CLARE:
Well - clichés are not enough to describe the mountains! We weren't lucky for the first couple of days out of Pokhara - the sky remained resolutely cloudy. But on Day 2 as we got up for breakfast from our simple wooden beds in the tea house, we caught a glimpse of one of the faces of Annapurna South - fearsome, awesome, mysterious. You have to tilt your head back half as much again as you thought to see the peaks. It is as if they are not of this earthly world ... they are truly where heaven lies! That day was the toughest ... although only 3 hours was to cross a valley - 1 hour down steep steps to the rushing glacial river below and then 2 hours up an almost vertical stepped slope to our tea house! My calves still haven't recovered. The clouds lifted for the last day and we had stunning views over the Annapurna range.

Memories of watching Tom disappear off through the slate roofed village on his 'mountain taxi' - our porter's shoulders; the deep, hollow sound of the bells on the mules as they carried provisions up to the high villages; feeling nauseous from the incessant hawking of the Nepali!; dry terraces alive with colourful butterflies; walking in woodland on stone paths, boys in the lead, looking down over steep terracing and tile roofs of small villages; the delicious feeling of even a simple wooden bed and army sleeping bag after Dahl Bat and an exhausting day.

The trek has made a difference to the way I'm feeling about the trip - I can see it now as an adventure - with a host of so many difference experiences. We can reminisce already about things we've done, and the boys have more of a bank to draw on to anticipate what is coming up.
We were really sad to leave Kathmandu - we have been so well looked after by Clare & Chris and the boys have so enjoyed having a home to be in and a friend to play with and, of course, cuddles with Gary the dog.

LANCE:
What day is it? Where are we? Who am I?

Never having travelled so intensively before, the variety of experience can sometimes leave me overwhelmed. Had one of those wake up moments last night while swimming in the hotel pool with the smell of incense, the sound of sitars and the smell of genuine Indian cuisine wafting over the water. Blimey! I'm in New Delhi! The scenery, cultures, languages and personalities change so abruptly - it doesn't feel natural!. It's exciting but you really need to stay on the ball to take it all in. Admittedly the flights at the moment are coming thick and fast - we have a mad world-hopping timescale to stick to before we get to Beijing. Have felt recently that trying to pack too much into the time available means the impact of each activity is seriously diluted (doubly compounded by tiredness in trying to keep to a tight schedule). So we've decided to pare down the schedule in Beijing (to what, we don't know yet!)

Random Nepali thoughts:
Nepal has met all expectations. This was the first country to visit where I thought culture-shock might be on the agenda. Felt that we were actually making our way around the world - the people's personalities and behaviour seem to change with the landscapes (first time I'd registered how the land can affect human behaviour - ease of water availability, now that makes life a lot easier!).
Have been treated with VIP status while in Khatmandu, courtesy of the British Ghurkas - a result of staying with our friends Chris and Clare. Have felt privileged to be in their house being so generously looked after and advised on the best places to go (takes all the headache out of the activities). Boys have had a great time too - mucking about with friends in a proper home!
Walking through Durbar Square - an ancient area of Buddhist and Hindu palaces and shrines (an image of Nepal that everybody is aware of even if you haven't been - another wake-up moment). Has inspired Tom to seriously consider his religion too (along with other subjects that should only come up when he's an adolescent - if you want to think deep, come to Nepal).
Loads more elephants. Couldn't believe how quickly we became blasé at crossing the roads between elephant traffic.
Very inexpensive country although the money has flooded out of our account on clothing (for New Zealand leg), a rug (a lifelong memory jogger for us), countless cheap souvenirs (a whole evening's memory jogger for the boys) and cushion covers (Clare's idea).
The boys have had a severe haircut which may look a little out of place in Teddington fashion circles but is really low maintenance for our trip.

Still putting on weight and take back everything I said on last blog about England rugby (written before the France game)

We're sitting out a few hours now before a mad overnight flight to Hong Kong where we'll spend a day, then off to China. No sleep 'til then.

TOM:
In Nepal we drove for half an hour to Khaare where we started our trek around the Annapurna range. Our guide that took us round was called Deepak we liked him a lot because he was helpful with our bags. We saw the mountains quite often but not on the first day. When we had the first view of them it made me feel like we were as high as them but we were about 5000 metres below and they are literally the roof of the world.

BEN:
In Chitwan we saw lots of traditional dancing to do with the different moods of the community.
We went trekking in the mountains for an exhausting 3 days. Driving to the hills we saw the mountain fishtail (named because of its shape). A guide called Depack took us over enormous hills, where we met people and dogs. The greeting "Namaste" could be frequently heard, followed by "Can I have a sweety?" On the last day of our treks, we saw the wide expanse of the Annapurna Range! Along the way, Tom and I nearly perfected the Tharu Stick dancing which we had seen in Chitwan. We picked up the sticks while we trekked. A man used a knife to cut off all the twigs on mine. Next we are going to be in China.