Rain, Rain, Go Away

New Delhi, India - May 19

Not once have we had need to wish for this the entire trip. Well, except for the 10-day, 24/7 spell way back in Dharamsala where all our gear began molding - Yuck! Besides that we've been really blessed to have been just ahead of the torrential monsoon downpours that slam most of Asia. We even reveled in the bits we DID get in Hanoi, Hue + Phnom Penh as the barrage usually lasted only a few hours and included spectacular lightning and thunder. This was followed by a dramatically-cloudy blue sky, so we were never pinned down for long.

This year, on the heels of the cyclone that ravaged Burma just 2 weeks ago, the easterly monsoon is reported to be a couple weeks early, putting a literal damper on our plans to head to the remote Sikkim region of India (sandwiched on three sides by Nepal, Tibet + Bhutan). We had hoped to cap off our Asian Odyssey with a last, long trek into the Himalayas - enjoying some of the tallest peaks in the world, huge glaciers, prayer flags + ancient gompas. We've been doing alot of research and contemplation, trying to decide the best course of action so that we can still hike without getting too wet and losing all chance of views. Finally, we've decided to head to Nepal. It's approx. 30-35 hours overland from here to Kathmandu, a journey we are not looking forward to. But as we're traveling as low-budge + eco-friendly as we can, we have no other options. We hop a train tonight and we're off!

I've got a new mantra. Sing it with me now - Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come again some other day.