River dolphins and new friends: Kratie

It was a long ride to Kratie. Lying south east of Siam Reap, the bus took 12 hours, a lot longer than we had mentally prepared for. With an endless Cambodian musical film blaring out of a million different speakers, it was hard to rest, sleep, think. In fact, it was hard to do anything other than watch. We won’t be forgetting this trip for a while. As the hours passed us by and getting no closer to our destination, we watched the sun set and ate our funny tasting meat-filled baguettes that we picked up at an over priced service stop. We hoped it would all be worth it.

Finally we pulled into the small, sleepy town of Kratie. According to Lonely Planet, Kratie (pronounced ‘Kra-cheh’) is a “lively riverside town” and a “thriving traveling hub”. Admittedly, it was 7pm, but we saw nothing that resembled ‘thriving’ or ‘lively’. Still, we plodded along, laden with bags and searched in the darkness for a place to stay. The place was dead. Shutters up and closed signs on windows gave us little hope. We started talking to a Dutch guy who had visited the town a few years ago and steered us towards a small opening between 2 chemist shops. Up 2 flights of steep steps, we could hear the scuttle of little animals; we didn’t investigate fully into what they might have been, probably not fairies though. Into our room, bags on bed and the usual sigh of relief as we fell onto the hard, unforgiving mattress. Home sweet home.

The following morning, we weren’t in any rush to get up early. We came to this town for the sole reason to see the ultra rare, fresh water Irrawaddy dolphins. But that comes later. We stumbled down from our room and onto the not-so busy street and wandered to a nearby cafè. There were met a few travelers, Damian the Argentinean dancer and Canadian Sam, all of who had the same plans as us…dolphins. We checked with the information desk as to the best time to see them and were informed that our best chances to catch a glimpse of the dolphins would either be early in the morning or as the sun was setting. Our hand was dealt. It was too late for the morning show and so opted for a sunset on the river. All that remained was to plan the rest of the day. Down on the river bank, Malene and I caught a boat. We were joined by Damian and Sam and together we crossed over to the habited island of Koh Trong. A circular tour of the island was 9km, to far to walk, and so the four of us hired what must have been antique bicycles. We squeaked and grinded our way down a small track. We passed houses on stilts and watched locals farm in nearby fields. It was all very calm and felt like a world away from tourists and tuk tuks.

As we traveled further along the pebble track, we reached the waterside. Floating houses and small fish farms covered the water, like a civilasation untouched by technology. We pushed further along the waterside until we reached the tip of the island. With the heat rising and the sweat pouring after the ride, we decided to go for a swim. The cool water felt like heaven. We actually bathed like elephants and sat in the shallow, rich blue water as we got to know each other a little better. It was a perfect afternoon.

Peaceful Koh Trong.

A life on the water.

A forgotten era.

Looking for directions to…nowhere.

Back on the main land, the time was soon approaching for us to head out to the section of river where we would try and find the river Irrawaddy dolphins. We knew we had to take a tuk tuk, the problem was that there were 6 of us now and tuk tuks only take 4 (tourists, different for locals!) and so wanted us to book 2 tuk tuks. This meant the ride would cost much more; not good. It was then that we met 2 other like-minded travelers: Jo and Tom. They had scoured the streets and found a guy who would take all 6 of us: nice work guys!

We crammed ourselves into the tuk tuk, trying to balance the weight out evenly. It actually felt that the motorbike that was pulling us was performing a wheelie most of the way due to the weight. To say the ride was bumpy would be an understatement. Well, ‘bouncy’ then. But the excitement kept us from feeling sick, and half an hour later, we reached the ticket office at the side of the river. We paid and headed down the steep steps to the waters edge where a fleet of boats waited for us. We gingerly hopped on board and as the driver started his rather loud engine, we set off. It wasn’t long before we were floating in the middle of the river. With the engine cut off, we waited and watched the still water for signs of movement beneath. Like searching for the Lock Ness monster, the levels of anticipation were tangible.

And there it was. Poking his dorsal fine high out of the water, the dolphin made his first appearance. Like a magical creature, gliding through the water, we watched with mouths open, in awe of the creature. This was the first of many sightings. Occasionally, 3 or 4 or 5 dolphins would surface and swim along side the boat. One even came directly towards us and only at the last second, dived underneath and past under our boat.

The first of many sightings.

Just saying ‘hello’

Going under the boat…show off!

As the sun began to set, the evening colours came to life. Deep reds reflected on the water as we continued to watch the dolphins. Cameras were out, but predicting their appearances was a challenge. Being so close to such rare creatures, kind of brought it home for us. A once in a life-time experience of nature at its finest and an experience shared with great friends; it was all we could ask for.

Kratie was a relaxed, quite stop for us. We tried the local delicacy of sticky rice cooked with coconut milk and beans then wrapped in bamboo and steamed…I would say ‘filling’ is how I would describe that one. But more importantly, we met some great people. Damian and Sam went a different direction to us, but Jo and Tom would stick around and travel with us down to the capital: Phnom Penh. More great times were just around the corner!

Good night Kratie, thanks for the great memories.

First steps in Cambodia

Crammed like sardines, Malene, our two new friends Ellen and Anton and myself began our journey from Surin (Thailand) to the Cambodian border. With horror stories of lost passports and border officials over charging for visas, we made our way through the dense heat in our mini bus, fully equipped with the worse A/C system imaginable. Although uncomfortable, with our bags sat on our laps, the journey itself wasn’t too long and before we knew it, we had arrived at the desolate border. The taxi drivers, touts and guides rushed around outside the bus as we clambered out. Fresh tourist blood was here, and they wanted us! A million polite refusals later, we edged our way towards the visa office. One ‘guide’ who appeared to dismiss our refusal for help, walked in front of us and despite all the clear sign posts, he wanted to help us, and we let him. This, in all fairness, wasn’t a terrible idea.

We filled out forms, handed over our passports, payed in Cambodian Reils (not dollars like the guidebooks said) and waited as our guide ran between offices and got all our paperwork sorted out. Then came the taxi. It took us 45 minutes to haggle for this taxi. Our ‘guide’ was clearly getting commission and wanted to squeeze as many dollars out of us as possible. We argued. We haggled. We refused silly offers and nearly decided to walk away and find our own transportation. This final ploy always works a charm. The price was almost instantly dropped and there we were, shaking hands on the grand sum of 800 Baht per couple (£18).

The guidebooks claimed the journey would take around 6 hours, on roads barely fit for mountain goats. We prepared ourselves for the worse and hopped into the car, cranked up the A/C and set off. As we made our way down the high-way, the tarmac was smooth and void of any major holes, great start. As we continued along, we were still flying, enjoying the smooth ride and watching the countryside pass us by. One section of road, no more than a couple of hundred meters long, had been neglect of maintenance and we carefully plotted the best route through; this was the worse part of the ride and within 1 and a half hours (!), we were in Siam Reap. Void of broken backs and shattered teeth, the journey was smooth and extremely pleasant…thanks Lonely Planet for yet another bang on report.

Ah, Siam Reap! Even the name for me is cool in itself. Like an eagerly unread book, we were all excited to start exploring. And that’s exactly what we did, fully laden with backpacks, front packs, side packs: all the packs you can think of! We ploughed through the thick, unforgiving heat as we searched for a place to stay. Hotels, guesthouses, lodges; all seemed expensive and we were loosing hope as well as severe amounts of bodily fluids. Finally, as our exhaustion reached a new high, we stumbled on a little guesthouse that offered double rooms for 7$ a night, free pool (pool table, not a swimming pool as I first thought), hammocks and a bucket full of charm. They gave us free water and we felt like we had found a lost oasis in the middle of a sparse desert.

There are 2 main attractions that pull tourists into Siam Reap: the old market and Angkor Wat – sometimes claimed as one of the 7 wonders of the world (Angkor Wat, not the market) and we were excited to explore both. The market area is crammed full of little shops selling all the usual riff-raff, banana and chocolate pancake vendors (delicious), bars, restaurants and tuk tuks. Ah, the tuk tuks. Never have we been so bombarded by tuk tuk offers before. I personally think its a little game they play with tourists. See how many tourists they can make angry by constantly offering a ride. These guys pop up everywhere; on the street, in shops, at the bars, out of random windows – it became the standard greeting – “tuk tuk?”

Market done, we arranged to hire bicycles at our guesthouse (1$ per day) and decided to get to the Angkor Wat temple area for sunrise. Waking up the following morning at a ridiculous time, Malene and I hopped onto our rusting bikes and headed off into the morning darkness. With sleep still in our eyes, we flew out of the city and away from the street lights: darker still. As we edged closer to the temple ticket counters, the buzz was already alive. Tourists in tuk tuks arrived and we all lined up for our day passes to be printed off. The whole process was far more professional than the border crossing: set prices left no ambiguity and we even had our mug shots taken which were then printed onto the tickets. There was certainly a few things the border crossing offices could learn from a place like this.

Still under the light of the moon, we got back into the saddle and continued for a further 20 minutes. At the main steps of the temples there was a feeling of excitement as people loaded themselves up with caffeine, happily supplied by vendors, or sugarcane juice that has a similar effect. We locked our trusty steeds up and walked towards what was now an eerie shadow of the incredible Angkor Wat. Perched on the edge of a lily lake we waited along with 200 other people for the sun to rise behind the majestic temple. It was magical. A monument stooped in history and grandeur to match, we watched in silence and overcome by its beauty. As the sun rose, it became clearer and clearer. It’s colours and symbolic shape reflected perfectly in the lake, a symbol of power and grace, it was sublime.

That day, we followed meandering tree lined roads around the huge temple site. Visiting some incredible awe inspiring buildings and truly feeling like part of the Tomb Raider film. Temples surrounded by lush green forests which gave the whole place a sense of history and mystery. The magnificent Ta Prohm with the huge tree engulfing it was definitely another hi-light to what was an amazing day of exploring.

The ride back to town was hot, but well worth it as I raced a tuk tuk (and won!) and exchanged some strange glances with its occupants. Our final evening was spent watching a local circus, and as they performed tight rope tricks and insane 3 man high stunts we felt such a warm feeling (inside and out) and thought Cambodia is already incredible, how can it get any better? ‘Better’ would be in the shape of Kratie; our next stop, a grueling 12 hour bus ride away.

Crazy market, the smells were…interesting.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat.

Trying to get the best shot.

Religion and history go hand in hand.

Entrance to mystery.

A rare, indigenous lizard.

More rare wildlife.

Ta Prohm: What came first, the tree or temple?

Looking for Lara Croft.

On top of an ancient world.

Cycling *cough* effortlessly.

Circus time.

I don’t even know how this is possible?

We love Cambodia!

Bridges, temples and silk: Thailand

In an attempt to catch up with our travel blog, this post will cover our final 3 destinations in Thailand: Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya and Surin. All 3 were quite different from each other, and in a way, ticked most of the boxes we had for our visit in Thailand. In all honesty, we had expected more from this country. After reading so many rave reviews, we felt a little deflated as we toured around. So, apologies for those that love Thailand, but personally, we didn’t feel the magic that we expected. Maybe that was the problem; we ‘expected’ a little too much. We also appreciate that it is a huge country and we only dipped our feet in for what felt like a matter of seconds in comparison with India and Nepal.

I think our biggest issue here was money. Much like every other traveller, money and budget play a huge part and truly dictate how you travel, where you stay and for what duration. Keeping a close eye on your wallet is always good advice, despite how mundane it can be.

Compared to India and Nepal, Thailand proved to be very expensive. Certainly travel costs seemed to be far more costly, but accomodation and food were also slightly more inflated. This wouldn’t usually be a problem, but our budget was already set, and if we wanted to ‘last’ out here, then we needed to find cheap and cheerful options: everywhere. Without further ado, I present to you Thailand’s greatest asset: 7/11! Every time we entered one of these convenience stores, we felt like we were cheating. We came all the way across the world, to this beautiful country and appear to spending rather a lot of time in the heavily air conditioned 7/11 shops: crazy! But for those on a shoe-string, these shops were a real money saver. Beer (yes, I’ve started a list with ‘beer’), water, bread, noodles, toilet paper; everything is cheaper in these shops and we really roped back in some of the lost savings that we spent on buses, trains etc. Of course there are street vendors serving up delicious, often an indistinguishable array of delights, but for day to day supplies (water is the obvious big one) then look no further: and trust me, you don’t need to look for them…7/11’s everywhere. In fact, 99% of the time, you can be stood on the doorstep of one 7/11 and if you look down the street, you’ll surely spot another.

Back to Kanchanaburi, our first stop outside of the wonderful Bangkok capital. Lying 4 hours north west on the banks of the river Kwai, and stooped in history, we chose this place for rather obvious reasons. The river itself is beautiful, with water lilies dotted all over and the fantastic back drop of the nearby mountains, every photo taken was like an instant postcard. Our first of 2 guesthouses was on the water itself. Suspended on floating barrels, we felt the slow, gentle rocking motion of the water as we lay in bed that evening. The town itself has been described as a mini, relaxed version of Bangkok – relaxed, yes…but we couldn’t see any other resemblance to the big city. Like a small fishing town, with a few bars and huge flowering bushes lining the streets, Kanchanaburi felt far more rural: a perfect place to rest up for a while. Our second guesthouse was also situated on the river, slightly further away from the centre (which dramatically dropped the price) and offered great views over the river: sunsets here were dreamy, with powerful orange and red tints of light reflecting over the calm water, another postcard view that we felt lucky to part of.

The main attraction here is of course the bridge over the river Kwai. Made famous by the 1957 David Lean film, the bridge itself is a mass of black steel, with the train tracks running across it. The museum is well worth a visit and quickly paints a horrific picture of the slavery and grueling conditions the POW’s faced when constructing the bridge. The heat of the midday sun was well into the 30’s, which made it easier to imagine the suffering that they must have felt. We took the train across the bridge itself, which is a memory that will stick we me for a long time. By closing my eyes, I could feel the dead, stuffy breeze pass through my clothes. I could hear the rhythmic clunking of the track below, which painted a picture of tired men, labouring their heavy sledge hammers and constantly under attack from the brutal Japanese army. It was a difficult concept to try and understand, a lesson of modern slavery and we both felt a wave of gratitude and compassion for all of those involved.

Our second stop proved to be quite different to both Bangkok and Kanchanaburi. Ayutthaya is home to some very famous and fascinating temples. The historical park itself is spread across many acres, with hundreds of temples and Buddhist monuments, you could easily spend a couple of days getting lost and exploring. Lush green grass and shady trees adorn the park and as we cycled from one area to the next, it was fun to imagine the life and energy that once was. One of the most memorable images here was at Wat Mahathat and the stone head of Buddha entangled in the roots of an old fig tree. The huge 37 meter long (8 meter high!) reclining Buddha at Wat Lokayasutharam was also incredibly impressive and a true tribute to the past artists and sculptures.

On a slightly different note, Ayutthaya also has some of the strangest, coolest tuk tuk’s we have seen so far. Looking like something from the future, all brightly colourful and even a Batman one: fully equipped with a batman figure glued to the roof, brilliant! We stayed at a tiny little internet cafe which only had a handful of rooms, but had two things that Malene and I have been looking for all over Thailand. Firstly, it was cheap as chips, secondly, and a huge bonus, it had A/C…oh what a delight! We even had to break out the sleeping bags which were starting to collect dust. It was certainly nice not to sleep in a pool of our own sweat for once: 200 baht (£4 a night) for those interested. It was next to this place that I had my first ever Thai full-body massage. As lovely as the girl was who gave me the massage, I sort of felt like she broke me. I have absolutely nothing against larger women, but my spine has a different opinion! It will be a while before I get another massage, and probably even longer until I walk with a straight back again.

Our final stop in Thailand and possibly our quietest stop, was in Surin. North east of Bangkok and close to the Cambodian border, this sleepy town would be our port to Cambodia and our chance to see hand woven silk, a famous Thai skill and one we didn’t want to miss before leaving. Staying at a remote homestay, we started to feel a little bit more of what Thailand had to offer. Away from the buzz of big cities, tour agencies and inflated prices, it was great to finally enjoy Thailand. The silk village that we visited was equally quiet and secluded and a lovely setting to experience hand woven silk garments up close. The patience and skill the women have in weaving was breathtaking to watch. A small team of ladies, each with individual roles would effortlessly weave intricate and detailed patterns using the ultra-fine threads of silk. It was so wonderful to see the traditional methods still being used and reminded Malene and I of the simple beauties of life. Patience, hard work and dedication can all be admired and learned from an afternoon here at the silk village.

It was a brief encounter with Thailand, much like this post. Short and sweet sums our travels around this country and we wish, in some ways, that we had more time and definitely more money to explore it further. We’ve heard so many great things about the north of Thailand, but with our ‘home-dates’ firmly set in our minds and 2 highly anticipated countries to go, it was time to close this chapter and begin another. We were also lucky enough to meet two fellow travelers: Ellen and Anton who would bravely join us to cross the Thailand/Cambodian border. That journey, however, will be for the next post as I feel I have already bitten off more than I can chew for one entry!

Onto country number 4: Cambodia, will it prove to be better than Thailand?

Entering Thailand: Bangkok

Apart from sitting at either end of the plane from each other, the flight over from Kathmandu to Bangkok (via good old Delhi) was pretty harmless. Shabby food, mediocre film, but the most incredible views over the Himalayas and the mighty Mt. Everest.

I will admit straight away that I was pretty worried about our arrival into Bangkok. Hearing stories about the hussle, the dirt, the traffic and Kao San road led me to think that we wouldn’t enjoy our stay…maybe we could just stop over in the city for one night then move on. It would turn out that I couldn’t have been further wrong about the place. This is a common problem I have with travelling and pre-reading about our future stops. It’s so easy to skip all the positive reviews and weight too much influence on the negative comments. When booking a hotel, we would often flick past the ‘good’ reviews and read the negative ones, thinking for some reason that they carry more truth. It’s a crazy idea. Follow these rules and we’d end up sleeping on the streets, which obviously we don’t! I suppose its a way to try and get the best value for our money…but those negative reviews, be it for a hotel, restaurant, a tour, a temple: you name it, negativity isn’t hard to find, you just to take those comments with a rather large pinch of salt.

We arrived into the airport, struggled with our visas for a little while then grabbed our bags and headed for the taxi rank. There were no tuk tuks, no bicycle rickshaws and no vehicles that appeared to have more than 50k on their clocks: where were we? All the taxi’s, with gleaming yellow and green paint jobs, had full leather upholsteries, A/C as standard and most ran on chrome alloys; we were confused, but on the inside, a little happy! Our ticket was punched in and our taxi driver met us at the ticket counter to ‘guide’ us to his car. This car in fact turned out to be the only pink painted car in the entire underground parking lot…it was getting better and better!

The ride into the city was taken in silence, just like our first experience of Delhi 6 months previous, but for completely different reasons. We were starring at pure wealth. Cars worth more than the average house in the UK and skyscrapers draped with huge digital screens offering the latest in technology. A mere 3 hour flight from Delhi had delivered us into yet another world.

By the time we hit town, it was already in full flow. Bright lights lined the streets, blinding tourists from bar to bar. Each bar that we passed blared out various genres of music, from jazz to hip hop, classical to death metal, it was all such a mash up, like a menagerie without a theme. But it was fun, and in the nights to come, Malene and I would fully dive into the craziness that is Bangkok.

On our first day in Bangkok, we visited a lovely little art gallery and met the 2 artists whose material was on show. It was all quite surreal as we watched their art being fixed to the gallery’s walls and chatted to them about their ideas. Outside the gallery, there was an interesting array of food on offer, but we had just eaten breakfast and politely turned down the offer to try it out…

As insignificant as it may sound, one of the beauties of Bangkok, and certainly a way in which it differs from India and Nepal, is it’s use of pavements. Of course they exist in the aforementioned countries, but the difference here is that you can actually walk on them: shock horror! In Nepal, the pavement area is used as an extension to shops, or for parking, which makes walking on them impossible. In India there weren’t any, but thats India. Well done Bangkok, another thumbs up from us.

The Grand Palace is kind of a ‘must do’ for those visiting Bangkok. After the initial shock of the price and Malene had hired a pink shirt to cover her arms and chest, we waded through the hundreds of people as we gazed at the impressive temples. True, by this point of our trip, we had already seen what felt like a million temples and were running risk of what’s known as ‘temple burn-out’, but it was still an interesting area. The various monuments all surround the huge Temple of Emerald Buddha which houses a beautiful green sitting Buddha. It was particularly wonderful to listen to the chanting monks and locals which can easily entrance you as you walk around the tightly packed grounds.

Malene and I were trying to get used to the heat, which was different to Nepal and reminded us of what it was like when we first entered India in mid-September. As the midday sun roared down on us, we dived between covered markets and occasionally into air conditioned shopping centers. The only problem with the later, is your body quickly gets used to the cool temperature, and returning back into the sun feels like stepping back into an uncontrollable oven.

Moving around the city is a breeze, especially by tuk tuk, most of which come fully equipped with huge, big-bore exhausts and sub-woofers to match. One lesson we learnt quickly was the various prices for using these tuk tuks. If you didn’t mind a stop off in one or two suit shops, then the price of the journey would be minimal, sometimes free as the driver would get a token for free fuel out of it. If you didn’t want a stop off then the price goes up…a lot! We tried a couple of suit shops, pretended we were interested, maybe mentioned that we would come back another day, but it’s no fun, plus you’re wasting the sellers time, and your own as well.

On the final night, Malene and I travelled across the city to one of its biggest theatres: the Siam Niramit Here we saw an incredible show of dance, music and theatrical play. In the most amazing theatre I have ever been in, we were treated to a show that we’ll never forget. The show included the history and culture of Thailand and even had a river flowing through it. With fireworks, floating candles, elephants, rain and, well, a river: it’s a night we’ll never forget.

On this last evening, we ended up miles from our hotel and found a parked taxi. Thinking it would be wildly expensive, we in fact got a good shock. I was barely more expensive than a tuk tuk and that’s without any stops…perfect, another thumbs up for Bangkok.

We of course tried Sao Kan road for an evening out. It was definitely as wild as everyone makes it out to be. With a huge mixture of people, young and old, tourists and locals all were crammed down the street. ‘Lively’ doesn’t do it justice. With live music in every other bar, we sat down, ordered a bucket and let the street entertain us. They was even a trio of break dancers whose backflips, head spins and turtle walking had everyone in awe.

‘In awe’, kind of sums up Bangkok. The biker groups that perform wheelies down the streets at night, the local police riding around on pink scooters, the beautiful floating houses, the impressive 18 meter tall gold standing Buddha, all add intrigue and great reasons to visit this amazing city. My worries beforehand came from too much reading and too many other peoples negative responses to the city. Personally, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. True, it is catered for tourists and the prices are double compared to India and Nepal, but for a trip back into ‘normal’ life, Bangkok ticked far more boxes than we ever imagined possible.

P.S. What do you think of the new layout? Photos within the text; fancy I know. Did you prefer the old style, making it easy to skip all the waffle and straight to the pics?

The birth of Buddism: Lumbini

This post will be short, but the memories we will take from this place will certainly be sweet.

Lumbini is situated 10 hours south west of Kathmandu and took us around 5 hours to get there from Chitwan. The small, sleepy town of Lumbini doesn’t hold much for tourists to see, but it is the place to stay when exploring the temple area and the birth place of Buddha. The remains of the building where he was born is now housed in a rather ugly white concrete building from the 70’s. The area however, remains incredibly special and in fact is number 1 on a list of the most respected sights of Buddhism in the world. For those interested, the list is as follows:

1. Lumbini – Buddha’s birthplace (Nepal)
2. Bodh Gaya – the place of his enlightenment
3. Sarnath – where he delivered his first teaching
4. Kusinara – where he died

Outside the birthplace, I’m the courtyard stands a large Bodhi tree, which is still heavily used today for meditation. Prayer flags are strung up and create a sea of multi coloured holiness.

Spiritually, this places evokes feelings of peacefulness and acceptance. Acceptance for the person who you are, the choices you have made and the path you have chosen in life so far. Those who know me, know that religion has never played a significant part in my life. What Buddhism offers, doesn’t really seem to be a religion – to me anyway. Instead, it offers a feeling, a love for life and others around you regardless of their religious views and beliefs. I know extremely little about Buddhism, but appreciate that we are travelling through a land where Buddhism is the main religion. Certainly Thailand and Cambodia have huge numbers of practicing Buddhist monks, and I think it would be almost criminal not to find out more about these strangely clothed people and try to understand their views on life and the world around them.

The area surrounding Buddha’s birthplace is full of temples and monuments dedicated to Buddhism. It was certainly a long day, but we traveled through them all and explored the various court years and gardens that surround them. Most of the temples were donated by different countries and was almost as if they competed with each other to see who could go bigger, who could incorporate more gold or who could show off their engineering capabilities the most. For us, the peace stupa at the top of the park was the hi-light. So simple in white, with minimal decoration and 4 Buddha statues inside the dome create the peaceful atmosphere that I feel Buddhism is all about. This was also where we had lunch, right next to a beautiful pond which was full of flowering lotus flowers.

Apart from a pit-stop back in Kathmandu, this was our final stop in Nepal. A country so different, yet similar in so many ways to India. Both containing such charm, character and diversity, but here with a slightly more relaxed approach to life. Nepal for me was everything and more that I expected. Beautiful scenery, generous and loving people and quite simply one of the best months of my life. It is also the first place that both Malene and I have agreed that we would like to visit again. We have made so many memories here, delved into a new religion that looks fascinating and of course, found Dal Bat, the food that just keeps coming!

Chitwan part 2 – Going deeper

Our morning hunting for crocodiles was incredible. We weren’t sure how safe we felt on the water in our tiny boat with large shadows lurking beneath us, but we’re still here to tell the story and we’re thankful for that!

In the afternoon of what was already turing out to be an exciting day, we joined a small group of people and got back into a boat. After crossing the water and back into the Chitwan national park, we walked for a few minutes before an opening in the jungle revealed a fleet of tiny Suzuki 4×4’s. After reaching ours, all 6 of us climbed into the back, with another in the front and our guide who clung onto the back. tThe plan this time, would be to go deeper into the jungle where hopefully there was a better chance to spot more wildlife.

It must have been around 3 and a half minutes later that the truck came to a quiet stop. With everyone being as silent as possible, we all peered into dense forest. Sure enough, lying down in the bush there was a huge one horned rhino. He appeared to be waking from a sleep. It all happened in a bit of a dream. So close to where we started and also in the exact same area as we had been walking just hours before! As I steadied my hands, I took photos before we moved on – our guide pronouncing that we were a very lucky group…and we felt it!

For an hour or so since that first sighting, we didn’t see any more ‘big’ animals, however, plenty of monkeys, large birds and hundreds of crocodiles…at the crocodile farm! After the farm visit and in what felt like tropical forest heat, we again hit the track. After a few minutes, we spotted another truck full of people waving their hands. We edged closer. They all appeared to be giving us different signals, some to come closer, some to stop, some seemed to say go away! We got closer, until we were parked directly behind them. What they had seen, and we were now looking at, was a huge bison. Unfortunately, we could only see the top of its back and it’s wagging tail, but apparently it was coming out of the bush. After 5 minutes of looking, it didn’t seem to want to play and stuck to the covering of the trees…when all of a sudden Malene points behind us and shouts, “look, rhinos!” Everyone turned on their heels and saw the baby rhino and its mother crossing the track. By pure chance (and Malene’s observational skills!) we had seen 2 more beautiful rhinos, this time walking along the track. The sighting was brief but incredible all the same.

A few more minutes of driving and we reached a watch tower that over looked a watering hole and open grass land. We would spend a few minutes here and hopefully might catch a glimpse of some animals. It really was, our lucky day. Off out in the distance, walking through the grass (again) Malene spotted something medium sized and black in colour. As we both peered out, we thought at first that it must have been a wild dog, maybe one of the guides had a dog? We continued to watch it as it slowly came a little closer. It wasn’t a dog. In fact it was a very rare sloth bear with a baby cub on its back. These are apparently as rare to spot as the tigers and we were loving every second of it!

For the remainder of the trip, we came across 2 more rhinos in the forest, crocs on the waters edge (not in a farm!), peacocks, deer and a host of other beautiful animals. It had certainly been a productive day! Up close and personal with vicious, meat eating crocodiles in the morning and huge rhinos and savage sloth bears in the afternoon. WOW!

It wasn’t just the national park that we loved here, but the small village and of course the amazing lodge where we stayed. In fact, this was Malene’s favorite place so far, and its easy to see why. Quiet, peaceful and incredible nature surrounds you here and for those reasons, we both fell in love with Chitwan.

Next up, Lumbini: the birth place of Buddha. Time to get back in touch with our spiritual side.

Chitwan – The real-life Jungle book

I would never normally recommend hitching a ride anywhere in the world, perhaps especially in Nepal. The roads are half built (at best), the cliff drops and falling rocks are everywhere and the speeds at which everyone drives, would surely make even Schumacher’s stomach turn. However, our journey from the hills where we went canyoning (see previous post) to Chitwan, was pretty entertaining. As we clambered up the mini ladder and into the hot lorry cab, we sprawled ourselves across the bed-like area which we shared with a ‘co-pilot’ and all our bags. In all honesty, I reckon this form of transport (and this isn’t me recommending it!) is far more comfy than the local buses, even the tourist ones. The only problem were the tiny windows which didn’t let much air into the stuffy cab.

A couple of very bumpy hours later, we reached what was apparently Chitwan. We of course had no idea as both the driver and his co-pilot didn’t speak a word of English. But they were very nice, smiled a lot and helped us with our bags before they disappeared in a cloud of black smoke leaving us wondering if we had made the right choice. It certainly didn’t look like Chitwan.

However, we were in luck. Almost immediately, a couple of taxi drivers surrounded us, obviously smelling fresh meat and an easy ticket. One however, claimed he could take us to the river-side (6km) for free if we looked at his lodge – adding “no pressure to stay”. Malene and I looked at each other and even though we had heard the same story from touts all over India and always rejected them. We thought on this occasion, why not? We felt strong enough to walk straight out if his lodge – The Crocodile Safari Lodge and Camp (bit of a mouthful), if we wanted to try our luck else where.

From the town where we had been dropped off, we squeezed our bags (4 now!) into the drivers little, windowless Suzuki truck. As we sped off down the road and out of the industrial town, the countryside soon opened up to us. Field workers were still labouring hard in the afternoon sun and as we bumped our way down the road, the trees started growing taller and thicker…the jungle was arriving.

What can I say? The Crocodile Safari Lodge and Camp, although terribly named, is the most beautiful, unassuming and honest place we have stayed in. With a well kept garden, quaint narrow paths and small sun terraces, we had found a gem. Our room was spacious, with mossy net and a private terrace equipped with deck chairs that made us feel like we had landed in heaven. The food was delicious, the staff were kind and always smiling…I could literally go on and on. One small drawback was the generator. Like everywhere in Nepal, powercuts are part of the daily routine. With electricity only lasting a couple of hours here (slightly worse than Kathmandu and Pokhara) you really need to chose what appliances you want to charge. But normally in the evening, in order to send power to a few auxiliary lights, the generator is fired up. This one happened to be quite loud, but we couldn’t complain, this place ticked all the right boxes and we knew when to be thankful for such a place.

Early the next morning, we joined two fellow backpackers and the hotel manager (same man that picked us up the day before) and set off down the street towards the river. Within a couple of minutes, we had arrived at the river-side and carefully clambered into the extremely narrow boats. Carved from a single piece of hollowed out tree, the boats were barely wide enough for us to squeeze our bums in and didn’t feel incredibly stable. Still, we slowly drifted out as the boat man extended his pole into the shallow water and pushed off. The sun was just waking up and the early morning mist covered the water like an eerie introduction to a horror movie. After asking our guide if there were crocs here, he claimed he couldn’t see any right now, but was sure we’d see a few soon…we all placed our hands back inside the raft.

Being the first on the Rapti river that morning, we relaxed into our seats, forgetting the imminent danger that lurked beneath and soaked up the beautiful nature that surrounded us. We were introduced to so many different birds. My favorite being the kingfisher with its electric blue body, and we saw many. From the river we saw deer grazing near the shore and even got a taste of some baby water rapids – tiny compared to our day on the Trisuli river, but in this raft, we all felt like we were walking on a tight-rope, one sneeze and we would be swimming.

Back on dry land, our guide explained to us the dangers of trekking in animal infested jungles. We would most certainly come across wild animals and would need to know what to do in case one confronted us. There were different strategies for tigers, elephants, sloth bears and rhinos, but by now, we were switched on and taking mental notes.

After a quick dash through the jungle, we came back to the waters edge where our guide abruptly span round, hands up in the air as we all stopped. His finger slowly covered his mouth and told us to be very quiet. We were told to watch where we were walking and, I quote “don’t break any sticks” – not an easy feat in the jungle! As we all huddled together and peered round the long grass, a huge crocodile was soaking up the early morning sun on the river bank, no more than 5 meters from us. Our guide whipped out his telescope and as we peered through its lens we realised just how close we were to a fully grown, basking mugger crocodile – and that’s not the vegetarian type!

Before long, a dark shadow crept forward through the water and out crawled a second crocodile. As we watched them in awe our guide had already spotted a different croc. This time the long, narrow jawed Ghariel crocodile had perched itself up on the bank and appeared to be watching us. Luckily, this was a fish eating crocodile and apparently of no danger to us, although I certainly wasn’t going to test that theory.

Wild white water and crazy canyoning

Pokhara keeps on delivering excitement after excitement and squeezing our adrenaline glands until they’re drained. A day after returning from our 5 day Trek in the mountains and definitely still high from the experience we set off on our final adventure: white water rafting and canyoning. Nepal really offers the best when it comes to white water rafting. Not only are the rivers perfect; offering a range of grades to choose from, but the location is simply stunning, the people are fun and great guides and the camps where you sleep are so relaxing and peaceful.

It took Malene and I a couple of hours to reach the Trisuli river by local bus. As we travelled along the road, the cliff-drop off the side went all the way down to the river at the bottom. We hoped that we wouldn’t skid off the road and prematurely drop into the river.

Arriving at a little hut at the end of a small roadside village, we were instantly greeted by a group of guys, all of whom would be helping us throughout our two day adventure. Our bags were taken care of and we guided down off the road, though some houses and onto a pebbly beach. With the raft in front of us, already bobbing on the water, this was our first introduction with our vehicle for the next day. After a brief introductory chat we met the 4 guides and the 6 of us clambered aboard and paddled down stream.

The morning was good fun; we chatted, sang and played games on the raft. We also swam in the river as parts were calm enough to have a relaxing soak – really appreciated with the hot sun beating down. The real fun, however, didn’t start until after lunch. The rapids grew larger and larger and we were thrown around like rag dolls. The rapid grades grew from 3’s to 4’s (out of a possible 6) and everyone had to work hard together to keep our raft sunny side up. Water exploded all around us as we fought to hold on to the guide rope and our paddles. As we paddled hard and fast through the angry water, we soon felt tired. Using muscles we didn’t know existed, the sets of rapids just kept coming and coming. I was worried that the whole day would be like the morning, although good fun, this wave smashing, white knuckle ride was just what I needed, and great for Malene – it was her first rafting experience!

That evening, we had a short hike to a very remote campsite on the riverside. After crossing a huge bridge that suspends over the river we settled our bags down and collapsed in the hammock; arms and legs shattered from the days rafting. That evening, we were treated to live music and some great food. I even got a mustang coffee which was a lovely warmer and pretty much knocked me out ready for bed. Talking of which, our sleeping arrangement was in small tents, simple, but comfortable.

The following morning, after a great, hearty breakfast we strapped ourselves into a truck and headed off deeper into the hills. After half an hour of more bumpy roads, we reached a little house where we donned our wetsuits, helmets and this time the addition of again, unflattering harnesses. Equipped with rope we started our mini-trek up the hillside. Half way up the hill, we got very lucky as an out stretched snake was soaking up the sun and was lying across the entire track. He looked like a dried stick to me and I was inches away from stepping on him. Luckily we had Malene who was really watching where she placed her feet. Just as she was about to step over its tail, she screamed, “It’s a snake! It’s a snake!” A the snake sprung to life, we all back peddled. Luckily a dog that followed us up the hill ran forwards to confront it and sensing the danger, the snake scurried away through the bush. Afterwards, our guide assured us that the snake wasn’t poisonous, but as far as I was concerned, it was the biggest, baddest snake in Nepal…possibly the world!

At the top of the hill, we were hot and sticky as the wet suits kept all the heat locked in. We were greeted with a huge 70 meter waterfall that cascaded down over green rocks. It really was a beautiful setting for the beginning of our second day of adventuring: canyoning. For those who don’t know, canyoning (not canoeing spelt wrong) is the adrenaline fueled sport of abseiling down waterfalls, jumping off waterfalls and rocks into rock-pools and sliding down natural rock slides again into the warm water pools below.

Abseiling down the first slippery waterfall was awesome. Desperately tying not to slip on the green rocks as we slowly edged our way lower and lower, the water exploded over our faces and around our body. We looked down over our shoulders and that’s when the heart beats a little faster. We were suspended 30 meters above a rock pool, with water pouring over us. It was an incredible feeling of trust (in the equipment) and wildness. We were surrounded by nature and moving with it at the same time.

There were 6 different waterfalls and we took various different ‘methods’ to descend them. The final one was the most scary, and one of the most daunting things I have ever done. It was a 7/8 meter jump off a rock into the pool below. But that would have been too easy…this one required a running start in order to clear 2 meters of rock first and that had to be done on slippery wet rock, one false step, one slip and I doubt my little helmet would help me survive the surely fatal plummet. I won’t lie, it took me a few seconds to pluck up the courage and plan my next steps very carefully. And then it happened. In what felt like slow motion, I took 4 or 5 running steps and jumped as far forward as possible. Then, with arms flapping in the wind, I flew through the air and it really seemed to last a long time before I came crashing down to the cool water below. As the adrenaline exited my brain, I let out a cry of pure excitement and relief that I had made it! Now it was Malene’s turn! I watched patiently from the pool below. To be honest, she made it look very easy!

It was a fantastic finish to a great couple of days and a wonderful ending to our time in Pokhara. A town that really offers so much, you just have to decide how much you want to do. One things for sure, whatever you decide, you won’t be disappointed. I will certainly miss Pokhara and the lakeside. I loved the feeling of the town and the people, the laid back nature of it all and the options available to fill all your adrenaline needs.

No matter where we decided to travel to next, it would always be a little more relaxing than our time here in Pokhara. For us, it would be Chitwan, where we would search for tigers, rhinos and crocodiles…maybe the adrenaline would still be pumping after all?

High in the Himalayas: our 5 day trek

I cannot contain the excitement I have for sharing our experiences of being up in the Himalayan mountains for 5 days. From the minute we set off until the moment we returned, this was the most exhilarating 5 days we have both had in a long time…maybe ever!

Our trip began at our hotel, where we met our guide; Mr Raj Kumar. I could honestly write an entirely dedicated blog just on this one man, his kindness, his compassion, his energy and his love for nature and the mountains. We had literally won the lottery when we were partnered up with Kumar as we realised that the whole experience could either be a success or failure based on the guide alone.

From the hotel, we packed our bags into the back of taxi and proceeded to head for the bus station. Hardly the trekking idea I had in mind, but essential to get us to the start of the ‘action’ and the foothills of the Annapurna range. For anyone interested in a shorter walk such as this, our itinerary would take us from Gandrup to Gorapani and include a sunrise tour of Poon Hill (3210m). I think by the end of this post, you’ll see just how highly we both recommend it!

With the sun high and hot and brilliant blue skies, we set off down a little used pebble track. With tiny local villages in the valley, we got an up close and personal view of farming and the local traditions. The river running in the crux of the valley also provided a nice way to cool off. After little more than an hour of walking, a dark cloud began to stalk us, and with no warning whatsoever, the skies opened up and delivered a blistering cold hail storm. With large marbles of ice pounding down on us, we quickened our pace and made for a tea house. Here we enjoyed a good macaroni dish – probably didn’t deserve it yet, but enjoyed it all the same. Whilst sat under the corrugated tin roof, another couple joined us, also in search of shelter. They had returned from a much longer planned trek (ABC – Annapurna Base Camp trek) after only a few days, claiming that the thigh high snow forced them to return. Malene and I looked at each other partly in shock, partly in surprise. We prayed that our trip wouldn’t have the same fate.

As the hail storm passed, we continued upwards, this time up steep steps that went on forever. We passed farmers in tiered fields following their buffalo’s as they plowed through thick, rich soil. As the minutes went past, the views seemed to get better and better. Step after grueling step produced fantastic glimpses across natural Nepalese countryside and we often stopped just to soak in the atmosphere – not because we needed a break, honestly!

Our first day was almost purely climbing. In fact, no less than 1000 meters in altitude were gained and for that, we were pretty happy with ourselves. Our first guest house was situated at the top end of a large village, Gandrup. The place was simple, rural and amazing. The views across the mountains took our breath away and after an evening of great home-cooked food and a Mustang coffee (explanation later), Malene and I wrapped up warm and tucked ourselves into our little hut. This was our first night away from civilisation, traffic, people and noise; it didn’t take very long to fall asleep, despite our excitement for the following day.

Bright and (very) early in the morning, Mr Kumar gave us a wake up call and as we stumbled out into the bright sunshine, we could see exactly why we had been awoken so early. The full mountain range spreading from mount Fishtail to Annapurna 1 and 2 were there in front of us in a pure, heavenly morning light. We could clearly see every detail; the trees, the snow caps, the cracks in the rocks. It was as if the mountains had come to life and only now, were we close enough to really see them. We all enjoyed a hearty breakfast sat outside with a prime view of the impressive scenery.

Continuing our walk, it didn’t take long for us to come across our first signs of snow. But as we continued, nothing was holding us back. Like mountain donkeys, we felt we could take and conquer all of natures’ obstacles. We crossed rivers, through waterfalls, over bridges and deep inside thick rhododendron forests. Every step delivered amazing views and we felt privileged and truly lucky to be experiencing such beauty first hand.

Along the way, we passed many locals trekking up the hill to their homes and businesses which were situated in the hillside villages. Many of them carried incredibly huge packs which were carried using one strap that was then wrapped around their foreheads. Carrying such baskets with only their necks supporting the weight is hugely impressive. In fact, at our second guest house, two elderly women (60?) came by and stopped for a break. As they carefully placed their baskets down and came over for a drink, we asked them if we could try and lift their packs. Of course they agreed, and with Kumar’s help, Malene and I tried to lift the baskets up onto our heads. Imagine trying to lift 80-90kgs, only using your neck muscles! To say it was heavy would be an understatement and although we managed to stand up, I doubt we could have walked more than 2 steps. Our respect and compassion for the porters of the mountains increased again.

The following morning, we set off early in anticipation of the difficult day ahead. This was day 3 and the ‘ice-day’ according to Mr Kumar. We were taking the trek in the opposite direction to what was considered the normal route. Although this meant a tough first day of climbing, it also meant that we would tackle the tricky ice day going up hill rather than down hill. We were assured by Kumar that going up hill on the ice would be easier. As we set off from our little mountain lodge, we picked up another friend, this time a thick black haired dog, with one tooth sticking out who we named Buddha or Bud for short. He led the way and was a lovely companion.

Slowly, but surely the ice patches grew larger until the path was completely covered. With no ‘proper’ shoes for these conditions, we were unsure as to how well we would get on. There was lots of talk about the need for crampons back at the hotel, but we dismissed them thinking it wouldn’t be that extreme. Al I can say is: Kumar, you were right again. Going up hill on the ice provided us with far more grip than if we were going the opposite (normal) direction. My little shoes gave sufficient grip as I raced Buddha up the mountain. The countryside looked like a winter wonderland with fairy tale pictures of iced rivers and untouched snow covered rocks and trees. We used our bamboo ‘disco’ sticks to help support us up the slippery slopes. I was amazing to see people travelling in the opposite direction, fully kitted out with big boots and huge spiked crampons and the looks on their faces as they saw my little summer trainers and Malene’s shoes wrapped with rope to give a little more traction. We were loving every second. The challenge, the views, Buddha and Kumar, the laughs we were having made this an incredible experience, it was perfect.

Our penultimate night in Gourapani was at a large lodge and full of people (50-60 people!) but with the unwavering attention and help from Kumar, we quickly had our room sorted and food ordered. Time for another Mustang coffee. Ingredients: black coffee, sugar and Roxie. – a home made mountain drink, somewhere in the region of 40-50% proof and a great winter warmer! As we sat in front of the fire and dried our shoes, we chatted with Kumar and the other trekkers. But we needed an early night, for tomorrow morning at 4am we would start the climb up to Poon Hill…in the dark!

The morning was cold and dark. As I peered out of our bedroom window, I saw floating lights travel past, up the hill and out of sight. Other walkers with head torches had already begun…this got us out of bed a little quicker. As we got down stairs, Kumar was waiting for us with our disco sticks. Lights on, we left the lodge. Starting up the hill, we took our time. Although the ice wasn’t worse than the previous day, the light from our little torches casted strange shadows and we needed to watch our step. Reaching the top it was still dark, but now with horizontal streaks of red light tearing through the sky. Dark silhouettes of tall mountains surrounded us. We had reached the top and now waited for the sun and the views it would bring light to.

We didn’t have to wait long for the sun to start its day. As it began behind a mountain, strange red rays of light spread across the sky. Before long, the light was cast upon the entire Himalayan mountain range and we were gifted with a 360 degree panoramic view. Each minute the sun changed and provided us with a different light in which to admire the mountains. It was a stunning view and obviously well worth the early start. The problem now was getting back down the hill through the heavily compacted snow and ice…at least it wasn’t dark this time!

Our remaining days in the hills provided us with more amazing memories, different views every minute and overall a great time spent with the lovely Mr Kumar. As we returned downwards, we travelled through more villages and watched the locals as they performed their day-to-day chores. The snow quickly disappeared and was once again replaced by lush green fields that stepped their way up the hillside. Peace and serenity engulfed us and everything felt so positive and perfect. I can honestly say that I have never been interested in walking or trekking, or whatever label you wish to put on it. I love finding adrenaline; mountain biking, snowboarding, canyoning, anything to get my heart racing and adrenaline pumping. But this trek provided all of that and more. Walking on ice-covered tracks past cliff drops and pushing your body upwards over steep rocks was so much fun. Coupled with the amazing countryside and spectacular views of the Annapurna range, it was the most perfect 5 days.

I must really thank Mr Kumar for being an incredible host, an amazing helper and who will always be a true friend. I hope you continue to trek and show the beauty of the mountains to other people. You are an amazing guide, full of love and passion for the world in the mountains. If anyone wants more information, then you can send me a message, or contact Raj directly with the information below. Our hotel (Hotel Peace Plaza, Lakeside, Pokhara) use him, but they also use other guides, so you wouldn’t necessarily be guaranteed to get Raj for your trip. Your best bet is to go directly through him (plus you won’t be paying the hotel!) and I really can’t recommend him highly enough. He is extremely experienced and will go above and beyond to make sure you have a trip of a life time. He does all treks in the Annapurna region as well as Mustang treks and Millennium treks. If you need information, this guy is a great source….just make sure you tell him I sent you (Chris and Malene, Uk and Denmark)!

Thank you Himalayas and thank you Kumar for a life changing and wonderful time. You can be sure that one day, we’ll be back for more.

Flying with eagles

25th February

It’s hard to miss the flying paragliders when you look up in the Pokhara skies. Soaring high above the lake and mountains, we often wondered what life must look like from up there. As it turned out, we didn’t have to wonder for very long. In fact, after only a couple of days after arriving into Pokhara, we signed ourselves up for a half hour excursion of flying through the skies. Paragliding here we come!

Although we had a couple of rainy days at the start of our time in town, the weather had reverted back to its former sunny self and we were clear for take off. We bundled ourselves into the back of an open truck and with a few other ‘white faced’ tourists, we sprang up the hill at break neck speed. At the top, it seemed that the temperature had risen by a couple of degrees, but this was probably in apprehension of what was to come. We met our ‘fliers’ who would strap themselves to our backs and take us up, up and away. Everything moved very quickly. We donned ridiculous looking helmets, strapped on rather unflattering harnesses around our more sensitive parts and connected with our pilots. Then we waited. We waited for good wind that would provide us with a good uplift for the start. We continued to wait. Seconds felt like minutes as we peered over the end of the ‘runway’ knowing that if we didn’t go up, it would surely be a long way down.

Then, without warning, it came. With a sudden tug at the multiple cords connecting us to the parachute and a loud order from my pilot to start running, we leapt into action. My legs started running towards what looked like the edge of a cliff, but all along, the parachute was filling with more and more air that started to pull us back. I tried harder and moved faster, but before long, we were coasting inches from the ground and towards the edge; oblivion. As the ground disappeared beneath us, tree top whistled past our feet. We instantly hit hot air that took us higher and higher. My adrenaline pumped through my body, but there was little I could do to control the situation. We started circling around and around, watching the ground fall further away. Mountain tops reached eye level as I sat back in my harness and started to really enjoy the views. It was silent. The wind cool. The views breathtaking. All of a sudden, a huge floating eagle drifted past and without hesitation, my pilot pulled a few strings and we began to pursue the magical creature. It was actually incredible just how large these eagles are when flying alongside them. I almost felt that I could reach out and touch it, but I held back! High in the sky above me, Malene was floating away with her pilot. We exchanged a few waves and returned to our peaceful world. It was an incredible experience that will last with us forever. It was as if the whole world stopped and we could bathe in the nature and beauty that surrounded us.

Although it wasn’t a cheap adventure, it was certainly worth every penny. For anyone wanting the best views of the Himalayas, lake Phewa and Pokhara all at the same time, look no further. Our trip was enriched by this experience, surely it couldn’t get any better?