Archive for the ‘03-Nepal’ Category

Finally we got to see the great Mt. Everest while en route to Bangkok.  She’s so beautiful standing awesomely above the clouds at over 8,000m.

There was utter confusion before takeoff as to who was sitting where.  As warned by the Lonely Planet, Royal Nepal Airlines tend over their tickets and amazingly they had also issued too many boarding cards – we couldn’t believe it.  There were three for the window seat next to us – so amusing.  Whatever happened, we were not giving up our seats!

If they can’t get the issuing of tickets right, it didn’t fill us with confidence that they could get the aircraft maintenance right.  We are still in flight as I write this post and are just about to receive our food – probably Dhal Bhat – if you don’t receive this post, you’ll know why .

Update: we have arrived safely at out hotel in Bangkok and will soon be tucked up in bed.  Will upload a post at some point tomorrow.

In preparation of our travels to Bangkok, it was time for a bit of a make over – Sam laughed when I said I was going for a full service, she suggested that maybe I should wait till we got to Thailand .

A haircut, cut shave, head and back massage all for a mere £1.50 – I threw in another pound for good measure.  Having trekked for a week then coming back to the smog of Kathmandu, I feel somewhat clean and tidy again.

No more communications for a day or so until we find our feet.  Our mobile should work in Thailand so we can easily be contacted should the need arise.

Finally we’ve had a chance to upload some pictures to the website. It’s been shitting with rain here in Pokhara for the last few days so we’ve not been doing anything exciting other than reading, watching DVDs and sorting these pictures.  We have only selected our favourites and reduced the file size so it won’t take too long to view – enjoy.

Just click on the photos link at the top of the page. 

The last of our trekking posts and we had to end it on a high – pun intended!

Nepal has a near monopoly on the world’s highest peaks – eight of the 10 highest.  In fact it has 14,000 mountains between 6–7,000m.

The most popular are the Annapurna and Everest Himalayan Ranges.  Our trek took in the peaks of Annapurna.

The highest peak we saw (pictured below) was Dhaulagiri at 8,172m but we also saw Annapurna South (7,219m), Annapurna II (7,939m), Annapurna III (7,555m) and Hiunchuli (6,441m).  Although not the highest, the most striking for us was that of Machhapuchhre, know as Fishtail, at 6,997m – it was so beautiful!

There is nothing better than waking up on a relatively clear Himalayan morning –with a cup of milk tea - and seeing an 8,000m peak towering over you – a feeling I have no words to describe!

These are in no particular order, just randomly selected and a further sideshow provided here – enjoy!  Please be aware that all slideshow photos are currently being uploaded and it takes time, so check back regularly.

The spectacular Fishtail first.

UNESCO World Heritage Site #5

The scenery in the mountains is so beautiful.  Not everybody’s cup of tea we understand, but for lovers of the outdoors, it is truly heaven on earth.  Every corner, ascent and decent lends a new setting that is staggering.  Reaching the top of a climb provides panoramic views that are breathtaking. This, in addition to the beautiful villages and villagers, makes for an overwhelming adventure.

It was difficult to condense the pictures down, so in the end, we just selected randomly and created this sideshow for you to see at your leisure.

Did I mention that we are now working for the Nepaleese Tourism Board on a commission basis  – book now!