Travel Theme: Autumn

October 31, 2014 / wrightsolution / 3 Comments

Its been quite a few years since I’ve experienced crisp Autumn days,crunchy leaves, and walks where you can see you breath as you tread on frosty grass. Manila had no cold season at all, and here in Kathmandu its getting a little crisp at night, but the days are still very warm and sunny. It doesn’t feel like Autumn at all.

But we do have chrysanthemums, pumpkins, squash and crows. Lots and lots of crows. And as they swoop around over our heads and caw and poop and crash into one another in the treetops at twilight, it not only reminds me of Hitchcock’s “The Birds”, it also feels as close I can remember to Fall. Maybe its the spooky Halloween connection….! Happy Halloween!

Travel Theme: Numbers

October 26, 2014October 26, 2014 / wrightsolution / Leave a comment

I struggled with this week’s travel theme on “numbers”. I didn’t have photographs or stories that I could recall. However, I do love being impressed by the sheer number of things like sheep, or horses or monkeys. So here are some crowd photos of new animals friends met along the way:

Fluffy clouds with fluffy sheep taken during the lambing season on the Ridgeway in the South of England.

A field full of horses came over to greet us!

..and as bucolic as the sheep country is, horses are so much more fascinating with their welcoming curiosity.

And finally, feeding time at the Swayambhuneth Temple, Kathmandu. Its called monkey temple for a reason, and you really don’t want to get in their way!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Cover Art

October 25, 2014 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

For this week’s Photo Challenge, we were asked to imagine images we would like to see gracing the cover of a book, an album, or a magazine. What image would we choose to inspire others to take a peek through the pages, listen to the music, or buy a ticket to the show?

I chose an image for a coffee table book “Temples of Nepal” from a photo I recently took of the Namobuddha Stupa. Now to start working on the content…!

A Word A Week Photo Challenge: Recline

October 22, 2014 / wrightsolution / 1 Comment

Aren’t cows supposed to recline in green pastures? Turns out they can just hang anywhere

Baby elephant, all tuckered out

One of many reclining buddhas in this part of the world. This one is from the World Peace Pagoda in Lumbini

For other takes on the theme of Recline see here

Travel Theme: Broken

October 18, 2014October 18, 2014 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

This tractor is wearing a flower garland for the Dashian holiday, Nawami. On this day income-generating vehicles and machinery are worshiped, and sacrifices are made to gain a blessing from the goddess Durga for protection against accidents. (Perhaps, a few road rules around here might go a long way too….) But even this sad, abandoned tractor with flat, moss-covered tyres was being blessed. I’d like to think that someone remembered the importance of this piece of machinery in years gone by and decided to honour it as an old friend. Maybe a bit too romantic for a tractor?….but it was charming nonetheless.

See here for other travel insights on Broken.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Refraction

October 17, 2014 / wrightsolution / 9 Comments

Lake Pokhara canoes

Sharp crocodile reality (soft, gentle reflection)

Early morning boatman

For other Refraction entries see this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge

A Word A Week Photo Challenge: Fly (…or at least the next best thing)

October 15, 2014 / wrightsolution / 4 Comments

The self-proclaimed “world’s longest zipline” is in Pokhara, Nepal, which runs for distance of 1.8 kilometers against the spectacular back drop of the Annapurna range in the Himalayas. Its not quite flying (but its close) and all over in the twinkling of an eye!

For more high flyers, see this week’s Word a Week Photo Challenge: Fly

Weekly Photo Challenge: Beautiful Dreamers

October 13, 2014 / wrightsolution / 4 Comments

Most days when I’m out and about, I see someone sleeping in some unlikely spot, grabbing a quick snooze when and where they can. Most of the time, I don’t have a camera to hand or the opportunity to take a snap. But sometimes, I do! Here are some beautiful dreamers captured:

A quick snooze in Bhaktapur

These chairs were for sale at an action. I’m guessing this guy wasn’t interested in buying!

I wanted to sneak up and put a blanket over this one.

For more dreamers see: Weekly Photo Challenge: Dreamy

Travel Theme: Inside a Twin Prop

October 12, 2014October 12, 2014 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

Our ride’s arrived!

I’m slowly getting used to the idea of flying in a tiny twin propeller plane. I usually do a couple of domestic flights a month, and I know what to expect. I’m not one to get panicky about flying. Nepal in general has a bad safety record with flights, however aircraft accidents dwindle in comparison to road accidents. Every week there’s another story about a bus with 24 passengers hurdling off a windy mountain road plunging 250 meters down to the valley floor, usually taking another couple of vehicles with it. If the choice is 20 minutes in the air or driving 8 hours on windy, treacherous roads, I take a statistic approach to the danger.

One of the upsides of flying on tiny aircraft from tiny airports is that the procedure for embarking and disembarking is less of an ordeal. You simply walk across the tarmac and board.

Yes, we’re really getting on that…

My flight back from Janakpur earlier this year was on the smallest twin propeller yet. It seated only twenty people: eight single seats on each side, and four at the back. It was cosy to say the least. You could lean forward and watch the pilot in the cockpit, yet the flight attendant still came around with candies and water. I looked out of the tiny window as we flew north across the sparsely populated, but dramatic hill country towards Kathmandu. Twenty minutes later we were back in the city, having avoided the particularly windy road from Hetauda to Kathmandu and lived to fly another day!