beyond the brown bangle

Lima is cool. Rafts that seem to appear out of nowhere! Kids staring at all my camera gear as if I'm some kind of God!!


Geoff (German) always with a backup plan.



Alan got the faggot lifevest...fucker.



People eating what looks and smells like shit but tastes so good I almost feel like I'm back having brunch on Chapel...



The most difficult thing to do here is flush the toilet.



This guy just watched me take a dump.


Back in 5 star accom (relief city) I taught Marco the essential Aussie dancemove i.e. the lunge...dude fucken milked it!



Got a great shot of Dennis (originally from Mooroolbark just 5kms from Melbourne!)



Shit just continued to get wild...Pierre was just off the chain!!

Pegs, etc

A lot of the time, you’ll find me on this blog talking adventure. Today, im gonna talk sleep (yawn).

Unfortunately, everyone needs some of it. Even me! I’ve had the luxury of many years of experience when it comes to cutting down the dreaded down time, so im pretty comfortable with my 5.237 hours (give or take) a day.

Anyway, the real reason for the post it to offer a little advice on accommodation when you're out there.

Please don't use a one-manner like this one around me:




You'll literally look like a knob.


It can be useful to adjust to you surroundings using the peeping tom method:





Sometimes for the newbies, getting to learn the local sounds from the safety of your nylon home for 8 hours or so can have its benefits (PS, tapped the one on the right).


Me? I don't do a full tent anymore. Too restrictive, plus the warranty usually doesn’t cover broken poles or bear slashes.





This way, I’m up and running faster than you can say “abseil”.

Hi all,

An avid reader of this blog has kindly sent in a caricature of a backpacker for our amusement!

Thanks again xrogainingx!

T

Lyrical Wax

Here's a short piece on how I feel about adventure as a hobby in general:

"There's a story here. It's about the places you can go, the story you are working on all the time. Everything counts. The story doesn't care who tells it."

What I really mean is, get in a Kayak at any opportunity you can, even at your niece's swimming lesson!

Alaska Part 1

This morning I was on the road to Safety Sound before the sun was up. Safety Sound is a bay on the Bering Sea about 20 miles south of Nome, where I am staying for a few days in the Community United Methodist Church. lt's not even close to how I pictured it and I'm already thinking of cutting the trip short. These are trails suited for less experienced older (slower)hikers and I'll finish this in half the time I had planned. l could have honestly done this hiking trip in Volleys.

I got up so early because I hoped to see many bears. In the event I did track a bear on the beach sand near Safety Sound. But I didn’t see any bears. Even better, no bears saw me.



I tracked the bear’s prints. At lunch at the Senior Center with Pastors Joan and Adam Bates I asked people if this footprint was a grizzly, and they said that it was and it was probably running... Away from me.



Here's Max and Jeff admiring the View of Wrinklebag Bay.



Tapped the one on the right.

Minsk Rash

Anyone who’s been to Vietnam knows about the Minsk.

On my second pass through South East Asia circa 2003, I snapped one up for 4 million Dong (Siked!) and made my way along the coast from Hannoi to Hoi An.



Problem is, around 800km on a 60’s bike doesn’t exactly ooze comfort, so I devised a sleeping style during the trip that ticked all the right boxes. My gift to anyone thinking of doing the same....



TMcP

X-mas in Florida

l know this is late but here are some pics from x-mas day with Dana and Rod Mckenzie who I met on couch surfing early '09...Great food great people.
The airport pickup! On time...minimum hassle...I fucken love this guy (Miss ya heaps Rod)

The posse a la Florida!

Thanks so much guys...Can't wait to introduce you to a Rosebud summer!!

Home Sick Already!

Im miss all the gang back home, partly inspired by Greg ("the big g") sending me this pic of all of us together.

Otherwise I met a bloke named Duncan on a trek to Phu Phan Mountains, I didn't mention the eyebrows all trip! But had a fantastic walk followed by the two of us taking a quick skinny dip. And yes the eyebrows do tell the story downstairs.




Pic shows Duncan before walk.

Day 1 Thailand...

So those of you who know me will be well aware that I get extreme more often than most average people. Even in the office back at my rat race job l'm getting extreme all the time with stationery, taking OH&S risks, drinking way too much redbull...and this pic is just another fucken day of being me (Mr Extreme)

Here’s a little insight into how I handle business back home.

While you’re back in “base camp” Jonesing up for your next trek, you've just got to slide a little sideways from your major supermarkets to find an Asian grocery...

So how much do you reckon the above swag of healthy greens cost me?

At the local Supermarket I'd say it would have been around $15 dollars.

At my local Asian supermarket I dropped a cool $6.30 on the following:

1 x Cauliflower
1 x Brocolli
1 x Bag of Mushrooms
1 x Asparagus bunch
1 x Gai Choi Bunch
1 x Bag of baby spuds
1 x Spinach bunch

And the produce is all high grade gear. It tastes and looks excellent. PLUS I'm not supporting the insane duopoly that is the mainstream supermarkets.

The exploratory foodie in me loves wandering around foreign buying lands too. It's precisely how and why I've ended up getting to know the wider Choi family. It all started with Bok, and up until this latest purchase I'd never heard of Gai. It's freakin delicious in a Horseradish meets Spinach uptown kind of a way.

Wish me luck for my Cauliflower & Asparagus tart!

Welcome to Travis McPhalus' new blog...This record of my travelling experiences takes its name from the first mountain that I ever conquered...Enjoy!