I am like a sail that is buffeted by the wind, with no clear direction, no guiding light, but as often as I despair about some things, the winds usually take me to where I needed to go, whether I knew it or not. So far, life's been pretty good, considering all the ups and downs. The measure of my success (my personal wealth) is the accumulation of my life's experiences, not my money...thus, I am a rich man. I hope you enjoy the photos and the story telling. If you become a 'follower" you can get automatic updates, it's the easiest way to take a mental break and enjoy some photos for a few minutes.
I spent a few hours in the open air markets in Patan, essentially a southern suburb of the city of Kathmandu. I was not prepared for the buzz of activity and the throngs of people scurrying about all buying or selling something to each other. The energy was non-stop and if you like crowds great, but if you are more into personal space, this is not the place for you. I ate a lot of great street food and saw some comical events but after a while it was time for peace and quiet so I split back to the chaos of the Thamel neighborhood…ha,ha.
As dusk settles in the Himalayan foothills, worshippers come and celebrate the Tibetan New Year at the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Darbur Square in Bhaktapur - the ancient cultural capital of Nepal - has a plethora of elaborate art work created in stone, wood, brass and paint. One could spend quite a bit of time strolling it’s open air plazas and narrow streets looking for treasures.
February 24, 2013: Day 7 of trek - Landruk to Birethanti.
We end the trek today after 7 fantastic days…it rained hard last night and it misted all day. We finished the trek in Birathanti, then drove a bit over an hour back into Pokhara.
February 22, 2013: Day 5 of Trek - Chhomrong to Gandruk
3rd set of images from today’s wonderful walk.
February 22, 2013: Day 5 of Trek - Chhomrong to Gandruk
Second set of images from this wonderful walk.
February 22, 2013: Day 5 of Trek - Chhomrong to Gandruk
1st of three sets of images from a nice walk through a great variety of territory.
February 21, 2013: Day 4 of Trek - Tarapani to Chhomrong
One of the most wonderful mornings after the snow storm and rain from the previous days was a welcome sight instead of grey, cold and slippery conditions. It’s good to mix it up so you can enjoy the great moments like these when they come.
February 20, 2013: Day 3 of trek - Ghorepani to Poon Hill Viewpoint, then onto Tarapani
February 19, 2013: Day 2 of trek - from Hile to Ghorepani.
Slowly gaining altitude gets us closer to the Annapurna Range, but we have to put the effort into the kilometers and thousands of steps along the way.
February 18, 2013: Day 1 of trek - from Birathanti to Hile
February 18, 2013: Birethanti, the beginning of a 7-day trek in the Annapurna region.
A 1.5 hour drive over a few passes to the west of Pokhara brought us to Birethanti, a one-horse town where our trek began. The trek went up the newly-opened gravel/dirt road that changed the way treks are done around the Annapurna circuit. Progress has consequences, always. The rains below became snow up high after day 2 of the trek. The first part of the trek to Hile was easy and let me in on the scene with some unique little tidbits of local flavor. These are the spices of life.
February 18, 2013: Pokhara - Peace Stupa sunrise over Lake Phewa
A 5-hour ride from Chitwan brought me to Pokhara, Nepal’s version of Chamonix, Lake Tahoe, Lake Louise or Queenstown. The sunrise was stunning and the previous days of rain provided the perfect background for a sunrise photo shoot that started around 5 AM with a short car ride and a 45-minute hike to the Peace Stupa. Pokhara is a great location for multiple sports and access to the Annapurna trekking region. Do spend plenty of time here, you will love it. I will spend more time in the area in the future for sure, and the climate is so nice, much cleaner and nicer than Kathmandu, with much, much less noise and overall pollution.
February 17, 2013: Chitwan Elephant Safari
Remember the pony rides your parents took you while you were young? You were put on what seemed to be a huge horse and led around by some hapless teenager around a circle for a slow walk while you wanted to run at full gallop. Just exchange the tired pony for a 2-3 ton asian elephant, exchange the saddle for what can only be described as a crib on the back of the animal and add a mahout (the elephant driver) and head off into the jungle…hoping to see rhinos and tigers. This is the elephant safari in Chitwan, but even for the many shortcomings, the ride is quite fun, as long as you find a way to get comfortable while being maytagged in the jungle. I would suggest you buy the 4 spots available on the crib, take only one friend and enjoy the more comfortable ride. Try to do a couple of elephant safaris if you can…they are much more interesting that the tired pony rides of yesteryear. These elephants are bred and trained for these ‘safaris’, so we visited the elephant breeding camp to see how they are doing. They are big, strong and opinionated animals so they need to be restrained (chained) after their AM/PM sessions. It’s a sad story, but then not everyone gets to ride on the back of an elephant every day. The good news is that they let the wild elephants mate with the captive females in order improve the gene pool. Those lucky pachiderms!
February 16, 2013: Chitwan National Park - Elephants, rhinos, crocs and tiger poo!
We drove from Kathmandu about 5 hours until we arrived in the flat lowlands of Chitwan National Park. After visiting the local village we were off on a jeep safari, looking for the famous Asian rhino, Bengal Tiger and other creatures. We were chased by a wild rhino (quite thrilling I may add!), visited the breeding/conservation project for the endangered gharial crocodile and saw spotted deer, birds and insects of all kinds. I would say you need to spend at least three/four days in the area in order to do it justice.
