Marty Mellway Photography

 The Spiti Valley was beyond all expectations. The Spiti valley is located in the North eastern part of the Indian State Himachel Pradesh.It is a desert on the roof of the world,a shangri-La of legend, cut off from the outside world by soaring himalayas and deadly mountain passes. A land where fifteen years ago no foreigner was permitted to enter. Close to the politically sensitive India/Tibet border the Spiti valley has been a restricted area since the forming of India. To this day all vistors must apply for a permit to enter in the mountain village of Rekong Peo, a small town surrounded by tall mountains in the Kinnaur valley which you must go through in order to enter the Spiti valley. When I traveled to the Spiti valley I was in the company of Jeanette and Philine, Jeanette and I were on our big India Nepal trip and we met Philine in Manali who decided she would also like to try to make the trip to the Spiti valley. We met in Shimla, the old summer British capital back in the

Looking ahead I see the tall gates of the temple compound towering above the busy street. Vendors selling incense and idols tout over the sea of heads as the crowd moves slowly through the gates. Crossing the street I quickly slip through the gates using my usual tout avoidance tactics.  As I enter the complex I see before me the great monument of Boudhanath. A great mandala shaped Stupa with the eyes of the Buddha, the awakened one. On each of the four side the great pairs of eyes watch as the devote Buddhists below as they circumambulate the stupa clockwise. Many prostrate themselves on the ground measuring the length of their bodies as they go around, most just walk and pray, counting their prayers for peace on the beads of their malas. At once upon entering this place I feel at ease, hundreds of minds simultaneously contemplating the end of human suffering can have an interesting effect on the atmosphere of a place. The air is static, charged with some unknown essence, some energy

We are in the mountains of Tamil Nadu in the south. We will be leaving he today to go to Trichy, another city in the state of Tamil Nadu. 3 years sure goes by fast... makes me miss family. I have a couple of videos of our travels which I will be uploading soon and also some more photos. We have been having alot of fun and staying safe except for one experience. Likely the most near death experience of our lives. We were camping up in the mountains and no one told us there were wild bison and that they are dangerous. As soon as dark came a herd of bison started coming down the mountain toward us and the bull (8 feet tall weighing anywhere up to 3300 pounds!!) was not happy that we were there and he was protecting his family. Nothing like deer or moose, our fire and lights didnt deter him. He came straight for our camp destroying stumps with his huge head and horns as he came. When he was about 30 feet away we hid in the tent. The fire was low so we could just barely see them. The bull

We arrived in the small city of Allapuza, Kerala, India on the 14th of February about two weeks after arriving in India. We had no idea what to expect in the backwaters of Kerala and the mystery had grown from all the stories we had been hearing from travelers along the way. We were told of a land of rivers, canals and lakes. Thousands of kilometers of waterways stretching along the inside of the coast. A safe haven for thousands of kinds of birds and other endangered species. A rich traditional culture existing unchanged along side a progressive education system and political structure. The effects of which were clearly visible when we arrived in the small town of Allapuzha, which is the starting point for the Backwaters of Kerala. Kerala is located is the most south western state in India, its coast line on the Arabian ocean has been a major trade route for thousands of years, even the ancient western civilizations had active trading routes in these parts. The Indians traded away