Is it?!
15 Mar, 09 - 09:59
The web of SecretSpot.NET sites just got bigger!
Beyond the odd summit attempt...it's not my nature to rise ridiculously early from my blessed sleeps. Since I was planning on hitting the road at an unearthly hour on Saturday morn, I decided that sleep wasn't entirely necessary on Friday night. I can do that.
The thought of riding out of Kathmandu through the dawn was invigorating...and I was not disappointed when it was finally happening. Twist and turns were the order of the day...but I left traffic congestion behind me. There was nothing but the open road. B^)
I motored towards a school in a remote village of the Gorkha district. It was high time I returned to the wilderness.
Speeding along a deserted highway on a motorcycle allows one's mind to wander off to good places. I was thinking about what a productive week I had just enjoyed. There were so many beautiful scenes...mostly thanks to Skype! =^]
Speaking of beautiful, Chris had been in the Photoshop studio and now our portal is bigger. Check it out at www.secretspot.NET !
You'll have to wait until the latter part of the summer to gain access to the unique gallery that the SecretSpotStore has to offer...but it will be worth the wait.
Savour your patience and turn it into pleasure. =^)
Back on the road...
Some Nepalese folks laughed when I suggested it would take me five hours to get from Kathmandu to Dhawa. "Ha, ha...very bad roads!"...and things like that were said. 'It's only 130km!", said I "I will do it in FIVE!". More strange looks...the kind you get when you tell people you are going to build a ladder made of pancakes to the moon.
I went from a nice wide highway...to a narrow, winding route...to some wet...then dusty tracks. It was AWESOME! B^)
The middle leg reminded me of the Parkway I rode the time Machine though...the Virginias and Carolinas (in the USA) in the Fall of 2006.
The road conditions in the States are slightly better than Nepal's.
Rough roads of Nepal for the mini-Time Machine!
My 'ocean' went from calm...to choppy...to murky...to completely dusty...and 4.5 hours after cruising out of Kathmandu...I was at my destination. I enjoyed the celebrity of being the most unusual looking fellow in town...fire breathing mini-bike and all. I found Dita and Giri and then learned that we had to get the bike over a suspension bridge. Each side of the bridge had VERY difficult access for anything other than a biped. Many hands made light work...and we had one hundred new friends in the little riverside settlement...in the space of a short time.
At the far end of the bridge there is an incredibly steep and narrow concrete ramp that gains one about 100ft of elevation...I don't mean linear distance...I mean elevation. For some reason I thought it wouldn't be a problem...and was somehow driven by a streak of extreme confidence to ride all the way up it without re-connoitering. I wish I had somebody video that...and I'm not going to do it again...so it will have to just live in MY memory. With some friendly Nepali pushes for the last 10 feet of the 'staircase' I rode up...I was safe and sound. Lucky. =^]
Maybe I'll walk the ramp tomorrow...on the way back through town...and get some video to post later.
I'm in the hidden village of Dhawa right now...after a festive Saturday night and a one and half hour afternoon walk that was pretty much entirely about altitude gain. There was bathing from public taps...and wandering around in the tiger filled jungle in the dark...as well as dancing and singing to commemorate our visit. Luckily I had my Surefire Aviator for the hike...as we ended up exploring in the blackness for an hour or so. That is my definition of a good Saturday night. I would guess that about 150 people were eventually singing and dancing for us...by the end of that 1 hour session. Very lovely for us. =^]
(top) In Arughat during the mini-Time Machine shifting (bottom) Santi tears up the 'dance floor'
Thanx to Eric at the SatellitePhoneStore.com, I am beaming this dispatch to our server via a BGAN satellite modem. We'll be testing some video conference software later this month...in an effort to really bring that aspect of communicating into our media.
If you subscribe to the Secret Spot Seven Summits Blog (PhillMichael.com) you can virtually enjoy and learn all about the latest in expedition communications technology...while traveling to places you might not otherwise go. I invite you to subscribe! =^)
In the past, I might have had to rush through this dispatch and just generally race against time...which is an unnatural thing to do. I have this HumanEdgeTech.com (HET) Power 50...so I actually still have hours of 'electricity'. I am also continuously charging it (during daylight hours) with a 55W Solar Panel. Joy!
Maybe Eric and I will be testing this video conferencing software sooner...rather than later...like now!
More to come...B^]
Until Soon
Phill =^)
PHILL MICHAEL | Expedition Leader and Summit Climber
Everest Freestyle Expedition/Secret Spot Seven Summits
SecretSpot.NET
PhillMichael.COM
SherpaSchool.ORG
The web of SecretSpot.NET sites just got bigger!
Beyond the odd summit attempt...it's not my nature to rise ridiculously early from my blessed sleeps. Since I was planning on hitting the road at an unearthly hour on Saturday morn, I decided that sleep wasn't entirely necessary on Friday night. I can do that.
The thought of riding out of Kathmandu through the dawn was invigorating...and I was not disappointed when it was finally happening. Twist and turns were the order of the day...but I left traffic congestion behind me. There was nothing but the open road. B^)
I motored towards a school in a remote village of the Gorkha district. It was high time I returned to the wilderness.
Speeding along a deserted highway on a motorcycle allows one's mind to wander off to good places. I was thinking about what a productive week I had just enjoyed. There were so many beautiful scenes...mostly thanks to Skype! =^]
Speaking of beautiful, Chris had been in the Photoshop studio and now our portal is bigger. Check it out at www.secretspot.NET !
You'll have to wait until the latter part of the summer to gain access to the unique gallery that the SecretSpotStore has to offer...but it will be worth the wait.
Savour your patience and turn it into pleasure. =^)
Back on the road...
Some Nepalese folks laughed when I suggested it would take me five hours to get from Kathmandu to Dhawa. "Ha, ha...very bad roads!"...and things like that were said. 'It's only 130km!", said I "I will do it in FIVE!". More strange looks...the kind you get when you tell people you are going to build a ladder made of pancakes to the moon.
I went from a nice wide highway...to a narrow, winding route...to some wet...then dusty tracks. It was AWESOME! B^)
The middle leg reminded me of the Parkway I rode the time Machine though...the Virginias and Carolinas (in the USA) in the Fall of 2006.
The road conditions in the States are slightly better than Nepal's.
My 'ocean' went from calm...to choppy...to murky...to completely dusty...and 4.5 hours after cruising out of Kathmandu...I was at my destination. I enjoyed the celebrity of being the most unusual looking fellow in town...fire breathing mini-bike and all. I found Dita and Giri and then learned that we had to get the bike over a suspension bridge. Each side of the bridge had VERY difficult access for anything other than a biped. Many hands made light work...and we had one hundred new friends in the little riverside settlement...in the space of a short time.
At the far end of the bridge there is an incredibly steep and narrow concrete ramp that gains one about 100ft of elevation...I don't mean linear distance...I mean elevation. For some reason I thought it wouldn't be a problem...and was somehow driven by a streak of extreme confidence to ride all the way up it without re-connoitering. I wish I had somebody video that...and I'm not going to do it again...so it will have to just live in MY memory. With some friendly Nepali pushes for the last 10 feet of the 'staircase' I rode up...I was safe and sound. Lucky. =^]
Maybe I'll walk the ramp tomorrow...on the way back through town...and get some video to post later.
I'm in the hidden village of Dhawa right now...after a festive Saturday night and a one and half hour afternoon walk that was pretty much entirely about altitude gain. There was bathing from public taps...and wandering around in the tiger filled jungle in the dark...as well as dancing and singing to commemorate our visit. Luckily I had my Surefire Aviator for the hike...as we ended up exploring in the blackness for an hour or so. That is my definition of a good Saturday night. I would guess that about 150 people were eventually singing and dancing for us...by the end of that 1 hour session. Very lovely for us. =^]
Thanx to Eric at the SatellitePhoneStore.com, I am beaming this dispatch to our server via a BGAN satellite modem. We'll be testing some video conference software later this month...in an effort to really bring that aspect of communicating into our media.
If you subscribe to the Secret Spot Seven Summits Blog (PhillMichael.com) you can virtually enjoy and learn all about the latest in expedition communications technology...while traveling to places you might not otherwise go. I invite you to subscribe! =^)
In the past, I might have had to rush through this dispatch and just generally race against time...which is an unnatural thing to do. I have this HumanEdgeTech.com (HET) Power 50...so I actually still have hours of 'electricity'. I am also continuously charging it (during daylight hours) with a 55W Solar Panel. Joy!
Maybe Eric and I will be testing this video conferencing software sooner...rather than later...like now!
More to come...B^]
Until Soon
Phill =^)
PHILL MICHAEL | Expedition Leader and Summit Climber
Everest Freestyle Expedition/Secret Spot Seven Summits
SecretSpot.NET
PhillMichael.COM
SherpaSchool.ORG
Posted by Phill Michael at 3/15/2009 10:24 AM 
Categories: Medtronic, Satellite Phone Store, SecretSpotAlaska, Frick, Sherpa, Nepal, Everest, SecretSpotAfrica, Kathmandu, Oakley, tibet, SecretSpot.NET, Tilman Trek, Denali, Kilimanjaro, secretspot7summits.com, Phill Michael, Seven Summits, SecretSpotEverest.com, SecretSpot.TV, Surefire
Categories: Medtronic, Satellite Phone Store, SecretSpotAlaska, Frick, Sherpa, Nepal, Everest, SecretSpotAfrica, Kathmandu, Oakley, tibet, SecretSpot.NET, Tilman Trek, Denali, Kilimanjaro, secretspot7summits.com, Phill Michael, Seven Summits, SecretSpotEverest.com, SecretSpot.TV, Surefire
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