Travel Tips Archives - Page 2 of 4

October 3, 2018January 17, 2020

Weather-beaten, scarred, scary-looking … and an artifact

One of these two is a weather-beaten, scarred, scary-looking old head. The other is an artifact on display in the Viking Ship Museum. The museum in Oslo, Norway, features a small but impressive collection of artifacts from the viking era. The highlights are three preserved viking ships. The museum is thoughtfully laid out to permit …

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May 3, 2018January 17, 2020

Your horse will think you’re crazy

The Tiger's nest

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May 2, 2018March 5, 2020

Beautiful Bhutan and the Madman’s Penis (Yes, Really)

In my opinion, Bhutan is pretty much idyllic. It’s what I imagine Tibet could be. Except for the Bhutan penis art ... but more on that in a minute. Schools and universities are free. Health care is free, even for tourists. Plastic bags are banned. Recycling is required. Post continues below Archery - one of …

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May 2, 2018January 17, 2020

Himalayan Holiday: Briefs from Bhutan

Some more tidbits from our travel to Bhutan: The sandwiching influence of the world’s two largest emerging economies, China and India, is felt in all the Himalayan countries. In Tibet, the Chinese influence is a given. But in Nepal, its government tries to leverage the two giants, India and China, against each other to its …

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May 1, 2018February 15, 2020

China: Jinshanling section of the Great Wall

If you travel to China, the Great Wall of course is a "must see." It was our first visit to Beijing and we had read about the crowds at the other sections of the wall. So we booked a guide to take us to the Jinshanling section and we were not disappointed. Beautiful sections of …

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April 30, 2018September 26, 2019

Visiting Nepal: Washing the Dead in Kathmandu

The dead bodies were lined up along the Bagmati River. They were placed with care in the ancient and sacred Pashupatinath Hindu temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating to 400 BC. Nepal is more than 80 percent Hindu. The dead were on bamboo stretchers, wrapped in sheets and covered in marigold-colored cloths. One …

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April 29, 2018January 17, 2020

Nepal Travel: navigating the hairpin-turn cliffs to Kathmandu

Three years after the April 2015 earthquake disaster, Nepal looks like a mountainous, tropical version of London after The Blitz. Nepal travel offers a stark reminder of how long the recovery from such a disaster can last ... long after the news of the disaster has fallen out of the international headlines. The main road …

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April 27, 2018January 19, 2020

Glimpses of Nepal

Travel to Nepal is eye-opening in many ways. Nepal is poor. People earn around $200 to $300 a month in professional jobs. So about 5 million men have gone to other countries to try to earn more money. They’re primarily in Dubai, Japan and Korea. They Skype and FaceTime with their families in Nepal. Some …

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April 25, 2018February 15, 2020

Travel to Tibet: Warm welcome to the top of the world

Tibet will swell your heart to bursting, then smash it in pieces. It’s Shangri-La, Shambala, Shang Bala, the mythical mountain paradise. It’s absolutely stunning landscape. It’s Buddhism, the spiritual home of the Dalai Lama. Tibetans greet us at the airport with long, white silk scarves they tie around our necks. These khatas symbolize purity and …

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April 24, 2018March 5, 2020

Tibet travel tidbits

Some more tidbits from our travel to Tibet: When a Tibetan dies, he is laid out in his home for three days. Then the undertaker comes. There are five kinds of burials here: Tomb burials for the reincarnation lama/monk like the Dalai Lama Fire burials for monks and other religious leaders Earth burials for people …

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Category: Travel Tips