Nepal in April

These are Buddha Eyes (also known as Wisdom Eyes), and they look out in the four directions to symbolize the omniscience (all-seeing) of a Buddha.


A 21 day trek over two 5,000 + meter Himalayan mountain passes left me in love with Nepal. Even more so, it left me in love with the gorgeous Tibetan villagers I met nestled into the mountains on the way. My friend and I walked from village to village, staying in tea houses and eating freshly cooked dal bat (rice adn lentils) from the indoor open fires. We followed rivers and passed through some of the highest peaks in the world, trudging through snow during early morning alpine glowing skies. The ancient villages are forever burned into my memory; the stone buildings, painted stupas, prayer flags and mani walls strewn through the land.

This is a place of beautiful spirit and loving hard working people, the Manaslu and Annapurna circuit opened my eyes to a truly precious part of this world.



Hills covered in prayer flags...


Shawtel and I try riding on top of the local bus from Gorka to Arughat



                                LarkeLa Pass 5,135 M


                               Loving the mountains





A Tibeatan woman who is very proud of her rice moonshine








Mt. Manaslu 8,156 m from the village of Lho


Lho Horse racers


A typical bridge crossing in Nepal




A woman in Lho at the Empowerment festival

I N D I A

VARANASI, INDIA... a city situated on the banks of the River Ganges. Varanasi is the holiest place in the world in Hinduism (and center of the Earth in Hindu cosmology). It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and probably the oldest in India.

Arriving in Varanasi I left the rickshaw near an alleyway and was told my guesthouse was straight ahead. I walked into the maze of old narrow alleyways past cows, shops, street food, temples, and so many people asking my way gaining varying responses. This city is probably the most unique place I have ever experienced. It is a place of pilgrimage for people all over India and the world. People come here to pray and to die and be cremated on or in the Ganges. Open cremation happens 365 days a year and sometimes 200 people are burned per day. It was hard to realize that I was seeing a burning body in front of me, as if it should be a bigger deal or people around me should be sad. The approach to death is so different here, and everything happens in the open.

A woman sends a prayer with her candle into the Ganges...





Morning on the Ganges...