My two months in India were one of the highlights of my trip. Before arriving there, I was told repeatedly by other travelers that it is necessary to spend at least two months there to get some kind of handle on the culture, that I would alternately love and hate it, and that I might get sick. These first two points proved to be dead on, and fortunately I never got sick, despite eating pretty much everywhere. Churchill said that Russia is a riddle wrapped in an mystery, inside an enigma. For me this is even more true of India. It wasn't until I had been there for about a month that I started to get the hang of the place and the people. The puzzle of trying to understand what makes this country tick and how to effectively move about and get what you want is part of the fun.

From my perspective India, along with Japan, is one of the most exotic countries in the world. Bombay and Tokyo are the only cities I've been to where I felt the chaotic ambient energy that people used to talk of feeling in New York City. I suppose this has to do with the bombardment of the senses. Bombay resembles the rest of India, but with the level turned up: filthier, hotter, more crowded, louder, with a constant parade of sights a westerner would never imagine seeing.

Unfortunately I had a bad cold in Nepal and was unable to do a trek into the Himalayas before winter set in. But I did manage to get a motorbike and ride around the steep, twisting roads of Nepal's Himalayan foothills, which was great fun.

**Click on thumbnails for a larger view. Images with an asterisk include commentary**