Kathmandu from a Rooftop

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal. This is the 13th of about 15 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Kathmandu, Nepal
July 14, 2014

This is summer monsoon season in Nepal, which made our flight last night from India into this Himalayan city:
A: An Air Travel Adventure, and
B: Visually stunning.

The flight from Delhi to Kathmandu normally takes just a bit over an hour, but, last night, as our flight began its descent into Kathmandu, our pilot was informed that a heavy, monsoon-season rainstorm made a landing impossible. Our plane went back to India.

An hour or so later, the Kathmandu weather improved enough so that our plane could make a second attempt. I had a window seat, and my view of the sun, setting into the abating storm clouds,  was incredible.

We landed safely in Kathmandu. Leah and I made our way through a number of points of security officialdom to get our passports stamped and Nepal visas approved, then, happily  met up with our Nepali friends who, we learned, had been waiting at the Kathmandu airport for 5 hours for our arrival.

Our friends took us to their home where we had a wonderful reunion visit, after which everyone retired for the evening.

During the night, I awoke in a sweat, barely making it to the toilet in time to be sick.
(Leah had a bout with Delhi Belly a couple of days earlier, and now it was my turn.)

Today I still feel crummy, and am laying low at our friends' home, limited to "sightseeing" from the rooftop of their home in the "New City" neighborhood of Kathmandu.

I may not be feeling my best, but I'm well enough to be wowed by what I'm seeing of this amazing city.

Honoring Elders

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal. This is the 12th of about 15 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Leh, Ladakh (India)
Sunday, September 13, 2014

Two days ago, Leah and I -- and about 150,000 others who are here this week for the Kalachakra teachings -- took part in the celebration held to honor the 79th birthday of His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Because the Dalai Lama has a twinkle in his eye and a boyish, sometimes-mischievous laugh that seem to belong to someone much younger, I hear that plans are already underway for a party of major proportions when he turns 80.

Though I have photographed people of all ages during our time here, this surely seems to be a culture that honors its elders. Everywhere we went in Leh, there were older Ladakhis and Tibetans who were out, living active, involved lives. The  Kalachakra grounds were in a very remote area that required a lot of walking in the intense, high-desert heat. Nevertheless, it appeared to be a given that grandma or grandpa would join the younger family members on the pilgrimage to the teaching.

We depart Ladakh early tomorrow morning, and I will be sad to leave. I do, however, look forward to getting to a less remote place where telephone service is easier.  My mother is in her 80's,  and, except for the days that Leah and I have been on this trip,  I typically talk to Mom every day. I want to call her and tell her I have been thinking of her.

Hemis Festival

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal. This is the 11th of about 13 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Hemis Monastery, Ladakh
July 13, 2014

Today Leah and I hired a driver with a sturdy vehicle and nerves of steel to take us out the winding, bumpy, precipitous road that climbs high above the Indus River out to three secluded monasteries:  Shey, Thikse, and Hemis. Our ultimate destination was the annual Hemis Festival, an amazing and colorful spectacle of Tibetan Buddhist ceremonial dance.

Though we came to Ladakh primarily to attend the Kalachakra teaching by the Dalai Lama, we found that the teaching schedule was such that we could squeeze in the trip to Hemis, and we jumped at the opportunity.

Seeing

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal.  This is the 10th of about 12 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Leh, Ladakh (India)
July 12, 2014

I suspect it doesn't look like it from the number of photos I'm posting here, but I decided to give my cameras a bit of a rest yesterday.

I sat quietly for much of the day's Kalachakra event, listening to the Dalai Lama's message of kindness, compassion, and peace. There were (obviously) moments when I moved around (as is my habit) and photographed what I saw. But,  by and large, I sat.

After a week of teachings and ceremony, yesterday was the point where the estimated 150,000 students made a vow to go out into the world to practice what they've learned. Students tied red cloth over their eyes, like a blindfold, then lifted the cloth to signify -- hopefully -- a clearer way of seeing.

Good Fortune

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal. This is the ninth of about 12 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Leh, Ladakh
July 10, 2014

So, within just the past several days, I've gone from being a little depressed over not being able to get a photo pass to cover Kalachakra, to feeling like I'm living a charmed life.

Today Leah and I arrived at the Kalachakra grounds, bright and early, but there were already probably 150,000 people there. Monks were on stage, debating Buddhist philosophy, and the day's actual Kalachakra teaching by the Dalai Lama had not yet begun.

I was making my way thru the huge crowd (with the photo pass I got at the 11th hour!) heading toward the media tent, when one of the press "handlers" said to me: "If you want to go backstage, you better head that way now!" I assumed the handler meant that I could photograph monks making the sand mandala, which is a cool part of the Kalachakra tradition, and I was eager to make pictures of that.

Next thing I knew, I was in a small room, filled with praying monks, and -- I couldn't believe who was in front of my eyes --  His Holiness, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, also chanting prayers!

I was dumbstruck, because security is tight around His Holiness.  Even with my media pass, this was "access" that was beyond anything I could have hoped for. I shot fast-fast-fast because I had no idea how long I'd be permitted to stay. After a few minutes,  a security guard politely tapped me on the shoulder to let me know it was time for me to go.

As I left the room, I folded my hands in front of my face, bowing toward the Dalai Lama.

I looked at my watch and realized it was about 9 PM back in Seattle. I quickly made my way to the media tent, popped my camera memory card into my iPad, and used the media tent WiFi to email several of my just-shot Dalai Lama photos to my Tibetan friends in Seattle. I thought it was pretty cool that the Tibetan Association of Washington would have "exclusive" images for their web site or Facebook page.

I left the media tent (I was still on a big-time high from the good luck I'd had getting access to the Dalai Lama) and walked around in that huge crowd, looking for pictures to complete my coverage...and guess who I ran into? Why my dear wife, of course. The crowd may have been 150,000-strong,  and running into Leah was like finding a (very welcome) needle in a haystack...but remember, I'm a fellow who appears to be leading a charmed life.