8 days and counting... Time is ticking away rapidly now, with only a few short days left until holiday kick-off time. I don't think I'm over-exaggerating when I say I'm as excited as a mad cat in a box. The villa has been booked for a while but we're still effectively homeless for the last 3 nights of the trip so that's my task this weekend. Oh, and there's the travel insurance to arrange too. And the airport parking. And thinking about it, I haven't bought any...

Pachyderms & McCurry burgers It felt a bit odd having a lie-in but I did my best to enjoy it as I'd soon be back to the daily grind. Breakfast was brought to us on a tray in our room, which was quite nice. Shame really that the toast had been made about 5 hours ago going on its solidity, which was itself outweighed by the near-frozen state of the butter. Having just reread that sentence however, I have realised just how petty it sounds - this from the girl ...

Death by doorbell Despite not having hot water bottles and only canvas between us and the chilly elements, we slept pretty well. Breakfast of tea & biscuits was booked for 6.30am, before a quick final bird walk. I took the steps up to the road at a more leisurely pace and happily reached them without a wheeze in sight. As well as the usual bird suspects, we managed to bag views of a gorgeous male Green-tailed Sunbird and a Blue-throated Barbet, and Mark man...

A jolly good wheeze! After a relatively late start (7am) and a hearty breakfast, we headed out in the car to catch a morning view of the Himalayas. We climbed higher and were teased with glimpses through the trees and calls of 'wait', 'not yet' and 'there's a better spot round the next bend'. I can honestly say the wait was well worth it. The morning mist that commonly plagued the view, had yet to arrive so we were graced with a crystal clear vista of the infam...

Dog chorus After the previous day's rubbish early start, today saw a 5.15am kick off. I stubbornly refused to get out of bed whilst the clock read 4am anything however, so did an impressively fast bed-to-jeep manoeuvre instead. It's not like the elephants care whether I'm wearing makeup, it's only the tigers that expect lipstick. Turns out CB seriously doesn't like the cold, bless him. He had a fabulous scarf wrapped securely round his head so only his eyes pee...