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11/23/2008 to 12/28/2008 | Bangladesh  [View with PicLens] 123456► As I scanned my surroundings I thought of slogan on the poster in lobby of the Bangladesh Embassy in Delhi, “Visit Bangladesh before the tourist come.” They hadn’t come yet, at least not to Tamabil, the small border outpost in northern Bangladesh that seemed to have twice as many [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…8910► legacy gallery with captions Phejin’s village of Shiyong is in the Mon district of Nagaland home to the Konyak tribe. Traditionally in the Konyak men were required get a face tattoo at the time of adulthood. The practice was long abandon and now only a few of the older [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► legacy gallery with captions I was back in Delhi to take care of a laundry list of tasks that required my presence in the confines of the capital. I needed a new laptop thanks to the Goan cook relieving me previous one in Leh, I needed to clean my [...] 11/7/2008 to 11/11/2008 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► legacy gallery with captions “Five Hundred?” I exclaimed in disbelief. “No booking, shared jeep.” I said. “No shared, only booking to Kausani,” the jeep driver retorted with an expression and mannerisms of a man who knew that the last bus for Kausani had already left and who thought he [...] 11/2/2008 to 11/7/2008 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► legacy gallery with captions “I only take the Rajdhani, the other trains are no good, Rajdhani is good train.” Indian trains, hardly the first topic of conversation I would have expected from a holy man who lives most of the year in solitude at the inhospitable altitude of 3600 [...] October 2008 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 1234…161718► Legacy Gallery with Captions Having escaped the snows of Spiti, I headed for the neighboring Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, formally known as Uttaranchal. The state’s most famous destination for foreigners is the Meditation/Yoga/Asram/neo-Hippi meca of Rishikesh made famous by the Beatles’ stay in 1968. For Indians the state derives [...] 10/15/2008 to 10/17/2008 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 1234567► legacy gallery with captions I reached Joshimath in the evening after a long series of jeeps and buses from Wan, although relatively close geographically the poor roads and transport connections made it a long day of travel. My primary purpose of visiting Joshimath was to hike up to the [...] 10/10/2008 to 10/13/2008 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 123456► legacy gallery with captions The mysterious lake of Roop Kund sits below the towering 7120 m (23,350 ft) face of Trisul, on the western edge of the Nada Devi Sanctuary, mountainous region surrounding Nada Devi the highest peak solely contained within India. The lake draws its notoriety from the [...] 9/19/2008 to 9/28/2008 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234…8910► legacy gallery with captions Day 1 (9/20/2009): I stared out of the window adjacent to my bed. The steady rain which had started early in the morning was now turning to fluttering white flakes of snow. Looking across at the gray skies which now isolated the white flat roofed [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…91011► legacy gallery with captions We awoke in Korzok, the village nestled along the northwestern bank of the high altitude sailine lake of Tso Moriri, to a mass exodus. Anyone with any mode of transportation, horse, donkey, tractor, jeep, motorcycle, truck, anything that could move a person to some where [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…202122► legacy gallery with captions I walked up Chanspa road in Leh towards the Sandwich Bar where a group was meeting to discuss the logistics for a self organized trek to Zanskar. I had planned on doing the Lamayuru to Darcha trek across the remote region of Zanskar, so when [...]  [View with PicLens] 123► The most common way to enter the Nubra Valley is via the 5602 m (18,375 ft) Khardong La which the Indians love to tout as the highest motorable road in the world, a title which is apparently somewhat debatable. In any case, I decided to hike in via the [...]  [View with PicLens] 123456► In between treks and lazy days in Leh, I made a few day trips to some of the monasteries near Leh. Spituk monastery is the closest major monastery to Leh and was mainly interesting for the sand mandala that was being created by the monks at the time I [...]  [View with PicLens] 12345► legacy gallery with captions Stok Kangri rises like a white sail above the Indus valley opposite Leh. Looking up at the snow covered peak watching the last rays of the setting sun bathe the white massif in a golden glow, I found it hard to believe I had stood [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…91011► legacy gallery with captions As I slid down the glacier my speed increasing with every passing moment I struggled with all the might my oxygen starved lungs could muster to slow my acceleration, thrusting my trekking pole into the ice with as much success as one might have in [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…8910► Shortly after I arrived in Ladakh, the festival at the Monastery of Hemis was scheduled to take place. Probably among the most touristy of the monastic Cham dance (traditional Tibetan masked dances) festivals in Ladakh, due to its proximity to Leh and the fact that it takes place in [...] 6/5/2008 to 7/11/2008 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► The toughest leg in my journey from Nepal to Ladakh in northwest India was not the bone shattering 24 hour Manali to Leh bus along one of the highest and remotest roads in the world, nor was it braving the heat, humidity, and down pours of the Indian monsoon [...] 5/28/2008 to 6/4/2008 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► The previous day’s phenomenal weather at Knobby View was not a fluke but rather the beginning of a trend. The sky was yet again spectacularly clear the morning we hiked westward over the Renjo La (5417m/17,772 ft pass) from Gokyo to the neighboring Bhote Valley. From the prayer flag [...] 5/24/2008 to 5/27/2008 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 123456► Knobby View Panorama It snowed most of the day I hiked to Dzonglha, the last lodge before the 5420m/17,782 ft pass to the Gokyo Valley known as the Cho La. At the lodge in Dzonglha I met, Ben, an outdoor enthusiast from Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the accent to match. [...] 5/20/2008 to 5/23/2008 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► As I hiked towards Gorak Shep, at the foot of Kala Pattar, and the last lodge settlement on the route to Everest Base camp, I struck up a conversation with a friendly Nepali man, named Kili Sherpa (pronounced Kee-Lee). I ended up hiking with him and his cousin most [...] 5/16/2008 to 5/19/2008 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► My principal goal in Chukhung was to climb the near by peaks of Chukhung Ri (5559m/18,238 ft) and Chuckhung Tse (5857m/19,216 ft), the highest point in the area not requiring an expensive climbing permit. On my first day I climbed up Chukhung Ri to test my acclimatization and see [...] 5/6/2008 to 5/15/2008 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 123456► Everest, it’s a mountain that has fascinated the western world ever since it was determined to be the highest point on the planet in the mid-19th century. It has drawn travelers and mountaineers to the region surrounding it, known as the Kumbu, ever since. Seeing Everest for the first [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…121314► Sikkim is in northeast India and it sticks up like a little peninsula into the Himalayas. Bordered on the west by Nepal, the east by Bhutan, and the north by Tibet its culture and landscape is closer to these regions than most of the rest of India.. I was [...] 4/11/2008 to 4/14/2008 | India , West Bengal  [View with PicLens] 1234567► When I left Hampi around two in the afternoon I was not looking forward to the journey ahead of me. I usually try to avoid long hauls preferring instead to make my way slowly in a particular direction stopping to see places along the way. However, I had spent [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…91011► On my first trip to India, having seen my father’s pictures of Hampi, I immediately wanted to go there myself. The 16th century ruined capital of the Vijayanagar empire, set in a fabulous landscape strewn with boulders appeared to be a perfect place to live out my “Indiana Jones” [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► Central Karnataka was ruled by the Hoysala dynasty during the 11-13th centuries. Their temples were characterized by incredibly ornate sculptural detail, possible because the soft steatite soapstone used in construction oxidizes and hardens when exposed to air, beautifully preserving the artistry for almost a thousand years. The Hindu temples [...]  [View with PicLens] 123456► The Ghats are southern India’s mountain range which stretches from its southern tip northward. Before branching into the eastern and western Ghats which create the boundaries of the central plateau of India the Ghats run along the boarder between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It was this region in which [...]  [View with PicLens] 123► Prologue: I once met someone who said they’d like to write a travel book only about the other travelers they met while on the road. The places would be irrelevant to the story of the people. As I write about my visit to Cochin thinking about what I will [...] 3/21/2008 to 3/26/2008 | India , Tamil Nadu  [View with PicLens] 1234567► I had seen a great deal of Tamil Nadu on my first trip to India so I hadn’t really intended to go back, but I found that a short foray through Tamil Nadu would permit me to head North without retracing journeys I had already made in Kerala. Plus [...]  [View with PicLens] 12► If you mention the words “Sabarimala,” and “Lord Ayyappa,” to the average Western tourist in Kerala and you will be most likely be greeted with a blank stare. I would have been one of those blank stares if I hadn’t started thumbing through my Kerala road atlas looking for [...]  [View with PicLens] An entry more out of completeness rather than anything really substantive to say about this beach resort filled with European beach vacationers and a sprinkling of backpackers like myself. There are two metrics for how much I’ve enjoyed a place, how long I stay, and how many pictures I take. [...]  [View with PicLens] 123456► The main purpose of most people who visit Alleppey and Kollam is to explore the series of lakes, canales, rivers, and bays that make up the famed Kerala backwaters, a labyrinth of waterways through rice patties and palm orchards. There are a number of ways to see the backwaters, [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234► A to remain nameless worry some aunt once asked me, “How do you know what bus to get on? What happens if you get on the wrong bus?” To which my reply was, “I guess I go somewhere else then.” It had actually never happened to me until recently [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► There has been more than a few times when I’ve arrived in a town and after a quick look around thought to myself what am I going to do here for the rest of the day, yet on each occasion that thought as crossed my mind something invariably arises [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…8910► My initial experience with the art of Theyyam enthralled me to the point where I was anxious to seek out more of this captivating ritual art form. I returned to the Kannur District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) office that had been so helpful in leading me to the first [...]  [View with PicLens] 12345► Getting to Kannur, a city in northern Kerala along India’s southwest coast should have been the easy part. But as I arrived at the Mangalore state run bus stand I was told the same thing I was told at the private bus stand, “no bus to Kerala, strike.” My [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► Udupi is a pilgrim town near the coast in southern Karnataka. It is also the birthplace of the masala dosa, a tasty south Indian snack/meal consisting of spiced potatoes wrapped in a rice flour pancake served with chutneys. It as close as India comes to a breakfast burrito, which [...]  [View with PicLens] 12345► Its far from the prettiest beach I’ve seen, there isn’t a whole lot to do, yet Gokarna has a way of gripping and enticing travelers to stay far beyond there intended duration. I think one would be hard pressed to find anyone who has not stayed longer than they [...]  [View with PicLens] 12345► From Bijapur, I left Muslim ruins behind for Hindu ones in and around the village of Badami. Badami along with nearby Pattadakal and Aihole (pronounced a-hole-leh, rather than a-hole) are the sites of some well preserved Hindu temple architecture dating from 4th to 8th centuries. Although the temples were [...]  [View with PicLens] 123456► Bijapur, the last in my three city tour of central India’s former Islamic kingdom capitals, was the capital of the Adil Shani kings from 1489 to 1686 AD. Bijapur became one of the major centers of power in the region after the disintegration of the Bahmani Empire centered at [...]  [View with PicLens] 12345► The city of Bidar is not on the way to much, trains from Bombay heading south blow by town with little more than a honk of the horn, and few tourist make the effort to get to this provincial backwater town, tucked away in the far north of Karnataka. [...] 1/25/2008 to 1/26/2008 | Andhra pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234► In the midst of north Indian winter, I was ready to go south and to the warmer weather that lower latitude provides, so I hopped on a train from Bhopal to Hyderabad, the capital of the state of Andre Pradesh. This started a three city swing through the old [...] 1/22/2008 to 1/24/2008 | India , Madhya Pradesh  [View with PicLens] 1234► Sanchi is a small town near Bhopal (infamous as the site of the Union Carbide chemical gas leak in 1984 that killed over 20,000 people) in central India. Sanchi is the site of the best preserved of India’s Buddhist stupas. The stupa complex set on a hill above the [...] 1/17/2008 to 1/21/2008 | India , Madhya Pradesh  [View with PicLens] 1234567► The temples of Khajuraho are famous for their intricate and graceful carving but even more so for the sexual nature of that carving. The temples, dating from the 950 to 1050 AD, were forgotten, obscured by the jungle until their rediscovery in the early 19th century. There remote location [...] 1/14/2008 to 1/16/2008 | India , Madhya Pradesh  [View with PicLens] 123456► Today Orchha is a small sleepy little village but it was once the capital of a princely state during the 16th to late 18th centuries. Decaying reminders of its grander past lie scattered around the village in the form of palaces, ruined havlies, temples, and cenotaph’s (monuments built on [...]  [View with PicLens] 12345► After dropping Karin and Jeff off at the airport, I headed back to Jaipur, not because I really like the place, but rather to hang out with my father before he took his group south. Although the city is not as bad as the reputation it has, for being [...] 1/4/2008 to 1/5/2008 - | India , Uttar Pradesh  [View with PicLens] 1234567► Karin and I had both been to Agra before but for the first timer among us, my brother-in-law, Jeff, it was a mandatory stop to see India’s most famous sight, the Taj Mahal. In addition to the Taj, Agra is home to a number of lesser known [...] 1/2/2008 to 1/3/2008 | India , Uttar Pradesh  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► The holy city of Varanasi on the sacred Ganges river is India at its most raw. The strange dichotomy that makes up India is on display in this city of pilgrims in its most extreme form. Its beauty in the midst of poverty, celebrations of life surrounded by death, [...]  [View with PicLens] 123► From Bundi it was a whirlwind journey up to Amritsar with stops at Ranthambore National Park and Jaipur. At Ranthambore we spent a lot of money (all right relatively a lot ~$32 each, including the over priced hotel we had to stay at) to not see tigers and drive [...] | ||||
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