Mountain After Mountain After Mountain

Posted on June 11, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be”

Have I mentioned that I love the mountains? I mean absolutely love. Completely, full-heartedly, and irrevocably. Cycling over our first pass, which marks the transition between Kashmir valley and Ladakh, proved to be some of the most beautiful cycling in the world due to the gorgeous peaks that completely encircled us. Though the pass was tough, especially since it was my first one since last year and my legs are no longer accustomed to so much uphill (and, unfortunately, pushing), the snow capped mountains and piles of snow beside the road made it well worth it.

Where Time Stands Still: Far Western Nepal Part 2

Posted on June 4, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“Travel is about the gorgeous feeling of teetering in the unknown.”

Part two about my amazing adventures through western Nepal.

Where Time Stands Still: Far Western Nepal Part 2

“Their nails are caked with dirt and their stained clothes are torn in parts, but they are happy. They are free, living in an off-the-grid universe of their own, where they rely solely upon themselves for survival.”

Into the Unknown: Far Western Nepal Part 1

Posted on June 2, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“But that’s the glory of foreign travel… Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.”

Far western Nepal was astounding, a small secluded section of Nepal which hasn’t been run over by tourism and the culture wash and money that comes along with it. It was a little piece of paradise in such a seemingly crowded country.

into the Unknown: Far Western Nepal Part 1

The Kashmir Valley: A Little History Lesson

Posted on May 29, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“Find what you love and let it kill you.”

The Kashmir valley is a gigantic green expanse of land winding through the Himalayas in Northern India following the Pakistani boarder. It is an absolutely beautiful area, a sanctuary of nature and tranquility in such an overpopulated country. Like Ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu are disputed territories, but unlike the Buddhist Ladakh which is comprised of Tibetans, Kashmir hosts Muslim Arabs who would much rather be part of Pakistan.

Jammu

Posted on May 27, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“You live your life and tell me it can’t be done, I’ll live mine and show you it can.”

There are girls with burkas running arm and arm with each other down the street surrounded by men in flowing grey, white, and black outfits. Colorful headdresses have replaced saris, and Arabic is seen instead of Hindi on posters and signs. In everything but name, being in Jammu is a bit like being in Pakistan (alright, a much less controlled Pakistan that is). This predominately Muslim area is part of the disputed territories, a region in northern India which borders Pakistan where many of the “Indian” inhabitants would rather be part of their neighboring country instead.

75,000km and Counting

Posted on May 8, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“You always have time for the things you put first.”

That’s right, in Kathmandu I met a couple who has been riding for the last seven and a half years around the world, racking up over 75,000km in the process. When Kevin yelled down to me “Shirine, I see touring bikes! There are other cyclists here!” I never expected to meet some of the most well traveled cyclists around. Though we only got to speak briefly with them as we all happened to be shifting hotels, here is a small glimpse into their amazing story.

A Stair Step to the Truth: Persecution, World Unity, and the Baha’i Faith

Posted on May 7, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“Belief? What do I believe in? I believe in sun. In rock. In the dogma of the sun and the doctrine of the rock. I believe in blood, fire, woman, rivers, eagles, storm, drums, flutes, banjos, and broom-tailed horses…”

(I took this in Delhi at the Baha’i lotus temple)

Shirine (my name for those of you who didn’t know) is an uncommon name for a white Canadian due to the fact that it is of Persian origins, a name you would more commonly hear in Iran than where I am from. That’s because I am named after a Persian young women, a Baha’i martyr who was hung, at the young age of twenty-five (in 1983), because she would not denounce her faith. Though she could have fled, she choose instead to stay in Shiraz in order to continue serving her community. When asked how long she would hold off denouncing her faith, she said, “Even to death! I hope that God’s mercy will enable me to remain steadfast up to the last breath of my life.” Which is exactly what she did.

My Lovely Hank

Posted on April 9, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness—and call it love.”

“Lizzy, you had better be taking care of Hank up there,” I said looking up at the roof during our extremely bumpy bus ride.

“Shirine, the bikes can’t hear you,” Kevin scolded me teasingly.

With an exaggerated sad face I turned to him and said quite seriously, “Kevin, those bikes can understand us, please don’t hurt their feelings.”

“No, no,” he emended, “I meant they can’t hear you over the noise of the road.”

Oh The Things You See: 5,900km

Posted on April 8, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day, to have a new and different sun.”

Though I have not enjoyed the humid, hot, and mosquito ridden terai (lowlands) of Nepal, is does make for some interesting cycling as you constantly find yourself cycling amongst goats, bulls, and even chickens packed on motorcycles.

Running Into Life

Posted on April 5, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”

I often meet travelers who are running away from life. From their boring stagnant jobs, from a divorce or bad breakup, or from a family they can’t stand to be around. Don’t get me wrong, I think that travel is quite a healthy way to run away from the real world for a while, from the stress of daily life as you figure out your next move. It teaches you to look inside of yourself and see what you truly want. It makes rethink how you should live your life and what makes you happy. It opens you up to new ideas, and creates opporutnies you never would have believed existsed. Yes, I believe travel is indeed a healthy form of real life avoidance, it just doesn’t happen to be the reason I travel.

The Wandering Nomads

Two bikes, one life, and the whole world to see

Tag Archives: Cycling around the world

Mountain After Mountain After Mountain

Where Time Stands Still: Far Western Nepal Part 2

Into the Unknown: Far Western Nepal Part 1

The Kashmir Valley: A Little History Lesson

Jammu

75,000km and Counting

A Stair Step to the Truth: Persecution, World Unity, and the Baha’i Faith

My Lovely Hank

Oh The Things You See: 5,900km

Running Into Life