Another visa-run saw us heading off to Nepal, what a shame :-) This time it was all a bit less stressful, having obtained the official nod from the
NGO Bureau in Dhaka to get a work permit, thanks to a lot of work by the team at
CRP. After scoring a free cab ride into the centre of Kathmandu with a girl who charged it to her company, we quickly set about gorging ourselves again on treats not so easily available in the '
Desh. The 'Du was a bit chillier than the '
Desh, but we soon found ourselves a fire to cosy up to and some nice warm mulled wine.
We decided to take advantage of the opportunity of being in Nepal and headed into the mountains for a short trek. We hopped on the bus to
Pokhara and after a mad last minute dash to get trekking permits set off for the hills. The dash for the permit included a 4KM round trip to an ATM for cash... we were later to find one about 100 metres away from the permit office and our hotel! Following a bumpy ride on the local bus to the start of our trek and swatting away the tout-flies offering us porters etc. we were rewarded with our first clear view of snow-capped peaks (
Machhapuchhre - approx 7000m).
The first couple of days we shared the path with the donkeys/mules who assist with carrying supplies up to the
teahouses. Their lack of awareness of their additional width when loaded up can be unsettling at the best of times.... but when their load is barbed wire, things become even more exciting. Sarah found out about her own loaded pack-width too when she got hooked to said wire by the washing she was drying on the side of her pack.
Not sure if it was because we were up before dawn, if
Poon Hill is quite steep, or if the 4 and a half months of samosas and limited exercise have caught up with us, but we certainly got our heart rates going during the ascent. It was a bit chilly too.
The reward of
panaromic views of the sun rising over snow capped peaks was well worth it.
And, as always, we found time for some
sillyness.
Then we braved the slippery descent where Si executed an award winning
telemarking manoeuvre to narrowly avoid slipping off a steep rocky ledge.
Day 4 of the trek was also the Hindu
Holi Festival which celebrates the beginning of spring with people colouring each others faces. After 2 days of excited face painting, Sarah had to utilise her recently acquired
kung fu skills to ward off a small boy wielding yet more coloured dust. (No children were harmed in the making of this story).
And on our last day a guide finally succeeded in adopting us... He was quite good company for the final stage of the trek but eventually wandered off to find his lady friend.
On our return to Kathmandu, we fronted up to the visa office... and with a small amount of wheeling and dealing, we got our official permission to work in the '
Desh until our planned departure. Then after a bit of shopping and more fine food/drink, we secured a flight back to Dhaka.
We decided to take advantage of the opportunity of being in Nepal and headed into the mountains for a short trek. We hopped on the bus to Pokhara and after a mad last minute dash to get trekking permits set off for the hills. The dash for the permit included a 4KM round trip to an ATM for cash... we were later to find one about 100 metres away from the permit office and our hotel! Following a bumpy ride on the local bus to the start of our trek and swatting away the tout-flies offering us porters etc. we were rewarded with our first clear view of snow-capped peaks (Machhapuchhre - approx 7000m).
The first couple of days we shared the path with the donkeys/mules who assist with carrying supplies up to the teahouses. Their lack of awareness of their additional width when loaded up can be unsettling at the best of times.... but when their load is barbed wire, things become even more exciting. Sarah found out about her own loaded pack-width too when she got hooked to said wire by the washing she was drying on the side of her pack.
Not sure if it was because we were up before dawn, if Poon Hill is quite steep, or if the 4 and a half months of samosas and limited exercise have caught up with us, but we certainly got our heart rates going during the ascent. It was a bit chilly too.
The reward of panaromic views of the sun rising over snow capped peaks was well worth it.
And, as always, we found time for some sillyness.
Then we braved the slippery descent where Si executed an award winning telemarking manoeuvre to narrowly avoid slipping off a steep rocky ledge.
Day 4 of the trek was also the Hindu Holi Festival which celebrates the beginning of spring with people colouring each others faces. After 2 days of excited face painting, Sarah had to utilise her recently acquired kung fu skills to ward off a small boy wielding yet more coloured dust. (No children were harmed in the making of this story).
And on our last day a guide finally succeeded in adopting us... He was quite good company for the final stage of the trek but eventually wandered off to find his lady friend.
On our return to Kathmandu, we fronted up to the visa office... and with a small amount of wheeling and dealing, we got our official permission to work in the 'Desh until our planned departure. Then after a bit of shopping and more fine food/drink, we secured a flight back to Dhaka.
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