Day One: Pokhara - Phedi - Dhampus It was an early start as we had a long, long minibus journey to Pokhara then on to Phedi for the start of our trekking. Everyone was absolutely gagging to get into the countryside and breath some fresh air into their dust and smog coated lungs! We'd put all the things we'd need for our trek into kit bags ready for the porters to carry (we were allowed no more than 10kg per person as each porter carries two people's gear!), the rest of our gear was left at the hotel in Kathmandu. It was here that Krishna, one of our two sherpas joined us (little were we to know then how we would all come to love little Krishna in his desert combats and denim jacket!). Having experiened ... read more

I've finally met up with my fellow travellers for the Nepal part of my trip. First to arrive was Mark from Switzerland who had come from Delhi. The rest of the group was arriving later but our tour briefing with Raj went ahead anyway with just the two of us. Raj is very jolly and likes to joke a lot and this will no doubt make for a lively tour. The briefing took us through what we would be doing, a bit about the culture, dos and don'ts so as not to offend people, and what to expect when we go trekking. We also got our kit bags - only 10kg per person as we have porters to take most of our stuff. The Irish group of six girls - Sinead, Naimh, Sharon, Linda, Michelle and ... read more

Those of you who know my daughter Anya may recognise her little quote from the title of this post. When she was tiny she was taken to a huge fireworks display. She painted a lovely picture of orange and pink fireworks and gave it the title 'Fireworks - little bit scary!'. That's a bit how I felt as I headed off out of the hotel into the streets of Kathmandu by myself this morning. Like fireworks it was exciting and scary all at the same time. The day began back at the hotel sitting in the courtyard having a huge breakfast of cereal, pancakes, egg, spicy beans, potato and tomatoes all washed down with gallons of tea. Having left the UK shivering in a biting wind it was lovely to be able to have breakfast outdoors ... read more

For years I've listened enthralled, amazed, surprised, amused, enraputred, intrigued but with resigned envy to travellers tales from friends, family, work colleagues, aquaintances, random strangers! I've gazed longingly over photos of far flung places, peoples, landscapes, wildlife, horizons beyond my narrow little world and wished I could be there too, experiencing it for myself. But I've been a mum forever and never had the chance to spread my wings. With a daughter at university (where does the time go?) and two under 10s my chances of even a slight ruffling of feathers seemed far, far away in the dim and distant future. So I'd sigh as the last photo was put away and mentally plonk myself back into my world, leaving ideas of travelling on a dusty, high shelf labelled 'things to do in my fifties'! ... read more