Nepal = Adventure capital of the World!

There's so much to do and say from here so I'll try and keep it brief. After arriving from the National Park to Kathmandu, after the initial shock of the sharp rise in prices from Sauraha, we set about organising some activities. Even though it's the off-season here, there is still loads of activities to do. We'll start with the bikes...

One day, two mountain bikes, one 30km constant uphill ride out of Kathmandu to attempt the Scar road back down into the valley. But the first challenge was cycling out of Kathmandu. In the first few yards Steve found out comically that the front and rear brakes had been swapped round nearly crashing. Another few hundred yards and the the motor bike I was sat next to going slowly in the traffic had a another motorbike crash straight into the back of him! So safely out of town, we started the long climb out of the valley and towards the national park. It was around 1pm when we finally reached the top and after lunch could head off into the National Park. Now, in the dry season this would be some of the best single tracks i have ever ridden. In and out of thick foliage, the tracks barely big enough for your wheels with sheer drops down one side off down into the valley. In monsoon time however, i.e. now, the paths were even more overgrown dodging branches. The rains, in parts, had created bit holes in the path sending it down the side making cycling at speed extremely hazardous especially when the foliage was hiding them. And then there were the leeches. Big leeches. It was at that point after about 40mins of cycling this path and after having to burn off a fat leech off of me (due to not taking any salt) we decided to abandon mission and head back. The thought of the leeches saw us get out the forst in around half the time of entering! At least we had the joy of 30km now all downhill on blacktop winding back round the mountain sides into town. It was all the more fun with the challenge of seeing how many motorbikes and cars we could overtake on the way! That is until we hit Kathmandu again - this time in rush hour! These people are crazy drivers! And there appears to be no such thing as giving way anywhere. Whoever is in front has priority and that even counts if you cut people up so really just a free for all!

Next was the White water rafting. Our choice was somewhat limited by the monsoons but we got on a 2-day trip down the Thrisuli. The first day, 4 hours of rafting (normally) was completed in 2 hours in the swollen fast state the river is currently in! Similar story the second day. Thankfully the water wasn't that cold and managed to get in some swimming. We apparently went through grade 3 and 4 rapids but I get the impression these may have been bigger in the dry season. Even still, crashing down one side of a rapid and staring straight into a muddy wall of water around 1.5 metres high is still pretty exhilerating Steve and myself occupying, by the guides request, front row seats of the whole show! Enough said really, other than an extremely bumpy ride in the back of a local express bus back to town!

Still looking for more thrills, we took a trip to 'The Last Resort'. Home of the World's third highest bungee jump and World's Highest Canyon swing (reputedly). We jumped off the bridge (a glorified footbridge which was far too wobbly for my liking) spanning a 160m canyon heading rapidly toward the raging River Bhote Kosi in full monsoon glory below. The swing came first and the rope stretched out in front simply tied to another cable spanning the same canyon in the distance. I wasn't quite prepared for the amount the rope would be pulling you off the platform and so jumping required less effort - almost like you had no choice. The adrenalin kicks in as you free fall straight down before the rope takes your weight and you go soaring along the canyon supposedly reaching 150km/h and creating a 240 metre arch. The next, and hardest, was the bungee jump. I was determined to take a massive leap off the edge but as I bent my knees my legs realised what they were doing and I ended up almost stumbling off the edge. There is video evidence for all it's comical viewing you can all see when I get back. I was also panning on shouting something stupid like 'rice and dahl' as I fell but what came out was somewhat different although I think Steve has to win on the shouting front for his effort on the bungee clearly audible on the video!

After some well deserved alcholic drinks that night and some good sleeps in luxurious tents, we rose the next day for Canyoning. Only being allowed to do the first of the three days they offer (again due to the monsoons) we still managed to fit in seven waterfalls. The first was just a lowering where you hand onto a rope and try to run down the waterfall with the guide letting you down at a pace far from sedate. The others where mainly abseiled down with the in-between bits negotiated by climbing down and treating large boulders as natural water slides. The last one of the day was a long hard 45m waterfall; not being able to see much off where to go the guide's simple instructions where to 'follow the water'. Easy! Did I mention there was no safety line for this? Just the one abseil line clenched tightly in my grip all the way down. Fun stuff!

So now we're stranded in Nepal. Thanks to Air Nepal grounding its entire fleet of planes, air tickets are hard to come by and flights to Thailand are booked up months in advance so we are currently awaiting on several waiting lists over several days for a seat out of the country. Until then, there are the many bars complete with live music to entertain us...