I’d given up on ever traveling overland from Nepal to Tibet. Three times I had tried and failed. The first tour I booked in Kathmandu, a number of years ago, was cancelled when the Chinese government suddenly closed the border. My second try a couple of years later was much the same. When monks began … Read more
I celebrated Nepali New Year in Nepal, this past April. My second home of Pokhara sponsored three solid days of performances in the park, including band performances, traditional dancing, and singing. But for me the most interesting part was just roaming the streets and watching the families that had traveled from afar, shopping, meeting with … Read more
Each time I return to Kathmandu, Nepal, I find a new craze. This year it was Tibetan singing bowls. Not only were they for sale in shops all over the city, every Yoga studio or meditation class seemed to offer singing bowl healing sessions. I was fortunate to meet a nice young man from Hong … Read more
Across Thailand, thousands of small craft villages dot the landscape. Each one specializes in the manufacture of a particular handicraft. Especially in northern Thailand, the choices seem endless. In tiny Ban Ton Pao in northern Thailand, everyone in the villages is involved in the production of handmade paper from Mulberry bark. In nearby Baan Tawai, … Read more
On April 3, 2019, the Sultan of Brunei imposed Islamic sharia law on all residents of the country, including the 30% of the population who are not Muslims. In a nutshell, this means that people will be whipped or stoned to death for gay sex, adultery, sodomy, and rape, and the crime of theft will … Read more
