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 [View with PicLens] 1234…8910► 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 [...]  [View with PicLens] 123456► 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 [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…91011► 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 [...] 12/21/2009 to 12/24/2009 | India  [View with PicLens] 12► 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 [...] 12/16/2009 to 12/20/2009 | India , Uttar Pradesh  [View with PicLens] 1234…91011► 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 [...] 12/13/2009 to 12/15/2009 | India , Uttar Pradesh  [View with PicLens] 12345► 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 [...] 12/12/2009 to 12/13/2009 | India , Uttar Pradesh  [View with PicLens] 12345► 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 [...] 10/10/2009 to 10/11/2009 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► 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 [...] 12/4/2009 to 12/5/2009 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 123456► 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 [...] 11/29/2009 to 12/3/2009 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…101112► 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 [...] 11/23/2009 to 11/28/2009 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► 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 [...] 10/24/2009 to 11/23/2009 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 12► 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 [...] 10/19/2009 to 10/23/2009 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 12345► 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 [...] 10/18/2009 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 123► 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 [...] 9/22/2009 to 10/16/2009 | India , Uttarakhand  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► 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. [...] 9/17/2009 to 9/22/2009 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234…8910► “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 [...] 9/7/2009 to 9/15/2009 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 123456► 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 [...] 9/5/2010 to 9/6/2010 | Himachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234567► 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  [View with PicLens] 1234567► 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 [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234567► 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 [...]  [View with PicLens] 12► 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 [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…101112► 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 [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234► 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 [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234567► 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 [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► 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, [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…789► 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 [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…111213► 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 [...]  [View with PicLens] 123456► 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. [...]  [View with PicLens] 123456► 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 [...]  [View with PicLens] 123456► 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 [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…8910► I was excited to leave Delhi for Leh, not only for the obvious weather considerations, and I was certainly anxious to leave the heat of Delhi for the cool crisp mountain air of Ladakh, but rather to see sister, Karin, and brother-in-law, Jeff, who were coming to visit. I [...] 6/3/2009 to 6/10/2009 | India , Uttar Pradesh  [View with PicLens] 1234► Is this Hell? No it’s the UP (Uttar Pradesh) in June, a slight variation on the “Field of Dreams” line that has gone through my head these past few days. My journey started out promising, boarding a micro (mini-vans that ferry people around Kathmandu like city buses) nearly as [...] 5/22/2009 to 6/2/2009 | Nepal  [View with PicLens] 1234…91011► Fifty hours on 4 different buses along the hot Bhramaputra Valley of Assam and the sweltering plains of Nepal’s Terai brought me at last to Kathmandu. I had trekked the Annapurna Region and the Everest Region on my previous visits to Nepal, this left Langtang as the last of [...]  [View with PicLens] 123456► May and I returned to Shillong where we met up for a last time with Phejin at her sisters’ place. After a few days of rest and relaxation May and I headed off to see one last wonder of the northeast, the living root bridges near Cherrapunjee. The villagers [...] 5/4/2009 to 5/12/2009 | Arunachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► The Mechuka valley sits nestled against the border with Tibet north of Along. Unreachable by road until very recently this region is still very untouched by mass tourism. The only place to stay is at the government power and water department rest-house. Although that is about to change, a [...] 4/29/2009 to 5/3/2009 | Arunachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234…8910► Daporijo was not either of our favorite places in Arunachal, even less so for May, who the moment we stepped off the jeep into the dusty market town was looking for a way to get out. I thought it had some possibilities in a kind of “wild east” type [...] 4/24/2009 to 4/28/2009 | Arunachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234…131415► We only spent a night in the characterless capital of Itanagar, arranging a shared jeep to the Ziro Valley home to the Apatani people. The Apatani women were a historically famed for there beauty, unfortunately this made them prized brides, consenting or not. Reputedly the neighboring tribes would raid [...] 4/15/2009 to 4/23/2009 | Arunachal Pradesh , India  [View with PicLens] 1234…131415► Tawang is the most visited region of the little visited state of Arunachal Pradesh. A state which is seldom visited not because it lacks attractions, but more for the bureaucratic hurtles involved in visiting the state. A very sensitive area for the Indians, ever since the Chinese routed them [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…101112► May and I left Shiyong, leaving Phejin to recover from her busy week preparing for and coordinating the television shoot, for Shillong the capital of the state of Meghalaya sandwiched in the hills between Assam to the north and Bangladesh to the south. We stayed with Phejin’s sisters who [...]  [View with PicLens] 1234…141516► I hopped on the Northeast express at Mughal Serai station just south of Varanasi for the long hall to Guwahati, very long, considering the train was 6 hours late by the time it reached Mughal Surai and it only lost more time after that. I was headed back to [...] 3/23/2009 to 3/29/2009 | India , Uttar Pradesh 
3/20/2009 to 3/21/2009 | India , Madhya Pradesh 
3/10/2009 to 3/13/2009 | India , Uttar Pradesh 
1/22/2009 to 2/28/2009 | Andaman Islands , India  [View with PicLens] 1234567► There are two ways to get to the Andaman Islands, the topical islands geographically located south of Burma and closer to Thailand but under the governance of India, the easy expensive way, fly, and the long cheaper way aboard a ship for three days, and it’s no cruise ship. [...] 1/18/2009 to 1/20/2009 | Bangladesh  [View with PicLens] 1234► “Obama!” with an enthusiastic smile said the bare-chested man in the lungi as he vigorously shook my hand. Hardly the welcome I had expected upon declaring myself an American (one of a few Bengali phases I’d mastered) entering this small Muslim village outside of Jessore. Certainly not the greeting [...] 1/14/2009 to 1/17/2009 | Bangladesh  [View with PicLens] 12345► From Rajshahi I continued north stopping at Bogra as a base for visiting the remains of the 8th century monastery Somapuri Vihara at Paharpur. Once one of the largest monastery complexes of its time it has now been reduced to a collection of brick foundations, although quite a bit [...] 1/10/2009 to 1/13/2009 | Bangladesh  [View with PicLens] 1234…678► I spent my one day in Khulna taking a day trip to Bagerhat, site of several 15th century mosques and tombs, including the tomb of a venerated sufi saint by the name of Khan Jahan Ali which is the primary draw for Bangladeshi pilgrims. While the architecture is not [...] 1/8/2009 to 1/10/2009 | Bangladesh  [View with PicLens] 1234► Having traveled thousands of miles along roads of all manner, I would consider myself a veteran of Asian bus travel, and as such very few things raise my pulse when it comes to the often chaotic roads of Asia. I take the passing on blind curves, the often sardine-can-like [...] 1/4/2009 to 1/7/2009 | Bangladesh  [View with PicLens] 123456► I began my stay in Bandarban cursing the place. After being deposited at the bus stand I began looking around for a place to stay with each hotel telling me “no room, booking.” Could Bandarban really be this popular? The only place that “had” a room was the fancy [...] 12/28/2009 to 1/3/2009 | Bangladesh  [View with PicLens] 1234► The afternoon of Election Day in Dhaka with the streets eerily void of all traffic due to a ban on all motorized vehicles, I walked to the train station to start my journey south to Chittagong gateway city to Bangladesh’s hill districts known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Chittagong [...] | ||||
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