We have been promised so many wake up calls in India (none of which ever materialised) that when Gopal, our Nepali guide and resident looker-afterer, says he'll wake us up at 7am, we are sceptical about how successful he'll be. I set the alarm on my mobile and sleep. The next morning my alarm rings out loud, echoed almost immediately by a knock at the door. Gopal is calling us up to breakfast. We shower and oblige, and when we sit down we're presented with omelette and coffee, toast and jam. Paradise. Gopal is a small, slim, wiry Nepali guy, probably in his mid 30s. He is shy but very friendly, and almost immediately we find a common ground in birdwatching. The things I learned on long walks when a boy with my father (who is
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