Memories of Everest

Shigatse, Tibet
October 2007

The more I look through my pictures from Tibet, the more I want to go back there. Had a great guide with GAP, nice crew of people, and just an amazing experience. It came at a strange point in my life, too -- my father had passed away less than a week before I left, which made it hard for me to feel very social for much of the trip.

I saw him that last week, too - his memory was faulty for the last couple years of his life, and he could not remember that I was going to China. He and I had talked about going some time around 2003-2004, but then he got sick, and never got to go.

In his last few days, my mother reminded him - again - about my trip, and I told him where I was going. I could see in his eyes both the regret that he would not get to go himself, but excitement for me that I was going. He couldn't talk in his final days, so I told him about the bargains I'd gotten for the trip (he was a consummate budget traveler - always very proud of some of the incredibly cheap prices he found) and told him the trip's culmination was Everest.

Although he was cremated, there wasn't time for me to be able to get some of his ashes before my departure, so I took the closest thing I could get, a lock of his hair. I kept it carefully sealed in a little packet that I carried throughout China. I collected items symbolic of him along the way. His favorite animal had been the eagle, so I found things like a shadow cutout of an eagle, a piece of money with an eagle on it, etc. I meant to burn it all with some juniper I got in Lhasa, and scatter it together with his hair at Everest Base Camp.

View of the empty Base Camp, Everest, Tibet side
as seen from the prayer flag mound
October 2007

He would've loved Tibet - the magnificent countryside, the mountains, the friendly people. I loved it, and want to return there one day under better circumstances.

When we got to EBC, I was too wiped out from altitude to make the final trek (I didn't know then that my sleep apnea had become quite advanced), and I was a bit disappointed in myself for that. But I took a pony cart up the last stretch with the most marvelous woman, a woman from our group, Marjorie. She and I each took an earplug from my MP3 player, and listened to and sang along with Johnny Cash singing spiritual songs, with her drumming along on a Tibetan drum she had bought on the trip, as we rode up the path to the primary EBC.

"Some glad morning when this life is over, I'll fly away.
To a home on God's celestial shore, I'll fly away.
I'll fly away, O Glory, I'll fly away. (In the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, bye and bye, I'll fly away."

The air up there - 17,000+ feet - is thin, and it took a lot of effort for me to simply walk across to the mound, and make it up the sandy slope to the top. It suddenly put all the dozens of books I'd read on high-altitude climbing into sharp perspective. I was dizzy and cranky from low-grade altitude sickness, and once I'd climbed up the mound's slope, so many emotions suddenly overwhelmed me that I plopped onto the sandy, rocky ground, and fumbled in my bag for the carefully protected sleeve of items I'd collected.

It was far too windy for me to attempt to burn the juniper and small paper items I'd collected; the wind sucked the breath right out of our lungs. (Oddly enough, there was no trademark plume of snow off the summit the entire time were were there. I was a little disappointed!) I managed to rip open the little packet containing the lock of his hair, and gripped that last connection to my father between my fingers, crying my way through the Lord's Prayer, and my words of farewell, before letting the grey hairs fly off into the winds.

"Maybe you didn't make it here yourself, Dad, but a little piece of you has seen China, and will now fly on the wind, forever continuing to travel and explore."

Prayer mound, Everest Base Camp, October 2007

The pony cart driver was sitting beside me. He didn't speak much English, but he understood that the picture I held was my father, and that I had recently lost him. He gave me a hug, and was able to convey that I could take my time, and not have to rush to get back down to his cart.

I had bought a lovely brass eagle, poised in flight, from a street vendor in Shigatse; it looked a lot like one he had had in his collection of eagles at home, and just like his logo's eagle. I had put a string of monk-blessed beads from the Jokhang around the eagle, and also wrapped a kata - a Tibetan buddhist scarf - around it, before tucking it into the pile of stones there on the prayer mound.

The cart driver sang in Tibetan all the way back down the mountain, and while I waited for everybody else to make the trek back down, I was overcome with fatigue. I sat down against one of our SUV's tires, gazing on one side at the world's highest post office and a local dog, and at Everest's magnificent north face on the other, and let it all wash over me, letting it all come out in a tremendous crying jag.

Later same day (or maybe it was the next day), on the other side of the world, my family was also saying goodbye, as his ashes were finally interred.

There are those who say travel can cure all ills; I know from this experience that travel is many things for me, but it isn't something I want to do while I am trying to come to grips with a major emotional change in my life.

One of these days, I will return to Tibet, and to EBC.

Afternoon Light in the Loop, Chicago

It's baseball season. But it's also still hockey season.

So I present a little of both today. First, a couple of shots of the Boys of Summer (as seen at Spring Training '08) to have a little reminder that beautiful weather and long afternoons lazed away at the ball park have begun: two shots of Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers:

And of course, a hockey picture - the Blackhawks are doing awesome this season. It would be great to have them bring home the Stanley Cup!

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Minnesota Wild
January 2008

Tashi delek

Palcho Monastery, Gyantse, Tibet - October 2007

When you are traveling through Tibet, you will find that you may or may not be allowed to take any photography inside temples. The holiest of Tibetan Buddhist temples, the Jokhang, does not permit photography inside the building, although you may take pictures on the roof or outside.

In other temples and monuments, visitors are frequently charged for the rights to take photographs - with rates for a single room or chamber starting as low as RMB 50-75 (about $6-10) and up to over RMB 150 ($20) or more for some rooms - and flash photography is almost never allowed. The really sacred rooms/statues are generally not allowed to be photographed. (Plus, the Chinese government does not allow photography inside the Potala Palace, which it now controls.) If you want to take video footage of these places, expect to pay more than 10 times that price. Once you've chosen to pay, you're given a small slip of paper which indicates you've paid; and you often will be expected to show that paper if they see you raising your camera.

It is difficult to convey the atmosphere within these temples with a few fleeting photographs: the rich, unmistakable scent of yak butter lamps; the constant low chanting of the faithful; the sense of history and devotion that fills every room. It truly is something to be experienced, and which will affect you.

Somewhere between Shigatse and Sakya, Tibet
October 2007

When traveling across Tibet, sometimes it is really hard to accurately gauge distances or get a sense of scale. The clean air - so incredibly different from the smog-choked skies of eastern China - and the immense scenery make one feel truly humble. It would be hillside monasteries or yaks grazing by a river that would help give some scale to the magnificent views.

I was looking through some pictures from that trip, and I realized that in the pictures I took on an overlook on one of the passes, we were actually standing above the bottom of the cloud layer.

The road through Everest National Park
Tibet, China - October 2007

When you drive to Everest Base Camp on the Tibetan side of the mountain, you pass through a checkpoint where your permit to be at EBC - and your passport, of course - are examined to make sure that yes, indeed, you do have permission to travel to Everest. Once you get up to EBC, if you do not have a climbing/trekking permit that allows you further on the mountain, you will get fined $200 if you go past a certain location in base camp.

One you have passed the checkpoint, it is not long before the paved roads disappear, and you find yourselves jolting over well-graded dirt-and-stone roads. There has been talk that China will eventually pave all the way to base camp; in the meantime, it is very pleasant to ride these roads - rough as they are - knowing you are getting so close to Everest.

Updates on my photography SmugMug site

Among other pictures, I've posted a number of my Tibet pictures (and will be posting China and other travel pics as well) to meryddianphotography.com. So far I have up galleries for Chicago, Flowers/Plants, Tibet, B&W, Pets & Animals, and Food, with more to arrive very soon!

Bargain fares.... til you add up the fees and taxes

Airlines are becoming more clever about how they adverise their flights. Thanks to the downswing in the economy, airline "bargains" abound, with flights being advertised "as low as" $39, $59, $79, $99.

But when you go to the airline websites to book these bargains, it starts to feel like a "bait-n-switch" like you would more commonly find at say, an electronics store - you know, when you see a really great deal on a specific TV/camera/stereo you'd like, so you go into the store, and they go, "Oh, we're out of stock/just sold last one/we don't have that, but why don't you take a look at this model? It's only $40 more..." You go to the airline site and eagerly search out the "just $59!" bargains, only to find out they're only if you fly midweek, stay a Saturday, and oh yes - the thing that is killing ticket prices these days - all the hidden charges that suddenly double the cost of that "cheap" ticket. Or the cheap fares are from weird city combinations that don't apply to you - and your "bargain" fares are three times as expensive!

The thing is that those "bargain" airfares are no longer quite so much of a bargain once the airline starts tacking on fees, which range from straightforward taxes to new and exciting ways to get money out of travelers such as the "September 11th Security Fee" ($2.50 per flight enplanement), airport passenger facility charges ("PFCs"; up to $18 R/T), and US. government excise tax of $3.60 per flight segment. (The "excise tax" is defined as "a user tax to pay for airport construction and airway safety and operations".) Add extra if you're going to Hawaii, Alaska or internationally, where "other government taxes and fees (including foreign taxes based on itinerary or billing address) of up to $180 USD may apply; total may vary slightly based upon currency exchange rate at time of purchase."

I've been looking to book a tropical vacation for later in the year, and have been looking at many destinations. I've been looking to travel with my mother, who lives in another state. For an example in disparity of airfares, taxes and fees and what you get out of them, a long weekend in the Bahamas - over a holiday weekend - from Chicago is around $300, of which approximately $100 was taxes/fees. Now, granted, you CAN get "cheap" fares from Miami to Nassau for $59 each way - before taxes and fees. Tack on those fees/taxes, and the fare ends up at $211 - meaning 44% of that ticket is caused by fees and taxes. There was a time - not too long ago at all - that taxes and fees would rarely exceed $30 per ticket. Now they're regularly hitting $90, $100, or more. The airline industry has quietly let these fees rise over the past year or two, and then they wonder why people are traveling less despite the market being flooded with so-called bargains.

And the bigger the airline, the more the fees seem to add up. The Miami-Nassau flight I listed above is something I found with American. But I recently bought a R/T ticket, Milwaukee to Vegas, on AirTran; that ticket had just $31.70 worth of taxes/fees - $7.20 for "Federal segment tax", $7.50 for "airport passenger facility charge", $5 for R/T 9/11 security fee, and $12 in "other fees". I would ask how there could be such wildly different amounts in taxes in fees - and, oddly enough, the much cheaper fee is for a much longer flight - but I guess that would be like asking how airlines can charge $59 for one seat on the plane and then $900 for another seat on the same flight: it doesn't make sense to the consumer, and it's discouraging to the casual traveler.

Now, granted, airlines make the bulk of their profit from frequent flyers/business travelers. But since the introduction of the whole frequent flyer program idea, airlines have been lavishing more and more onto their frequent flyers, and less and less onto the casual travelers: less leg room, less seat width, less amenities, charging for every little (or big) thing. Today it's charging for extra checked baggage; tomorrow, it's making you pay for carry-ons. Pretty soon, they'll be charging us for toilet paper and window blinds.

Air travel used to be fun, an adventure; today it is a big aggravation, a blood-pressure-raising test of endurance. Paul Theroux wrote many books about the pleasure of traveling by train: having more space and leisure to enjoy the journey, versus the rush-rush and hassle of flying. It may finally be time for trains to make a comeback, and high-speed trains to make their mark on the American landscape - more thoughts on that current topic later this week!

Flying the unfriendly skies

The debate rages on... United Airlines has announced that has new guidelines for overweight/plus size passengers. According to the article in today's Chicago Sun-Times, the guidelines define overweight passengers as those "who can't fit in a single seat in his or her ticketed cabin or can't properly buckle the seat belt, or anyone who can't put the armrest fully down when seated."

Does that mean a pregnant woman needing a seat belt extender would qualify under these guidelines?

It should be noted that United cites 700 complaints among over 63,000,000 passengers - that's a 1 in 90,000 ratio.

Apparently they are unconcerned about passenger's embarrassment to have this sensitive issue addressed at point of departure. If airlines are so concerned about this issue, maybe they could help assist plus-size people prior to their getting on the flight - they could allow people to be medically certified as requiring "plus size" seating, and then give them a code to enter when booking to get them a seat upgrade at a minimal cost. Or airlines could install a couple rows of coach-price seats that have business/first-class widths which these customers could select - an option that would go a long, long way towards customer satisfaction.

Of course, flight attendants would have to ensure that those being granted these seats are actually in physical need of them, not just regular-size people looking to get out of paying the extra cost of an upgrade to get a bigger seat.

While airlines are at it, they need to redesign their bathrooms. They are too small, too cramped, and the only people who can use them without being a contortionists are children, and men who don't need to sit down to do their business. Why is there no leg room in airline bathrooms? (Although really, that shouldn't be surprising as most airlines don't offer legroom in the regular seats, either.) Is the lack of room an attempt to prevent inductees into the "mile-high club"? Women who are pregnant, overweight passengers and disabled customers are at a distinct disadvantage in current-model airline bathrooms.

If I were designing new aircraft today, I would seek to do a couple things:

1) Redesign coach-class seating to create comfortable, ergonomic seats that are lighter weight (to save on fuel costs) but which also allow more seat/leg space for economy-class passengers.

2) Give airline seatbelts an extra 6-12". Even without being overweight, thanks to changes in modern medicine and diet, people are bigger than ever. Give people some breathing room while they're strapped into their seats.

3) Redesign the bathrooms so there is plenty of leg room. I flew on Swiss a couple years ago, and the economy-class bathroom was downright spacious, and had economy of line, and was much better designed than any airline bathroom I had been into in years.

Surely with today's advanced polymers, fabrics and plastics, new advances in comfort can be introduced into the world of commercial flight. It's a sad thing that I'm more comfortable riding a city bus for an hour than I am for most flights.

Another NG appearance!

My photography - specifically, my photo of cyclists on the lake front path here in Chicago - made it onto today's National Geographic Intelligent Travel Blog!

*does a little flailing geek dance of happiness*



In 2008, I placed in the runner-ups for the 2008 "Wild Angle" photography contest sponsored by National Geographic. I have great hope that one day, one day! - my photography will be in National Geographic magazine. I'd also be pretty happy if it was in National Geographic Traveler magazine. After all, it was perusing my mother's NG subscription ever since I was a little kid that inspired me to want to be a photographer. To be on their blog is pretty darn close, though, and I definitely get a very warm glow at seeing it there. :)

Dreaming of warm weather and sandy beaches

Naples, Florida, fishing pier at sunset
December 2008

As cold weather settles in for one last punch at the Midwest before Spring arrives for good, I cannot help but daydream of sunny days, warm sand, beaches, and lengthy Technicolor sunsets.

I need a vacation!

Bahá'í house of worship
Evanston, IL

Ok so I got a little silly and carried away with all the Peeps photography. The Bahá'í embrace people of all religions, so I'm sure people come here for Easter. But it's a popular spot for people to stop on Easter afternoon and take photographs - in the ten minutes I was there, mid-afternoon, it was a steady stream of groups of people standing here and posing for a shot in their holiday finery.

The Bahá'í temple in Evanston is one of only seven in the world. It was completed in 1953, and consists of a lace-like white stone exterior over the building, surrounded by gardens. I find it very peaceful there.

The best times to photograph it are sunrise and sunset, when the white stone is tempered to shades of pink or gold or orange. It's really ethereal, and in my opinion, one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in the Chicago area.

The joy of spring

Peeps™ in front of the Picasso
Chicago, April 10, 2009

Baseball season has begun!

Daley Plaza, Chicago
April 10, 2008

A local cinema favorite

Music Box Theatre, Chicago

The Music Box Theater located at 3733 N. Southport (Brown line, Southport; Red line, Sheridan or Addison) in Chicago has some interesting history. Opened on August 22, 1929, it was one of the first theaters in Chicago specifically built to showcase the newest technology - pictures with sound. The theater was built with an eclectic mix of architectural details; the most interesting being that the main auditorium was designed to make you feel like you were sitting in an open air palazzo, with "balconies" on the side walls, and a star-painted ceiling overhead. The management group added a second auditorium in the early 90s, and echoed the style of the original theater in construction. To add to the theater's charm, it is also said that the ghost of the former manager, "Whitey", who ran the theater for 48 years (and passed away in the lobby on Thanksgiving eve 1977), guards the theater still.

For the past 25 years, the Music Box has been one of the leading Chicago theaters for foreign and independent films, as well as showcasing a wide variety of revival and repertory films. At 800 seats, they remain the largest single movie space in the city. They show approximately 300 films per year. Don't expect perfection when you go here, however; the place could certainly use a renovation (seats, projection and sound system in particular). But that is part of the theater's charm, and local residents line up for shows in this pedestrian-friendly, restaurant-heavy neighborhood.

Chicago Browncoats will be glad to see that Serenity is this weekend's midnight movie at the Music Box - tickets are $9.25; shows are Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4 at midnight. In addition, the Music Box hosts its third annual "Sci-Fi Spectacular!" on Saturday, May 9th with a marathon of sci-fi classics: The Incredible Shrinking Man, War of the Worlds (1953), Planet of the Apes (1968), 2001: A Space Odyssey, Brother From Another Planet, Aliens, and The Fly (1985).

300th post!

Announcing.... MeryddianPhotography.com. :-)

Don't have much up there yet, but will be adding more soon. You can order copies of my prints from that site in a wide variety of formats and styles and products.