It’s festival time in Bhaktapur! The festival is Dashain, biggest festival in the Nepali calendar, and this morning we sat on the steps of a temple and watched them chop the heads off of goats and a bullock with a huge kukri knife. One blow – CHOP! Then they drag the body (still twitching, ewww) » » »
Archive for October, 2010
19 October 2010
Overland to Tibet?
Paragraphs in blockquote written by Maureen We travelled overland from Kathmandu to Lhasa, and flew back. So instead of a country summary, here’s a summary of that particular (and popular) trip. This may help if you are thinking of doing the same. A Nepali travel agency arranged the trip for us, which lasted 7 nights, » » »
17 October 2010
Debating monks
Buddhist monks enjoy debating, and in some monasteries they get very animated about it. The standing monk asks a question, and the seated monk has to answer – they get a virtual slapping if they don’t get it right. I think questions like “when was the Battle of Hastings?” and “what was Chairman Mao’s favourite » » »
16 October 2010
Chinese Takeaway
The Chinese have ruined Lhasa – that was my thought as we drove into the famed holy city of the Dalai Lama. The postcards are all lies; the great Potala palace sits forlornly in the middle of a bustling modern Chinese city. To give you an idea, take Edinburgh Castle, remove it from its renowned » » »
16 October 2010
Tibet
Tibet is a strange mixture – a land on the roof of the world, unlike any other place we’ve seen, yet with the trappings of modern China seeping in all the time. Impressions that stick with me… The scent of yak butter candles in dark monasteries, with worshippers jostling to donate money to their preferred » » »
14 October 2010
Seven days in Tibet
Written by Maureen Day One An early start from Kathmandu in order to reach the Chinese border before it is closed. After an hour our driver finds he’s left some important documents, so we go back to Kathmandu to find his brother with the docs on the roadside. The road to the border is the » » »
11 October 2010
Daddy Mountains
I’m really worried. I’ve got a splitting headache, I’m dizzy, my heartbeat is racing and I can’t sleep at all. These are most of the symptoms for altitude sickness (lucky me, at least I’m not nauseous). I’m not worried about my health, because these are the mild symptoms and the “cure” if they get worse » » »
7 October 2010
Kathmandu in pics
So here are the pictures hard-won from the streets of Kathmandu. Despite the hard work, it is a city full of arresting sights. Related Images:
7 October 2010
Kathmandu goes BEEP
Sight-seeing in Kathmandu is an endurance sport. The whole city is clogged with motorbikes, pedestrians, tiny Suzuki taxis and other random obstacles, which might be okay if the roads weren’t barely one lane wide with shops and street pedlars spilling out onto them. Crossing a road is like walking across the dodgems ride at a » » »
5 October 2010
City of frowns?
Written by Maureen After meeting such friendly people on our trip so far I found the people of Hong Kong at best… indifferent. Perhaps this is big city syndrome, but I really don’t remember getting that impression from other cities. For example, on our last day a kind Chinese lady explained that we needed exact » » »
5 October 2010
Big City
Hong Kong is a busy, busy city – we only spent three days, and we didn’t see (or eat) enough of it. Related Images:
5 October 2010
City of Five Senses
We only had a three day stopover in Hong Kong, but still got a taste of this epic city. Of course, we also had a number of chores to do, buying contact lenses and getting haircuts. I was mauled cruelly by a Hong Kong hairdresser and am now sporting a “Nigel Kennedy”. So how about » » »