enjoyed quite a bit...

Despite being there during the monsoon...

The food is outstanding. The local specialty is this soup/porridge dish which I'm totally blanking on the name...