Hello all,

We've arrived in Nepal safe and sound and have been pottering around here for the last three days.

The journey over here wasn't too bad and we randomly bumped into Jody Minton and his girlfriend Sofie at Heathrow airport - they're also off travelling for a year and were on the same flight as us and sitting on the row in front!

The flights were OK and Jet Airways (Delhi to Kathmandu) were really good. A girl sitting next to Sarah was even more scared of flying than me though and kept literally crying out when there was a bit of turbulence which didn't particularly help my nerves to be honest. Getting off a plane over here is also a bit mental - if you think people in London are impatient, try taking a few extra seconds to get your bag out of the luggage rack over here. Fortunately I'm extremely patient or this would annoy me (extreme sarcasm).

We also saw a bloke on one of those stand up 2 wheel turbo charged things at Delhi airport who was quickly christened the 'turbo turban'.

Once we landed in Kathmandu we got picked up in van by our hostel bloke (after paying some dodgy geezers at the airport some change for carrying our bags literally two metres) and drove across town to find our hostel. The traffic was mental with loads of beeping and near misses (a bit like being in a car with Cheetham) and the noise and sights were all a bit of a culture shock at first.

We're staying in Thamel at the Acme Guest House which is pretty central in Kathmandu and our room is pretty big with a reasonably good shower (sometimes even with hot water) although not particularly clean and a fire warden's worst nightmare. There also seems to be sort of building work going on outside and there's a mental dog out the back who barks constantly - earplugs and stolen eye mask from the plane have come in handy for sleeping.

On our first proper day we went for a wander around the royal palace where the royal family were shot by their own son back in 2001. It's a bit weird as they've kept the bullet holes in the wall and signs up in the gardens show the exact spots where the murders took place. There were far more Nepalis than tourists wandering round as it hasn't been open to the general populous for too long. The palace interior is a bit dated and getting really dusty, but there were loads of visits over the years from different heads of state and the Queen and Prince Phillip have their photos in the hall of fame.

On our way to the palace we managed to pick up a couple of guides who gave us an unofficial tour then took us around Thamel to have a look at some of the lesser known temples. They then took us to their school where we were predictably invited to buy a painting (we bought a cheap one after a bit of haggling) and asked to give them a donation for their 'tour services'. We were a bit polite initially as they said they just wanted to practice their English, but this experience has been useful as we're now at ease with telling people to piss off (politely) before they even start any patter. We also bought some prayer flags to hang in the Himalayas though so that was at least useful.

Next we walked up to the famous 'Monkey Temple' which overlooks much of Kathmandu. We got a bit lost on the way and the stairs up there were good practice for our Everest trek, but it was worth the effort as the views were great. There were plenty of monkeys doing monkey stuff up there, as well as Monks (not monkeys) in prayer and other locals and tourists. The weather was massively overcast though so we didn't get to see the sunset which was a bit of a shame.

There was a mild panic when we got back to the room and thought we'd been robbed, but luckily the missing money turned up in Sarah's glasses case where she'd put it for safe keeping / inducement of heart attack.

After a pancake breakfast the following day we headed out on a walk to Durbar Square which a real hub of activity in Kathmandu, a World Heritage Site and where kings of old were crowned. We got a bit lost in the hustle and bustle and somehow got there in an hour even though the full walk should have taken two.

We paid for a guided tour of the square which was well worth it as it's packed with loads of ancient monuments. The guide was great and claimed to have friends in Scotland and that Lewis Caroll was from Fife - good knowledge. He showed us one statue of Kala Bharaib which used to witness public executions years ago, but this has now stopped and it's used as a place where people are asked to take an oath and swear the truth. When I immediately asked him if his tour was good value he went a bit quiet so he either misunderstood me or we'd been done again!

After a bit of a sit at the top of the 'Hippy Temple' (visited by George Harrison back in the 60's, legend) watching the World go by and various lily white tourists getting plagued by the locals we walked back to the hostel, bumping into our unofficial tour guide from the day before (git).

All in all a great trip so far, the food is pretty good and very cheap and the locals are really friendly. Have also seen a fair few United shirts knocking about, but am guessing their families aren't from Manchester.

Will be in touch again post our two week Everest trek which starts on Tuesday - assuming Sarah doesn't cut my rope.

Paul and Sarah. xx