Into thin air

We spent three days on the Malabar coast in Kerala in a place called Varkala enjoying some sunshine some beach and doing very little. From there we headed back to Delhi and after an overnight stay we flew to Nepal arriving in Kathmandu yesterday. The weather here is perfect about 28 C by day and actually a cool 18 C with some breeze at night. This is all the more welcome having left a sweltering Delhi with the mercury topping out at more than 40 C and the temperature at 9 p.m. at Delhi airport an eye popping 38 C when we arrived there on Tuesday night.

We have signed up for a trek beginning tomorrow when we head for the beautiful city of Pokhara west of Kathmandu. Then for four days we trek on the Poon Hill circuit reaching the dizzying heights of 3,200 metres. Okay its not serious mountain climbing but it still represents for us a stiff challenge. We intend to report the trek with all the breathless seriousness of an Everest attempt and know that you will read with awed reverence for our bravery and sense of adventure. We will of course post images from the summit of Poon Hill (how typical in a country overwhelmed by high mountains that something which is almost 10,500 feet is called a "hill") as soon as we return. The mountain is in the Annapurna Conservation area and the summit should provide us with stunning images of the western Himalayas cloud cover permitting.

For the moment we have enjoyed a last good meal here in Kathmandu and we look forward to what has become a fairly regular 6 a.m. alarm call these past few weeks with unusual relish tomorrow morning. Never has the prospect of a seven hour bus journey held such promise. Tonight we are adventurers looking forward to the challenge of tomorrow... P.

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