Tag: adventure

Foto Friday – Forbidden Palace

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In 2009 I found myself travelling around China on a whistle-stop tour visiting the countries great cities and landmarks. Somewhere that I had always wanted to visit was The Forbidden City in the former capital of Peking a city now renamed Beijing.

It lived up to all expectations when I finally got there. The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in what is now the middle of Beijing and houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.

The architecture is amazing, the scale mindblowing and its history resonates from every corner ofpalace the complex.

Foto Friday – The Laugavegur Trail

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Following stone cairns for guidance I found myself trekking in a small team across a snowy plateaux in southern Iceland in 2013.

The whole team found the going to be way tougher than we’d expected for even though it was early July there was still a load of persistent deep snow left on the ground which made the going pretty hard.

The trek took five days to complete and took me from Landmannalaugar geothermal springs to the Þórsmörk nature reserve.

See more photography from the trek at www.jameshandlon.com/category/iceland/

Foto Friday – Boudhanath Stupa Kathmandu

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After a successful expedition in April 2022 to climb Mera Peak in Nepal I was lucky enough to have a few down days in Kathmandu. Nearly everyone who visits Kathmandu at some point goes to see the Boudhanath Stupa.

Boudha, also known as Boudhanath, Khasti Chaitya and Khāsa Chaitya is a stupa located around 11 km from the centre of Kathmandu. The stupa’s massive mandala makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in the world. Boudha Stupa was listed in the world heritage list by UNESCO in 1979 and is rumoured to contain the relics and remains of Buddha himself.

It is one of the most atmospheric and spiritual places I have ever visited. Pilgrims come from all over Nepal and the world to worship at the stupa by walking around its outside base, usually clockwise — an experience that can prove meditative for both Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. Many believe that circumambulating a stupa purifies negative karma and fosters realizations of the path to enlightenment.

I’m not sure I found any path to enlightenment but the whole experience was mind-blowing!

For more photos from the expedition and Kathmandu please visit my Flickr Account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jameshandlon/albums/72177720299683196

Bikepacking The South Downs Way

On By James HandlonIn MicroadventuresLeave a comment

How hard is cycling the South Downs Way? Well it is 160 km long or for those who prefer imperial 100 miles, it is steeply undulating with 3,810 metres of climbing along the route. A mountain bike is a must, with at least front suspension and preferably rear as well. It is mainly off-road and traces a route through the rolling hills of Hampshire and Sussex. Twelve years ago I bought a book about it ‘Mountain Biking on the South Downs‘ by Cicerone, so it was about bloody time I gave it a try.

On The SDW

The intervening years had not been good to either myself or my bike. I had what was now a 12 year old Giant Yukon MTB that was showing its age. Large framed and heavy as hell with splitting tyres and worn out disc pads for brakes. The description could also have been applied to myself without too much alteration.

Continue reading “Bikepacking The South Downs Way” →