Last Updated 22nd May

Arrived in Kathmandu without fuss...apart from the 2 day delay in Bangalore. When we arrived at the airport on Friday the 4th we were informed that the flight was cancelled. After the usual misinformation and differing stories we headed for the Royal Air Nepal office back in the town where they offered us the option of staying in a 5 star hotel with all meals paid for until Sunday the 6th and then flying the same time that day. OK says we as long as they have a swimming pool! No problem says the lads and off we go. One of them had been to Dublin on business..a leasing deal with Aer lingus. He couldn't understand why we drink 6 pints at a time in Ireland...those Aer lingus people are some chancers !!

We had a lazy time in the hotel, eating and watching TV. We didn't fancy sightseeing as we had wrapped that up on Friday. We heard the racecourse was nearby so we asked at reception and they said "Oh Yes, Races today..". What time do they start ? "Oh 1pm, 2Pm" something like that. So off we went at 1:30. We bought a card on the way in showing the 2nd last race in 3 minutes. We quickly backed the 2/1 favourite and headed for the stand to watch the races. There wasn't any activity on the course especially no horses. Then the commentary came over the tannoy and of course the stand was packed with people listening to the races coming from Ooty a few hundred kilometers away ! Never mind the horse won and we left laughing !

Our rescheduled flight went without a hitch. After checking into a hotel we went for a walk to check out the area, Thamel, the tourist centre of Kathmandu. After 1 minute walking around We bumped into some people we know Andy and Lisa, friends of Owen and Michelle from London who have been travelling in India and Nepal. I knew they were here but it was a shock to bump into them in the first minute of arrival. We hung around for a few days, seeind the sights and getting the lowdown on Kathmandu, Trekking and Nepal in General. After a few days in kathmandi we let for Pokhara in the west where we stayed a night before heading off for the hills....

We had decided to take the jomson trek...a week long walk up the kali gandaki vally between the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges. It's an amazing walk with fantastic scenery ranging from tropical forest to desert-like views, all the time with 8000M peaks soaring into view. We staying in lodges in the villages along the route, meeting people as we went along. After some great if hard trekking we reached Muktinath, our final destination at 3800M. There is an interesting temple there with fire and water coming out of the rock. Paul did a one day trek up to the top of the Thorung La (pass) at 5416M and back with some equally masochistic dutch lads. The following day we walked backed to Jomoson where there is an airstrip and booked a flight the following morning back to pokhara and civilisation. A days relaxing, rowing on the lake, eating and drinking

Back to Kathmandu on monday 21st. Here we have done a few hours yoga, I'm going cycling around the vally tomorrow with the dutch lads, Marge is going to do some shopping. We are going to do some White water rafting on Thursday friday and then wrap it up with our flight on the 28th

Nepal has been a more pleasant experience over all than India. Tourists are catered for much better here, the travelling distances are smaller and the hassle factor is greatly reduced. The weather has been great also, not too hot, 30C, and not at all humid.

Next to bangkok, where we hope to meet John Viel and Anne who have been in Thailand for a couple of weeks