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March - October 2005

Intrepid Season 2005 - China, Tibet, & Nepal (part III)

Brett Voegele
2005-11-19 14:41:04

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my leading season came to an end on October 16th when I said goodbye to my last group. There were a few challenges along the way, but all-in-all another good group. Certainly can’t complain about the groups I’ve had this year. Everyone has seemed genuinely interested in Tibet, and for the most part have dealt well with the hardships that these trips present.

After the trip I spent about a week being a bum in Kathmandu – relaxing/recovering and not doing much of anything. I then flew here to Beijing where I’ll hang out for another 5-6 days until my dad arrives, at which time we’ll do a month-long trip through China and Tibet, before finishing with a few days in both Kathmandu and Bangkok. Should be a great trip – as long as the weather in Tibet allows us to cross the passes. Stay tuned.

As for the trip, we met in Beijing on September 19th. I had a full group of 12 passengers, and they came from 6 different countries. I always like it when I have a good mixture of countries represented, as it keeps the conversations interesting. The 28-day trip was one I'd lead a couple times previously this year - Mountains and Monasteries. Our first day we ventured out to the Great Wall at Mutianyu - about 1 1/2 hours from Beijing. It's always nice to walk along the wall, admiring the structure as it snakes along the hills. At Mutianyu it's also fun to be able to take the toboggan run off the wall. Unfortunately, I always seem to get caught behind some overly-cautious Chinese woman who rides the brake the entire way down. So much for careening out of control. Maybe next time.

Our second day in Beijing started with a visit to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. We then had some free time before catching the overnight train to Xian. Xian was the standard visit to the Terracotta Warriors, wandering of the Muslim Quarter, and a nice hot-pot dinner.

After only one night ...