Day 5 - Tadapani to Ghorepani (2,860m) After yet another yummy breakfast we waddled out of the Tea House several pounds heavier and started our trek off up into the forest. Today was a 6 hour trek with lots of up (there's a surprise), but we still had plenty of time along the way to enjoy the views and do a spot of bird watching and plant ID. Every so often we would get a glimpse of the pristine white mountains through the trees and would grab for the cameras yet again. I don't think I could ever tire of these [View Full Entry]

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Day 6 - Poon Hill and Ghorepani to Banthanti I was awake early for the start of our VERY EARLY hike up Poon Hill to watch the sunrise. A bleary eyed, head torch wearing group set off in the dark. What a strange sight it was. We discovered that Ghorepani must have a hell of a lot of accomodation as there were what seemed like hundreds of people all processing up the steep stone steps in single file. The steps were huge and it was hard going as there was a pretty important deadline to hit - SUNRISE. So everyone was [View Full Entry]

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Day 4 - Ghandruk to Tadapani (2,590m) We set of from our Tea House for a much shorter trek this morning heading for Tadapani. This trekking was very different from the previous day as we entered lush sub-tropical forests of mainly rhodedendrons dripping with moss and ferns. Having spent many a day hacking down and burning the smaller, invasive varieties that are taking over our British countryside it was nice to see them growing where they are meant to be! There were loads in blossom in a deep pinking red colour. We also saw tiny mauve primula, mahonia, ferns and mosses [View Full Entry]

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Day 3 - Tolka to Ghandruk (1,940m) Breakfast at 7.15am this morning with wonderful, stupendous views of the mountains. This time I sampled the corn bread to accompany my boiled eggs. It was puffed up bread with a slight flavour of donuts - so no complaints there. This was followed by appe/banana pancakes. Slightly more than my normal breakfast of one weatabix!! We always get black tea too (milk is a bit dodgey up here so we've been avoiding) and I'm starting to get an aquired taste for it. Those of you who know my normal tea drinking habits will be [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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Day 2 - Dhampus to Tolka Waking in the morning was amazing as we got our first proper view of the massive mountains of Nepal in all their glory. We had a breakfast seat view of Annapurna South and a glimpse of Machapuchare (or Fishtail Mountain). The cameras went into overdrive as we snapped away. I feel sooooo priviledged to be here and have to pinch myself! So this is how the day starts on a trek in Nepal. You wake early to order your breakfast then go back to your room to pack up your kit bag ready for the [View Full Entry]

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Swayambhunath Temple Today we set off on a walk to the Swayambhunath Stupa about 1.5 miles north-west of Kathmandu's Thamel district. The walk took us through the backstreets of Kathmandu with the usual noise and commotion that I'm beginning to get used to. Looking out towards the hills and mountains all we could see was a misty haze of smog. It was very dusty under foot too and we saw many people covering their faces from the dust and smog. As we got nearer to the Stupa we saw quite a few school children dressed up in their uniforms and the [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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Today I'm having some quiet time at the hotel before meeting up with my travelling companions so I've had time to reflect on some of the strange and interesting things I've seen so far. Photos will have to wait as connection is extremely slow today. In no particular order: Bowls made with leaves joined together with little shards of bamboo (I think). Not everyone has proper bowls to eat from so these little leaf bowls are used (large for rice and small for curries) then discarded after they've been used. Cow wandering along the road in the middle of the city. [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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