Namaste! We got picked up at 9am from our hotel and within 20 minutes of leaving Pokhara had been dropped off at a temple where we would be starting our trekk. Straightaway the views where stunning with a river rapidly roaring by way down below in the valley. It was this roar and the subsequent sound of silence later that made me realize why Alexander Supertramp was so captivated by being in the wild in Alaska. Once we got to the other side of the river by crossing a small suspension bridge, we had vultures circling about 30 feet above, was awesome to see them glide and soar away. Throughout the morning we had such nice views, clean fresh air and the sun had its hat on, bliss! Our guide was a bit speedy gonzalez though always walking 100mph.. we were like slow down we wanna absorb the stunning scenery!! For those of you that know wooden snake.. Got a new one now, Pepper steak hehe. We went fer a meal the previous evening in Pokhara and the pepper steak propelled us up the mountain! Saw lots of buffalos along the way so le song dujour was Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley! We arrived at Damphus at tea time and was good to know we were within the Annapurna conservation area (just) without having to pay for permits. There wasn't much to do at the guesthouse however especially when the power was out for most of the night so we kept ourselves entertained with music from mobiles and going through pictures. The next morning got woken up abruptly at 6:30 am by our guide, was cheesed off initially but then we realized why. We were so fortunate to have clear blue skies and see dawn and then sunrise hit the highest peaks in the Annapurna range. We went back to bed for a bit before breakfast with the curtains open looking out to the mountains from our room, what a view! Breakfast was the same, sat eating facing the mammoth mountains absolutely loving the views. The second days trekking was the longest but conversely probably the easiest walking through lush and occasionally dense forests, had the jungle boogie song from Pulp Fiction in my head throughout! ;) Our morning restpoint was fun, we were having a light snack when lots of donkeys turned up.. now I know where the expression hung like a donkey comes from..! Hans the German geeza was keeping me entertained constantly moaning & whining behind me, at times I didn't know if it was him or a cow mooing. I've been travelling with him longer than anyone else thus far on this trip but its been a blast, he reminds me of Jeremy Clarkson (but funnier and less arrogant) and of my dad also as was born in the same year and has the same bloody cough! In the afternoon it was really weird as even though walking further away from the high Himalayan peaks they seemed to be getting taller!? Our second nights stay was in a perfect location, with views over two valleys one of which with excellent and scenic sunset views. There were three Germans with us that evening however there's more personality in a wet kipper than them 3 combined, even Hans said they were boring barstewards hehe! At night it was bloody freezing, already had a cold from Pokhara, had all the clothes I brought with me on but was still bloody frozen in bed! The final morning woke up rough as feeling really poorly! It was a real shame that it was cloudy this time and couldn't see the Annapurna range clearly so we had a lie in but grateful that managed to see the mountains clearly the previous morning. We had breakfast in the kitchen as the dining room was far too cold and the kitchen had a flaming fire! It was a good, traditional and hearty Tibetan breakfast which set us up for the day. All through the third day's walking we had the majestic Himalayas infront of us, tried to think of an apt superlative to describe them but just can't so wunderbar will do! Our guide said that today would be easy, all downhill.. Utter tripe! By far the toughest day and had a migraine, balance wasn't brill and legs were like jelly.. all the things didn't need when going down trechearous, slippy steps down the mountains! Like Hans said, one wrong step/foot and its sianara down the mountain so really took our time. We were real happy to get down to the bottom of the mountain and had the choice to eat some lunch and catch the bus an hour later or go straightaway. Just wanted to get back to the comfort of Pokhara so went straight away but the bloody local bus was uncomfortable and bumpy as hell, ended up with some bad bruises from it worse than anything from the trekking but was funny though as there was a goat on the bus as well as us humans! In the evening just chilled and had a well deserved pepper steak, cheap as chips, way less than three quid and not shy on portios either, bargain! Thursday we just chilled and did nothing apart from book bus to Kathmandu for Friday. It was nice to have a lie in for a change and not get pestered from our crazy guide! There's always one item in your bagpack that you think hmm should I have brought this along.. well long johns is no longer in that category, been a blooming life & sausage saver these last couple of days!! Last day in Pokhara today, real sad to be leaving as its the longest spent in one location thus far and loved every minute here however glad going in one way as we've eaten our way through most of the cakes in the coffee houses!! Hans makes me laugh, I call him d.o.m as in Dirty Old Man, he has no shame and will chat up anything with a pulse!! Chilled by the lake watching local women wash their laundry, they were saying that they can't afford a washing machine so they bring down their dirty laundry and wash it in the lake, makes you realize how fortunate we are back home sometimes and that we take simple things like a washing machine for granted. The journey east is east was well lush travelling through some stunning landscapes and hugging a river pretty much all the way over. We went over some high mountain passes also which weren't good on the vertigo but still nice to look down and see into the valleys below. We got to Kathmandu and it felt like being back in India.. dirty and smelly but with less people! We were waiting for ages for our hotel pick up only to find out the bozo from the hotel was there for ages but didn't say a thing, knobjockey! Once at hotel, the manager said make sure you lock your windows at night as people climb up ladders and steal things in room, nice warm greeting eh.. Had a look around Thamel area which is the touristy part. Felt really ill and cold in the evening, went to bed with all my clothes on and was still frozen, there's no such thing as radiators over here! Saturday did some touristy stuff in the centre, bit of culture starting off at Rani Pokhari and then when we walked to the Palace Museum but all the streets were closed with lots of police about. We asked around and found out that someone had been killed in prison the previous day so everyone was on strike, there were students going around battering shops that weren't closed out of respect, bit edgy, really reminded me a bit of being back in Cairo! We then walked over to Durbar Square which is a world heritage site and spent the afternoon there wandering around the many Hindu & Buddhist temples. Found a stall that did cheap buffalo momos so I was happy as larry. We've nicknamed the road next to our hotel Slaughter Street as lots of animals, mostly chickens are slaughtered/butchered there. Found it funny that there was a stall with live chickens caged in and dead chickens above hanging down so the poor live chickens must've been thinkin sheiza I'm next!! Reading the daily local paper here on Sunday with breakfast we realised we were lucky and grateful to have made the bus journeys in Nepal in one piece.. an overloaded local bus had overturned and precipitated more than 250 metres down the mountain killing the majority of the 40+ people on the bus. Spent the day sightseeing at the monkey temple which was awesome apart from monkeys trying to nick all your stuff, cheeky monkeys! The evening was fun trying to dodge a dodgy Russian met the previous evening at meal time who was so busy telling us everything about Russia whilst eating that he was propelling half of his bloody food out, eww!! Monday was frustrating, wanted to go sightseeing again but it was day two of national strikes here in Nepal, everything is bloody closed, no taxis running so was a day of hardly doing anything! The krazy protesters walked past my hotel just as was coming out and started kicking at the door as the shutters weren't down out of respect to the person that died a couple of days earlier. The afternoon improved however as met a Nepalese friend through a mutual friend (obrigado Allex) and we walked for miles to a place called Patan which was well worth the trekk. We had a look at a traditional home renovated by Unesco and had some traditional Newari food which was real tasty and had a look around the various hindu & buddhist temples. On the way home I got lost trying to get back to Thamel but ended up in another nice touristy area so was good to have a look around there, sometimes getting lost you find new things wouldn't have otherwise! Tuesday morning started in classic continental style.. The family of Indians next door to us had their tv on at an obscene level early in the morning, British way of doing things "Excuse me, please can you turn your tv lower".. German direct approach, "Faaking tv louud buulshiiit, turn down now.." then shouts to them "Fcuking Indians!" hahaha gonna miss zee crazy German pupu meister!! Met with Sujan once more and we made our way via local bus to Boudhanath, one of the most important pilgrimage places for Buddhists in the world. Was mesmerized by its size and location, nestled in between modern buildings/cafes. It is a place of sacred energy and I could certainly feel the positive vibes, as could elsewhere in the magical mystical Himalayan region (Haridwar, Rishikesh, Pokhara). After midday tea on the terrace of an organic cafe overlooking the Stupa and watching planes take off from the nearby airport, we made our way downhill to an important Hindu temple, Pashupati Nath. It was a real good experience as missed out on seeing the cremations by the Varanasi ghats so was good to see but not smell! In the evening had the last supper mit zee crazee German hehe. Will miss Nepal (and momos) lots had an amazing time here, its a country of such beauty, both natural of course but also the people are warm, friendly and approachable, really hope to come back here to the future! This is more than likely gonna be my last blog prior to Christmas so wanna wish you all a very merry and happy xmas, hava fantastico day! I'm so envious of you all tucking into turkeys & trimmings, more than likely will be tucking into crickets & scorpions.. not monster munch but crunch munch!! Will miss my loved ones very dearly on the big day... X