Sanjay and I head for The Blue Mountains

The Grand Canyon

It was mostly raining when we did the three hour canyon walk but apart from getting very wet (including my poor camera), the rain added to the walk as the waterfalls were bigger and the river was flowing more strongly which created atmosphere and drama.

Here is Sanjay, about to walk along the path right behind a waterfall.  Very cool!

Walking along the top of the canyon, looking into the dark, deep abyss.

Walking right in the canyon itself - see how the water is cascading into the river from the canyon walls.  Made us wet but it was beautiful.

Walking along the river in the canyon.

The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters were completely covered in mist when we got there but after a patient wait, they teased us then finally showed themselves.

Pulpit's Rock

This was the highlight of the day - an amazing view from an amazing look out point from a rock that jutted out into the valley like a church pulpit.  The view was also swathed in mist at first but gradually revealed itself to us.  The photos do not even nearly do it justice.

My last night in London

I spent Saturday night with Colleen and Steve and they drove me to Victoria Station at 7 am on Subday morning - can't ask for better friends than that! I also got to see Sanjay who has just arrived back from a 3 week holiday to Cape Town where he proposed to his other half. Also met up with Jessie for a drink - haven't seen her since her wedding and it was really great to catch up.

Colleen and Steve




Cousin Jessie




Sanjay



We went to see the Xmas lights in Oxford Street which were beautiful - definitely got us into the Xmas spirit.





I will miss London...

A great day out in London

London Bridge

We decided to spend Saturday doing touristy things in London. One of Ally´s life goals was to walk across London Bridge so that was the first thing we did. Caught the tube to Tower Bridge and it was a short stroll from there. It was a gorgeous day; close to 30 degrees.

Another View

Another view of London bridge. I borrowed our camera from work (a £900 gadget with all the trimmings) so it was nice to have some optical power. The zoom on my little camera is a little limited - but then it is a tenth of the size!

Big Ben

No tourist trip through London would be complete without a photo of Big Ben so here it is - snapped from the top of our double decker bus as we whirled past (we used one of those hop on - hop off tourist buses to get around.)

Hamleys

Ah, aint the little one adorable! The little doggie is also quite cute... As you can see, next stop was Hamley's in Regent's Street. 6 floors of wonderful toys, enough to bring out the child in anybody.

The Royal Coach

We visited the Royal Mews where they keep all the horses and coaches for use in the Royal processions. The highlight was this Golden Coach immortalised in such grand processions as the Queen's inauguration and the 50th Jubilee. It was very impressive.

The coach is so heavy it can only be pulled at a walk by eight horses. The 24-foot long, four-ton coach, was built in 1760 for the then-astronomical sum of £7,562. Despite the expense, it's apparently not very comfortable if this BBC article is anything to go by.

Dinner with Sally at Belgo´s


After our sight-seeing, we met up for dinner with Sally in Covent Gardens. I haven't seen dear Sally in a while so it was great to catch up. She's working at the moment at Kew Grill as their "dessert specialist" (chocolate and almond spring roll is her most recent creation - mmmmm!) having completed a cooking course in Ireland.

Lobster!

Belgo's specialises in lobster, along with it's other Belgian delicacies like muscles and waffles. I haven't had lobster in years so succumbed to te temptation. Delicious and fun digging all the flesh out of the legs and claws with the special tool they give you.

Go, go Joseph!

After dinner, Ally and I went to watch "Joseph and his Technicoloured Dream Coat" at the New London Theatre in Covent Garden. Watching Joseph has been a life goal of Ally ever since she listened to the record as a little girl. I'd already seen the musical a couple of times but was delighted to see it again as it is one of my favourites; especially since I got to play the part of Pharoah in a school play. The show was fantastic and we both loved it. Joseph was played by H from the band, "Steps" who Ally thought was deliciously cute...

Visiting Sanjay

After Joseph, we went to visit Sanjay - a good friend who I met hiking in the Himalayas in Nepal back in 2001. He's a wonderful guy who always makes me laugh. Sanjay is a doctor specialising in Pediatrics at a local hospital. It was great to see him as always.

Nepal

5 weeks exploring Kathmandu, Pokhara, The Annapurna Circuit and Chitwan National Park

The Annapurna Circuit

Summary of my time in Nepal

• Fly into Kathmandu – watch “Knight’s Tale” on the plane
• Pressure to hire a guide and a porter for the trek, but I decide to go it alone. I want to do it at my own pace and in my own way – and meet fellow travellors
• Walk around backpacker part of the city – amazing array of backpackers and restaurants
• My hotel is a little way off the beaten track and I get a little lost finding my way back, but nothing serious
• Early next morning, leave on a bus for Pokhara
• Meet Mariam, a friendly Dutch girl, at the bus stop and we soon become friends. She’s on a five week sabbatical from her job.
• Long bus journey, up hair rasing mountain roads at considerable speed, lots of tooting and passing. Scary and exhilerating. Stop off at some scenic restaurants on the way for quick breaks
• Pokhara is beautiful, set on a large lake with snow capped mountain set in background. We go rowing on the lake and visit an Island temple. Try my first proper local meal – a bottomless helping of Dahl Bhat (Lentils with a pour on sauce.)
• Mariam and I decide to brave the mountains on our own, and hopefully meet up with some fellow hikers.
• Spend next day exploring Pokhara and getting hiking permits. Hire a bicycle and cycle around. Go for a bit of a walk in the country, along the river, to get a feel for what’s to come. I push out my return flight – to just before Xmas
• Leave on a bus early next day for the start of the Annapurna Circuit. Another arduous bus journey. Bus packed with local and some tourists. Lots of security checks along the way. Towards the end of the trip, we join the locals up on the roof the bus. Lots of fun, using our backpacks as cushions. Bus gets a bit top heavy on some of the winding down bits at the end, and we have to walk parts
• Bus drops us off at a village – a small group of trekkers with a heap of backpacks on the road
• Nick and Izzy are instantly friendly – and a SAFFA chap too. Mariam and I join them for the start of the hike
• Starts off with relatively relaxed walk into mountains, and we discover it’s pretty hard to get lost. Maps are pretty clear and there are fellow hikers to follow
• Main decision each day is how far to walk and where to overnight. Lots of villages with little tea houses along the way
• Annapurna Circuit is a 16 – 20 day hike (depending on your pace). First half is a climb up into the mountains, eventually crossing over a high pass (Thorang La) which is high (5400 metres) and pretty cold. Second half is a trek back into civilisation down the other sie of the pass
• At 3000 metres, one must be mindful of altitude sickness. We aimed never to sleep more than 300 metres above where we slept the night before. Where possible, we climbed up past where we slept by a couple of extra hundred metres to make acclimatising easier. It’s all about building up your red blood corpuscles to better transport the thinner air roun your body
• Hike begins through farm lands. Lots of buffalos and rice fields. The hike follows a river most of the way. First half of the hike was the less touristic bit, eating lots of local food (Dahl Baht mostly). Some other specialities like battered apple and battered bread. And lots of “pack of noodles” type food
• Very friendly people, with big smiles.
• We meet a wonderful English guy (Sanjay) with his Irish girlfriend (Grania) on about the 5 th day. Immediate repoir with them and bump into them regularly on way up the mountain.
• I hike with Izzy, Nick and Mariam. Nick is a hard core hiker – works at a consulting firm in London as a printing specialist, Izzy is a vet who works in Bristol – the epitome of an english country lass. Great, great couple. I get on very well with them – and we have lots of laughs
• Some tea houses sell chocolate cake and other baked goodies – real treat after hours of hiking
• Many hostels very traditional and basic – it’s literally a case of sharing the house with a local family, on the 2nd story. First floor for the animals!
• Often share the path with a large herd of donkey carrying goods up into the mountain. The only way to get stuff (cokes, chickens, chocolates, wood etc.) up into the mountain to more remote villages is by carrying. Donkeys carry some stuff, sherpas other stuff. Donkeys travel in “trains” an have bells so they toll as they walk. Sherpas carry huge loads with strap attached to their heads (so neck takes the weight) – not their shoulders as we tend to do. Scientific research has shown many of these guys have denser and more powerful bones than we do – gnetic from generations of heavy carrying? Some porters were carrying as many as three backpacks in a sack attached to their heads – amazing. Some shepas carry huge cage of chickens.
• My energy snacks of choice were Bar 1 and Lemon Fanta. Food gets increasingly expensive as you travel higher up the mountain (because you have to pay for transport too)
• Mountains get higher and more and more spectacular as ascend first half of the hike. Each day, views become more awesome. Towering, ice capped peaks. Farms start to give way to thick pine forest. Every so often, you need to cross onto the other side of the river, across metal swing bridges
• Get to Mannag at 3500 metres, a large town famous for it’s baked goodies. Get to enjoy a rare shower (I think I got to shower 4 times in 20 days!)
• Izzy, Nick and I decided to head off the beaten path on an optional side excursion – and ascent to the highest lake in the world – Telicho Lake. It’s at 5900 metres. It’s a three day excursion. Mariam is not keen but she has met 2 friendly Dutch girls so joins up with them.
• We spent first night in an extremely traditional house with some locals, preparing ourselves for the onslaught ahead. We were all a bit confused about the altitue climbs ahead, and hoping we could take it. Altitude sickness has nothing to do with fitness – it attacks even the most fit. The worst form (water on the brain) is fatal.
• Next day we headed straight up. We climbed up close to 1000 metres, then back down over a lip. Extremly heavy going at such high altitudes. Altitude saps your energy and it becomes hard just to put one foot in front of the other. We experienced some very steep paths with terrifying fall offs an being scared of heights, I had some dizzy moments.
• Finally, after some scrambling down a very, very steep shale slope, we arrived at our overnight spot – a ramshackled hostel set in a valley. A very cold and uncomfortable night – head-aches due to altitude and had to get up to pee several times (another altitude side effect).
• Next day, climbed another 1000 metres into the snow capped mountains to the lake. Saw an avalanche on the way. The lake itself is exquisite – sparkling blue with mountain peaks reflected off it. Extremely cold up at this altitue though, we could not stay for too long. Then back down to the hut.
• Next day, we return to the main circuit along the lower route – which requires some very firm footing on some knife edge paths. Very scary at times. On the way, we bump into Sanjay and Grania and walk with them most of the way. They were downhill specialists – and could travel at some startling rates.
• Next section was a big higjlight too – Izzy, Nick and I decided to travel the high road, overnighting at some very traditional villages. Slept in a run down local home with the donekys sleeping below. Really getting a feel for how the locals live.
• I am ecstatic to see my first ever “Bearded Vultures”. It has been one of my life goals to see this bird and I walked the South African Drakensberg mountains flat in my efforts to spot one. Here they are quite common. Huge wing spans and very majestic, their speciality is to drop bones from a high height onto rocks to shatter them so they can get at the marrow. Egyptian vulture sightings too so I am in my element.
• The pine forests become thinner and replaced by mountain scrub and grass. Weather eroded rocks poke through. Snow capped peaks tower ahead.
• Very exciting moment – my first meeting with a real life yak. Big, hairy cow like creature. Apparently they can only live at 3000 metres and above.
• It was becoming very cold at night, I wore two fleeces and my down feather jacket in a down sleeping bag and still felt cold. My water bottle regularly froze next to me. At hostels, all the trekkers would eat together with special heaters under the table. Very communal and lots of fun. It’s impossible not to make lots of friends on the way.
• Next challenge was the pass itself. Had to leave early in the morning (but careful not to make it too early or you freeze.) Steep winding climb of nearly 1000 metres. At the top, there is a huge cluster of prayer flags and a little tea shop for a congratulatory bar one. Everyone in very good spirits. Then an equally steep descent to a village on the other side. Some spectacular views on the way down.
• Ah, what a beautiful, spiritual village. Beautiful monasteries – one with a shrine to all the world religions. One holy site is shared by both Hindus and Budhists alike (you wouldn’t find that with Chritianity and Islam!). I meditate next to a lovely lake and feel my spiritual side breath back to life. I am re reading “ Deepak Chopra’s Seven Laws of Spiritual Success” and am reminded of the power of the moment. You are often very much in the moment while you hike and it feels awesome.
• The villagers bring down three yaks from the moutains and slaughter them. It’s freaky but interesting to watch. They harvest ever last scrap of the animal. Even the tail is harvested to become a duster. Some drink the fresh blood and eat the raw flesh. Dividing up the bodies takes almost a full day.
• Izzy and Nick are on a tight schedule so they decide to hurtle down the mountain on the 2 nd part of the hike. I’m happy to chill so join up with Sanjay and Grania.
  The second village down is also a very spiritual place with a beautiful monastery overlooking the valley and villagers living as they always have. They herd their animals in at night to keep them warm. We play football with some of the local kids and my spirit soars.
• The food on this part of the mountain is more touristic – but delicious beyond belief. Lots of pizzas and lasagnes and pastas and baked goodies. Orgasmically good after all the Dahl Baht of the previous two weeks. I eat loads and loads.
• We meet some American tourists who are rather gullible – Sanjay and I lead them on a merry tale of how Yaks explode below 3000 metres. They lap up every word and are amazed.
• It is very dry at the top of this side of the mountain. As we make our way down the valley, the scenery can be best described at desserty. The wind blows up the sand and we have to cover our mouths. It’s tough going at times.
• We come close to the border to Tibet. There’s a very scenic village here with stunning views across a river valley. An old fort gives it extra atmosphere. You can kike this valley but it is very expensive.
• I am feeling very chilled and happy to go slow and enjoy the atmosphere. I buy “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy” and carry it along with me. Heavy – but what a fantastic read. I am immersed in the strory of Frodo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey. Very excited that the movie is coming out close to the time I am back in the UK.
• I am also reading Conversations with God by Neal Donald Walsch and it’s a revelation. Probably the best book on spirituality I have ever read and it rings true for me. It answers many of the questions I have been grappling with for a long time. Brilliant book. Thanks to Rosemary who gave it to me.
• I decide to exert some major effort once more and ascend Poon Hill for some inspiring views. Sanjay and Grania head down for some romance so we part. It’s a tough climb for a full day. I overnight at a warm hostel an then very early the next morning (in the dark!), climb the last bit of the hill for the sunrise. There’s an outlook tower and it’s breathlessly beautiful.
• The pine forest return and then thin out into farm lands. More buffalos and rice and farmers hard at work.
• Arrive at large village that many tourists fly into for a few days trekking. Very civilised. I have my first hot shower in close to three weeks. I sit under it and have never enjoyed a shower more. May I never take showers for granted again.
  Arrive at a village with hot springs – very relaxing. I bump into Mariam again with the Dutch girls – great to see them again.
  Finally arrive at tail end of hike and bump into Izzy and Nick again – having returned from a whirlwind ascent of another peak.
• Get the bus back to Pokhara and go straight to the Everest Steak house for a huge steak (they ship in the meat from Argentina) Must rate as close to my best steak ever. Izzy and Nick manage close to 1 kg of meat between them!
• I hire a boat and explore the lake for birds. Then climb to an impressive monastery on top of the hill but the mist rather obscures the view.
• Catch the bus to Chitwan National Park – famous for it’s birds. I bump into the Dutch girls there and we all get on very well. Great Indian food at a local restaurant.
• I hire a guide who specialises in birds and spend two days trekking the jungles. See 74 new birds – amazing… Also see Sloth Bear and hear Tiger roaring very close by. The long grass makes it hard to spot animals but the birds make up for that. Highlights include stork billed kingfisher and enormous woodpeckers. 6 species of woodpecker alone! I really enjoy my guide – La. I try desperately to email him afterwards but the email bounces back.
• Back to Kathmandu for some sightseeing. Visit “Money Monastery “ for great views and a game of kicking up elastic bands with the locals. Also watch cremations at the holy river. Amazing
• Fly back to London in time for Xmas. Nepal must rate as one of my three favourite countries. I am very motivated to do the Everest Base camp trek one day.