Scattered Seeds

I’ve read the following books in the last few months:
1. Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan
2. Bringing Progress to Paradise: What I Got from Giving to a Mountain Village in Nepal by Jeff Rasley
3. The Soul of the Rhino: A Nepali Adventure with Kings and Elephant Drivers, Billionaires and Bureaucrats, Shamans and Scientists, and the Indian Rhinoceros by Hemanta Mishra

Yes. All of them have something to do with Nepal. And all of them highly recommended.

Read More…

On the Way to the Everest Base Camp

“People grow through overcoming dangers and difficulties. They are not better off wrapped in cotton batting. Deep within us. . . we know that we need challenge and danger, and the risk and hurt that sometimes follow. . . . Men climb mountains because they are not satisfied to exist, they want to live—climbing the heights is one way.”

—- Woodrow Wilson Sayre

It’s been slightly more than a month since returning from the long walk in Nepal. And in that time, I have thought of other places—some higher than I’ve been, some lower—to go. But, nothing is set in stone. Nothing’s concrete as one never knows what lies beyond the horizon or a ridge. I can’t go anywhere now.

Read More…

Alfred Gregory: Photographs from Everest to Africa

This arrived in the mail today: Alfred Gregory: Photographs from Everest to Africa.

I like. Read More…

Most would have flew from Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu with a transit in Bangkok. But I stopped over at New Delhi—with a twinkling thought that I’d touch a tad of India—only to find myself visiting places by flipping through travel guides at a bookstore. I had focused so much on the trek in Nepal, I didn’t so any homework on India beforehand. I returned to Malaysia without taking a piece of real India; But I brought home two novels by Indian authors.

I picked up Solo by Rana Dasgupta, the winner of the 2010 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and Chef by Jaspreet Singh.

Read More…

Imja Tse or Island Peak (6189 m/20305 ft)

The question I’ve been asked is “Am I going to write anything about Nepal?”
Read More…

The notes I made while on my trek in Nepal are in my little Green book. I’ve yet to decide what to do with them—whether to write things down diary style, or try to churn out another long verse or let let them remain as notes. While I’ve not written anything, I’ve I’ve been reading quite a bit in the last two weeks.

Having complete the trek to the Everest Base Camp, I spent two days in Kathmandu. During that time, I wandered into Pilgrim’s Book House in Thamel, the popular tourist area. It carried quite a huge selection of mountaineering literature, and I was spoilt for choice. I wanted to pick up so many books, but in the end I simply settled for two books by Reinhold Messner.

Read More…