Traveling to Asia!

[terfezia]

Hello everyone,

This topic is about an upcoming trip iam getting ready for. Me and my better half are travelling to Asia for a few months to escape and chill out for a while. We are traveling to Nepal, Cambodia and Indonezia.

Naturally since ive recently taken up the hobby again, iam going to keep an eye out for fossils. I wanted to see if anyone has any insight about these locations. I found a bunch of ammonite nodules and fragments the last time I was in Nepal. Two pictures below show an ammonite Nodule from the Annapurnas. Still unprepped but will probably prep atleast one side of it.

Ill be collecting a few more this time but iam very limited as to how much I can carry. We are doing the Annapurna Circuit again, which is close to 400 km of trecking over the course of a month with a scary high pass over 5000 meters that we have to cross. I wont be able to carry more than a few kg-s at the most.

I dont have any information about cambodia, but due to the ever present threat of landmines and other horrors Ill probably not explore the possibilities for Cambodia.

Indonezia however ive heard about. I hear some pretty nice fossilised wood comes from Java in Indonezia. Any thoughts or reccomendations concerning this? I cant seem to find too many specifics on this. If there are however places worth checking out we might make a detour.

Iam hoping to post some pictures while there and keep this topic alive. We are leaving in the end of February and will be trading the himalayan paths by the second week of march.

The Ammonite Nodule from Thorung Pedi close to 5000 meters above sealevel.

Edited January 8, 2016 by terfezia

[jpc]

I know nothing about these areas... but I look forward to hear how it all goes. Have a great trip.

[digit]

I know that Bali has agatized fossil coral--because we bought some while on a dive vacation there several years ago. Didn't know it was locally produced till sometime later. I have no idea who you would have to contact to try to get access to the uplifted deposits of this fossil material (they hike chunks of it down from the mountains). I also have some ammonites that were used in tribal artwork that I bought from West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya) so I expect there are outcrops of these somewhere in eastern Indonesia. Other than that I'm afraid I know very little about fossils occurring in this region of the globe. If you do manage to get to do some fossil hunting while on your trip, please take lots of photos and post here. It would be an unusual and interesting topic that I'm sure TFF members would enjoy reading.

Cheers.

-Ken

[ZiggieCie]

WOW! what a trip. I am sure you know, but be sure about any laws on fossils in the areas you go. Some people are very touchy about their fosils.

Have a wonderful trip and take us along in your camera.

[terfezia]

Thanks for the comments guys. Ive been doing some reading about Indonezian fossils and ive mainly found information about corals so far. Local knowledge would be of essence when we are there but without the necessary language skills this may be a challenge. Still have about 4 months before we reach Indonezia so plenty of time to contact some people there or atleast get a general understanding about fossil distribution in the area.

Nepal on the other hand is desolate in the mountains. I had no issues with walking around on the flood plains and around the gorge of Thorung Pedi in search of fossils. There are nodules the size of ovens in the river, but allas so far from everything and anything they will stay in the gorge untill time melts them away and carries their broken up sediments downstream. Ill be on the look out for fossils other than ammonites. The Hindus consider these stones holly, here is a short but interesting reading on the subject.

"Saligrams are mentioned in ancient Sanskrit texts that date back to the second century BCE. Our Saligram (also Shaligram, Salagramas, Shila or Sila Murti) stones originate from the sacred Kali Gandaki River in Nepal. This is the only region where these Saligrams are found and they are therefore distinct from other fossils found elsewhere. This region is also revered by Buddhists as being especially blessed by female Dakinis. Saligrams are worshipped in Nepal and India as the manifestation of the Hindu god, Vishnu. Indeed the word Saligram is actually one of the lesser known names of Vishnu. The largest known Saligram is housed in the famous Jagannath Temple in Orissa, India.

These dark Himalayan fossils are believed to be somewhere between 140 and 165 million years old. In Nepal, some pieces have been heirloomed for many centuries and they are highly prized for their potent spiritual blessings. Each piece is unique and they are worshipped according to the markings and shape of the stone. The spiralling stones represent the Sudarshana Chakra, a 'spinning disk-like super weapon with 108 serrated edges'. There are many other special properties attributed to the Saligram. Pieces that display areas of golden colour are believed to bestow wealth and prosperity for example, or drinking water that a Saligram has been bathed in, is believed to purify negative karma."

Upper Mustang is said to have large deposites of ammonite nodules and we will infact cross the southern tip of this region.

Picture of an ammonite imprint from the southern edge of the Mustang region, Khali Ghandaki valley.