These Nepali cows are enjoying a roll in the pot plants growing by the side of the road just outside Tukche on the Annapurna Circuit trail. There are also amourous bulls in Nepal.
Just down the road a bit from the village of Marpha, this goat is getting the munchies!
More about Nepali goats here! This link shows the goats of Mustang wander through the world's most dramtatic scenery.
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Lupra is a Bon Po village not far off the Annapurna Circuit. Just below Eklabhatti and Keg Beni on the road towards Jomson, this little village now has its first Guest House - the Dakar Lodge.
The Bon Po religion predates Buddhism. This chorten should be circumnavigated counter clockwise to give it the proper respect. No mention about the motorcycle!
Lupra is reached by walking along a rocky, windy riverbed or over the pass from Muktinath.
We walked up the rockfilled path under the newly trimmed poplar trees towards the Bon Po Gompa which is the spiritual and cultural center of the town.
The new Guest House is the Dakar Lodge. It was still not open for business when we arrived (April 2011).
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They were still working on the dining room, though it was open for tea.
You can see the nice traditional details in the rooms. I believe there are 4 or 5 available.
All rooms have nice views with traditionally built windows.
The upstairs rooms come with small balconies overlooking Lupra proper and the dramatic mountain views across the river bed.
This is the view as you approach the Lodge, with the upper balconies apparent.
Even before they opened, they have all the necessities for a quick snack after a hard trek. I talked to the matriarch of the family and I can tell you that she will be a good cook. She is certainly a good hostess.
The Bon Po Gompa of Lupra is painted in red in the foreground. The route from Muktinath is shown here just below the bright blue sky. This route does not (yet) have a road for motorcycles or jeeps.
What to do in Lupra? You can climb up the mountainside to see the sights and listen to the flapping of the prayer flags.
Just across the river, there are meditation caves, including one with rooms and chambers set up by the monks to take care of the meditator. Some monks have spent 3 months to a year in solitude - in the dark, fed once per day, in a tiny space.
Wildflower walks are always fun in the HImalayas.
You can wander through town and learn about the Bon Po religion at the Gompa.
You can comb the river bed in search of Shaligrams. Shaligrams are ammonite fossils that are considered to be a representation of the Lord Shiva by the Hindu religion. They are only found in the Kali Gandaki region. Shaligrams are illegal to export from Nepal, even though they can be found for sale throughout the region.
If you are lucky, you can go for a walk up into the hills surrounding Lupra with a local dog. This dog adopted us and joined us for 4 hours as we explored the area.
As you can see Lupra is a great place to spend a few days and the new Dakar Lodge has made this possible. Please comment below if you get a chance to stay there. Let me know how the food and accommodations are!
When I arrived back home, I found a website where this dog had spent 6 days in the Annapurna Sanctuary with a group of trekkers. This was only two weeks later! Those distinctive markings made me sure it was our friend whom we named Kukur (means dog in Nepali).
Kukur by Saachin, 12"x12" synthetic enamel on metal, 2007, available
We later immortalized our friend Kukur as part of my fair trade art project Nepal Art Dogs.
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This hand-painted art form is fast disappearing in Kathmandu, as it already has in most parts of the world. I pay fair trade wages, the artists get to paint again, pet lovers get a choice of three paintings for each commission, and I get to help Nepali artists make a living. Everybody is happy. Rescue dogs from America get to rescue artists from Nepal!
Now is the time to order: Be ahead of the Pack! Orders now being accepted for the Spring 2012 trip.
Please send me a photo of your pet. I will give it to three different artists, giving you a choice of 3 paintings and three people will get work. Each painting is about one square foot and is on metal with synthetic enamel paint. These can be hung indoors or out.
Let me know what you would like it to say.
Let me know what style of portrait you would prefer: naive, realistic, colorful, etc.
That's it ! Click here for pricing.
Satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front. If you do not like one of the three, you pay nothing, and the 3 artists are paid in full in any case. Let me know what you want it to say and that's it!
Send your photo to ampage1@gmail.com
Go to www.NepalDog.com for more information and current pricing.
Let's keep these artists painting.
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Sierra, a Great Swiss Mountain Dog, made the headlines today when she ate her master's Masters tickets to the practice round of golf's Augusta National.
Bernese Mountain Dog by Manoj, 2007
A new take on the old excuse 'The dog ate my homework.'
Happily, Sierra's quick thinking owner gave her a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water to induce vomiting. He carefully cleaned off the tickets and reassembled and photographed them, called the Augusta National officials who reissued the tickets.
All's well that ends well.
Bella the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog by Baba, 2011 12"x12" synthetic enamel on metal available
Baba painted this romantic portrait of Bella, a Bernese Mountain Dog, giving her a dramatic background.
Bernese Mountain Dog by Dilip, 12"x12" synthetic enamel on metal, 2011 available
Dilip Niroj paints a more naive version from the same photo of Bella.
You can purchase these paintings at the NepalDog.com website. More information here.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This hand-painted art form is fast disappearing in Kathmandu, as it already has in most parts of the world. I pay fair trade wages, the artists get to paint again, pet lovers get a choice of three paintings for each commission, and I get to help Nepali artists make a living. Everybody is happy. Rescue dogs from America get to rescue artists from Nepal!
Now is the time to order: Be ahead of the Pack! Orders now being accepted for the Spring 2012 trip.
Please send me a photo of your pet. I will give it to three different artists, giving you a choice of 3 paintings and three people will get work. Each painting is about one square foot and is on metal with synthetic enamel paint. These can be hung indoors or out.
Let me know what you would like it to say.
Let me know what style of portrait you would prefer: naive, realistic, colorful, etc.
That's it ! Click here for pricing.
Satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front. If you do not like one of the three, you pay nothing, and the 3 artists are paid in full in any case. Let me know what you want it to say and that's it!
Send your photo to ampage1@gmail.com
Go to www.NepalDog.com for more information and current pricing.
Let's keep these artists painting.
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Near the sacred town of Muktinath, holy place to both Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims, there are many, many tiny wildflowers.
Because of the altitude (3800 meters or 12,500 feet), these flowers must be small to survive.
This tiny blue Gentian was photographed not far from Muktinath in the Mustang region of Nepal. Identified in the Nepali flower books as Gentiana tubiflora this little stunner is an example of the size of the rest of the flowers in this post. The photo was taken on April 27, 2011.
This Gentiana ornata is a little larger than the previous blue gentian, but not much. Taken the same day in the same area of Lower Mustang. All of the photos in today's blog are within a week of that timeframe.
This Androsace with its pretty multi-hued flowers is found on the saddles of high passes in the region. One could fit 15 of these flowers on a thumbnail, to give an idea of scale. This could perhaps by Androsace lehmanni or Androsace tapete. These dense cushions appear to be rocks unless you look closely.
This unknown beauty is not in the book. Any help in identification will be greatly appreciated.
Another tiny flower on the high passes near Muktinath.
While this flower appears to be a Buttercup, the leaves have no relation to the Ranuncula family. Another mystery.
This moth's final resting place is beside this small flower that grows in the mountain stream between Keg Beni and Jharkot in the watercourse below the ruins of an ancient village long forgotten.
A larger shot of the same unidentified plant in the mountain stream.
Astralagus grahamianus is common to Mustang. All of these flowers are near to the famous Annapurna Circuit, if you just get off the main path a bit.
Astralagalus candolleanus is also commonly found amid the forbidding, rocky and windy terrain.
Primula rosea are common in the paths between the fields. With their cheerful yellow eye and soft shade of blue, these primroses are a true delight in miniature form.
The Primulas grow on very dry land in harsh conditions.
This is the wildflower walk that led to the Androsace shown earlier in the post. Just to give you some context. By the way, this is considered the 'off season' and it is our favorite time to travel to Lower Mustang. The wildflowers to be seen vary greatly by altitude and there are many microclimates in the mountains.
More context. This is our hotel whilst in the town of Jharkot. We prefer Jharkot to Muktinath because it is charming and the road bypasses the village. The Hotel New Plaza is a spectacular starting point for wildflower walks in the Himalayas. Or wildflower treks. Those high saddles have wildflowers, but you may need a magnifying glass. The trek is always worth is.
For more of the Himalayan Wildflower series on Typepad, please link here.
All identifications are based on the book "Concise Flowers of the Himalaya" by Oleg Polunin and Adam Stainton, published by the Oxford University Press, Oxford India Paperbacks.
I do notice that the authors of this book (one who died in 1985) did not travel to this specific area of Nepal (lower Mustang - from Keg Beni to Muktinath and everything in between), therefore the bloom times vary, and I need to take more photos of the leaves if possible to make identification easier. I promise to do better this season.
Of course, it would not be the Danger Dog Blog if I did not include a Beware of Dog sign. This naive sign, now guarding the ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Project) Kitchen, has been an inspiration to me even before I became an art dealer specializing in commissioned Beware of Dog signs from Nepal.
The Nepalese translation for the above sign is 'Kukur dehi sabadan' or 'Be aware of dog'.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This hand-painted art form is fast disappearing in Kathmandu, as it already has in most parts of the world. I pay fair trade wages, the artists get to paint again, pet lovers get a choice of three paintings for each commission, and I get to help Nepali artists make a living. Everybody is happy. Rescue dogs from America get to rescue artists from Nepal!
Now is the time to order: Be ahead of the Pack! Orders now being accepted for the Spring 2012 trip.
Please send me a photo of your pet. I will give it to three different artists, giving you a choice of 3 paintings and three people will get work. Each painting is about one square foot and is on metal with synthetic enamel paint. These can be hung indoors or out.
Let me know what you would like it to say.
Let me know what style of portrait you would prefer: naive, realistic, colorful, etc.
That's it ! Click here for pricing.
Satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front. If you do not like one of the three, you pay nothing, and the 3 artists are paid in full in any case. Let me know what you want it to say and that's it!
Send your photo to ampage1@gmail.com
Go to www.NepalDog.com for more information and current pricing.
Let's keep these artists painting.
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The sad thing about dogs is that they do not live as long as we would like. The only bright side is that we will have the opportunity to love many dogs over the course of our lifetime.
Baldwin was a happy and handsome Puli dog, who loved nothing more than to be with Susan, Dan and Bliss. He had a lot of friends.
Baldwin the Puli by Punam, 2008, synthetic enamel on metal, sold
Punam's portrait of Baldwin is charming in person. Punam should be designing cartoons for Disney. Wouldn't this be great animated?
Baldwin looks like an Enlightened Puli, indeed.
Baldwin the Puli by Vinosh, 2008, synthetic enamel on metal, sold
A Puli is a herding breed, and Baldwin was no exception. Small and energetic, Baldwin loved to run and practice agility trials.
This beware of dog sign is one of the last painted by the artist Vinosh before he left for Saudi Arabia. Vinosh can make more money as a casual laborer in the Gulf than he can hand painting signboards in Nepal. The calligraphy on this piece is by Birju Chaudhury.
Baldwin the Puli by Amar Shrestha, 2008, synthetic enamel on metal, sold
Amar hand painted this portrait of Baldwin with few but well chosen strokes of the brush. This one brings out Baldwin's sweetness. The red writing is Amar's signature.
Baldwin the Puli by Baba, 2008, synthetic enamel on metal, sold
Baba's portrait of Baldwin is much more sophisticated. Baba spent a lot of time on the eyes and especially the nose.
This one brings out Baldwin's patience with being dressed up and his intent gaze even in repose.
Baldwin the Puli by Shree Laimachhain, 2008, synthetic enamel on metal, sold
Shree was able to catch Baldwin's sheer joy of running through the fields. Shree often misspells Dangers Dog, but it makes me smile.
Pulis were bred in Hungary as a sheep herder, and the black color made it easy to spot the dog among the herd of sheep.
Baldwin the Puli by Hari Prasad, 2008, synthetic enamel on metal, sold
Of course, Pulis are known by their distinctly corded hair, but Baldwin was groomed. Hari Prasad spent time on Baldwin's collar and dog jewelry.
Baldwin the Puli by Ram Krishna, 2008, synthetic enamel on metal, sold
Again, Ram Krishna puts Baldwin out in the fields, but gives him a more world weary expression. Or perhaps Baldwin is just tired after chasing all those sheep.
Baldwin the Puli by Sagar, 2008, synthetic enamel on metal, sold
This is signed by Ram but believe that this is the work of Sagar. The circle motif is a particular favorite of Sagar.
Here is the handsome boy in person.
Baldwin will be sorely missed by many.
This hand-painted art form is fast disappearing in Kathmandu, as it already has in most parts of the world. I pay fair trade wages, the artists get to paint again, pet lovers get a choice of three paintings for each commission, and I get to help Nepali artists make a living. Everybody is happy. Rescue dogs from America get to rescue artists from Nepal!
Now is the time to order: Be ahead of the Pack! Orders now being accepted for the Spring 2012 trip.
Please send me a photo of your pet. I will give it to three different artists, giving you a choice of 3 paintings and three people will get work. Each painting is about one square foot and is on metal with synthetic enamel paint. These can be hung indoors or out.
Let me know what you would like it to say.
Let me know what style of portrait you would prefer: naive, realistic, colorful, etc.
That's it ! Click here for pricing.
Satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front. If you do not like one of the three, you pay nothing, and the 3 artists are paid in full in any case. Let me know what you want it to say and that's it!
Send your photo to ampage1@gmail.com
Go to www.NepalDog.com for more information and current pricing.
Let's keep these artists painting.
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