Never again will I say that London is dirty. It is, of course, by comparison to other places in England, but it is nothing, absolutely nothing when compared to the dust, dirt and rubbish-lined streets of Kathmandu.

Today I've had two major issues to contend with: dust and roads. My description won't do them justice but I'll attempt it anyway.

I saw a sign on the way back into Kathmandu that just said "Yes!" in English. Let's play some jeopardy. "Will living in Kathmandu knock ten years off your life?"; "Do you have to be an adrenaline junkie to drive a bus in Nepal?"; "Are spiced cucumbers a weird but enjoyable roadside snack?" to name a few...

The tourist bus back from Chitwan left at 9:30am - a nice, sociable time - and endured several traffic jams and traditional near-misses on the way. We were positioned right at tieback of the bus which had the most leg room, as the conductor so ably demonstrated when getting us to move seats. Headroom was a different story. I should explain the roads to show why this is a problem.

Nepal's roads are not the worst I've been on. North Kenya wins that by a country mile (which incidentally is the measurement of some of their potholes). The Nepali roads are possibly on a par with Tanzania. You're lucky if you can stay on the left side, and the potholes are numerous and noticeable. Oh so noticeable. Especially when you're at the back of the bus, which is like being on the end of a seesaw with a mischievous, hugely overweight man at the other end who is determined to make your life hell. I spent a lot of time out of my seat - not by choice - although only once did I actually bounce so high that my head literally hit the roof. As if proof were needed of the relative dangers of driving, we passed an accident involving two trucks on the way. It's amazing there weren't more!

We arrived in Kathmandu, coughing and spluttering as we were so accustomed to, at 5pm. That's a 5-6 hour bus journey completed in 7.5 hours. No room at the two places we'd stayed before, so it was the Hotel Excelsior's chance to impress. We met Sonam and had steak in K Too, though Sonam could only manage a beer. If anyone wants a quality mountain and city guide, I can put you in touch. He's great.

In fact I missed something out. The other thing I had to contend with today was DEET. That stuff is nasty. I had a bottle of 95% DEET spray in my rucksack during the bud journey. Most of it is still in my rucksack, but the bottle is no longer there. It exploded and started to melt my bag. I still haven't got it off despite washing it in a shower. If ever there was a lesson for carrying more plastic bags...