The Longest Shortcut to Bhaktapur: Dust, Gods, and Sarabanda
The morning began with misplaced optimism. After nine days of gravitational karma and asphalt roulette, you’d think we’d have learned something. But no — we gathered at the reception, our luggage once again carted off like offerings to the gods of broken suspension systems, and boarded the bus with hope. Foolish, vulnerable, Italianate [...]
Nepal on the Edge: Bandipur and a Post-Earthquake Nation
The road to Bandipur, they said, would be newly paved. Smooth. Hopeful, even. A glimmer of progress slicing through the Himalayan foothills like a promise. They didn’t say that progress in Nepal is more of a conceptual aspiration than a practical reality. Still, with our usual optimism — and the intestinal fortitude that only a 6:30 a.m. [...]
From Ghandruk to Pokhara — Gravity, Monks & the Illusion of Choice
The day began, as all spiritually overcompensating travel days should, at an hour usually reserved for insomnia or existential dread: 5:30 AM. But instead of regret, we were met by the Himalayan gods themselves, casually unveiling the Annapurna South and the iconic Fish Tail like a magician’s final trick. For a moment, all was right with [...]
Ghorepani to Ghandruk – A Dance with Gravity
Sometimes, skipping an early-morning hike is not a failure of spirit but a victory of foresight. I had already greeted the Himalayan pantheon from Poon Hill the evening before—alongside my ever-faithful roommate and the indomitable Silvia—so I let the others climb at 4:30 AM with their headlamps flickering like fireflies chasing [...]
Into the Mist: Ghorepani Blues and the Great Poon Hill Tease
It begins, as these days tend to, with the slow violence of an early alarm — 5:30 a.m. A time that belongs to monks, insomniacs, and the tragically ambitious. I am none of the above, and this morning, I politely refuse the call to greatness. Let others chase the sunrise. I’ve already seen the sunset — and it was glorious. The day before, [...]