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 1234► A couple of the members of our group had made a promise to visit and perform a puja at the temple of Ambaji in Northern Gujarat, about an hour drive from Abu Road where we stayed the night. I decided to join them on their early morning pilgrimage, while other members of […]  123► After wedding I tagged along with Vinay and a number of his cousins including the bride and groom on a short 4 day tour of Southern Rajasthan (a kind of group honeymoon). The major places on the itinerary Udaipur and Mt. Abu I had already been, so it was more an opportunity […]  1234► I spent a particularly uneventful, Christmas eve and morning on a night train to the Gujarati city of Baroda (renamed Vadodara), where I was meeting Vinay, a friend of mine from the states of Gujarati descent. Vinay’s family is from the nearby village of Bhadran, an origin which would prompt any Gujarati […] 12/21/2009 to 12/24/2009 | India  I return often to Delhi but more out of necessity than desire. Delhi is the Rome of northern India all roads and rail lines seem to pass through here, and if your headed anywhere likely your going to be passing through Delhi. Many tourist desist the city often because it is the first […] 12/16/2009 to 12/20/2009 | India , Uttar Pradesh  1234► Varanasi is a place that just keeps drawing me back every time I pass through this part of Uttar Pradesh. No doubt a combination of things draw me here, cheap comfortable accommodation at the friendly Tiwari Lodge in Assi Ghat, a couple tourist cafes with free wifi where I can rest from […] 12/13/2009 to 12/15/2009 | India , Uttar Pradesh  12► Ayodhya was another place in eastern Uttar Pradesh that I had been meaning to get to and hadn’t. I had passed through it once on a bus to Lucknow and was impressed enough by the temple lined riverfront that I decided then I should stop at some point. That point was now, […] 12/12/2009 to 12/13/2009 | India , Uttar Pradesh  12► Having just been to Lumbini I had now been to three of the four main pilgrimage sites associated with the life of the Buddha, Lumbini (birthplace), Bodhgaya (site of his enlightenment), and Sarnath (site of his first sermon). Only a couple hours by bus from Gorakpur the main Indian transportation hub for […] 10/10/2009 to 10/11/2009 | Nepal  123► Every time I’ve left Nepal I’ve gone via Sunauli the border town with Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and only a short 17 miles from the birthplace of the Buddha at Lumbini. Each time I see sign indicating the turn off for Lumbini, I think to myself I should stop there one […] 12/4/2009 to 12/5/2009 | Nepal  123► The day I had chosen to head back to Lukla from Deboche was an eventful day in the Khumbu. It was the day of the Everest Marathon for those who think marathons at sea level on well maintained roads are just too easy. The marathon follows a 26.2 mile route from Everest […] 11/29/2009 to 12/3/2009 | Nepal  12345► Essentially being thrown unexpectedly back up into the Everest Region I wasn’t really sure what to do. I did like the Gokyo Valley last time I was in the region (see original Gokyo post) so I had decided to return there, since there were still a few places in the valley I […] 11/23/2009 to 11/28/2009 | Nepal  123► I woke up figuring it would be just like any other day in the past couple weeks, I’d go down to Kili’s office browse the internet, drink copious amounts of milk tea (chai), and do a bit of website work. Little did I know, I’d leave the ground that day for the […] 10/24/2009 to 11/23/2009 | Nepal  I spent most of November hanging out in Kathmandu staying at my friend Kili’s house, doing some work on his website as well as updating my own. Kili is the man I met while trekking in the Everest region over a year and a half earlier, and the owner and founder of High […] 10/19/2009 to 10/23/2009 | Nepal  12► I arrived at the border town of Mahendranagar in the early afternoon. Everything was closed even many of the hotels. It was the last day of the Nepali celebration of Deepwali a slightly different timing than the Indian version. I eventually managed to find an acceptable room if a bit more than […] 10/18/2009 | India , Uttarakhand  I had decided to stop in Champawat on my way to the Nepali border. I knew little about the town only that I had been told it was a historical place with ruins of some old temples dating from the 16th century Chand dynasty who once made their capital here. There was not […] 9/22/2009 to 10/16/2009 | India , Uttarakhand  1234► Descending from Kinnaur via Shimla, I passed through Delhi, on my way back up to the mountains of western Uttarakhand. Not the most direct route when viewed on a map but the quickest and easiest when the topography of the region, roads, and bus quality is taken into account. A stop over […] 9/17/2009 to 9/22/2009 | Himachal Pradesh , India  1234► “How will you know the way, the weather is bad, there is a lot of snow,” the senior officer said. “I’ve hiked all over the Himalayas, I hiked the Pin-Paravati pass in a snow storm,” I retorted. “Ok, I’ll give you the permission if you write a statement that you take responsibility […] 9/7/2009 to 9/15/2009 | Himachal Pradesh , India  12► Is it possible to be simultaneously both jinxed and lucky? I think I may fall into that category with respect to my travels to Spiti and Kinnaur. Last year a the snow storm stranded me in Kaza for nine days and prevented my planned visit to Kinnaur, however I was very fortunate […] 9/5/2010 to 9/6/2010 | Himachal Pradesh , India  123► Leaving Mud and the Pin Valley behind I stopped for a day at Dhankar a beautifully set high above the Spiti Vally with a old Gompa perched on a rocky crag above the city. 9/1/2009 to 9/5/2009 | Himachal Pradesh , India  123► I left Ladakh for the Spiti Valley for the second summer in a row; though this time I would go by bus rather than hike in as I had on my last trip. My previous trip to Spiti was ended by an early snow storm, I hoped this time I would have […]  123► I returned to Leh in time to catch one of Dalai Lama’s public teachings, the last in a series of five. The teachings in Leh are held in a large outdoor ground in nearby Choklamsar home to large community of Tibetan refugees. The atmosphere the massive gathering reminded me something of an […]  Arriving to Kargil in the early afternoon, gave me a half day to kill, since the bus to Leh departed early the next morning. Not a great town by any stretch, but mildly interesting for being much more like Kashmir than the rest of Ladakh. It is a heavily Islamic town settled primarily […]  1234► I arrived in Panikhar from Sanko in time to hike up the ridge behind the village, catching the setting sun illuminate Nun and Kun for my first of what would many impressive views of the twin 7000 m peaks. I also found a nice family run guesthouse in Panikhar serving up diner, […]  12► There is something satisfying about hopping off a bus full of tourists at a small little known village and walking off into the mountains on your own. In this case the bus was bound for Kargil nearly half of those on board were foreigners headed to see the Dalai Lama give teachings […]  123► After a day of rest and recuperation in Korzok following my previous climb, I still had another day before the tri-monthly bus to Leh. The weather had improved over the last two days and I was eyeing the peak directly to the north of Korzok, marked 5098 m (20,000 ft) on my […]  1234► There are several 6000 m peaks within easy striking range of Korzok. But when it came down to deciding which peak I would attempt first there was really no question, I had my sights set squarely on 6622 m (21,725 ft) Chhamser Kangri (also spelled Chamser Kangri). After all, I couldn’t continue […]  123► We had arrived in Korzok for the annual monastic festival held at the local gompa. Another Tibeatan monastic festival with the requisite Cham dances, trumpets and drums. While the Cham masks were not as spectacular as others I’d seen, the main interest for me were the locals who flocked to Korzok from […]  12345► After a week of rest in Leh, following the departure of Karin and Jeff, I returned to the trail. This time would be a new experience for me, as I would be accompanying a trekking group organized by my friend Mohan. I was going in the capacity of an officially unofficial guide, […]  12► I looked at the massive yellow duffle bag at my feet. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I thought, “The thing is bigger than my backpack; maybe it’s not as heavy as it looks.” I lifted it into the waiting taxi. Nope, it was as heavy as it looked. When I had […]  123► The next morning we gave our legs a break and took a bus from Shang Sumdo to Hemis. The monastic festival of Hemis is the largest and most well known of the many monastic festivals that take place throughout Ladakh and Zanskar. Its fame, proximity to Leh, and timing (falling during Ladakh’s […]  12► I had already done the Markha Valley Trek on my previous trip to Ladakh but it is a good short trek and easy to do without camping equipment so it was the trek I decided to take Karin and Jeff on. In addition we would finish at Hemis in time to catch […] | |||
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