Every great city deserves its own iconic cultural edifice, one that is an integral part of it and bears testimony to its glorious history. In Bombay, now Mumbai, in 1903 the Taj Mahal Palace hotel was completed and it truly became one of the original grand hotels of the world. Since the day it opened […]
At the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai Every Suite Tells a Story Read More »
Day 1：Arrive in Chengdu Arrive in Chengdu and transfer to hotel to check in. Day 2: Chengdu/Rilong-B, L, D After breakfast, depart Chengdu and travel to Rilong. At Yingxiu Town, witness ravages of earthquake. Then continue to Siguniangshan National Park, lit. meaning Four Girls National Park. Visit Shuangqiao Valley, the most accessible valley with vistas
The tremendous ethnic diversity and the physical isolation into which the Himalayan topography has separated the different ethnic groups in Nepal are the prime constituents why even today most Nepalese people in the countryside think still about their country primarily in terms of only the region of the Kathmandu Valley. From the earliest times, the
Going to Kathmandu Read More »
The most awaited religious festival of the decade is scheduled to take place at Allahabad, India this month through February. The Maha Kumbh Mela which takes place once every 12 years, witnesses millions of pilgrims and thousands of Naga Sadhu’s who camp at the confluence of the sacred rivers Ganga and Yamuna for almost two
The Maha Kumbh Mela 2013 at Allahabad, India Read More »
Being some 210 feet tall, the Grand Buddha of Leshan is the hailed as the biggest Buddha in the world. Starting in AD 713 it took nearly 100 years to carve out of the cliff face at the confluence of Dadu and Min rivers in a town of Leshan in Sichan Province, western China. Many
Images of China: Grand Buddha of Leshan Read More »
Finally its here ! Operational and making a sector that has long suffered poor rail connectivity – The Shatabdi Express, connecting Agra and Jaipur. Flagged off from Jaipur on a maiden run on November 29th, the long overdue Express train arrived in perfect time at the historical Agra Fort Railway Station. Agra to Jaipur will now be a
Shatabdi Express, connecting Agra and Jaipur Read More »
The panorama of Jaisalmer ramparts rising out of the desert is often hailed as being the most magical image of the famous fort. But today the fort is in many ways engulfed by development sprawl and urban blight so unless one finds an unobstructed viewpoint the silhouette of the fort gets somewhat concealed in the
Images of Jaisalmer: Views from the ramparts of the fort Read More »
By Hardie Karges It really was a simple enough idea: a month-long trip to meet up with my wife and her family in Thailand for 10-12 days, then continue on solo to Beijing, to use that as a base to explore the surrounding countryside—including Mongolia and North Korea—and the city itself, of course. And it
Thailand, China, Mongolia, and North Korea: A Simple Plan Read More »
At one time, from the 1950’s to the 1990’s, Beijing, Ulan Bator, and Pyongyang were almost synonymous, the three northern Asian Communist monsters, occupying a contiguous northern plain, and gladly welcoming Hanoi, Vientiane, and Phnom Penh into the fold on a southeastern Asian front against the capitalists. For a while there it looked pretty bad
Axis of Medieval, a Tale of Three (Communist) Cities: Beijing, Ulan Bator and Pyongyang Read More »
A major fire disaster is taking place in Wangduephodrang. After almost four hours of raging fire, Bhutan’s one of the oldest and most historic fortresses, the Wangduephodrang Dzong, is almost completely destroyed. The fire started at around 4 pm this afternoon. Many are already describing the fire as a major loss to the Bhutan’s cultural heritage.
Wangduephodrang dzong destroyed in fire! Read More »
