Mirabelle Dhulikhel

I don't remember since when I have wanted to do a bungee jump, but I don’t think it’s long ago when I still used to think to be afraid of heights. So it’s definitely not something I’ve always dreamed about so it was probably when I found out that you can do the highest plunge in South-East Asia in Nepal, that got interested about it. I wasn’t probably so terribly scared about as I could have been, and besides, I had all the ...

Rickshaw tour I have just returned to my hotel room after a bizarre tour around the city by rickshaw! Every day now I have seen a little man, whose name I discovered is Dilbado, sitting by the same corner in Thamel on his rickshaw. He always says "Namaste!" and asks me how I am. He has never really been that pushy and there is just something about him that I like. After finishing my class this morning I was undecided where to go this afternoon and then I saw Dilbado so on the spur of the ...

... Here, the internet is the equivalent or worse than dial-up, the electricty is sporadic - we've had several "romantic" candlelit dinners, the water is occasionally warm, etc. Even though I feel I am quite a patient person, it's easy to become impatient with mundane nuances. It's funny because Nepalis just don't get upset at those kinds of things- I've actually yet to see poor attitude or anyone in heated disagreement. Nepalis just don't react well to impatience ...

... and enjoyed a few melancholy drinks with everyone, where I finally received my secret santa gift! The poem was lovely, if slightly strange, from Andrew, and I got a lovely woolly hat which I then wore for the rest of the evening. My poem was as follows:<br><br> <br clear="all"> There was a girl travelling<br><br>From London to Kathmandu<br><br>And on the way we had a party too<br><br>But at half past two<br><br>She turned real blue<br><br>And was sick in her shoe<br><br ...

We were very keen to visit Tibet via the friendship highway from Kathmandu however the current visa situation is restrictive in that you must go with a group tour in a jeep then you have very little time in Lhasa before you must leave on a flight. Obtaining a Chinese visa is impossible from Nepal at the moment. Tibet was an ancient country the size of western Europe when it was invaded by the army of China in 1950. A place with a unique culture ...

... sh!t, but it is only more emphasised as coming into focus I see police badges on the bike and uniform. BANG! The slow motion jumps into fast forward as I fly off my bike and hope for the best. I finally find myself flat on my back looking up to the sky, which beauty and calmness contradicts the chaos that is down here. I lie on the ground for a few moments just trying to work out if that just happened, but then I hastily jump up because I can see my bike pouring out petrol and ...

... restaurant at the hotel offered a vast array of world dishes but I went for the Nepali set dinner. The guide was thoughtful and set me up in a room at the back away from the street noices. What he had not catered for was a school group turning up late. It was mayhem as the girls trying all the rooms for the best bed. There was no need for an alarm clock as before dawn to chorus of many vocal girls, and after a brief chant they were off.

... Annapurna massif. Pleasant for us at least. Not so pleasant for the unfortunate goat who we witnessed having his throat slit before being subjected to disembowelment and butchered to tiny pieces and placed in a large tin bucket. His skin was pegged out to dry on the lawn whilst his head and trotters were tossed away. Some birds spent the afternoon fighting for the right to peck the slivers of red flesh from the inside of the skin.<br><br>Michelle was not at all impressed by this ...

... being late and 'missing it', which I attempted to take with good humour. All in all, by the time I actually reached the top, I estimate that I passed by fifty people, half of whom told me I had either 'missed it' or 'should have got up earlier', each one thinking he was the wit of the day. It was through clenched teeth that I finally pulled myself up onto the top and saw the spectacular scene before me. Snow capped mountains dominated the entire northern aspect. They were brilliantly ...

... electrification in these parts so refrigeration is provided by the cool waters of the river as they come cascading down from the mountains). I, being the male and therefore the mule, had a far larger and heavier bag than Michelle. In it were what we had considered essential for survival, and a few things that had somehow snuck in there that I considered wholly unessential such as a large bottle of sun tan lotion (with 'after sun' as well) and a large bag of toiletries ...