Thursday 3-10 A one day layover in Delhi taught me that it’s not worth going to see an R rated movie in India. We went to go see the Black Swan and all cuss words, as well as references to a woman’s body were bleeped out. I’m assuming there were also some sex scenes cut out because the screen would jump from one very steamy moment to a completely new part of the story, giving you the feeling that whatever was about to happen next was deemed appropriate for viewing audiences. Another little nuance of Delhi is that there are security checks everywhere. I thought TSA was bad just to get on a place in the US, but in India, you have to go thru a mandatory pat down, metal detector and get your bags scanned ... read more

Sunday 3-6 How fast do you think you can sightsee in around a 400 year-old city with a population of nearly 1 million? We tried it in 15 hours. After dropping our bags off at a hotel for the day, we wandered around the ancient city of Jodhpur, known as the blue city, which was spectacular! The blue comes from the blue paint most homes in the old section of town used to paint their roofs and outside walls. Blue is the color for Brahmans or highest class of Indians in the caste system. So from up above, looking down on the city, the landscape is a beautiful array of multi-textured homes, colored baby blue, set against the deep yellow and reds of the desert scrub. Wandering thru the city was a lot of fun, trying ... read more

Wednesday 3-2 to Friday 3-4 Ugh. BUT, on to Varanasi! After nearly 24 hours of traveling on 6 different means of transportation , we finally arrived in the city if Shiva, also known as Baranas and one of the world’s oldest inhabited cities. Also inhabited by many bugs and tiny mice which I later learned shared my bed. UGH!!! Aside from literally being the filthiest city I’ve ever been to, Varanasi was a cool experience. We got a hotel overlooking the Ganges and had a fun time motoring around the city in an auto rickshaw (enclosed motorcycle taxi), going form temple to temple. Sadly, they won’t allow any photographs inside the temples, so it was a quick sightseeing tour. It’s funny how every city in Nepal and India that we’ve been to so far has its ... read more

Sunday 2-27 to Tuesday 3-1 Off to another Nepali World Heritage Sight – this one, a natural one. (Sadly) We left Tiffany in Hetauda and headed toward Chitwan National Park, where I immediately started coughing and sneezing. Turns out, it’s controlled burn season in Chitwan and a lot of the forest was smoldering while we were there, so the sky was raining ash and it drove my sinuses nuts. Nick found us a beautiful bungalow hotel right along the river and we had an endless supply of fresh, hot, absolutely delicious Nepali tea whenever we wanted it! Seriously, this was amazingly good tea! No offense Thailand; I love you and I love your thai iced tea, but this was even better, if that can be believed! Nick Note: No way, Nepali tea is great but thai ... read more

Wednesday 2-16 to Saturday 2-19 (Continued) But onto Kathmandu! Armed with Lonely Planet, we headed out to explore the city and its open markets, hidden temples and colorful shop fronts. The most impressive places to visit were the various Durbar Squares. Hundreds of years ago, Kathmandu Valley was split into three small kingdoms: Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan (all World Heritage Sites). Each kingdom had a central palace surrounded by temples and markets, known as durbar squares. These ancient cities were beautiful, with ornately carved temples covered in hand crafted metal works and stone carvings of both Buddhist and Hindu figures. More than any other place we’ve visited so far, Nepal has been a fluid blend of Buddhism and Hinduism, which amazes me because Western religions pride themselves on being different and separate one from the other. ... read more