With our luggage on the trolley, we pushed through the usual crowd of people and saw our best friend in Cambodia, Jean Paul, rushing to meet us. Those of you who have been reading my Cambodian e-mails since 2002, may remember he is the Frenchman who offered Donald a place to set up his ultralight […]
Cambodia Travel Story by Alexandria – Part 2 Read More »
ARRIVAL IN PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA The day Donald and I leave Cambodia is the day we plan our return. Whether we leave a small part of our ourselves behind or take a part of Cambodia with us, we spend the rest of the year anticipating our next trip. This year we were scheduled to leave
Arrival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Travel Story by Alexandria Read More »
Midway between the Bhotia, or Bhote, Tibetan ethnic groups starting with the Baragaunle Bhote villages north of Marpha and ending with the former kingdom of Lo, the Mustang Kingdom of upper Kali Gandaki south of the Tibetan border, and the Chetri, Magar and Gurung villages downstream south of Tatopani, the last pure Hindu village, there
Known as the largest religious gathering of mankind, the Kumbh Mela refers to a great gathering of Hindu pilgrims at auspicious locations. It takes place four times every twelve years, thus every three years, and rotates among four locations. The most auspicious of these is Allahabad, known as the Prayag, the legendary confluence of the
Kumbh Mela 2010 at Haridwar, India Read More »
Travel in Yunnan is always a rewarding experience. Visiting Zhongdian, principally a Tibetan town with a mixture of Han, Bai and Naxi, constitutes a great sample of Tibet if you don’t have time to travel on to Tibet proper. The Old Tibetan Town plus Songzanlin Monastery are a must see places when in Zhongdian. Songzanlin
Charmed at Songzanlin Monastery, Zhongdian, Yunnan Read More »
Under the British Raj you could had ridden a train into India from Lahore in present day Pakistan. Since India’s independence you have to walk across the Wagha border between Pakistan and India, take bus to Amritsar and ride all over India from there. But now, Indian Railways has announced that it plans to establish
Railway journeys into India Read More »
K2, the second highest peak on the planet (28,268’) is a lonely place right now. It straddles the border between Pakistan and the Xinjian Uygur Autonomous Region in China, both fraught with riots, ethnic upheavals and terrorist attacks. Nonetheless it’s as beautiful from China as it was from Pakistan where I first saw it in
Trek to K2 China Base Camp Read More »
Inclined walls of the Punakha Dzong Those with profound interest in architecture and decorative arts will find Bhutan a truly fascinating and inspirational place to visit. The architecture of Bhutan carries overtones of design features patterned on those of Tibet and the Himalayas in general, however, in Bhutan they developed clearly Bhutanese characteristics. While Tibetan
Dzong, the fortress style of architecture of Bhutan Read More »
After a beautiful drive through the terraced landscape, river valleys, traditional Bhutanese architecture and chortens (domed monument) we reach Simtokha Dzong, the oldest Dzong in Bhutan (built in 1629). From here, the road winds through pine forests and small villages, and passes by more chortens and prayer flags before heading up to Dochula Pass (10,000′),
Punakha Dromchoe festival of Bhutan Read More »
Most tourists wanting to see India visit Rajasthan and then perhaps Goa and highlights of Kerala. Very few ever tour Orissa and visit Bhubaneswar and Puri. Yet these two cities on the eastern coast of India offer some of the most striking temples and can be used as staging points for tours into the interior
Visit Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark, the holiest temples in Orissa Read More »
