It was difficult to avoid the hike up Poon Hill this morning, as hundreds of trekkers were up at 3-30AM making lots of noise before heading up to the 3200m viewpoint for sunrise. Poon Hill is only a couple of days walk from Pokhara, so it is popular. But if I continue to the Sanctuary, I should also get a similar view from Deurali Pass. I say "if" because I'm starting to tire, and hiking every day with a heavy rucksack is beginning to take its toll on my back an...

There were a few big changes in store for us when we arrived in Muktinath, the first village on the other side of the Thorung La pass. Firstly, there were the motorbikes bringing elderly people down from the temple. This was the first form of motorized transport I had seen in two weeks, and a sign of things to come. Then there were the 8-page menus with all kinds of new dishes. We were like kids in a sweet shop, having been used to two page menus with only the ...

We arrived in Manang in perfect time for the Badhe (flag) Festival, which only happens once every three years. Between the singing and dancing, costumed men would charge at the crowd led by a man wearing an animal's head. This was some sort of re-enactment of King Kichhen defending his Manangi kingdom. It was all very jolly though, and the locals spent a lot of time laughing. Manang is at a height of 3540m, and today we hiked higher to Kicho Tal (ice lake) at 46...

Nepal only has one city, which I have now left in favour of its largest town, Pokhara (pronounced Pokar-ah). The air is much clearer here, it has a tourist area called Lakeside (which is for the obvious reason) and I have had my first sight of the Himalayas. This is a much nicer place to relax before the big trek. Many buses that left Kathmandu early in the morning headed out to the Privthi Highway, the only road to Pokhara. They were joined by multi-coloured tr...

Namaste (greetings) from Kathmandu! I arrived two days ago after first arguing with the staff at Heathrow who thought they couldn't take me because I didn't have a return ticket - "Look I have an Indian visa, so I don't intend to stay in Nepal indefinitely, and anyway why did you sell me a one-way ticket if you weren't going to let me use it?" They gave in, and I had no hassle at all actually entering Nepal apart from all the form filling and submitting a countle...