Overwhelmed by Kathmandu’s gritty chaos, I look back over my shoulder for M. I follow his gaze and catch just a fleeting glimpse of who he is smiling at- a hunched little man wedged into a decrepit wheelchair. The man’s … Continue reading →

Some people are smitten with the fear of flying. The opposite happened to me: On our trek into the Himalayan foothills I developed a bad case of what I call Dread of Descent, (which quickly trashed the notion I’d been … Continue reading →

Everything felt just fine, ’til we stopped for lunch…. Rafting this section of the Karnali River is effortless- like drifting into an impressionist painting and elicits only a very occasional, faint trickle of adrenalin- even in the most timid of … Continue reading →

I bet nobody visits Bardia National Park on a whim- the logistics need serious attention! To opt for a 17+ hour bus ride- or a pricey 360$ flight? Fall back on the painless version- a smooth four hour ride to … Continue reading →

In the soft, dusty light of evening the old city of Bhaktapur, with its pagoda roofs and its harmonious blend of wood, mud-brick and copper, looked extraordinarily beautiful. It was as though a faded medieval tapestry were tacked on to … Continue reading →

The endless blue sky fell steeply all around us like a bell. To have reached the peak was glorious, but the nearness of the sky was overpowering.* (Herbert Tichy, Cho Oyu: By the Favor of the Gods) * The peak of … Continue reading →

I did it. I made it. I saw my first today. FINALLY! After days of staring into the haze, and worse, staring at stained guestroom walls, nursing a fevery strep throat, on the road in Nepal, I made it to … Continue reading →