Everyone will tell you that Thamel isn’t the REAL Kathmandu. It was once backpackers central, and today is home not only to hostels but to increasingly smart hotels. But between the tourist-focused delights is enough local colour to demonstrate that you are indeed ‘a long way from home’.
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A statue of Shiva, the second largest in Nepal, was unveiled near Pokhara last year. A lady was selling souvenirs next to the steep path up to the statue.
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We got up at 4.45 to go and watch the sunrise over the Himalayas - so worth it!
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The Annapurna Range of the Himalaya Mountains can be seen from Bandipur, an ancient hill town in Nepal
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We rode a cable car to the top of a mountain to find a Hindu temple that draws thousands of believers. The small town that has sprung up to serve their needs is full of shops selling garlands, offerings and even chickens and goats for sacrifices.
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On our safari drive in Chitwan National Park yesterday we were fortunate to see five rhinos.
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Sadhus are holy men who have left behind all material attachments. We came across a number of them in the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu.
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Straddling the border between North Korea and China is a still-active volcano, Mount Paektu. Its last eruption was in 1903 and scientists consider that another one could be imminent, based on a trend of eruptions roughly 100 years apart. The crater lake, Lake Chon (‘Heaven Lake’) was formed in the 946 AD eruption.
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Our visit to Indochina was only just over two years ago, yet in some ways it feels like a world away. A world barely touched by Covid, in which we didn’t question our ability to travel. Took it for granted, perhaps? Looking back at my photos I wonder why we didn’t realise that the disease already causing deaths and chaos in China would spread to engulf the whole world. Were we like ostriches, our heads in the sand? Or was it such an alien concept that we couldn’t envisage it?
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On a small island in the Mekong River in southern Laos, Done Deng, lies the village of Ban Houa Done Deng. The name means 'village of the head of Done Deng' as it lies at the northern tip of the island. The villagers benefit from the financial support of the nearby hotel, La Folie, which has enabled a school to be built here.
