Across the street from where I stay in Pokhara West Nepal is a row of temporary wooden shacks and breeze-block-built shops. At the top end is David's restaurant - the owner/chef for over 15 years has worked in some of Nepal's best restaurants. David has returned to Kathmandu and his sister and brother-in-law now run the restaurant. The wife does all the cooking and the husband waits on, he isn't exactly harassed, and bullied is such a strong word, but he nev...

Late this afternoon I got a call from my friend Mark, a trek guide. He had just returned down from a four day trek to Gorepani and Ghandruk. Would I like to go for a beer? Most of the day I had been reading and writing notes in the garden, the power wasn't due back on until 7 pm, so why not.When I got down to The Club Amsterdam Mark immediately told me that he had been so concerned about his clients. All the rain we had been having down here in Pokhara meant tha...

This article was written back in 2008. Today in 2013 the situation for the vast majority of Nepalese has not improved: access to clean drinking water is sporadic, increased powercuts, the price of commodities doubled, the poliitical situation in deadlock, and increased lawlessness. As there is yet another power cut I am writing this email by the flickering light of a candle and the gentle glow of my laptop. I am back in Kathmandu after an epic motorbike trip b...

A cold coming we had of it, just the worst time of year for a journey, and such a long journey... Then the camel men cursing and grumbling and running away, and wanting their liquor and women, and the night fires going out, and the lack of shelters, and the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly and the villages dirty and charging high prices: A hard time we had of it. At the end we preferred to travel all night, sleeping in snatches... The Journey of the ...

"Oh' my goodness not again." I really thought I had got over my fear of getting to an airport on time. After years of flying on Easy Jet and Ryan Air and making sure that I had someone else take me to the airport I actually thought I could get on a flight with more than 30 seconds to spare. This morning at my hotel in Kathmandu, I got up around ten; checked my emails; had a meeting with a couple from Holland; chatted to one of the doctor's who is organizing Ex...