Namaste & greetings from Kathmandu! After 17 hr overnight flights by Malaysian Airlines (yes!) I arrived early afternoon next day. Meet Dee & Ian & we taxied to Boudha Stupa before heading to the tourist area of Thamel for dinner. I expected pollution and a chaotic atmosphere and the first was worse than expected while the latter absorbing. The streets of the old town (Thamel) are narrow without footpaths & barely room for one lane of traffic and constant 'toot tooting' from mostly motor bike drivers. Every available inch in ground floor buildings, alley ways or any empty surface is filled with sellers, trading vegetables, dried everything, fish, fresh meat, shoes, material and clothing. As I will be back and forwards to Kathmandu over the next 5 weeks it was back to the hotel for an ... read more

Days 76-78 Our final long bus ride (8 hrs) was spectacular, crossing the Andes by the Paso Los libertadores, a mountain pass between Argentina & Chile & on to the capital, Santiago. From the Argentine side the route is a slow, gentle incline until entering a tunnel at 3200 mtrs while on the Chilean side the slope has a far steeper grade descending down 28 hairpin curves over 7 km's. The path can be closed during heavy snow falls as was the case a few days ago. Happy that this was the last slow border crossing before heading home. Our stay was for 2 nights in a hostel before the tour officially finished. We had a quick orientation tour of the city before heading out to dinner. We won't be short of good restaurants to try! ... read more

Days 70-72 our San Pedro hostel had one of the best breakfasts this trip so we loaded up for another long 12 hr travel day to Salta in Argentina for 2.5 days. While waiting at the bus station an independent Australian couple had a small backpack stolen from under their eyes & lost passports & whatever else. A heartbreaking scene to see their distress when told they weren't allowed to get on the bus as they did not have a passport to enter Argentina. Leaving San Pedro we retraced the road back to the turnoff to the Bolivian border but this time we had a very slow climb back up 2000 mtrs in in altitude. If a 12 hr bus ride can be considered pleasant this trip qualifies at least for 2/3 rds of the way ... read more

Days 65-67 Today was a 5 hour 200+ km trip to Uyuni for a first night base & a 3 day stay within the region before crossing into Chile. Uyuni is the main stepping off point for excursions into the beautiful & remote landscape of far South-West Bolivia especially the Salar de Uyuni (salt flats). Arriving in Uyuni feels a bit like reaching the end of the road, which in many ways is true. This remote small town sits at high altitude on the edge of the high altiplano (plateau), a wilderness that extends for hundreds of kilometres towards the border with Argentina and Chile. As such the town has a bit of a wild west feel about it but also has more Land Cruisers than Toorak. Uyuni is the starting point of a 3-day 4WD ... read more

Days 62-63 After our 14 hr nightmare bus ride our hostel kindly allowed us all into our rooms for a hot shower which seemed to revive us enough to go our for an orientation walk of the colonial heart of the city. While for practical purposes La Paz is the capital of Bolivia it's official capital is Sucre & was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 1991 due to its immaculately preserved colonial architecture. Most of the town's colonial buildings have been whitewashed, earning its nickname - the 'White City' & are actually required to be whitewashed annually. Sucre seems a much more prosperous place than elsewhere to date with ornate museums and churches to browse. The heart of the city centres around the Plaza de Mayo and has a nice atmosphere although very quiet ... read more