THE LAUGHING TAXI DRIVER Our trip from Dhulikhel to Pokhara was a nightmare. The route usually takes about 6-7 hours and the roads are mostly congested mountain passes. We hit a number of accidents and breakdown that added a few hours to the journey. The ordeal was added to by our drivers enthusiam for taking pot-holes, fords, speedbumps and bends at dangerously high speeds. The result was a ten hour, edge of your seat, rally. There were also some scary security...

BACK TO THE FUTURE We've travelled an hour out into the Kathmandu Valley to a beautiful mountain-top village called Dhulikhel. The main lure of the village is its views of the Himalayas beyond the local mountains. The views of the mountains alone are incredible which is just as well because the weather, altough lovely, is too hazy for most of the Himalayas to be seen. Still, we did get to see one snow-capped peak so not all is lost. We are staying in an amazin...

COW KILLERS BEWARE Varanasi 'airport' was a foray into comedy. Imagine someones living room with an x-ray machine, a check-in desk and passport control all crammed in together. The flight to Kathmandu is the shortest flight I've ever taken - only 30 minutes long and they even served us with a sandwich, some cake and a drink! The views over the Himalayas were spectacular from the air. Nepal is a wonderful country. The people are very friendly and everything her...