While we were in Kathmandu, we got to visit a large temple complex with the largest Buddhist stupa (temple) I've ever seen -- the Swyambhunath stupa built around 250 BC. According to legend, a lotus was transformed into a hill and the flower become the Swayambhunath stupa. To get to the stupa, we had to climb a long set of quite steep stairs lined with vendors selling things like pashmina shawls, postcards, singing bowls, little purses, etc. The stupa consists of a cubical structure with eyes of Buddha looking in all four directions on top of a big white dome. It sits on a hilltop with what must be hundreds of monkeys and a stupendous view of the city of Kathmandu. It was very peaceful at the top, with Buddhist monks in saffron robes, people ... read more

Arriving at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, in late afternoon after having been in Varanasi was a bit like arriving in Shangri-la. Surrounded by the green Himalayan mountains on all sides, the Kathmandu airport is an international airport constructed of brick with westernized features such as picture windows and flat-panel TV screens. Dozens of taxi drivers outside offer their services to arriving travelers, including trekkers carrying large backpacks, but when we arrived, we were very happy not to encounter any beggars. The one reminder of Varanasi was the stench emanating from the men's bathroom. Our bus ride to our hotel, the Radisson, confirmed our impression that Kathmandu is a much better place to be than Vanarasi -- at least for those of us who are not Hindus making pilgrimages or preparing to die on the ... read more

Not far from Varanasi is Sarnath, the "deer park" (??) where Buddha gave his first sermon after attaining enlightenment. Breaking with the Hindu religious orthodoxy (and associated deities and castes) of his time, Buddha taught that virtue and salvation were open to people from all walks of life. He also taught that people could achieve "nirvana" (release from suffering) by freeing themselves from greed, hatred, and delusion. One way to gain control over one's passions and emotions was through meditation. I found Sarnath, with its ruins and well maintained gardens, a very tranquil and pleasant place to go, especially after the intensity of the Hindu city of Varanasi. A large group of Buddhist devotees dressed in white was sitting on the grass under a large tree meditating. We removed our shoes, and went into the ... read more

After a train ride and long bus ride past miles of wheat fields, houses with roofs made of cowdung patties, and difficult, semi-paved roads that seemed to be constantly under construction and blocked by cows, we arrived late yesterday afternoon in the small town of Khajuraho, which I think has about 35,000 people. Religion is deeply entwined in every-day life in India, and in Khajuraho, we experienced a few more morsels from the religious smorgasboard that one encounters in India. Our first sight in Khajuraho was a religious procession of about 30 people dressed in white chanting, ringing bells, and carrying a huge picture of a naked Jain monk. The Jains are ascetics, and I learned there are two groups of Jain monks. One group of monks, the Digambaras (literally "sky clad" or naked) carry ... read more

Greetings from Agra, the third city in India's Golden Triangle. We arrived here late yesterday afternoon after a five or six-hour bus ride on the dusty road from Jaipur. The road was under construction in many places and was populated with with camels, scooters, small cars made in India, pedestrians, bicyclists, trucks with signs on the back saying "Please Blow Horn," and cows. It was a long ride, so people in our group took the microphone and started telling stories. The best story, I thought, was one about a tour to Antarctica in which the ship's captain died and was preserved in ice in the ship's swimming pool until the ship could go to shore. Missy M. and I wanted to take pictures, so we sat up in the front of the bus with our ... read more