Chitwan National Park and Druk Amitabha Mountain Monastery

Road to the Tiger Tower

Our local guide Laxman.

The Tower.

First light on the trail.

Sunrise on the Terai.

Mom works at her itch while youngster stays close.

Mom with her 2 year old twins. Extremely rare.

The 2 year old twin boys.

Mom and her boys coming back from the jungle.

5 year old elephants being 5 year old elephants.

I'm not touching you!

Catch me if you can. This one was extremely playful.

Our tour guide whose name escapes me but was translated in Lion Flower. She was a beautiful lady.

Canoeing.

Local Tharu Cultural program.

This was an incredible display of skill. The men are dancing and fighting with bamboo sticks.

The elusive male Rhino.

Again the male rhino. Apparently I got too close to it. But I did get this photo. Stupid tourist moment for sure.

Beautiful retired female elephant. She is about 75 years old.

Here she is again.

And again.

Druk Amitabha Mountain Monastery in Kathmandu.

Druk Amitabha.

Nagarjuna Temple at Druk Amitabha.

Dr. Subodh from Himalayan International Yoga Academy.

Druk Amitabha Mountain Monastery.

Mountain Flight

After a long debate with my right knee (that gave out climbing stairs yesterday) and my overall state of exhaustion from travelling this country for the last 60 days or so, combined with the punishment of the recent Annapurna Base Camp trek ... I decided that seeing the Everest region was still a high priority for me. I had come to this country with the intent of seeing Everest, Ama Dablam, Lhotse and all their friends so what better way than from the air!

You only live once and living with the images of the majestic, towering, white massifs approaching on the horizon is a pretty amazing feeling. For me, this moment had been years in the making. From the first time I saw the mountains in Alberta as a youngster while visiting family friends on my March break to hearing their stories of expeditions to far away places and mountains with names like Ama Dablam, Annapurna and Everest ... it became clear that I needed to see them for myself. Nepal always seemed reachable but I just needed to get on that plane. So here they are in all their glory. The Bucket List now has one less item,

Mt. Everest

Mt. Everest (29029 ft)

Mt. Everest (29029 ft)

Mt. Everest (29029 ft). So high the top is in the clouds.

Descriptions and names to follow.

Paragliding in Pokhara

After spending most of my two months in Nepal by both land and river, we decided to take to the skies! Pokhara and more specifically Sarangkot is an absolute paragliding epicenter. The flying conditions and thermals that are created here allow for flying almost year round. A friend I have been travelling with for some weeks now named Evan Bouchier is a solo pilot and he has camped himself out here and flies everyday. There is a real scene here. Flying junkies. You can spot them in town with their gigantic backpacks carrying their wings.

 Again for you Mom! Boots are getting good use. Paragliding from Sarankot over Phewa Tal in Pokhara.

We flew with a company called Blue Sky Paragliding http://www.paragliding-nepal.com/ and I was up in the air for an hour over Phewa Tal and the town of Pokhara. We were able to see the mountains that we had spent the last nine days hiking in and out of and were able to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Perhaps a new hobby on the horizon. Ya never know.

View of the Annapurna Range from the sky.

Suzy in the Sky with Diamonds. Money shot.