Degema Travel Every Story is a Journey. Every Journey has a Story.

Travel

The Ancient Past and the Dystopian Future

I wasn’t entirely comfortable in Cairo. I didn’t feel actively threatened, as such, but I didn’t feel like I could take a walk down the street without facing a very real risk of injury or death. The extremely casual interpretation of the Highway Code and general Health & Safety precautions was a significant factor in that feeling, but the vibe generally felt…wrong. Maybe that was just me and the paranoia a couple of years without travel had created, but it was still enough for me to decide to move on from Egypt after only a single full day.

Travel

A Camel Named Yorkshire

I left you just as I was talking to the owner of the Bedouin Pyramids Guest House about a tour of the Pyramids. We jumped into his car and drove to the entrance of the Giza Necropolis. I had partially booked this particular hotel because it was only a little over a mile (1.7 km, if you’re being precise) as the crow flies from the Pyramids but, having seen Cairo traffic and its…liberal approach to the Highway Code, I decided that walking was perhaps not the smartest idea.

Travel

Cairo’s Ancient Architecture. Also Pyramids

It’s been a while since I was active on here. Like practically everyone, COVID-19 and the worldwide lockdowns did a bit of a number on me, not least because they prevented me from being able to travel. It wasn’t until I decided it was time for a big adventure at the end of 2022 that I realised just how much I had missed it. In fact, it wasn’t until I got off the plane in Cairo – up to that point, I had been perfectly prepared to intentionally miss the outbound flight and spend two weeks moping in bed instead. I’m certainly glad what few scraps of determination I had left at the time got me to my gate.

Travel

Annapurna Loop to Poon Hill, Day 2 – The Friendly Path to Ghorephani

11 May 20214 July 2023

This day’s trek ended well before the sky started to darken, at a place called Ghorepani. This is one of the larger towns in the Annapurna Conservation Area, it being at a crossroads of different trekking routes, with the popular viewpoint of Poon Hill above it. We made our way up further steps – Bishnu having decided to pick a guesthouse close to the start of the walk up to Poon Hill – and, after a quick (and very cold) shower to wash away the day’s sweat, I stepped out onto the patio with my camera and a masala tea.

By Ben Reeves

CategoriesTravel
Annapurna Loop to Poon Hill, Day 1 – Endless Stairs to Ulleri

Posted on20 April 202128 February 2023
The Poon Hill circuit is one of the more popular routes in Nepal. It’s the one my brother tried on his first visit to the country and was the natural first choice for the owner of Osho Vision Treks – Ishwor Bhandari – to recommend when I informed him that I was not especially fit nor experienced with trekking. Nayapul was busy with other groups making ready to depart and, after a quick breakfast there, Bishnu and I set about making tracks.

By Ben Reeves
CategoriesTravel
Pokhara: Nepal’s Outdoor Adventure Hub

Posted on12 April 202129 December 2022
Pokhara itself is like Thamel in Kathmandu, but scaled up to an entire town. It’s the gateway to the Annapurna Conservation Area and the wealth of trekking routes that can be found there, so every other business in the town centre (and some distance out of it) seems to be a tour company of one sort or another. I, of course, was only here for a stop-over, my tours having already been arranged in Kathmandu with Osho Vision Treks & Expedition P. Ltd.

By Ben Reeves
CategoriesHotel · Review
Revisiting My First Thailand Experience

Posted on6 April 202111 May 2021
The Regent Cha Am is a four-star beach resort about 180 km southwest of Bangkok, Thailand. It has 442 guest rooms, a spa, several swimming pools, direct beach access, two restaurants and plenty of conference rooms, among other facilities. It’s also the first hotel I ever stayed at in Thailand, way back in December 1998. Over 22 years later, I returned for a long-weekend break by the beach.

By Ben Reeves
CategoriesTravel
The Long Road to Pokhara

Posted on16 March 202120 April 2021
On Wednesday 9th October 2019, I presented myself at the little office of Osho Vision Treks & Expedition P. Ltd for what would be a transit day, though one of the most amazing I’ve ever spent. For the first time in this trip, I properly felt like I was actually in Nepal. Or, to be more accurate, what I suppose I had expected of Nepal.

By Ben Reeves
CategoriesTravel
A Tale of Temples in Kathmandu

Posted on16 February 202126 May 2021
Nepal has quite a staggering array of beautiful tourist attractions — particularly temples and religious site. I’m delighted to say that they have largely survived or been restored to their previous glory since the April 2015 earthquake, as I discovered on 7th October 2019.

By Ben Reeves
CategoriesTravel
Doing the Tourist Thing in Thamel

Posted on19 January 202113 April 2021
My second day in Kathmandu saw me with only a very general plan to check out some of the attractions in the centre of the city, around the tourist hub — Thamel. I had a list of places deemed worth checking out from Anima and a second from my brother, and both proved to be pretty reliable. I also had an interest in just seeing where my feet took me. I had Google Maps on my phone and a pretty good sense of direction in my head, so I wasn’t that concerned about getting lost.

By Ben Reeves
CategoriesTravel
Kathmandu. Dog Man Don’t

Posted on13 October 202011 May 2021
On 5th October 2019, I landed in the capital city of Nepal, ticking an item off the top of my bucket list that had been there for quite some considerable time. There was no especially good reason why it had taken so long to get to, perhaps other than doubting that my cash reserves would be sufficient for me to have a good trip. However, earlier that year, I’d won a prize at work that allowed me to spend my entire time there without spending a single rupee on hotels. As you might imagine, that made affording the trip significantly easier.

By Ben Reeves
CategoriesTravel
Overlander: Day 7 – Rest and Repair

Posted on24 March 202016 March 2021
Our wander around the city of Swakopmund revealed that the word “city” is perhaps a little generous. It basically boils down to nine blocks arranged in a grid, with a bunch of outdoors shops and mechanics specialising in off-roaders. It almost seemed like the city only existed to serve overlanders.

By Ben Reeves
CategoriesTravel
Overlander: Day 6 – Dune 45

Posted on3 March 202018 January 2021
At various points through the night before then, I needed to answer the call of nature. Lacking any alternative facilities, the only solution was to walk for about 20 metres away from the camp into the scrub that surrounded us to the horizon in every direction. As I was…communing with nature, I looked up into a crisp, clear, starry night. And I started to laugh. There was nothing especially funny up in the sky, I wasn’t being tickled by nature. It was just raw joy.

By Ben Reeves