Nepal (3) - Kathmandu - Coming Home...

The next couple of day in Kathmandu was spent buying gifts and bits for ourselves whilst also looking at more of the amazing architecture that can be found all over the city.

Finally, we began the journey home. We flew from Kathmandu to Delhi, when at Delhi we stayed at a hotel and did not leave the room. Bollywood movies and room service! The 5th we took a cab to the airport again, and had the great effort of getting pass security with a print-out e-ticket. At one point the cop walked off with Sam's passport... scary times, seeing that there was an armed guard separating us from chasing him. Finally, we got in the airport, spent our last rupees and got on board our plane home. Apart from some very rude man who decided to lower his seat on Sam, the flight went well. We landed at 6pm and were greeted by our parents...

Finally, we were home!

Nepal (2) - Pokhara - Hidden Mountains, Foster Foundation Nepal and Blind Massages

When we arrived in Pokhara, once again we were met by loads of cab drivers who wanted to take us here or there. We went with one guy who promised a good room, etc.. If we did not like it then we just paid the fixed price for the cab. Fair enough. Got in the cab and ended up at this really nice hotel with views of clouds (after all it is wet season). Both, Sam and I, were knackered from our journey so we relaxed for the rest of the day in our clean room. That night we met up with a Dutch couple, a Scouser and two American girls for dinner... for the first time in months I enjoyed a huge steak. Hmm, meat!

The next morning I awoke for a toilet break to see the tip of Annapurna I (8,091 Metres) above the cloud line; the first and only mountain we saw whilst in Nepal. I woke up Sam and she said "oh we shall see more later". We went  back to bed and missed our only photo opportunity of a mountain... so we brought a postcard. That day we had a fancy breakfast of eggs Benedict and bacon and went on a hike to the Devi Falls and the Peace Pagoda. Devi Falls is where Pokhara lake leads away to a sink hole and drops 100 metres below ground. The spray from the falls was refreshing and needed in the days heat. We sat around the falls for an hour, reading and relaxing before taking on the continuous climb to the pagoda which sat on a hill over looking Pokhara.The climb was a long slog; with elderly locals overtaking us. We found a couple of cafes along the way for refreshments. Finally we got to the pagoda, stared at it, went prgh, and started walking down to the lake. At the lake we got a boat across and retired for the evening in our room before heading out for dinner.

The next day the rainy season hit, so we decided to go to the National Gurkha Museum; which was fascinating to see how important this small part of the British Army was. The rain got heavier after the museum to the point that our road was a river 3 inches deep and flowing very rapidly. We decided that room service and a relaxing evening were in need.

On Thursday, we decided to give something back to this amazing country by working at a foster home. We got up at 730 and headed to the home where we helped the kids with their school work, at 830 we walked them to school. The kids loved the attention and were excited about the prospect of learning... a far cry from British kids. The rest of the day was spent shopping for the kids and setting up the website. At 3 the kids came home shouting "Mummy" and "Daddy", followed by a few hours homework and playing. It was a pleasant day. That night we met up with some guys for dinner... the heavens opened again and the restaurant began to flood...

The next few days were given to working with the children, whilst Sam spent some time learning to cook Nepalese food with the Mum of the house.

On our penultimate day in Pokhara, we started off with massages from a blind people, and when the cloud cleared for a brief for us to do a paraglide over the lake. Normal day. Amazing!

Unfortunately, that night we both got ill so the last day was spent in our room running between the bed and bathroom. I did get the chance to see our foster family, who blessed us both on our journey and gave us flowers from the kids.

The next day we woke up and checked out for the long bus journey back to Kathmandu. The journey was over 8 hours long and we were rocked side to side and up and down every second. 

Nepal (1) - Chitwan National Park - Monkey Temple, Elephant Swimming and Tiger Paws

We left Pushkar at 4pm and got a taxi to the nearby railway station of Ajmer Junction. At the station, I had a photo shoot with some local lads who found me buying Sprite an excuse to photograph me! The train left and took us to Delhi, we arrived in Delhi at 1am and was amazed the station was still hectic! We found a cab driver who drove us to the airport, where Sam slept on the floor and I stayed awake, wired on Costa Coffee! At  4am check in began and we were able to get rid of our bags and get through security. Sam fell asleep again! At 7:10 our flight left for Kathmandu....once we had arrived we had the interesting task of finding an ATM to pay for our visa. When we had escaped the airport we were on our way to a hotel, the rest of the day we spent wandering the streets and the famous, Durbar Square. Within this square there are many Buddhist and Hindu temples, there is also the home of the living Goddess, Kumari.This Goddess is selected for several different traits and has to past a test of being scared by horrible looking monsters, she remains a Goddess until she becomes a woman and then returns to being a mortal. Spoilt brat in simple words! After wandering around the square we had an early night.

The next morning we got up early and walked to Swayubanath, a Buddhist temple overlooking the city. The walk took a while and was worth it with the views that we got. Monkeys have taken over this temple and help themselves to all the offerings made to the Buddha. We spent a couple of hours walking around and was rewarded with some great views. On the way back we got lost through the streets and found ourselves in an Irish Bar...They are everywhere! That night we had dinner in a Tibetan restaurant which included Tibetan Hot Beer...its weird!

The next day we got a bus to Chitwan National Park and the Jungle Island Resort. This little resort is within the National Park and offers daily Elephant rides and small treks. The boat over to the island was quick! That night we had an Elephant ride around the park and saw 2 wild Asian Rhinoceroses...another animal to add to the list. That night at dinner I was attacked by a leech whilst eating dinner...do not ask me where it came from. I had to use the lighter on it...singed hair smells gross!

The next morning we had another elephant safari where we were able to get very close to some white spotted deer. This was followed by breakfast and then a hike where we saw more deer and a tiger paw print...pretty exciting and it had been made that morning! Proper Tiger country! After this walk and a very low boat ride back we had some lunch, followed by my highlight of the trip...Elephant Bathing. For an hour we were hosed down by elephants and had the opportunity to rodeo on the elephant under water...quite exciting. That night we had another elephant ride, however the weather turned against us. For an hour it poured down continuously on us whilst we were thrown through trees as the elephants plodded through unmade tracks. Sam's legs were cut apart whilst I was almost hanged by a low lying vine and the elephants momentum. That night we enjoyed some drinks with our safari friends...

Our last morning we enjoyed a morning walk looking for birds and then a bus journey to Pokhara where Sam and I were sitting upfront with the driver. Not much room but I made a little friend...