OJM Travel Blog » editor http://www.ojmtravel.com/news news and updates inc. Himalayan Footsteps Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:06:47 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc Bollywood Film Shot in Edinburgh http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/bollywood-film-shot-in-edinburghhttpwww-ojmtravel-comnewswp-adminpost-new-php/ http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/bollywood-film-shot-in-edinburghhttpwww-ojmtravel-comnewswp-adminpost-new-php/#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:21:35 +0000 editor http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/?p=453


Filming for a major Bollywood film has started in the centre of Edinburgh.

Scenes for Mausam, which is being made by veteran star Pankaj Kapoor and starring his son Shahid Kapoor, are being shot in The Grassmarket.

Shahid Kapoor is playing the lead role of an air force pilot who falls in love with a young woman.

Trucks with horses, a carriage and dozens of production staff have been in the historic area to set up scenes for the film.

Why not come and see the centre of the Bollywood Industry in Mubai, India. OJM Travel provide escorted tours, on location and behind the scenes visits. call 0131 447 7377 or email info@ojmtravel.com for more information.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_east_and_fife/10267997.stm

]]> http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/bollywood-film-shot-in-edinburghhttpwww-ojmtravel-comnewswp-adminpost-new-php/feed/ 0 Crisis Management Training Complete http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/crisis-management-training-complete/ http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/crisis-management-training-complete/#comments Sun, 30 May 2010 08:00:06 +0000 editor http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/?p=460

We recently had our latest dose of Crisis Management training to sharpen our skills, update our procedures, and get some practice in too.

Many thanks to the very capable Colin McGregor of Tranquilico.com

]]> http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/crisis-management-training-complete/feed/ 0 How Old Is Buddha? http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/how-old-is-buddha/ http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/how-old-is-buddha/#comments Fri, 28 May 2010 16:03:40 +0000 editor http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/?p=441

The 2554th Buddha Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha, the apostle of peace, is being observed Thursday (27th May 2010) by organising various programmes with the message of peace and harmony among people.

A special function is being organised in Lumbini, the birth-place of Buddha, today to mark the Buddha Jayanti. As the birth, enlightenment and Nirvana of Lord Buddha falls on the same day of the full moon of the fourth lunar month (month of Baisakh), Buddhists around the world, including Nepal, observe Buddha Jayanti with respect and devotion to Buddha.

Gautam Buddha’s philosophy of Buddhism does not entail any theistic world-view. The teachings of the Buddha are solely to liberate human beings from the misery and sufferings of life.

With the realisation that there was more to life than the lavish and luxurious life he was leading, Prince Siddharth Gautam, who was born in the southern Terai region of Nepal in about 543 BC, left his palace in search for enlightenment and the true meaning of life. After much wandering and searching, Gautam finally attained enlightenment while meditating under a pipal tree. Henceforth, known as the “Buddha” or “the enlightened one” he began to preach “The Four Noble Truths” to all who would listen. According to this doctrine, people suffer because of their desires and the root cause of all misery is desire. These desires and consequently all problems can be totally eliminated by following the “eightfold path”- right conduct, right motive, right speech, right effort, right resolve, right livelihood, right attention and right meditation to gain mastery over suffering. Gautama Buddha lived and taught in northern India in the 6th Century B.C.

Buddha traveled far and wide teaching hundreds of followers. Even after death his disciples continued to spread his teachings.


The United Nations has been observing the Anniversary of Lord Buddha as a public holiday since 2002.

The books on teachings and messages of Lord Buddha are said to be the largest publication throughout the world.

Buddha Jayanti is celebrated in all the Buddhist nations rejoicing the victory of Prince Siddhartha of Lumbini over pain, suffering and self.

The Buddhist monks say the day should carry special message of tolerance and self-discipline among all the Nepalis to establish permanent peace in the country.

Teachings of Lord Buddha are included in the world’s highly prestigious universities including the Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard.

Lord Buddha, during his 80 year life, carried out a total of 84 thousand discourses which are compiled in various books including ‘Binaya’, Sutta, Abhidhamma and Tripitak.

Buddhists around the world today organize a variety of programmes at the Buddhist religious sites and spread the message of world peace of Lord Gautam Buddha.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/19-general/6357-2554th-buddha-jayanti-being-observed.html

The 2554th Buddha Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha, the apostle of peace, is being observed Thursday by organising various programmes with the message of peace and harmony among people.

Buddhists gathered at Bouddhanath in Kathmandu to mark the 2554th Buddha Jayanti...
Buddhists gathered at Bouddhanath in Kathmandu to mark the 2554th Buddha…

A special function is being organised in Lumbini, the birth-place of Buddha, today to mark the Buddha Jayanti. As the birth, enlightenment and Nirvana of Lord Buddha falls on the same day of the full moon of the fourth lunar month (month of Baisakh), Buddhists around the world, including Nepal, observe Buddha Jayanti with respect and devotion to Buddha.

Gautam Buddha’s philosophy of Buddhism does not entail any theistic world-view. The teachings of the Buddha are solely to liberate human beings from the misery and sufferings of life.

With the realisation that there was more to life than the lavish and luxurious life he was leading, Prince Siddharth Gautam, who was born in the southern Terai region of Nepal in about 543 BC, left his palace in search for enlightenment and the true meaning of life. After much wandering and searching, Gautam finally attained enlightenment while meditating under a pipal tree. Henceforth, known as the “Buddha” or “the enlightened one” he began to preach “The Four Noble Truths” to all who would listen. According to this doctrine, people suffer because of their desires and the root cause of all misery is desire. These desires and consequently all problems can be totally eliminated by following the “eightfold path”- right conduct, right motive, right speech, right effort, right resolve, right livelihood, right attention and right meditation to gain mastery over suffering. Gautama Buddha lived and taught in northern India in the 6th Century B.C.

Buddha traveled far and wide teaching hundreds of followers. Even after death his disciples continued to spread his teachings.

The United Nations has been observing the Anniversary of Lord Buddha as a public holiday since 2002.

The books on teachings and messages of Lord Buddha are said to be the largest publication throughout the world.

Buddha Jayanti is celebrated in all the Buddhist nations rejoicing the victory of Prince Siddhartha of Lumbini over pain, suffering and self.

The Buddhist monks say the day should carry special message of tolerance and self-discipline among all the Nepalis to establish permanent peace in the country.

Teachings of Lord Buddha are included in the world’s highly prestigious universities including the Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard.

Lord Buddha, during his 80 year life, carried out a total of 84 thousand discourses which are compiled in various books including ‘Binaya’, Sutta, Abhidhamma and Tripitak.

Buddhists around the world today organize a variety of programmes at the Buddhist religious sites and spread the message of world peace of Lord Gautam Buddha. nepalnews.com

]]> http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/how-old-is-buddha/feed/ 1 Happiness Centre in Bhutan http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/happiness-centre-in-bhutan/ http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/happiness-centre-in-bhutan/#comments Wed, 26 May 2010 12:31:34 +0000 editor http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/?p=434

The government of Bhutan says it is pursuing plans to build a Gross National Happiness (GNH) centre in the forests of the Himalayan kingdom.


It has found a possible 45-acre site for the centre in pine forests near the town of Chamkhar.

GNH aims to measure quality of life in more holistic terms than gross national product (GNP), striking a balance between the spiritual and material.

The term was coined in 1972 by Bhutan’s former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck.

It is now at the heart of government policy.

“Although at a conceptual stage, it is a plan that would become home for the promotion and practice of happiness, by establishing a facility where people from all walks of life can come and stay to imbibe the sense of happiness,” Prime Minister Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley told the country’s main newspaper, Kuensel.

“This can be a place where people can pursue happiness personally, and all kinds of people from all walks of life will be welcome.

“The GNH centre is not a confirmed project, but an idea at a discussion stage that needs more brainstorming,” the prime minister said.

The newspaper says that the proposed site is a 20-minute drive along a dirt road from Chamkhar.

In 2009 the authorities said that a greater emphasis on GNH was more important than ever following a recent spate of suicides.

Psychiatrists said that the deaths were because of the impact of old age, unemployment and depression.

However excessive alcohol consumption, money worries and mental illness were also blamed, prompting the secretary of the Gross National Happiness Commission to call for a better balance between the spiritual and the material.

“Whatever choices we make from now on – whether it’s to do with urbanisation or globalisation or the type of economy we develop – we will make sure it is in harmony with our tradition, our culture and the environment,” Karma Tsheetem said at the time.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8703690.stm

]]> http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/happiness-centre-in-bhutan/feed/ 1 Highest Tiger Density in Kaziranga, India http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/highest-tiger-density-in-kaziranga-india/ http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/highest-tiger-density-in-kaziranga-india/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 18:40:43 +0000 editor http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/?p=420

The highest tiger density can be found in Kaziranga National Park, north east India.

The BBC’s Earth News website has amazing photos…

If you’d like to come and see these magnificent animals, contact OJM Travel 0131 447 7377 info@ojmtravel.com

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8651000/8651583.stm

]]> http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/highest-tiger-density-in-kaziranga-india/feed/ 0 Mount Everest Swim http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/mount-everest-swim/ http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/mount-everest-swim/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 18:20:40 +0000 editor http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/?p=410

Lewis Gordon Pugh after the swim

An environmental campaigner has swum 1km (0.62 miles) across a glacial lake on Mount Everest to highlight the impact of global warming.

Lewis Gordon Pugh, 40, from Devon, wore only swimming trunks, goggles and a swimming hat to face the 2C waters of Pumori Lake at 17,000ft (5,300m).

He said he hoped to bring the “world’s attention” to the melting of glaciers and its effect on the region.

Mr Pugh has been nicknamed the “human polar bear” for his cold water swims.

He completed the swim near the Khumbu Glacier in 22 minutes and 51 seconds.

It is the first time a long distance swim has been completed under the summit of Everest, his campaign team said.

He  has previously swum in Antarctica and across the North Pole to draw attention to melting sea ice.

On his latest trip, the lawyer battled altitude sickness as well as freezing conditions.

He said: “It’s one of the hardest swims I’ve ever undertaken. When I swam in Antarctica and across the North Pole I swam with speed and aggression but on Mount Everest you can’t use the same tactics. Because of the altitude you need to swim very slowly and deliberately.

“Swimming 20 metres at full speed in the test swim, I felt I was going to drown. I was gasping for air and if I had swum any faster I would have gone under.

Glacier ‘lifeline’

“I was deeply concerned that I wouldn’t make 1km and I’m delighted that I’ve finally achieved it.”

Mr Pugh said he had had to find a “delicate balance” between going too fast and too slowly, which could cause him to get hypothermia.

He trained on Dartmouth, where he grew up, for the challenge.

He urged governments to make tackling climate change a priority and said he was disappointed the issue did not feature more prominently in the UK election.

The campaigner said he had seen glaciers around the world and many were “melting away”.

“The glaciers in the Himalayas are not just ice. They are a lifeline – they provide water to approximately two billion people,” he added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/8699152.stm

]]> http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/mount-everest-swim/feed/ 0 Blues Festival Kathmandu http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/blues-festival-kathmandu/ http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/blues-festival-kathmandu/#comments Thu, 20 May 2010 18:23:30 +0000 editor http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/?p=416


Even by the wacky standards of the music business, it was a surreal moment – an Indian blues band were ripping into Cream’s Sunshine Of Your Love, roared on by an audience of several hundred stoked-up Nepalese.

Nepal is known for many things – the Himalayas, Gurkhas and a fondness for Joanna Lumley among them – but who knew that the country nurtured a mad passion for a form of music that grew up on the Mississippi Delta a century ago? A Kathmandu Blues Festival? On the roof of the world?

Yes, there certainly is such an event, and it will always baffle me how my bandmates and I found ourselves playing to Nepalese blues lovers on stages set in the gardens of Royal palaces and breathtaking rooftop bars.

I must confess that our band, Blues Business, isn’t really used to performing at such venues. Indeed, the back room of the White Horse pub or the Stand-Up Inn is more our forte, with the occasional wedding reception at a village hall an added bonus.

However, after answering an email from students at the Nepal Music Centre, who must have stumbled upon us on the internet, we found ourselves en route to Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport.

We were greeted by an entourage of uniformed guards and splendidly dressed Nepalese servants who appeared even more overawed by us than we were by them.

A chauffeured limo, accompanied by motorcycle outriders, raced us through some of the wildest traffic in the world and delivered us wide-eyed and agog to the five-star Dwarikas Hotel – a place I can only describe as Nirvana itself.

Bearing in mind that we were expecting to rough it in student digs, we soon became accustomed instead to ordering champagne, Havana cigars and exquisite cuisine.

The fabulous hospitality was provided by Rajiv, a dedicated blues fan who runs the hotel. His family, we learned later, are direct descendants of the last Nepalese dynasty, which partly explained the reverential treatment that we, as his guests, received wherever we ventured.

The Dwarikas is where Joanna Lumley stayed after spearheading a campaign to allow Gurkha veterans to settle in Britain. Also among the signatories in the hotel’s visitors’ book is Prince Charles.

Our band was soon rocking at the hotel’s Fusion Bar, the walls of which are covered with signed photographs of B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton – and now a handsome portrait of Blues Business.

The Kathmandu Blues Festival is a five-day event and musicians from all over the world are invited to perform. Local bands consider such visitors the ‘real deal’ (I didn’t try to correct them).

It was certainly a surreal feeling as I cranked up the amplifiers at the Garden of Dreams, a venue set among awesome temples and waterfalls. I thought there could not be a more stunning setting for a blues concert – but I was wrong.

Later during the festival, we played our own version of the Rumble In The Jungle. Club 1905 Blues Bar – set in a jungle clearing – attracted an eclectic audience on a steamy night, and even the monkeys were jiving to up-tempo songs made famous by artists such as Jelly Roll Morton and Cab Calloway.

The crowd went berserk when Australian Jimi Hocking ‘duck walked’ the stage while belting out Chuck Berry’s Memphis, Tennessee and played his guitar behind his head.

And I doubt that many people have witnessed a Brigadier General of the Nepalese Army playing an alto sax while strutting his stuff on stage. We’ve all heard the phrase ‘let the good times roll’ – well, the General certainly did that.

He was a hard act to follow and as I hit the first riff of our song Not Fade Away, I was relieved the audience did not do just that. In fact we rocked until daybreak.

In between gigs, we were determined to see what Kathmandu had to offer. For visitors eager to spend some money, there are pashminas, wacky clothing, (with any designer label soon sewn on), glorious carpets and ‘made-to-order antiques’ waiting to be snapped up. And don’t forget to haggle – the shopkeepers would be offended if you didn’t at least try.

Another must is to visit the mind-blowing 3rd Century Temple of Pashupatinath, which is dedicated to Hindu God Lord Shiva and is situated on the banks of the Bagmati River.

Here you can spin the giant prayer wheels and, if lucky, be blessed, as I was, by Chief Lama Sangye Dorje, who is the coolest guy I have ever met. As he and I lit a candle for world peace on top of the Temple, with Mount Everest visible in the distance, I was moved by the spirituality of Kathmandu and its humble people.

There are thirty-three-and-a-half million gods in Nepal, one-and-a-half for every person, and I certainly thought I needed at least one-and-a-half deities to look after me as I crossed the road in Kathmandu.

Tuk-tuks and other vehicles, which look uncannily like chariots powered by rotavators, continually jostle for position as they take passengers to their destinations.

On one occasion, while trying to cross the road, it felt as if I was taking my life in my own hands as I darted in and out of traffic before making it to the Nepal Music Centre.

And it is not only foolhardy pedestrians such as me that drivers have to avoid – sacred cows wander the streets and will lie down in the road or anywhere else they please, thus adding to the traffic chaos.

Amazingly, such incidents draw only benevolent smiles from inconvenienced drivers. The band had been invited to lecture the centre’s students on blues. After our amateurish tutorial, students joined us on stage for a jam session – judging by the expressions on their faces, they looked as if they had just met Jimi Hendrix.

The Nepalese are delightfully shy people and the students were overwhelmed when the band presented the school with a brand new guitar made by a Chinese guitar manufacturer.

This guitar will be awarded to the most improved student at the end of term.

Members of Blues Business also signed one of my guitars which we presented to the students. And if that wasn’t enough, the head of the Music Centre – none other than the sax-playing Brigadier himself, awarded us honorary degrees.

Old hippies never die, they just end up in Kathmandu. In particular you will find them in the Tamas district of the city, playing the blues and sipping a beer in the rooftop bars.

Kathmandu, known as the Land of Dreams, is a very special place.

From its spectacular location at the foothills of the Himalayas to its incredible architecture and self-effacing people, it will enchant you and even change your life.

I was sad to leave and as we climbed into our limousine for the trip back to the airport, a guard carrying a Second World War Lee-Enfield .303 rifle gave us a farewell salute. Whether you love the blues or not, you will find that Kathmandu rocks.

http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/05/17/intl-coverage/nepals-kathmandu-blues-festival-lets-the-good-times-roll/314489/

]]> http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/blues-festival-kathmandu/feed/ 1 Petition for a Tourism Minister http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/petition-for-a-tourism-minister/ http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/petition-for-a-tourism-minister/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:12:09 +0000 editor http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/?p=406

Tourism is the fifth largest industry sector in Britain and the third largest export earner and creates more revenue than North Sea oil, and yet Governments have never taken the opportunity to create a Tourism Minister within the Cabinet. We know that Culture, Media and Sport are all important – but Tourism is seen as the job for a junior ministerial role. How big does it have to be in order to get the recognition it deserves?

Putting aside the huge employment opportunities provided by the outbound operators, the figures for our local tourism industry are massive – even on a global scale. Holidays in the UK contribute £86 billion to the economy including £19 billion of foreign income – and 1.4 million people are employed to service the industry.

We badly need a Minister whose role is to wave tourism’s flag ahead of the 2012 Olympics. We need a Government that increases our promotional spend ahead of the Olympics (rather than reducing it by 20% as has happened). More than that, we need a Minister who will sits alongside those representing other key sectors such as Energy and Agriculture. We need someone who will argue the case for our sector – seeing it as as an opportunity for economic growth rather than simply an opportunity to raise income from taxes. This is a huge opportunity for the next Government.”

We need your help! Please click on the link below and sign the Travel Weekly petition for a Tourism Minister.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/yesminister/

]]> http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/petition-for-a-tourism-minister/feed/ 0 Nepal Heaven For Migratory Birds http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/nepal-heaven-for-migratory-birds/ http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/nepal-heaven-for-migratory-birds/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:04:18 +0000 editor http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/?p=402

Nepal is one of the best destinations for the summer migratory birds coming from the southern parts of South East Asia as well as from Africa and Australia due to favourable breeding environment.

Unlike tropical countries, Nepal experiences seasonal variation with longer days in the summer and shorter in the winter. “With longer days, birds get more time to feed themselves that enhances their healthy breeding,” said senior ornithologist Hem Sagar Baral. “As the birds can enjoy better feeding places, they spend the entire summer in Nepal.”

A total of 34 migratory bird species visit the country every summer for breeding purposes unlike the winter migratory birds that come here in search of favourable temperature from Siberia and Eastern Europe.

Different varieties of Eurasian cuckoo are among the summer migratory birds, which breed during their stay in Nepal. The summer migratory birds are also recorded in northeasten parts of India and Pakistan that mostly migrate from South East Asia, Africa and Australia.

With the onset of summer, the first summer migratory birds have started coming to Chitwan National Park (CNP) with Chestnut-headed Bee-eater to be the first one recorded on Feb. 26. Nearly a dozen of this bird species were found in the CNP, said Baral.

Almost all the summer migratory birds breed in Nepal and some species, including cuckoos are brood parasites. Most cuckoos do not build their nests and parental duty is transferred to a host species that is known as brood parasitism. For example, Indian Cuckoo prefers to make drongos as its nanny, while the Asian Koel prefers crows to raise its young.  The longest journey among Nepal’s summer migrants is carried out by Pied Cuckoo covering over 5000 kilometers.

However, the wetland-dependent birds are facing threats due to disappearance of wetlands, habitat degradation and hunting. “Wetlands are among the most productive breeding environments for many bird species, including kingfishers and water ducks,” said Baral.  Of the total 864 bird species recorded in the country, over 200 species are wetland-dependent. Nepal constitutes over 10 percent of the world’s total bird population.

Pragati Shahi – kantipuronline.com

]]> http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/nepal-heaven-for-migratory-birds/feed/ 0 Nepal Tourism Year 2011 http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/nepal-tourism-year-2011/ http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/nepal-tourism-year-2011/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:51:37 +0000 editor http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/?p=395

Nepal is using 2011 for a special focus on promoting tourism. Their slogan; Together for Tourism.

Some great photos of the launch event can be viewed here;

(http://www.enasha.com/article.php?id=3254)

 

]]> http://www.ojmtravel.com/news/nepal-tourism-year-2011/feed/ 1