Next day up at 6 for breakfast and then we were off to Panchase. This was our longest day of trekking, about 6 hours, and the landscapes were changing throughout the entire day. But the one thing that remained fairly consistent were the LEECHES!!!! UGHHHH!! As soon as our guide said "leeches", I looked down on my shoes and there were so many of them!!! So of course I couldn't stop staring at my feet the entire time, which is obviously not the best way of walking on slippery rocks, and I ended falling on my bum a couple of times. And I was SURE they were getting into my socks, which completely freaked me out, and sure enough when we stopped and I took off my shoes one little sucker had found the only hole and climbed right in. Ugh. Leeches aside, the trek took us to the most amazing little village where we set up camp and spent another night under the stars.
We decided to do a four day trek while we had some time in Nepal so we arranged everything with a company called Tiger Mountain (they are amazing by the way - if anyone ever wants to use them they come very highly recommended). So we got up early one morning and took a 25 minute flight to Pokhara. The experience at the airport was interesting. I am learning that in a third world country, don't plan on doing anything on time cause it just ain't gonna happen. All part of the experience. Off we went, just a bit late, and met our team in Pokhara. We then drove about an hour up into the mountains and began our trek. First of all, the sherpas that came with us were the most incredible guys. They carried these packs that weighed about 120 pounds each up these small trails. And they did it in 90 degree heat with smiles on their faces. They were always singing and so warm and helpful, and it completely blew me away. It also made it MUCH harder for me to complain about anything...
lections were taking place, and it was like a ghost town. Everything was shut down, and the city was experiencing it's daily cut of electricity for 4 hours or so, so it was eerily silent. Two days later, when everything opened again and we ventured into the town, it was like someone just hit the on button. The craziest traffic I have seen so far (even worse than Shanghai), people EVERYWHERE on the streets, rivers that smelled pretty awful, the most beautiful brilliant colors of clothing set against a backdrop of dusty orange buildings, chickens clucking on the street, donkeys pulling on the road, and just all around craziness. But it felt so alive, and I couldn't seem to take it all in at once.
The temple we climbed up to is also nicknamed the monkey temple (see video). It was very peaceful in an organized chaos sort of way, and the prayer wheels that surrounded the temple showing years of wear signified the amount of people dedicated to coming up here to meditate and pray.
Wow, wow, wow is all I can say. The Great Wall truly does not disappoint! To think that this structure was built between 5th century BC and 16th century AD, and it stretches over 4,000 miles, and there were no motorized vehicles at the time, and the mountains that surround it are sometimes unthinkably steep, all overwhelm you a bit when you are actally standing on top of it. Not to talk about the other rather creepy rumor that nearly 2 million people died during the construction, and most of them were just built into the wall.... 
We took a cable car up to the top and then took the more challenging route that ended with about 500 steps straight up and very narrow. One girl that was with us vomited at the top. We got a kick out of that. The views from the top were stunning, although because of the pollution, even out that far, your sight distance was limited. I would have to vouch for both of us and say this was our favorite day in China.
All in all, China was not what we expected. Much more hectic. What we saw was extraordinary - the size of the cities and the beauty of the history but also the extent of the pollution. Overall we were pretty relieved to get to Nepal.
was having on the city. Along with the outrageous stadiums they have built and the extensive advertsing campaigns going on, we were most intrigued by the amount of censorship that goes on here. Any stories on Tibet were blacked out on CNN, and after the protests in France of the Olympic torch, headlines in the CHina Daily newspaper would read "France greets torch with passion"... It truly makes you appreciate even our biased media back in the states.
We ventured into the Forbidden City in the center of town across from Tianemen Square. Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 720,000 square metres. It is absolutely beautiful, and even amidst the awful pollution that has covered in dust some of the surviving relics, it has a magical, surreal effect on anyone who enters.
