Nepal,
by the peaks.

Three Kathmandu nights, three Pokhara. Anish met us in Patan on the first morning and walked us through the bronze workshops as if they were extensions of his own studio. Which, given his conservation background, they almost were. The Sarangkot 5 AM drive was the moment the trip became Nepal-specific; we stood in the cold for forty minutes and watched the range come out of the mist. Came home wanting Chitwan on the next visit.

Valley, Pokhara, Chitwan, all in the right order. The Bhaktapur evening Anish arranged. A private rooftop dinner in a Newari heritage house with the Nyatapola temple lit at the end of the square. Was the meal the trip will be remembered for. The Chitwan canoe morning down the Rapti river, with the gharials on the bank, was the kind of detail you cannot book on a website.

Varanasi into Kushinagar into Lumbini, with two Kathmandu nights at the end. The Sunauli border crossing the studio had pre-arranged was the part we had been bracing for, and the part Tibro made invisible. One driver per leg, paperwork handled, ninety minutes across. The hour we had alone in the Maya Devi temple at first light was the trip in a single image.