Family Festival and a Sore Arse Katie had volunteered in this mountain town around 6 years ago and with her highest recommendation we had a quick stay at Khangasar in Kathmandu a roadhouse pizza and took the bus in the early hours of the morning. The bus journey was an experience in itself with some bumpy roads, giant homemade swings, sacrificial goats and gorgeous views. Our arrival in Pokhara happened to be the start of the Doshain festival (Deepavali). So ...

What a difference a day makes Day 9 · Goraksep-Kala Patthar and EBC · 5200m-5545m · 7 hours walking · Tea house-Yeti Lodge We rose even earlier than usual to ensure we had reached the peak of Kala Patthar by sunrise. Our prayers had worked and the sky was looking much clearer. We couldn't believe what we saw when the sun began to rise. I think because of the cloud cover before we all really appreciated the views and th...

Made it to first base Day 1 Lukla-Phakding · 2800m-2610m · 3 hours walking · 10km · Tea house-Royal Sherpa After a delay of one day due to poor weather we were back at the domestic terminal waiting for our flight on Tara Air. Little did I know at the time but we were about to board the World's most dangerous flight path. Despite feeling a bit nervous, flash backs of our Bolivian aeroplane journey came flooding to the f...

Holy Cow it's Varanasi We thought we had seen poverty. We thought we had seen dirty pavements. We thought we had experienced Indian traffic. We thought we had seen a lot of cows. We thought we had experienced touts and beggars. We thought we had seen polluted water. We thought we had seen tiny walkways full of people and rubbish. We thought we understood India, until we came to Varanasi! Our train into Varanasi was delayed by a few hours but our lovely ...

Om Mani Padme Hum The journey from McLeod Ganj back to Delhi deserves an entry to itself. So enjoy, or don't as the case may be. We were sad to leave the mountains and were reasonably happy with the Volvo bus we had booked ourselves on. After travelling in South America no buses will ever compare but we set our expectations low for buses in India and from the outset it looked alright. We had booked the bus in the hope of getting some sleep; it is called a s...