I’m so grateful to be able to share with you the highlights of this past week in Kathmandu, Nepal from the rooftop of my hotel-Pilgrims Hotel. I’ve already seen 3 festivals and I’ve only been here a week. One of the highlights was witnessing Gunla, the Newari Buddhist tradition of prayer, fasting, singing, playing musical instruments and making pilgrimages to Swayambhunath, The Monkey Temple. I arrived on the platform of the stupa of Swayambhunath greeted by drums, flutes, singing, and a incredible diversity of musical styles ranging from the traditional flute instrumentation of Newari ensembles to traditional Nepal folk music. It was inspiring! In this episode I play some of the highlights.
I’m often asked what am I eating when I’m traveling. Naturally I want to experience as much local food as possible so I’m eating what alot of locals eat, Nepal food, momos,(dumplings), fried noodle dishes, and Indian food like curries, and snacks. Kathmandu has great international food as well and staying in Thamel affords you the ease of walking only a few steps to sample many cuisines of the world from Japanese to Thai, Italian, Middle-Eastern, American and more. There is good pizza and pasta to be had in Kathmandu!
I’m primarily here to trek and I’ll be leading a small group soon up to Everest Base Camp. One of the many things I do besides creating travel stories and content online and mobile is promoting travel to Nepal through a company I partner with called Sacred Trekking. If you want to find out more about trekking whether you are a beginner or looking for something more advanced contact me at john@fareasttravels.com.