As bright eyed as possible at 4.30am we meet out guide downstairs in just the light of a torch to make the one hour climb to the top of Poon hill for sunrise over the Himalayas. It was a tough climb up with more dreaded stone steps winding up as the light increased. Finally slow step after slow step I finally made it to the top, although Ammie was doing it harder with an upset stomach & a few spew stops. The views across the Annapurna Himalayas were amazing, ...

Steps, steps & more stone steps. Today we faced what we thought was just 2hrs of continuous stone steps which steeply rose up the hillside past more terraced fields & simple homes. We had got an early start to avoid the heat of the sun & after crossing a couple of swing bridges we endured the gruelling endless steps which took all the puff out of my lungs as we also climbed in altitude. We had a mid morning break where toblerone & plenty of water ...

This morning we were picked up at 7.30am to start our 3 day trek to Poon hill. We were first driven to Nyalpul about an hour and a half from Pokhara where the trail starts. Eager to get going we cut through the village then continued up a dirt track/road which after an hour or so became very hot in the direct sun. Dust filled the air when the occasional 4x4 careered past and finally after about 3hrs of walking up & up we came to the start of the foot only tra...

Today we all just had a relaxing day wandering around Pokhara. Ammie set off early to find meditation & yoga (which didn't end up running!) whilst mum and I had a lazy morning having breakfast at the lakefront hotel restaurant where we found that the simple buffet breakfast was included despite seeming otherwise when I booked. We then stretched our legs roaming Pokhara in search of some better accommodation for after our trek. Having narrowed down our choices...

We had a long bus ride to Pokhara ahead of us today so we were up early to check out & get a taxi to the tourist bus park. Luckily we arrived with plenty of time to go find a coffee. We bought a normal sized takeaway cup from an actual coffee shop but they couldn't sell us a coffee as there was no power. Instead we had our cup filled at a street side vendor, I purchased extra sachets of coffee as they only put half in each cup. Just as the bus set off we were...