Crossing the border from India into Nepal was like a breath of fresh air and we both breathed a sigh of relief once we stepped onto Nepali soil. The differences smacked us in the face, friendly smiles, cleaner streets and happier people, immediately we liked Nepal.

From the border we travelled 10 hours in an uncomfortable rickety bus to the capital Kathmandu. For a few days we milled around the city, taking in the sights of the temples, stupas and ancient courtyards, shopping and gorging on goodies that we'd been denied in India...steak and beer!

With only two and half weeks in Nepal we made the most of our time and headed west to Pokhara, a town nestled in the lap of the Annapurna mountain range of the Himalayas. Remarkably I managed to persuade James to do a 3 day yoga course, an intense schedule of meditation, yogic cleansing (pouring warm salt water up your nose and snotting everywhere!) and hatha yoga. Waking up at 5:45am was quite a shock to the system but the relaxed life, organic veggie food and the sauna box worked like magic and by the end of the course James could touch his toes and sit cross-legged - no mean feat!

Nepal is currently in the monsoon season, so low cloud and rain are guaranteed daily. We took our chances and hired a moped for the day, whizzing around the countryside, praying to catch glimpses of the Annapurna mountain range. At the end of the day the clouds finally parted and the landscape was in full view with a partial snow capped mountain to top it all off - quite rare to see at this time of the year.

From Pokhara we headed to a small, traditional Nepali village called Bandipur. Beautiful crumbling buildings centuries old, oil lamps in the evening, kids playing marbles in the cobbled streets, we felt like we'd stepped back in time. A wonderful place to explore the Nepali countryside, despite the low cloud and freezing weather.

Back to Kathmandu for a few days before we headed to the border of Tibet to an activity retreat called The Last Resort. We planned to chill out for a few days before we took part in an 8 day tour of Tibet. The resort is carved into a mountain on one side of a spectacular gorge, the only way to reach it is to cross a 160 metre high swing bridge. Wobbling over the bridge with 25kgs on my back was enough for me, but James was charged with adrenaline and opted to do a bungy jump from the bridge (the second highest in the world) and followed this with a canyon swing, jumping into thin air and swinging at over 100 mph with 7 seconds of freefall, what an adrenaline buzz! In the same day, we both went canyoning, abseiling down gushing waterfalls, some 45metre high and topped it all off with a relaxing massage. A great end to an action packed few days.

With only one day spare we made the journey north for about 20 kms to the border town of Kodari. Whilst waiting for the bus we noticed a group of cyclists hurtling past us. We stared admiringly at them (they were riding uphill at altitude) and I suddenly spotted my friend from Germany, Julia, who I lived with in Peru five years ago! A one in a million chance of meeting, in the middle of the Nepali countryside, it was a bizarre and happy reunion!

The stretch of the road to Kodari is treacherous with frequent landslides and we had to walk for a few kilometers through mud, rocks and rivers, heaving our bags as we went. Finally we made it to the border, wet, cold and tired but excited for the next adventure, a trip through Tibet. Nepal is a wonderful country, it's a shame we've visited during the monsoons but it's on our ever growing list of 'let's return one day', hopefully to trek to Everest Base Camp or the Annapurna Circuit.