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time to meet my group for tour of Nepal and rajasthan...

i caught an early flight out of mumbai into Kathmandu and descended into the mountains for a few days. nepal is a beautiful country and the people are as well... i could feel a shift in temperament from mumbai -- everything shifted every so slightly -- a little more mellower and gentler... it was a nice ease up from the past week. we spent a couple days in Kathmandu and visited a Hindu temple were it is local custom to cremate the bodies once you die. the temple and surrounding grounds had a resounding impact on me as well as the chance the observe a few cremations whilst we were there. typically it is the eldest son/male to light the fire of the cremation and for this he has to shave his head. the whole family stays with the body until it is completely cremated which usually takes about 3 hours. the ashes flow into the river and become one with the universe again. they do keep one part of the human body intact so that it can be buried. for men, it is the heart and for women, it is the hips. the grounds were filled with sages and swamis and monkeys... we also visited a Buddhist temple, bohantan. it is a massive, grounding, white temple that cuts through the sky so vividly. all around is a small village and tea houses. the low rise wall surrounding the temple is cladded with prayer wheels. you are suggested to walk around the perimeter 3 times before entering up in the lower levels of the temple. 3 is quite an auspicious number in both Hindu and Buddhism as well as many faiths of the world. i found a smaller temple where monks were giving blessings so i quietly stepped inside and did a ceremonial blessing with the monk -- i lit an incense, knelt down whilst he poured a blessed ointment into the palms of my hands which i then let fall onto the crown of my head as he did a prayer.

from Kathmandu, we went onto the chitwan national reserve. the ride to this place was all about us against these monolithic mountains. the reserve is in a small town that felt like the wild wild west, Nepalese style. at the end of the main drag, was my favorite place. a riverbed area looking onto the rivers with elephants and camels roaming and tiny little shack cafes run by families that would live behind. at dawn and dusk, this is where you would find me. nights in Nepal, have been about world cup too -- so cool to see such a sport unite a world. chitwan was all about elephants. we did elephant rides, baths and went to the breeding center. we also saw a stick dancing performance done by about 25 young Nepalese boys - the coordination and energy was so great to see (and of course, fire sticks always mesmerize you too!)

our next stop in Nepal was lumbini - a master plan of temples and gardens that sprung from the birth place of Buddha. we took bikes and traveled into town and around all the temples and to the the birth place of Buddha. the moment you walked into the gardens of this place, you could feel an overwhelming sense of calmness come over me. a group of young women monks were praying/chanting... all dressed in a blush pink, knelt on the grass in full concentration to pray/celebrate to Buddha. i had not expected to see this place. i am very happy that i did.

next morning was an early start as we had to do the border crossing from Nepal back into India.

we walked through the small juncture and our bags were taken separately by rickshaw until we got to the India side. our time in Nepal was fantastic and the political climate had subsided dramatically since may so we were able to enjoy it without any interruptions. again, i could feel that subtle shift as soon as my feet hit the ground on Indian soil.

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