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Well we got tired of India, so after a day trip to the Taj Mahal (which was fabulous), we sacked it off and headed for Nepal.
Arriving in Kathmandu we stayed near Thamel which is the tourist heart of the city. We did 2 treks during our time in Nepal, firstly to Lang Tang which is north of Kathmandu and is a 6 day trek into the national park.
Our second trek was to Annapurna Base Camp - Annapurna is the 10th tallest mountain on earth, and base camp is at 4,200 metres, so it felt like a real achievement when we reached it! This trek was longer, at 9 days through an area known as the Annapurna Sanctuary. It was very tough and really tested our endurance. A lot of the time we were climbing up and down large stone staircases of thousands of stone steps which really tires out your knees after a while.
Each night on both treks we stayed in tea huts - basically a cow shed with a wooden bedframe and thin mattress. Each tea house had a kitchen / common room area with a central point of heating - a kerosene burner under the cloth covered table where everyone sat in the evening and had their dinner. We were in bed by 8pm most nights, and except at high altitude, slept for 11 hours every night! V tired.
The Annapurna Sanctuary is near Pokhara - Nepal's other main town, which is much nicer than Kathmandu as it is around a lake, less high rise and polluted, and surrounded by snowy topped peaks. We really enjoyed a few chilled out days in Pokhara before and after our trek - particularly the restaurants - we found some really good ones. When on trek the tea houses have the same menu and it really gets dull when you eat there 3 times a day and its all the same. The main thing that kept us going on trek were potato momo's (Nepal dumplings - delish), and the thought of pizza and wine once we reached Pokhara.
Nepal itself is very friendly, and cheap with very little tourist hassle. There are regular power cuts due to 'load shedding', but otherwise it's a lot easier on the nerves than India - particularly once you get away from the towns and can enjoy the spectacular mountain scenery - highly recommend it!
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