Off again (2009)

Blogs united

2009-08-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I travelled to Haddington for my first ever meeting with Evee, whose blog I have had a link to for a long time (and vice versa). Not only were we readers of each other's blogs though: Evee has been very generous in providing some valuable financial support for the Nepal Women's Development Trust and their NMV school in Kathmandu. It was high time that we met! So last weekend we met for lunch in Haddington (near Edinburgh) and then went for a tour of Lennoxlove House on the outskirts of the town. This is a fine old Scottish mansion house, currently the home of the Duke of Hamilton and his family. Evee does a great job of telling the story of the day on her blog, and so I won't attempt to give another version. We chose Lennoxlove because my Edinburgh neighbour, Fay, is a guide there and I had long wanted to take up her invitation to have a look around. It is certainly a special place and probably not as well known on the tourist circuit as it deserves.
This is a picture of the Fay, Evee and myself on the lawn after our tour. Thank you ladies for a really nice day - and to Evee again for all your support.

Back in Glasgow

2009-06-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

I've been safely back home in Scotland for a couple of days now, but haven't seen any of that rain yet. The photos are from the Botanic Gardens here (just round the corner) and as you can see it has been sunbathing weather for the locals: i.e. about 16 degrees C.

My nephew Douglas has been looking after the flat and I'm pleased to see that he has kept the place in good shape.

I have some mixed feelings about my earlier than planned return, but it is a good time to be here, with the West End Festival about to begin and the Edinburgh Festivals not far away. And aside from that, I have plenty to keep me busy for a while.

Thank you to those who have tuned in here from time to time. And a special thank you again to those who provided a donation to the NMV cause. I will be in touch with our little network of supporters to discuss the next moves.

He came, he saw, he did a little shopping!

2009-06-06T07:31:00.000-07:00

Well it's my last day in Thailand for the time being. My return flight leaves Bangkok at 20 minutes past midnight, and so I have a bit of time to fill after my late checkout and before I have to head for the airport. I have done a little bit of chilling by the pool here as planned, but it seems that I have spent much of the time in Bangkok browsing around some of the gigantic markets here - mainly Chinatown, Chatuchak, and the Kao San Road. I was on a mission - to get one of the anti-mosquito electric tennis racquets I'd seen in China - and I finally found what I was looking for in Chinatown here. On the way I seem to have picked up a few odds and ends that weren't on any list. These places are something else and certainly put the Glasgow Barras in the shade.

Yesterday Ayumi departed too - for Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, and I look forward to staying in touch and hearing about her progress.

Here are a few pictures of the Chatuchak market, Chinatown, a view from the riverbus, and a farewell drink with Ayumi, Jean and Dadao. And that's me with the new mosquito racquet. It won't be long now before I can test its effectiveness against the Scottish midgie. If trials are successful I anticipate a lucrative new import business!

So long for now.

Decision made

2009-06-04T02:09:00.000-07:00

The main news today is that I have successfully managed to rearrange my return flights. I will be returning to Scotland on Monday the 8th of June - yes in just 4 days from now! The change cost me a return visit to Bangkok airport yesterday as well as the inevitable charges, but I'm pleased to have made the decision and to have got the arrangements made. My reasons for coming home early are rather varied. First of all the Chinese enforced a change of some sort because of their attitude to Tibet visitors. Vietnam was always part of the plan and I'm very happy with my time there. But this is not the best time of year to be a tourist in the Indochina region. It is very hot and humid, with the monsoon approaching. I didn't think I'd ever say this but I think I miss the typical Scottish summer weather. Maybe I'll come back to this part of the world in 6 months time or so.

I don't expect to have anything very interesting to report over these last few days - as long as everything goes according to plan that is. Ayumi is making her own plans - for visiting Cambodia, southern Vietnam, Laos and northern Thailand. This morning we met a new Japanese character in the form of Saiki. He has been in Thailand for the last 5 months, much of that time in hospital as a result of a mototbike accident. He is pretty well recovered now, but with a rather damaged shoulder. The whole episode has cost his insurance company US$4 million so far!

To close today here are some pictures from our Perfume Pagoda visit - courtesy of Masako's day with my camera.

Hanoi to Bangkok

2009-06-02T22:22:00.000-07:00

I'm successully installed at the Rambuttri Village Inn in Bangalamphu -- the same place I stayed for a few days last year. It has the special benefit of a rooftop swimming pool, where I hope to chill out a bit over the next few days. Later today I will be checking out what the chances are of changing my return flights. Ayumi is in the nearby Merry V, but we are still travel buddies and had breakfast together this morning before a walk along the local riverside.
Our last day in Hanoi turned out to be very enjoyable. Our new friend Trang showed us round the museum of Vietnamese ethnology. She and Hien have both been extremely kind and helpful in many ways these last few days and have helped leave us with a very positive view of the Vietnamese people.
PS. Congratulations to Air Asia for another flight where they simply take off on schedule and land 10 minutes early - without blowing any fanfares!

More Hanoi

2009-05-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

It is Monday evening and I'm just back from an excellent street food meal with Ayumi and Masako - another lady fom Osaka who A. met the other day at Halong Bay. The three of us have been today to the Chua Huong "Perfume Pagoda" on a day trip - complete with a long river-boat journey in the hot-hot sun. It is a very special place and I hope to file some photos another time. I loaned my camera to Masako for the day - because hers disappeared on the Halong Bay outing.

It was good to see Hien again here, and she helped us get a great value deal on this outing.

Yesterday Ayumi and I visited the Van Mieu temple of literature (an ancient Confucian centre of learning) - with Trang and Chien as guides. They are a very pleasant and helpful young Vientamese couple I met a few days ago and who wanted to be our hosts in return for the chance to practise their English. They even provided the transport - in the form of fairly exhilarating motorbike rides through the city!

I have now decided on my next move, and will fly to Bangkok on Tuesday. My BA return flight to the UK is booked from there (on the 17th July) and I will be investigating the possibility of cutting my trip short by going home a lot sooner. BA's website doesn't want to allow me to make a change online; so I will have to leave my investigations till I'm at BKK. They don't have representation in Hanoi. As it happens, and for entirly different reasons, Ayumi has decided to make the same journey. We are turning into quite a travel partnership, and I remain very grateful for her good company.

I attach some photos from the Van Mieu visit, including an impresive old statue of Confucius.

Hanoi

2009-05-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

I'm in Hanoi for a few days, enjoying the hectic atmosphere and contemplating what next. The bus journey from Sapa was very enjoyable for the scenery, but pretty painful in other ways - because of the overloud and almost constant Kungfu DVD movies and Vietnamese pop videos.

On arrival we were fortunate in quickly meeting up with Chris from Australia and Hugo from France, who helped us get settled in to an acceptable hotel and head out for some good food. The "street food" here is just about the best there is - and of course it is also the cheapest option.

The photo is of me and Ayumi with Kenji, our new Japanese friend, at last night's fine street meal. This was followed by the discovery of a similar place which sells the local beer at 3000 Dong a go (that's about 10 pence each). Needless to say I rose slightly later than planned this morning.

Toda Ayumi and Kenji are on separate trips to Halong Bay.

I'm hoping to meet up later with Hien - someone I have kept in email touch with since my visit last year and she rated a blog mention as a top travel agent!

Sapa

2009-05-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

This is my 4th day in the village of Sapa in northern VietNam. Blog access is possible again, but photo editing software is still rare. Thanks to Moira for pointing me at some websites which help.
The overnight bus journey from Kunming to Hekou was pretty uncomfortable, but it successfully delivered us to the border with an hour to spare before it opened for the day. Here's a picture of the border crossing (a bridge across the Red River) before opening time.

It was here that I met Ayumi, a nice young Japanese lady who was heading in the same direction - for Lao Cai and then up the 40km or so to Sapa. This is a really nice old French colonial "hill station", just by VietNam's highest mountain, the wonderfully named Fansipan (at 3143m). The air is great, and we seem to be constantly surrounded by rolling clouds. Ayumi and I have teamed up for a couple of one day treks in the hills, generally through rice paddy terraces and communities of various hill tribes - esp. "Black Hmong" and "Red Hmong". She has been great company, and we plan to make the (9 hour) bus journey to Hanoi together in a couple of days before going our separate ways. For Ayumi it is Laos, then Cambodia, Thailand, India. For me I need to do some new planning after my early exit from China!

My other pictures are of some of the local scenery and people - and of me and Ayumi at the start of our first trek.

China update

2009-05-25T04:24:00.000-07:00

Well at least an update on my visits to Chengdu (in Xichuan province) and Kunming (in Yunnan).
I would have stayed much longer in China if the authorities hadn't seriously reduced my entitlement to stay in the country. I had a visa issued in Edinburgh for 2 x 60 day visits - based on my openly declared plan to enter from Nepal and travel through Tibet to other provinces. In Nepal I had no choice, though, but to relinquish this visa (and the ukp45 cost) in exchange for a travel permit to Tibet and then just a few days to exit the country. There are apparently ways to get this extended once in the country, but these are quite prohibitive (involving opening a Chinese bank account and depositing quite a lot of cash).
All this seems nuts at a time when the Chinese are apparently aiming to grow tourism dramatically and to help Xichuan in particular recover from the effects of last year's earthquake.
I know that this blog site is banned in China - which means that some officials will probably read it. My message to them is that they should lighten up and work on encouraging their visitors to stay a lot longer.
Undoubtedly China is a fantastic country in many ways, and I would have loved to be able to stay longer and explore the place properly.
But I was happy with what I was able to see and do. Chengdu and Kunming are bustling modern cities (huge by Western standards), each with their own interesting histories and places of serious interest (e.g. the Jiuzhaigou, Dali, "stone forests", as well as the pandas of course!).
I like the way the cities are laid out, with nice wide roads, plenty room for pedestrians and bikes of various sorts. There is a surprising number of electric bikes and scooters as well as push-bikes, which result in pollution being much lower than I had expected (certainly a whole lot better than Kathmandu).

Finally for now, I'm adding a link to Sam's Guesthouse in Chengdu - a really excellent place run by 5 lovely and very helpful ladies. Sam himself seems to have retired but obviously has some good common sense in letting these ladies run the place for him!

My pictures are of myself with the 5 star ladies at Sam's - and with a random (friendly) Chinese girl in front of the Mao statue in Chengdu's central square, the entrance to a Zen monastery there and part of teh interior, and of course some young giant pandas after a night on the bamboo - and a bonus red panda.
Oh, and an "opera" extract.

Belated Tibet update

2009-05-25T04:14:00.000-07:00

A few words about my visit to Tibet, now that I have access again to my blog (from Sapa in northern Vietnam).
It seems that the Chinese authorities prevent any access to the blogger or blogspot websites (for reasons that I'm sure we will never really know). Facebook is tolerated though, and I've made a few notes there in my blog absence.
First of all I'm disappointed to report no obvious yeti activity. Maybe it was the wrong season, or maybe we just didn't get high enough. At any rate the Tibetans seem to be much less interested in their (possible) fellow inhabitants than the Nepalis.
In fact most of what we saw of Tibet is really high level desert which is hardly capable of supporting any kind of life. It is a gigantic place though and we only saw a fraction. There are some more fertile valleys towards Lhasa and beyond, especially around the Bramha Putra river. The views across the plateau to the Himalayas and other surrounding mountains are fantastic.
The Tibetan people have a very different identity to their Chinese colonisers, but they seem to more or less coexist happily enough these days. Maybe it is something to do with the very obvious military presence.
Lhasa is, of course, something very special, with the Potala palace/fort/temple complex dominating the town, and many ancient monastaries nearby. Shigatse and Gyantse were our other significant stops, also with very impressive cultural histories. At Gyantse is seems that the British have still not been forgiven for an attack in 1904!

As a PS I have now managed to upload a few photographs - but I know these don't do the experience justice. The people at the bottom are some monks in their debating hour, and our whole group at a Lhasa monastery.

Made it to Lhasa

2009-05-13T04:06:00.000-07:00

I was wrong about the numbers but everything else about the trip to Tibet is going more or less according to plan. There are 32 of us, in groups of 4, each with our LandCruiser and driver; so we have been in a convoy of 8 big 4WD vehicles speeding across the special world of the high Tibetan plateau. I'm afraid that I won't be able to describe it all very well in just a short space here, but it has certainly been an excellent experience so far.
We arrived in Lhasa this afternoon and the hotel seems just about perfect - a fine old place in the ancient part of town. Although I am very happy with the trip, I have to say that it has been quite tiring - e.g. with some early starts and late finishes to avoid roadworks. On the first day we were held up for hours before we could continue our journey at 10 pm (after the roadworks had finished for the day) and then after 4 hours sleep we had to be up at 5 a.m. to get through the next section before it was closed for the day. And that was after the tortuous process of Chinese immigration control, which is complicated further with lots of medical checks because of the flu scares!
But the scenery of course has been the best, the people are great, and it is all giving me a bit of an education. Oh, and the group is good fun too - a mix from all over the world. My own foursome includes David from France (but also speaking Mandarin), Uiske from Japan, and Kim from Singapore but living in Australia.
The plateau is mainly high altitude desert surrounded by mountain tops - including some of the best in the world. The view of Everest and its neighbours is completely uninterrupted - very much contrasting with the Nepal side.
The population is very sparse, but the Buddhist culture is fascinating. Lhasa has the richest heritage of all and I'm looking forward to exploring it over the next few days. The Chinese have managed to turn it into quite a burgeoning boom town by all appearances, but I'm reserving judgement on whether that is a good thing or not!
Sorry I can't add any photos for now. I'll try to fix that tomorrow.

Leaving Nepal

2009-05-08T03:43:00.000-07:00

If all goes according to plan I'll finally be moving on from Nepal tomorrow - on a 6 a.m. bus for the border with Tibet and then transferring to a Landcruiser for the rest of the 5 day journey across the Tibetan plateau to Lhasa - stopping for the first overnight at the village of Nyalam. This is an organised tour for a group of 6 - 8 people - because this is just about the only way to travel in Tibet. When we get to Lhasa the package includes a couple of days sightseeing there.

Lhasa is at 3700 metres and the route is pretty high all the way, going up over 5000 metres at some points. It will be interesting to see how the body acclimatises simply by driving to these altitudes. But I'm sure that the scenery will compensate for any little difficulties on that front.

Of course I have some mixed feelings in moving on. There are many things I like a lot about Nepal and the Nepalese people, and I have made some good friends here. I'm not going to make a long list of pros and cons here, but I won't be sorry to leave the Kathmandu traffic and power cuts behind!

When entering Tibet you also need to have an exit plan (and booking). In my case I've gone for a flight to Chengdu in Sichuan province. After that the plans are still pretty vague, but will almost certainly involve some rail travel for a change, probably taking in Kunming or Naning in the south before heading into northern VietNam. I have no idea what the internet access will be like in the remote parts of Tibet. Probably pretty poor I suspect, but I will post an update when I get the chance.

NMV update

2009-05-02T06:39:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty busy with the NMV these last couple of weeks, mostly either trailing around the computer shops or teaching English (or preparing my lessons - which is actually the hardest bit).
We have managed to buy some suitable IT equipment, and my lessons seem to have gone down quite well. On top of all that the trustees and staff have been working hard to promote the school better in the local community with some quite positive results. I won't say any more about the NMV here, but I have prepared a more detailed update (and financial statement) for those who have generously supported the cause. Thank you all once again!
The photos are the handover of a bunch of IT equipment to Chuda and Kaushila (NMV Principal), and me with my English class.

This coming week I'll be spending more time at the school - to help to get the equipment set up and to do some training in its use.

Then it will finally be time for me to move on from Nepal. There always seems to be an air of uncertainty about any plans for travel to Tibet, but if all goes according to plan I'll be heading for Lhasa starting next Saturday (the 9th may) on an overland trip which should take about 5 days.

C.U.2

2009-04-25T08:25:00.000-07:00

I'm still ticking over in Kathmandu. On Monday afternoon I have to give the first of my English lessons at NMV, followed by more on Wednesday and Friday. I'm reasonably happy with my plans for these but it is just slightly daunting that my students are more or less all teachers (from NMV and two other schools) and high amongst their stated aims in attending is "to learn some new teaching methods". What do I know?
After her Annapurna trek, Jan has been back in Kathmandu these last few days, but she left today for South Africa. Thank you for your company and your teaching advice Jan , and best of luck on the next leg of your world tour!
Chuda came by the hotel today with his family (Purna and sons Abbal and Aviral). We discussed the computer etc. options for the school and will be at the shops again tomorrow looking at refining the shortlist. Very many thanks again to all those who have generously contributed. We have exceeded my initial expectations on this. I have to confess that it will always seem that there is more to be done, but I guess that is just the nature of these things.
The high altitude cricket expedition appears to have been a big success, after the early bureaucratic difficulties, and has received some front page coverage in the local newspapers. An excellent bit of (English) eccentricity, which has raised a lot of money for some good causes as well as achieving what will have to be a very long-lasting record!
My plans for moving on to Tibet are beginning to fall into place, despite a few obstacles. More on this next time I think.
Today's picture is of Abbal and Aviral with their new C.U.J. hats. I knew they would come in handy sometime!

C.U. Aamod

2009-04-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

Nepal schools are still officially on New Year holiday at the moment. This is equivalent to our (UK) summer holidays - a longish break which marks the start of the new school session. But the Sauraha women's school continues - with smaller numbers. On my visit yesterday I found 3 Irish girls teaching English in separate groups, including a "nursery" class for children that some of the women had brought along. As you can see, everyone sits on the ground underneath a grass-roofed shelter. The whole thing has been built by local volunteers on land which has been provided by a local farmer. The improvement plans are to make a proper mud floor and maybe to build a wall or two. The teachers are mostly local volunteers with a few foreigners at local schools giving up some more of their time (like yesterday). The main subjects are about basic Nepali literacy and mathematics, but also on matters of nature conservation - something which is crucial to Chitwan.

I don't really know yet what the best way for me to help them would be, and I haven't made any promises. Besides, I don't feel it would be right to give them a portion of the funds which I have collected specifically for the NMV in Kathmandu. No doubt I'll be giving it some thought.

I did finally find a good use, though, for one of the C.U.Jimmy hats and a red nose which I had stashed in my luggage. Young Aamod was pleased with the both and has been entertaining his neighbours even more than usual. My reward was dinner (dal bhat of course) with Ishwori and his family yesterday evening. Ishwori and Aamod came to see me off at the bus park this morning (for my return to Kathmandu). Aamod was still wearing the hat and raising lots of smiles!

For once the bus journey went more or less to schedule, and I'm back at the Encounter in Kathmandu. Over the next few days I expect to be trying to finalise how to use the funds in NMV's best interests - as well as developing some better plans for the English lessons I'm due to give next week.

Roasting hot again

2009-04-18T05:47:00.000-07:00

I'm now in Sauraha, after a fairly trouble-free bus journey (and after some fine early morning mountain views in Pokhara at last).

It is hot, hot, hot here, and apparently hasn't rained for 7 months. So anything that moves raises a cloud of dust. Most of the traffic here is of the elephant variety, and I kept bumping in to this speccy version. and I couldn't resist another sunset picture.

I spent some time earlier with Ishwori and his family (Radha and Aamod), experiencing their great hospitality and learning a bit about the school effort here. That's them in the photo, with some of their bees! Saturday is the day of rest; so I will return tomorrow to see the school in operation. I already know, though, that it is about as basic as you could possibly imagine!

The internet connection is also pretty basic and I will leave it there for now.

Suitably chilled

2009-04-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

I've been in Pokhara for a week now and feel ready to move on - suitably relaxed and feeling better in the healthier air. It is hot here though and my only disappointment has been the absence of mountain views - continually obscured in heat haze and cloud. We have had some rain in the late afternoons these last couple of days, but unfortunately not enough to clear the atmosphere much. I walked up to the Stupa on the other side of the (Fewa) lake yesterday - a good excursion but my photo shows just heat haze and cloud where the Annapurna range should be! I suppose that the best time for views will be around October, after the monsoon, but I can't wait that long.

This evening I managed a reunion with Tika-Ram (ABC guide last year), just back from an Annapurna Circuit trek which was cut short when one of his clients had to be helicoptered off from Thorung Pedi because of altitude sickness. Tomorrow morning I'm leaving for Sauraha, on the edge of the Chitwan national wildlife park, and will stay a couple of days before heading back to Kathmandu. Chuda tells me that his brother Ishwori has established a very basic school for women there and I'm keen to have a look at this.

A very special thank you to all who have donated to the cause. I am acknowledging these with personal notes rather than here. I'll tell you about how we are doing another time, but there is always room for more!

Finally, I had a call from Dharma, now well on the way with the cricketers along the Everest trail after the whole group were initially refused entrance to the Sagarmatha National Park for two days. They have spent a day teaching cricket at Khumjung school (an excellent way to acclimatise I think) and are now around Tengboche. Apparently they intend to donate all their equipment to the school on the way down. Good stuff!

Happy New Year - again.

2009-04-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of 2066 in the Nepali calendar. There is a relaxed holiday atmosphere here in Pokhara, and I'm enjoying that. I think I've shaken off the lurgy and I've been spending the last few days doing a lot of reading and strolling - occasionally eating with some of the folks from the bus journey. Yesterday I think it is fair to say I found one of the best garlic soups so far, at the (very unstudenty) Student Restaurant. I've moved hotel - to the (also inappropriately named) Holy Lodge, a peaceful place which is also a bit nearer Lakeside.

The weather is hot and hazy, which is a shame because it obscures the mountain views. I'm keen to take some walks in the hills around Pokhara, but would like some clearer conditions. I guess we were lucky on that first day here, after some rain had cleared the air for a while. It is still a great place to chill. Here's a picture of yesterday's last sunset of 2065 over the lake.

Back in Pokhara

2009-04-11T04:58:00.000-07:00

Well I made it to Pokhara yesterday, but only after a very tortuous journey. The bus trip was scheduled to take 7 hours (which is bad enough) but ended up taking 14! There were several police road blocks on the way, where we were held up (with everyone else) for indefinite periods which added up to the extra 7 hours. The reason given is that this is all because there were some by-elections being held in certain parts of the country, including Pokhara. I have no idea what the connection is. Maybe it was because of some fear of disruption. The papers today are content to say that the elections took place without trouble!
Thank you to several of my co-passengers (especially Alex, Wim, Megumi) for helping to lighten the experience.
It added up to a long tiring day, but Wim, Megumi and myself found a perfectly acceptable guest house (in Riverside rather than Lakeside for a change) near where we were dropped off and finished the day off with a good meal and a couple of beers. We met Gerry at the restaurant, and he deserves a mention. He is from East London, and has been in Pokhara for the last 15 years. His mother is from Gourock, and I think the Scottish roots show through pretty well in his inclination for the Raxi (strong rice wine).
It is good to be back in this place, which I find a lot more relaxing than Kathmandu. The air is good and we can see the mountains (Annapurna range) from here today. The papers also report that the Everest cricket teams have arrived in the country yesterday. You saw it here first!

New Year break

2009-04-09T03:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Chuda and I were all over Kathmandu getting alternative quotes for the equipment the school wants - and I now have a better understanding of the way the computer market here works, as well as some slightly better offers. It is frustrating that hardware seems to be a bit more expensive than at home - but I'm convinced that any argument for doing our own importation is outweighed by the benefits of local support and software pricing. I won't say any more about this for now, except that I'm reconciled to the position that we might have to drop the projector for the time being. These are a bit more expensive than I had imagined!

I've decided to head for Pokhara for a few days and will travel there by bus tomorrow - largely for a break from the pretty unhealthy Kathmandu atmosphere. As it happens I'll be there for the Nepali New Year celebrations on the 13th/14th for the second year in a row.

Earlier today I was at the British Council for a while - still trying to come up with some material which will be useful in my teaching efforts. I can tell you that it is helping me understand even better just how much of a constraint it is to be faced with a school and classrooms with zero facilities other than a small whiteboard!

Today's picture is of Bimita and Bipika - two very charming young ladies who live near my hotel and who invited me to meet their mother and father - and several other relatives. Their mother Tara and her sister were both very interested to hear about the work of the NMV and will enquire about enrolling. Tonight I'm invited for dahl bhat with the family.

Can we do any more?

2009-04-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

I joined the British Council learning centre this morning and spent a bit of time there studying some the materials which might help me deliver a few English lessons at NMV.

Chuda called to tell me he had some quotations for the sorts of equipment they need at the school; so I went off to meet him to review these. The bottom line is that I'm a little disappointed that it looks like something will have to give. Their main requirements are a decent laptop, multifunction printer and screen projector. With the electricity supply as unpredictable as it is here a UPS ( uninterruptible power supply) is also an essential. A simple digital camera would also be useful.

Today's quotes add up to the best part of 1200 pounds - without the camera. And as of today the bank account stands at 955 pounds! Thank you so much to all those who have contributed. I just need to hang on and see if my pleas will deliver a bit more! I'd really like to get beyond the 1200 figure sufficiently to fund an internet connection for at least a year, as well as some supplies.

In the meantime we are heading for the two Dell distributors in the country tomorrow to see if they can do any better.

In the evening I met up with Gyan, our Annapurna guide from last year. He arrived on his new motorbike (see pic) and we enjoyed a fine reunion meal at Kilroy's - another Kathmandu institution. Like a lot of young Nepalis his big ambition is, rather sadly, to leave the country. But he is making a go of things and now runs a small shop with 2 of his 7 brothers.

Not enough garlic soup!

2009-04-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

It is a week since I came back from the hills and I have been suffering from some kind of lurgy - which I probably caught up there somewhere. Every other trekker seemed to be suffering from something or other - and I guess I didn't have quite enough of the garlic soup.
I've had a few meetings with some of the WDT trustees. While I hope (with your help) to be able to assist them in a fairly significant way, I need to be cautious with expectations since I don't know exactly what funds I will have available. I can't look at the bank account just now but I know it has grown some more and I'm grateful for your support.
I seem to have committed myself to giving some English lessons at the school, mainly for the teachers, and I'm keen to do a decent job of this. Jan has been a huge help in discussing it and in giving me some materials from her memory stick. I've discovered that the British Council has a decent library of materials, and I'll be along there tomorrow to do some work on this.
Jan is off for an Annapurna trek, for which of course I wish her well. I spent Saturday evening with Dharma and his family - a very pleasant reunion, and dahl bhat of course. Last night and tonight I've been to the movie shows at he the Kathmandu Guest House. Not very great movies, but a good place to meet some other temporary residents with common interests. Gorgon is from France and is part of an international expedition about to head for a summit trip to Cho Oyu (no. 6 peak in the world) from the Tibetan side. The border has apparently just reopened. It will be some weeks before I plan to move that way, but he has alerted me to the fact that I need to start doing some serious planning!

PS. I've added a couple of pictures. The Garden of Dreams at night, and myself + Jan at the Encounter.

Namuna Mahila Vidyalaya: Help please!

2009-04-01T23:33:00.001-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I went along to the NMV school to attend a meeting with the principal and some of the trustees. I had managed to persuade Jan D (also at the Encounter) to come along too. She is coming to the end of a year-long world tour, and has a background in teaching English and IT to adults. Her presence was extremely useful, but she will be continuing her travels elsewhere very soon.
The trustees are aiming to get more support from local people in the Nayabazar area, and this subject was part of the agenda. The principal gave a very heart-felt plea that the school is in a fragile position. She and the teachers are effectively volunteers working for something like 3000 rupees/month. That's about 27 pounds and is a pittance even in Nepal. Classrooms are bare and staff morale is a serious issue.
I informed them that I have managed to raise some money for the school, and that the donors want to ensure that it is spent in the most effective way. Current thinking is that this will likely be for some IT equipment - but we have requested that the teachers are canvassed for their individual views (specifically excluding salary supplements).
I can reveal here that I am very pleased with the sum achieved so far in what has been a very short space of time - a total now of 855 pounds. But I'd like to take this further - ideally by another 50%. They need e.g. books, basic science equipment, and some funding for an internet subscription.
I know that I said I didn't want to make this a fund-raising blog, but I'm going to make an exception now for a week or so and invite any of my readers who have some sympathy with the cause to make a small donation. If you feel you can give something, however small, it will be genuinely appreciated and put to good use.

The UK (Nationwide) bank account is sort code 07-02-46 and account code 04057662 - and I again promise that 100% will go to the school.

On another front, the school want me to perform a short series of English classes. Maybe we will look on this as a pilot for further volunteering opportunities in case anyone out there is interested.

The first photo is of the meeting attendees (minus Jan, who was acting as photographer). The other shows the biggest and best of the classrooms.

Cricket at 5000 metres

2009-03-31T06:02:00.000-07:00

I think you might be interested in Dharma's next project (or next but one if he does a short trek with a returning Israeli client).

One of his UK (or I'd better say English) clients of a couple of years ago is returning on the 10th April with 50 (yes 50!) others with the objective of playing a one-day game of cricket on a patch of open ground at Gorak Shep. This is the last stop before EBC and is at 5140m altitude. Clearly the objective is to get into the record books as the highest game of cricket ever played, and no doubt to have some fun and new experiences on the way.

I am totally impressed with this mission and am really quite sorry that I won't be there to witness the occasion. This is the kind of thing that sets the Brits apart (or, again, the English- to give them their due).

Apparently the plan is to follow virtually the same route that Dharma and I have just completed - and I don't envy them the task of carrying all their cricket gear up there as well as the normal trekking basics. From what I understand there will be two teams of 17, named "Hillary" and "Tenzing", as well as various support people including medics and a BBC reporter or crew. It should all fit the bill nicely as one of those light-hearted slots at the end of the normal news bulletin.

Seriously though, altitude is a real issue, and I very much hope that they don't ht the headlines for the wrong reasons. Mind you, they might also stand the chance of hitting a record number of sixes!

I'll attach a couple of pictures of the "pitch" - taken before and after snow. It is just a big sandy patch of ground at the foot of Kala Patthar - normally used for overnighting the yaks or as an occasional heli-pad.

I think the big match is planned for the 20th or 21st April.

Good luck to them!

Yetis

2009-03-31T05:36:00.000-07:00

Don't expect any dramatic breakthroughs here. The story goes that the yeti is vaguely human-like, lives around the snow level in Nepal and Tibet and hibernates in winter. Maybe they were still asleep when I was up there.

An impressive number of (respectable?) mountaineers and locals claim to have seen one or, more usually, their footprints. All I've seen are some of their hang-outs e.g. internet cafes, mountain lodges or (where we stayed at Gorak Shep) the Yeti Resort. See photo.

Oh, and there is the skull of course - housed as a prized relic at the Buddhist monastery at Khumjing. The monks let me take a photo (for a small donation). It is through glass and rather unclear, but you might find the accompanying story of interest.

Early in the trek I was chatting with Heiko (a German journalist accompanying Reiner Strauss) and we were each rather surprised by the other's blog title. His is yetitour.blogspot.com in case you understand some German and want a more journalistic approach.

Maybe I'll have more to report if I make it to Tibet. Right now that border remains closed - to humans anyway.

Everest report

2009-03-30T05:26:00.000-07:00

I'm now safely back in Kathmandu after our early morning flight today from Lukla, and I'm ensconced again at the Nepal Encounter. I'm feeling good, with the benefits of lower altitude and two weeks of hard exercise. Kathmandu has had some rain in the meantime and so the air here is a whole lot better than when we left. The sky is clear and it is a pleasant 28 degrees or so.

The trek itself was pretty hard work. We has no rest days but stayed over on a couple of occasions in the same place for acclimatisation reasons (going higher and then back to base). As indicated earlier the weather could have been better. At the start of the trek we were told that the region hadn't seen any rain or snow all winter, but that has certainly changed now. We never really got soaked, because the days usually started clear, changing to rain or (mostly) snow in mid-to-late afternoon. Overnight it was always freezing cold and I needed a blanket or two in addition to my sleeping bag.
My diet was about 50% dahl bhat, 25% garlic or noodle soup and 10% porridge. For anyone with a lingering garlic soup interest, up in that region they normally include the chopped "green garlic" shoots and use some different spices featuring e.g. coriander, turmeric. I'm sure it helped me fend off the many of the bad colds with which so many others seemed to be afflicted!

Of course we encountered some fantastic scenery all along our route, surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world and passing through a complete range of terrain from pine and rhododendron forest to barren glaciers and moraine. Everest itself is pretty elusive, often largely hidden behind Lhotse. We had some good views of it from a distance but it was cloudy and started snowing when we were at Base Camp. Our ascent of Kala Patthar for early morning sunrise views was again rather spoiled by cloud - but it is still very impressive to see our biggest mountain and its glaciers looming through the mist!
I'll include a few photos, but I'm afraid they don't really do justice to the experience. As well as Everest, there are shots there of Lhotse, Nuptse, AmaDablam and Thamserku.

I have no complaints about the lodges we stayed in. They are usually very basic in many ways, but always pretty sociable places, with people generally huddling around the central stoves burning (usually) dried yak-dung or (occasionally) wood!
I need to make special mention of some friends we made en route. Peter and Christina from Denmark - taking time off from a year of voluntary work in Bangladesh and sharing my view that it is most important to "teach the teachers" rather than just to come and act as stand-in teachers.
Jenny and Nikki from Devon and the rest of their team for the repeated friendly encounters and the "spoons" lessons. Reiner from Germany (chairman of a German/Nepali NGO) for his encouragement re the WDT. Arthur from Switzerland for his sense of fun, and for our work on developing our (long term) vision of Nepal as the "Switzerland of Asia". Wu Zheng for his advice on travels in China.

And I can't finish this piece without giving lots of credit to Dharma. For me, having a 1:1 guide was definitely the right choice for the trek, and Dharma did a great job in every respect. He was as helpful and informative as I could have wished. In case you want to use his services he can be reached at bmdharma@yahoo.com.
I look forward to taking up his invitation to meet his wife and family for dahl bhat at their house sometime in the next week or two.

Mission (more or less) accomplished

2009-03-28T00:16:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note again as we pass down through Namche. We made it to Base Camp and to Kala Patthar peak at 5550m. Weather has been pretty bad; so the views have been less than perfect. Nevertheless it has been an unforgettable experience in a great place amongst some wonderful people and meeting many new friends along the way.

I'll report more when I get the chance in a day or two.

Tengboche

2009-03-21T05:22:00.000-07:00

Just a quick report to say we have arrived here - after a long walk down and then back up again to about 3900m. All is well - despite falling snow for the last half hour of the walk. The best plan seems to be to get up early and enjoy the good weather till it all changes in the afternoon. That's the plan for tomorrow anyway - with especially good views in prospect! Over ond out - at 20 rupees/minute on a slow connection!

Acclimatising

2009-03-20T04:50:00.000-07:00

I'm back in Namche, after a stroll up to the Everest View Hotel today - and a visit to the Sagarmatha National Park Museum. This got us up to about 3900m, with very light packs, and now we are back where we started - which is the secret of gradual acclimatisation. Certainly the air feels pretty thin already after our fly-in.

The Everest View Hotel is a very upmarket place, built largely for the Japanese market, but I suspect it is a bit of a financial flop, judging by the numbers there today. It was certainly badly named for today - because there is a lot of cloud around. I managed a photo of Thamserku (at 6600m) to give you an idea of what it is like up here. Yesterday's snow has disappeared from Namche, but it remains very cold, and I'm very glad to have the down jacket. That's a view of the place as we came back down the hill.

This time tomorrow we should be in Tengboche.

Namche Bazaar

2009-03-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

Made it today to Namche Bazaar after a 7 hour rather slow plod up to 3440m. We will spend an acclimatisation day here tomorrow - taking a walk up a few hundred metres to a first Everest viewpoint. I feel I reallly need this, having come to a fairly high altitude quite quickly. We had some rain last night, and today our last two hours of walking were through falling snow!
All this after a drought of over 6 months in this region!
I need to say here that internet connections are expensive, slow and unreliable; so I'm afraid I won't be dooing much posting of photos for a while. I'll add a brief entry when I can but don't be concerned of you don't hear from me for a while!

Kathmanduu to Phakding

2009-03-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

Thre trek is off to a good start. Dharma and I got our early flight to Lukla, which must be one of the most special airflields in the world: short and steep. The pic shows the two of us halfway to tonight's stop of Phakding. You pronounce it! His "front" rucksak is full of salt and spices for the folks at our first lodge - 'cos these things are a tenth of the price down in Kathmandu: about the same ratio as there is on internet access! No yeti sightings yet, but they clearly have their own airline, and (just down the road) their own internet cafe.

We are staying with a very fine Sherpa family, and I've just had the best Dhal Bhat yet. Tonight of course it will be garlic soup!. That's Pasi in her kitchen.

Ready to roll

2009-03-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

This time last year ABC stood for Annapurna Base Camp. According to the front page story in the Kathmandu Post today it now stands for "Asian Brown Cloud" - which is reportedly what this place is suffering from at the moment. As far as I am concerned this is just another name for pollution. Apparently there has been no rainfall in the city here for 5 months; so it is not much wonder that the place is dry and dusty and that this is compounded by emissions of various sorts. Lots of people, both locals and tourists, are going around with breathing masks. Definitely time to get out and head for the hills I reckon! As predicted I've had an expensive day, but I'm happy with my new rucksack, down jacket and outer jacket as well as a few other things - like replacements for the iodine tablets I left at home.
Lillian and I had another pretty good meeting with Chuda this morning - this time at his home here, where he and his wife were extremely hospitable. They live in a rather unusual "oasis" in the city, adjacent to the fisheries ministry and its varous experimental fishponds. There is now a small but useful sum in the bank account we have set up for the WDT trust and school - but we will wait till after my trek to decide exactly what to do with this. There are so many needs! Let me know if you would like to add to it in the meantime.
Tomorrow I'll be up at 5:30 for an early flight to Lukla together wih Dharma for the start of our Everest trek. These flights are notoriously unreliable; so I just hope we don't end up hanging around the airport for hours (as happened to yesterday's travellers).

Meetings and a decision!

2009-03-16T05:48:00.000-07:00

I seem to have been busy with meetings these last couple of days - and have decided to head for Everest BC sooner rather than later. I have chosen to team up with a guide on a 1:1 basis - with a man called Dharma, who came highly recommended by Lauren from Canada. We met up yesterday evening and decided to go ahead ASAP. One reason is to escape the rather polluted and dusty atmosphere of Kathmandu. It shouldn't really be like that at this time of year, but climate change is being blamed again - this time bringing dusty winds up from India and making things worse than normal. The other reason is that it is still relatively early in the season and we will avoid the worst of the large numbers who head for Everest these days.
Yesterday evening I also met with a man called Ram Kumar Khatri (introduced by Philip Hoyle). There was the prospect of doing some English teaching or tutoring with some members of the new government, but the timing for that is bad right now. Nevertheless he seems to be very well connected and will help identify many potential opportunities to teach English if I choose when I return from the trek. My few weeks may not really be enough though.

Today Dharma and I have been getting our permits sorted out. I need two different kinds of permit to trek to Everest BC. And I have purchased air tickets for us to fly in to Lukla as the start point of the trek. Sadly not on Yeti Airlines though! We leave early on Tuesday.
This afternoon I had a long meeting with Chuda (just off the bus from Chitwan) and with Lillian. We had a pretty comprehensive discussion about the WDT and the NMV school - broadly confirming the priority needs which Chuda had previously expressed. Tomorrow morning we will continue at Chuda's home here.

Aside from that I will be purchasing some gear for the trek, and have been around one or two of my favourite shops. I think I know now what I want to go for and will no doubt be spending another pile of money tomorrow!

I'd file a picture of myself and Dharma doing some planning, but again the computer limitations prevent that for now.

Nepal 4: Sri Lanka 2 - on penalties

2009-03-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

I managed to get in touch with Lillian today - one of my contacts who have some direct involvement with the WDT and its school. She is from Canada, but has now quite a wide range of ties with Nepal. Very coincidentally, she knows the people at my hotel well (the Nepal Encounter); so we met here and decided to head for an all-important football match. This was the final of the Prime Minister's cup (essentially a tournament of the lesser Asian teams). Nepal had beaten Pakistan in the quarters and Thailand in the semis, and this was the big one. Ayway it turned out to be a great experience - and a pretty good match. It was still 0:0 after extra time; so we had the drama of a penalty shoot-out. And the right team won.
The whole thing was certainly much better than the Aberdeen v Kilmarnock match I saw just a couple of weeks ago! Send out the scouts.

What made it even better is that we didn't pay to get in (we just joined a kind of crush where we encountered a friendly polis), and ended up squatting right at the edge of the pitch. Here's a picture of a Nepal corner to give you an idea what the place was like. The flags in the background are of the competing nations. NB the picture was posted a day after the comments. Most computers here still date back a few decades - and the power is very dodgy. There is a published schedule of outages (or maybe it should be put as when power is actually available) - and at least this timetable seems to be pretty relaiable.

I have made contact with Chuda (of the WDT), but he is stranded in Chitwan province. So our meeting won't be for a day or two at least. There seems to be a major "banda" on the go in the Tarai districts - including Chitwan. This is a big protest strike against a variety of government failures.

Arrival

2009-03-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note here to say that I successfully arrived in Kathmandu this afternoon - after a few hours of uncertainty in Delhi. I had to go into the city to get an onward flight booking and chose to head for the Ajanta Hotel where I stayed last year. This is a great little place with very helpful staff. I was prepared to stay there for a day or two for the right flight (and price) but we got it sorted quite quickly (and at less than half the price of alternative offers). It was good to see the hustle and bustle of Delhi again - somehow more acceptable second time around - and it really was quite impressive to see how much development is going on in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in 2010, e.g with the ongoing construction of the new metro express link out to the airport and the new terminal there. Glasgow take note!

Kathmandu remains quite a contrast even with Delhi. Nepal appears to remain stuck in a serious poverty rut, and the new government seems to have failed to live up to expectations in quite a big way. The big differences I've noticed in my few hours here so far are that the Royal Palace is now a museum, and that the daily power cuts have strecthed to about 16 hours!

So far I have just had a wander round Thamel, eaten at Pilgrim's book store (still a great place) and had my Nepal mobile reinstated and topped up. The number is 977-9803-882986, but I don't expect many international calls. I think, in fact, it won't accept them. Email will be a better way of reaching me if you need to.

Tomorrow I'll be in touch with Chuda and Lillian (from Canada) to set up an initial meeting about the WDT/NMV.

Sorry no pics to post today - except maybe this one Elaine has sent me waving goodbye to Arran last Summer!

Preparations

2009-03-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

Yes I'll be off on my travels again in just a couple of days time. I leave for Delhi on Thursday 12th March. That's the day after tomorrow. I'll book the last leg (Delhi - Kathmandu) when I arrive, but hope to be able to move on quickly. I plan to do the Everest Base Camp trek, hopefully hooking up with some like-minded folks in Kathmandu, but I already have the offer of partnership from Gyan - our Annapurna Circuit guide from last year.
I expect to be away for about 4 months in total, with about half of that time in Nepal. Aside from the tourism and trekking, I'll be doing some voluntary work to try to assist the Namuna Mahila Vidyalaya school and the Women Development Trust - which I got involved with during my last visit to Nepal. I have stayed in contact with them over the last year and have been in touch with a small number of others who also want to help. I've put a description in the side-bar here. Of course what they really need is some practical help and most of that can be provided by funding. I don't want to turn the blog into a begging letter - but at the same time I can't miss the chance to invite your contributions. Just ask me for the bank account details and your money will be with the school in no time! I promise that 100% will go to their assistance.

These last few days before I depart are, of course, pretty busy - getting sorted with visas, jabs, packing etc - and a last-minute dental check-up this morning. Today has been a fine early Spring day in Glasgow - as you can see in my pictures from the Botanic Gardens this morning. I had a very enjoyable lunch with cousin Fiona in Princes Square. Our Auntie Betty is in hospital in Aberdeen just now. We have each visited her separately in recent days and of course we wish her a speedy return to the comfort of home.