Hello From Amritsar (Two Days Too Late)

Amritsar, India

I meant to upload this video from Amritsar, but lo and behold, internet is a shaky thing in countries with power outages and frequent connectivity problems. So I post it now, two days after I was at the Golden Temple of which I spoke about in the post below.

And though I say it a few times, the temple was indeed beautiful; for me, it was second only to the Taj Mahal in India (though there was a fort in Jodhpur that would come in a very close third). I felt so at peace by the water, listening to the music, eating in the communal dining hall, shaking hands with the passing children who, I suppose, thought it funny or exciting to see a foreigner. I shudder to think of all the family photos I was forced to be in, though it was all in good spirit.

And now? Well now I am in Nepal, a country which has always held such mystique for me. Even the name Kathmandu rings of exoticism, of mystery and magic. I am here for a few days (and on Sunday I will take a short flight to see Everest!) and then it’s off to Chitwin National Park for animal spotting, Pokhara for paragliding and white-water rafting, and trekking near the Annapurna circuit.

I know I’ve said this before (most recently, about ALL of the countries I’ve been to on this current journey, including Thailand, Burma, and India), but damn, I like this place already . I like it a lot.