Hindus make a pilgramage to the Ganges to bathe in its waters at sunrise and offer prayer. Once cleansed at the Ghats they will then worship in one of the seven temples built beside the river. Cremations continue 24/7 and…
Our Afternoon in Sarnath
After our early morning on the Ganges we had a short break at the hotel and then left for Sarnath, supposedly the holiest of Buddhist shrines and the site where Buddha gave his lecture on enlightenment and the path to…
Alavidha (Goodbye) India
After Sarnath Cheryl and I walked the gardens of our hotel and then one final trip to a silk brocade factory. It is amazing to see them do this work by hand. One piece takes two people working one loom…
Nepal – The Adventure Continues
Flying in to Kathmandu we caught our first glimpse of the Himalayas. After a short lunch break we drove through the city to the Swayambhunath Stupa overlooking the city below. This site is also known as the Monkey Temple for…
Kathmandu – Can Do!
Today we traversed the city of Kathmandu as quickly as traffic would allow. I will say that the traffic flows much better than India, and the roads and sidewalks are generally cleaner. Electricity however, is another story. We began our…
We Conquered Mount Everest…….Sort Of.
Several of us awoke early for a post dawn flight to Mt. Everest. As you can see from the departure board it didn’t quite work out that way due to haze and smog at the Kathmandu Airport. We did eventually…
The Kathmandu Valley – Bungamati and Patan
After a late start from the hotel due to the delayed Everest flight we alit for the town of Bungamati in the Lalitpur district of the valley. Bungamati is a Newar tribal village that specialized in woodworking. Walking through the…
The Ancient City of Bhaktapur
We drove down the the winding mountain road from Nagarkot passing numerous agricultural terraces for rice and wheat, depending in the season. Cheryl was not thrilled with all of the hairpin turns on a road that is in less than…
On To Pokhara, Our Last Stop
This morning we were due to fly to Pokhara, a resort/trekking center west of Kathmandu near the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas. For reasons which only have a partial rationale explanation we didn’t take off until 1:00 PM. Partly due…
Pokhara – Nepal’s Equivalent of Queenstown, New Zealand
If you want to get a little crazy head to Pokhara. They are certainly attempting to rival Queenstown, NZ for extreme sports. In addition to being probably the trekking capital of the world, with every other shop selling trekking clothing…