Mommy Is Off Having fun...

In Phuket, Thailand now with her folks. They left this afternoon for 'One Night In Bangkok' and then three in Phuket, Thailand. I am both happy she is getting some time to herself with her folks and totally jealous that I am not there with her.

She has assured me that she is going to relax, sit on the beach and try to catch as much sun as she can. Actually the real thing she is excited about is all the hot water and electricity she can use right there at her fingertips.

As I sit here and write this our generator we recently got conked out and we are all in the dark again. I am going to take the kids out to dinner tonight and hopefully by the time I get home the electricity will be back on and I can watch some movies or play my new Star Wars game. A shallow consolation...

I really miss her. She is the love of my life and I can't breathe without her. I am not kidding, the house seems colder tonight than it did yesterday. Her light and heat is sorely missed.

Have fun hun! You deserve it!

PS, Take pictures of the Shemale dance shows at night! We are all interested!!!

Pokhara #2

We also took my parents to Pokhara. It was a LONG trip from Chitwan to Lumbini to Pokhara and the road conditions weren't ideal. The piture below shows the major highway in Nepal connecting Butwal to Pokhara. You can't see it, but there is a huge cliff to the edge of this mudslide. We were doing a lot of handle gripping the entire 6 hours we were in our van. Axel saw angels a few times (what else is new?).

The last two hours were done in the dark. Is it better to see the poor road and cliff or just know it is there in the dark? We couldn't decide. But finally we made it to Pokhara and the safety of a warm bed.

Devis Falls

Cave exploring

Ganesh puja because this is a cave and therefore must be sacred.

Boat ride on the lake

A gross pigeon Xavier caught

Sedona and my dad (who hasn't aged since he turned 40).

Checking out the locals

This was our last stop. We put in at least 18 hours of driving on some not-so-favourable road conditions. However, we arrived in Kathmandu safe and sound on Christmas Eve.

Christmas was a blast. It was simple, but nice. And the best present I got was a trip to Thailand. I am leaving tomorrow.

Until I return...

Buddha's Birthplace

After Chitwan we made the long haul to Buddha's birthplace, Lumbini (also known as 'the lovely' in Sanskrit). It took a while, but we figured it was the one and only time we could do it. You have to do it once in your lifetime, but I don't feel the need to do it ever again. It was about 4 hours out of the way and least to say, it wasn't a smooth ride.

Lumbini sits only 10 miles away from the Indian/Nepal border and it is a very underrated area. It is becoming more popular but the infrastructure deters most Buddhist from visiting. Now I can see why.

Taking the rickshaw into the sacred garden

It was interesting to see how everyone living in Lumbini, Nepal looked very Indian, not Nepali.

The exact place where Buddha was born. Don't ask me how they actually know this, but according to sacred documents, they have surmised that this is the place where Buddha was born.

We couldn't leave without getting tika'ed from my didis. There is always a reason for a tika.

Behind us is the stone where Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha (Buddha). Tell me, if you are a queen, would you choose to give birth on a stone? Surely there were better places to have a baby. Even this pool of nasty Nepali water would have been a better choice.

Doing a puja at the Nepali monastery. There are monasteries from Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Korea, etc. but I believe the Nepali Monastery was the coolest one. It had a little Las Vegas Buddhist-style feel to it.

The lights on top of Buddha's head would rotate and blink like a casino slot machine when you win twenty bucks. Loved it.

Feel'n the Buddha love, or just a wrestle with your sister in the name of a hug.

Muslim women shopping at the Buddhist shops. Ironically, the area of Lumbini is predominantly Muslim.

Xavier trying to haggle. Like father, like son.

The Many

Faces

of Dona.

At Axel's feet you will see a Buddhist carved mask. Axel 'found' this mask in Lumbini and it was about to be thrown out. Sweet souvenir.

Buddhist words to live by

We went, we saw, we conquered.