A lot has changed in my life. When I first started my travels I was hitchhiking and sleeping wherever I could find a free spot to curl up. I remember as a teenager having a step (on a steep staircase) in a Haight Ashbury crashpad I could call my own for a week. I never even imagined there might be something better. Come to think of it, there probably wasn't-- not for this person at that time in that place. But as Fate bumped me along in life, many things did change substantially and one was my ability to afford to stay anyplace I want. Especially as the president of a large corporate record label I started getting used to my corporate expense account and what it could get me in terms of amenities. It became easy enough to justify staying in the most expensive hotels and eating in the very best restaurants in order to make an impression on business associates. (That worked out well, except healthwise, where all that rich food doesn't do anyone any good.)

Anyway, long story short, I long ago went from sleeping in a crashpad to sleeping at a 4 Seasons or Ritz. My old Warner Bros corporate travel agent still helps me with reservations-- bless her heart-- and she has a tendency to push me into old habits... not that I'm all that resistant. When I was planning out my Argentina trip, she kept telling me that the best hotel in this town and that town was below my comfort level. Actually, all of them were just fine. And some of them were superb, like the Posada de la Laguna in that wetlands I visited.

When I first got to Buenos Aires I rented an apartment-- and I'll write about that experience next week when I'm back home-- but the minimum for an apartment rental is a week so when I flew back to Buenos Aires for a few days here and a few days there in the middle of my stay in South America, I stayed in hotels. First up was the hotel of preference for the music industry, the Caesar Park in Recoleta, a block from the apartment I had rented. It was luxurious without being over the top. And the staff was down to earth and friendly. It's owned by a Mexican chain and I found it a very simpático place.

My wonderful travel agent had convinced me, however, to spend my last few days-- after returning from the rigors of Tierra del Fuego and before returning to L.A.-- in the "best hotel in Buenos Aires," the Park Hyatt. This was a big mistake for me. It's a temple of conspicuous consumption. I checked in... and checked out. Let me tell you why.

First let me say that the rooms and public spaces are absolutely gorgeous and top notch, as good as any Park Hyatt anywhere (and don't mix up the Park Hyatts with any other kind of Hyatt-- night and day. The Park Hyatt in Tokyo was my favorite there and the Park Hyatt in Hamburg has been tied for my favorite there, though both, I might add, were paid for by my company.) The price, including tax, even after a corporate discount rate, is $460/night, about the same as a week for the apartment down the street and almost double the price of the Caesar Park. Now, granted, the rooms are way fancier at the Park Hyatt-- but not double fancier. But that isn't why I checked out so fast.

The Park Hyatt is primarily one thing: America in Buenos Aires. They have done everything they could to make the hotel as comfortable as possible for people who aren't particularly capable of cultural emersion. This is like Buenos Aires on pablum. And those were the kinds of people it attracted. I've been in Argentina for over a month and this is the first hotel where I heard more English-- American accented English-- than Spanish. And the place positively reeks uptightness in every way. I hated it. I actually hated everything about it (except for the giant monitors on the computers in the business center).

On top of that, the rush to make it a technological wonder has left it difficult in terms of functionality. It took me an hour to figure out how to operate things like the lights and I never did get the phone system down! (Which is just as well, since the one call I managed to make-- a local call that would have cost me 30 cents anywhere else, cost me $2.00 there, nice and American: lookin' for profit centers everywhere. No one in their right mind other than an American with money to burn would stay at this place.) Nice gigantic big screen TV that came on to CNN no matter what you were watching when you turned it off though. But simple little things that turned me off to the hotel were the fact that it was noisy as hell and that I couldn't get to sleep 'til after 2 AM, even though I was on the 9th floor. (I think some Argentine team had won a soccer match and it was another excuse for noisy parties in the streets. And Argentine teams win soccer matches every day or two, believe me.) Even worse was the exquisitely appointed baño. Yes, the bathroom is gorgeous; unfortunately everytime the upstairs neighbor used his, you were treated to a symphony of plumbing-related noises in my room.

And at check in I was informed no late check out (my plane leaves at 10:30 PM so that's a real inconvenience), no breakfast included-- probably the only hotel in South America with this policy-- and, of course, no upgrade, something I can always live with. Fortunately, my pals at the Caesar Park, approximately 40 steps down the street, had offered me an upgrade to a suite and the far more important late check out (not to mention their lavish breakfasts). So here I sit, in the Caesar Park business center where my old pal Diego, the business center manager, makes a great research assistant for my Down With Tyranny blog. And at half the price. And with no corporate expense account... well, everyone loves a good deal.


UPDATE: WHEN IT COMES TO RESTAURANTS, ON THE OTHER HAND, BUENOS AIRES' BEST DO NOT DISAPPOINT

Argentina is blessed with a very high quality of food-- lots of delicious fruits and vegetables, the best meat in the world, great seafood. Whenever I go to a grocery store and ask if they have organic stuff I'm usually told most of the fruits and vegetables are raised without chemical fertilizers. I don't know if it's true or not, but it sure gets repeated all the time. As for the restaurants, the level is generally pretty high. Every European tourist I talk to mentions that the food is way better than what you get back home.

I'll do a report on the health food restaurants of Buenos Aires in a few days. But I did want to mention a couple of haute cuisine places I've discovered in Buenos Aires that everyone should try out. Because they are all catering primarily to middle class Argentines-- rather than tourists-- the quality is superb and the prices relatively low (think of a peso as a dollar in terms of buying power-- and we get three pesos for a dollar). Portions in Argentina always seem huge. These people enjoy their chow and they serve lots of it. So we're talking about high quality, low cost, big portions.

Now when we get to the best restaurants in town, we're in the realm of stuff worth writing home about. Started-- and still run, 30 years later-- by 2 sisters, Tomo 1 is generally considered the best restaurant in Buenos Aires. It's in the Panamericano Hotel near the Obelisque (a kind of town center in some ways). The philosophy of the restaurant is really simple: buy the best and freshest ingredients, prepare them with loving care and skill (one sister does lunch and the other does dinner), make sure everyone concerned is thoroughly professional. I ate there last night. The philosophy works. Everything was mouthwateringly delicious, including a sample of the absolute best tomato soup I had ever tasted, an endive and pear salad I would like to eat again right now and a fish I had never heard of, a "lemon fish." The waiter told me it's in the tuna family and the quality is that of sashimi. Completely scrumptuous!

click so you can read the menu

Just as good-- some say better-- is a less "establishment" restaurant in Palermo, Casa Cruz, where I ate a couple weeks ago. This one was more about combining ingredients into artful ways, artful, unique and delightful. I tried getting another reservation for my last dinner in Buenos Aires and, as usual, it's booked solid. My suggestion is that anyone coming to Buenos Aires make a reservation asap for Casa Cruz. I think I tucked away a menu in my luggage and when I get home I'll photograph it and append it to this report.


UPDATE: I NEVER WENT OUT CLUBBING IN BUENOS AIRES, BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON

Sunday's NY Times gets right down into it, at least from an ex-pat point of view.

“There are expats everywhere tapping into the city’s thriving cultural and arts scene,” said Grant C. Dull, Zizek’s founder, who also runs the popular bilingual Web guide WhatsUpBuenosAires.com. “And it’s not backpacker types, but people with money and contacts.”

Drawn by the city’s cheap prices and Paris-like elegance, legions of foreign artists are colonizing Buenos Aires and transforming this sprawling metropolis into a throbbing hothouse of cool. Musicians, designers, artists, writers and filmmakers are sinking their teeth into the city’s transcontinental mix of Latin élan and European polish, and are helping shake the Argentine capital out of its cultural malaise after a humbling economic crisis earlier this decade.

...Comparisons with other bohemian capitals are almost unavoidable. “It’s like Prague in the 1990s,” said Mr. Lampson, who is perhaps best known for winning a Bravo TV reality show, “Situation: Comedy,” in 2005, about sitcom writers. Despite his minor celebrity, he decided to forgo the Los Angeles rat race and moved to Buenos Aires, where he is writing an NBC pilot, along with his Web novela, www.historyandtheuniverse.com. “Buenos Aires is a more interesting place to live than Los Angeles, and it’s much, much cheaper. You can’t believe a city this nice is so cheap.”

Just a brief site update this morning to let regular readers know that this week and next I will be traveling some which will prevent me from making regular updates on Thursday and Friday of both weeks. The next few days I'll be busy with work and at the end of next week I'll be busy with a relaxing escape. I will be back with regular posts next Monday through Wednesday before returning to my regular schedule the following week.

In the meantime, get outside and enjoy some adventures of your own. Here in the northern hemisphere we are well into the fall now, and the crisp air, cooler temperatures and wonderful autumn colors should be savored. Get on your bike and go for a ride. Gather up some friends or family and take a hike. Go for a long run. Do anything that gets you off the couch and outside for a little while. It'll definitely be worth it.

I have a few updates scheduled for today. After that, I'll be back next week. See you soon!

When I originally decided to go to Argentina, it was the remoteness of Tierra del Fuego that drew me. As I explained earlier, I just wanted to go to the end of the world and be quiet and empty. But as I started planning out the trip I came upon two other places in Argentina that looked interesting and turned out to be just as soothing to the soul as Tierra del Fuego. One is very well-known, Iguazu, and one not well-known at all, Esteros del Ibera. Both are way up north jutting up into the Brazilian tropics. The former is in Misiones Province and the latter in Corrientes Province.


Iguazu is one of the wonders of the world and attracts millions of tourists. Located in an area where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet, it is actually between 250 and 300 individual waterfalls strung out for a couple of miles. Brazil and Argentina have impressive national parks built around the falls. They positively dwarf Niagara Falls.

There are only two hotels within the national parks, a Sheraton on the Argentine side and the more luxurious-- in an old fashioned/old world kind of way-- Tropical Hotel Das Cataratas on the Brazilian side. Both are pretty expensive, primarily because of their locations inside the parks. I stayed on the Brazilian side and walked to the middle of the falls several times a day, every day-- as well as at night. The towns are miles away and not convenient. If you don't stay in the park, you have to make a trip to the falls, not just open your bedroom curtains or go for a stroll.


The problem with being at Das Cataratas is that there's nothing around and you're completely at their mercy. And they take advantage of that to charge outrageous prices for everything-- something, in fact, everyone in the area does. All services have a price for locals and a price for tourists. You want to guess which is higher? And it's a lot higher. Every hotel I stayed at, from the Park Hyatt at over $500 a night to the $35/night Julio Cèsar in Posadas, let guests use their computers and Internet connections for free except one-- Das Cataratas. And in Buenos Aires the locutorios charge a peso an hour to use a computer (around thirty cents). At Das Cataratas it was something like $9 an hour. Meals were decent but not great-- and quite over-priced, there being no place else to go.


On the other hand, the falls are so spectacular and so awesome that it's worth the rip. In fact, in light of the sheer spectacularness, the rest of it is inconsequential. It's an hour and change plane ride from Buenos Aires and it is a must see. I might add the room rates were somewhat negotiable and that the service staff was friendly and eager to please.


The other place, Esteros del Ibera, I kept wanting to cancel everywhere along the planning process. I mean who voluntarily goes to a swamp? I wound up going anyway-- inertia-- and it was completely amazing. The most important thing was to get the idea of "swamp" out of my head. This was easy because the place is not only gorgeous, it is fresh and even cooler than everyplace around it. The water is so beautiful that if it weren't for the alligators, pirhanas, capybaras and anacondas, you'd want to jump right in-- as many of the folks who live around there do anyway (and have the missing fingers and toes to prove it).

It's not that easy to get there-- rutted dirt road that looks like no fun in downpour. And there is virtually no public transportation. You have to rent a 4 wheel drive vehicle in Posadas. The tour book says $85 but prices have gone up and they charge a lot more, although, they're not opposed to negotiations and discounts. My driver from Guayra Turismo was great and made the process of getting there far more pleasant than it might have been.


I stayed at an incredible, magical place called Posada de la Laguna, a top-of-the-line lodge right on the lagoon. It's the kind of place that is perfect for laying in a hammock reading and sleeping all day-- which is exactly what I did, except when I was out in the boat looking at the wildlife. The food was superb; they have a real chef who made me completely delicious vegetarian meals 3 times a day. At first I was the only guest but eventually a couple of really nice Brits backpacking around South America turned up and then a delightful couple from Montana showed up in their own van out of the blue. It was nice to be alone and it was nice to be with other guests. The whole experience was fantastic and I recommend it highly.


UPDATE: A LETTER OF RESPONSE FROM THE HOTEL DAS CATARATAS' GENERAL MANAGER



As I was checking out they asked me to fill in a comment form. I did and I touched upon some of the topics I brought up above. I just got an e-mail from Jose Acir Borges, Cataratas' general manager.

Dear Mr. Howard Klein,
  
In attention to the suggestions form you filled in regarding your stay at the Tropical Das Cataratas Hotel between the 04th and the 06th of December, 2006, we would like to thank you for your time and inform that it was taken in high consideration by our managerial staff.
 
Concerning your mention about Internet, we are mindfully analyzing it, in order to take the necessary steps.
 
We would also like to highlight that all the concepts and opinions expressed in the suggestions form were included in our guest evaluations statistical system, helping us improve the quality of our services.
 
We thank you again for your attention and preference, and take advantage of this opportunity to reinforce our strong commitment to your satisfaction. 
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Jose Acir Borges
General Manager

UPDATE: ANOTHER WAY TO SEE BRAZIL-- AND LOSE SOME WEIGHT IN THE PROCESS

I wouldn't recommend trying this one, but "Slovenian Martin Strel completed his swim of the entire 3,272-mile Amazon River on Saturday, a 65-day odyssey in which he battled exhaustion and delirium while trying to avoid flesh-eating piranhas and the dreaded bloodsucking toothpick fish." He started in Peru and finished yesterday at Belem, Brazil on the Atlantic Ocean. Struggling with dizziness, vertigo, cramps, high blood pressure, diarrhea, chronic insomnia, larvae infections, dehydration, abrasions caused by the constant rubbing of his wet suit against his skin, nausea, severe sunburn and delirium, as well as the loss of 26 pounds, Mr. Strel was lucky to have escaped the interest of the piranhas, toothpick fish and bull sharks. "I think the animals have just accepted me," he explained, obviously no quite over the delirium yet. "I've been swimming with them for such a long time that they must think I'm one of them now."

Strel has already swum the lengths of the Danube (1,866-miles), the Mississippi (2,360 miles) and the Yangtze (2,487 miles). He spurns the Nile. "I am not going to do the Nile. It's long but not challenging enough, it is just a small creek. The Amazon is much more mighty." Or maybe he's sensible enough to realize the crocodiles might not be as accepting as the piranhas, bull sharks and toothpick fish.

The Bay of Fundy is a body of water found between the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It features some wild, fast moving water for bay, while also offering some amazing close encounters with whales. A new short film entitled "Bay of Fundy Fun" highlights this amazing paddling destination, and the video below is a short taste of what you can expect from the full blown movie. It gives you a great idea of what the Bay of Fundy is all about.

When Nixon was being impeached I decided to end my self-imposed exile and return to my native country, the U.S. of A. (Also I was worried because, after 4 years in Amsterdam, I had started dreaming in Dutch and that felt a little uncomfortable). Anyway, I had been away from home for nearly 7 years. I flew home with 2 bags. I never fly with more. You know why? That's all the airlines allow you to carry on. And I ain't checking nothing with those luggage-losing losers.

It's true that I have a natural disaffinity for waiting around for luggage to be unloaded. On the other hand, there's something kind of sexy to sit down on the plane with no bags to worry about. That's so trumped though by the odds that the airline will lose your bags and put you through the misery incumbent with that nightmare. What are the odds?

Well, they're worst if you fly Delta. Of the 81 million unfortunate souls who found themselves flying on the absolute most horrible of all the big U.S. airlines, over half a million Delta passengers had their luggage go missing. In fact the U.S. airlines lose 10,000 pieces of luggage PER DAY! (Suprisingly, it's even worse in Europe.) This problem has been getting worse and in 2005 over 3.5 million passengers of all the domestic airlines reported missing bags-- a 20% increase over 2004. Many of the lost bags eventually find their way back to their owners, though not before spoiling a trip and often damaged.

I'm not the only person who has noticed this and now, more than ever before, overhead bins are over-stuffed and late-arriving passengers are often t a loss about what to do with their carry-ons. A few weeks ago I was flying back to L.A. from Atlanta and the attendant-- in first class where there was once a time when they were trained better-- seemed to take great delight in the predicament of the passenger across the aisle from me who couldn't fit his bag in the overhead. "You have to check it," she smirked with a self-satisfied, rotten look. I could see he really didn't want to and I offered to help. I thought the attendant was going to have us both arrested as potential terrorists and I would swear that smoke came out of her ears when I showed him that if he turned the bag around the bumpy part with the hardware would face the roomier back end of the compartment and the door would close. I mean, this is what she should have told him. Instead she just stomped off in a huff to wherever they turn Delta attendants into such miserable wretches.

People handle the fear of losing luggage in different ways. I have started taking less. I've long found myself over-packing anyway. I mean how many times do I have to travel to third world countries before I learn that I don't really need a suit and tie? I remember once badgering poor Roland to be sure to bring his Hugo Boss sports jacket on a trip to Egypt. He just acquiesced to shut me up. Turned out some fundamentalist psychopaths slaughtered a busload of Austrian tourists at Luxor and Egypt instantly emptied of Western visitors. Except me and Roland. We had one f those fantastic Nile river boats that normally hold a couple hundred people to ourselves (+ a couple of old Brits on the way back to London after a lifetime of service in Oman). Roland never wore his sports jacket once but it came in very handy for him on a bus ride across the Sinai one night when he used it as a pillow against the filthy greasy window of the bus. I think I'm finally starting to carry less clothes, although I now bring along so many nutritional supplements that it almost balances out. (I've even come up with ways to lessen that load a bit lately.)

Antarctic Explorer and Adventure Blog Crush Object Hannah McKeand has announced her next big adventure In 2008, she intends to ski to the North Pole, setting off from Ward Hunt Island in Canada.

As per her Antarctic expedition, Hannah will be going solo and unsupported to the geographic North Pole, which has only been done on this route two other times by British explorer Pen Hadow and of course, Norwegian Borge Ousland. That will be some pretty impressive company to be in for sure, but at the rate she's going, they'll be happy to be in Hannah's company as well.

The page notes that she is currently looking for companies and individuals intrested in sponsoring the expedition. You've got the full endoresment of The Adventure Blog Hannah! Which, along with that and $2 will get you a cup of coffee. ;) Good luck on this next expedition. We'll be following that adventure as well.

Machame Gate (1,800m) to Machame Camp (3,000m)

The first day of the climb on Kilimanjaro via the Machame route begins at the Machme Gate at about 1800m. The area just inside the gate is a staging area for everyone preparing for the climb. You'll see backpacks, boxes, and duffel bags for each group all over the parking lot. All climbers have to check in at the ranger station by signing in with their name, age, country, passport number, etc. After signing in, each guide checks their climbing permit, and you're off, at long last.

Throughout Day 1 you hike along a well developed and easy to follow trail surrounded by Kili's cloud forest. The path starts out as a gentle slope and it's easy to make good time, even though the guides will implore you to go "Pole! Pole!" (Slowly! Slowly!) even at this relatively low altitude. Reaching the summit is a marathon, not a sprint, and it's a good idea to pace yourself each day.

After about two hours of hiking, the trail changes from a gentle slope to a number of long, and steep, inclines. You'll find that the leisurely walk you started out on has now become a challenging cardio workout. The first day's hike takes about five to six hours in total, and by the time you reach Machame Camp, the cloud forest begins to give way to grasslands and wildflowers. You'll camp that night on the edge of the moorlands.

My experience with Day 1 is that it was far more vertical than I had expected. You do gain 1200 meters of altitude throughout the day, which is nothing to sneeze at to be sure. Still, I expected the gain to be a little more gradual, with more switchbacks, but honestly the trail is, for the most part, straight and true. And up!! While I was expecting a challenge, I have to admit, Day 1 was harder than what I thought it would be.

I chose the Machame route for my climb because it's considered one of the more scenic of the routes. Our guides also told us that it is considered one of the more challenging routes as well. By the time we signed in at the ranger station at Machame Camp that afternoon, I had a new respect for the adventure I had undertaken.

(The photo above is me with our assistant guide Peter. Courtesy of my climbing partner Colm Donohoe.)

Photo © Dede Pickering-All Rights Reserved
Dede Pickering has just returned from Bhutan with a collection of new photographs, which she posted on her Bhutan Gallery. She traveled in that Himalayan country from its west to its east and trekked in the rarely visited Sakten Valley.

I chose Dede's lovely photograph of the unfurling of a thongdrel for this post. The thongdrel is a large tapestry typically depicting a seated Guru Rinpoche surrounded by holy beings, the mere viewing of which is said to cleanse the viewer of sin. During tsechus, it's unrolled before dawn and rolled up by morning.

Having retired from the corporate world, Dede became a world traveler and photographer. She has traveled to Antarctica, Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, China, Cambodia, Peru, Patagonia, Kosovo, Albania, Rwanda, New Zealand, Guatemala, South East Asia and has made multiple trips to Africa and India, but her passion is the Himalayan Region.

All through the nightmare of Bush's illegitimate regime I have continued to travel. I have written about how uncomfortable people I've met have felt about Bush in Spain, in Turkey, in Indonesia, VietNam, Morocco, Thailand, Canada, Mexico, England, Holland... And every year, the discomfiture has grown. After he re-stole the White House in 2004, the hatred started getting less subtle.

Today the big news in Argentina is how Bush's puppet in Mexico, Felipe Calderón, inaugurated himself as president of Mexico at a slap-dash secret midnight ceremony in the wee hours of the night/morning with the connivance of the outgoing PAN (Partido Acción Nacional) president, Vicente Fox. Calderón stole the Mexican election from the rightful president, Andrés López Obrador, much the same way Bush was able to steal the 2000 election from Al Gore and the 2004 election from John Kerry-- and with the help of some of the very same crooked companies and treasonous methods of vote tampering.

I spent last night with some young Argentines who I met through my friend Tómas, a guy I've been in touch with via the Internet. Although Tómas' interest in politics is minimal, his friends are extremely interested. One, Maria, told me that American democracy, through thick and thin, has been a beacon of democracy for generations of Latin Americans. "Now tyrants all over the world are learning something else than democracy from Bush. They learn to steal elections and undermine democracy."

Did Tony Blair use Bush's methods in the last U.K. election? Does anyone doubt Putin will in the next Russian election? The very legitimacy of democracy itself has been undermined by Bush, not just in our country, but around the world.

Meanwhile in Mexico, Obrador has also declared himself the legitimate, elected President of Mexico. His supporters seem very determined to defend the democracy so many of their forefathers have given their lives for. Maybe Americans have something to learn from passionate democrats in Latin America. Al Gore and John Kerry certainly do.

I ate in a great new restaurant last night and I actually took notes and will do a review soon. Right now I'm too pissed off about Bush and democracy.

A very long time ago I used to work for ARTA, a non-profit corporation dedicated to preserving wild rivers, a goal they work towards by bringing people on whitewater rafting trips. I used to love it and I had wild, raucous trips on the Rogue River in Oregon, the Salmon in Idaho, and the Tuolumne and American Rivers in California. Oh, but that was a long, long time ago. I wasn't looking for wild, raucous times when I decided to go to peaceful, groovey Bali. And my companions, Rebecca and Brad, were even more determinably dedicated to peace and harmony and then I was. Brad's so full of peace and harmony that he'll pretty much agree to anything good. And Rebecca... well, she was less sure about whitewater but liked the idea of the pretty, peaceful jungle the river went through. And, besides, she was looking forward to a quid pro quo elephant safari later in the week.

Our trusty driver, the aforementioned Anwar, made all the arrangements with a rafting company called Sobek. (That's not a detail I'd usually remember but a few years earlier Roland and I had spent a month on a Nile cruise and we kept going to temples dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile god and I'm afraid of crocodiles so I remembered.) Anyway, Anwar had drove us way up the Ayung for a couple hours to where the rafting company had their headquarters in Begawan. We got all geared up and then climbed down and down and down through the incredibly beautiful rain forest to the rver bank. I kept thinking about what a drag it was gonna be walking back up from the river bank when we got to Kedewatan, about 7-8 miles down the river.

Once we got to the boats, the guides divided us into crews of about 8 people. Of course, at first everyone was all stiff and kind of hoping to not get too wet. That lasted about 5 minutes. They give you some quick dos and don'ts and safety tips and pretty soon we're floating through some gentle, easy water looking at the exquisite scenery. When the rapids come-- there were about 2 dozen in all-- they never get beyond Class III but most people manage to fall overboard at least once or twice; well maybe not most, just the ones who like wild, raucous fun. Eventually everyone is loose as a goose and huge naval battles ensue. So much for peace and harmony. I was all for ramming and drowning. (I think that side of me scared Rebecca a little.)

There were some nice waterfalls and the environment never went below "incredible." The Ayung is the longest river in Bali and the part we were on-- remember a couple hours away our house was also on the Ayung-- runs through an otherwise inaccessible tropical rain forest, which is basically untouched by modern civilization. The guides were great, very professional and fun. It's the kind of thing that can work for anyone too-- I mean small kids or old people do fine (and no one goes overboard who doesn't kind of want to). They serve a lunch afterwards but we knew we had a feast made by the best chef in Bali waiting for us back at our villa so we climbed back up to the road and someone was waiting to take us back home. It's a great way to spend half a day; I think it cost us around $50 each.

One doesn't exactly come across Costa Rican food in Singapore very often. But that's what I saw on a random stroll through Amoy Street Food Centre sometime ago (7 Maxwell Road #01-50). They were closed for a month or so, but when I finally came back in the new year, they had opened again, and today I decided to come here for lunch.

Now, I don't know anything about Costa Rican food, so I don't know if this casado is anything like it is supposed to be. And frankly, it kinda tasted like it looked, with a bit of a ketchup-y flavor in there. Still, I liked this greasy plate enough that I cleared it all and nearly went back for more if self-restraint hadn't kicked in. I'll be back to try out some of the other stuff on the menu.

Adventure Racer Danelle Ballengee returned to action over the weekend, winning a 12 hour race held in Buena Vista, CO, in the solo women's category. Check Point Zero notes that her time was fast enough to beat the fifth place male competior of the race as well.

This marks a remarkable comeback for one of the top female racers in the sport. You might recall that last fall Danelle fell sixty feet while training near moab, and broke her pelvis in four places. She was stranded out on the trail for more than two days. In the end, it was her faithful dog Taz who went for, and returned with, help.

At the time, it was estimated that it could take up to six months before she would walk again, and at least a year for a full recovery, but obviously Nelly had other ideas in mind. This is some amazing rehab to say the least, and it's a testament to her abilities as an athlete that she can return so quickly and start winning races.

Congrats on the win Danelle, it's good to see you back!

Throughout the 2007 Everest Climbing Season I have often recommended that you head over to Alan Arnette's Everest 2007 Page for the latest news, information, and insights. Alan has been on a number of high altitude climbs all over the World, including Everest, and he always has an interesting perspective to share and knowledge of what's happening on the mountain.

Today Alan has made a big annoucement, and he want's to share it with all of us. He intends to return to Everest and go for the summit once more, but this time he's climbing for a cause. You can read all about Alan's Road Back To Everest by clicking here. This is going to be a very personal climb for Alan, as he will be going back to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer's Disease, a devastating condition that his 81 year old mother suffers from.

Alan is still working out the details of how he will conduct fund raising, and he's still looking for someone to donate his proceeds too. He says he is looking for a "promising research project or Doctor and target the funding in a specific and measurable manner" which seems like a perfect apporach for this kind of project. If you know some project or doctor that might fit the description, be sure to send Alan a note as to your suggestions. I'm sure he would appreciate it.

He has set an ambitious climbing schedule to get himself ready for his Everest climb that's for sure. He'll be looking to bag 14 Colorado 14'ers, along with heading to Denali in June, Shisha Pangma later in the year, and Orizaba, an 18,880 foot volcano in Mexico in January of 2008, before heading to Everest next Spring season.

On a personal note, I lost my grandfather to this horrible disease, and it is not something that is easy to watch happen to someone you love. I would follow Alan's preparations for Everest over the coming months with interest anyway, but with this cause, it is certainly something that I'll follow even more closely. This is a personal issue for many of us, and it's something that hits close to home when you've experienced it first hand.

So, Alan, you have nothing but the best of wishes from me. The Adventure Blog will be following your preparations over the coming months and I'll be with you in spirit as you go up Denali, those 14'ers, Shisha, and off to Mexico for Orizaba. And when Everest comes around next year, we'll all be with you. You'll carry the hopes of many people with you. You had better buy a bigger pack.

I'm on my way back to New York from teaching a multimedia class at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Istanbul, and thought it opportune to announce that my first photo~expedition in 2011 will be to Gujarat, India. I have yet to pinpoint the dates, but I am leaning towards January 23 to February 6, 2011.

The Travel Photographer's In Search of Sufis photo~expedition will focus on the visual exploration of the syncretism which exists between Islam (especially Sufism) and Hinduism. Syncretism is the combination of disparate or contrary beliefs, often fusing practices of various traditional philosophies.

This expedition will travel in the southern peninsula of Gujarat, and photograph at the various Sufi shrines/darghas as well as Hindu temples, where a multitude of pilgrims arrive to supplicate. It will also include a foray in the tribal belt of Kutch to document the unaltered ways of life of the area, to include religious rituals exclusive to Gujarat.

The maximum number of participants is 5 (excluding myself), and participation will be based on a brief portfolio review. This photo~expedition is not for first-timers to India, is for self-starters and requires an interest in Indian religious traditions. It will include coaching in multimedia techniques and story-telling.

The photo~expedition will commence and end in Ahmedabad, which is well served by flights from Delhi and Mumbai. Hotel accommodations will range from 4-star hotels in the larger cities/towns to whatever is available in the more remote areas.

Details of the photo~expedition and its itinerary will initially be announced to my newsletter recipients in a few days, and then to the general public via this blog.

This photo~expedition is inspired by the remarkable work of my friend Asim Rafiqui as per his The Idea of India project.

I needed a quick bite before heading into the office today, and figured that this bowl from stall #02-21 would be a bit more guilt free. It worked, in part simply because she used a lot of basil in her potion.

The funny thing is that it was only when I looked it up now did I realize that I've eaten at this lady's stall before. I still don't know if I've found my favorite lei cha fan place in town yet though.

Man, what's up with the weak-tasting broths that I've been having today? The soup at this shop along the street-facing wall of Clarke Quay's carpark (3E River Valley Road #01-08, 6336-0939) wasn't anywhere near peppery enough, and ultimately just tasted watered down. Fortunately, I still ate most of what they brought out, but this was also the first bak kut teh place that didn't really seem to encourage the whole Chinese tea ritual; I had to settle for a tea bag instead.

Then again, at this kind of location, it's clear that they are catering toward tourists and party goers from next door. Indeed, they even had signs indicating a S$50 (US$39) cleanup charge for vomiting, which I can only assume they meant as a result of alcohol rather than consumption of their own food. Well, the lady serving us was super bubbly, and the retro-looking decor was nicely done. But if I had wanted bak kut teh after drinking, I'd just go down to Havelock Road instead.

There is no question that Ueli Steck's solo ascent of Annapurna is the boldest climb of the year. News of his amazing feat has captivated the mountaineering community for the past few weeks as we've all waited to hear more about the expedition. Now that he is back home, Ueli sat down with the folks from EpicTV for an interview to discuss his latest adventure in the Himalaya. Part 1 of that interview can be found below, where you'll learn – amongst other things – that Steck feels a bit "empty" following his return from Annapurna.

I'd noticed this chain on pretty much every single trip I'd made to Japan in the past, but never bothered to waste stomach space on it given the millions of other delicious things available over there. I finally had the chance to try them now that they are at Asia Square (12 Marina View #02-05, 6844-9639).

Despite the Western appearance, it really was Japanese at the end of the day, witnessed in the form of say the Hokkaido crab bisque, dried scallop porridge, and corn potage with sweet potato (verrrry Japanese!!). In some ways, these kinda reminded me of those instant packets of dehydrated soup that you might buy at Muji...in a good way.

I'll pass on that chicken soup of theirs though. And the borsch was a bit odd, tasting more like French onion soup to me. But that curry looks like it might be worth a try someday. So yes, I generally I liked them...maybe not as much as Saybons or that new guy at Tanjong Pagar, but much more than Souperlicious or the Soup Spoon.

I travel with my pal Roland a lot and he loves going to strange and exotic places, as I do. He also likes checking out weird scenes like synagogues in bizarre countries. Recently I wrote a post about the remnants of the Jewish community in Cochin in Kerala, India. In 1991 we were traipsing around Egypt and Roland talked me into getting on a Sinai bus for a dusty drive to see the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity on Christmas Eve in Bethlehem. A few years later he even managed to find an Iraqi synagogue in Singapore and 3 days before it was blown up, a synagogue in Istanbul. He's an atheist whose distant ancestors he thinks were Catholic (he's unsure).

Anyway, now we're in Yangon (formerly Rangoon), Myanmar (formerly Burma) and a less "Jewish place" you could never imagine. I thought about looking into it and thought, "Nah; not a chance." I was wrong. We were wandering around in a squalid Muslim neighborhood this morning when all of a sudden we see a star of David and Hebrew writing on a building.

It isn't "officially" a synagogue any longer. There are only 8 Jewish families left in town, most of them having fled when the Japanese took over in 1942 and the rest when the nationalistic socialists got control in the early 50s. The last rabbi left in 1963. So officially the synagogue is a museum and community center. There's a trustee instead of a rabbi, Moses Samuels, who helps keep the joint going and he has a son in NYC, Sammy who graduated from Yeshiva University and says he plans to return to Yangon and run it after his father. The official name is Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue and it' on 26th Street, not that far from the Bogyoke Market.

There weren't any Jews around, just a Burmese caretaker. Later a Canadian Jewish tourist from Thunder Bay wandered by. We saw pictures of Sammy Samuels and he looks Burmese. Outside I asked a couple of guys lounging on the street who looked like Al-Qaeda recruits if they were Jews and they giggled.

As I mentioned a few times last week, we're on the verge of the start of the 2013 Antarctic expedition season and soon numerous teams will be heading to the bottom of the world to ski to the South Pole, climb Mt. Vinson or explore some other location on the frozen continent. But one team got an early start to the season by setting off last week, and while they're just a few days into their epic journey, they are now moving south at last.

Last Monday, Ben Saunders and Tarka L'Herpiniere of the Scott Expedition flew from Punta Arenas, Chile to the McMurdo Station in Antarctica. They spent a few days there getting their gear and supplies organized before they caught another flight out to the Ross Ice Shelf, where they spent another day and a half skiing to their official starting point at the Scott Terra Nova Hut. Since they will be skiing in the footsteps of polar legend Robert Falcon Scott, and hoping to complete the route he couldn't, it seemed only fitting that Ben and Tarka set out from the same place that he did more than a century ago.

The boys have begun posting dispatches from the ice and so far it seems that conditions are good but the work is hard. Their sleds are at full capacity at the moment, which means they are pulling 200 kg (440 pounds) of gear and supplies behind them as they begin their 1800 mile (2896 km) journey to the South Pole and back again. Those sleds will get easier to pull as the food supplies start to dwindle, but for now it is tough going, especially since the snow is soft and powdery.


As a result of these heavy loads, Ben says they are covering about 2 km (1.2 miles) per hour, which doesn't sound very fast but is actually quite good for so early in the expedition. It usually takes a week or two for Antarctic explorers to acclimate to the temperatures and altitudes there and the body must adapt to the work load of skiing all day while puling a heavy sled behind them.

The weather has been great for the lads so far although as expected the temperatures are a bit brutal. This morning they are dealing with -30ºC/-22ºF with wind chills taking those temps down to -40ºC/F. It is a bit unusual to have such good weather at this point in the season, but I'm sure Ben and Tarka are happy to have it. It is not uncommon for Antarctic adventurers to encounter high winds, blowing snows and whiteout conditions as they get underway. In recent years, there have even been delays  to the start of the season due to poor weather at the traditional drop off point at Union Glacier.

With the first of November now just a few days away, we should start to see a few more teams making their way to Punta Arenas and preparing to head out on the ice. Because of the extreme distances involved with their expedition, Ben and Tarka set off as early as they could, but most won't be making a return trip from the Pole, so they'll have more to complete their expeditions. It'll also give them more time to allow the weather to be more conducive for travel.

Stay tuned for more soon. The season is just getting started.