22 June - India - Varanasi - Ganges sail Today's plan is a sail down the Ganges, camp on the riverbanks, then sail back tomorrow. Firstly, we have to collect Andrea from the airport & we elect to go in the vehicle to see more of Varanasi. Well, we got more of a tour than we bargained for as once we left the airport our driver got a little lost. R was using his maps so we wended our way though some little villages stuck in medieval times - fascinating because...

21 June - India - Varanasi Oh dear ... Border woes!!!! We leave at 5.15 am & everything goes smoothly until the last person through & the Nepalese authorities notice that one girl has an Indian visa that says 'special condition; arrive by air & of course we have arrived on foot!!!! So .. We wait .... & wait .... & wait..& wait. We watch the shops slowly come alive & of course are a source of entertainment to the locals. 2hrs later &...

20 June - Nepal - Lumbimi Off we depart making sure our bags are waterproofed with plastic bags this time. It's about a 5 hr drive. We start driving along the valley for a while then start snaking our way up the hillside. The road is busy & we have buses desperate to have head on collisions with us. It's pretty hair raising. It's getting hotter & hotter, by the time we reach Lumbini which is the birthplace of Lord Buddha its 37 degrees. The authorities...

19 June - Nepal - Chitwan National Park Our 6am call ensured we were ready for breakfast & departure at 7am ... Although it did not rain much overnight the river is flowing fast & 'dear leader' has decided that a 'jeep' is in order to take us to the crocodile farm. Off we judder ...... Not good for backs...into potholes, spraying red water everywhere, then bounce bounce bounce.. No suspension to be felt. We get led a very circuitous route towards the cr...

18 June - Nepal - Chitwan National Park It's poured all night & we all wonder what we will do today! We assemble as planned - & discover we are on track for the canoe down the river, 6 hour trek through the jungle to the ' bush camp'. So off we go .....Monsoon or not ... We climb into our canoes, fortunately for me here are 8 to a canoe and we have a crew, just as well as the river is flowing very fast & is murky & brown. We see a few birds &...