theres nothing like being home!

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greetings all,

it's been awhile since i last put anything up so i thought i'd let you know what i've been doing!

after doing the trek, laura and i returned to pokhara! i lasted all of two days, before civalisation got to me! people, motorbikes, water buffalo wondering around like they owned the joint, and the gore tex crew, where still hanging about!

the rules for trekking now are that you have to have a trc, (permit), a trekking permit and a guide! but i knew where i wanted to go and i didn't see the point in having a guide with me, it would of been a waste of money!

at an ungodly hour in the morning, i got a taxi to a village just outside of pokhara called pedi, where i would start my climb, and dam steep it was as well! about half and hour into the walk, i went past a kid working in a rice field, he asked me weather i was trekking on my own, i told him 'yes' he then tryed to offer me his survices as a guide! i thanked him and carried on! he did though tell me something very usefull, that there was a checkpost in the next village of dhampus! so my trek might come to a quick end in dhampus!

i past some trekkers on the way up and i thought that if worse came to worse i could tag on the end of their group and pretend that i was with them! but i didn't do this in the end!

so i arrived in dhampus, as i entered there was a tea house, so i thought i'd have a quick brew and then make my assualt on the checkpost! i made my move, everystep i took was a step closer to the check point! i passed a school, all the kids where just finishing school and three brothers decided to tag along me! the youngest was eight and the oldest was 11. they spoke little english and i spoke a little neplai! these little dudes where really helpful! they point out to me where the first checkpost, so i engrossed myself in conversation with them not looking at the checkpost as i walked by! phew, made it!

then they pointed out where the next checkpost! it was situated on the way out of dhampus, this time though i wasn't so lucky! the two guys stopped me
'have you got a guide' uhm, what to do, just tell the truth!
'yep' i pointed to the three kids who where standing next to me
'have you got a trc'
'no'
'have you got a trekking permit'
'no' they started talking to each other, i thought that if they were to let me go, then i needed to work harder on them, so i told them where i was going and that i would wave at them when i came down! alittle more confering between the two of them, and then they told me i could go through! sweet

so with my three guides and me, we wondered into the jungle upto photanna where the kids lived! it took us about an hour to get there, on the way up they would find nuts and bring them for me to try, berrys that they would find on trees, dam nice and they didn't kill me! i stopped and had a cup of tea at there house with their mum! said my good byes and then started back up the hill!

after the village of photanna, the clouds started to roll in over the hills and visability was pretty much none! it felt a little eary, just me and the jungle! it reminded me alittle bit of 'the hound of the baskavilles' i was just waiting for this rabid dog/wolf thing to jump out on me! but as luck would have it this never happened!

at about mid afternoon i arrived in deurali, whcih is where i stayed the night! i was shown such amazing hospitality, like i've never expiernced before! i got to eat with the family in their kitchen, drank gallons of tea and millet wine! the family had a 4 month old baby, and, well i'm not the best person with babies, i have no idea what i'm doing with the dam things! but at one point in the night, it was just me and the baby! don't start anything i thought! and sure enough the dam thing started to cry! crap, why me! so i had to pick it up make strange noises, slapping my face like a drum machine! if anyone had seen me they would of thought i was a complete looney, but it worked the baby stopped it's crying and just stared at me, with this bemuzed look on its face, "what the hell is this weirdo doing"!

while i was there i met a tibetan guy called jimi! really sound guy. he was going back to pokhara the next day, and askd me weather i wanted to wander down the hill with him! so i did, while we were on our way down he asked me weather i wanted to stay at his aunties house in the tibetan refugee camp just outside pokhara! sure thing! jimi showed me round the camp showed me the monestry that they had built, dam impressive! then i went to his aunties house! again i was shown the most amazing hospitality! his auntie was a sweet tiny little tibetan ladie, who didn't speak any english, but she did speak alittle nepali, so for the night we spoke in neplai, and i think i did quite well! the dictionairy had to come out though on more than one occassion!

i was fed a soup with coliflower and beef with some really douey bread, and so much tibetan tea i almost burst! i was truley touched by the true generosity that was shown to me while i was there, and nothing was wanted in return! the people in nepal are some of the best that i have ever come across! i don't think in england that you would ever find anything like this! wer'e to affraid of our own shadows, to even begin to think of inviting complete strangers into our houses!

the next day i said my goodbyes to jimi's auntie and his little cousin! when i left jimi's auntie gave me a braclet that she had made, and said that i was welcome back when ever i wanted! jimi then took me to see some caves in pokhara. the last one we went to see was a bat cave, thousands of the little blitters all clinging the roof of the cave! a little bit of pot holeing was involved to get out of the cave which was good fun. by the end of the day we were back in lake side where laura and i were staying! i said my fare well to jimi, and then went to meet up with laura!

we spent another couple of days in pokhara, it's an easy place to get stuck! it was time for laura and i to part ways! laura was going back to india, and for me i couldn't quite muster the courage to go back to india just yet, i'd just got used to nepal and was truley loving it! plus i said to people in kathmandu that i would return! and that is what i did!

a breeze of a bus journey, only 6 hours, blink and you miss it! i stayed in kathmandu for a couple of days, man i love that city! i've met so many cool people there! on my return to kathmandu, my guest house owners were really pleased to see me. they gave me anough time to put my bags into my room and then whisked me up onto the roof, to meet their friends! they plied me with drink, beer and then whiskey! after a couple of hours i was quite hammered as i hadn't eaten that day! so i made my way to get some food! i made the fatal error of lying down on my bed, next thing i know theres a knock at the door, it was bashal (guest house owners husband)
'will you come down stairs to drink some tomba's with us' i had no idea what a tomba was but had a good idea that it was a alcoholic drink of some sort!
'yep sure, i'll be down in a minute'

tomba's are millet, with hot water! there were served in a wooden cask with a metal straw, you just keep adding hot water as you go along, each time it gets a little hotter! so after 4 refills it was time to hit the town! dede (guest house owner) and her husband took me to a live music club, that played nepali folk songs! they managed to get me up dancing a couple of times, i tryed my hardest but no matter how hard i tryed i still looked like the jolly foriegner! all night long dede was introducing me to all the girls in the bar, introducing me as her son and then tryed to marry me of to everyone she could! highly embarassing but funny none the less!

on my last night in kathmandu i met up with the guys from the band! which was really good to see them! the next day was time to get my bus. a journey that i've done before, kathmandu-delhi which took me 37 hours none stop! i picked up my ticket from janita, met ratna my guide which was cool, and then was taken to my bus! 50 hours it took us to get to delhi! we stopped in a village for a couple of hours while the drivers occupied themselves with a couple of prostitutes, and consiquently we missed the boarder, it was shut which added an extra 12 hours to the journey!

having said this the journey was really good! i was the only white guy on the bus, and i was trying my hardest to talk in nepali to people which they appreciated! on the second day, the day we missed the boader, while our drivers where otherwise engaged, i was going to get myself some breakfast! but instead a nepali guy decided that we should drink whiskey for breakfast instead. yep we got through two bottles of whiskey, and my nepali improved greatly!

we eventually made it to delhi in the evening of the 3rd day! i said my goodbyes and got a taxi to the airport! where i slept and waited for my flight the next morning to bangkok! i never expected nepal to be as good as it was! it's totally blown my mind, leaving was hard, but made a little bit easier by knowing that i'll be back there ina couple of months! you can't keep me away of you try!

the india pilot slamnmed us down on the run at bangkok's new airport, and very nice it is as well! i was finaly back! a place that i know, somewhere familuar! thailand holds alot of memories for me, and i suppose i felt alittle nostalgic when i was getting the bus back to khao san road! arriving back on khao san road, the madness of the place once again hit me, along with the stiffaling heat! having come from nepal's chilly winter, stepping out of the bus onto the street, i just started to sweat and have continued to do so for the last three days!

thailand is so wrong that it's right! having not drunk alot in india and alittle bit in nepal! tahiland everyone's hammered, it's a very different place to travel! for one the travelers are very different, ranging from tie died hippies, to your muscle bound monkeys who wonder the street with vertually no clothes! then theres the beloved sex tourists, 60 year old guys wandering around with the most stunning thai girl strapped to their arm! you get the picture!

met up with oli, one of the canadian bro's that i traveled with in india! we had a few drinks last night! but he doesn't know where his brother is! missing in action in loas, not a bad place to get lost though! he was supposed to turn up yesturday and to day still no word!

sorry about long this blog is, congratulations if you've made it to this point! i know i would of stopped reading along time ago! hope you are all welll! not long till xmas now! hope you've all done your shopping! until the next time! word! simon

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Photos

pick on some your own size!
teaching a kid a lesson!!

bangkok!
the world famous, khao san road

my new bussiness!
got to get it on the road first!! any ideas