The bus to Haridwar from Saharanpur was at 4am so I had to get up at 3am. When I got to Haridwar, the last bus to Joshimath (5:30 am) had already left so I had to go to Rishikesh. Once in Rishikesh, I had to take a rickshaw to the bus station for long distance buses. I missed the government bus and had to settle for private buses which are a bit more expensive. It was not the higher cost that I had a problem with, it was having to wheel and deal and to be really careful as they were sure to cheat me (government buses have set rates). I got on a bus whose owner said that they were going to Joshimath and the fare was 220 Rs. I didn’t trust what he said ... read more

I got really sick in Delhi. I had a very high fever, migraine and diarrhea. It went away after 5 days but I was very weak for a few days after. I did not take any medication as I prefer natural remedies. I took grape seed extract, cumin seeds and fennel seeds which helped greatly. Many of the spices used in Indian cooking are great for maintaining health such as turmeric which has antibiotic and antibacterial qualities. However, I discovered that there are not a lot of food options for the sick in India. I guess most people had mothers, wives or sisters to take care of them, but for travellers, whatever can be found in restaurants, shops, etc. are all not good for a sick stomach. Thank god I was staying at a friend’s house ... read more

Groping in India is a very serious problem for all women, Indians and foreigners. If you are blond, then it’s ten times worse. This is NOT the case in Kerala. I’ve heard that it’s also pretty grope-free in Tamil Nadu but I didn’t go there so I’m not sure. Of course, there is always the odd groper in Kerala because there are many northern Indians travelling or living in southern India. I’ve heard of Indian women who have learned to deal with gropers using many methods. One woman carries a needle and will stab any hand that comes near her as you can’t really see the culprit, only the hand. Groping usually happens really fast, when you least expect it, and almost always surreptitiously. These guys are experienced and know how to get away with it. ... read more

To book tickets, and check out trains, go to http://www.indianrail.gov.in/.Click on “Train Running Information” and then “Find your train”. Seat61 also has awesome information, I suggest reading the page on India carefully before attempting to buy tickets. There are 3 types of trains in India. 1, The super express costs the most but is the most comfortable, is called Shatabdi and Rajdhani, and operates only between major cities from state to state. 2, The regular express trains stop at most major cities and town, have mid-range prices and very long routes. 3, The cheapest, slowest, most uncomfortable trains stop at almost all villages, have shorter routes, and serve mainly the poor local populace (not for foreigners). The super express has 2 classes and always gets to go first on the tracks. I travelled on the non-air-conditioned ... read more

Dipesh works as a guide for trekkers but because of a bad experience, he wanted to stop trekking. He was leading a group up a peak at Annapurna. A lone Swiss trekker came along with just a porter. He was going very fast and he asked if he can pass Dipesh and his group. Without thinking, Dipesh let him pass. As the Swiss guy was going pretty fast, he eventually went very far ahead of them. All of a sudden, an avalanche came and swallowed up the Swiss guy and his porter. Dipesh became too scared to continue and another very experienced trekker led them through the peak and down the other side. They radioed base camp and a rescue team came and found the bodies 4 hours later. Dipesh blamed himself for what happened because ... read more

Sanjaya is a Newari of the priest caste so he is able to go into all the temples. While in Bhaktapur, he showed me a Buddhist “monastery” or bihara (vihara). I didn’t see any Buddha statues or images in the vihara, and Sanjaya said that’s because Buddhism in Nepal and Tibet is Vajrayana (Tantric). I’m not sure what he meant by that. Monks in Buddhist monasteries can marry. Hindu priests as well and they can live either in the temple/monastery or outside the temple. In the Buddhist vihara, we saw a family. I thought to myself: I don’t understand, they have sex in the monastery?? I guess it’s me who has the erroneous notion that sex automatically desecrates a place. But then, if the most holy thing in the temple is a lingam, then sex probably ... read more

Here’s a really good explanation found on the High Asia Tours website. Nepali New Year, the first day of the Baisakh Month, which usually falls mid April is celebrated all over Nepal but the celebration at Bhaktapur is special due to its connection with Bisket Jatra Festival. If you are traveling to Nepal during April, it's worth attending the celebration in Bhaktapur. Bisket Jatra means the Celebration after the death of serpents. The legend goes that every man who married the Bhaktapur Princess died the night of honeymoon and so no one dared to marry the Bhaktapur Princess again. Finally, there was a brave prince who vowed to solved the mystery. He married the princess and he stayed awake the night of honeymoon. He saw that as the princess fell asleep, two giant serpents ... read more

I was told to go to Taumadhi Square at 5pm on Friday, April 10. I went because I had nothing else to do. I had absolutely no idea what was going on. The square was packed to the rafters. I was in the middle of the square looking at this odd-looking chariot that was carrying a temple-like structure. The chariot was huge with enormous wooden wheels. Around 5pm, a procession came out of one of the temples in the square and they were carrying an idol which was then put into the temple on the chariot. About 30 people were on the chariot. I noticed that there were a lot of foreigners with big cameras either taking pictures or videotaping the event. (This must be on youtube somewhere.) Then, two teams, one on either side of ... read more

To go to Bhaktapur from Kathmandu, go to Ratna Park and take one of the buses there that goes directly to Bhaktapur. I walked there from Thamel and before I got to Ratna Park, I passed by a temple that had Buddha as one of the minor gods. Ganesha was another minor god amongst many others. I’ve never seen the Buddha as a minor god in a temple before! I got on the bus going to Bhaktapur but it was not full so we waited. An elderly Chinese couple came to the bus (I’ve seen them before at the Indian Embassy) and asked a Nepalese if this is the bus to Bhaktapur but he totally ignored them as did everyone else. They kept asking and everybody turned their heads away. I wondered why. Maybe they weren’t ... read more

When I was in Nepal (April 2009), I met a young guy from China and also a Tibetan who now lives in the US (in his 30’s or 40’s) and both talked to me about the Tibet-China issue. The Chinese guy told me that long ago, Tibet not only imported Buddhism from India, but also their caste system. Tibet had a theocratic caste system with the Dalai Lama and head of Tibetan Buddhist sects on top, followed by important monks, then regular monks. Below these were everybody else who worked to support all the monks and temples. On the bottom were the pariahs or untouchables which also had subcastes the lowest of which were worse than animals. The monks were the only ones who became literate as they had to read scriptures. Castes were by birth ... read more