Day ???? I think it's Friday

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Today was interesting, i wanted to know how i would deal with the heat, the steep hills, the sudden downpours and anything else unexpected. True to form i pointed myself in one direction and walked. 3 hours later i was going off my map so i had to turn around, but what a walk; i had gone past a forest reserve where the government in their haste had not considered the locals' need to collect firewood before walling it off. A stream of old woman startled me as they emerged tentatively from the forest balancing their loads on their heads.


Like everywhere in Kathmandu the roads have to be seen to be believed; although much of what i have seen has been tarmaced at some point in time, i am told that when workers come to do work on underlying pipes and the like they are not compelled to fill in the holes they made. So another part of the infrastructure falls into ruin. That said, the people here are very accepting of their lot, and so they should be...they take their lives in their hands every time they drive or walk here. Their are precious few paths, no central line in the road, and although people drive generally on the left, the maxim is if their is space to get by then use it, no matter who is in the way or what side of the road it is. I have come to accept that it is only time before someone hits me, although i would prefer a tuc-tuc to the ubiquitous little 800cc Suzuki taxis.


I passed small villages with the most incredible scenery imaginable. Again the heat was stifling and i was struggling to make the hills in one go, but as the forest opened up, all thoughts of fatigue were gone. Like me the forest was hot and the rain just evaporated at once. There were other hills in the distance that seem always to have their heads in the clouds; when i flew into Nepal i was staring out of the window, trying desperately to survive my last couple of hours living as a sardine and wondering what it would be like to walk on this cloud landscape beneath me, when i noticed mountain peaks...mountain peaks above the clouds. It was astounding, no wonder ancient peoples believed that this was the domain of the Gods.

Finally, beggars again. I have a better understanding of some of the reasons for it. This poor guy approached me waving his withered hand in front of me and asking for money. When i talked to him he told me he had been a bus driver (his entire arm was deformed with rheumatoid arthritis) but his ailment forced him to give that up. He has no disability allowance, no NHS, no pension other than the 100Rps (about 1 pound) a year he gets from the government. No wonder he has to beg. Note in the picture he hides his arm from the camera.





My love to all my Family and friends for their kind messages, thanks for keeping me in your thoughts.....Mark you should be here!.......Julia and Ash.....i love and miss you too.x

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