The Ashokan Pillar in Lumbini, Nepal

I took this photo in Lumbini, Nepal. Since Lumbini is considering the place where Gautama Buddha was born according to Buddhist tradition, there are a lot to see relate to Gautama Buddha. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. The photo shows the Ashokan Pillar. I rotated my digital camera to take a photo of the pillar, but thinking back now, it wasn't enough. You may find a better photo on the Internet to view the whole Ashokan Pillar in Lumbini, Nepal. Bt the way, Nepal was my third country that I decided to travel around. Back when I wasn't really into taking pictures, I didn't take so may photos like I do recent years. I can't believe that there aren't any photo of Nepali food, beer, tea, coffee and everything. Back then I went into a restaurant, I was just hungry or thirsty, and had no idea to take photos before I ate or drank. What a shame...

Exotic atmosphere of a construction site

I took this photo through the window of my hotel room in Kathmandu, Nepal. That time, I flew in to Kathmandu from Bangkok, Thailand and spent only a night in the capital of Nepal then I caught a flight to Thimphu, Bhutan on the following day. It was such a shot stay, so I decided to stay at a four-star hotel with a restaurant that looked good. Receptionists were sophisticated, my room was comfortable, and a picture on a wall of a Himalayan mountain made me feel I was in Nepal. Good start. So then I opened the curtains and looked out the window. I didn't expect to see a construction site right behind the hotel.

Need more regular exercise before that

I took this photo in Pokhara, Nepal. It was on the way down from the place called World Peace Pagoda with a white stupa. I climbed the hill to see Pokhara and Phewa lake from above, but climbing the hill experience was much much harder than I expected before. For me, it was like climbing a mountain, but the locals called it as a hill, not a mountain. For them (or perhaps for everyone in Pokhara), mountains are the Himalayas. I know that, but I felt like I climbed a mountain. It was that hard. Technically, it was a hill, not a mountain, though.

A reasonable accommodation in Pokhara, Nepal

The photo shows my room of a reasonable accommodation in Pokhara, Nepal. This one was one of the cheapest accommodations I've ever stayed, but with a nice friendly staff members and nice authentic Nepali curry dinner. My room had kind of like minimum facilities that I needed as a tourist: e.g. a bed, a desk and a chair and a private bathroom, and I'd say it was enough. When I travel abroad, I prefer to choose an accommodation which can provide a private room with a private bathroom. I know some people love to choose a dormitory, though.

A panoramic view a lack of the Himalayas

I took this photo at the hilltop of Ananda hill in Pokhara, Nepal. The hill is famous for World Peace Pagoda and its Shanti Stupa as well as this panoramic view of Pokhara and Lake Phewa. Rainy seasons in Nepal usually bring overcast sky like the photo shows, and the heavy clouds hide the beautiful Himalayas almost all day long and every single day. Yep, there are mountains, but they were hidden by the clouds. If you are lucky, you can see the Himalayas early in the morning during a rainy season trip, but you have to remember viewing the Himalayas is not going to be everyday opportunity.

I was an off-season traveler at that time

The photo shows a September view of the Himalayas from Pokhara, Nepal. I stayed in Pokhara for about a couple of weeks and could see the panoramic view of the Himalayas only a few times mostly early in the mornings. September sky of Pokhara is normally like the photo shows. It was like a little gloomy, a little too overcast, or something like that. But, every cloud has a silver lining. I was thinking only silver lining in cloud of off-season. A Nepali local told me that maybe January would be the best season to see the panoramic view of the Himalayas. What does maybe mean by the way, but I've seen an example of travel expense to Nepal went up in January, so maybe so maybe not.

Around with wildlife

I took this photo in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. I stayed at Machan Wildlife Resort for a couple nights and enjoyed spending hours watching wildlife, going on jungle safari by an elephant or a jeep, eating spicy Nepali cuisine, and so on. It was the first time in my life I stayed in a room with no electricity. Instead of bright fluorescent ceiling light, staff brought me a couple of small table lamps before sunset, and put them in a bed room and a bathroom. The lamps lasted till the following morning.

Harsher-than-expected experience

I took this photo through a car window in Kathmandu, Nepal. When I was on the way to my hotel from the airport, I learned that cars with a black colored number plate plus white letters on it were cabs. Was it late too know? But, I guess it was better late than never in many ways. Kathmandu was totally different from my imagination, expectation, and everything. I've been to 29 countries so far, but I've never experienced so much culture shock other than Kathmandu, Nepal. Long story short, I've experienced one culture shock after another. My jaw went to the ground and was never back on.

A wild deer in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

I took this photo in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. I stayed at a hotel in the park and did a couple of elephant safaris, a jeep safari and jungle walk with a local guide. Elephant safari is like riding on an elephant and get into the jungle to see wild animals. I took this photo on a back of a female elephant during an elephant safari. The elephant was so clever. When she needed to walk under branches, her trunk seized on a branch until I could also pass the branch points without being annoyed by the branches. When she found this wild deer, she stopped to walk to make a photo opportunity for me. Surprising.

See the horizon from Niglihawa

I took this photo in Niglihawa, Nepal. I was on the way to Lumbini from Chitwan National park by car, then stopped by Niglihawa for a while. There was an information board which was written in English and Nepali. According to the information board, this site is identified with the birth place of Kanakamuni Buddha. I could see the horizon from there as well as Chitwan National Park. I've lived and worked my whole life in a big city or its suburbs, so I was impressed to see the horizon.

The two cities couldn't be more different

I took this photo in Pokhara, Nepal when I was walking toward Patale Chhango (a.k.a. Davi's Falls or Davis Falls). The clouds were hanging low at the sky exactly like the photo shows and it looked unusual for me, so I took a photo of it. Pokhara is the second "famous" city of Nepal at 827 meter elevation and is known as a picturesque place near the Himalayas. I'd say Nepali capital Kathmandu is a little too crowded than I expected, but Pokhara was quite different from  Kathmandu even it was the second largest city of Nepal.

Bring a sense of accomplishment

I took this photo in Pokhara, Nepal. The place is called World Peace Pagoda and the photo shows its brilliant-white stupa. I was not a tough woman and am still is, but that day a Nepali local asked me to climb a hill to see Pokhara from above and I climbed the hill. I couldn't find any information about the hill and stupa on my guidebook, so I wasn't sure I could do, but I tried. I just wanted to see Pokhara from above, also I didn't want to knock it until I've tried it. The stupa was exactly on the top of the hill. It was kinda hard to get there, but I was driven by a sense of accomplishment as you can imagine. The Nepali local chose different routes to climb up and climb down the hill. I recommend to climb the hill with a someone who knows the routes like the back of one's hand. Better be safe than sorry.

A memory of pan-fried Tibetan dumplings

The photo shows an early morning view of Damside in Pokhara, Nepal. That morning, I could see the Himalayas behind Sarangkot hill like the photo shows. My hotel was located in Damside, but I had lunch in Lakeside almost everyday. Both areas are located within walking distance and I really enjoyed a wide variety of restaurants and their food in Lakeside. One of my favorite restaurants was Tibetan place and my favorite food was pan-fried dumplings. It was so nice and it went well with a bottle of Everest beer.

Leave one's mark

I took this photo at the Maya Devi Temple in Lumbini, Nepal. According to my Nepalese guide, Maya Devi Temple is the place where it is considered the Queen Maya gave birth to Gautama Buddha. Lumbini, Nepal is one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites and now is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the temple, Nepalese staff members showed me a glass case and said Gautama Buddha had left his footprint on a stone and the footprint was encased in a bulletproof glass case like this.

On the long haul

I took this photo through the rear side window in Nepal. I was kinda stuck a few times somewhere in between Kathmandu and Chitwan due to the landslides here and there. That day my itinerary was like start from Kathmandu in the morning by car toward Chitwan National Park to go on a safari on an elephant and spend a night at a cottage in the first national park in Nepal, but actually, I needed to change my itinerary as a result of those extremely hazardous road conditions and such. When I arrived in Chitwan National Park I was too late for most of things, so I just had Nepali dinner while enjoying Nepalese dance and music then added one more night in Chitwan.

Erosion of Patale Chhango

I took this photo at Patale Chhango (a.k.a. Davi's Falls or Davis Falls) in Pokhara, Nepal. If a Nepali local didn't tell me anything, I could not possibly know what this hole was. According to him this hole is like erosion due to the dynamic water pressure from Phewa Lake. Come to think about it, it just makes sense to me that Patale Chhango is a place where you can see dynamic waterfalls, and the water is coming from Phewa Lake. The water pressure here is often quite strong that could be the reason of this rock erosion.

The Himalayas and Dal Bhat Tarkari

I took this photo in Pokhara, Nepal while I was walking around the area so-called "Lake Side" early in the morning. I could see the Himalayas from there. Nepal was my third overseas travel destination. Someone asked me that how come I chose Nepal. I said that was because I wanted to see the Himalayas with my own eyes, also I wanted to have authentic Nepali cuisine everyday. I love curry. Even my very first dinner in Nepal is still a fresh memory. I had very nice Dal Bhat Tarkari. Dal means lentil soup, Bhat means boiled rice, and Tarkari means like spicy vegetable curry in English term.

Every cloud has a silver lining

I took this photo in Pokhara, Nepal. My hotel was in the area so-called damside and the photo shows view of damside. Very idyllic. I got out of my hotel room early in the morning to see the Himalayas. In that morning the sky was a bit overcast with dark clouds like the photo shows and it was kinda typical sky of the rainy season in Pokhara, but at least the Himalayas could be seen a little behind the clouds. Every cloud has a silver lining. After the Himalaya viewing, I had a croissant and a piece of white bread roll with a cup of coffee at a bakery cafe.

Passed down by word of mouth

I took this photo in Pokhara, Nepal. When I climbed a hill with a Nepali local, he showed me Pokhara and Phewa lake from above, and he also showed me a place which is called the World Peace Pagoda. I didn't know anything before I started to climb the hill, but according to Nepali locals, the place is known as the white stupa which was built by Buddhist monks from Japan. This is one of my photos from the World Peace Pagoda which shows a golden reclining buddha statue.

All's well that ends well

I took this photo in Lumbini, Nepal. I was supposed to be there the day before.  My Nepali guide and a driver picked me up at my hotel in Kathmandu and we were heading down to Chitwan National Park, but a snowball into a major issue on the road. After getting hands-on experience such us Landslides, struggle, lack of water and then some, finally we arrived to a cottage in Chitwan National Park in the evening, I'd say almost at night. I got behind schedule, so I decided to put off my itinerary and spent one extra night in Chitwan to do elephant safari, jungle safari and so on. Then, moved to Lumbini a day after. I had a lot of nice memories in Chitwan and Lumbini. All's well that ends well.