Habitat for Humanity- Bangalore, India!!

Dear Gentle Readers:

I am currently in Bangalore, India on a Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Build.  It looks like it will be a great learning experience for me and the group seems like a fun one.  I will be posting shorter updates this week because our days are filled with the volunteer work and other activities.  Here is a little information from the local chapter that I am working with.....

THE IndiaBUILDS CAMPAIGN

The five-year campaign plans to engage 1 million volunteers in helping to provide shelter in partnership with 250,000 people. The campaign also seeks to raise funds for a sustainable revolving fund worth US$50 million. The goal of IndiaBUILDS: Create Shelter: create decent homes for 250,000 people directly through Habitat programs and indirectly through partner and community organizations. Create Inspiration: mobilize 1 million volunteers, including members of global, Indian and overseas India partner organizations and staff from corporations as well as individual volunteers. Create Capital: raise funds from government, supporters, donors and from contributions saving schemes of home partners. Create a community housing revolving fund. Create Capacity: establish a network of Habitat resource centers where people can learn how to design and build their own homes Types of Partnership Habitat serves as a donor with the complete housing component administered by a partner. Habitat serves as a donor and provides staff support. The partner directly implements the housing component. HFHI serves as a donor and takes charge of construction and volunteer management. The partner manages community participation and government interaction. Habitat Programs: Typical Homeowner Characteristics Homepartners:   Low income groups, daily wage earners, low-income factory workers, agricultural workers, small and marginal farmers. Land:   Registered land (pre-owned or allotted by Government). Plinth area:   240-360 sq. ft. (22 sq. m. to 35 sq. m.) Configuration:   ““Core” house of mainr oom/bedroom, kitchen and a toilet. Extension:   Possible on full settlement of mortgage amount. Sweat equity:   Homeowners usually provide all unskilled labor Repayments:   Rs. 500  - Rs. 800 (US$12-20) per month Loan period:   5  to 8 years

Habitat and Disaster Response: Tsunami

1,500 kilometer stretch of coastline affected
Habitat has established a network of response centers and is working in partnership with other organizations.
Total budget: US$12 million
Target #1: 10,000 families served directly (repairs and new construction)
Target #2: 14,000 families through disaster mitigation and preparedness program
To date: 5,000 repairs and new houses

House Design
325-360 sq.ft. of built-up space
Average unit construction cost: US$3,500 – 4000.
Brick with steel reinforced columns and beams; flat concrete roof with access stairways; plastered and painted
Disaster-resistant features
Infrastructure facilities include water supply, streetlights, roads, rainwater harvesting structures, drains, community centre, noon-meal centre etc.

Talk with you soon......

Everest: Return of the Trekker

Last we saw our hero was heading back to Luboche alone, defeated and feeling miserable after failing to make it to Everest Base Camp.  This could be the end of him and his adventure.  How will he mange this crisis?  Let's check in with him....

After hiking back to the teahouse, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.  I treated myself to my own room and a hot shower.   After a warm lunch, I took a nap and was beginning to feel a little bit better.  I took a book and sat in the common area and made small talk with the other trekkers.  An Australian women suggested that I take the prescription drug, diamox, for my altitude sickness.  I had been avoiding taking any altitude medication because of the negative side effects.  She had a few extra pills and I decided that it was time for me to take them.  I had failed without them and I only had one more chance so I might as well see if they would do the trick.  

The next morning I woke up feeling like a new man.  I joined two Norwegian guys for the trek to the last village of before Base Camp, Gorakshep.  The hike was challenging but we were able to get it done before lunch time.  After lunch, I joined a Danish group to the trek to Base Camp.  It was 2 1/2 hours each way.  The last thirty minutes before getting to base camp was through the rock and glacier.  Then we were there, Everest Base Camp.  There is no fanfare at Everest Base Camp, no sign or placard.  There were tents for only one mountain climbing expedition. Most expeditions occur in the spring so it is not surprising to only find one group. 

I imagine that some people are disappointed when they arrive at Everest Base Camp because there is not anything to designate that you are there.  I found the lack of closure fitting.  Though I was proud to have completed the trek that is not the reason this area is famous.  As a mountaineer once said to the trekker.  "Where you stop is where I begin."  I have a better appreciation for the hard work of mountaineers.  I was beat after eight days of trekking and the mountaineer is just starting their journey with at least two more months of work before they might get the chance at the goal for the summit of Mt. Everest.

Everest Base Camp was conquered.  I had done it.  It was all downhill from there.  Literally downhill for the next four days as we worked our way back to Kathmandu.

Everest: The Mountain Wins

The first three days of the trek were now behind us.  I was surprised how easy the journey had been to this point.  I was soon to realize that the hard part of the journey was right around the corner. 

Our porter guide, Dinesh, was beginning to grow on me.  At first, I was concerned about his lack of experience hiking to Everest Base Camp.  After three days of the trail, I realized that it was not a big issue because you really couldn’t get lost.  The trails were well marked and there were enough people hiking that you could ask any one for directions if you needed help.  In the end, Dinesh was there to help carry the load and provide morale support.  He definitely was energetic and very inquisitive.  He took the time to ask great questions to me about America and to Fenton about Ireland.  We found out that he was ranked #1 in his college, as he studied English to become a teacher. 

Pictured: Fenton and Dinesh at the one of the world's highest bakeries.

Fenton and I were getting along like two peas in a pod.  People on the trek assumed we had been friends for years as we would banter on about ridiculous things and systematically make fun of everyone, including ourselves, that was hiking on the mountain.  The reality was that we just met at the airport less than a week earlier.  Since most people were on the same schedule and going through the same villages each day, we knew most of the trekkers in our area.  We even organized a reunion party in Kathmandu for my last day in Nepal and invited everyone we met along the way. 

Our next acclimatization stop was in the village of Dingboche at 14,270 feet.  It is here where things began to turn for the worse.  First, we noticed that Dinesh was walking pretty slow and was coughing up a storm.  Since we had a rest day, we made Dinesh relax and joined another group to do our acclimatization hike.  He wasn’t doing much better the next day so we hiked over to the nearest village to the volunteer medical clinic.  

There were three American doctors that were volunteering three months at the clinic by treating trekkers, porters and guides.  They also did a very informative seminar on the impact of high altitude sickness and its friends- high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and high altitude cerebral edema (HACE).  The seminar was eye opening and made you realize that altitude sickness wasn’t some minor inconvenience but a major issue that could kill you.   Throughout the trip, we met many people heading back down the mountain with altitude sickness.  Those that had advanced cases were “helicoptered” down at a cost of $6000.

 
The prognosis for Dinseh was not good.  He had the beginning stages of high altitude pulmonary edema.  The doctor advised that he not go any further up the mountain.  I couldn’t help but laugh about it later on.  I mean my porter/guide got attitude sickness?  This is his job-how does that happen? Dinesh didn’t want to stay and wanted to continue on with us.  He was worried about his job and the impact of not going on the hike.  We told him there was nothing to worry about because we weren’t going to tell his boss.  Fenton and I would carry our own gear for the last three days.  We left the non-essentials with Dinesh and carried the remainder of our gear ourselves.  I was going to be tested but then again that was what the trip was about to begin with.

Fenton and I were off to our next village, Lobuche.  Little did I know I had caught myself a stomach bug, which was intensified by the altitude.  It is not fun dealing with that issue during a five four hike.  I truly became one with nature!  We arrive in Lobuche to find out that there were no rooms left in the entire village.  We were offered a tattered tent as our only option.  The nights at this height are extremely cold and we found it hilarious that in the mornings even the sturdy mountain yaks are covered with frost.  I worked my way onto a common floor in one of the teahouses because I needed to be near a bathroom facility while Fenton braved it out in the tent.  It was a long night.

I woke up the next morning feeling very weak.  I was tired because I didn’t sleep well on the floor of the unheated teahouse. Though I had taken some antibiotics, my stomach wasn’t doing much better.  I tried to make the hike to the last village before Everest Base Camp, Gorakshep.  I walked about an hour and couldn’t go any further.  I had to turn around. The mountain had beaten me that morning.  I had the beginning symptoms of high altitude sickness.  I made long walk back to Lobuche alone, defeated and feeling miserable.  

 

Everest: the Ascent

We waited the next day at the airport for another five hours before we were given any announcement regarding our flight.  There was a level frustration in the waiting areas of the domestic terminal in Kathmandu.  For some people this was their fourth day of waiting; many people with limited schedules would not be able to finish the hike before they needed to be home.  I was content because I had resigned myself to letting the travel gods decide my fate. The worse case scenario for me was that I would hike as far as I could and then head back no matter where I was in order to catch my flight to India.

Then it happened.  Our flight was called and Fen, Dinesh and I were off to start an amazing trek.  The flight was short and bumpy and we had a hard landing on the single runway airport in Lukla.  Actually, all flights have a hard landing because the runway is very short. The airport is actually carved into the mountainside.  The airport, because of where it is located and the extreme weather patterns, has been named one of the world’s most dangerous airports by some observers.  

 
After a quick lunch in Lukla, we started on the first day’s hike.  It was a quick and easy three-hour hike to the village of Phakding, which is at a similar elevation as Lukla about 3000 m.  We had made many friends during our time in the Kathmandu and at the airport that the trail had become a social networking site.  Fen and I would bounce from five different groups seeing how people were feeling and chatting them up as we walked to our destination.

Day 2’s hike took us to the largest village on our trek, Namche Bizaar (3440m.)  The second day’s hike is supposed to be the hardest next to the actual hike to Everest Base Camp.  It took us about four hours to hike to Namche, which would be our first base for acclimatization.  The hike was relatively easy for Fen and I but for many we walked with it was a killer day.   My previous treks and marathon training were coming in handy for me.  Little did I know that it wasn’t going to physical nature of the hike that would be my problem but rather my reaction to the altitude.

Namche Bizaar, though in the midst of the trek to Everest, still had many things that catered to the tourist market.  There were restaurants catering to western tastes, internet cafes, and hiking apparel stores.  Fen and I went to the edge of town and found a local bar with a good condition, regulation size snooker table.  Two local guides took us to town in snooker.  Though we only had one beer each, we could feel the effects of it because of the altitude.  We knew this was the last place for us to have a beer because the guides had warned that after 4000 m, it wasn’t wise to drink because the feelings of alcohol are similar to the starting symptoms of high altitude sickness. 

Acclimatization days are misleading because one thinks they are rest days.  You actually hike to a higher altitude on those day but come back down to your original base to sleep.  Though it doesn’t seem like much, it is recommend that most people don’t ascend more than 400 m a day.   Our guide took us on a hike to Everest View Hotel, the world’s highest four star hotel.  Though he got lost a few times, we eventually found our way to the hotel.  The weather didn’t cooperate, as the clouds covered our first views of Everest. 

In the midst of our hike, we were given the tragic news that there was a plane crash in Lukla.  All of the passengers and crew with the exception of the pilot had died.  The clouds had surrounded the airport and instead of turning around, the pilot tried to land.  The plane missed the runaway and burst into flames killing a group of Germans, Australians and Nepalese.

Pictured: Traveler's photo of the tragic crash.

The attitude on the mountain completely changed.  It was more somber and people paid their respects in different ways. Many who were complaining about the number of canceled flights now understood the reasons for such precautions.  It was a reminder that the mountain was not to be taken lightly.  The weather and the altitude were real dangers not only for mountain climbers but also for trekkers themselves.

Everest: The Muddled Beginning

I don’t remember when my fascination with Everest began but I have read countless books and watched numerous movies and documentaries about the revered mountain.  Whether it was Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s initial conquest or the tragic 1996 climbing season, Everest has had a special place in my imagination.  I know that I will never have the skill and ability to climb Everest so trekking to base camp is a safe and manageable compromise.

 

Hiking to Everest Base Camp was one of the original items on the list for the Singh Around the World Tour.  I had mixed emotions about the hike because it was meant to be a part of the trip that I did with my initial travel partner, Patrick Krips.  Patrick and I both wanted to be doing something challenging during our birthdays.  I was in Antarctica for my half marathon on my birthday and we were supposed to be hiking to Everest Base Camp on Patrick’s birthday.  When Patrick went home over the summer, I pushed the trip back a month to better fit my schedule.

 

At first, I was researching tour companies to facilitate the hike.  There were a number of companies that specialize in trekking trips in the Himalayas.  Each company had the same basic package ranging from 12 to 21 days. The minimum time recommended by the tour companies was 12 days because it allowed for appropriate acclimatization.  The key when trekking to 18,500 feet is to acclimatize, acclimatize, and acclimatize. I had fifteen days in Nepal before I flew out to India so I knew I could plan the hike and safely make the journey in sufficient time. In the end, I decided that I would finalize my plans once I arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal.  Plan?  I haven’t done much of it on the trip and why should I start now.

 

The cheapest flight to Kathmandu from Bangkok was on Royal Nepal Airlines.  When I got to the airport in Bangkok, as you know from a previous post my flight was canceled. The next flight was two days later.  Well there goes my planning time for organizing the hike in Kathmandu.  Though it was a setback for the planning, it was financially helpful since the company put me up in a 4 star hotel and paid for all of my meals.  I lounged at the pool, watched cable TV, and got caught up on a few of books.  It was a welcome change from the basic hostels I usually stay at. 

 

Two days later, I was back at the airport getting ready to board my flight to Nepal.  I started a conversation with an Irish couple, Fenton and Angela.  They were in their first month of a year around the world trip.  Coincidently, we were staying at the same hostel in Kathmandu and on the ride over Fen and I discussed hiking to Everest Base Camp (Angela was staying in Kathmandu to do volunteer work). He was scheduled to go on a tour a few weeks later but I needed to be on the trail in two days to meet the minimum hike and acclimatization schedule.  By the time we had our first beer at the hotel Fen had canceled his scheduled trip and we had tickets booked to fly to Lukla, the staging ground for Everest.

 

 

We decided against an organized tour.  We were going to be independent hikers! We hired one porter between the two of us to help carry some of our gear.  The company assured us the porter would be experienced and could serve as an informal guide during the trek since we didn’t know the area.

 

Our 20 year-old porter, Dinesh, picked us up at the hotel and took us to the airport.  Fen asked Dinesh how long our hike would be after we landed in Lukla.  Dinesh had a deer in headlights look.  He then sheepishly told us that he didn’t remember because he had only done the Everest Base Camp hike once before and that was two years ago.   The icing on the cake was when our porter got us lost in the airport parking lot.  It was the blind leading the blind. I don’t see how this will go wrong.

 

 Pictured: Our porter/guide, Dinesh.

 

Once we found the right terminal, we met a number of people in line that had been waiting to fly out for the past two days.  It seems the weather in Lukla was pretty bad.  The Lukla airport is notorious for being enveloped by clouds therefore making it impossible for planes to land. 

 

 

We were not going to be spared from the waiting game.  Our flight was canceled.  Our plans now didn’t have any flexibility.  We had 12 days left for a 12-day hike. Another setback could jeopardize my chances to get to Base Camp.  I was beginning to wonder if this trip was going to be a success.   

 

 

Internet Problems in India

 Dear Gentle Readers,

I have run into some internet problems in India and will not be able to start my posts on Everest Base Camp until tomorrow.  Be blogging at you soon.  Sam

Ephesus...

On the last of our three days in Selcuk, we finally made our way to the ruins of Ephesus.  We were told that if you wanted to see proper Roman ruins, that you had to visit Turkey, and these didn't disappoint.

The only downside was that we went on a cruise ship afternoon, so it was PACKED with tourists.  Not that Sam and I weren't tourists...but these were "tourists" of the worst kind!!  Rude, pushy, no regard for anyone but themselves...UGH!  They all traveled in massive packs of people which forced you to play a little game of keep-away...always just trying to stay slightly ahead of the mob so you could get a proper picture or a good unobstructed look at something. 

But back to the sights...Ephesus is huge! It contains the largest collection of Roman ruins East of the Mediterranean and only 15% of the site has been escavated.  It was incredible! Whole sections of the city, it's streets, aquaducts, temples, even the toliets...

The two most impressive sites that have been "restored" are the Library of Celsus...

and the Roman Theater...

Given that theaters were typically built to accomodate 10% of the city's population, you can really start to get a sense of ust how big of a city Ephesus was in it's time.

We rounded out the experience with a trip to the Selcuk Archaeological Museum, who's collection far exceeded their small space.  It was truly a fascinating step back into history.

Ruins, Ruins, Ruins...and a Little Eden.

The morning after Gallipoli we set out to see the famed city of Troy (Troya). It's one of those thing that you feel you just HAVE to do...I mean we all have read the Iliad or at least know the story.  Well, there not a lot left in good old Troy, but it was still someplace that I am glad to say I have been.  What remains that were still left where tough to visualize as Troy had been destroyed and rebuilt at least nine different times.  There would be sections where what you were looking at was Troy 1, then switches to Troy 4, etc. 

(This photo shows where they marked each "version" of Troy in this one hill...this is why it was SO HARD to really follow the ruins.)

They did have a giant replica of the Trojan Horse though...so...that was nice!

Quick aside - you know what really sucks about travel?  The travel part.  The cheapest way for us to get from A to B was by bus and it seems aside from sleeping, the one thing we did for the longest amount of time was ride in a bus.  For two guys over 6" and over 2 bills (although Sam is looking much trimmer these days)...it got a little old. But there was always the "pay-off" at the end of the ride and that usually made it worth it.

After Troy, we moved south on to Selcuk by way of Izmir (quick over night stay in Turkey's third largest city - we saw the bus terminal and a whopping city block!).  We found an entry for a hostel called "Atilla's Getaway".  It sounded good, private rooms, cheap and had a pool.  What we got was so much more.  Private room, private bath, breakfast AND dinner every day, internet, bar and of course that pool!  It was like this little resort and all for just $25 a night!  To make it even better, the family who owned the hostel were terrific and so incredibly accommodating.  It completely blew away my perspective of a hostel.  We stayed three days and it was a great home base for the rest of our sight-seeing, two really unique places - Heiropolis and Ephesus.

Sam and I decided to go to Heiropolis while in Istanbul.  We were getting out tour squared away for Gallipoli and I kept staring at a photo on the tour company wall.  It was of these rolling, pure white cliffs with people swimming in them.  I have never seen anything like that terrain before so we asked where that was and decided at that moment we would be making a stop.  Turns out those cliffs are covered in calcium carbonate that settles out of the natural spring water.  It was said that bathing in this water would help to cure a wide array of ailments, including arthritis.  Unfortunately, during a tourist boom in the 70's and 80's, much of the pools had dried up and now there is a limited area where visitors can wade in the water, but it was still a beautiful site none-the-less.

This was also the site of the ancient city of Heiropolis.  To this point, some of the most complete set of ruins I have been too.  Walking through the amphitheater, bath house and temple, it was easy to transport yourself back in time.

(amphitheather at Heiroplois)

But while Heiropolis was truly impressive, it was nothing like we'd see in Ephesus...

Gallipoli...

After three days in Istanbul, it was time to move on.  So we jumped on a early bus and headed west toward the Aegean Sea.  Our first stop would be Eceabat, a costal city along the Dardanelles (Straight of Canakkale), upon the Gallipoli Peninsula. This area for centuries has been of great military signifigance as whoever could break through the straight would have a clear path at capturing Istanbul.  You can still see the fortresses that guarded the mouth of the straight even today.

Most of the peninsula is now a national park, commerating one of the most bloodest battles during WW1.  It was here that a nine month campaign by British forces (along with New Zealand, Austrailian and Indian soliders) against the Ottomans resulted in over 400,000 casualities and close to 120,000 deaths.

Our tour through the battle site was sobering.  When you look down from the high ground it's hard not to see troops landing at the bay and slowing making there way along the rocky terrain.  How much tragedy had to occur here?!

(view from ANZAC Bay)

(view back down to the bay on the high ground)

What makes the sight even more moving is that it celebrates the heroism and sacrfice of both Allied and Ottoman solider.  These men died together and are honored together.  It was a stirring experience that helps to remind all about the devistation of war.

Istanbul, not Constantinople...

Look kids...Hagia Sophia...Blue Mosque...okay now how about a beer!

That was our Istanbul experience in a nutshell. ;-)  We'll maybe it wasn't JUST like that...

Istanbul is truly a wonderful city, with literally history around every corner.  For a travel novice like me, also a very easy city to start in.  Staying within the Sultanahmet area one has all the major destinations within walking distance and it's very "english-friendly".  So much so that there where times when sitting on a patio, enjoying an Efes, that I had to remind myself that we were in fact in Turkey.  Of course, that was until I was awoken by the 5:30 am call-to-prayer.

(the Blue Mosque at night)

For all the time spent on the Sultan hostel patio, we got a lot accomplished and still managed to see a good deal of the major highlights.  The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia where spectacular as was the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.  We also spent one mid-day walking to the Spice Bazaar and then getting "lost" in the labyrinth that was the Grand Bazaar - which got so discombobulated that we ended up seeing maybe a little more of the city than we originally planned.

(Sam & Michael in front of the Hagia Sophia - "Wanna buy a hat?")

The two things that just continue to stand out from Istanbul are truly world's apart! 

The first was seeing a whirling dervish "performance".  What I did not understand prior to attending was that this was a religious service, performed by monks of the Mevlevi Order.  It was fascinating to watch!

(Dervishes - photos were allowed, but not flashes)

The second was part of our all-nighter (come on, why wouldn't we stay out past the morning's first call to prayer?).  All we were looking for was a place where we could eat outside of the Sultanahmet area.  The Lonely Planet book suggested the Beyoglu area, so why not give it a try.  The book did nothing to prepare us for what we experienced.  We got out of our cab and decided to go down the alley in front of us...and we emptied into a street that was literally wall-to-wall humanity.  We had stumbled into the Nevizade Sokak, one of the most famous eating precincts in Istanbul. The street was heaving with people and it went on for well over a mile.  I will never forget the look on Sam's face as we pressed forward, our senses literally assulted.  It wasn't just the main street either as down every alley that fed from the street was packed with patio bars and restaurants.  We eventually found a few places, caught our breath and had a beverage or two.  As we made it back to the main street about 2 hours later, it wasn't nearly as busy but I will never forget that scene!