Tibet, Nepal & South Asia
Ranked #4,185 in Travel & Places, #126,239 overall
Welcome to Tibet, Nepal & South Asia
I started this lens to share my love for South Asia with others. It's an eclectic collection of information and visuals - anything from art and culture to religion and politics. Whatever moves me!
Sign the guest book, and if you have a moment, I hope you'll visit some of my other Asia-oriented Squidoo lenses: Mt. Everest Video Showcase, Tibet Video Showcase, Asian Style, and The World of Netsuke. Thank you!
Information South Asia
- Everest News, Where Everest Climbers Come for News
- Everest 365 days a year: the place to go for news on Everest and other 8000 meter peak expeditions, with daily news updates
- Nepali Times
- In my opinion, this is the best and most interesting newspaper published in Nepal, in any language. The print edition is published weekly.
- eKantipur.com
- The Kathmandu Post online
- BBC News South Asia
- Tibetan Government in Exile's Official Web Site
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama and truth about Tibetan Freedom and International Development...
- The Official Website of the Central Tibetan Administration
- Tibetan Government Official Website with news, Tibetan Newpapers and Magazines Online, multilingugal, offices introduction
- Tibetan Medicine
- Tibetan medicine has much to recommend it - this link will take you to the Tibetan Medical & Astrological Institute of H. H. Dalai Lama.
- Preserving Tibetan Culture
- The Norbulingka Institute is dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan culture in both literary and artistic forms. It is a registered trust functioning under the chairmanship of His Holiness The Dalai Lama.
- Darjeeling India
- Darjeeling is not just a type of tea! Explore its history, geography, hotels, attractions, trekking, education, people, and culture. Includes an active forum, chat, travelogues, photo gallery.
- Kingdom of Bhutan
- A beautiful website with information about the tiny Kingdom's history and culture, as well as travel information. This is the Shangri La version of Bhutan --- it is NOT the site to visit if you want to know more about the dark side of Bhutan (political repression, Bhutanese refugees stuck in UNHCR refugee camps, and other human rights issues). For more information about current issues in Bhutan, see the link for Bhutan News Online.
- Bhutan News Online
- Not the most up-to-date website, but there are a number of links here that will tak you to information about the political issues faced by the people of Bhutan and the Bhutanese refugees.
- Rubin Museum of Art
- The RMA opened in 2004 and is the first museum in the Western World dedicated to the art of the Himalayas and surrounding regions. Its mission is to establish, present, preserve and document a permanent collection that reflects the vitality, complexity and historical significance of Himalayan art.
The Museum's collection includes paintings, sculpture, textiles, ritual objects and more, spanning a period from the 2nd to the 20th century. - International Campaign for Tibet
- The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) works to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet. An excellent website!
- Tibet: an extraordinary land and its people
- More about Tibet, on Hubpages
- Tibet Heritage Fund
- An international non-profit organization working in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development of communities and traditional settlements, particularly within the Tibetan cultural realm but also elsewhere in Asia and Europe.
- The Best of Tibet, Nepal & the Himalayas
- My personal selection of books, prayer flags, singing bowls, music, incense, tea and other items - all available in one convenient place. Come have a look!
- All Things Tibet
- A web site for anyone interested in Tibet, its people and culture, Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan medicine, HH The Dalai Lama, and all other aspects of Tibet.
- Dalai Lama Books
- A bibliography for HH The Dalai Lama, along with books by and about His Holiness, including audio books, ebooks, printed books, and books for Kindle and other digital readers.
- Tibet TV Online
- Tibet TV Online is wonderful resource! Video and audio about Tibet, Tibetan issues, the Dalai Lama, and more.
News From Nepal
a Google news feed
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byKathmandu: The Good Old Days in Nepal
Eden Hashish Centre
Back in the day, Kathmandu, Nepal was home to the Eden Hashish Centre, run by D.D. Sharma, a Nepali. These posters were used to advertise the Centre and feature a variety of deities such as the Buddha, Krishna, and Shiva (in Nepal and India deities are routinely used in all sorts of advertising, so don't get bent out of shape by this).
If the text in these images of posters for the Centre is too small for you to read, they say:
Let Us Take Higher
Eden Hashish Center
Oldest & Favourite Shop in Town Serving You the Best Nepalese Hash & Ganja
(Available Wholesale and Retail)
Come Visit Us Any Time For All Your Hashish Needs
Many thanks to Billy Forbes of Kathmandu for preserving these amazing bits of history!
If the text in these images of posters for the Centre is too small for you to read, they say:
Let Us Take Higher
Eden Hashish Center
Oldest & Favourite Shop in Town Serving You the Best Nepalese Hash & Ganja
(Available Wholesale and Retail)
Come Visit Us Any Time For All Your Hashish Needs
Many thanks to Billy Forbes of Kathmandu for preserving these amazing bits of history!
Get your own Eden posters
11 in. x 17 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Shivaratri
The night of Shiva in Nepal
A sadhu, or Hindu holy man, on Shiva Ratri, the night of Lord Shiva, celebrated by Hindus all over the world. This festival falls in February - March. Pashupatinath, the temple in Kathmandu dedicated to Lord Shiva, receives more than 100,000 worshippers from across the globe during Shiva Ratri. On this day devotees and non-devotees freely indulge in smoking marijuana and bhang (it is the only day of the year when marijuana is legal in Nepal) because Lord Shiva is fond of it.
News About Tibet and Tibetans
a Google news feed
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byThe Open Road
The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
A portrait of H.H. The Dalai Lama that goes well beyond the typical platitudes presented in the media. It is a compelling and an intimate portrait of one of the world's great religious leaders and one of the few books that has been able to do justice to this subject.
The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama (Vintage Departures)
Amazon Price: $6.75 (as of 02/14/2012)
When it comes to H.H. The Dalai Lama, writer Pico Iyer definitely qualifies as an "insider" -- his father was a friend of the Dalai Lama, and Iyer has had decades of access to His Holiness. As a result, Iyer has been able to, as Daniel Golman stated, intertwine "an insider's access to telling detail with a well-seasoned journalist's skeptical sensibility." Peter Matthiessen calls this book "an uncommonly thoughtful and eloquent report on the spiritual reflections and also the complex and demanding political and practical encounters negotiated every day by the Dalai Lama." Like so many others, I couldn't put it down.
The Story of Tibet
Conversations with the Dalai Lama
Through this book, by my friend Tom Laird, H.H. The Dalai Lama tells us the history of Tibet from his perspective. Over the course of three years, Laird spent more than sixty hours with the Dalai Lama in candid, intimate interviews discussing His Holiness's beliefs about history, science, reincarnation, and Buddhism. They looked at the ways in which Tibetans see their own history, and how the Chinese of the past and today see that same history differently. Through these conversations, Laird and the Dalai Lama laid the cornerstones of a popular history of Tibet, something that has not been done with a Dalai Lama since the 1600s. Between interviews, Laird traveled across great distances in Tibet: the narrative is interspersed with vivid descriptions of Tibet's greatest monasteries and sparkles with the Dalai Lama's unique sense of humor.
The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama
Amazon Price: $10.70 (as of 02/14/2012)
Amazon editors picked The Story of Tibet as one of the ten best religion and spirituality books of 2006. Robert Thurman wrote, "Everyone who cares about Tibet, or about a stable peace in Asia, should read this amazing account." And Pico Iyer, himself no slouch when it comes to writing about the Dalai Lama, calls this book "one of the essential and irreplaceable books in the field."
You can visit this site to learn more about this fascinating book, as well as other works by Laird.
Listen to Laird on The Paula Gordon Show.
Yaks!
just goes to show you can find anything on YouTube
Yaks are ornery, cranky, obnoxious, strong, and pretty cool (as long as you stay on their good side, if you can find it!). I have eaten yak cheese and yak burgers (cows just can't survive in the high Himalayas), and I created yak milk soap, which is still made and sold by Wild Earth in Nepal.
These days, most of the "yaks" (female is "nak") you see in the Himalayas are actually yak/cattle crossbreeds. For better or worse, they act more like yaks than cattle. So if you're trekking in the Himalayas and any of these beasts (full breed or crossbreed) come along, give them LOTS of room on the trail. Or risk falling off the side of a steep and precarious trail (really)!
These days, most of the "yaks" (female is "nak") you see in the Himalayas are actually yak/cattle crossbreeds. For better or worse, they act more like yaks than cattle. So if you're trekking in the Himalayas and any of these beasts (full breed or crossbreed) come along, give them LOTS of room on the trail. Or risk falling off the side of a steep and precarious trail (really)!
curated content from YouTube
The Heart of the World
journey to the unexplored heart of Tibet
The story of Ian Baker's (yet another Kathmandu expat!) journeys into the unexplored heart of the earth's deepest gorge, culminating in his team's discovery of a fabled waterfall held by Tibetans to be the gateway to a mystical paradise - the origin of the myth of Shangri La.
The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last Secret Place
Amazon Price: $18.67 (as of 02/14/2012)
List Price: $27.95
This book is must reading if you are into exploration and adventure, if you are interested in the Himalayas, if you are a Buddhist, if you care about saving the last wild places on earth, or if you just enjoy a gripping story - it appeals to a broad range of interests and is truly fascinating. Baker's explorations are both physical and spiritual, and the accounts of both are compelling. Highly recommended!
More by Ian Baker
Ian wrote or contributed to these selections.
Tibetan Prayer Flags
As far as I'm concerned, few things are more beautiful than the sight of colorful Tibetan prayer flags blowing in the breeze - whether high up in the Himalayas or at someone's home.
For more wonderful merchandise, visit The Best of Tibet, Nepal and the Himalayas on Amazon.
For more wonderful merchandise, visit The Best of Tibet, Nepal and the Himalayas on Amazon.
Himalayan Art Resources
a feast for the eyes, the mind, and the soul
"Himalayan Art is art that is indigenous to the Himalayas, predominantly Tibet and Nepal, and the areas under the cultural sway of these cultures. Himalayan art is primarily concerned with religious subjects and is recognizable through the use of composition, symbols and motifs. Individual works of art are commonly created in sets forming much larger works of art." - Himalayan Art Resources
Himalayan Art Resources is creating a comprehensive research database, a virtual museum, of Himalayan and Tibetan art: the website exhibits images of art from museum, university and private collections around the world and catalogs all Himalayan art objects that are known through past or present collections or publications. It is a feast for the eyes, for the mind, and for the soul.
Visit Himalayan Art Resources Now
Nepal
Recommended Nepal Links
- Nepali Times
- An excellent place to keep up with the news from Nepal
- Welcome to Nepal
- This is the website of Nepal's Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation. It's an excellent place to start if you are looking for information about Nepal.
- Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust
- The relatively small Kathmandu Valley of Nepal is home to an extraordinary architectural heritage, including seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Many of the temples, monuments, and townscapes are endangered by the pressures of development. The KVPT, an outstanding NGO, has been working to rescue these architectural treasures. Learn more about it here.
- Himal Southasian
- There is no better magazine in or about South Asia!
- Pilgrims Book House
- An amazing bookstore! If you can't get to Kathmandu, visit Pilgrim's website to order books. And if you're ever in Kathmandu, stop in for tea, dosas, or other yummies at the Pilgrims Feed and Read vegetarian restaurant in their Thamel branch.
Updates from nepalnews.net
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byJewelry of Nepal, India, Tibet and the Himalayas
The artisans of South Asia have been creating extraordinary jewelry since ancient times. These books are a wonderful introduction to the exquisite designs and workmanship for which the gold and silversmiths of the region are famous.
Spiritual and Religious Information
If you are interested in learning about Asian spiritual traditions, these are good places to start. This is a list in progress, and if you have any suggestions for me to add, please get in touch. Thank you!
- Buddhism
- Explanations of Buddhism's origins and history, its basic doctrines, the distinctive features of major schools, and essential background for understanding how Buddhism impacts current events.
- Religion Facts
- Religion facts, objective guide to world religions, comparative religion charts. Start your research on world religions here.
- Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
- Tricycle.com is the online home of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, the independent voice of Buddhism.
- The Hindu Universe - Hindu Resource Center
- hindunet.org is probably the best place to start if you want to learn more about Hindu dharma.
- Meeting God | American Museum of Natural History
- "Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion" is an extraordinary online exhibition created from the exhibition that the American Museum of Natural History held in 2001-2002. No matter what your spiritual or religious beliefs may be, this is a MUST-SEE online exhibit.
- The Buddha on PBS
- This documentary for PBS tells the story of the Buddha's life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the world's greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia, have depicted the Buddha's life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Join the conversation and learn more about meditation, the history of Buddhism, and how to incorporate the Buddha's teachings on compassion and mindfulness into daily life.
- Kumari
- Kumari, the Living Goddess of Nepal. In modern times, the notion of a child-goddess has become very controversial. This Squidoo lens will introduce you to the subject.
- Shambhala Sun
- The Shambhala Sun is today's leading Buddhist magazine, bringing a contemplative view to all the important issues in life.
- Bhagavad Gita -the Book of Life
- Online version of the Bhagavad Gita, the Book of Life. This Hindu text is fascinating for anyone.
- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was born on January 12, 1917 in Raipur, India. He recently died (February 5, 2008). Along the way he introduced the world (including the Beatles) to Transcendental Meditation. The Maharishi was a great teacher and worked for peace in the world. This is a good place to start learning about him and his teachings, or go to maharishi.org.
- Internet Sacred Text Archive Home
- A large freely available archive of online books about religion, mythology, folklore and the esoteric on the Internet. The site is dedicated to religious tolerance and scholarship, and has states that it has the largest readership of any similar site on the web.
Nepal Videos To Check Out
Reminder: download Quantum Buddhism
Quantum Buddhism "aims at providing a set of tools to develop a scientific-spiritual approach to the world." Read more in this FREE eBook
Tibetan Thangka Paintings
and other resources for South Asian and Tibetan art
A thangka is a type of painting that is part of the contemplative experience of Tibetan Buddhism. Here is one of the Shakyamuni Buddha, courtesty of Buddhanet, a wonderful website that you should visit.
Orientations magazine concentrates on the arts, archaeology and architecture of East, South and Southeast Asia. It has been going strong since it was first published in 1970 and is a fine magazine.
Orientations magazine concentrates on the arts, archaeology and architecture of East, South and Southeast Asia. It has been going strong since it was first published in 1970 and is a fine magazine.
Jewels of the Lotus: Tibetan Gemstone Oracle
With "Jewels Of The Lotus", Tibetan Buddhism, Healing, and Gemstones are combined into one divination tool. The 45 unique cards combine Buddhist symbolism and photographs of gemstones. The book is easy to understand and gives both an efficient introduction on how to use the cards, and information on Tibetan Buddhism, the wisdom of gemstones, and how to use that knowledge for healing purposes. Hard-to-find. Gets fantastic reviews!
Jewels of the Lotus: Tibetan Gemstone Oracle with Cards
Amazon Price: $175.00 (as of 02/14/2012)
Tibet Map Institute
not just maps!
Recommended: Tibet, Buddhism, Dalai Lama
Here are some DVDs I think you'll enjoy.
The Making of a Sacred Mandala
I found this transcript, with photos, of a PBS NewsHour segment from 1997 in which Tibetan Buddhist monks make a sand mandala. Robert Thurman is among those featured in the piece. You can check it out here.
Mandala
Here are some DVDs and books about mandalas that might be of interest to you.
Interesting Reading: Tibet
News About Bhutan
a Google News Feed
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byBhutan's Discrimination Against Ethnic Nepalis
ethnic cleansing in a Buddhist country
In the late 1980s Bhutan decided that the growing ethnic Nepali population (which had been in Nepal for generations) was a demographic and cultural threat. It enacted discriminatory citizenship laws directed against ethnic Nepalis, stripping about one-sixth of the population of their citizenship and paving the way for their expulsion.
After a campaign of harassment that escalated in the early 1990s, Bhutanese security forces began expelling people, first making them sign forms renouncing claims to their homes and homeland. More than 100,000 Bhutanese Nepalis found themselves in refugee camps. The Bhutanese stance remains virtually unchanged. From my perspective, it is ethnic cleansinsg and totally inconsistent with the country's Buddhist heritage.
Learn more at Human Rights Watch and UNHCR - The UN Refugee Agency.
After a campaign of harassment that escalated in the early 1990s, Bhutanese security forces began expelling people, first making them sign forms renouncing claims to their homes and homeland. More than 100,000 Bhutanese Nepalis found themselves in refugee camps. The Bhutanese stance remains virtually unchanged. From my perspective, it is ethnic cleansinsg and totally inconsistent with the country's Buddhist heritage.
Learn more at Human Rights Watch and UNHCR - The UN Refugee Agency.
Highly Recommended!
Great lenses about this part of the world from other Squidooies
- Conquering The Himalayas On Bike
- Ladakh, renowned for its remote mountain beauty and culture is the Hindi word for ' land of high passes.' The highest of which is Khardung La Pass at 18,580 ft and is the highiest motorable road in the world....
- Goa, India: Snapshot of Paradise
- A tribute to the natural beauty and the warmth and hospitality of Goa, one of the most beautiful parts of India.
The Times of India
Local and international news from an Indian institution. And -- if you need an RSS feed for cricket, the Times of India has one available. Visit their website by clicking on any of the stories in this feed.">
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byMaps of India
Over 6,000 pages of maps and content
Traveling to South Asia
A few good guides to get you started
Asia Trips
from Lonely Planet
If you're interested in traveling to Asia (or anywhere, really), you'll want to check out the Lonely Planet website. Here's their Asia Trips feed:
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byOther Asian-themed Squidoo Lenses
by Silver Lotus
Guestbook
Please add your comments
Namaste, and thank you for visiting. Your comments are encouraged and welcomed! Please be sure you are logged in to Squidoo.
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scar4
Apr 27, 2011 @ 6:00 pm | delete
- I am preparing a May trip to Tibet. Too bad, time will not allow me to visit Nepal. Well, maybe next time I will go there and for India. Great lens with very helpful information.
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Silver_Lotus
May 8, 2011 @ 8:07 am | delete
- I hope your trip will be wonderful! Tibet is an amazing place to visit, especially if you can travel to areas that still retain more of a Tibetan than Chinese identity. And try to visit Nepal someday - it's worth it! Thanks for visiting.
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garrekds
Apr 4, 2011 @ 4:46 am | delete
- Lots of great information. Have you read "The Dragon in the Land of Snows" by Tsering Shakya? It's considered a definitive history of modern Tibet and is a relatively unbiased and well-researched account. A great read if you're into history.
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Silver_Lotus
Apr 4, 2011 @ 8:24 am | delete
- Thank you for visitng and for your comments. Tsering Shakya's book is very well done.
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Michey
Dec 27, 2010 @ 10:52 am | delete
- Hi! I am familiar with south Asia but not with Tibet, Nepal (with except of Dalai Lama work which I enjoy and admire his personality). So I learn a lot from your lens it is a great resource lesson on Asia
Blessing from a Squid Angel, featured in my angeling lens.
Happy New Year
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Silver_Lotus
Dec 29, 2010 @ 8:29 am | delete
- Glad you visited and learned something new. Thank you.
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nepaltraveltrekking
Oct 1, 2010 @ 6:08 am | delete
- Great stuff, There are lots of things that you might wonder about while you travel in Nepal . Besides the Tourism Year 2011 is going to make your Tour to Nepal really wonerful.
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Silver_Lotus
Oct 1, 2010 @ 7:59 am | delete
- Thanks for visiting. I hope more and more visitors start returning to Nepal. It's such a wonderful place and a shame that the political situation robbed the country of one of its most important sources of revenue for so long. Jai Nepal!
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RinchenChodron
Sep 15, 2010 @ 1:22 pm | delete
- Great job with plenty of resources. Well done.
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Silver_Lotus
Sep 17, 2010 @ 8:18 am | delete
- Many thanks!
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aesta1
Mar 15, 2010 @ 6:02 am | delete
- I, too, love Nepal and thangka and many of the things you put in here. I enjoyed your lens.
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Silver_Lotus
Mar 15, 2010 @ 11:08 am | delete
- Nice to hear it - thank you for visiting!
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by Silver_Lotus
Silver_Lotus
I lived, worked, started a family, and had a wonderful time in Nepal, Tibet, the Himalayas, and South Asia for many years. I love that part of the world... more »
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