I finally make it to Nepal after a fairly painstaking overland journey. It takes 16 hours by night-train from Rishikesh to Gorakhpur (without a seat for much of it), a further 2 hours by bus from Gorakhpur to the border at Sunauli, a short walk over the border and a 20-min jeep ride to the nearby town of Bhairawa where I catch another hour-long bus to Lumbini! Upon arrival and a very tired and smelly girl, takes on the final mission of finding somewhere to stay. My body doesn't feel like my own after the last few days traveling but….I'm in the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, AKA Buddha, so I'd better buck up…there are some temples to be seen! Actually, for my first evening, I just get food and have a wander about the town! It's really very small but there's a cute local market and small traditional houses lining the streets. There's a full moon tonight and I have heard that there is supposed to be some special worship on full moon nights! I can't seem to find anything going on, nor can any of the other tourists, so I have to be content with watching the beautiful moon instead - terrible, isn't it?!

The next day I hire a high-nelly-style bicycle and hit the road for the temples! I start off at the birthplace of Buddha, Lumbini, which is really quite nice. There's as two beautiful temples at the entrance and a lovely garden leading to a giant Bodhi tree adorned with Buddhist prayer flags that a chubby Buddhist monk sits underneath - makes for an interesting photo! The actual birthplace is inside a rather nondescript building called the Maya Devi temple and while I don't come out of the place floating in the lotus position or anything, there is something quite special about it. Not having fully grasped the extent of the monastic settlement outside of Lumbini, I spend a little too much time admiring Lumbini before taking off on my bike again. I feel like Julia Roberts in Eat Pray Love riding my rickety bicycle through the countryside…..it's a cruelly hot day though so the melting sun-cream and profuse sweating kill the tranquil picture quite quickly!

The rocky dirt-tracks in the monastic settlement around Lumbini serve as main roads and bicycle tracks and lead from one country's Buddhist temple to the next. I think I visit the German, Nepali French, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean temples among others. The Korean is particularly special - although still under construction it's very simply built and beautifully decorated with lanterns and flowers. I've been told it's a great place to stay - you can get B&B at a number of the monasteries ! Another remarkable feature of the monastic settlement are the massive yellow stupas (large round structure with a spire which is generally painted yellow and often has a picture of an eye on it). I make it to the World Peace Pagoda and burn the feet off myself trying to get around the thing...I keep forgetting to bring socks - they say you should always carry a pair when traveling in Asia as you do need to remove the shoes at most temples/monasteries - I really should learn at this stage! Lumbini is also a big spot for vipassana meditation, something I planned to try out in India, but didn't….this time! It is normally done in a course of 10-14 days with strict rules on times for eating, devotion, waking and sleeping. You are also not allowed reading material, music, any form of outside distraction, nor are you allowed speak! Sounds tough but apparently you feel amazing after it!

After the heat of Lumbini, I move further north through the countryside to Pokhara. The bus journey is interesting. Initially, I'm told that the bus will take six hours but upon further enquiry I'm told it could be anything up to ten. Apparently if a bus isn't full when it leaves it initial departure point, it will stop at the next big station and just hang on there for more passengers. Needless to say, you need to be flexible about your arrangements upon arrival here in Nepal! The only other foreigners on the bus are popping sleeping tablets like sweets and can barely speak to each other, let alone me and so I try to sleep….but the Nepali roads just won't let you!

I stay at The Yeti Guesthouse in Pokhara which is set back off the main thoroughfare with a little garden, a yoga and meditation centre and the friendliest staff in the world! Actually it's here that I meet another amazing bunch of people - a Bosnian photojournalist, Alin, who has spent some time working in a local orphanage and a Trinidadian student, Sue-Ann, who is living in London but who is also volunteering near Pokhara and is doing her thesis on the negative effects of Volun-Tourism. The staff at the hostel can't figure out where these two are from and upon arrival I'm told that I should try to meet the other two 'Irish' who were staying here - surprising Irish they turned out to be! I spend a great few days hanging out with them and some lovely German girls also volunteering in the area. There are some great cafes and restaurants in Pokhara, in particular Olive Café where I end up spending many hours chatting over coffee and Freedom Café, a trendy little place along the lake which has live music, fire shows and a lot of stoners singing in the evening. I also try out some meditation in Pokhara which is nice but think you need a lot of practice at to learn to slow your mind down - I couldn't stop thinking!

I've been planning on doing a hike here in Nepal and end up booking one that a guy I met in India happens to have done the week before me. Get some practice in the day before my hike by rowing myself across the Phewa Tal lake to climb the few hundred meters to another World Peace Pagoda! Nice views but manage to have my first leech-experience and the thing is disgusting! Freaking out about how to get it off so I just pull it, which I later find out is exactly what you are not supposed to do! Ah well! I book a 5 day, 4 night hike to Ghorepani and Poon Hill in the Annapurna Mountain range through Nepal Academy in Pokhara and have the knowledgeable and entertaining, Bhakti, as my guide. The hike starts at a small little town called Naya Pul. En route to Naya Pul, we pass through Lumle, a beautiful village full of hillside rice paddies and beautiful scenery. The fiirst pit stop on the trek is tea in Birethani - my first time trying the Nepali chai - not sure it beats the Indian but it's still good! We don't do that much walking on the first day as Bhakti has informed me that, during rainy season last year, there were fatal landslides at Ulleri village, the place intended to be the first night's stop, and it is safer to overnight a little earlier on the route. Accommodation along the way is in little tea houses - really lovely and great food. On my first night, I have my first taste of Dal Bhat which is effectively a large meal of lentil stew, rice and vegetables and first game of Dumbal, a card game I'm to get used to playing over the duration of the trip. Bhakti has great patience in putting up with, and giving detailed answers to my incessant stream of questions. I learn lots about the local culture, customs, traditions and agriculture! We get on well which is a relief, considering that I am the only person on the hike and we'll be spending the next 5 days together! Day 2 of the hike is pretty hard-core with a morning-long uphill climb and it's really hot. I'm pretty wrecked by the time we get to Ghorepani and feel like I never did Kilimanjaro J. I could not have been luckier with the weather on this trek - it never rains while we hike and the clouds seem to clear upon request. Bhakti thinks I must have brought some Irish luck with me as the last few hikers taking this trip haven't actually seen much mountain. I have the evening to explore the tiny village of Ghorepani and to get my first glimpse of Fish Tail mountain. It's pretty chilly here in the evening but there's a lovely fire to sit around at the Sunny Hotel - much appreciated! Again, I'm fortunate enough to meet some great people on this trip, including Ximena, a lovely Columbian girl who is traveling India and Nepal. We end up trekking together for the next few days.

The plan is to get up early in the morning on Day 3 to see sunrise at Poon Hill but I've been warned that the rain and clouds are coming in. Of course, I don't care and want to go up anyway…that is until I see the torrential rain at 5am and the thick cloud cover! I'm told there'll be zero visibility so head back to bed. The view from my room at about 9am this morning is spectacular - the rain has gone and the clouds are hanging really low so there's a really clear view of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. I'm staying in the cheaper rooms but which happen to have the best views and soon there are a bunch of fellow hikers in my room taking photos of the incredible snow-capped mountains. We take off on our hike again later than expected after spending ages looking out at the view. It's a much easier day's hiking and again I have spectacular woodland, waterfalls and quaint villages to walk through and past on the way. We also stop at a point which is the same level as Poon Hill and take in the view of Annapurna South, Fish Tail and a whole 'range' of beautiful mountains! We stay at Tadapani on night 3. The accommodation is probably the most basic of what I've experienced on the mountain so far but the views the next morning are amazing. I sit outside eating porridge, drinking coffee and taking in another blissful scene. The air is so fresh and crisp up here - feels great! Would love to bring some back to Kathmandu! The fourth day of hiking brings me through some beautiful countryside overlooking tea plantations and through some beautiful cobbled walkways towards Ghandruk, the home of the Ghurka soldiers, famed for their strength and bravery and to this day an elite part of the British army. I see my first proper prayer wheels along the trek, they are inscribed with 'Om Mani Padme Hum' which means 'Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus' and are spun by hand when entering or leaving a village/community. Ximena is an opera singer and we have a beautiful recital along out trek. Ghandruk is a really beautiful town with slated roof and grey stone buildings - very different to the blue and white painted wooden houses I've been staying in thus far. I really like it here. Myself and Ximena hear that there is some Buddhist worship taking place in a temple in Ghandruk on the last evening of the trek and head there after dinner in the hope of catching some chanting but no luck. Still though, meet some cute kids who try to teach us how to play the instruments! Bed early tonight, as with all nights - you're generally really tired after the day's trekking! Our final day is a pretty straightforward hike along corn plantations and rice paddies. It's extremely hot though so I'm delighted it's not such a long day. Most people here carry a basket on their backs made from bamboo and banana leaves. I pass a guy who has made a seat from the same material and he's carrying an old woman on it. I'm told this is the village's version of an ambulance - madness! Ximena and I buy some prayer flags and hang them in the trees before we reach Naya Pul, the end of the hike! Many hikers do this and it's lovely to spot them hanging at different stages along the hike. The photos I've taken don't do the beauty of the Annapurna range justice - the scenery is magnificent. What an amazing hike - would recommend it to anyone!

After a few more days hanging out with my lovely new family of Bosnians, Trinidadians and Columbians (including a birthday celebration and dance-off with a huge bunch of Nepalis), I finally have to say goodbye and I'm sad to go! I feel even more sorry for myself when the drunk teenager sitting beside me on the bus out of Pokhara is constantly falling over on top of me on our 8 hour night-bus! I miss Indian trains J

I finally make it to Kathmandu where I plan to spend a week taking in the sights and relaxing a little. It's nice to have the luxury of so much time in one place so I spend quite a while catching up on sleep and my blog (imagine, I finally get my Jan-Mar stint completed in July - better late than never, eh?). Every cafe and guesthouse both in Pokhara and in Kathmandu has Wi-Fi - its madness! We don't even have this much access at home!

Kathmandu is much nicer than I've expected - in general people have been telling me that it's noisy and smelly. Sure, it has a little of these elements but I think I've been in India too long to be very bothered by them. In general, I prefer to walk around cities rather than take rickshaws or busses as I find that you generally come across more interesting people and places en route. In Kathmandu I pretty much stumble along the 'slums' of the city with hundreds of people living in shacks along the water and right beside a rubbish dump/recycling facility. The sights and smells are pretty awful but when you come across these things, it makes you appreciate what you have I suppose! I take in all the usual touristy sights like the Swayambhunath/Monkey Temple (fewer monkeys than expected but very beautiful building) where I catch some Buddhist worship and chanting. It is here I manage to bargain a singing bowl (bowl made of metal alloys used in Buddhist worship which produces beautiful sounds and vibrations when you run a wooden stick around its rim) down from US$25 to US$3! I also visit Durbar Square in the city centre - a complex full of temples and monasteries, the oldest of which was built during the 1500s. The area surrounding Kathmandu had been split in to three kingdoms with each having their own Durbar square - Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. In Kathmandu's Durbar Square I just hang out at the temples - it's a great place to people watch and just see the world pass by. I manage to see the great Kumari Devi - this is a young girl of about 14 who is worshipped by Hindus as a Living Goddess. There are certain qualities she must possess in order to be able to fill the shoes of the previous goddess - colour of skin, colour of eyes, tone of voice, tolerance for fear etc. She becomes a goddess at a very young age and must live in the Kumari Ghar temple until she has her first period. She is paraded at certain festivals and appears at a window in the temple for ten minutes twice a day - no photos allowed! It's a weird concept.

In general, budget accommodation in India and Nepal is a guesthouse, not hostel which doesn't make it all that social but having been around here for a while, I manage to catch up with lots of people who I've met along the way and who are passing through on their way home. It's nice to have a few people to go out for a beer or do some sightseeing with. I decide to splash out one of the nights in Kathmandu and go to La Dolce Vita Italian restaurant in the Thamel district, where I have probably the best pizza I've ever tasted (that includes those I've tried in Italy) and a lovely glass of red wine! There's not much opportunity for massive parties or drinking on this trip but I'm not complaining! Really enjoying the quiet time!

I visit Patan, a really beautiful part of the city that's well worth a visit. Upon entering, you make your payment and get a sticker which you are expected to wear for your day's touring - as if you didn't stick out enough as a tourist! Patan is so so cute and if I was here any longer I'd definitely consider moving down for a few days. There is a suggested walk which through the city which takes in all the sights - you are walking through little stoops, along narrow alleyways and past lakes to get to some beautiful temples/monasteries - some of Hindu origin and some Buddhist - full of incense and colour. My day in Patan is one of the most enjoyable days I've spent in Kathmandu so far! Niraz, a friend I met while studying in Germany, is from Kathmandu and has given me tips on places to visit, including the lovely Recreational Club in Sanepa/Paknajol with its outdoor pool. It's perfect for a day's hangout but unfortunately it's raining when I arrive.

I again decide to take a long walk out of Kathmandu centre and head for Pashupatinath, another complex of temples which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site (most tourist attractions in Nepal are]. There are 7/8 cremation Ghats (concrete slabs) lined up along the river which flows through the complex. While there are existing pyres smouldering when I arrive, I also witness the final stages of a funeral where the family have their ritualistic blessing over the body swathed in orange cloth and it is set alight! It's a really odd experience and very emotional - it's so open and public too which makes it even stranger. The embers, ashes and other remains are continuously swept in to the river where there are kids swimming and many things growing - it doesn't bear thinking about!

I also visit Bodnath, the site of another massive stupa, and am fortunate enough to arrive in time for worship. Hundreds of Buddhists (both male and female monks as well as plain clothes devotees) walk around this enormous stupa in a clockwise direction with their prayer beads, prayer sheets and spinning the prayer wheels. It's an amazing sight and I hang out for quite a while taking it all in!

For those interested in a little bit of history, Nepal was left reeling in 2001 when it's monarchy was all but destroyed. The son of the then King began a shooting rampage at a royal gathering in the palace and shot all members of the royal family before killing himself. All over a girl it's believed! However, his uncle became the new king and has taken over the royal reigns! Still a weird part of the Nepali/Nepalese history nonetheless!

For my last evening in Kathmandu and before I move on to South East Asia, I go to listen to some traditional Nepali music at the Ghanharva Music Society. There's an opportunity to attend practice sessions and as I'm the only tourist, they put on a special show with great music on various stringed instruments, drums and whistles and even have a little traditional dance. I've been trying out lots of Nepal cuisine at the Himali Kitchen, a real local spot where you can try all things traditional and sometimes even witness impromptu singing sessions, albeit, drunken ones! There is actually particularly bad problem with alcohol among Nepali men. Loving the traditional music and singing though!

Nepal really surpassed my expectations in terms of scenery, sights, people, and history….everything. I would definitely recommend a visit!