Randy's 50th birthday travel adventures

In January and February 2011 I had the fabulous opportunity to travel through Northern India and Nepal. The photos and stories in this blog document my adventures and experiences; what I saw and what I learned. My travel started in Delhi, India and then led me to the spiritual town of Rishikesh, India for a week long stay at a yoga ashram - Rishikesh Yog Peeth. After that I traveled to Khajuraho, India to view the ancient Hindu erotic temples, tour a local farming town, and spend the day at a small Indian village. Next I traveled to the holy Hindu city of Varanasi where life revolves in and around the holy Ganges River. I spent a day visiting the town of Sarnath where Buddha offered his first teachings, and which served as a pre-cursor for my trip to Nepal and the Kopan Monastery to study meditation and Buddhism. After Varanasi, I flew to Kathmandu and spent a couple of days walking the streets of the city before venturing about a half-hour above the city to the Kopan Monastery for a week-long retreat to study meditation and Buddhism. Afterward I went back to Delhi and took a day trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.

Next stop - Khajuraho, India

        After leaving Rishikesh I traveled by overnight train to the small northern India town of Khajuraho. Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their explicit depiction of sexual life during medieval times. The Khajuraho temples were built over a span of 200 years, from 950 to 1150. These temples are considered to be one of the "seven wonders" of India, and when you see the graphic and explicit kamasutra carvings one "wonders" what that is all about! One theory is that an ancient Hindu king constructed the temples as a way of enticing his disinterested son into manhood. Whatever the reason, the temples are quite a sight.