Never End Peace And Love

Never End Peace And Love

Day 1 London Heathrow-Kathmandu (KTM)

7-8/01/13

Most people class 24 hours as a day but I class a day as time between 2 sleeps, so as I write this after 27 hours of no sleep I am rather tired. The flights were fine even if both were delayed; I guess I hit 'Nepali time' before hitting Nepal itself. As soon as I stepped out of the terminal I was mobbed by taxi drivers, I shrugged them all off as I knew a driver had been sent from my hotel, I eventually found my placard 'luck edward'. Like us Brits the Nepalis drive on the left of the road, well they're meant to, as long as you don't crash anything goes, any speed or type of overtake is allowed although the slogan 'slow drive, long life' is written on many vehicles so I don't think crashes are common. Horns are used instead of mirrors so no journey on road is going to be quiet. After the traumatic drive I arrived at the hotel I drop my bags in the room and head out into Thamel. It is a real assault on the senses, so much noise and smell everywhere and still no rules on the roads! Every other shop seems to be a fake outdoor gear shop, selling any knock-off item you can imagine. I got chatting to a number of guys but one guy in particular who ended up taking me on a tour of Kathmandu, visiting both Pashupatinath temple and Boudhanath. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day even if I got totally ripped off by the taxi which cost 4500 (£35). The moral of that story is always agreeing a price before the journey! I guess you learn best by your mistakes. Ganga the manager is coming tomorrow from another hotel so I will be discussing prices etc. about the trip with him then.

Day 2 KTM

9/01/13

I had a double bed but it was rather hard and I have certainly had better night’s sleep, mainly because they actually involved sometime in the land of nod. I arose at 11.00 (05.15 GMT) and had a rather pleasant brunch consisting of chapattis and dal. Back into the hubbub I headed to find the best money exchanger, after yesterday’s misfortunes I wanted to save every penny/rupee I could. I had a meeting with Ganga's travel agent about Mera Peak, where I had to start from square one all over again which was a bit of a ball ache and a test of my patience. He was asking for $30 a day for a guide, the reason for the high cost was because he had both a trekking and climbing permit, I just wanted a climbing guide so we agreed on $20 a day, much more reasonable, the trek starts on the 11th and cost roughly half what most online trekking companies are charging for the same. I felt I needed some fresh air, but in the most polluted city in the world (according to the WHO) it is a hard ask. I found a small dingy shop to have tea, it was full of locals so I thought it would be good, I wasn't disappointed, I had my first taste of momos (small golf ball sized dumpling type things filled with a range of meat or veg with a semi spicy sauce).

Day 3 KTM

10/01/13

Another cracking night’s sleep but forced myself out of bed at 08.00 and had some toast and tea on the sunny rooftop restaurant. Black tea is a whole 10 rupees (Rs) cheaper than its milk counterpart. A trip to Durbar Square was on the cards. A mix of the old royal palace and various other monuments, after 10 minutes of wandering around taking pictures like every other tourist there I notice a kiosk with prices of entry on it. Realising you had to pay 750Rs (£8.50) I made an extremely hasty retreat, down a street which said no entry to tourists... I continued to wander the streets and found the museum which I was looking for, which is apparently exceptional, but after seeing the prices where Nepali students pay 1/25th of the price of a tourist (500Rs). Further down the road is the flagship store for Sherpa outdoor gear, it was pleasant but unexceptional and totally devoid of any other customers, bit of a problem when trying to sell things. Back at the hotel I met my climbing guide (Aashman) for the first time, a man who has climbed Mera Peak 26 times already, I think I am  in safe hands. I did however have a small problem withdrawing money to pay for the trek, after trailing round the city trying 4 different ATMs I still only had 1/3 of the total money, we will sort this out tomorrow. Dal Bhat in the hotel restaurant was followed by my latest night yet (19.19), it seems like my jet lag is wearing off.

P.S. Nepalis run on their own time schedule, in theory we now depart on the 12th.

Day 4 Final preparations for the trek

11/01/13

A rather lazy start at 09.00 but headed to the 'Snowman' along Freak Street which was recommended by Rough Guides and famous for where John Lennon wrote Kathmandu. The customer service was non-existent and it really wasn't anything special inside so I left and went 10m down the road and had some momos for about 20p. My wandering took me 6km southwards over the river past some well overgrown temples which surely once were glorious. Then rapidly back to the hotel to meet Aashman again to check through my kit, which was all in order. The sun was up still so headed onto the rooftop terrace to read, after half an hour an American girl called Charlotte came up and we got chatting. She invited me out to dinner with 2 of her friends, more momos, but a larger variety, Charlotte and I shared a mixed platter which had 4 different types. Back at the hotel I checked my emails then headed to charlottes room where she was catching up on her blog, we have arranged to meet up in Thailand on my next travels. Its 23.00 and I have a 05.20 start to look forward to so I can catch a 06.30 flight.

Day 5 Start of the trek   KTM- Lukla

12/01/13

My alarm went off at 05.20 leaving myself enough time to get ready and leave by 05.45. At 05.40 I was downstairs ready waiting for Aashman. After various phone calls from the hotel, at my request, he turns up at 06.20 (our flight leaving in 10 minutes with a 15+ minute drive) a seemingly impossible task to make the flight. When we arrived the plane had thankfully not left and had no intention of doing so, the 'fog' (air pollution) grounded our flight until 10. The time went quickly in the airport because I got chatting to an aussi father and daughter who are heading to Everest Base Camp (EBC). The flight was dull until the mountains came into view, a stunning sight. I was hit repeatedly over the head b an SLR camera wielded by an over keen Japanese man behind me. Sargamartha (Everest) was visible above the ridgeline, and then perched on the hillside, Lukla. A rather gentle landing was met with cheers and clapping by most the plane (I was not included). The arrivals lounge was non-existent and the baggage claim was 2 guys behind a large counter passing your luggage across, hardly hi-tech. I tucked into some veg momos at our lodge, just 20m from the airport, 9 times the price of the street vendor of yesterday, I can see that the next 2 weeks aren't going to be cheap. Lukla is a well-established place, many bars and restaurants catering for foreign tastes, including 2 Irish bars. There is also a police station (nothing more than a glorified shed), a post office, 2 banks, a Starbucks coffee, 5 snooker bars and my favourite, a YakDonalds! It seems that the temperature range is catering for all foreign tastes too, in the sun it is t-shirt wear but in the shade there is ice on the ground.

I just watched some football (apparently a major tournament). All 4 teams I saw were rubbish, I have honestly seen 8 year old kids play better football down the park than these guys. I was the only non-Nepali in the crowd so attracted a lot of attention, maybe because I was more interesting than the football.

Day6 The walking begins  Lukla-Karkarkading (4200m)

13/01/13

I had I rather large bowl of porridge for breakfast, almost too much to eat and the standard cup of black tea. We head off to the Lukla environment agency/ tourist office so we could register our trek, it opened a 09.00 but this being Nepal it ended up with Aashman finding someone who eventually came and opened at 10.30. But they weren’t qualified to sign our form so we had to wait another hour for the boss to arrive. 5 hours after we got up we left Lukla, with a massive day ahead of us. At 3000m we had our first stop at a deserted settlement, after climbing another 200m another break and another ghost town, at the third settlement there was still no sign of human presence but I little further up the trail we bump into 4 Nepalis on their way down who told us that the owners of the next lodge had gone to visit the settlement further on but may be back this evening. It was a relief to hear as we past our scheduled stop a while ago. We arrive and could see 5 figures coming down the hill, we waited and it was the owners of the lodge but they were going down the hill to Lukla but they left their oldest son in charge. We were very grateful and after 3 cups of tea were feeling more refreshed but I do have a mild headache. Tomorrow we are doing 2 days in one because nobody is at the lodge at the high pass (4500m) but we do have a rest day to look forward to when we eventually get there which will be much needed after this very rapid ascent.

On another note it has been much warmer than expected, I was sweating in just my baselayer. It felt about 20°C around midday but the temperature drops rapidly and is nearer -5°C now and it will only get colder in the night. We came across our first trail bridge (2 trees laid down with logs bridging them), we crossed another 4 and also saw some pretty ace ice formations, we followed one up the valley which must have been 1Km long. During this stretch I took many, many stops, counting paces and singing songs to myself to keep myself going. Mr Cow was a favourite and I made up a number of verses too (who knew I was so talented?)

Day 7  There and back again

11/01/13

We left at 07.00 and had a steep 300m climb to reach the first pass of the day. We stopped to glug down some water but on inspection of my bottle it was full of sediment with dashes of water, I dread to think what my 2 meals and 2 cups of tea looked like, maybe a good thing they didn’t have any electricity! We crossed 2 more passes, the highest being almost 5000m, and then we met a group coming the other way who had summited Mera 4 days previously but had been living off cereal bars and dried fruit for the past 3 days because none of the tea houses were open, even the ones that were open on their way up were now shut. We walked a little bit further and decided to turn around and head to Lukla. It was extremely demoralizing retracing our steps after all we had achieved was a headache, a combination of altitude and dehydration due to the fact that I only managed to drink ¾ L of sediment. I also had another sign of mild altitude sickness, severe wind. After 12 hours of walking we arrived back at Lukla in the dark, 9 of those hours were spent well over 4000m. We decided to change our plans and climb Island peak, the most popular 6000m peak in the country, but due to the fact that the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) booked the whole mountain out because they are climbing it we are now climbing Lobouche East (6119) a significantly harder climb. Tomorrow we rest which will be most welcome. I just hope that the ascent isn’t as sudden as Mera otherwise I will be requiring a rest day every other day. 

Day 8  Lukla again

15/01/13

The first night I have slept well, getting up at 08.45 I read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for an hour then headed to the tourist office again to change the permit (you need a climbing permit for every peak you climb). It couldn’t be changed, but we could buy another one for $450, something I couldn’t afford. Aashman phoned his boss who said he would ring the NMA and sort it out for us. So tomorrow we either set out to climb Lobouche East or to EBC, I hope it is the former.

Day 9  Lukla- Monjo (2835m)

16/01/13

Today was more the sort of acclimatisation day I was expecting. We gained roughly 0m but travelled several km up the valley. Along the way we crossed a number of cable bridges spanning the river, the longest was probably 100m. Around lunchtime Aashman bumped into his nephew who invited him into lunch and Aashman told me to carry on without him and he would catch up. 45 minutes later he arrived to the spot I had stopped to read, he was smiling, I was hungry. We carried along the trail through the TIMS checkpoint where Aashman told the man we were going to EBC. As long as nobody sees us on the mountain we will be fine. Otherwise we get a $700 fine! At the lodge that night there was a middle-aged American who spoke fluent Nepali so I didn’t get a look in the whole evening, so I finished my book Waiter Rant, a humorous read.

Day 10 Monjo- Namche Bazar (3440m)

17/01/13

It’s becoming more and more of a struggle to get out of bed each morning as it gets colder and colder, somehow I managed. We left at 08.00, walk for an hour at a gentle gradient, then cross another cable bridge, when across its steep uphill for over an hour, the majority of time we were walking up steps it was so steep. It eventually flattened out at a police checkpoint; again Aashman fed them the same line about EBC. Beyond this was Namche Bazar at an altitude of 3340m. We had climber roughly 500m in an hour. I’ve just been wandering looking at all the shops and purchased The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and withdrew some more money, due to the fact that I had to purchase my TIMS card and the park entry fee (3000Rs), both of which I have already paid for, not too impressed. At lunchtime the Australian girl (Katie) brought out a pack of cards so I asked to join, I ended up chatting and playing cards with her and another family her and her mum were trekking with, and I learnt a new game called 500 (similar to bridge). They were really cool; more people should be like them.

Day 11 Namche Bazar-Deboche (3820m)

18/01/13

Yesterday I was lucky, Tracy (one of the aussi dads) bought a medium pot of tea, and it held about 12 cups of tea so I was given 4 cups for free (and held up the British stereotype well). So far today I have had 1 coffee, 4 black teas and 2 hot lemons; I have only paid for one tea. The hot lemons were provided by the nephew’s wife, who was much more hospitable towards me than her husband. After lunch it was uphill all the way to the lodge, on the way we had good views of Lhotse, Everest and Amadablam. I’m just waiting to see Lobouche East. 3 more aussies are staying here too, they have just come back from EBC, one guy Scott has mild-altitude sickness. We played loads of games of Brag which the Sherpas know how to play too. A large wood burner sits in the middle of the dining room, which is standard for lodges; it was especially welcome today as there are flurries of snow outside the window.

Day 12 Deboche- Dingboche (4410m)

19/01/13

We awoke to snow, not drifts of it but a good inch blanketed the whole area. At 08.30 I said goodbye to the aussis and we parted ways. At Orsho we stopped for tea and noodle soup (another standard) and met a fellow traveller, Mike a Canadian who is heading to EBC, so I expect to see quite a lot of him from now on, I hope he is staying at the same lodge tonight otherwise it will be rather dull and lonely by myself.

Day 13 Dingboche- Chhukung Ri-Dingboche (5550m)

20/01/13

My alarm goes off at 07.00 as usual; I try Tibetan bread for breakfast (basically a large doughnut). No more snow had fallen but it was up to a foot deep higher up. We made a rapid ascent, travelling light, 2 water bottles and some midget gems between us. Chhukung Ri wasn’t a technically difficult climb but it was a laborious ascent, every time I stopped to catch my breath I was stunned by the majestic mountains. The sky was clear so we could see Makalu, Lhotse, Cho Oyu and Nuptse to boot. At the col below the summit and on the summit itself there were many cairns in memory of the mountaineers who have died on the surrounding mountains, a humbling reminder. Our descent was rapid, at times I was running to catch up, which on snow/ice isn’t wise but I impressed myself and didn’t go down. From summit to lunch spot it took us an hour to descend 1000m vertical metres. The return to Dingboche was hardly sedate but despite our pace we were still out for 7 hours, so much for a rest day, even so as I write this people are only just turning up to church.

Day 14  Dingboche- Thukla/ Dugla (4620m)

21/01/13

As usual we were planning on leaving at 08.00 but after getting final bits of kit and food we leave at 09.00. Both our packs were heavier but I think I got off lighter (excuse the pun). The walk itself started steeply uphill for 10 minutes but then plateaued for the remaining time. After just 2 hours we arrive at our lodge for the night, hardly the most taxing of days. Tomorrow we head for Lobouche B.C. then summit the day after (23rd). We saw our nemesis for the first time and I can happily say it doesn’t look like a walk in the park, we’ll have to wait and see. We just got back from walking up to a pass where there were many memorials to people who had died on Everest and a few surrounding mountains, another humbling reminder of the dangers of high altitude mountaineering. I think the next 2 days are going to be big ones.

Day 15 Thukla- Lobouche BC (5300m)

22/01/13

Yesterday my water bottle was frozen solid when I woke, today my water, boots and sun cream were all solid (didn’t even know sun cream could freeze). Another breakfast of muesli and hot milk (something I’ve developed a soft spot for), the up, up and more up. When we got to the steepest section (just before B.C. which is by a frozen lake) we seemed to be stopping every 5 minutes and not down to me, although I certainly didn’t complain. During one rest I had an apple that was frozen too, a different sort of crunchy apple. We got to the BC, cleared a site of snow and erected the tent by 12.00. I had a awesome toilet trip which ad stunning views. Aashman left me alone for 4 hours to go and set up a rope on a supposedly very difficult section. In the mean time I boiled some water had some al dente rice and had some more water (yes I know you’re all thinking how very interesting). I think I am going to try and get some sleep now even though it is only 13.21 because in 13 hours we will be up and every little helps.

I thought I heard someone shouting so I stuck my head out the door to listen, sure enough a cry and a whistle came from up the mountain. I rammed my frozen boots on, grabbed my discarded down jacket, gloves, hat and goggles and set off. The shortest and quickest way was up a rock face, 100 vertical metres later, fuelled by adrenalin I reach the top, where I could see most the remaining mountain. To my delight I spot a figure moving upwards, Aashman wasn’t in trouble and needing my rescuing. I stand a little longer until my breathing settles a little and notice 3 more figures moving upwards. I am annoyed that my efforts were wasted; relieved Aashman is fine and confused as to where these other guys came from as there have been no other steps ahead of us as we’ve gone. I wait for Aashman’s return for an explanation.

Aashman’s return signified the start of snowfall and the shouts belonged to some Koreans who had just come up to have a look as Lobouche.

Day 16 B.C.- Lobouche East- Thukla (6119m) The Big One

23/01/13

The snow must have stopped pretty much as soon as it started because there was no noticeable coverage. The alarm went off at 02.30 intending for a 03.00 start, an impossible task normally let alone Aashman time. The next 2 hours before the sun comes up involved some of the sketchiest climbing I’ve ever done, climbing across blank slabs in snow covered boots, crossing icy rocks and climbing gullies filled with scree or snow (or both on a couple of occasions). At first light (06.00) we stopped to enjoy the sunrise but had another 30 minutes climbing until we needed to put crampons on. Well I say we, I put my crampons on and Aashman put his Yaktrak like things on (designed for walking on icy pavements, not for high altitude mountaineering). When I questioned them his reply was “its only blue ice, easy”. We set off ice axes in hand and hit the ice roped up via 10m of climbing rope. I had a sling harness (2 slings larksfooted together and joined by a karabiner, not something I want to fall on). After 30 minutes climbing with Aashman leading he slipped.  A fall anytime when ice climbing is bad but at 6000m it’s very bad. I saw him fall so braced myself in the arrest position but once he had slipped 10m past me his momentum ripped me off the ice too. We fell about 70m before I managed to stopped us with an ice axe arrest. If I hadn’t we would have gone down a 300m gully just 20m further down. Certainly the scariest thing ever to happen to me and also one of the most painful. Having 2 men’s body weight pulling you down a rough icy face for 70m takes its toll on you, it hurts to sit down and is so painful to carry a rucksack, my right elbow is also heavily bruised and I can’t put any weight on it. In the process of stopping over 20 stone I managed to tear both my gloves due to the force I was exerting on the axe to embed it. Once we stopped I was shaking. I call to see if Aashman was ok but there was no reply, I looked between my legs and see him standing there. He made his way up to me and said “my axe wasn’t working”, more likely he didn’t know how to use it. No word of thanks or apologise which you would have expected after almost killing someone and them saving you. The closest he came to either was saying that we were very lucky. After that we decided to unrope to prevent the same accident happening again and headed to the summit independently. As I was fuelled by adrenalin/rage I made it first, we were both on the summit at 09.23. We had almost 20 minutes on the top then made our way down; Aashman had a dodgy looking 200m rope which he lowered me on. It was very painful and very slow so eventually I untied and soloed the rest. I had had enough troubles with rope for one day already. We made a fairly rapid descent and arrived back at base camp at 13.30. A quick pack away and we were off again.

Aashman raced ahead which wasn't that uncommon for him but today he didn’t stop like usual to let me catch up and have a break. There I was trailing behind with a bruised back, bum and leg struggling with the weight of my bag after a mentally and physically exhausting day and there he was striding away like there’s no tomorrow. Then we came to a hill and I thought perhaps he was going to go to the top and drop his back then come help me with mine, but no, when I got to the top he was just finishing his cigarette. I had a 30 second breather before we were off again. No words past between us as we made it to the lodge, only inside did Aashman say anything, that we were lucky again. At this stage I was getting thoroughly annoyed at him so I decided distance was good so introduced myself to 3 guys (an American called Max and a Dutch father and son, Bob and Jasper). We ended up playing cards and eating together which was cool and when I told them about Aashman they too couldn’t figure Aashman’s attitude. Maybe it’s a cultural thing I’ve missed or maybe he is too proud, I don’t know but either way he has massively dropped in my estimation of him and I doubt he’ll do anything that comes close to rectifying that.

Day 17 Thukla- Kyangjuma

24/01/13

My alarm went off at 07.00 but I stayed in bad another half hour because I knew that the owners weren’t early risers, sure enough once I had dressed and packed they were still in bed. We eventually leave at 08.30ish. It was pretty much a steady downhill to Dingboche where Aashman dropped some climbing gear and picked up some clothes. After nearly an hour there we set off again, by now it was 11.30. The rest of the day was downhill or flat and was only interrupted by ‘short breaks’. There was a series of snow flurries at around 16.00 but they amounted to nothing. We passed a police checkpoint but weren’t stopped. A 10 minute break before ascending rapidly. Aashman stopped ¾ the way up and asked if I wanted a break, I was fine so said we should carry on. He then asked if my feet and knees were ok because I was “getting very tired”. I replied saying it was my injuries picked up in the fall, this met silence. The topic of the fall came up a couple of times but again we were “very lucky”. Tonight we are staying at his nephew’s lodge. His nephew is in KTM and his nephew’s wife is still out somewhere bringing a horse. Apparently she should be here soon 10.15 minutes; somehow I think it will be longer.

Day 18 Kyangjuma- Namche Bazar

25/01/13

Last night we had to wait nearly an hour and a half for the owner to turn up, and then the same again for her to make the dal bhat, but it was interesting to see how it was made. My room didn’t have a curtain over the window which meant I could see Amadablam when I woke up, which was earlier than I would have liked. Again it was a very long wait for food but interesting to watch. After many cups of tea we left at 09.50 with only a short walk to Namche. We arrived after just 1.5 hours of walking, making it our shortest day yet, but still and 8h average over the last 3 days. I welcome the rest. We are staying at the same lodge as we did on the way up but when we arrived there was no one around. I had an acute sense of de ja vu and that we would be hanging around for some time, but surprisingly less than 10 minutes later the guy appeared. It is also extremely nice to have a sit down and flush toilet rather than squat. There are 3 min ways to use a squat toilet:

-French style: The traditional squat method (move all clothing out the way).

-Tripod: My favourite method, one hand behind you on the ground, a downside is it puts a lot of pressure on that one hand.

-Crab: Like the Tripod but with 2 hands behind. It evens the load but is awkward to get up and wipe!

This afternoon I have been busy with my pen and notebook. I have written the Aashmani Code, a list of rules my guide was given before we started the trek. I also made up a card game called King of Fools.

Day 19 Namche Bazar- Lukla

26/01/13

A slow start meant we left at 08.45; we had a quick nose around the market (which runs every Saturday). All the produce you can imagine was there, huge tubs of butter, jerry cans full of kerosene, shoes, spices and sacks filled with potatoes. As we left we went through a police checkpoint, where Aashman told the officer that we had done Chola Pass, the first lie of the day. A steep descent then undulating track, passing through a few more check points where the same lie was rattled out. We only had 2 breaks during the whole day but both of them were about 45 minutes long. The first we had tea and noodle soup, the second tea and a spring roll. It was more the size and shape of a large Cornish pasty but it was by far and away the nicest spring roll I have ever had. On arriving in Lukla, 8 hours after setting out from Namche, we again headed to the tourist office to get a letter so I could get my $250 garbage deposit back. Not surprisingly the office was closed, so we went round to the lady’s house who told us to return in 15 minutes, so we did. This time she said come back in an hour. So to pass the time we went to one of Aashman’s friend’s tea shops, where he proceeded to make the nicest cup of coffee known to man. He frothed a small amount of some unknown substance up then added black coffee to fill the rest of the cup. Moving onto another friend I was offered tea and Aashman homemade ‘wine’. I was given a glass to try and I have to say it was foul. So I proceeded to drink some then was it down with tea to take away the taste. Apparently it wasn’t very strong but I reckon it was about 30%+ plus it tasted like cheap, neat vodka. Finally we got the magic letter and returned to the lodge, where I was given another glass of wine. All I can say is that I hope the pot plant behind where I was sitting doesn’t die from alcohol poisoning. We had some many legal documents for climbing in the Himalayas it was confusing but to be honest that couldn’t have been that official, one of them says I’m from Ireland and another says I’m 19, I think that they’re just ways of them taking your money.

Day 20 Lukla- Thamel

27/01/13

My alarm wakes me with its annoying tone (chosen for just this reason) at 05.30. The reason being is I am flying back to KTM. After dressing and packing I am downstairs at 10 to 6. The previous night Aashman had said 06.30 was when we needed to be ready by so this gave me plenty of time to have my breakfast of hot muesli.) 6.30 comes and goes so I ask the manager to check that Aashman is awake, at 7 he finally comes down. Apparently I’m on the second flight out, although I have already heard 4 planes come and go, maybe they aren’t going to KTM. 45 minutes later I have my ticket in hand, my bag has been checked in, I’m through security and in the departures lounge (more like a roomy cupboard with a few broken seats). After 20 minutes in there then we move outside, here we wait over an hour and a half watching a couple dozen planes come and go before ours finally arrives, so much for the second plane. This wait did however give me time to read plenty of my book and study the police force (more of a police shambles). Their strut wouldn’t have been out of place if it had been conducted by the sole cockerel in a 500 strong hen coup, their berets had been moulded and shaped by new recruits and their trousers had more creases than a prostitutes bed sheet, add that to the fact that they were all fat and suntanned so looked like umpaloompas it was a tragic sight. But they were nothing compared to the pilots, they all wore tight leather jackets and looked like they had just come off the set for Top Gun and their strut made the police’s look like a self-conscious shuffle. I don’t know why they were showing off because they hardly flew F16 fighter jets. We land in KTM at 10.45 and almost an hour later I am back at Sacred Valley where I collect my bags which I dint take on the trek. Inside my rucksack was a cute letter from Charlotte saying how nice it was that we’d met. For lunch I went to the Himalayan Java Restaurant (recommended by Charlotte). A totally awesome place on the first story, overlooking one of the busiest roads in KTM, it wouldn’t look out of place in any major city worldwide, apart from the price:£1.50 for a large pasta dish. I think I might go there again.

Day 21 Patan

28/01/13

I was expecting to sleep in a long time after the trek but by 08.00 I was up. Just 100m down the road was a restaurant called Gaia, a pleasant atmosphere in a courtyard setting. I think one of the other diners was Phil off all the property shows but I couldn’t be sure because he had a hat on. I had the ‘Classic’ breakfast, 2 slices of toast with jam and butter and 2 fried eggs plus a coffee (not sure when that became a classic but hey it was nice). Back in the hotel I paced and checked out, but left 2 bags to pick up later as I had a meeting with the trekking agent who was going to refund my $250 garbage deposit, I now have a rather large amount of rupees! Back in the Java I have 2 more coffees and a delicious chicken wrap, these were spread out so I could spend 3 hours there. I made the trip to Patan in a rather dodgy minibus; the seats were like the spring rocking horses in playgrounds, every time the driver accelerated or braked I would still be feeling the effects a minute later so in stop start traffic it was constant. I met Ellie Swarbrick at our agreed meeting point, dropped my stuff at the guest house and went round to the guest house she’s staying at (50m up the road) with the other KISC workers(Alex and Lexi). We had a noodle and veg dinner which was very nice then watched a pirated version of the Bourne Ultimatum. This was my latest night in Nepal so far by some way, as I write this it has just turned midnight. Maybe I will have my lie in tomorrow?

Day 22 Tired

29/01/13

No such luck with the extra sleep so I went and found a bakery to pick some breakfast from, never judge a book by its cover, unless you’re in a bakery. Once fed my wandering led my aimlessly round the city, when necessary following the rough map in my Rough Guide book.  I was looking for a café to sit in, have a drink and soak up the sun, instead I found a fair-trade woollen shop, after trying on about 10 different tops I bought a colourful cardigan for about £10. I did eventually find said café where I had a fresh lemonade and 2 rounds of momos. For dinner it was again round the girls place and guess what, more momos for tea. I left late again and it was midnight once more before my light went finally went out.

Day 23 The big D

30/01/13

The cockerel and pigeons on my balcony prevented any sort of lie in. When I got up I dashed to the toilet and emptied my bowls in a steady torrent (a common feature of the rest of the day). I don’t know if it was the quantity on momos I had yesterday or another reason, but either way it’s not very pleasant.  I do however make it out for a coffee and hit another bakery and crack on with writing up this blog, but due to power shedding I had to stop at 12 so I spent the afternoon reading. But went round the girls for a meal with their landlord which was really nice, a main course of rice and chicken and then ice cream and apple crumble and then we watched an episode of Band of Brothers.

Day 24

31/01/13

Again I was woken at 5 by the cockerel then the pigeons started chatting to each other so I had a fat chance of sleeping. Today was worse than yesterday. When not sitting on the toilet I lay in my bed feeling disgusting. I hadn’t eaten anything all day but just after 12 I threw up last night’s meal. I did however feel slightly better afterwards but still didn’t risk eating anything because I expected it to come straight back up. So for the rest of the afternoon I lay n my bed sipping water. I searched my symptoms on the internet and they matched Giardia (common in Nepal). It’s not contagious so I still went round to the girl’s guesthouse. Lexi has also been feeling rough the last couple of days and actually took today off work. Apart from Lexi the rest of us went in a tuktuk (a first for me so very exciting) to get a skirt made for Lexi. We also got some lemonade and some drugs, also for Lexi. I decided I would pass on the evening meal, sheppard’s pie (apparently wise as the cheese wasn’t that nice). Again we watched another episode of Band of Brothers before the power was shed at 20.00. We spent the next 2 hours chatting whilst Alex was on skype, at 22.00 I left because I was still tired and still feeling exceptionally rough.

Day 25 A miracle

01/02/13

I slept until 09.50 and apart from feeling a little thirsty I felt fine with no sudden urge to dash to the toilet, plus I felt hungry. I have been borrowing Ellie's laptop to write up this blog and I took it to a Viennan cafe where I had a pastry and black tea. I actually think that I am better and it looks like it wasn't Giardia, looking more like food poisoning.

Band of Brothers has become a daily ritual. We watched another episode before going out for a rather fancy meal with 4 girls (who are staying  in the same guesthouse as me). Somehow I wasn't totally overwhelmed by 7 girls, maybe because I was more focused on the live band. Due to the power shedding we're having a sociable evening reading.

Day 26 Pride and Prejudice

02/02/13

The illness is back with vengeance! I have decided it is in fact Giardia and I have started a course of Ciprofloxacin to knock it on its head. I really struggled to do anything in the morning apart from sleep. I was meant to be at the girls at 11 for brunch but it was after half past when I felt well enough to move the short distance to their guesthouse. Surprisingly I didn't have an appetite and didn't feel up to doing anything, so I lounged around being very unhelpful on a sofa whilst the others got ready for our Pride and Prejudice afternoon. We watched all 6 of the BBC episodes back to back. Cool or what? We did it properly with flowers, cucumber sandwiches; strawberries dipped in chocolate, Yorkshire tea and of course, scones with jam and cream. I'm glad I watched them all and it was a good 6ish hours but I don't think I will be rushing to watch them all again anytime soon, although Alex would happily watch them all every day, even though she knows all the quotes already, as she proved frequently during the film. 2 Norwegians turned up in the evening without their luggage, which was still holidaying in Dubai. So the girls came to their aid and lent them clothes for the night.

Day 27 Nepali Church

03/03/13

For the first time since the trek i actually had something to get out of bed for. Like most churches in England Nepali churches run at 10.00. Straight out we had a 6 song block followed by a collection, which seemed to be compulsory which was awkward, especially as i had no small change so Ellie gave me some. A really good sermon (even if it was long) about mission was preached by a Nepali speaker. Then another collection which was just confusing, I just awkwardly passed this time. Then there was the communion, which only happens once a month. Bits of crumbly bread and shots of blackcurrant were passed around. the pastor said to hold the bread in your hand a while then eat it, so both Lexi and I did along with nobody else. 5 minutes later everyone else ate and drank, just a tad awkward. Since i had had no breakfast I was very hungry, nothing a full English couldn't sort out. Soma cafe is a smaller, quieter version of Himalayan Java, it also does better food: 3 sausages, 2 fried eggs, 2 pieces of toast, 2 hash browns, beans and a free drink for just over £3. The food was exceptional but not a scratch on the drink. The drink was a browniccino. Crushed brownie, ice cream and coffee blend, a whole pint of it too, it has become my new favourite drink, it is a whole meal in itself. To work off all the calories me and Ellie had a strenuous time watching Oceans 12 then walked the Norwegians to KISK so they could go pick their luggage up which was arriving shortly. Then we went to a surprise birthday party for another church member, about 20 people crammed into his flatmate's apartment and waited for him to arrive, we then ate some more healthy food, pizza and cheesecake. Then back for some B of B.

Day 28

04/03/13

I went to bed this morning at 00.45 after waiting over an hour for Louie Giglio's video How Great is our God to buffer on Youtube. I had foolishly mentioned to Ellie just before 11 at how blown away I had been when I had first seen it, so naturally she wanted to watch it. I was relieved to find out that she didn't fall asleep during any of her classes today because she unfortunately didn't have the luxury of getting up at 10.30. This was then followed by a long hot shower then another trip to Soma where I had a really tasty bowl of tomato soup with 2 tiny bread rolls. When i first entered there were 4 middle-aged, British men all on laptops who all stared at me when I entered. I felt more out of place there than I had done being the only white person in a restaurant full of Nepalis. After 4 hours of reading, I had confined myself to just one browniccino, which if you had tasted one you would know I exerted immense self-control. Me and the girls chatted before going out for a guesthouse meal to a local Nepali restaurant with the Norwegins, Staphanie (Canadian) and Andreas (Swiss). We played cards whilst the food came, and when it did I was rather disappointed. Apparently it was the best dah bhat most people had had in Nepal, I personally found it the worst, that's not to say that I didn't have seconds when it was offered. Therefore if you want an exceptional dal bhat meal then go trekking. The girls and Stephanie left early to go to choir practice and the Norwegins went to bed as they were still suffering from jet lag. This left Andreas and I so we had an hour and a half long chat about climbing, mountaineering, skiing and life in general. The girls eventually came back for our fix of B of B and tonight we wondered how we were going to fill our evenings when it finishes.

Day 29

05/02/13

Didn't do anything of interest today unless you count finishing reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and watching Oceans 13. It also rained.

Day 30 Something of note

06/02/13

Once I had got my game together and got out of bed (after listening to the rain for a couple of hours) I decided to go to Thamel. The main reason was to buy a book and seeing as Thamel has the largest and best selection of book shops this seemed only too logical. What was maybe not so logical was me walking there (5km) as it only cost 15rs (11p) each way on a microbus. I saved 30rs but i can feel the burn of my calves as i write this, next time I might bite the bullet and pay. There is a Pilgrims book shop in Patan but the three times I have walked past it during the day it has been closed so I had to journey to the one in Thamel. I didn't use a map and therefore didn't make the most direct route there (another reason to use the bus). When i eventually found a road I knew I made a beeline for Pilgrims. On the way I bought a genuine fake DVD of the Hobbit. After looking round the 26 rooms all of which were full of books I bought a climbing book called Mirrors in the Cliff, don't know if it’s a good or interesting book but it was cheap. I looked for somewhere to have a drink and after sitting down in one place, seeing the prices and leaving and going to 2 other places I ended up at the Java again because it was half the price of anywhere else I had looked, plus I know the coffee quality is good. During the trek back it was spitting the whole way, threatening to downpour any second, but thankfully no such event happened. We had a film evening where we watched Skfall which had subtitles, which would have been a good thing had they not been an hour out of sync with the film. We then watched the final episode of B of B which feels like an end of an era (even if it was just a 10 day era). We had takeaway momos for dinner, Ellie and I drew the short straw and had to pick them up, fast food doesn't exist in Nepal. We had to wait an hour for them, lucky I was smart enough to bring a pack of cards with me.

Day 31

07/02/13

I went to a Christian cafe called Indigo this morning. A cup of tea and a cupcake cost 80rs, the cupcake rivalled even Emily's so I got another one. I then went for a wander with the hope of exploring new parts and finding the zoo. After almost 2 hours of walking around I eventually found the zoo having walked round the perimeter. I had in fact been within 30m of the entrance twice already. It just happened to be hidden by a caged football pitch. I rewarded my discovery with my first beer since coming to Nepal. Sitting in a rather pleasant beer garden I whiled away a couple of hours reading.

Day 32 The 'Jew'

08/02/13

Today I was actually woken by my alarm rather than the cockerel. Today I needed to go to Thamel again, so this time I caught the microbus, an absolute steal at only 15rs for 5km. I got the last remaining seat but that didn't stop people sitting down; another 5 people got on after me and all forced themselves into seats. A pretty girl came and sat next to me (a coincidence? I think not!) It's just a shame she didn't understand my chat-up lines, or maybe she did as she got up and moved when there was an available seat. The reason for my trip to was to go to the office of a company called The Last Resort, a company who specialises in bungy jumping, canyon swing, canyonning, rafting and high ropes. So tomorrow I again have to make my way to their office, to get picked up because the bungy jump is 3.5 hours away. The only issue with getting to their office is I have to be there at 05.30 (where it will still be Friday 8th in England). I don't know if microbuses run this early so I can't chance it so I will need to get up at 04.00 so I will have enough time to walk there! After walking back from Thamel I went to the zoo, in Nepal it's pronounced jew. It cost me 500rs (just under £4) so much cheaper than the UK but inside you could tell it wasn't the same standard. It was however nice to see a zoo where 95% of the animals were from that country. If England set up a zoo like that, the most exciting exhibit would be a hedgehog. We're going out for a meal later to a place called The Lazy Gringo, obviously political correctness clearly isn't an issue here.

Day 33 The highest in Asia

09/02/13

My alarm went off at 04.00, it didn't wake me as I hadn't managed to fall asleep. I left my guesthouse wearing my headtorch until I reached the main road, which wasn't much better. The only light was provided by the occasional vehicle or the even more occasional lit window. An hour later I got to The Last Resort (TLR) office in Thamel where a taxi driver ushered me into his van he seemed to know who I was so I guessed he was one of their drivers, it was only once I was in the van that he said we were going to the airport, we had only gone 5m so I got him to stop an I got out. I apparently had rung him the night before to book his taxi but when I said I wasn't staying at the hotel he was waiting outside of and that I certainly hadn't rung him, he wouldn't believe me. Eventually someone from TLR came and gave me my booking form and sent me to their other office (just 50m down the road). Here I got chatting to a Scottish guy called Joel who had just sold his coffee shop and was taking some time out to travel; he soon became my friend for the day. When we arrived we had a brief demonstration on how to jump off the bridge correctly then we were weighed so we could be put into categories  I was in the lightest section so had the privilege of being one of the first to jump off the 160m high bridge. Most people ignored what we'd been told in the brief and fell off rather than jumped, I'm proud to say that I launched myself off the platform performing a swallow dive that even Tom Daley would have been envious of. The moment I started to drop, it finally hit me that I was falling (it sounds stupid I know). I was falling and there was nothing I could do to stop myself. After a few seconds the elastic caught and slowed my plummet to earth, it then pinged me back up towards the bridge. Those of us who were in the first group spent the rest of the afternoon watching the others fling themselves off into the abyss. Once everyone had finished we were able to purchase DVDs of our jumps, these were very popular with most people, I unfortunately didn't buy one as it was £25 and I was certainly not going to get fleeced of all my money for 20seconds of video and 3 pictures. Our journey back was eventful, our bus driver drove like he was in a rally, taking the racing line on every corner and overtaking with some frequency. On the whole journey back to Kathmandu we were only overtaken by one vehicle and as if to prove he was a better driver, we soon re-overtook said van. I then had the task of getting back to Patan, I didn't want to walk as it was already 20.30 but I didn't know where to pick a microbus up from so I walked down the road whilst trying to flag one down. When you need one they really aren't that frequent, one drove past put I managed to flag the second one down which took me right to where I wanted to go. Lexi had made dinner and the girls had waited for me to come round before they started eating, I'm going to miss spending time with them and I will also miss the use of Ellie's laptop, so I don't know when my next post might be.

Day 34 INF (International Nepal Fellowship) Arrival

10/02/13

Last night I went to pick up my clothes which I had left out to be washed 4 days ago, it was hanging on the roof, still wet, so I brought it all back down to my room and draped the various items all around my room on  anything I could find, thankfully they were dry in the morning. After spending nearly an hour packing I went and dropped my bags at the girl's guesthouse before going to church where a really good speaker spoke. Afterwards we went to The Bakery Cafe for lunch then dashed back to pick up my things before going to the zoo to meet Neeraj and Rosie. I said my goodbyes to the girls and headed to another guesthouse where the rest of the INF party would also be staying. We spent the remainder of the afternoon chatting and then at about 15.00 because Neeraj and Rosie were hungry we went to The Bakery Cafe (again). After I had watch them eat it was time to meet the rest of the team at the airport. It was really nice to see everyone again and catch up with them. Once settled at the guesthouse we had a small brief and a reintroduction to each other, then we went out to dinner at The Lazy Gringo (again). Tomorrow we have an early start and I don't know how well the rest of the team will cope with the time difference.

Day 35 KTM-Nepalgunj

11/02/13

Surprisingly everyone made it up on time. We went out for breakfast to a Christian run cafe where I had pancakes with syrup and another brownicinno. I think I probably had my GDA of calories in that one meal. Then we went to the INF international office which is in Patan, it was really interesting to hear what they actually do in the office and how this relates to other INF workers in Nepal. It was then time for lunch, I don't think Neeraj knows many places to eat in Patan because again we went to The Bakery Cafe for momos. We had a brief time before going to the airport so because Rupert wanted a watch (as he hadn't brought one) we found a shop which sold them and naturally Rupert left with nothing and I left with a pair of fake Rayban sunglasses which set me back a whopping 2 pounds. We picked up our bags then headed to the domestic airport to catch our flight to Nepalgunj. Surprisingly it was on time. We all hurried to the front of the que to get on the plane so we could grab a seat on the right-hand side to get a view of the Himalayas  as we flew across the country. Seeing them again made me wish I was once more among them. During the 50 minute flight we were offered coffee which Rupert and I jumped at, after tasting it we both wished we hadn't. Rupert thought it tasted of mud whilst I found it tasting like stale tobacco smoke, it was hardly the most pleasant drink I’ve ever had, but being the polite gentleman I am I drank the lot so I didn't offend them (and so it didn't spill on my cards). Arriving in Nepalgunj felt like landing in another country, it felt a lot like Holland, except without the windmills, canals, dutch people, 2 (or more) story buildings, cars (people either walk or ride a bike/rickshaw), drinking water or cloggs. In fact it's nothing like Holland apart from being very flat. We threw/barely managed to lift our luggage onto the roof of an INF landrover and climbed aboard, 2 in the front, 3 in the back and 6 in the converted boot (there were 2 benches down the sides). Fortunately it wasn't a long drive to the hotel as it was rather cosy in the boot and I was sweating just sitting there as it was 25 degrees outside. We had our daily devotion before dinner, at the meal itself people either had dal bhat or a burger, the dal bhat was actually one of the nicest that I’ve had since being in Nepal. After the meal Andy gave a very informative talk about TB and leprosy because tomorrow we are going to one of the INF clinics. As I write this it is 21.00, when I finish Rupert and I are going to play a game of monopoly, I think it's going to be a late one.

Day 36

12/02/13

I have to admit that Rupert beat me in our game last night even though I had 4 houses on both Park Lane and Mayfair but for 5 consecutive trips round the board I landed on his set of reds (each with 3 houses) whilst he managed to skip past mine with ease, a rematch is book for this evening. As it is Pancake Day today I ordered a stack of 4 pancakes for breakfast and soon after they had arrived they were covered in syrup. I think that all the weight I lost whilst trekking will soon be put back on. Then we piled into the Landy again feeling very much like sardines, we were on our way to the INF office in Nepalgunj where we were given a very detailed explanation about the work that INF does in the region, it was far too much to take it all in but never the less we were left in no doubt of the sheer volume of work that INF does carry out. 20m down the road was the TB and leprosy clinic. All the INF workers clearly had such a passion it was really amazing to see, especially as many of them aren't Christians. The cure rate at the clinic is about 85% whereas in the rest of Asia it can be as low as 40%. After lunch we went to another office which was near the India boarder, this office specialises with dealing with migrants. They hand out information cards (which have useful calendars in them so they're not thrown away). In these hand-outs they talk about HIV/AIDS (which is becoming a greater problem in Nepal due to the hills men going to India to find work after the harvest has finished. Not only do they find jobs but also an abundance of brothels). The cards also inform the migrants about cost of travel as it is an easy way for rickshaw drivers to rip them off. There is an area of no man’s land between the Nepal and India boarders, which we were going to spend some time in, but there was a large swarm of angry bees we stayed in the Landrover and drove into the area then turned around. Because we now had this extra spare time we walked around the bazaar  the highlight of which was me getting my hair cut, half the town seemed to think so too! I have to admit that it was easily the smartest, neatest and cheapest (50 pence) cut I have ever received. As part of the cut you get given a head 'massage' which basically involved your head getting beaten, then I had my neck clicked which was another first for me. After getting ice-creams we caught rickshaws back to the hotel. Neeraj and I shared one and we started the journey in second place where we stayed for about half the journey until Brenda and Beryl overtook us on the outside and shot into first place ahead of Sue and Sheila, this lead didn't last long as our driver stamped on the pedals and took us out front, but again our lead didn't last long either because we got stuck behind a cart and were over taken by 3 rickshaws including Kate and Rosie who had been in 4th. We were safe in the knowledge that we weren't going to be overtaken by Andy and Rupert because they were nowhere in sight, they did indeed turn up 5 minutes after everyone else (maybe they stopped off for another ice cream).

Day 37 Almost anytime and anyplace

13/02/13

Yet again Rupert won the monopoly so I said that I wouldn't go to sleep until I won a game, luckily we only had to play one more game before we turned in for the night. Within 5 minutes of me turning of the lights in our room Rupert was snoring like nobody's business so I had no chance of getting to sleep. In the morning we left The Travelers Village (not a gypsy camp but a very nice hotel) and then had to endure a rather bumpy ride to Surkhet which took just over 3 hours, although this did include numerous photo stops and a tea break where we spoke to 4 South Korean Christians, one of whom was a missionary in Nepal (the others were just visiting him). Rupert and I also tried to play monopoly on the back seat of the minibus, a task which would have been hard enough on a tarmac road but proved nearly impossible on a windy, dirt track up a mountain so after going round the board a few times we lost patience and gave it up as a bad job. Monopoly is the game for almost anytime and anyplace. In Surkhet we went to the INF clinic where we had a short talk about the work being done and we were given some chiya (Nepali tea). Neither Rupert or Kate like it and there was also a spare so I ended up drinking 4 cups of it, needless to say that a short while later I needed the toilet. We spent the rest of the afternoon being shown around the rooms and the other facilities including the physiotherapy which was very interesting. Back at the hotel the devotion was done by Rupert who had clearly put a lot of effort into planning it as it was extremely insightful. It will be a tough act to follow. Tomorrow we have splint into two groups to look at 2 different projects, I couldn't pick so I tossed a coin to decide. So typically I picked the harder option, getting up at 6 then we have to sit in the minibus for 3 hours along a road in a worse condition than today whilst half the group gets a lie in and has a short 30 minute ride, next time when I can't choose I think I might just pick the easy option.

Day 38 Jai Masih

14/02/13

We split into 2 groups today, my group had to get up early because we were leaving at 07.30, I attempted to have a shower but it was freezing so I passed, I guess the water here is totally solar powered, even if the staff say otherwise. We had a 3 and a half hour drive ahead of us, half of which was on bumpy mud tracks. Sue and Sheila didn't put their cameras down during the whole journey, they would have given any paparazzi  a run for their money (I'm sure the trees and hills felt just like celebrities). Later on Sheila tried taking another view but found her camera out of battery, hardly the shock of the century. There were literally hundreds of corners and switchbacks on this road, the first 15 minutes alone made Hard Nott Pass in the Lakes look like a Roman road. I was jealous of the other group as they only had to travel 30 minutes to Mikhal so could also have a lie in. When we finally got to Dailekh (which means yoghurt mountain) we went to the local church and were greeted with Jai Masih (the greeting Nepali Christians use when they meet each other, it means victory to the messiah). The church currently has 250 members (some whom walk 5 hours to get there each week), it has also planted 13 other churches in the 14 years it has been there (an impressive feet by anyone's standard). We sat in the church facing the pastor and other members of the congregation and we were told in full detail about the community projects that they have started. These projects provide school scholarships to kids whose parents can't afford it, they also build toilets and repair roads (a never ending job that seems yet to start). A bridge has also been built across the river and another one is in the planning stages. We then visited one of these focus groups who specialise in managing money. It has 34 members who each have to pay a monthly subscription of 100Rs, this means that they can get a loan which only has 1% interest on it compared to 3% down at the market, many have used these loans to start or develop a business, one lady we spoke to now employs 3 people in her tailoring shop, providing an income for 3 other families. It also gives money to members who become ill and can't afford medicine or treatment, the whole group votes on each situation to assess whether the person actually needs the money or not, a very well-run operation. The journey back took less time but it was still a relief to finally get out. As we got back at 17.40 I thought it would be an ideal time to have a shower as the water had had all day to warm up but I was wrong, it was just as cold as it had been this morning, I am very confused, maybe tomorrow I will have greater success.

Day 39 Action Packed

15/02/13

Today we had a later breakfast so we could lie in until 08.30 but Rosie came and spoiled the party at 07.30 to tell us that the timings were all an hour out so we needed to have an earlier breakfast, luckily it was only 10 minutes early but straight afterwards we left because we had so much to pack into the day, our first port of call was the Himalayan Bible College (nowhere near the Himalayas). About 80% of the students who finish the course go into ministry. After this it was back into the minibus to the district hospital. On the way we visited the CATS centre (community awakening transformation society centre), it is a hostel for TB patients. At the hospital we were met by Lee (an Australian nurse) and Shirley (an English doctor), we split into 2 groups, those who were medically inclined went into one and us plebs went into the other. We had a whistle stop tour of the whole site including a visit across the road to the new hospital which is due to open in the near future. The new hospital is one of the only buildings that I have seen that wouldn't be out of place in the UK. Back in the Mystery Machine we were taken to another youth training centre, it was the DTS (District Training School) which has links with YWAM (Youth With A Mission). We were greeted with a bouquet of flowers (nobody had the heart to tell them Valentine’s Day was yesterday). 3 samosas for lunch was not nearly enough to stave off my hunger but I managed to live. We had an hour at the hotel before the young people in the group split into 2 parties and headed to 2 different churches for youth services. The songs and prayers were loud and enthusiastic, it's just a shame that I couldn't understand a word they were saying, I spent the time praying instead (much more productive). Our services was meant to last only an hour but in true Nepali style it over ran by 40 minutes. We had a meal with all the missionaries in Surkhet but we weren't late, we were well ahead of the food which took an hour longer than initially told, but it was worth the wait, especially as I had second helpings. Tomorrow we go to church, this is a proper Nepali service and they're not renowned for being short, we'll have to wait and see if it lives up to its reputation or not.

Day 40 English Weather

16/02/13

Another cold shower woke us fully this morning before yet another breakfast of instant coffee, cold omelette and toast with butter and jelly. We split into two groups again to go to church, the majority of the older members of the team went to Eitram Church (it has benches at the back).The rest of us went to Grace Church with Alan and Megan Baker. It was a very lively service held in a half built building with a tarpaulin covering one side, which let the rain in. The sermon was shorter than normal but we still had to leave before the end and miss communion. We had to leave because we had a long drive to Bardia ahead of us. It rained pretty much non-stop all day but we were fine and dry in our minibus which was aptly named the Titanic, luckily we didn't crash into any icebergs. The journey took 5 hours in total but it didn't feel that long as we spent most the journey amusing ourselves with riddles and everybody was ecstatic when we crossed the Babai river because 200m downstream there was an elephant crossing the river who then stopped to wash, a very cool sight. We eventually arrived in Bardia National Park where our hotel, Mr B’s was situated. Yet again I am sharing with Rupert; our room has one light bulb whilst our toilet is in darkness (they’re clearly trying to save on electricity).Our meal turned up an hour late in true Nepali style and most people had seconds because we were all so hungry after our long wait. Back in our room Rupert found a spider in top of his mosquito net and freaked out. It was only 4cm across but he wouldn't even go near his bed, whilst he was panicking I was being the good friend I was on my bed wetting myself laughing. I eventually found enough compassion to help him out. I got the beast into our bin and showed Rupert the evidence but the mere sight of it made him retch and nearly throw up, I quickly went and flushed it down the toilet. Rupert slept badly even though we got to bed late and were having an early start tomorrow (to go on a safari, but if it rains we won’t be going), I guess he was just worried about any creepy crawlies attacking him.

Day 41 Safari

17/02/13

We weren't woken at 05.00 for the safari, no surprises there as it had been raining all night and it was still chucking it down when we finally woke at 07.00. Over the next half an hour we had 4 visits to our room by staff members, the first to ask if we were awake, the second to ask if we wanted a bucket of hot water to wash in, the third brought the water and the last to ask if we wanted more water, by the 4^th time we were getting very exasperated. By 9 the weather had cleared so we set out on the safari, just 3 hours later than planned. Less than 10 minutes later we came to a large river we had to cross (the first of 4 throughout the day), so shoes and socks were taken off and trousers rolled up, fortunately everyone got across fine although some with more difficulty than others. 5 minutes later the track broke through the trees into a wide open grass area dotted with trees, here we saw many Spotted Deer. After seeing many more deer and a number of birds we had lunch (a boiled egg and a rice dish) in a watch tower. Apart from a few birds and the river we saw nothing moving from our high point. After lunch we followed the river and we eventually came across a constantly yawning crocodile basking in the sun. We also had a number of potential tiger sightings, but all of them turned out to be Rhea Monkeys. We saw no sign of rhinos apart from old tracks and old dung. Their poo is very similar to rabbit’s poo, lots of pellets. The only difference is that each rhino pellet is about the size of a rabbit. On the journey back we saw only deer and a troop of monkeys; it was a shame not to see a tiger but still a great day. Plus in the 7 hours we were out it didn't rain one drop on us. Rupert is currently composing a list of all the birds we saw, which I will post when he’s finished.

Day 42 14 hours

18/02/13

Just after 03.00 I was woken by a call of 'Luke, Luke' the reason was that we had a mouse in our bin (it had been attracted by Rupert's calpol sachet). The mouse escaped and ran off (and was not seen or heard again) before I managed to get myself out of bed. Rupert's dropped off to sleep within 10 minutes but I tossed and turned until our alarms went off at 04.30. Due to the fact that I was writing my blog until 11 and that an 18 year old man was afraid of the sound of a mouse I only managed to get 3 hours sleep. A splendid start to a long drive to Pokhara. A mug of hot chiya and an apple was breakfast at 05.00. After failing to sleep for two hours we stopped again, this time for second breakfast, which was fried rings of dough (like doughnuts but tastier) and a glass of chiya again. We set off once more along the road, the surface was less like a pond and more like the North Sea, this was multiplied still further as we were sitting on the back row, behind the rear axle. To be honest the 14 hours it took us to get to Pokhara didn't feel that long, maybe it was just the stream of unfunny jokes from Andy that kept us distracted, or maybe The amazing views. At our guesthouse we met Katie, our final team member, who came out late because she had a GP interview. Then all of us apart from Kate (who was still feeling rough) went out for a lovely meal but now we're all very tired. He only downside to the day was the room allocations. Very night Rupert and I have shared a room and we always get landed with the worse one out of anyone, today we were given one with an en suit bathroom which actually had a bath and shower in. The joy only lasted for 10 minutes before we had to give it up and move in with Andy. Our new room was designed for 2 beds but now had 3 and it has a toilet and shower across the hall, I have to say that I was thoroughly unimpressed.

Day 43 One hundred and fifty

19/02/13

Today was a day of relaxation (due to countrywide strikes). We had a late breakfast then separated and headed our own ways. Most people went shopping/ cafe hopping, Katie and Andy walked up a hill whilst Rupert and I hired a motorbike. It was a 150cc bike and after a shaky start we were away smoothly. We could hardly speed off due to the road surface but we did reach 43kmph on one section. We rode down the length of the lake and on up the valley, following the river. Due to the strikes no motor vehicles were meant to be on the roads so due to this and also because we are bedeshis (foreigners) we attracted a lot of strange looks. We stopped off at a very chilled out roadside cafe where I bought 2 660ml bottles of Tuborg as a late birthday drink for Rupert (as I was half way up a mountain on the actual day), it was only after a couple of minutes that Rupert pointed out that I was driving. We stayed for about 2 hours, reading, playing cards and catching rays so the effects would have been unnoticeable. The village we stopped in was genuinely called Happy Village. On the way back to Pokhara we saw around 100 people looking down into the water, we think that a para glider had missed the landing point; there were also a number of policemen within the crowd. Seeing as we weren't meant to be on the roads and that my licence is back in England I sped up in the hopes that we would be gone by the time they realised, we thankfully we were. We returned the bike and shortly afterwards bumped into most of the others. Andy was dead excited about going sailing and a few others were keen too so we also hired out a large pedalo, half way through the time Sue and Sheila swapped over. Back on dry land Rupert ad I dashed around a couple of shops getting a few purchases. For dinner went to the Boomerang restaurant which was meant to have live music but the band couldn't get in due to the strike so apparently we're going to another one tomorrow.

Day 44

20/02/13

The 3 of us were woken at 04.50 by Rosie calling out to see if we were awake, a lucky thing she did, as the taxis were coming in 10 minutes time. But being men we didn't need to choose an outfit that matched, straighten our hair or powder our noses so we were ready within 5 minutes. The reason for getting up at stupid o'clock was so we could climb Sarangkot and watch the sunrise fall onto the Annapurna range. We took the taxis about 2/3 of the way up then walked the rest in torch light. At the top it was just light enough to make out the shapes of the mountains even though they were all covered in cloud. The sunrise itself was pretty naff as half of the sun was obscured by cloud. The peak of Machapuhhare (Fish Tail) did eventually show itself after about 45 minutes, but the rest of the mountain was still shrouded in cloud. To be honest I would much rather have slept for another 3 hours instead. After getting down, we huried to the INF office (where both Neeraj and Rosie work). It is the other side of the road to the old shinning hospital (3 huts still remain). We were shown around the office and had tea with the director in his office; it always helps when the director's son is your guide. On the way to Green Pastures (GP) hospital we stopped briefly at Ram Ghat (the first church in Nepal), it has grown and developed since its start in 1953 but it still remains on its original site. At GP we were shown round the main hospital building and a couple of outer ones by Paul, an aussi who runs the show there. We visited the INF shop which is at the hospital because all the products are handmade by patients; I don't think anyone left there without a lighter wallet. Then without a seconds rest, we shot off to have lunch and a chat about the trip with Katie, another aussi who works with INF. It was very hot in the room and we had had a very early start so whilst Katie was speaking and I think I dozed for a while. After my nap we did indeed have some free time, an hour before dinner, during this time mine and Rupert's wallets got even lighter. This evening we did experience a 'culture' evening, the 3 dancer’s changer costumes after every song to replicate a different tribal group in Nepal, it was very interesting to start with but it was rather monotonous.

Day 45 On the road again

21/02/13

Another day where a lie in was missed. Another day of travel. We were at the coach park before 7 even though it didn't leave until 07.30 (if it left on time). The journey from Pokhara to Kathmandu (KTM) itself was very uneventful, we stopped twice, for breakfast and lunch and Andy had a number of interesting conversations with Nepali doctors. 7 hours later we arrived in KTM. There is now only 5 of us, not 11. Neeraj and Rosie are back in the office in Pokhara, Sheila and Sue are going to Tansen (where they used to work) and Kate and Katie are getting medical experience (they are a nurse and doctor respectively). As a group we bimbled around Thamel, everyone was unimpressed by it, especially the pollution. The most interesting thing we saw was a demonstration that looked like it would soon kick off; needless to say we didn't hang around too long. We did however end the day with a very nice meal out at a steak house where we all had awesome meals. Another highlight and possibly the highlight of my stay in Nepal is that our room has an en suit, with a bath!! Ok maybe not the highlight of the trip but certainly of the day.

Day 46 Monkeying around

22/02/13

We had breakfast at our hotel (Tibetan Guest House) then we caught a taxi to Swayambhu (The Monkey Temple), a Buhdist Stupa with a number of Hindu temples around it's edges. It was a very steep walk up to the top and the views were non-existent  due to the haze from the pollution. There were many stalls trying to flog their wares on the route up and there was also a number of permanent shops at the top too. One of these was a shop selling some incredible paintings, a few of which had bible verses painted on them. It was especially cool because at the bottom, before the ascent, we had prayed for some light within the darkness and our prayer was clearly answered, Christian bible verses within a Buhdist/Hindu shrine. To fill the rest of the morning we went round the royal palace (which has now been turned into a museum, after the 2001 massacre). It was pretty awesome, although they did have a polar bear rug in the entrance which the museum worker said was from Iceland, I am pretty sure that it wasn't (maybe he meant the land of the ice, who knows). Around the museum there was also loads of elephant and rhino feet that had been made into household objects; stools, tables, lampshades, an incense burner and a small wine cabinet. The building where the massacre actually happened was destroyed with only the footprint left to see, this was done so people wouldn't turn it into a shrine. The best bit was probably seeing a sign offering help up the stairs for the elderly or differently abled, a much better way of putting it rather than disabled. After a late lunch at the Himalayan Java we attempted to catch a microbus to the INf office in Patan but after waiting for a few minutes Andy got bored so we piled into a taxi (much more expensive). At the office I picked up my expedition kit which I had left there during the vision trip, I had actually forgotten quite how heavy it was. We then went and waited for Mark and Liz Galpin (and their kids Josh and Mim) and Ian and Cynthia Chadwell (and their children, Lucy and Justin), who we were having dinner with. After the meal (which was very nice) we did  succeed in catching a micro bus back to Thamel. Once 3 of us and 3 other guys had piled on I counted 24 people on board, in the UK the minibus would carry 10 people, so it was slightly cramped to say the least (at least my leg was by the time we got off). Today is also my last full day in Nepal, tomorrow I will be back in England!

Day 47 Home

23/02/13

I had breakfast at 07.00 with Andy and Rupert (Beryl and Brenda were still in bed). Then they helped me into a taxi, said their goodbyes and I was off. At the airport it was security check after security check, all of them doing exactly the same thing. When you first arrive you put all your bags through the scanner then walk through one yourself, then after baggage check-in you go upstairs, through passport control, and wait until you are called through security. At security, even if you don't set the alarm off when you go through the scanner you still get the honour of being patted down. Before being allowed to go to the plane we were again patted down, this time at the ticket desk. At the foot of the steps going into the plane they had set up three huts, where your bag was searched and yet again you had a full body search, I was surprised the flight stewardess' didn't come and search us in our seats. The security in Dehli (where we stopped to catch a connection) could give the staff at Kathmandu a run for their money at being the most inconvenient staff. First we had our boarding cards (BCs) checked and we had to put our stuff through a scanner (I don't know where they think we could have picked up a bomb from) then walk through one our self, once again it didn't go off and yet again I was treated to a full search, here we also had our BCs checked and stamped. After waiting 2 hours our flight was called and we began to board, after getting to the front of the que, about half the passengers were told to turn round and get another security stamp on the BC from a desk 100m away, I literally haven't got a clue why we had to do this. Back at the boarding desk our BCs were checked again, 10m through the doors they were checked again and so was our tag on our hand-luggage. If you had put your BC away you had o get it out yet again before you were allowed down the tunnel to the aeroplane and the again, for a 7th time at the plane doors, after all those checks I can't believe they didn't notice that mine was a fake... I tried sleeping on the plane but failed miserably so I ended up watching 3 films, after 10 hours we finally landed at London Heathrow, the passport control was very busy but it was pretty quick to get through so it wasn't a problem, the problem was getting my luggage. I had to wait half an hour for my bags, but the family next to me provided sufficient entertainment, they had brought most their family over from India and couldn't remember what their bags looked like, a problem when you've got 21 of them to look for, surprisingly I got both mine before they got all of their suitcases. Mum and dad met me at the airport (dad had come on the tube straight from London after watching Arsenal). It's nice to be home, but I do miss the mountains.