As I prepare for my next trip overseas I have given my blog a facelift and moved it to the following address.

russellgbradshaw.com

Mt Kailash - Western Tibet

Another long delay between posts...

This was an amazing part of my trip where I travelled to Mount Kailash, in Western Tibet with 5 others back in June. The photos are quite stunning - I'm not trying to take credit for the photos, it was just hard to take a bad shot with the deep blue sky and awesome landscape.

The post is a little lengthy, 6000 odd words... But I have cut so much out to keep it that  short. There is also about 150 photos if you'd prefer just to look at them.

Since then I have spent a bit over a month in London then about 7 weeks volunteering at Nalanda, a buddhist monastery in France. I'll post some photos from France soon. I'm sure everyone has seen photos of London many times before.

I'm in India now for a few weeks before a final trip to Tibet for the year, this time to Lhasa and then onto Nepal.

See my trip to Mount Kailash here :)

Up to Date!

I have just posted my time from volunteering in Batase Village here

I had an awesome time in the village and have had a great time in Nepal. The plan is now to be back here later this year and hopefully make another trip out to the village to help out.

I leave for Mt Kailash on Tuesday which I am very excited about - It should be awesome. It is the most holy mountain for buddhists and hindus and I will be there among thousands of pilgrams for Saga Dawa, the day that Tibetan Buddhist's celebrate Buddha's birth, death and enlightenment. Its a 17 day trip and I'll post photos and things late June.

China Part 2 and the Amdo region of Tibet

Well after nearly 6 months my Blog is nearly up to date!

The second part of my China trip is online (starting at Jiayugaun, the end of the Great Wall) and my time in the Amdo region of Tibet is up as well.

I've just come back from 4 weeks of teaching english in Batase, a rural village east of Kathmandu. I had an awesome time out there and all the kids were great!! I'll look to post photos and things from my time there before I head to Mt Kailash at the end of May. In the mean time you can find out more about the village at the Friends of Himalayan Children Website.

All the best, Russell!

Repkong, Amdo Tibet

China Part 1

Hi!!

So I hope everyone back home is well. The last coulpe of week I have just been chilling out at Kopan and taking it pretty easy. It is really nice to be in one spot for more than a couple of days. I've got one more week here before I head to the village.

I have managed to write up half of my trip in China so here it is

By the time I finish my volunteering in Batase I should have the rest of my trip in China and Tibet ready to post and not long after that I'll post my time in the village before I head off for almost a 1 month trip to Western Tibet, Mt Kailash and then a trek back into Western Nepal.

All the best!!

Russ

Boudhanath Stupa, Nepal

Post 2

As promised here is my trip through Laos.

I'll likely be offline for the next two weeks while at Kopan. When I get back I should have some of my China trip to upload before I head out to Batase Village where I'll be volunteering with Friends of Himalyan Children

Take Care!!

Russ

Post 1 - Its been a long time coming I know...

So I'm finally making my first blog post only 2 and a half months in... Sorry...

Before you hear about me I'd just like to mention that I hope you are all well at home and the recovery process is well on the way for those affected by the floods, cyclones, fires and earthquakes... It has been crazy all around the world and I have been thinking of you and trying to following the news when possible.

 * * *

Since I left home just after Christmas I have travelled through Cambodia, Laos, China and I am now in Nepal. The trip has been pretty awesome and I have met some great people both foreigners and locals along the way. Cambodia and Laos were a little rushed and I mainly stuck to the main tourist areas. While in China I had the opportunity to visit some places that see little if any tourists with the last few weeks of my time there was definitely the highlight of my trip thus far. 

The last few weeks I spent in the Tibetan region of Amdo which today stretches through parts of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan provinces. The area is still very much Tibetan although China is definitley making its presence known constructing multi-storey buildings and dwellings in their villages. Many of the locals in this region still dress in traditional attire and between towns you see them walking for hundreds of kilometres prostrating on pilgramages to religious sites.

While in the area I was fortunate enough to meet a Tibetan guy named Tsering and through him I managed to spend time in a monastery in a remote region of Sichuan that sees very little if any foreigners and also in his home village with his parents and family. I have a lot more to tell about my time in this area and I'll post it as soon as I can.

You can see my time in Cambodia here or by clicking on the Cambodia heading at the top of the page. I'll be posting Laos hopefully tomorrow.

The next two weeks I'll be at Kopan Monastery for a course after which I hope to upload photos and storeys from China and Tibet before heading to Batase Village on the 7th of April for some volunteer work.

My Nepalese number is +977 9813 522 979 which I'll be on for the next three months while I'm here.

All the best, take care.

Russell