Today we left Jagat early after a quick breakfast and started out on a great day of trekking, not too strenuous and mainly through really beautiful surroundings. Initially we trekked amongst shady, sun-dappled forests through streams and alongside small trickling waterfalls. We crossed the river several times across bridges which inspired varying degrees of confidence with frothy, pale blue water crashing over the rocks below. Needless to say these tested Clarisa's nerves as she is not keen on heights, or moving bridges as she found out. The ones with gaps in or broken hand rails tested me too I must say! Later we came across steeply piled massive rocks making up the valley sides. It was here we encountered a large group of Chinese trekkers and we were all enjoying the great weather and tackling the ... read more

After a full day wandering the streets of Kathmandu I returned to the Hotel Tibet at around 6pm to meet my good friend Clarisa who i've known since medical school. She was pretty up for the trip since I first suggested it and we both felt the call to try the Everest Base Camp trek. We met in the lobby with our guide and tour company leader (after a long delay for Clarisa at the airport) and in a very British way, had a nice cup of green tea! Having been so chilled in Kathmandu, seeing Clarisa again, I suddenly felt more fired up to get trekking and get out into the mountains. Our company leader informed us there had been one full day of bad weather at Lukla where we'd be flying to so there ... read more

When I think of Buddhism now I think Boudhanath. This behemoth stupa really is astounding. It is surrounded by throngs of pilgrims and tibetan monks making their circuits around the massive central dome. The surrounding buildings are monasteries, thangka workshops, shops selling Buddhist goods such as butter lamps, tibetian drums and and singing bowls alongside the usual tourist stalls. My guide told me that this is now one of the main hubs of the Buddhist religion and that there are a large number of Tibetan communities living here having fled China after 1959. As we did our circumnavigation we observed as pilgrims would take a few steps, then bend onto their knees, on top of a mat attached to their skirts. They then laid down completely face down, then would get up, walk a few steps ... read more

Pashupatinath is the most sacred temple for Hindu's in Nepal, and supposedly the most auspicious place for a Hindu to be cremated after Varanasi in India. It's location suprised me in that it is positioned extremely close to Tribhuvan Airport and on a rather uninspiring stretch of the Bagmati river which was extremely polluted. Having said that the place is obviously sacred and on the day we visited seemed a hive of religious activity with the temple area itself, the bridge across and the platforms opposite from where we observed, completely lined with people. The strong smells wafting up from the cremations and the eerie sound of solitary bells made this place instantly quite inforgettable. My guide very delicately explained the preparations and routines that families undertake when a relative dies. The male family members will ... read more

I arrived in Kathmandu after a longish flight at about midday as I planned to spend a few days sightseeing here before heading off for some serious trekking. My friend would be meeting me in 2 days time to trek. My nepalese trekking company had kindly arranged a guide for us for Kathmandu so I had him all to myself which was great as we could do whatever I felt like. We visited the beautiful Swayambunath on a high hill in Kathmandu which was my first experience of a Buddhist stupa. We approached the main stupa from the steep stone stairs in gorgeous sunshine. Several monkey families bounded about the stairway and I kept a hand on my water as I could see them eyeing it up! The stairs were flanked with religious statues of peacocks ... read more