Memoirs of a Wandering Nomad

Kathmandu ----------------- You should not be reading this if you genuinely want to know about Kathmandu; nor should I be writing this post if there is some journalistic integrity left in the world - but hey, that would be a different world, no? ... The reason I say that is because I hardly stepped out of the hotel I was in for the days I spent in this land of yakshas (water spirits) - partly due to weather - rain and little kids, but largely due to the fact that I had planned to laze in and around the hotel during this trip. So if you want a complete down and low on the town and its whereabouts, you are in the wrong place. Anyway, since this is the first time I am in Kathmandu, let me tell you something about this interesting find: * This little and scenic kingdom (now a democracy) is a strange mixture of its neighbors - with the largest influence from, of course, India. A lot of aid and business comes from the big brother, and so do the tourists. Nepalis look up to India as

Udaipur - The City of Lakes -------------------------------------- Udaipur City from atop Karni Mata Temple Fort Of all the touristy places in Rajasthan - rather, in India - Udaipur is perhaps the most over- hyped and commercialized one. Don't go by anything you read on the Internet (including this post) on face value. Most of it is just cleverly planted, airbrushed, and photoshop'ed (not including this post though - this one tries to be as unbiased as it can get!). And yet, Udaipur -  rather, "Oudieipore" as is spelled below a 18th century French sketch in the City Palace museum - has a charm of its own, if it can be called 'charm', that is completely different from the Jaipur-Jodhpur-Bikaner variety. Some of it is due to the number of lakes and hills doting the landscape of the city. I mean, the entry to the city is brilliant, as the road winds through green hills and you can see the expanse of the city contained yet spilling through cervices amon

Ramthambore -------------------- The problem with going to wildlife preserves, especially a tiger sanctuary like Ranthambore , is not that they are in such exceedingly faraway places from normal civilization that only dusty and rusty roads lead to; or that you have to make do with some terribly basic accommodation with half-lit rooms cluttered with old cranking beds and soggy mattresses and a swarm of tiny blood-sucking winged monsters; or that you are expected to get up at ungodly hours of wee morning only to find that the safari canter has got delayed. Any travel junkie in his right mind or pair of smelly socks will not find much difficulty adjusting to these trivial irritants. No, the problem is that in spite of suffering all the above and much more - like the sweat and heat from the progressively menacing rising sun, the bumpy ride into the jungle and the non-existence of shock absorbers on the safari canter (which makes you feel that you are sitting directly resting your now-