THE WORLD'S LARGEST CAMEL FAIR

Trekking for miles across Rajasthan's arid landscape, sometimes for days at a time, countless residents of the region--often with their herds of livestock in tow--travel to what has become the world's largest place to buy, sell, and trade camels.

Liz gets a morning sniff from a resident camel.

It's called the Pushkar Camel Fair, and as seen previously on the site, it's an incredibly scenic and often hilarious event to behold.  We stopped by the festivities for a few days with our friend Alex from DC, who was as amazed as we were at the sight of so many camels (estimates put the number at around 50,000 animals) living, breathing, braying, sleeping, and racing in one place. 

Two traders, after trekking for three days, lead their herd into town at dawn at the start of the Fair.

Our Pushkar alarm clock, set for sunrise each day.

Trading takes place over the span of five days, and many of the men and women in the photos below have trekked for hundreds of kilometers to bring their camels to the fair.  Not wanting to miss anything, we got to the fairgrounds at sunrise each morning to take it all in. OK, we will admit, our early rising was also due to the fact that we had a group of vigorous, obnoxious, insomniac monkeys that frequently pounded on our windows at all hours, as well as the fact that our hotel was located next to one of the many temples in Pushkar, where pilgrims worship their gods quite vocally at all hours. Unfortunately (for Liz) the god of sleep does not have a temple in Pushkar.

But no matter. Thanks to the monkeys and noisy pilgrims, we were ready with cameras every morning to watch the camel camp come alive. More photos to come.

Camel herdsmen gather around the fire for a morning coffee and smoke.

Wake Up Kiss: A camel tries to give another a morning smack on the neck.

Mamma and baby wake up with the morning sun.

Mustachioed herdsman in Pushkar.

Taking in the view.

A camel trader who has not yet had his cup of coffee.

With so few women around, Liz quickly made some friends.

PHOTO FRIDAY: ANNAPURNA'S MACHAPUCHARE

Every once in a while, heaving a heavy pack up stone steps for days at a time can seem a bit pointless. And then, there are other times when--sweating, shivering, and dodging yak dung--it seems utterly ludicrous.

But then you're treated to a sunrise like the one above--with Machapuchare's near 23,000-ft peak shrouded in shimmering clouds--and we remember why we do it. At least, that's how we felt when we took this shot above in Nepal's Annapurna Sanctuary.

ANNAPURNA SANCTUARY TREK

Thanks for the "HEARTLY" welcome, "Lodge Owner Family!"

After surviving a 14-day hike to Everest Base Camp, followed by a hair-raising helicopter ride back to Kathmandu, we decided a few relaxing days in the beautiful Pokhara in central Nepal were in order. The town, perched on the edge of a beautiful lake, with warm temperatures, stunning views, and good food were just what we needed to get over the hiking we swore we would never do again.  

Our first morning there, we saw the peaks of the Annapurna and the holy, un-climbed Machapuchare calling us from behind the hill over the lake. We were hooked immediately, and after renting two dirty sleeping bags from a hard-bargaining eight-year old, we set off for a "quick" six day trek to the Annapurna Sanctuary.

The view, enjoyed from our sleeping bags, was worth the trip.

The first few days of the trek were tortuous, climbing and descending an endless set of stairs, some built for small children and others built tall enough for a Yeti. It did some serious damage to both our legs and our will to keep going. But, the early morning views from the town of Chomrong at left made every step worth it. 

Not only is the scenery incredible, but the Chomrong Guesthouse makes a famous chocolate cake, at least according to TIME Magazine, which we may have tried three times in our one night stay.

The cake was a nice touch, but the reason to hike this trail is to see Annapurna.

The Sanctuary did not disappoint. The views were stunning. And we did our part to keep them that way, picking up trash as we hiked, as we did on the Everest trek. We filled ten bags of trash and had some help from folks along the way.  

Thanks to two hard-charging Aussies we met on the trail, we even had a place to sleep at Base Camp. Being the planners that we are, we didn't book ahead for one of the few rooms available. Sim and Nada (the awesome Aussies) were kind enough to share their's with two smelly, cranky, exhausted hikers (that would be us) so we didn't miss the incredible sunrise over the Annapurnas. Thanks you guys! (G&T's on us next time we're in Oz).

Us with the "Amazing Aussies," Sim and Nada, at Annapurna Base Camp.

A buffalo unamused by our request for a ride.

The hike down the trail was no less exciting than the hike up. Since we were without a map (Kip's idea) we decided to take a new route home (Kip's idea) that would save a few hours of climbing down stairs (Liz was all for this part). 

We ended up in a town where jeeps normally transport locals and trekkers to down to Pokhara. Perhaps not surprisingly  we were unaware that it was a Nepali holiday, and there were no jeeps, no buses, no donkeys/yaks/buffaloes, and no helicopters to carry us down. 

A local villager suggested we trek another two hours to a crossroads, where jeeps sometimes pass and we might flag down a ride for the three-hour journey. Thankfully, one lovely man agreed to take us (for the incredibly ridiculous "holiday" price) in his off-road four-door hatchback. We were in. 

Our amphibious 4x4 Suzuki. Half way across the river, our feet got soaked...inside the back seat.

The closest equivalent of Mexican Food we've seen
so far. Thank you , Pokhara

The road was rough. We could feel rocks scraping the undercarriage under our feet. We drove through a stream, and Liz's feet felt wet. She looked down, and water was rushing through the holes in the floor, and we were taking on water. But the car didn't quit, and we make it back to Pokhara, for a traditional Nepali-Mexican dinner and drinks with our new mountain friends. 

After a quick stop in Kathmandu, we're heading south to India next. No more trekking...at least for a while.

The Annapurna crew, celebrating in Pokhara after a trek well done. From left to right, back row, Nada (Oz), Krissi (U.S.), John (Oz), Liz, Kip, Neal (U.S.); front row, Sim (Oz), Krista and Gareth (Oz). 

PHOTO FRIDAY: SUNRISE ON THE MOUNTAIN

A horse rises with the sun at the high altitude settlement of Gorak Shep. From here, trekkers hike three more hours to Everest Base Camp or, for the more ambitious, two hours of heavy breathing straight up to the 18,000-ft peak of Kalapathar with its views of the world's tallest mountain.

The air is so thin, just walking a few steps makes you gasp for breath. But it's also as clean and clear as any you'll experience, and the views of the mountains at this altitude makes the pain of the previous 10 days of hiking more bearable. That and a nip of Mt. Everest Whiskey, perhaps.

PARADISE FOUND. WE'RE NOT TELLING YOU WHERE.

We think we finally found it. Paradise.

These shots are from somewhere on the island of Catanduanes in the Philippines. No, we're not saying where it is. You'll have to find it yourself.

Lunch. For $5. Enough said. 

This one's for our nieces...a clown fish patrols his green carpet anenome just off the beach. 

A local surfer named Libby rips across the peak of a small wave at a famous surf break nearby. 

The view from our $10/night beach hut. Thought about asking them to move the palms, but decided to let it be.  

A time-lapse photo reveals the flight patterns of fireflies roaming the night sky. Liz likes fireflies.

We often heard the calls of black-naped orioles, like this one we photographed nearby. Kip likes birds.

Grasshoppers scale rice stalks to get a prime view of sunrise on Catanduanes. 

OK, so we stayed at Majestic Pururan Beach Resort. All photos were taken within a 10-minute walk of our hut. Seriously, this place is amazing.