I spent 11 days in Dharamshala in the first half of February, 2013. I quickly grew to really appreciate the mountain environment, clean air, and wonderful people; Tibetans, Indians and visitors from all over the world. I wanted to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad to be able to bathe in the Ganges on one of the auspicious bathing days and the one I could get to was on the 15^th of February. After a great experience there (that story will come in the not distant future), I…

The Best laid plans… living and learning

My plans were to be in Rishikesh for one week, arriving on a Saturday and departing the next Saturday. I had been told that there would be busses leaving daily from Rishikesh towards Dharamshala, my next destination. A few days into my week in Rishikesh, I went to check out the arrangements for the next leg of my journey. I went to the area where the “upscale” busses depart and talked to a man familiar with the options. He said there…

Howdy folks!

I am still staying in the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh, India.

I got up at 4:40 am today, went to one of the meditation/all purpose halls, did yoga for 15 minutes, then meditated for 45. Part of the time there was chanting going on; there were about 15 others in that hall this morning. I had the chanting as "background music" to my meditation. That is the same hall where I go for a 2 hour satsang…

I am way behind on my reporting, but wanted to get this off. I'll work to catch up a bit in relating my wondrous adventures in this incredible land...

My travels from Delhi to Rishikesh went perfectly smoothly, thanks to great extent to the wonderful ladies at the US Embassy School travel desk. I arrived in Haridwar, the nearest train station at around 12:15 pm. I met two other travelers looking to share a taxi or ride to…

Five day, Annapurna Trek

 The best part of this post, in my opinion, is at the end, in the Poon Hill section...so if you can't read it all, consider skipping down to the end for the wrap...

Being in Nepal, in the shadow of the incredible Annapurna Mountain Range, part of the Himalayan Range, I wanted to experience a bit of this majesty more intimately. I talked to the folks at my guesthouse, The 3 Sisters Lodge and Trekking Adventure, about possibilities. We decided on a five…

I awoke to a fine morning in Pokhara, Nepal. I went quickly to breakfast as I had engagements to attend in the morning. 

The Three Sisters Guest House and Trekking Adventure is a wonderful organization that works to empower the women of Nepal. They do tremendous social service for the women and children of Nepal.

A few times per year, they get together with The Green Clean Pokhara Movement, an organization working to clean up the trash and pollution around this naturally…

 I am staying at a wonderful Guest House in the “Lakeside District” of Pokhara, Nepal. The name of the guesthouse is “The 3 Sisters Guest House and Trekking Adventure”. The three sisters are the Chetri sisters, remarkable, award-winning women with love and compassion for the people of Nepal and all who come to visit. It overlooks Phewa Lake, a reservoir filled by multiple streams coming down from the Annapurna mountain range just north of here. The lake is formed by a natural bowl of…

For some time, I felt moved to travel through India and nearby countries. The time and opportunity arose...I planned, though only a loose outline, as I like to "fly by the seat of my pants" for adventures like this. I acquired Indian Visa, plane reservations, organized items to take, including my new paragliding wing, planning on flying in many places during this adventure. I worked with Suzha, doing what I could to make life as smooth and easy as…