AJET Connect MAY 2014

SKY HIGHHIDE ANDAlexandra Brueckner, AomoriGEOCACHEA Travel BugBesides finding caches, players can also send out “travel bugs”(key chains with a trackable code) to travel the world. Playerscan specify a certain goal for the travel bug and watch as fellowgeocachers take it from cache to cache and player to player toachieve its goal. I found a Travel Bug in Canada that wantedto travel the world, so I brought it with me and dropped it in acache in Kobe’s Meriken Park. It has since travelled to Tokyo andwill hopefully reach another country soon!Geocaching is a low-cost and high-reward activity. There is afree app and full version app offered by Groundspeak, owner ofgeocaching.com, available forsmartphones. Membership onJessica McSavage, HyogoThe two weeks I spent in northern India and Nepal during wintervacation gave me an endless supply of unforgettable experiences.However, the single chunk of time that stands out most vividly,was the half-hour I spent paragliding over Pokhara, the secondlargest city in Nepal. Pokhara is a backpacker’s haven. Nestled inthe foothills of the Annapurna mountain range and flanked onone side by Lake Phewa, it’s the perfect base camp for extendedtreks and other adventuring. If you just want a small dose ofadrenaline, though, a tandem paragliding flight should be youractivity of choice.Most paragliding flights take off from Sarangkot—a nearbyhilltop that overlooks Phewa—and soar up to 1700m. Oneminute you’re standing firmly on the ground, the next your pilotis urging you to start running. “Run?”, you think to yourself, “I’mon a cliff!”. But your feet are already moving and, after a fewAbove Lake PhewaParagliding below the Annapurnamountain range58 the website is free, althoughseconds, your legs are churning in the air. Then your parachute59Did you love scavenger hunts as a kid? Were you a champion premium memberships may becatches the wind and you’re soaring. Lake Phewa is below you,at hide-and-seek? If so, you’d probably also love the growing purchased at a low annual costthe Annapurna are within sight and you have the sudden thoughtworldwide phenomenon: geocaching.for extra perks. The website hasthat birds—some of which are flying within 15 feet of you—areWhat is geocaching you ask? It is a worldwide scavenger hunt amazing video tutorials andthe luckiest creatures on earth.Need to know:made for modern, adventure-loving people! Using a GPSenableddevice, players may search for or hide “caches” in levels and posts regularly onParagliding is one of the most popular recreational activities in Getting there: Most international flights to Nepal willresources for geocachers of allalmost any place imaginable on earth. Caches may be as small Facebook, Instagram and thePokhara, so you’ll never have the sky to yourself, but that doesn’t fly from Narita into Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan Internationalas a bolt magnet designed to blend in on a street pole, or large, geocaching blog.lessen the enjoyment one bit. The multi-colored chutes, as they Airport. From here, there’s no shortage of buses that runplastic containers hidden under fallen logs in the forest. Once So, if you feel like an adventurewheel and soar over the forests that surround Pokhara, make up to Pokhara. Stick with the regular speed buses (about sixfound, you sign the logbook (often just a strip of paper) with your in a new destination, or wantthe strangest and most beautiful flock of birds you’ll ever see.hours), as the “fast” buses (around three hours) have ausername and the date you found it, then log the find online. to rediscover a frequentlyvisitedspot, why not give geocaching a try? I’m always availableGeocache logbook sheetCaches are not always physical; some are “virtual”, requiring aWhen you paraglide, it’s an odd mix of calm and thrill. Catch a reputation for crashing on the mountain roads.visit to a location and taking a picture, or “unknown”, meaning for geocaching adventures, so look me up on geocaching.comthermal and you are effortlessly soaring to a higher altitude. Thethat the player must solve a puzzle at the coordinates to reveal as jem383!silence that encompasses you as you look out over the lake isParagliding: In Pokhara, there are plenty of companies thatcompletely serene. (Unless it’s interrupted by your pilot’s phoneoffer tandem paragliding flights. I flew with Take 5 and, with theira final location. Others are event caches where geocachers canringing, as it was for me!) Once you start doing corkscrews andenergetic staff and included hotel pickup, I definitely recommendget together.other heart-pounding acrobatics, though, it’s a thrill junkie’sthem.Since all caches are hidden by geocachers, you can often finddream come true.Jessica McSavage is a firstyearALT in Hyogo Prefecture.25 will get you a disc full of in-flight pictures and a five-minuteCost: A half-hour flight will run around $85 USD. Another $20-some cool places knownto locals that may not be in the travelguides. I have geocached in Canada, Japan and South Korea, andWhen not listening to moviehave some pretty spectacular photos from places I have visited.Alexandra Brueckner is a third-year high school ALT who video.soundtracks or geocachingOften, geocaches are hidden in locations with high mugglelives in the frozen expanses of Aomori and suffers happilywhile on her travels, she’straffic—geocachers affectionately refer to non-geocachers asfrom a serious case of wanderlust. When she’s not planning Best time to go: Most companies run three flights per day.watching soccer. Here’sher next adventure abroad, stuffing her 別 腹 -equipped body Avoid the first flight (around 9:00 a.m.), because the fog will“muggles”. This has occasionally led to interesting looks fromhoping the Toronto FC doeswith as much sushi as it can handle or consuming a healthypassers-by as I duck my hands underneath a bench or publicbetter this year. Follow herlikely obscure your view of the Annapurna mountains. I flew atamount of geek pop culture (especially all things that involvephone in search of a small magnetic cache. I actually love whenadventures at oneredheart.noon and had a perfect view.Joss Whedon, Doctor Who, and Sherlock) from the toastythis happens because it can sometimes lead to a conversationwordpress.comcomfort of her kotatsu, she blogs at theglobetrottinggeek.where I get to share my adventures with a new friend.wordpress.com and tweets from @halloitsalex.Me (right) and a friend with her firstever geocache in Seoul, South KoreaTRAVELCONNECTCONNECTTRAVELMay Issue 2014 May Issue 2014Pro tip: Don’t eat beforehand or banshee shrieks won’t be theonly thing coming out of your mouth!