Onto Varanasi

Landslides and flooding made our trip to Darjeeling a bit tricky so we headed for Varanasi instead. Said to be one of the oldest cities in the world and one of the holiest Hindu places on earth. Well let me tell you, it took about 7 and 1/2 hours on a bone shaker bus followed by a 3 hour bun fight for tickets at Gorokhpor railway station and a 6 hour train journey to pitch up in Varanasi at 5.00 in the morning. Well by this time we were feeling really chipper...... not. Famous for its Ghats where people come to bathe in the Ganges and bodies are cremated on individual funeral pyres was a bit of sensory overload to say the least, but I have to say its a filthy dump where every creature on 2 and 4 legs defecates and urinates everywhere with gay abandonment. There was probably a time many years ago when it was a beautiful and spiritual place but for us, it was squalid. smelly and needs cleaning up. I think these pictures say it all.......Goodbye Varanasi!

Kathmandu to Chitwan

Sorry for the delay but the internet is understandably a little dodgy at the mo, so no piccies just yet. Had a great time in Kathmandu care of John Mitchell and his family. John is the owner of the Hotel Garden, Damside Pokhara. A fine establisment that I can thoroughly recommend to anyone going to Pokhara for hiking or paragliding, John is a pilot himself. The details are http://www.hotelgardennepal.com/ . On hearing we were headed to KTM he offered us a free ride with his family and showed us the sights to boot. Top bloke and someone we will be staying in touch with on our return. Monkey Temples, more shrines and a visit to the Ghats (more about Ghats in the next post on Varanasi) saw us heading to Chitwan Park. Elephant rides, bird watching and jungle treks were all very nice and Jonny got to ride the great hairy beasts around in the river. Much to the amusement of the mahut who thought getting his Nelly the elephant to toss me in the water every 2 seconds was hilarious:) Sunrise over Chitwan is definitely an amazing sight as well as watching wild Rhino with the orange globe of the sun rising through the mist (how poetic). All for now........

Road to Katmandu

Spent yesterday travelling from Pokhera to Kat, blimey i thought the road to Monchegorsk was bad but this really was straight out of a mad max film. Talk about lap of the gods overtaking , these drivers are plum crazy, anyway 12 hours later with a clutch shot to hell we finally pushed the 4x4 into the hotel:) Good old TATA they sure make a good vehicle. Katmandu is a crazy place, lots of temples congestion madness and street action which doesnt disappoint. Some good old sightseeing today and try to get some pics up later. Today i am also going to engage each tout beggar or dodgy geezer tring to sell a cheap gurka knife in conversation. "heh mister look its real only 500 r" "yes i know that its a good knife but i,ll get @#$%^%$ arested if i try entering the uk with it!!" :) ok time for another cup of chai.

Visit to Tanting School in Nepal

Tanting School is situated in the foothills close to Pokhara. It's reached by an hour's jeep ride followed by a 5 hour trek up, up, up, up, up!!

Amazing scenery on the way up and great to see the villagers farming in the fields. The whole hillside is filled with terraces so every single bit of available land can be used for growing food. Stopped for lunch with some farmers and eventually got to the top for a hero's welcome.

Lining the approach to the village, about 50 kids and teachers were each holding flower garlands to place around our necks. It was a truly uplifting and totally unexpected experience.

The village was provided with a new school by The Pahar Trust which my ex-teacher Tom Allen is involved in. They raise money for part of the build and the villagers must agree to provide the rest of the funding and labour to ensure completion. Tanting is in a wonderful location (once you get there!) with mountain views in the background. Before the school was completed, the kids had to walk 2 hours each way to school.

We had bought a basketball and volleyball for the school and had great fun showing our non-existent skills.

We stayed at the Headteacher's family home in the village and had a few interesting experiences!!! The local Rakhi firewater will never be repeated. The local buffalo milk which tasted like weeks old ripe yoghurt with vinegar added was the worst thing we've ever tasted. The chicken soup was great but where did all the decent bits of the chicken go? Diane was terrified of taking a mouthful and finding the beak! Total respect to Bruce Parry :)

Had fun reading with the kids before heading back down the mountain.

Delhi

Street scene from Delhi!

Nepal

Arrived in India to the madness of Delhi but loved it. Paharganj brilliant - rickshaws, markets, chai and chaos with a few Kingfisher Strong beers to celebrate. Delhi station was fun counting the rats on the lines before an overnight train, local bus, rickshaw and minbus to get to Pokhara in Nepal.

Just got back from 14 days trekking the Annapurna Circuit, crossing the Thorong La Pass at almost 18,000 feet. Fantastic watching shooting stars over Annapurna 2 peak with the clearest night skies possible before the sun tinging over the horizon.

Donkey trains, porters, wild Tibetan blue sheep, eagles soaring, beautiful sunrises and the tallest mountains in the world all around us. It was surreal.

After 14 days eating veggie and no alcohol, it's time for steak and beer :)