Blogs from Nepal, Asia - page 421

Well hello there everone ! It's Gareth here giving you the latest on our travels. First of all I'll brief you on the drama that unfolded yesterday on our way to Nepal. After another very long journey on trains and buses from Varanasi to Gorakhpur, we could almost see our destination in our sights. Our main aim was to reach the Nepali boarder in the morning sometime so that we would be able to catch the 'day' bus to Kathmandu. At Gorakhpur, all we had to do was get the local bus to Sonauli, the boarder town. We managed to squeeze on, bags intact to the bus that was supposed to last about two hours. This would have left us approximately one hour to get our Nepali visas and then catch our last bus to ... read more

After that first day of minimal activity-- laundry and a shower (neither of which had been accomplished during the week's ride through Tibet), we decided to buy the guidebook to tell us what we should see. Durbar Square in Kathmandu was the first stop which houses several temples and museums of Old Nepali architecture (the 3 largest towns in the valley- Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktipur all have their own Durbar Squares). We biked the second day to the one in Patan. Biking here is even worse than in China-- it's just as disorderly, but here they don't slow down. Then we made it to Swayambunath, ("Monkey Temple" so called for the populace of wild monkeys guarding the area), before the pedal on my bike broke off and Carolee's derailleur fell limp. The next day we went ... read more

Day 4 on our trek there were not as many caravans because we're off the main supply route. The ecosystem transforms into a surreal forest of huge twisted moss covered rhododendrons (unfortunately not in bloom--but equally beautiful) Tibetan prayer flags--some bright and some tattered and faded, flapping in the breeze everywhere! Glimpses of the giant grand white Annapurnas (most of them over 22,000 ft) peek at us through the trees. We are highly satisfied on our choice of trekking trails to sample not only the Himalayas but the culture as well. Another great lunch on the trail----Rebecca is amazing in her endurance for Dal Bhaat (the national, traditional dish of rice and lentils) The rest of us opt out for noodles, soups and pizzas. Forty five minues before our slog up the steeps to Tadapani--our porter ... read more

Hi Everyone, thanks for all you emails.......keep them coming! Just come back from a 20 day trek in Everest, superb but bloody cold! Decided to follow in Edmond Hillary’s footsteps (just missed the small matter of the summit). After 8 days of walking through villages and not seeing any mountains we started to think we’d made a wrong turn somewhere. We popped into a school for directions and then thought we should make a huge donation. Unfortunately owing to the stock at the local random hut we only managed to summon together 20 pens for the 150 children (still they were very high quality pens). The trail to Everest was pretty amazing, but rather too much up and down - we worked out that we were climbing the equivalent of Ben Nevis every day. Amazing what ... read more

We're back into civilization after six days of walking. Our days were packed with green terraces, herds of sheep, and Dhal Bhat. The whole time the majestic white capped peaks of the Himalayas hovered over. We're all safe and well but very tired. We will update more of our last six days of adventure tomorrow. Miss you all.... read more