Thank-you again for the messages and emails - keep them coming. We have posted 3 new photo albums recently so click on the 'Photos' tab to see the Sarangkot and Monastery/Begnas Lake albums. ALSO NOTE WE LOAD MANY MORE ALBUMS THAN BLOGS - SO PLEASE CHECK ON OUR 'PHOTOS' TAB REGULARLY!

As promised in the last blog, here are our song competition and interesting facts....
Interesting facts (I say facts but some are researched using wiki)....
- Load-shedding is the practice of scheduled power cuts across Nepal. An inadequate power infrastructure means they are unable to support the whole of the population with power at one time. Our hotel gave us the timetable for Pokhara. Friday power cuts are between 10:00 and 15:00 then between 19:00 and midnight, Saturday (their only day off) powercuts are between 9:00 and 14:00 then between 17:00 and midnight. There would be riots in the UK!
- Mount Everest is shared between Nepal and China - the international boundary cuts precisely through the summit. It is known by the Nepalese as Sagarmatha and by the Chinese as Chomolungma. Nepal and Tibet were closed to foreigners at the time the British named it after Sir George Everest, a former Surveyor General of India.
- Friends of the same sex are often seen holding hands but it is frowned upon to hold hands with someone of the opposite sex.
- Nepal's dominant religion is Hindu (80% of population) however it has adopted aspects of Buddhism into it; animal sacrifice is a feature of their religious rituals. Lumbini in southern Nepal is the birthplace of Buddha.
- Nepalese are highly superstitious. Babies and toddlers are decorated with Kohl eyeliner to protect them from the Evil Eye.
- Nepal has a time zone of its own - it is 5 hours 45 minutes ahead of you all in the U.K.
- The forehead is considered a most sacred place to the Nepalese, you should never touch an adults forehead. The forehead is often decorated during religious festivals and special occasions with red vermilion powder. Married women wear this powder at the top of the forehead at the hair parting.
- Littering is not illegal or even culturally taboo.
- According to a 2005 survey, about two thirds of female adults and one third of male adults are illiterate in Nepal.
- The Nepalese drive on the left hand side of the road. There are no traffic lights. There is no law regarding right of way. When overtaking although smaller vehicles tend to defer to larger ones. Drivers indicate left to pull out and beep to let the car in front know. There is no such thing as an overloaded vehicle until the axle breaks.
- Nepal became a federal republic in 2008, ending 240 years of the monarchy. Elections in that year resulted in a Maoist communist party led coalition. The Maoist-led coalition government disintegrated in May 2009, and was succeeded by another coalition excluding the Maoists.
- Kathmandu's Durbar Square palace is home to a living godess, a Kumari (the living embodiment of the godess Taleju). Once the chosen young girl reaches puberty she reverts to being a mortal and another Kumari is chosen - the selection process is rigorous. She must be from a certain caste, in excellent health, never have shed blood or been afflicted by any diseases, be without blemish and must not have yet lost any teeth. Eligible girls are then examined for the 'thirty-two perfections' of a godess which include signs of serenity and fearlessness, very black hair and eyes and other poetic attributes such as "a neck like a conch shell" and "eyelashes like a cow". Her time as a godess is a solitary one, her friends are specially selected, her tutoring is done in the palace and she rarely sees her family
- Nepal has a caste system and a person's surname is an indicator of their caste.
- The British still recruit Gurkhas here in Pokhara. The recruitment process is gruelling.
- Women in Pokhara wear many gold earrings - see photo - we have seen some women with some holes without earrings. It seems this jewellery is used as an asset that can be regularly traded in and bought back.

Competition
With our only Nepalese word - Namaste ('Na-ma-stay') we keep thinking of Namaste song titles. So the competition is to email us as many song titles with Namaste in them. Here is one to get you started

"Namaste or should I go?" The Clash.

Email us with as many other suggestions as you can using the emails tab please.

Camera info Thanks for all the compliments and messages about the photos! For all Camera buffs - I am using a NIKON D300 with MBD10 vertical grip base plus 2 batteries (mandatory here - but also takes 4xAA in emergencies) a CANON 72mm UV lens cover and CF to micro SD adapter with 2 x 32gb SD (3000 highest resolution photos per card) and 8GB SD/micro SD backups - Tamron 18-270 VR lens and Nikon 35mm Prime lens. I carry this in a Lowepro Slingshot AW100 bag. With my large hands the D300 is a perfect fit with the grip - but weighs 3.5-4 lbs !!! At 12.2MP the D300, as you will see from the pics with its APS-C sensor gives great results. I really cannot see why a 14/16/18MP is required - although 24MP DSLRS you can see a difference! The D300 has many dust prevention seals and I just wipe it down each day with baby wipes! I use Picassa 3 to edit and crop and back up to a Netbook Hard Drive and back up to a spare USB 250GB Hd just in case! I am running at just over 1000+ photos per week. Here and in India a 'compact' camera would not last 2-3 weeks. The dust would jam the lens extensions. Unlike last years SONY A290 I have not had a single under/over exposure. Enjoy ... I do.