The culture of Mustang revealed itself not only in monasteries and spiritual places, but also in women weaving, in men galloping horses across the plateau, in friendly faces peeking out doorways and windows, in children saying "Namaste!" on their way home from school....
Early one morning in Lo Manthang, the walled fortress-like capital of Mustang, we visit the monastery to receive blessing from an old monk. He has spent more than 40 years in the monastery and is master of an ancient Tantric rite, one that derives directly from the...
Once part of western Tibet and later subsumed by Nepal, Mustang is an ancient kingdom on the cusp of change. Tantric Buddhism still thrives, yet the first coffee shops have sprung up. Most people are busy with the grain harvest, but many young people have left the...
Day in Pokhara: trek group with Ngawang, a Tibetan guerrilla fighter based in Mustang in the 1960's, and his son Oangdi, our local guide. Our journey began in Pokhara, a lakeside town with sweeping views of the Annapurna range, where we had the rare opportunity to...
Patan palace square with temples from the 16th-18th century. Newari people are the centuries-old artists of the Kathmandu Valley, and our tour in Kathmandu takes an inside look at the old kingdom of Patan and some of its world-famous artisans. The pagoda temples of...
Rain pours from the sky all night, and I wake up in Nepal. Trek logistics, meeting staff, drinking tea--a day is consumed and the rains drum all night again. Jewelry purchasing, nonprofit meetings, catching up with friends, and the relentless monsoon continues. After...
Nepalis generally don't hesitate to state the obvious with friends and family -- and they're rather observant. They greet me and appraise with me (with affection). If I've gained weight since my last visit, they tell me I'm a little fatter than last year. If I've...
Maya informs me that her favorite color is now purple. She explores my suitcase, finds a stash of bindis, and selects a purple one to wear on her forehead in the morning. However, she is wearing all pink outfits, from shirt to shoes, two days in a row, so I suspect...
While in Kathmandu between trips, I happened upon a ubiquitous and yet unusual Newari ritual: marriage of young girls to a bael fruit. Yes, full marriage regalia--clothes, jewelry, ceremony--to wed a fruit. But it all makes sense... Hindus have a traditional practice...
Tomorrow I begin my second trek of the season, my 20th trip to Everest Base Camp. This year, the mountains are no less spectacular than when I first saw them, but I am bereft of new description. The extreme geography is comfortingly familiar, the dirt trails well-worn...
What did you have for dinner on Sept 28, 1997? Don't you know? We obviously can't hold every experience in memory, but every experience or action leaves a residual vibration in our subconscious and continues to be a part of us and to affect who we are. These...
The streets of Kathmandu are entirely empty at 11pm when I arrive, and you might think it a peaceful town. In the morning, the mayhem returns--horns beeping and blaring, bells ringing, motorcycles revving, pressure cookers hissing, hawkers calling out, children...