The Best of Nepal 3 Boudhanath stupa

 If you want to experience Kathmandu's spiritual side, Boudhanath stupa really is a must visit attraction in Nepal.

Boudhanath Stupa, a vast 14th-century spherical Buddhist stupa that also proudly holds the dual titles of largest in Nepal, and the holiest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet.

Festooned with Buddhist prayer flags, the whitewashed dome and all-seeing eye of Buddha is already impressive when viewed at ground level - and when viewed from above, the complex transforms into the shape of a Mandala and a tribute to Buddha’s path to Enlightenment.

The Common Wanderer (to be continued)

The Best of Nepal 2

 We’ve spent almost three months travelling through the country, which has felt like a whole lifetime too little, yet in that time we’ve trekked the Annapurna Circuit, Poon Hill, and Everest Base Camp, relaxed lakeside in Pokhara, navigated Kathmandu's craziness and somehow survived (and thrived), jumped off the highest tandem rope swing in the world, and searched for tigers on safari in Chitwan National Park.

We’re here to tell you there are a lot of amazing things to do in Nepal, and although you almost certainly won’t have time to do them all, this guide is packed full of our recommendations for the top cultural highlights, outdoor adventures, and travel tips to help you enjoy your time here.

The Common Wanderer (to be continued)

The Best of Nepal

 Here’s our definitive list of things to do in Nepal, because after three months travelling through this country, we know a thing or two! Discover famous attractions, ancient sites, sacred temples, epic hiking and jungle safaris.

Welcome to the greatest country on earth: Nepal.

A true traveller’s nirvana unparalleled anywhere else on earth, this land-locked gem has an overwhelming amount of things to do.

Home to seven of the world's 10 tallest mountains, some of the best hiking and mountaineering imaginable, the birthplace of Buddha, steamy lowland plains and incredible wildlife viewing opportunities, ancient royal cities and rabbit-warren-like streets of Kathmandu, plus adventure activities to blow your mind (or cause a heart attack), and some of the kindest locals imaginable, the question of what to do in Nepal is one you could be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed by.

But it’s one we’re here to help you answer.

The Common Wanderer (to be continued)

Trekking in Nepal 4

The accommodations became more sparse and uncomfortable but the exhilaration of being in these mountains is why you came here in the first place. Although you maintain a strict regimen of sanitization throughout the trek, your only shower came  days after the start, and you soon realize how the gravel and dust of the mountains is relocated to its lower valleys.

I know that I was reluctant to consider this adventure holiday, but it was well worth the effort. If you have a bucket list, this should be on it - just don't wait until your knees are wearing out!

Wayne Hoskins

Petra

 

Petra

 

Petra

 

Petra

 

TREKKING IN NEPAL 4

 The route north to Everest intersects many of the traditional trade routes to Tibet and China and immerses the traveler into Sherpa culture and their Buddhist religion.

The trek, though strenuous, will be comfortable enough for someone who has worked on their conditioning prior to this adventure. As I said before, AMS can strike anyone at these altitudes, and your final destination of Everest base camp (17,500') requires professional guides to help you through the acclimatization process. The views of mountains, glaciers, villages, and monasteries changed daily.

Wayne Hoskins

TREKKING IN NEPAL 3 Lukla

It isn't that different from other experiences in third world countries, but it is overwhelming when you have just emerged from an airplane after being in transit for 23 hours. After a taxi ride (hair-raising) to our hotel, Kathmandu Guest House, we were pleasantly surprised by a beautiful, quiet garden in the centre of the hotel well away from the wild street scene.

Our trekking trips were arranged, we met our traveling companions, and two days later we were off on our adventures. With nine fellow trekkers, four porters and three guides, we flew to Lukla (9,400') to start our journey to Everest base camp.

Wayne Hoskins

TREKKING IN NEPAL 2 Kathmandu

 The trip is exhilarating and dangerous. The elevation change going up can start to have serious effects at 10,000 feet. The speed of ascent and individual susceptibility to Acute Mountain Sickness are the major reasons trekkers can't complete this high altitude hike. Acclimatization to altitude (low oxygen cont) before and during your climb is essential to a successful holiday in Nepal.

Our first stop in Nepal was its capital city of Kathmandu. This is the hub for all tourist activities in Nepal and it is certainly reflected by the chaotic traffic, dust, diesel fumes, taxis, rickshaws, cows, dogs, pedestrians, lousy infrastructure, and general indifference by the traffic police. Our Western attitudes are assaulted on all sides by this city.

Wayne Hoskins

TREKKING IN NEPAL

 Nepal is a small country, 130 miles north to south, and 500 miles east to west. It is bordered on the south by India and on the north by Tibet. Its most amazing feature is the rise in elevation from the south (300 feet) to the north (29,000 feet); and this is what attracts tourists to this country half way around the world. The Himalaya range of mountains run the entire length of Nepal and include 10 of the world's 14 tallest mountains.

Two of the most popular treks in Nepal include the route from Lukla to Everest base camp (12 days return) and the Annapurna circuit (16-21 days). Both of these trips may include guides, porters, yak transport for supplies and the possibility of emergency evacuation for health reasons.

Wayne Hoskins

Ellora

 

Ellora

 

Ellora

 

Ellora

 

A Sea Change 20 The English lord turned purple

 
The rocky coast appeared,  hours late. Not a scrap of vegetation was in sight. Arab watchtowers built on the golden colored rocks looked down at us. We docked. As we were leaving the ship, the ship’s tour director informed us that the luxury hotel the cruise line had booked for everyone was not available for an unknown reason and that we would be sent to a different but slightly less famous hostelry. 

The English lord turned purple with rage. He screamed and he yelled and he made threaing gestures. Then he repeated the performance until the other passengers waiting patiently in the bus began to yell at him to shut up.

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 19 Persian Gulf

 Our captain, skipping the poetry, announced that shortly after leaving Mumbai, our last port before Muscat, Oman, one of the two engines had given out due to fouling in the murky waters of the harbor. The engineers had worked all night without success. We limped ever more slowly over the Arabian Sea. 

Instead of a white wake, the water became increasingly oily looking as we approached the Persian Gulf. Large iridescent green globs floated on the surface reflecting a burning sun. It was hard to believe that a fabulous pearl fishery had existed for millennia in these waters, now polluted and nearly fished out.

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 18 The crew held out champagne

 
We were late boarding the mosquito filled chartered aircraft with our treasure trove, only arriving at the ship after midnight, hours behind schedule. When we pulled up to the dock the captain was pacing back and forth in irritation.

The crew held out champagne at the top of the gangplank to entice us while the ship’s orchestra played “When the Saints Come Marching In.” Obediently, we marched up the plank arms outstretched for the drink.

The engines hummed and then, hours later, at dawn, we awoke to silence.

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 17: 27 Large Star Sapphires

 
Women lusted and men sighed in recognition that credit cards would be extracted from their wallets. Jewelry flew off the shelves in a shopping frenzy. The English lord bought his wife a necklace of 27 large star sapphires, only emphasizing the theme of the cruise which seemed to be Jewelry Я Us. Crew members along for the excursion kept trying to push us along with little success as items flew off the shelves and into shopping bags. Not suitable for dull Seattle, I passed on the florid designs.

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 16 Mughal jewelry

 
To complete the display of Indian design and in recognition that Agra was the former home of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, we visited a boutique featuring jewel encrusted Mughal jewelry. The women tried on heavy emerald, ruby and diamond necklaces and other leftovers from long-dead maharanis. We all preened for a while thinking of what it would be like to live in purdah dripping with jewels but hidden away from life outside the walls of the women’s quarters. After the modeling session, the shopkeeper, no fool he, brought out new rings, bracelets and necklaces of the same design.

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 15 Taj 2

The four buildings surround a beautiful Persian garden with fountains, pools and trees. The translucent marble exterior of the Taj is sumptuously decorated with geometric, vegetative and calligraphic designs, both carved and inlaid. Inside, to my eyes even more beautiful, are delicate marble screens surrounding the sarcophagi of the Shah and his wife. The screens are carved into lace-like shapes set with jasper, jade, turquoise, carnelian, lapis lazuli and other precious stones in designs of vines, fruit, carnations and tulips. What better evidence could there be than this monument to one of the greatest love stories of all time?

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 14 Taj Mahal

Built for a beloved wife who died in childbirth giving life to her fourteenth child, her husband, Shah Jahan, began the construction of the Taj in 1632. His architects and builders produced an unrivaled masterpiece of Moghul art in homage to Mumtaz Mahal, his third wife. Contrary to photographs, the building does not stand alone. Rather, we were surprised to see it is part of a complex of four magnificent buildings, each of which is an architectural marvel in itself. The entrance to the complex is white marble. Two mirror image buildings, a mosque and a guesthouse to the sides of the Taj, are red sandstone.

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 13 Agra

 
The visual highlight of the cruise was a day trip to the Taj Mahal. We flew over dry and dusty brown plains to Agra where we joined throngs on crowded roads, humans in every kind of transport available along with cows blithely ambling through traffic as we headed to the glittering white monument.

Cows were a traffic hazard but provided amusement when we saw a good looking heifer with her head in a beauty shop doorway trying to see what was going on with her female counterparts.

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 12 Watching The Paper Mercedes Burn

 The ports of call looked as though they were set up for a photo shoot in the cruise brochure. We acted like the tourists we were, flaneurs, lounging or strolling about as onlookers, not on the boulevards of Paris but on guided tours, with little opportunity or desire to actually experience the lives we observed. This was sanitary sightseeing: food, water, accommodations and sights were all clean and neat. We were no longer expatriates or travelers.

In Java we climbed the temple of Borobudur, watched ox races and released baby turtles to the sea. In Kuala Lumpur we stood in a Chinese temple watching the paper Mercedes and houses burn during an incense laden funeral. We relaxed in rickshaws in Penang on the way to a restaurant filled with banks of orchids flourishing in the tropical damp. A stop in Phuket offered the opportunity to ride an elephant. In the Maldives we snorkeled with myriads of brightly colored little fishes before helping the chef select larger fish for dinner at the market. We took in the sights of Cochin with its canals and nearly empty Jew Town before atding a service in a Hindu temple in Mangalore where the priests rang bells, clashed cymbals and beat drums in deafening sounds to call their gods. The seething carpet of humanity in Mumbai appeared beyond the Gate of India erected by the British in the days when empires were thought to last forever.

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 11 Elusive Green Flash

 The flash, visible for less than a second, is an optical phenomenon when a green ray shoots up from the sunset point just as the sun sinks into the ocean. Green curves more than red/orange making that light visible after the red rays are obstructed by the curvature of the earth. The flash comes from the refraction of light as in a prism. Whenever we were rewarded with the show, a shout went up: “I saw it!” 

The brilliant tropical sunset brought an end to each perfect sunny day. After dinner, we left the others to enjoy the little casino or Las Vegas-style entertainment while we sat on deck thinking of our future life and watching the stars and the white wake shimmering in the moonlight as it was endlessly left behind.

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 10 Round-The-World Cruise

 The captain contacted the boat by radio learning that a family, husband, wife and small child, were on a long passage of their years-long round-the-world cruise. They had left the last port with inadequate provisions. The crew began to lower the captain’s rubber runabout. The galley crew loaded up champagne, sandwiches, fruit and more durable ships stores. The ebullient captain, always ready for some fun whether it was feeling me up, reciting poetry or joking with passengers, fired up the outboard engine and we lined the rails watching him whizzing off to deliver the susance with a flourish. The husband waved one of the champagne bottles in thanks. The runabout and our captain were hoisted back up and we sailed on, soon leaving the family far behind on their lonely voyage. 

An inviolate sundown ritual was celebrated whenever we were far from land. Everyone gathered with their champagne glasses to watch the sunset, hoping for a glimpse of the elusive “green flash.”

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 9 She Grabbed Both Huge Breasts

 Mother was swimming in oil money, the proceeds being displayed around her neck and on her fingers. She let us know that money meant nothing as she had so much of it. The daughter told us that she was employed as a bra fitter, and then, proud of her own assets (original or not) she spotted the ship’s photographer heading our way. Without missing a word in the tale of her exciting career, she grabbed both huge breasts and plopped them on the table for the photographer and us to enjoy. We were struck speechless at the crude display. Her mother didn’t notice a thing. Instead, she started on a new conversational gambit: what did ships do when a passenger died? The good doctor was then in his own glory as he told us about the morgue on every cruise ship. We skipped dessert. 

Languid days slid by, each one hot and sunny with no breeze or even clouds on the horizon. The sea was usually empty but one day a small yacht came in view.

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 8 Champagne To Drown Our Sorrows

Was it sufficient to keep my chest warm, or did the shawl need to be adjusted? He fussed, rearranging it to suit his taste, which was to have more exposure, damn the air conditioning. No one said anything although our table mates looked like they would burst trying not to laugh out loud. I tried to look like it was a normal occurrence. Glenn bore up outwardly while inwardly considering whether to smile or demand a duel at dawn on the afterdeck where trap shooting was available.

Social misadventure struck again when we were seated with the unpleasant Oklahomans and the dour Polish ship’s doctor dressed in his formal uniform with the blood-red shoulder tabs. While we ordered extra champagne to drown our sorrows at having to dine with the mother and daughter, the conversation began. 

Judith Works (to be continued) 

A Sea Change 7 Groupies, Crowing About Whatever

 During our long sea days the crew frequently dined with the passengers, especially on formal evenings. Our captain was well-known by many of the Americans. They were like groupies, each one vying for his attion and crowing about whatever crumbs of attion fell their way. The captain’s table, with its flowers and premium wine, was an eagerly sought after delight. Six lucky passengers were able to sashay into the dining room escorted by the ship’s social director to be seated by their place cards while they awaited the captain’s formal entrance. Our handsome Scandinavian host, somewhat red of face, was a bon vivant who thrived on the fawning attion from his passengers. One evening the lottery selected us to share his repast, Glenn on the right and me on his left. I trotted out my best outfit which was low cut but covered by a light shawl. The captain, somewhat worse for wear, took a great interest in the shawl and worried about its arrangement. He kept turning in my direction and I could see in his eyes that he was concerned.

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 6 Self-Help Guru

 Each day started with a wake-up call from the captain: the weather report, the port schedule if we were due to dock and then reading of ghastly doggerel writ in the 1920s by the “poet,” Don Blanding. This was the signal for breakfast on deck under the spreading sun umbrellas. The days at sea were filled with Indian cooking tutorials interspersed with lectures from an over-the-hill political commentator and a self-help guru – a flashy painted woman who wore wide brimmed hats and heavy jewelry that clanked when she moved her arms. Eschewing their educational efforts, we lounged on deck watching the thousands of silvery flying fish trying to escape the bow wake. They went leaping and bouncing along like pebbles tossed in a game to see how many touch-downs could be made before finally disappearing under the water.

Judith Works (to be continued)

A Sea Change 5 Big Girl Small Bikini

 The casual Americans were a mixed lot: an elderly man in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and his harried wife, permanent cruisers who told us about shipwrecks and a society formed to tell tall tales of survival (not a group we aspired to join), fat cats with fat cigars and right-wing views, and a woman celebrating her 90^th birthday with her family. Also making a splash was a nasty tempered but well-dressed travel writer and her friend, equally rude and well dressed but obviously along only to fetch and carry for her aggressive boss. Completing the roster was a mother and daughter from Oklahoma. They caught our attion by spending their daylight hours lounging near the pool in the burning sun. Mother, overweight with skin like leather tanned in a pattern that included large cancer-like moles liberally scattered over the exposed parts, wore a pareo that didn’t cover enough when she left the pool. The daughter, as wide as she was tall, unfortunately favored a small bikini. She was like an upside-down pear and it was amazing that she didn’t fall over when standing.

Judith Works (to be continued)