Its beauty is mesmerizing. Drive with me along South Africa’s rugged coastline to the Cape of Good Hope. Before “Good Hope”, the Cape was actually known as the “Cape of Storms”. Aptly named by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias, the first European to discover the Cape in 1488 for the rough tides and heavy storms that could, and often did, tear ships into pieces. And as if the waters didn’t provide …
It’s an 11th century Buddhist VM! Thangka roughly translates to “recorded message” in Tibetan and is an ancient form of Buddhist art. The art of India and Nepal is one of flamboyance! Color in capitals! Flags fly, ropes of marigolds are offered to visitors along with welcoming red bindis and bracelets. Each with a prayer. Carvings, sculptures, paintings…all celebratory and strange. But so beautiful! I watched artists in the city of …
It was the most imposing structure I have ever visited, dominating the landscape, miniaturizing the “Blue City” below. On par with the Great Wall but so much richer in ornate decoration and impossibly grand. Mehrangarh Fort stands four hundred feet in splendor on a perpendicular cliff above the sky line of Jodhpur. Burnished red sandstone, imposing, invincible and yet with a strange haunting beauty that beckons. Much has been written …
Many claim there are more gods than people in the Kathmandu Valley. It feels that way. Spiritually pungent, deliciously rich in culture and tradition. Flower petals, vermilion powder and rice are offered on brass trays daily at these sacred spots. The contrast with frenetic India is dramatic. Chill, more peaceful. An absence of car horns. The Himalayas loom, menacing with tectonic threat but grand and gorgeous. Nepal is the country of …
I loved watching Indian women draped in brightly colored, embellished silks managing to accomplish, to me, awkward side-saddle motor bike rides, managing unruly kids, raking basmati, worshipping at the temple all the while composed and lovely in their saris. In Indian culture, the sari symbolizes respect, dignity, modesty and confidence. The word “sari” means “strip of cloth” in Sanskrit. But for the Indian women—and a few men—who have been wrapping …
Even their names are exotic and offer no clue as to ingredients or taste so the traveler has to proceed with caution. Pakora, Vada Pav, Aloo Gobi, Dal Tadka, Chana Masala, Vindaloo…all the dishes and spices vary dramatically based on regional preferences, flavors and culinary traditions. I sampled each of these dishes and loved the smokey, exotic blend of flavors! Indian cuisine reflects an 8,000-year history of various groups and cultures. Traditional …