Ever since we went to the Earls Court “Destinations Travel Fair” in 2005, when we found out where the country actually is, we have been very keen to get to Bhutan and that was our destination today. We were two of about half a dozen passengers boarding the Delhi to Paro, Bhutan flight when it stopped briefly in Kathmandu so we weren’t holding out much hope for getting the recommended left side window seat. Things turned out better than expected as the plane was nowhere near full so we did get the seats we wanted and, given the clear blue [View Full Entry]

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Once Ed had been up for a few hours it was evident he would not be joining Gemma on the trek today, so as he crawled back into bed, Gemma joined Nabaraj and Mahesh for an excellent day of exploring the villages of the south-west of the Kathmandu valley. It was a special and very well organised day due to the places we visited and the company Gemma was in. The historic towns we walked through with their own 7th to 17th century temples and places of interest, were just like the touristy Bhaktapur and Patan areas but without any [View Full Entry]

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Having planned to do a one day trek today on the Kathmandu Valley rim, we had to postpone due to Ed suffering during the night to what we think is food poising. Maybe a cold chicken salad wasn't the best idea with hindsight. We hope to do this trek tomorrow, our last day in Nepal. So while Ed slept, Gemma caught up on blog writing and preparations for returning home. [View Full Entry]

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Not too much to report about today, we spent it mostly doing ‘admin’ things. Which was just as well really as most of Kathmandu came to a standstill due to a strike, which when we asked what about got a very dismissive “people are not happy with the government” answer. Walking the roads which are usually bustling with people, cars, bicycles all trying to make their own journeys, instead we were greeted with very little hassle and not fearing for our lives. Even walking out to some of the more main roads there were no cars whatsoever. So Ed spent the [View Full Entry]

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Today was a full packed sight seeing day… Bouddhanath Stupa a the biggest stupa in Nepal, with many Buddhist pilgrims and old buildings surrounding this large monument. Not much is known about this stupa, like who really built the foundations and for what reason, but much admiration and respect is thought of the place. Pashupatinath Temple is considered one of the four most important Shiva shrines in Asia. The largest temple complex in the Kathmandu Valley, it is so sacred that non-Hindus are not allowed to enter its courtyards. We spent most of the time here watchi [View Full Entry]

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Well not seeing the day till about 11am was the first highlight of today. The second was the delicious chocolate brownies we had for pudding after our delicious dinner. We like this place. We did however see some tourist sites with visiting Swayambhunath, the oldest settlement in the Valley, as well as home to a great view of Kathmandu Valley, the Monkey Temple and Stupa. Walking there from our Guest House was interesting in itself being in the middle of a capital city and experiencing everyday life. The 365 steps up to the settlement was our main exercise for the [View Full Entry]

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This morning’s task was to cross the boarder into Nepal and we did this as quickly as possible. The wait at the Chinese side was long but was made comical by watching a huge number of Indians (they come to visit a holy lake and mountain in East Tibet, China, as they believe this is a place of beginning for Hinduism) bleary eyed trying to find out what was going on. As well as observing the many different vehicle checks of varying degrees of thoroughness causing another comical hold up that many Tibetans were getting irate about. This town has [View Full Entry]

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Eager to get out of the god forsaken place, we had to pay for the privilege of a cold shower, which was not going to happen. We left at 9am as Pasang said that the road was full of construction and if we left now we would be able to have a half day's free time, in a place that he summed up as a deserted Chinese run town. Oh whoopee. The road was interesting and at times was like what we experienced for the first week of our trip, sheer long drops down to rocky raging rivers with only [View Full Entry]

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As the alarm went off early we were not too keen to get out of the warmth and into the cold air, but a sunrise over Mount Everest should make you move, and it worked a treat as we witnessed a clear view of the summit of Everest warming up. Quickly getting some warm food down us and of course the compulsory at least 5 cups of Chinese tea, we set off on our walk to Base Camp proper. Declining the many horse drawn carriages for a ride up to the camp (Ed has worked out that the fixed price [View Full Entry]

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We set off full of excitement for where we were going today. To start we continued along the main road from Lhasa to Kathmandu, the so called ‘Friendship Highway’. After a while we turned south onto the Everest road and began a steady climb. After an hour or so we reached a prayer flag covered pass and stopped to admire the view. And what a view it was. There are 14 mountains in the world over 8,000 metres and spread out in front of us against a brilliant blue background were four of them, with Mount Everest sticking just that [View Full Entry]

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