Today is the 24th and I'm writing this from the lakeside in Pokhara having flown in this morning. It is chucking down and I mean really chucking down with rain! We managed a quick boat trip out on the lake to a wee island covered in pigeons and their crap! Having decided this wasn't what we came for we turned found and got the last wee canoe style boat back as we watched the winds starting to whip up the waves down the lake. An amazing transformation! We just made it back so we are sheltering with a Nepali chai tea waiting for the storm to pass!

Pokhara is very different to KTM, 800m versus 1800, and much less dusty! Tomorrow we head out by bus for two hours before starting the trek in.

Yesterday we took a car out 20 minutes or so to Bhaktapur and its famous Durbar square which is much less busy than KTMs equivalent and far nicer. First time I'd been and a revelation. We routed back by the Hindu cremation temples at Pashupathi (a bit voyeuristic and somewhat uncomfortable making as you feel like you are intruding but a well frequented tourist haunt for whatever reason) followed by the more impressive stupa at Bodna. A good long day out finished off by meeting the rest of the group.

I suspect we may well be out of contact now for the next few weeks unless I find a lodge with Internet! In this part of the world that is quite likely!