Tiger Balm Tales vol. 19 Coming Down to Reality Down Dooby Doo Down Down, Comma commaDown Dooby Doo Down Down, Comma commaDown Dooby Doo Down DownLeaving Annapurna is Haaarrrrdddd…. tooooooooo…. dooooo… I couldn’t get this tune out of my head. Probably because… There was nowhere to go now but down. Our downward path first led […]
Going Up…AGAIN
Tiger Balm Tales Vol 18 Going Up…AGAIN We had been on the trail now for 18 days. We no longer had that rookie look in our eyes. We were no longer surprised by cold showers, the same menu, and donkeys squeezing by us on the trail. We were old-timers. We had 4 days on the trail […]
Danger! Curves Ahead
Tiger Balm Tales Vol. 17 Danger! Curves Ahead How do you define a road? It’s all relative – right? I had long ago left behind my vision of what a road should be once I started long term travel in places like Kenya Mongolia, Laos, and Vietnam. Shoulders are for sissies and horns are an […]
Carbo Loading – Annapurna Circuit
Tiger Balm Tales Vol 16 Carbo Loading Whoever said carbs aren’t good for you never hiked in Nepal. When hiking for 2 weeks, carbs become your ally. This is probably the one time when you can get away with eating carbs at every meal, so my best advice is – enjoy the hell out of […]
A River Runs Thru It – Annapurna Circuit
Tiger Balm Tales Vol. 15 A River Runs Thru It The sign read Welcome to Marpha! Delightful Apple Capital of Nepal. I wondered if Johnny Appleseed was the mayor of this little town along the Annapurna Circuit. Aside from the Thorung La Pass, Marpha seemed to be the highlight of the circuit. We had been […]
Motorized Travel – Annapurna Circuit
Tiger Balm Tales vol. 14 Motorized Travel It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from our brains. For the first time since we started hiking the Annapurna circuit – I was free of worry and it was a beautiful feeling. It’s amazing how much anxiety the Thorung La pass can cause internally […]
The Longest Day – Annapurna Circuit
Tiger Balm Tales vol. 13 The Longest Day KLOMP, KLOMP, KLOMPThe sounds of hiking boots on the wooden floor echoed outside my door. I poked my nose out of my warm sleeping bag cocoon, breathed in the cold air, and let it out only to see my hot breath evaporate into the darkness. I’m aware […]
Beware of Falling Rocks
Tiger Balm Tales vol. 12 Beware of Falling Rocks All I heard was Bishnu yell “Runnnnn!” My heart raced and I felt as if I were moving in s-l-o-w m-o-t-i-o-n. I sort of knew why I was running, but the gravity of the situation was fuzzy to me; it felt as if my mind were […]
A Mouse in My House
Tiger Balm Tales vol. 11 Day 10 – A Mouse in My House After 10 days of decreasing temperatures and increasing wind, my body is rebelling. My lips have become as dry as the Gobi Desert, my nasal passages feel like hard booger craters have invaded them, and my hands are so dry they look […]
No Room at the Inns – Annapurna Circuit
Tiger Balm Tales Vol. 10 Day 9 – No Room at the Inns… By some miracle, I woke up on Day 9 with a small trace of a headache, aches, and pains of the day before. Apparently, 24 hours of sleep and antibiotics were just what the doctor ordered. I woke up feeling about 80% well; […]
