Trekking in Zanskar

In September last year I was in India to do the trans-Zanskar trek from Lamayuru Monastery in Ladakh to Himachal Pradesh. It was an excellent 18-day walk, with a tough first ten days (7 passes!), followed by a day's rest in Padum and then a delightful walk through farming villages to the high Shingo-la pass and then down to Darcha and Keylong in Lahaul.

We hired a pony man and four horses for the two of us and camped mostly, though we did stay in homes in Reru and Photaksar villages. All in all a fantastic trek, though road construction is nibbling away at several of the trek days, especially from Honupatta to Singge La, from Hanumil to Padum, and from Padum to Tsetang. Following are photos from the trek, plus a few from Spiti and Kinnaur. Cheers to Andre for yet another fine Himalayan walk.

 

 

 

One Month in Bhutan

I'm just back from a month in Bhutan in February/March. When people tell me how lucky I am to have the dream job of travel writer I normally roll my eyes and mutter something about how hard it is to get a good cappucino in Lhasa. But when it comes to researching Bhutan there are no excuses; it's simply the best job in the world.

This was my third trip to Bhutan and this time I focused on the centre and east of the country. There are plenty of up and coming places in Bhutan just begging to get in the new edition of the Lonely Planet guide. Manas National Park is now open for business and the four day trek through the forests from north to south looks fabulous. I had a great day hiking to monasteries in the hills above Mongar and did made it out to a fine meditation retreat above Shingkhar and to the remote Luege Rowe and Shugdrak retreats in the Bumthang Valley. I got as far north as Dungkhar, the ancestral home of the royal family, where I ran out of road, and made a fine hike to the fairytale chapel of Dechen Phodrang in Bomdeling Wildlife Sanctuary in the remote far northeast.

February was chilliy in the Bumthang Valley but it was worth suffering some cold to catch four festivals into four weeks. The Punakha Dromchoe and Tsechu was the most spectacular but also had the most tourists. The Buli tsechu was fantastic because there were only about 50 people there and no foreigners when I was there. The Chorten Kora festival was also excellent and attracted people from Merak, Sakten and Arunachel Pradesh in India. The Nomad's Festival in Bumthang was less authentic but still had some great moments, including some great traditional games and masked dances.

Only another four years to go until the next trip! Now the rather less fun of actually writing the guidebook...

Click on the slideshow below to see larger pics.

Central Asia Media Roundup

Hi all,

Just back from three months in India and I thought I'd share a few books, articles and radio programmes that I think would be of interest to fans of Inner Asia.

First up, and a shameless plug is Great Adventures, Lonely Planet's latest photo-led reference book. I wrote sections on watching wolves in Yellowstone National Park, jeeping Tajikistan's Pamir Highway, horse trekking in Kham, tackling a trekking peak in Nepal and trekking to the source of the Oxus in the Afghan Wakhan.

 

It's great to finally see Odyssey's new guide to Xinjiang: China's Central Asia by Jeremy Tredinnick. Finally this region has got the coverage it deserves. The practical details aren't quite as up to date as my Xinjiang chapter for Lonely Planet's forthcoming China guide, but the scope of the coverage and background information blow everything else out of the water, as is normal for Odyssey guides. If only they would make books that you can actually carry with you on the road - Odyssey, electronic books please!


A more specialist book is Qaraqalpaqs of the Aral Delta by David and Sue Richardson. It's out of the range of most casual budgets but it's a great look at one of Central Asia's forgotten corners. Check out the authors website at www.qaraqalpaq.com.
 

One of favourite recent reads has been Christoph Baumer's Traces in the Desert. I was sceptical about the 'modern-day explorer' nature of the title but it turned out to be a well-researched and engagingly written account of some very impressive trips through Xinjiang, eastern Tibet, Mongolia and Merv in Turkmenistan. If these places appeal, I'd definitely check it out.

 

Finally I'd like to draw your attention to some Central Asian-related BBC radio programmes that you may have missed. All are available to download or stream. 

In Our Time is a wonderful radio series hosted by Melvyn Bragg. Each programme features a conversation with several academics on a particular topic

The following programmes are required iPod listening:

Genghis Khan

The SIlk Road

The Great Wall of China

Marco Polo

 

The second radio series is 'A History of the World in 100 Objects' made in conjunction with the British Museum and looking at moments in history through specific items in the museum's collection. In cased you missed them, interesting tems include:

The Oxus Treasure

Silk Road Painting

Tang Tomb Ceramics

Coin Featuring Alexander the Great

 

Be well,
Bradley 

Dark Days in Tibet

      Phuntsholing Monastery, Tibet


After six weeks of trying, I finally managed to get a permit to get into Tibet this May. Made it all the way to Everest Base Camp and the Nepal border, with stopovers at the interesting monastery ruins at Phuntsholing (above). Apart from a few tour groups there were very few foreigners in Tibet, especially outside Lhasa. The permit situation in Tibet has been a mess for the last month and the province was finally closed to foreigners just after I left, after two Tibetans from Kham set themselves on fire beside the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.

A wander around the Barkhor Square these days means passing underneath the video cameras and snipers on the rooftops and avoiding the riot squad teams walking provocatively anticlockwise around the circuit in the opposite direction to all the pilgrims. Metal detectors and SWAT teams guard the entrance to the Jokhang Square and fire extinguishers are strapped to the backs of all military teams. It's a dark, disturbing atmosphere and one that is unlikely to change significantly until the end of the summer.

I've been to all the places on this trip many times before but there's always something new to see, like this giant thangka that was being made at a warehouse outside Drongtse Monastery for a giant thankga unveiling festival in Gyangtse:

In Sakya Monastery you can now pay an extra Y10 and visit the formerly off-limits library behind the main chapel. The entire wall is made up of ancient sacred texts, printed on leaves of paper and wrapped in brocade;

As is common to most of of my research trips in Tibet, I almost got arrested at one point. It's amazing how sensitive the local PSB can be at certain sights in Tibet. After an hour of negotation, threats, anger and conciliatory slaps on the back we finally got away without major hassle, and more importantly without a fine for our excellent Tibetan guide. So if you are going to Lhatse Choede Monastery and fort, a few miles from Lhatse town on the road to Phuntsholing, make sure it is listed on your travel permit. And certainly don't post a picture of it on your blog...

My favourite monastery in Lhasa, always a delight:

I'm off to Zanskar next for a bit of trekking so I'll post some pics of that on my return.
Be well, Bradley



     Nam-tso lake at sunset

Marco Polo Reloaded apps on iTunes!

The four Marco Polo Reloaded films are now available as apps on iTunes.

If you don't know, these films follow me as I retrace Marco Polo's route overland from Venice to China via the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
If you haven't been able to check out the films so far, each app contains one of the four films in English, plus some additional behind the scenes photos and thoughts on making the trip.

The four films are:
 * Venice to Turkey
 * Iran
 * Afghanistan & Tajikistan
* Through China

Read more about the apps here, where you'll find links to downloading the films through iTunes.

You can also download a free preview of the Marco Polo Reloaded apps by clicking on this link.
There's also a Q&A with me about the films and apps at the Get Addicted To website.

Thanks!

Travels in Xinjiang

Sorry for the silence, I've been in China for two months, enjoying a life of Uighur kebabs and Tibetan butter tea. The Chinese authorities block Blogspot, as they do Facebook and most other Western social media sites, so I haven't been able to post anything.

Five weeks in Xinjiang brought me back to several of the locations I visited in the Marco Polo Reloaded films (Kashgar and Hotan) and allowed me to trace the Taklamakan Desert along the southern Silk Road, from Hotan on to Charklik.

One of the highlights for me was tracking down the region's great history. Archaeology nuts will like the following faded remnants of Xinjiang's once-thriving Buddhist heritage:



Buddhist stupa surrounded by stupa bases, Yarkhoto (Jiaohe), outside Turpan





Mor pagoda, in the desert outside Kashgar





two-thousand-year-old Han dynasty watchtower, outside Kuqa





Subashi Buddhist ruins, outside Kuqa



I was also excited to finally make it out to the impressive Shipton's Arch, an hour or so outside Kashgar, off the road to the Irkeshtam Pass. Thanks to Ali of Uighur Tour for helping to make that happen.





When in Kashgar, fans of Peter Hopkirk's book 'The Great Game' should visit the former British Consulate at the back of the Chini Bagh Hotel's north building. It's currently a Chinese restaurant and you can wander through through the rooms that were once home to the Macartneys, Shiptons and others:





One side effect from authoring the Odyssey Guide to Uzbekistan is that I can't pass up obscure Timurid tomb. This one near the Xinjiang-Kazakhstan border is a cracker:



Tomb of Teglug Timur (1347-1364), ancient city of Almalik, Huocheng, near Qingshuihe.

Marco Polo Reloaded Updates (Updated July 2012)

Here are a couple of updates on the Marco Polo Reloaded films:

German speakers can now view clips from the Marco Polo series at the website of Marco Polo Reisen.

The main Marco Polo Reloaded webdoc site is now locked to visitors from the US and UK (sorry, it's an international rights thing) but you can currently view the clips at Marco Polo Reisen and some are in English.

Over the last few months the Marco Polo Reloaded films have just been shown in Italy on Rai 5 Italian TV, in Germany on Hessicher Rundfunk, in Canada on the Knowledge channel where Canadians can watch episodes online, and on a three hour marathon event across Germany via satellite station 3Sat. Most recently it was on in July 2012 on German station NDR.

One thing to look out for in June is the unveiling of four Marco Polo Reloaded apps, for iPhone and iPad, which will include the four 52 minute films, as well as some photos and thoughts from the trip. The physical DVDs are even for sale on the German version of www.amazon.com

Thanks for reading. Safe travels for 2012!

Bradley

Trekking the Manaslu Circuit

Manaslu and gompa at Lho village



Just back from a couple of months in Nepal, updating the Lonely Planet guide to Nepal. The highlight of this trip was a two week trek around Manaslu, the world's eighth highest mountain and Nepal's latest teahouse trek. Also did a quick blast around the little-trekked Tamang Heritage Trail trek near Langtang and had a wonderful overnight at Nuwakot at the lovely Famous Farm, possibly central Nepal's best-kept secret. Highly recommended!

As with the Annapurna Circuit trek, the best spots on the Manaslu trek are actually side trips from the main trail. If you are contemplating doing the trek, I'd strongly suggest adding three or so extra days to include the following detours.



Kal Tal, a tough day hike (3 1/2 hours climb) from the charming village of Prok, just off the main Manaslu Circuit near Ghap.



Views of Manaslu and Ngadi Chuli from Pungyen valley and glacier, the best day trip from Sama



Manslu reflected in pool, Pungyen valley



Looking down the Pungyen Glacier from the ridge above Pungyen Monastery



Views of Manaslu and Birendra Tal from near Milarepa's Cave, a ridge west of Sama village



Views east down valley from deserted village of Mimi, a short hike from Sama village



Heading to Tibet via the Gya-La, a great day hike from Samdo in upper Nupri



Upper valley below the Gya-La, near Fukang Glacier



Porter resting on the approaches to Dharamsala, the last stop before the pass



Crossing the Larkye La



Pongkar Tal & Phingi Himal, a great half day hike from Bimthang




Looking twards Pongkar Tal & the Cheo Himal, near Bimthang

Afghanistan

Here are a few photos from the Afghanistan leg of the Marco Polo trip. Click on them for bigger images. Brad.

Marco Polo Trip Photos

Following is a slideshow of photos taken from the Marco Polo voyage, stretching along the Silk Road from Venice to Beijing. Click on the photos for a larger image.

Marco Polo documentary on German TV

Less than a week now before the German public TV station SWR broadcasts the first of the Marco Polo films. The films follow me as I retrace the route of Marco Polo from Venice to China via Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Western China, trying to reinterpret the places and things Marco saw on his trip 700 years ago.

The five films are broadcast every Sunday at 5.15pm. See the schedule, description and some photos on the SWR website and also here. You can even watch the films online (in German) at the SWR website.

If you can't watch the films live, or don't speak German (!), check out www.marcopolo-reloaded.com, our Web-based documentary of the entire trip, including pictures, video clips and commentary not included in the documentaries. It's online in stages from 2 October 2011.

Until then, you can get a taste of the trip on a couple of Youtube videos. Click below or on the videos to the right of the screen:
Marco Polo Reloaded page

Please do let us know what you think of the clips or the films, either here or on the Marco Polo Reloaded Facebook page, where we'll continue to post links and video clips.


Thanks to Along Mekong Productions for putting together the clips and the web-doc.

Backpacking in the Beartooths

Just back from my last Montanan hiking trip of the summer. I'm headed off to Nepal soon for a couple of months so this was one final futile attempt to get into shape. Headed up onto the 10,000ft Beartooth Plateau, a couple of hours' drive from my house. One of my favourite places in Montana.



Hiked along the plateau, above the treeline and past Becker Lake.





Made camp at Albino Lake.




And then persuaded my wife to climb up this peak - Lonesome Mountain




For some awesome views




Heading back home for a pint of Bent Nail Ale in Red Lodge. Very Nice.

Beni to Dolpo Trek

One of the best treks I've ever done was a couple of years back for the Western Nepal chapter of Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya. A superb 24-day walk from the Annapurna region, over seven high passes (highest 5318m) across west-central Nepal into lower Dolpo and across the Transhimalaya to Do Tarap and Phoksumdo Lake. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in getting off the beaten trek in Nepal. The pictures below are in order and show the dramatic changes from subtropical rice-growing valleys to high-altitude Tibetan desert. Click on the photos for larger images and a day by day progression. For a trek description see the Lonely Planet Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya guide.

Beni To Dolpo Trek
(click on the photos for a larger slideshow)

Yellowstone National Park

Hi all,
Just back from several weeks in Yellowstone National Park. A great trip and so nice to research in my own backyard instead of flying halfway across the world. Tried out some great new hikes and found some great new places to eat outside the park. Click on the photos to see them in proper size.

Uzbekistan Web Links

For the last couple of weeks I've been busy putting the finishing touches to the new Odyssey Uzbekistan guide (edition 7). I still love printed books but it's hard to keep them up to date, particularly with changable visa and security information. So for one section, the recommended websites, I've decided to keep an updated list here online. You can access the list anytime from the link on the right of the home page (underneath 'About Me') and I'll try to make sure they are updated and current. If you have any favourites or suggestions please leave a comment. Hope this makes researching your Uzbekistan trip a little bit easier!