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Trip: The World (Part II)

There are [389] stories from my trip: The World (Part II)


Chitwan National Park

NEPAL | Monday, 31 Mar 2014 | Views [558]

NEVER TAKE CANDY FROM STRANGERS.  AND NEVER, NEVER heed the advice of an agent hanging around the airport.  We should paste this reminder in our passports.  The Greenline bus from Kathmandu to Chitwan National Park was a pleasant surprise ... Read more >


Kathmandu

NEPAL | Friday, 28 Mar 2014 | Views [562]

KATHMANDU SEEMS CHAOTICALLY FAMILIAR – dusty, crowded, noisy and polluted.  But there are no tuk-tuks.  And few Indians.  “Nepal,” read a sign at the airport, “has the world’s tallest mountain and the world’... Read more >


Photos: Nepal

NEPAL | Thursday, 27 Mar 2014 | Photo Gallery


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Darjeeling

INDIA | Wednesday, 26 Mar 2014 | Views [686]

NOT MANY WESTERN TOURISTS VISIT DARJEELING high in the Bengal Hills, possibly deterred by the 3-hour ride from the nearest airport.  Best known for tea, and the famous(ly disappointing) "Toy Railroad," Darjeeling is just a few kilometers from the ... Read more >


Musa Jungle Retreat

INDIA | Saturday, 22 Mar 2014 | Views [2275]

MUSA JUNGLE RETREAT IS ONLY A 5-MINUTE WALK from Bansbari Lodge but it is really a world away.  We noticed this new lodge after yesterday’s elephant travail and were interested.  When I returned to check it out, John and Sarah from the ... Read more >


Photos: North Eastern States

INDIA | Saturday, 22 Mar 2014 | Photo Gallery


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Manas National Park

INDIA | Wednesday, 19 Mar 2014 | Views [1572]

OUR ESCAPE FROM BODHGAYA’S HOLI FESTIVAL went smoothly and we spent a peaceful night near the Kolkata airport at Viceroy Boutique Hotel.  It is only six months old and the perfect location for a quick “in-and-out” from Kolkata.... Read more >


Under the Bodhi Tree, Bodhgaya

INDIA | Sunday, 16 Mar 2014 | Views [1579]

CHANTING FILLED THE AIR AS PURPLE ROBED PILGRIMS surrounded the massive Mahabodhi Temple which was festooned with garlands, fruit-laden altars, prayer flags and flowers.  Bodh Gaya is Buddha-land.  Twenty-six centuries ago under a bodhi tree ... Read more >


Varanasi and the Holy Ganges

INDIA | Friday, 14 Mar 2014 | Views [2033]

VARANASI AND THE HOLY GANGES are on every visitor’s short list.  At its best, Varanasi is a photographer’s dream; there is something (or someone) colorful and interesting around every corner.  At its worst, the city is loud, dirty ... Read more >


Khajuraho: Rated X

INDIA | Wednesday, 12 Mar 2014 | Views [861]

IT TAKES JUST ONE LOOK AT THE CARVINGS on Lakshamana Temple to understand how India managed to grow its population to 1.2 billion.  Even a thousand years ago they were a horny bunch!  Screwing - in an astounding viariety of positions - and ... Read more >


Kanha and Bandhavgarh National Parks

INDIA | Sunday, 9 Mar 2014 | Views [1777]

TIGERS, EXCEPT FOR MOTHERS WITH CUBS, are solitary animals.  They are an endangered and protected species with most living in national parks like Kanha and Bandhavgarh in eastern Madhya Pradesh.  Seeing one of the big cats is anything but guaranteed.... Read more >


Sanchi and Bhimetka World Heritage Sites

INDIA | Tuesday, 4 Mar 2014 | Views [2578]

WHEN IT COMES TO THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA we are five for five: Hindu temples at Hampi; Christian cathedrals in Old Goa; Champaner’s mosques; Delwara Jain temples at Mt. Abu; and now the Buddhist Great Stupa at Sanchi.     Gateway ... Read more >


Bhopal

INDIA | Sunday, 2 Mar 2014 | Views [497]

IF YOU ARE OLD ENOUGH YOU MIGHT REMEMBER hearing about Bhopal.  On December 3, 1984, just before midnight, the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal farted out 4000 tons of toxic cyanide gas, immediately killing nearly 4000 unsuspecting Indians.  The ... Read more >


Keoladeo Ghana National Park

INDIA | Saturday, 1 Mar 2014 | Views [912]

Keoladeo Ghana National Park is a maze of trails, lakes, and ponds and a guide seemed like the best way to discover its treasure of birds.  All of the other guides pointed to Govind when we said we wanted a bird guide; he is undisputedly the tops.... Read more >


Fatehpur Sikri

INDIA | Thursday, 27 Feb 2014 | Views [662]

For fifteen years during the reign of Emeror Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri was the capital of the Mughal empire.  Today it is a ghost city, populated by wannabe guides and the tourists they prey upon.  Since most of the prey arrive in tour groups, ... Read more >


Taj Mahal

INDIA | Wednesday, 26 Feb 2014 | Views [644]

It has been described as the most extravagant monument ever built for love.  An Indian poet called it “a teardrop on the face of eternity.”  Rudyard Kipling wrote that it is “the embodiment of all things pure.” ... Read more >


Agra Fort

INDIA | Tuesday, 25 Feb 2014 | Views [547]

Our “escape from India” ended and we returned to the “ambiance” of Delhi and Prem Sagar Guest House where I promptly slipped on the stairs coming out of the bathroom.  It could have been a trip-ender, maybe a life-ender, ... Read more >


Jim Corbett National Park

INDIA | Friday, 21 Feb 2014 | Views [1205]

Once we saw the condition of the bus from Delhi (It wouldn’t have made the grade for a ‘chicken bus’ in Guatemala.) we knew that a taxi – expense be damned – was the only sensible travel option for the seven-hour trip north ... Read more >


Photos: Delhi and the North

INDIA | Sunday, 16 Feb 2014 | Photo Gallery


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Delhi, Better Than Expected

INDIA | Sunday, 16 Feb 2014 | Views [666]

Delhi, from everything I have heard, sounded like the most unappealing city in India.  Twenty million people, after all, is just too many, right?  Well, much like with Kuala Lumpur, which I also dreaded, I was wrong.  Not about 20 million ... Read more >


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Easter Island, 2012

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