INDIA 2025 - DETOUR TO NEPAL: BHAKTAPUR TAUMADHI AND DURBAR SQUARES

 November 24, 2025

About eight miles from Kathmandu and in the same valley lies Bhaktapur ("City of Devotees"), a densely populated city and one of the seven monument zones that make up the Kathmandu Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. Interestingly, you must pay an entrance fee to go into the ancient city--much like a national park. And note the final sentence on the welcome sign below. Gotta love bad translations.

There are brass shops everywhere.  I think most of the brass tchotchkes we buy in the United States come from India, but I sure saw a lot in Nepal. I could probably find some of these at Home Goods, but there were some very unique items as well.

Take the sword-like brass knives, for example. I haven't seen them in Home Goods. They are weapons used by gurkhas. What are "gurkhas"? They are members of an elite Nepali military group that fought against the British from 1814-1816, but then were recruited to serve in the British Army, where they still serve today. They are known for being fearless in combat, for their loyalty, and for their skills with the khukuri, the curved knife seen in the photo on the right. That's a pretty cool knife, but unfortunately I only had carry-on luggage and I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't get through security.

One of the important places in Bhaktapur is Taumadhi Square, which is the location of several important temples, including Bhairavnath Temple, which is dedicated to Lord Bhairav, the fierce manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva. It was originally built in the 13th century, then restored and redesigned several times. The triple roof was added in 1718, but then it collapsed in the 1934 earthquake, was rebuilt, and was severely damaged again in the earthquake of 2015, and was re-rebuilt. Nepalis are persistent.

INDIA 2025 - DETOUR TO NEPAL: KATHMANDU DURBAR SQUARE

 November 24, 2025

The word Durbar comes from the Persian word for "court," and a "Durbar  Square" is an area in Nepal that includes a royal palace and the public areas around it. There are three main Durbar Squares in Nepal: Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Each served as the royal seat of its own kingdom until Nepal was unified in the 18th century. 

We began at Kathmandu Durbar Square, the most important of the three Durbar Squares. Construction began in the 3rd century, but most of the major structures were built in later periods. There are dozens of temples in the complex, so it is a bit overwhelming.

My first impression was that wow, there are a LOT of pigeons. How do they keep the square clean?

The dogs don't appear to be chasing the birds away.

INDIA 2025 - DETOUR TO NEPAL: KATHMANDU'S MONKEY TEMPLE

 November 24, 2025

Our first stop of the day was the Swayambhunath complex in Kathmandu, widely known as "the Monkey Temple," probably because no one can pronounce "Swayambhunath," and also because hundreds of rhesus macaque monkeys live in and around the complex and roam freely about the site. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, this complex of shrines, stupas, and statues has been sitting atop a hill and overlooking the valley for about 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest and most sacred Buddhist sites in Nepal, and one of the three most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the world. 

The complex is also know for its unique blend of Hindu and Buddhist culture. 

To get to the main stupa, we first walked through this garden of votive stupas, small shrines donated by pilgrims over the centuries to secure good karma or possibly to hold the ashes of the dead. It does look a lot like a cemetery.

Just past that garden/cemetery of votive stupas, we saw our first monkey, and then several more. Then dozens. They were everywhere--sacred site or not!

INDIA 2025 - DETOUR TO NEPAL: THE BOUDHANATH STUPA IN KATHMANDU AND A BEAUTIFUL HOTEL

 November 23, 2025

We left the Pashupatinath Ghats to visit one more destination before heading to our hotel. As usual, we saw some interesting city views along the way. 

The complex snarl of wiring overhead is terrifying.

I am guessing there is some copyright infringement going on with that Google bus on the left, but is someone going to go to Kathmandu and track down the bus company? Probably not. The sign over the door on the right identifies this beautiful building as the Orgyen Dhongak Choeling MONASTERY.  That's not like any monastery I've ever seen.

However, when I zoom in, that looks like two monks standing in front of the door. Note the name of the shop on the left. 

INDIA 2026 - DETOUR TO NEPAL: THE PASHUPATINATH TEMPLE IN KATHMANDU

 November 23, 2025

Nepal is one of the countries that, like China and Russia and Botswana, I never thought in a million years I would visit. A landlocked country sandwiched between India and Tibet and home to the Himalayan mountain range and the King of All Mountains, Mt. Everest, it has always seemed about as foreign and unattainable as any place on earth.  

No longer!

We made our way from Amritsar to Kathmandu, Nepal, via Delhi's Indira Gandhi Airport, where we had a brief layover. There is always something new to discover at foreign airports:

This was actually pretty good!

INDIA 2025: AMRITSAR'S GOLDEN TEMPLE

November 22, 2025

On our first trip to India we visited the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple in Delhi, which was fabulous, but supposedly it couldn't hold a candle to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. We were intrigued enough to add a detour to Amritsar on this trip specifically to visit the temple.  

Once we were in the historic part of the city, it was easy to spot the temple at the end of Heritage Street, and there was plenty of signage pointing the way for those who are very nearsighted.

It took a bit of walking to get to the Golden Temple, but it was nice of the Sikhs to give us a red carpet to walk on, especially since we had to remove our shoes. We were headed toward a golden dome that could almost be a Gothic Catholic cathedral but is actually the entrance to the Golden Temple complex.

On the other side of the doors is a huge, spotlessly clean plaza paved with marble. It was like walking into the Emerald City, except maybe it would be the Amber City.

INDIA 2025: WALKING TOUR OF AMRITSAR

 November 22, 2025

Our guide in Amritsar, Roop, was a devout Sikh, complete with a pale lilac turban and a long beard. He was great. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of his face, but here is a great picture of his turban.

Amritsar is the spiritual and cultural center for Sikhs, much as Varanasi is for Hindus, and is considered a holy city in Sikhism. It was established in 1574 by the fourth (of ten) Sikh guru, Guru Ram Das. Situated in the state of Punjab and only 17 miles from the border with Pakistan and with a population of about 1.5 million, it is also an important economic and political location. 

Roop picked us up from our hotel and took us to the historical area of town, which was, like other large cities in India, crowded, noisy, and jam-packed with fascinating things to see. I think I would enjoy walking up and down the main streets every day just to see what was going on.

Note the sign for international drink of choice: 
Coca-Cola

A sword-wielding man riding a horse perched atop an elaborately carved base dominates what is known as "Heritage Street," a pedestrian promenade that runs between Town Hall and the Golden Temple (see next post). This is Ranjit Singh, the founder and first maharaja (prince or king) of the Sikh Empire, who ruled from 1801 until 1839. He is revered for uniting the Punjab province and for leading a cultural and artistic renaissance. A few interesting facts about him are that he lost an eye to smallpox as an infant, was short and unattractive, and was basically illiterate.

Another interesting fact is that for the last 26 years of his life he owned (and often prominently displayed on the front of his turban or as an armlet) the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond, one of the largest cut diamonds in the world. 

INDIA 2025: FROM LOS ANGELES TO AMRITSAR

 November 20-22, 2025

In December 2024, Bob and I and my sister Chris and her husband Stan had a wonderful trip to India that included time spent in Guwahati, Kaziranga National Park, Delhi, Varanasi, Agra, and Jaipur. We checked many things off our bucket list, but one remained: to see a tiger in the wild. In spite of five or six safari drives in Kaziranga National Park, the big cat escaped us.

Foreseeing this as a possibility, Bob had purchased a five-year, multiple-entry visa instead of a 30-day, single-entry visa. I think his plan (unbenownst to me) was always to go back and try again. I think it may have been on the flight home that he suggested another trip.

We reached out to our reliable travel partners from the first trip and also included my brother Dave and his wife Bonnie and proposed traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday when I had a full week off from school and could add a few extra days. Both couples enthusiastically agreed, and Bob started planning.

Dave and Bonnie left three days before we did so that they could squeeze in some of the experiences, like the Taj Mahal, that we had on our first India trip. The plan was to meet up in the Delhi Airport on November 22 and fly from there to our first location: Amritsar.

With a time change of 12.5 hours, it takes two-and-a-half calendar days to get to Delhi from our home. We left the house on Thursday morning, drove the two hours to the Los Angeles Airport, left our car in the LA Hilton underground parking lot, and boarded a Virgin Atlantic flight to London at about 3:40 p.m.

A good omen?

The flight was 10 hours and 20 minutes long, and we arrived in London on a beautiful day with blue skies and a great view of the Thames curlicuing its way through the city.

We could even see the London Eye on the South Bank:

UGANDA: LAST DAY IN KAMPALA

 July 26, 2025

Our last day in Uganda was spent on a walking tour in Kampala, the capital city. Let me say up front that it was very hot, that we walked and walked and walked until we were completely worn out, and that our guide was not the best at listening to us and/or discerning our needs. In fact, he ranks among our Top Ten Worst Guides.

That said, we still had a very interesting (in spite of being exhausting) experience in the city that rounded out our other experiences in the rural areas of the country.

Just walking to our first destination was educational. This shop, for example sells fresh flowers packaged to be placed on graves during funerals. I've never seen arrangements quite like these before! 

 

Our first stop was a craft market, and unfortunately I did not take any pictures, but Ella and I both bought several items--woven bracelets, a cloth bag, etc.

Just outside the market there were several artists selling their work. Much of it was too dramatic for me, but then, Uganda is a dramatic country!

I looked for Frida, but I couldn't find her. Uganda is one of the few countries we've traveled in where I didn't see her.

I kinda love this one and wish I'd bought it.

UGANDA: KIDEPO TO KAMPALA

 July 25, 2025

We planned to end our trip with a day exploring Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. It would take us two days to drive there, and we had already experienced those roads and knew we didn't want to experience them again. Fortunately, Bob had decided when he was planning the trip that we needed a quicker way back and had booked a flight instead.

I took a photo of this map that was hanging in the Kidepo Airport and added the red circles and line to show the locations of take off and touch down.

The Kidepo Airport is two very small, sparsely furnished rooms--an office and a waiting room--not far from the national park and about 300 miles (by air) to Kampala.

They have a nice photo of President Museveni (more about him in my next post) hanging on the wall, and they keep their flight records in a handwritten ledger.

UGANDA: KIDEPO VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, DAY 2 - A WALKING SAFARI AND VILLAGE PEOPLE

 July 24, 2025

After breakfast we picked up Zachary at the military base and then drove to an area with a large open savannah. Zachary, Bob, Ella, and I got out of the jeep and started a walking safari and nature walk, something I am sure we would not have dared to do on our own (or without Zachary's rifle).

It didn't help that they first thing we came across was this:

One of my favorite African trees is the Candelabra Tree, a succulent that Zachary warned us not to touch as its sap can be a poisonous irritant. It stood out, not just because it was the only tree around, but because it didn't look like a typical leafy tree. There is no softness about this tree. Its sharp spines testify that it can survive the dry season. It also seems ancient, and it has the aura of an archetypal sentinel standing in the open cathedral of the savannah. 

We came across a large herd of grazing Cape buffalo that took a special interest in our tiny group of four people.  One rifle is no match for a stampeding herd of Cape buffalo, I thought to myself. But Zachary didn't seem to be at all concerned.

             

WE were concerned, however, or at least a trifle nervous. They kept inching closer and closer to us, and the only tree within running distance was that candelabra tree with the poisonous sap and spiny leaves!

UGANDA: KIDEPO VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, DAY 1 - SAFARI DRIVE

 July 23, 2025

We woke up at 6:00 a.m. and ate breakfast at 6:30. Breakfast typically consisted of our choice of eggs, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, cereals, toast, juice, and hot chocolate (for Ella, who was obsessed with it and had it almost every day of our trip no matter how hot the weather was). 

By 7:00 we were on our way to pick up a national park ranger named Zachary who had been assigned to accompany us anytime we were in the park. We passed by a large herd of Cape buffalo, one of Africa's "Big Five" game animals.

They reminded me a lot of a herd of American bison.

We had to go through this river to get to the military base where we were picking up Zachary and then again at the end of the day to drop him off:

Ella, as always, took it all in stride. She is a great traveler.