By: Mark Riley

The idea for this page originated as a way for me to have access to the research I have been working at for the last four years. The plan was to include any information that I may need and make it accessible via the Internet from cyber cafes throughout the world. I have expanded on this plan by including a Guestbook E-mail for keeping in contact with people, and other information that might be of interest friends and family. An Online Journal is also found here and I will update it as often as possible.

Now that I have returned from my travels this web site will be expanded upon and over time will contain photo albums for each country I experienced, stories, and other facts such as "what things cost in other countries" such as: petrol (unleaded gasoline, a can of soda, accommodation, food, books, shirts, and other good stuff. I took over 4,000 photos and the process of sorting, organizing, and labeling is time consuming - though quite enjoyable - but with time I will have photos from each country available for viewing here on this web site.

This is my first second time developing a web site so bear with me - I am not particularly fast. Feel free to drop me an e-mail for any questions or comments.

Miscellaneous Thoughts
Travel Photos
Photos from Papua New Guinea
E-mail: climbice2000@yahoo.com



View My Guest Book
Sign My Guest Book


Other Links
Country Information
Weather Around the World

---

SOME OF MY GOALS WHILE TRAVELING

• GREAT BRITAIN: The primary attraction of Great Britain is a castle along Loch Fyne in which lives the current chief of the clan MacLachlan. My great grandmother was a MacClaflin (one of the more than 200 ways of spelling the name, look at the site found at http://www.maclachlans.org/ for a list) and is a close descendent of the MacClochlins.
  
  
• NAMIBIA and SOUTH AFRICA: Spitting Cobras! I must see a spitting cobra before I leave Africa. The big game mammals and Victoria Falls are also highly desired attractions. The entire reason why I have chosen Augrabies Falls National Park in South Africa, and South Africa for that matter, as a destination, is that this seems to be an ideal location for searching out the black-neck spitting cobra. Other snakes, like the green and black mambas, boomslang, green vine snakes, and 2 other species of spitting cobras are found within this region of Africa. And, who can forget the hippo!
  
  
• INDIA: While in India, I will focus on reaching Gangotri glacier, the source of the River Ganges. The base camp of Annapurna (14,300 ft, 4358 m, summit elevation is 26,545 ft, 8091 m) is where I'm heading to while in Nepal. Ideally, I will continue on to Tilicho Pass at 16,730 ft, 5100 m before I descend.
  
  
• THAILAND, MALAYSIA, AND SINGAPORE: While in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, I will be spending the majority of my time amongst the rain forests and smaller towns and villages. Though, a must see in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is the tallest buildings in the world, the Petronas Towers at 1,482 ft, 452 m. There are also spitting cobras found in these three countries.
  
  
• PAPUA NEW GUINEA: The whole reason this adventure began was to satisfy my desire to experience life with people on this earth that still use stone-age tools for daily survival. Those who truly live with the land just as their ancestors once did. There are tribes found deep within the country of Papua New Guinea that have yet to see the white man! By traveling the majority of the Sepik River in northwestern PNG I hope to accomplish this. Existing with the villages and learning their ways while working my way down the Sepik River by dugout canoe.
  
  
• INDEPENDENT SAMOA: The last leg of the journey, and the first country I began researching nearly five years ago, New Zealand, has fallen off the list. Flight conflicts regarding arrival and departure airports and the fact that stopping by here put me over the 35,000 mile limit on the RTW (Round The World) plane ticket that I am purchasing made the decision. Independent Samoa replaced New Zealand. There is QUICKSAND here! Is there a better reason than that.

This photo is of Eric T. and myself on the summit of Mt Elbert, the highest point in the contiguous United States at 14,433', during August of 2002. We climbed four other fourteen thousand foot peaks the day before - Mt Democrat, Mt Lincoln, Mt Cameron, and Mt Bross.