Thanks, Nepal!

Last week, after two and a half years, I finally returned home to the land of freedom. I'll probably write a longer essay in a few days as culture shock sets in, but I just thought I'd post a public thank you note to Team Nepal, that is, Yashas and his wife Dhriti, and his wonderful parents and grandparents who opened their homes to me and taught me so much about Nepal (and India too).

Dhriti, learning how to cook like a Newar

Go to Nepal, eat Newari food.

Team Nepal. And yours truly, the goofball gringo in the background.

Mo' momos please!

If there's a national food of Nepal, it's dal bhat, the rice and lentil combination people eat here for lunch everyday. And then there are momos, the small meat and vegetable filled dumplings that I've been wolfing down ever since I got here. They're little flavor-packed bites that go down so easily that you don't realize what's happened until the plate of two dozen you just ordered is suddenly, tragically, empty.


I spent a few minutes learning how to make them the other day with Yashas and Sheetal, his mother.

Roll out your dough

Just like Christmas cookies

Fill with a small spoonful of filling

Pinch at one end...

Fold from the front to the first fold, alternating sides

Steam and eat immediately!

Last views from Nepal

I went to Boudhanath stupa in Kathmandu yesterday, the last of the seven sites in the greater Kathmandu Valley that make up its designation as a World Heritage Site. The thing, as you can see, is massive. Lots of pigeons and tourists shops, and thousands of flags. A good last site-seeing trip. One more post after this about momos (you'll see), and then the next time you hear from me, I'll be back in the land of freedom!

Take care all and thanks for reading/viewing while I've been on this trip through Asia.

Back to Delhi

It's my last day in India today! I fly to Nepal this afternoon, and then home to the states on the 22nd.

Hyderabad

I only spent a night in Hyderabad, but I got to try some authentic biryani, and wander through the city for a few hours. Here are a few snaps

Cape Comorin, Puducherry, and a couple from Visag

Bus station in Trivandrum. The Coffee House to the left held a spiraling ramp and tables inside, nothing more.

One of Cape Comorin's beaches. Facing east.

Delhi to the tip. Thousands of kilometers later, here I am!

A view of the 133ft tall statue that sits just a few hundred feet offshore.

The statue's feet

Looking southwest

Puducherry

Mass in the church of Notre Dame, in Puducherry

Feelin' blue

Visag

And back in Potrero Pucu,

My followup, Amy, has a new post up about Potrero Pucu. If you followed me back in Peace Corps, go check it out:

http://www.aheimberger.blogspot.in/

In case you didn't read my Annapurna adventure,

You can read the abbreviated version here:

http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-01/news/32495340_1_trail-steep-hike-trek

Live from Puducherry!

I've been moving pretty rapidly over the last few weeks. After Kerala, I headed further south to Kanyakumari, located at Cape Comorin, the very southern tip of India. It felt a little momentous - over the last six weeks I've descended thousands of meters and crossed thousands of kilometers to get here. I'll write something more substantial later, but enjoy the pictures for now.

Fruit seller, Munnar

Sharkmonger!

A reservoir in Munnar

The Western Ghats

Yep. 

This might have been the highlight of my trip

In a hole in the wall chai shop

Cocoa pod

Thali by the roadside

Periyar Lake

Traveling through the Keralan backwaters

Canoeing home

In Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala