bike ride in Delhi

Delhi in September, October and November is beautiful place to be. Temperature is just right, and the generous monsoon has left lush foliage everywhere. Here are a few pictures of Delhi on a lazy, leafy Sunday.

Biked over to Lodhi Gardens. Malis (gardeners) working on the roses.

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Langtang Trek

And now here's what you've been waiting for. Great thanks to Eric for sharing these amazing photographs. All the way up the valley, we were accompanied by a rushing river.

The lush forest eventually petered out into more open, rock strewn valley.

A group of Tibetans celebrating with a dance.

Glacier

We saw two avalanches from an opposing mountainside.

A view of the valley were we finished the trek, from the peak of a surrounding mountain.

So out of Kathmandu we headed. Our trekking destination was the Langtang Region, a remote valley a few miles south of the Nepal-Tibet border. The ride up through the foothills was full of color. Here, a truck was stuck in the middle of the road, blocking passage. About twenty men eventually pushed it through the troubled spot.

Our jeep hit a chicken hanging out on the road, and the entire village gathered to watch the negotiations for reimbursement.

After a long day in the car, we reached the trail head, and gladly said goodbye to motorized traffic. Into the woods we go...

Kathmandu

In June, Maki and I, along with our friends Eric, Liz and Don, went to Nepal for a weeklong trek in the Himalayas. We stopped in Kathmandu on the way there. It is a vibrant and easy city, located in a broad valley south of the mountains. Here is a view of the hazy valley from the surrounding hills.

Although Nepal is primarily Hindu today, it was the birthplace of the Buddha, and many temples and much Buddhist iconography can be found. We hiked up a steep hill to this magnificent Stupa.

Here's a river that meandered through the eastern part of the city, it was the most plastic choked waterway I've ever seen.

And here is a busy streetscape in Kathmandu - cycle rickshaws, advertisements, and the bustle of life.