Well that's Nepal done after three great weeks. It's certainly a country that offers a lot but the thing that really made it is the people. It is such a friendly and nice country, obviously it has it's beggars and annoying touts but where doesn't?! Nepal definitely hits you with everything from the crazy and manic in Kathmandu to the chilled out pace of Pokhara and Chitwan for a bit of nature. The pollution and the rubbish is a massive issue, I reckon my life s...

I arrived at Chitwan National Park with no problems except the persistent rain. I thought this would cause problems for the roads and the bus but luckily not. Although I did spot one lorry we passed on the wrong side of the road without it's rear right wheels. It is a game of chicken on the roads though, if the driver wants to overtake and there is oncoming traffic, sod it just get on the horn and carry on (it would seem). Anyway I went in search of a hotel in th...

It was a great start to the first day heading to Pokhara...I had to get up at 5am to catch the tourist bus, but after being at the bus for an hour the guy turns round to me and tells me my booking wasn't confirmed properly by his office. So they had double booked the seat and it wasn't me who was going to get it. In a nutshell, I was told I was going to have to sit on a stool in the aisle (for at least 3 hours on the winding roads. I was not impressed but glad to...

I think it's fair to say I was bricking it about going to Nepal. A country and culture I knew very little, if anything about. I had the good fortune of meeting Suman at Dubai airport, who is a Nepalese living in Seattle. He quickly reassured me that I'd love Nepal and it's people (so far I can't fault his comments). And that it was festival time, the equivalent to Christmas so the city would be less manic (still hard to imagine)! I was looking forward to flying ...