India and Nepal

[bbarna]

Hi,
In the midJune-July-August I!ll travel in India and Nepal with my Chamonix 45.
Which places would be the most preferable for you?
I`ve been there three times for mountaineering, but this time I want to spend more time photographing landscapes and portraitures. I plan to go to Sikkim, Assam, maybe Manali and the surroundings, Kathmandu valley...
Any other suggestion (focusing much more to Nepal)?
Thank you in advance,
B

[Ron Marshall]

Bhaktapur is in the Kathmandu valley but much better preserved than Kathmandu:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhaktapur

For mountains, take a short trek from Pokhara.

[BrianShaw]

Have you seen this?

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_927.html

[eddie]

Have you seen this?

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_927.html

the US govt always over plays the situation......but you have been there already and know this....

go and enjoy yourself. the everest region is awesome.

eddie

[BrianShaw]

the US govt always over plays the situation...

Maybe. But there is a house full of Nepalese nationals across the street from me, several of whom intended to make the US their home but the majority of whom are afraid to return to their homeland. Even some Nepalese nationals are overplaying the situation????

My point is that visitors should be informed and be careful.

[eddie]

Maybe. But there is a house full of Nepalese nationals across the street from me, several of whom intended to make the US their home but the majority of whom are afraid to return to their homeland. Even some Nepalese nationals are overplaying the situation????

My point is that visitors should be informed and be careful.

not to take this too far off topic....but there may be other circumstances that apply to your specific neighbors which makes it a bit more dangerous for them....they could be rebels, on the wrong team, wrong religion etc etc. so comparing nationals with tourists is a step.

i agree, you should use your head when traveling overseas....to any country but i stand by my idea that the US DOS over plays the crap out of their warnings. i have traveled extensively around the world for many years. i have been in two countries that had a coup while i was there, as well as nepal when they had problems. the US govt. generally blows it out of proportion.

if i had headed the US govt travel advisories i would never have left the country. i wonder what their travel warnings would be in SC LA, or parts of FL. and the seedy sections of boston and NYC....i bet it would read the same.......(ha! funny thought actually).

[eddie]

back OT. i was only there trekking. i brought a camera but that was not my focus.....it was my brother's focus though. we did the annapurna circuit and the everest region. i went over the gokyo pass into the next valley and that was great. no tourists and plenty of villages to shoot portraits in.

no matter where you are you may have some luck just setting up on the street and making friends with the locals. soon you will have more willing sitters than you planned on. i did this is yangon Myanmar. after a few days i had most of the locals looking for a portrait. i was shooting 6x7 and developing the color in town and handing them out. great stuff. they were even posing people for me. i was looking for people carrying goods on their heads....soon enough i had many models. (one, (http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6113647) two (http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6113648) and three (http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6113662)) all rb67 shots.

try it. great fun.

[Colin Corneau]

Eddie! Great shots!

[Chris C]

Maybe. But there is a house full of Nepalese nationals across the street from me, several of whom intended to make the US their home but the majority of whom are afraid to return to their homeland. Even some Nepalese nationals are overplaying the situation????

My point is that visitors should be informed and be careful.

It depends which region they're from, and their political views. The Kathmandu Valley is very safe for tourists who use their heads (don't make a habit out of taking major roles in political rallies).

Most Nepalese know how important outsiders are to their country and treat them as such. Current travel warnings are definitely stronger than they need to be.

[Frank Bunnik]

June to August are the (pre)monsoon months. Sikkim and Assam can be very wet in this period. If the monsoon has not started yet, it will be very dusty. Your chances of seeing the mountains are low.

Manali is on the other side of India in the foothills of the Himalaya and can also be very wet in this period.

From Manali however, you can travel to the Spiti Valley (make a loop by starting or finishing in Shimla). Spiti is a beautiful area, similar to Ladakh but less travelled. I was there in 1996 and it was simply stunning.

You can also travel to Ladakh or combine Spiti and Ladakh. Ladakh is great for trekkings. I will be in Ladakh for about 3.5 weeks from July 20th onwards. If you want to go trekking, we might meet up.

If you need a travel agent in Manali, I can recommend Antrek Tours. Very reliable.

Nepal in this period is hot and dusty. When the monsoon falls, however, the land springs to life in lush greens. Very beautiful. I was there in 1998 in the summer and it was great. You can also fly to Jomsom and trek from there to the villages or you can go trekking from Jomsom to Upper Mustang. This is expensive however since you need a special permit because Upper Mustang is a restricted area.

Good luck with your trip. If you want some more information, just let me know.

Frank

www.flickr.com/photos/asialover