An unexpected blog! In true Nepali style, half an hour before we were due to set out this morning, our guide told us that in fact we weren't going to leave today after all... Apparently this is due to the highway disruption caused by a local election and the word from the police was that the 70km journey to the start of the trek were basically impassable. Yesterday, I was disappointed to not be paragliding, so 15 minutes after the postponement I was in the offi...

Hi all, Last blog post for a while. I have a trek orientation meting at 4pm, a welcome dinner, and then we set off at 7.30am tomorrow. I'm assuming no methods of communication so no updates until 27th/28th April. Looks like we shall be a small and select band - 2 people have cancelled through illness and 2 have just not turned up, so I think there's just 3 of us (will meet them at 4, along with our porters and guide). I'm doing the Annapurna Circuit http://ww...

Today you get some of my more serious journal entries (or at least, entries about more serious matters) - hopefully it willl give you a taste of the realities of rural living in a developing country. March 16th International news is non existent on a daily basis out here. In Kathmandu you have easy access to the internet and s couple of English language newspapers. Here, the outside world is a total irrelevence it seems. Even on the odd times when the electri...

Hi all, After a couple of lazy days, I thought I should put me and the trekking gear to the test before Friday, so I've trekked up to the Peace Pagoda. A 4km walk around the lake to Damside to start, then a 2 hour hike up through a chestnut forest to the Pagoda at 1330m or so. Then down the other side through a jungle (with monkeys), a row across the lake, and a 2km or so meander back up the lakeside. Both me and all the gear seem to have stood the test - and...

Today's treat for you all is poetry. No references to Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz allowed. Kathmandu I arrived in twilight Purple drifiting haze. Tired, I stumbled Through two ancient pillars Into an ancient world. Knights, proud, noble, riding mighty iron steeds Silk clad princesses, hair and scarves streaming, Sat side saddle behind with delicate grace. Hawkers and beggars throng the road, Sharp chatter stabs through the misty veil of gathering dark. I...