An early start today, woke to the sound of traffic & horns in Kathmandu. We had to be ready with breakfast over, luggage in the foyer and in the meeting room at 8 AM. At the team meeting we introduced ourselves and shared a little of why we wanted to join the team, given a run down on how the projected worked and the preparations to be done. The alleys and streets in Kathmandu are very narrow and winding with outer main roads, and traffic in the narrow a...

Saturday 6th April - The plane landed with a bit of a shudder and heavy on the breaks but arrived safely in Kathmandu Nepal. Going through customs was pretty easy, out to the bag collection, we waited & waited, and finally come to terms that our cases did not arrive with us!!! Not happy Singapore Air. It doesn't help that airport porters pull the bags off the carousel and leave them in a big messy pile. Leanne discovered her bag of supplies. So, after report...

Well my plan to work as a volunteer Nurse in Nepal is becoming real. Every thing appears to be inplace (a plan that has now been almost 2 years). Case is packed and half full of donations to support the hospital in Nepal. Looking forward to meeting the team members of Open Heart International who work really hard to plan the volunteering. Tomorrow we head off flying from Geraldton to Perth, then onto Singapore in the middle of the night, with a small lay over the...

Tue 9th - Despite the temperature telling us its going to be 28+ with sun & clouds its still raining in Rio. We have been extremely lucky with our booked tours having fine days although overcast. Its also very humid. Despite the rain we caught the metro to see the famous Ipanema Beach, we had it to ourselves because of the rain. It was still nice to see it and walk along. I almost booked our hotel along Ipanema, so glad I didn't, its much quiter than Copacab...

Monday Oct 8thToday was spent walking around the neighbourhood of Santa Teresa. It was a walking tour in a group of 6 people & a local guide that I booked with Urban Adventures on Viator. This suburb is on the Hill up from the centre of Rio, its famous for narrow winding streets and a favourite spot for artists and tourists, it could be called a bohemian / hippy place. The locality first emerged in 1750's based around Santa Teresa Convent, by the end of the...