Man who walk sideways through turnstile, he going to Bangkok

So having said bye to Sam and Simon (who had to head back to work at home) and a 3 hour flight (and seeing Everest again from a bit further away) we arrived in Bangkok, quite a shock to the system seeing modern buildings, cars, roads - just about everything seemed to have leapt forwards by 40 years. We met up with Tim and Cheryl who had managed to get Penelope safely back to England (with a few stories to tell!) and out to Bangkok before we got there. Also met Mike H who had done China, Tibet, Hong Kong and a few other places on his own before meeting us again. Our hotel was near the backpacker area of town and the place opposite did pizza - great!

Spent 2 days looking around a bit, went down the river on a boat and the skytrain to the biggest shopping mall in Asia in search of a new camera for Jo, found a McDonalds and KFC downstairs and had my first proper McDonalds beefburger in months! Had a haircut, she took quite a bit more off than I expected but it'll grow back one day... Had a nice meal and night out ending up in ice fights somewhere off Khao San Road I think?

The end of our third day in Bangkok we all loaded our stuff onto fast longboats - long boats with big turbo diesel engines perched on the back which go flippin' quick and deafen you. Then got into some very strangely decorated taxis (bright pink leather seats!) and to the train station where we found our way onto a sleeper train to Chang Mai. This took us from about 8:00 that evening to 10:00 the next morning so most of the time was spent asleep on the surprisingly comfortable beds - didn't see much scenery other than it being quite green outside.

Chang Mai was a really nice place with a great guesthouse where the owner did everything he could to help us arrange stuff to do. Spent the first day chilling out and finding out that Georgia had just been invaded by Russia and Pakistan had really kicked off - add that to the bombs in Turkey recently and it looks like we've been starting wars most places we've been! Found an Irish bar with Strongbow that evening - 2.50 for half a pint but it was nice to find it again!

The next morning we headed off on a guided tour exploring the area - starting at a refugee camp/tourist village where Burmese refugees are allowed to stay if tourists can come and stare at them. Saw some people from the Mong tribe (teeheeehee!) and those people who wear rings on their necks to make them longer (which actually just pushes their shoulders down to "make them look like dragons"). Went for a walk through some paddy fields, had lunch then wandered down a hillside to have a ride on an elephant! Three of us perched on top of Nelly (not her real name) and gently bumped and slid our way through the jungle. It's amazing how easily they climb steep slopes and never feel like they're going to fall, and just how gentle they are. Having done that we walked up the hill and got a lift to go bamboo rafting. By this point it was pissing down with rain and we were sheltering under umbrellas, thinking we'd be able to stay dry on a raft. How wrong can you be, by the time half of us were on the raft it was mostly submerged, by the time we were all on then it was about 6" under water and we were told to sit down on the "seats" which was just one of the supports across the raft. Luckily the river was warm as we spent 1/2 hour floating downstream, up to the waist in water with our umbrellas up to keep the driving rain out of our eyes - must have been quite a sight to see from the shore but unfortunately nobody got any pictures of us - a good end to an interesting day though!

The following day was spent wandering Chang Mai, even went to a Chinese temple briefly but we gave up on that when it started monsooning again. Back at the hotel Tim and Pete were contemplating hiring quad bikes as they'd spent the last days working and wanted some excitement, and as it had been raining hard the conditions were perfect so we booked that for the afternoon. On arrival we were slightly disappointed at the look of the quads, especially as we were told the buggies next to them couldn't be used as it was too slippery but we gave it a go anyway and quickly realised we'd made the right decision - it was amazing! The 250cc quads were a little tired, mine kept chucking the chain off but after the guide fixed it it made it through to the end.

One, Two, Three, Bungee!

A horrifically early start greeted us the morning of our flight, but the sky was fairly clear so things were looking good. Quick ride to the airport and through security and we were left watching a funny looking Guru on telly preaching for a while before we were taken to the plane. Everyone had a window seat which gave pretty good views all around and after about 20 minutes the (most un-smiley person I've ever seen) pilot opened the door and we were allowed to go up and see the cockpit and the view over to Everest. Me being lucky at being sat in the front row meant I went first and got the first view of the mountain through the front windows - certainly an impressive sight but it doesn't look much bigger than all the others around it which also look very impressive. The plane does a loop so everyone can see it from both sides of the plane so I have loads of photos all much the same of the mountain in the distance, should hit Facebook soon...

On returning to Kathmandu we drove out of town on what was to be my last trip on Archie, our not-always-that-reliable truck, towards the Tibet border and The Last Resort, an adventure holiday sort of place which I absolutely loved. You drive along a bumpy road following the river for 50 or so km, dodging parts of the road hit by landslides and then round a corner and see a footbridge crossing a huge gorge in the distance. This bridge is the only way to the resort and it isn't the most sturdy of things and has slats in the floor where you can look down 160m to the raging river below. Luckily I was desperate for the loo the first time I went over and I just kept looking ahead, otherwise I might not have got across!
Accommodation is in large tents with tin roofs over them, with beds, tables etc. so you feel close to nature but nicely away from it. There's a bar and large covered chilling out area where we spent most of our time when not doing activities, of which there were quite a few on offer...
The first morning 8 or 9 of us had signed up to do the canyon swing and bungee jump from the bridge, so I woke incredibly early in an excited/terrified mood. We were weighed for the bungee jump and then headed to the bridge. Pete went first, choosing to do the swing by his back so it feels like you're flying through the gorge. Seeing him jump and then just drop vertically did little to calm my nerves as it takes 3 or 4 seconds before the rope takes up the slack and starts to arrest your fall. Luckily I had the excuse that I was taking photos from the top so a few others went first and gradually you get used to the feeling of standing on a wobbly bridge (with schoolkids running along it as if it's the most normal thing in the World, which I guess it is for them) and the fact that you're about to jump off it. Eventually it came to my turn and I was strapped into the harness and reluctantly shuffled my way onto the platform, took a deep breath and waited for the jump master to count down and let go of me, when I took a small step forward and started to yell as loudly as I could, then let go of the rope (there's not much point in holding it as it's attached to your waist) and fell towards the floor. Seconds later I felt the rope tighten and start to swing me along the canyon and I felt a huge sense of relief that I wasn't actually dead. I swung on the rope a few times and then a rope was raised that I could pull myself to the side with. On reaching the side my first thought was, lets do a bungee jump too! So we trekked the 20 minutes up out of the gorge to the bridge again and prepared to jump.
Again I wussed out and waited until someone else had gone so Andrew had the pleasure of going first, doing a perfect dive towards the river below, then bouncing back the other side towards us on the bridge.
I was called over to put on the waist safety harness and then the tight ankle harness, then slowly shuffled towards the platform where I was clipped to the rope and helped to the edge. It was at this point I made the mistake of looking down between the slats on the platform and seeing again how far I was about to fall, so my plan for an elegant fall forwards and jump turned into one of my swimming pool stylee bend my knees and plop over the edge. As soon as I was off the platform for some reason I felt safe and absolutely loved it - seeing the ground rushing towards me and knowing there was nothing I could do about it so I might as well enjoy it! The rope slowly took up the tension and I was tilted downwards until I stopped and was then pinged right back up again towards the other side of the bridge, yelling like a madman all the way. After about 3 bounces I started to spin so I couldn't tell how high I was or where I was going but I was gently lowered towards the ground where I grabbed a pole held over the water and was dragged down to a table where the rope was taken off and I decided I really wanted to do that again. By the time I'd walked to the top of the gorge again I changed my mind and decided to do it in a few days time as it's such hard work walking up again!
We had the rest of the day to ourselves to recover and relax (and have a massage if we wanted, but after the last experience I decided not to!), then the next day we booked canyoning, where you wear a wetsuit and harness and slip, slide and abseil down a waterfall into the gorge. This involved 7 abseils of various lengths, the longest being 45m, and took about 2 hours. By the last one I had almost got used to it but still couldn't help holding on too tightly and getting cramp in my left hand (the one that doesn't need to hold anything). After that a few of us made use of the sauna and plunge pool to unwind before food.
Our last morning at the resort we got up early again to do some more jumps for those of us who wanted to. Kirsten and Elaine who hadn't jumped the last time had been persuaded to do it this time, so after a few people from another group had gone, they went, giving a most impressive display of screaming and peddling in the air as they dropped!
I chose to do another bungee but jumping backwards this time, so you see the bridge disappearing into the distance as you fall. I was terrified again but made it over to the platform, shuffled backwards until my feet were halfway over the edge, paused for a moment then heard the countdown - one, two, three, bungee! And leant back over the edge and kicked away from the platform, screaming at the top of my voice and then laughing as the rope caught me and I boinged back towards the bridge, spinning slowly in the air. What an experience!
We left the resort that morning but a few of us had signed up to go rafting so we left the rest of the group to take the truck back to Kathmandu and went in a bus with a load of other rafters. There were about 25 of us in 3 boats this time, with 2 kayaks with us for safety and a guide in every boat. After a long safety briefing covering falling in, turning upside down etc. I started to wonder how much worse it could be than our last time as the river looked similar, but as soon as we set off it became clear - the guides were complete nutters! With 3 boats every time we got to a rapid one would head towards the roughest part and see if it would flip (which none of them did in the end), with the other 2 boats ready to pull people out who floated downstream. On calmer bits we were encouraged (or pushed) to jump in the water, invade other boats and push them out, shout abuse at others ("Secretary, Follow Me, Make Me Tea" being my favourite) and generally mess around - it was great! If we get the chance to go again then we'll be looking to do it in a larger group as it was ten times better than our first trip.
When we finally finished we got on the bus which took us to Kathmandu, where we then went out for the night as Sam is leaving us to head home. My head still hurts now...

Surviving The River Wild

Managed to arrange white water rafting at the last minute one night for the next morning at an entirely reasonable twenty quid. Considering this included transport and it took us nearly 3 hours each way to get there and spent over 2 hours on the water and got a meal at the end I think we did well! Rafting was much smoother than I imagined, and much faster, wetter (for some reason I didn't bring dry clothes...) and fun! For an energetic sport I was impressed with the amount of time our guide shouted STOOP! and we just floated on down the river... Definitely going to try doing more either at the next place we're heading or in New Zealand.
A 6 or so hour drive along narrow mountain roads, spotting 5 or so trucks and coaches that had hit the rock wall or fallen over the edge towards the river below, got us into Kathmandu. We left the truck at a workshop and got taxis to the hotel, arriving just as the days monsoon rain fell, leaving us soaked and sheltering in a bar - so it's not all bad!
The area we're in is very touristy with shops selling knock off North Face gear, DVD's etc. everywhere, hippy stuff, and lots of restaurants - I love it! Chaotic but chilled out. More people trying to get money out of you again (or in one case today, Horlicks "I am student sir, I don't want money, my brother and sister very poor, need horlicks sir"!) or take you on a rickshaw ride and see all the sights. Ignored them and booked a flight to go and see Everest tomorrow morning, should get a good view and a nice picture or two...

Goodbye India, Hello Nepal

Spent a couple more days in Dharmsala, mostly eating pizza at the same restaurant each night as my stomach doesn't seem to agree with the curry round here. Lucklily the hotel has film channels so spent a day watching those whilst recovering from another mistake of a curry...

Didn't do much else there, dodged downpours and wandered around, just chilled out and then moved onto Rishikesh which happened to have a religious festival on where a few million people dressed in bright orange wander through the town, over a big bridge and on to a temple in the mountains over the course of 10 days or so. Watched them over a pizza and then went over the bridge too. Couldn't really see what the fuss was about but they seemed to be enjoying it...

Had a go at yoga at a class one morning, not quite sure I got what all the ummmmmmm..ing was about but felt suitably stretched afterwards and really enjoyed the 10 minute lie down at the end to recover from the most strenuous excersise I had done in a long long time! To get over that I went for a massage, I think "comprehensive" is the word to use, nothing escaped the treatment!

Headed back to Chandigarh for a night on the way to Corbett National Park where we stayed in a fantastic luxury lodge and got up one morning to go tiger spotting in the park. Didn't see one unfortunately, not helped by the drivers deciding that half an hour spent in the car park would be a good plan. Saw an elephant in someones yard, didn't get a ride on one as it's the wrong season and nobody was doing tours on them. Oh well, I went and had another shower and enjoyed the air conditioning a bit more instead.

After that headed towards Nepal, where we waited for 3 hours in the sun for the border bridge to open, then were told to stay in the next town as the passport office was closed for the night. Hopes were raised when the pizza hut sign was seen on the hotel wall, but it turns out they just nick all the western logos to drag tourists in.

Early start in the monsoon rain saw us back at the passport office and allowed into the country properly, then we headed for a little village in the mountains for a day where we found a nice restaurant that served buffalo burgers amongst other things. Did big tubs of ice cream there too, brilliant!

Then moved on to Pokhara where I'm sitting now. It's a touristy activity town (and has a place that serves beef burgers and steaks!) so we went out last night and had the first night on vodka in nearly 3 weeks! My head still hurts now, and in some ways I'm glad that we can't go parascending as it's the wrong season and they've all gone on holiday, as I think my vision would probably be more spinny than it should... So a few of us hired a boat and paddled around a lake for a while in the sunshine, before we head out to try and arrange white water rafting for tomorrow.

Overall impressions are that Nepal is much more pleasant than India. It's cleaner, people don't just chuck all their rubbish in the road or wherever they fancy, it's not so humid, the people aren't all trying to get your money off you (although there are obviously a few exceptions) and we've been left to our own business rather than drawing a crowd everywhere. And the views when the clouds clear are spectacular, sat on the roof seats yesterday was just incredible. Only thing to watch out for are the protests against the new government who've screwed up slightly and there's no fuel anywhere (we have big fuel tanks so filled up in India so we won't need more), but they're not aimed at us so we just stay clear and let it blow over. Should be fun once we get into more of the adventure sports that are on offer here...

I fancy chicken (in) Dharamsala

Made it back to Delhi on the train, someone grabbed my back pocket as I got on, not sure if they were trying to grab my wallet (which wasn't in there) or just fancied a quick grope - either way I was glad that we were going back to find our new truck!
Archie is a truck borrowed from Dragoman and doesn't quite compare with the luxury and quantity of toys we had on Penelope, but with only 15 of us now it's spacious enough and seems a bit quicker up the hills too, useful when the quickest things on the roads are buses and they'll overtake anything, anywhere to get past you!
Went to Chandrigah for a night and had a fantastic selection of curries at a restaurant with a wild west bar downstairs. Went to the Rock Gardens which were absolutely incredible - I thought they were almost better than the Taj Mahal (main reason being it cost 12p to get in, rather than the ridiculous 10 quid the Taj cost!). A guy just started making little sculptures one day and it's grown from that to an amazing place with huge waterfalls, temples, sculptures, models, swings and all sorts. Really wasn't expecting it which I think is why I liked it so much... if you find yourself there you have to go!
Spent 2 days on the truck braving tiny twisty mountain roads which seem packed with cargo trucks heading up to Dharamsala, the exiled home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government. Really cool little place, very different feel to the other places we've been so far in India, but quite touristy (in some ways a good thing, lots of italian restaurants and cake shops!). We've got 3 days here, our hotel looks over the Dalai Lamas home and temple and down the mountain, when it's clear you can see for miles into the valley below.
Went to see the temple today and managed to get there at prayer time which was quite nice as I could wander round and take photos without getting in anyones way. Monks seem very friendly, was almost tempted to get a "Free Tibet" shirt until I saw someone wearing one and how touristy they looked whilst wandering round here. Might just stick some money in a donation box instead...
Got a few days to explore here and chill out, a few people are doing a cookery course tomorrow, think I'll just go for a wander as there's a few routes around here to do, or find a cafe and a book and make myself at home...

Notes from a sweaty country...

Woke excitedly at 5 this morning to go see the sunrise. It didn't. Seems that during monsoon season you get quite a lot of cloud... Should have known after the sunset was obscured by cloud and thunder but oh well, we were one of the first into the grounds this morning. Well, would have been had I realised that you aren't allowed to take tripods in, so I had to go out and put that in a locker, and also that you need shoe covers, so I went and got one of those too, and again when I remembered I needed to get two of them. So after being searched by the same guy 3 times I made it in, behind a couple of hundred other people who had been queueing behind me. I don't think I'm all that awake in the mornings...

Didn't get any amazing photos of the place going a lovely orange colour in the sun, it was mostly grey but it is an impressive building. Shame they were cleaning the fountains too so there was no water. On the plus side a couple of us spent about an hour and a half taking silly cheesy photos all around the place (to follow when we next find internet...) which amused me no end!

General observations so far are:
1) Most people are very very friendly, even when doing no. 2
2) Everyone here is trying to rip you off - noticed this mainly when a woman rode past with a little child on the back who gave us a lovely smile and shouted "Hello money!" to us. Not hard to see why everyone's trying to get at your money when they appear to be taught that tourists are walking cash machines. One insistant kid this morning realised that he wasn't going to get any money out of me so moved onto asking for chewing gum and then shampoo (I did note that he needed some, but unfortunately I left that at the hotel...). Everyone is trying to sell postcards (I DON'T WANT A POSTCARD!) and tat round here, who buys this crap to keep everyone in business? (Oh wait, Americans?). Tuktuk drivers say one price and then make up a new one when you get to the destination (just say no and carry plenty of change as they won't give you the right money back)
3) Everything happens very slowly in a hugely rushed manner. To buy a loaf of bread yesterday I had to ask for it, get a receipt, pay for it, get another receipt, go back to the man with the bread and show him the receipt to actually end up with it in my hand. It took nearly 2 hours for someone to send a parcel, and 6 hours (including numerous tuktuk journeys and a free lunch) for Sam to arrange train tickets, and then the computer crashed and the power went out so the last 2 weren't booked until the evening! Then you should see the roads - everyone going fast, but getting places very very slowly with plenty of horn - my ears were ringing from being stuck in front of a bus this morning!

Despite this there's something I really like about it here, the next few weeks should be really fun once we get on the truck tomorrow... just got to endure a 3 hour train journey tonight on an overcrowded train again first, at least I know the air conditioning at the hotel works though!

Welcome to India!

After an early start leaving Bishkek we headed across the border to Kazakhstan, being careful not to mention Borat or mankinis to the guards! Slept most of the way to Almaty, apparently it's quite flat with some hilly bits if you were wondering. Had an interesting conversation with a guy at a fuel station, he started by asking how much his Merc would cost in London, then continued to tell us we didn't want to go to India as there's just elephants there - we should go to Moscow and go on the Metro as it's far better than the London Underground (he's been on that too, great traveller that he is...). Then he started asking about Osama Bin Laden (maybe he was related?). He liked it when I said George Bush was terrorist no. 2 though so I think we ended up on good terms!

Played Uno at the airport, then jumped on a plane (the first of the trip so far!) and landed in Delhi at about 11. Stepped out of the air conditioned airport and was covered in a layer of sweat within seconds - it seems monsoon season is probably not the best time to turn up here...

Apart from the incredible sweating from places I didn't know sweated, Delhi was great in a crazy way - went on TukTuks and Rickshaws and cheated death on many occasions, nearly got ripped off by just about anyone who talked to us, then collapsed at the hotel after about 3 hours outside. Had 2 curries, then got up at 5 this morning to get a taxi to the train station to train it to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal! I now hate trains even more than ever, having had a very fidgety guy's arse wedged on my shoulder for 3 hours. At least it was cheap.

Spent the rest of the day resting in our prison cell-like room (at least it has a fan), then wandered to the Taj Mahal for sunset. Shame it's cloudy and we missed it, fingers crossed for tomorrow mornings sunrise...

First impressions are that it's quite big and that's about it, but our vantage point had a big wall and a tree in the way, hopefully it'll look more impressive tomorrow when we battle our way in there to have a look around...