tobyglover2

Just like the mountain life is full of ups and downs. I've had a better 24 hours. Last night was utterly freezing. -12 with no heating. But I met some nice people a charming British couple and a lovely Polish girl. It was nice to have some conversation. The Nepalese people were also more smiley than in other places. We trekked pleasantly from 8 until 11 and I actually got to enjoy some of the scenery. The motley crew of me, Jinsi and the chuckling porter was joined by a young female Tibetan guide. She was a most welcome addition to the gang adding lightheartedness and cheer. For a while I had considered that I might not fancy Nepalese women but it turns out I do and Tibettan women are really lush. It was a great ... read more

What the hell am I doing here? I'm a chain smoking, epileptic star wars fan. I don't belong anywhere near the Himalayas. This is by far the most physically demanding thing I've ever done. We had 5x5 minute breaks on the way which I did enjoy but thats only 25 minutes out of 7 hours. It was supposed to take 9 hours and we didn't see many other trekkers having left at 7:30am. After 15 minutes I was sweating, panting and exhausted. The stench of donkey shit burnt my nostrils as we ascended into a lower percentageof oxygen. It was all uphill ofcourse. Rocky step after rocky step set my legs on fire. People dream of trekking the himalayas and yet it's me who somehow ended up here having never given it a second thought. My ... read more

I forgot to change the time on my watch last night so ended up being ready to at 5am instead of 6am. Whatsmore they weren't meeting me until 6:30. D'oh!! The drop in temperature is very noticeable before daylight and it felt very strange wearing a coat. I waited ages and began panicking that I'd been conned. Eventually the salesman turned up with my guide. He looks wise and experienced. I think his name is Junsi. Also I have a porter, a young quiet guy. I feel bad making him lug my rucksack about but they were quite insistent on it and its lighter than most travel bags. Easy money for him maybe. We got on the bus and headed out of Kathmandu. I wasn't sad to leave it and wouldn't be bothered if I wasn't ... read more

The last few days have been an unmentionable blur of unreality. Best not to try to put them into a logical narrative. Tomorrow I fly to Bangkok where I have to wait for a night. Then on Monday I will get up early and fly to Nepal via New Delhi. I would love to stop in India but have not organised a visa. I hope to see as much of Nepal as I can in 2 weeks.... read more

Having realised I didn't have enough time to volunteer properly I decided to leave Cambodia. . It was a hellacious journey to Pnomh Penh airport. I was warned that the President Barack Obama was leaving also and that the airport may be shut down. 'Nonsense' I proclaimed. 'I shall make my journey'. The taxi took me most of the way and then could get no further. I had to walk 45 minutes to the departure terminal in the sweltering heat with all my equipment. Most undesirable. When I arrived their were other sweaty minions travelling around looking at monitors. Many of the flights were cancelled and there was a disconcerting number of Cambodian army men with automatic weapons. The idea flashed into my head of slapping one of them around the back of the head. Once ... read more

I've become slightly less grumpy but have begun reading the autobiography of Hunter S Thompson which is screwing my mind into a twisted pretzel of negativity. 'There is no such thing as paranoia, paranoia is merely another word for ignorance'and íf the author of the Bible had been sent to criminal court he would have been given a life sentence for threats against mankind'are the kind of quotes Thompson delivers. I got my passport, I tipped the guy 20 dollars and was mightily relieved. Yesterday I went to the orphanage and offered my volunteer services. My objective in this was to help the teachers improve their skills and to show a model for what volunteers should be doing. There is a big problem in Cambodia of tourists going to orphanages, playing with the friendly kids for ... read more

I want to throw hand grenades into peoples happiness. I was expecting to get picked up by the bus at 7:30am but they knocked on my door at 7:00 saying a tuktuk was here to take me to the bus. I grabbed my things half asleep and paid my bill. I nearly left with the key before being piled into a minibus with annoying people. The roads were terrible and I was thrown about like a buffoon. After 6 uncomfortable hours I arrived and was surrounded by drivers trying to get my custom. I asked for a taxi and this guy took me to his mate who was asking for 80dollars. I said no way and got him to take me to the bus station. They said the bus had left already. I found another taxi ... read more