hello everyone, if anyone is actually reading this.

last time i think we left a message saying we are going to the tiger reserve, or about the golden temple. we slept at the temple in the end, got afree meal and stuff. was a good experience, but woken up at 6 in the morning to clean it, so we snuck off.

i decided to go to the corbett tiger reserve in the end, as delhi was not as nice as expected, so smoggy and dirty, and it ended up cheaper to go and look at tigers! we didnt actually see any tigers, but it was cool to be out of citys. we saw a teenage bloke getting chained up and whipped and beaten for nicking someones wallet which was pretty brutal, but the way of life in india.

then we traveled to agra, the site of the taj mahal which was spectacular. then we tried to get into the agra fort, but they tried to charge us so we dint bother. then had a confused rickshaw driver take us on a hectic 2 hour drive, ending up at totally the wrong place, so we gave up and played golf! which was rubbish. then it was halloween, so for some reason we dressed as girls again and had a great night.

Then onto Varanessi, where the ganges go through. its actually a pretty disgusting place, as its normal for them to excrete anywhere in the river, aswell as washing, drinking from, cleaning clothes, and putting their dead bodies. good to see though. we had a nice hotel with a pool, and the last few days had been very relaxed as a lot of time to ourselves.

we both had really high expectations of india, but looking back we were a bit disapointed. its all so dirty, people urinating on the street, and the total poverty of the place. There are so many people and really are just after your money. anywhere you go you will be malested by hundreds of people, selling anything, and they wont leave you as they did in iran and pakistan. it was amazing to see that way of life though.

then the long journey into nepal, expected to be around 14 hours. 19 hours later, driving a massive bus down rubbish roads with cliffs either side, in the dark, so we had to stop off, at what turned out to be a really nice place. i managed to get myself really drunk for free, so ended up drinking till 8 in the morning. great day the next day!

we are now in kathmandu in nepal. really nice place with loads of backpackers so loads of people to meet. this morning we took the plane around Mt.Everest which was incredible and so beautiful. we have now decided to skip the long drives back into india which had to be done due to route changes. so we are staying here, trying to organise things like bungyjumping as its quite cheap. we are both getting very concious of the costs of this trip, but decided that we need to live very cheaply for the next while. we will fly to bankok in a few days and meet back up with the bus.

both having an amazing time, both less ill and more relaxed, happy to have a break from long drives for a while. we both hope all is ok back in england with you all. mike x