My first asian elephant spotting was immediately after crossing into Nepal while I was taking a cycle rickshaw to the bus stop. Even the locals were staring.
This is the Korean Buddhist temple in Lumbini, Nepal. I stayed here for 3 days. Three meals per day were included in the price of Rs250
Just doing a little laundry in the dungeon!
This is how they fill potholes in nepal! First all this rubbish, then about 5 guys spend a day or so breaking it up a little with a sledge hammer, then they throw some gravel on top! Voila! It does make a little trouble for the rickshaw drivers to go through the gravel...usually they have to stop and push the bike through, or ask you to get off for a minute.
This is the Maya Devi (mother of buddha) temple. I guess she was walking and came to a nice little pond to have a wash and gave birth.
This is supposedly the exact spot where buddha was born, but don't ask me how they know that! Ancient embryonic DNA fossils or something. haha
Outside the temple by the pond, there is a boddhitree which is decorated with flags all over it.
Outside view of the Maya Devi Temple (Lumbini, Nepal)
Just an interesting flower I keep seeing here.
There are several "World Peace Pagoda's" around Nepal. This is the outside of one in Lumbini. There is also one here in Pokhara, but I see no reason to climb a big mountain to see this one because they are identical.
Thai Tempe in Lumbini.
Outside view of the Maya Devi Temple (Lumbini, Nepal)
Just an interesting flower I keep seeing here.
There are several "World Peace Pagoda's" around Nepal. This is the outside of one in Lumbini. There is also one here in Pokhara, but I see no reason to climb a big mountain to see this one because they are identical.
Thai Tempe in Lumbini.
Fringe is alive and well on the buses of Nepal. They are quite colorful and fun.
Fruit lady at the bus station. 
Bus station leaving Lumbini.
So those of you who have travelled a bit know how the buses in some places of the world work. You get on, sit for a while waiting to leave, ready to get on your way. You start to pull away, and stop.....more people want to get on...so you make more room. Now your knees are smashed into the back of the seat. So then you start to pull out again, and stop again...more people, more yelling in a foreign language and so on! So you finally actually leave and stop about 10 more times, somtimes for people on/off, sometimes for fuel, air in the tires, sometimes so people can get on and sell you stuff, and sometimes for no aparent reason at all! All the while you are smashed like a sadine with somebodies armpit in your face. So what better to do than to pry your camera out of your bag (limited elbow space makes this difficult) and snap some pics of the locals. 
So this is Pokhara, Nepal. One of the most beautiful places i've ever seen. Big lake, big mountains and lots to do. These mountains you see are the Annapurna, which is part of the Himalayan range. 
Me and some friends got up very early to go to the top of one of the hills to watch the sunrise on the Himalayas.
This dog was cute, but he didn't like having his photo taken. He was growling at me the whole time. 
These are my friends Gunde from Germany, and Anisha from Nepal. We're having a great time together here!
So those of you who know me, know that I couldn't turn down a chance to go paragliding! It was super awesome! You pile into a (nice) van and driveway up the hillside. You get your assigned pilot, and he carries in a huge backpack the parachute and you hike up a bit to a semi-steep hill. My pilot was CJ (korean guy to the nepalese). He straps you into a harness and then lays the parachute out on the ground. Once your all hooked up he tells you to walk, and then RUN!!! As you run, the wind catches the parachute and just gracefully lifts you off the hill! Just in time to avoid runnin off a cliff! Once airborn you ar sitting in a very comfortable hammock like seat while the pilot steers you around. We could have stayed up for hours I think because the wind was so good. I only paid for 30 minutes though. It was amazing. Tons of other paragliders are swirling around you on the same draft, but its never scary once your in the air. The takeoff was just slightly tingly in the tummy. Korean guy was hilarious! He kept yelling "Oh my god!" and then laughing like we were going to crash or something. I got him to do a spiral dive at the end and it was quite a rush! The following photos are all from the air. 
Ahhhh, thanks for not killing us Korean guy! 
Ahhhh, lovely Pokhara. I adore you and your overrun tourist streets!
Fruit lady at the bus station. 
Bus station leaving Lumbini.
So those of you who have travelled a bit know how the buses in some places of the world work. You get on, sit for a while waiting to leave, ready to get on your way. You start to pull away, and stop.....more people want to get on...so you make more room. Now your knees are smashed into the back of the seat. So then you start to pull out again, and stop again...more people, more yelling in a foreign language and so on! So you finally actually leave and stop about 10 more times, somtimes for people on/off, sometimes for fuel, air in the tires, sometimes so people can get on and sell you stuff, and sometimes for no aparent reason at all! All the while you are smashed like a sadine with somebodies armpit in your face. So what better to do than to pry your camera out of your bag (limited elbow space makes this difficult) and snap some pics of the locals. 
So this is Pokhara, Nepal. One of the most beautiful places i've ever seen. Big lake, big mountains and lots to do. These mountains you see are the Annapurna, which is part of the Himalayan range. 
Me and some friends got up very early to go to the top of one of the hills to watch the sunrise on the Himalayas.
This dog was cute, but he didn't like having his photo taken. He was growling at me the whole time. 
These are my friends Gunde from Germany, and Anisha from Nepal. We're having a great time together here!
So those of you who know me, know that I couldn't turn down a chance to go paragliding! It was super awesome! You pile into a (nice) van and driveway up the hillside. You get your assigned pilot, and he carries in a huge backpack the parachute and you hike up a bit to a semi-steep hill. My pilot was CJ (korean guy to the nepalese). He straps you into a harness and then lays the parachute out on the ground. Once your all hooked up he tells you to walk, and then RUN!!! As you run, the wind catches the parachute and just gracefully lifts you off the hill! Just in time to avoid runnin off a cliff! Once airborn you ar sitting in a very comfortable hammock like seat while the pilot steers you around. We could have stayed up for hours I think because the wind was so good. I only paid for 30 minutes though. It was amazing. Tons of other paragliders are swirling around you on the same draft, but its never scary once your in the air. The takeoff was just slightly tingly in the tummy. Korean guy was hilarious! He kept yelling "Oh my god!" and then laughing like we were going to crash or something. I got him to do a spiral dive at the end and it was quite a rush! The following photos are all from the air. 
Ahhhh, thanks for not killing us Korean guy! 
Ahhhh, lovely Pokhara. I adore you and your overrun tourist streets!
3 comments:
Nepal looks amazing! I actually watched something on TV last night about Nepal. I would go there! I like the picture of the elephant :) You should try to go for a ride on one if you can! The architecture of the Thai temple looks amazing and so beautiful. And of course the Himalayan Mountains are gorgeous! The picture you took with the Himalays and the bird could be a postcard :)
That looks soooo fun! Crap! I am jealous! Nepal looks like Nicaragua a bit. It looks different from India. The mountains are crazy! Good thing you have that amazing zoom on your camera to catch the snow circling off the mountains. Is it cold there? It is snowing today. I bought a new hat and glove cause I couldn't find mine in storage. Im glad you are having fun.. soon you'll be off to china! did you decide to take a flight?
Pretty sweet. You should see your house all decorated for the Halloween party! You wouldn't recognize it! Good thing it will all be put back to normal before you leave China.
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