Harald Baldr 2022

NEPAL, HIMALAYA: At 4:45AM my alarm kicked off and 20 minutes later I was on my way up the Himalayas in total darkness. Bears, snow leopards, blackface Trudeau monkeys and a host of other potentially dangerous wild animals roam these lands but with the exception of the bears, whom are in hibernation at this time a year, the others are not to fond of people and should pose no problem what so ever as long as I don't venture far of course into the wilderness. In total darkness, only seeing whatever my headlight pointed at... I kept trekking uphill for what was going to be the greatest endurance and strength test of my entire life.

NEPAL, HIMALAYA

EPAL, HIMALAYA: With Snickers, Chow Mein and Gongo aboard, I was ready to once again soldier up the Himalayan mountainside. But for how long? And to where? I had no real end goal in sight. If I found a nice lodge I'd simply set up shop for the night. If not, I'd just keep hiking up. And hike I did as the hours flew by. As I kept climbing, the scenery kept changing fueling my thirst for further exploration. The spectacular Himalayan Lord of the Ringsesque forests, rivers, cliffs, wild deers and ruins of old abandoned settlements had me so intrigued, I wanted to see what's around the next corner, regardless of how much my legs told me they wanted no further part in this trek. Already at 7:00AM, just two hours after leaving Bamboo Lodge, I had been so exhausted, thoughts of setting up shop at the first lodge possible had started creeping in. Somehow I had kept going. But now as the clock turned to 04:30PM, after nearly 12 hours of hiking uphill, fatigue started getting the better of me

NEPAL, HIMALAYA: After 3 days of trekking uphill I was closing in on the town of Kyanjin Gumpa. Or so I hoped... I woke up a little before 6AM feeling rough as hell and unwisely decided to skip eating at the lodge. My plan was to eat at Himalaya's only Hard Rock Cafe. That proved to be an unwise decision as it wasn't even open. So I soldiered on hoping to get to Kyanjin Gumpa as fast as possible for some much needed rest and sustenance. About an hour away from said city I spotted something I'd never thought I'd see this high up in the Himalayan mountains: a beautiful sandy beach! This I had to investigate! So down I went towards the most scenic section of any river I've ever seen, to the little plot of Himalayan heaven I've since Odined: The Himalayan Riviera

HIMALAYA, KYANJIN GUMPA

NEPAL, HIMALAYA

HIMALAYA, MUNDU

NEPAL, HIMALAYA: After two days in bed, I felt strong enough to begin my trek back down from the Himalayan mountain peaks of Lantang toward's Nepal's capital Kathmandu. Whilst trekking up to Kyanjin Gumpa in late December, I met so many interesting people; The Tibet Guesthouse Gongo Brewmaster, Gon-Cholden, Jay's Granny, The Axemaster and many more.... Some I ran into as I trekked back down but many had left to spend time with their families in nearby villages around New Year's eve. This time however I was hoping to meet them all....

OAXACA, MEXICO

OAXACA, MEXICO: Oaxaca is a shopper's paradise! There are markets and street vendors everywhere. Most of the stores are also really unique with local crafts and products you won't find in malls or abroad. I was tempted to do a shopping video just going to fixed price shops. However that would mean I'd be missing out on the Mexican bargaining experience. Nothing beats a good old fashioned market bargaining experience as far as I am concerned. So I decided to go to Oaxaca's Benito Juarez market in the centre of town. (not to be confused with the tyrannical 21st November food market which have mask tyrants at every entrance and don't let free people in... but I digress). At the Benito Juarez market I had a pretty simple plan. Fill up my shopping bag with goodies... then find a deserving local to give it to. That however proved somewhat more difficult than initially anticipated...

MEXICO CITY: After passing out in Oaxaca with my Mezcal hottie I woke up in a strange park. The sun was up and there were plenty of people wandering about. It was clearly already day time and I didn't have a place to stay. I was homeless in Mexico! Luckily I'd had the common sense to pass out with my leg wrapped around my suitcase so I still had all my belongings including my Federal Reserves. So there was only one thing to do. Find out what city this was and if I should spend another day as a homeless man on a free park bench. I opted for the former and started wandering around looking for a place to stay...

PUEBLA, MEXICO

PUEBLA, MEXICO: I like Mexico City but it's also one giant concrete jungle full of high rise modern buildings lacking the charm and character of other Mexican cities and towns which have kept more of their older architecture and colorful downtowns intact. So far Oaxaca is my favorite city in this entire country. But many have told me that Puebla is somewhat similar. It has a colorful downtown historic centre where you can wander around and imagine what Mexico was like in centuries past. So I decided to go check it out. There were a number of boutique hotels to chose from. They're generally my favorite type of hotels to stay in if I find myself in a country full of old cities that have been standing for centuries. Most of them were modern however and lacking the old Mexico feel to their rooms and interior design. One hotel however stood out as unique and historic....

ARGENTINA, BUENOS AIRES: I didn't pay much attention to this World Cup, but since Italy whom I normally support didn't even qualify, I decided to keep my fingers crossed for Portugal and Argentina, hoping they'd meet in a final that'd feature the two all time greats, Ronaldo vs. Messi in the final. Sadly Portugal didn't make it past the quarter final, but once Argentina did after beating Netherlands, it became increasingly clear to me that this was their year and they were going to win. I've always wanted to visit Argentina as it's famous for the River Plate vs. Boca rivalry, quality steaks and awesome wine. It's also said to be quite different from other countries in latin America and somewhat of an Italy clone. Two days before the world cup final Simon Wilson rang me and asked if I wanted to join. 12 hours later we were on the plane from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires....