Seasoned Trekkers...

We chose a relatively new trail for our 6 day trek and saw only one other group. We stayed in very basic 'hotels' that were nothing more than stone sheds with corrugated iron roofs but offered filling and wholesome food that gave us plenty of fuel to make the journey.

Look! No porter!

Harry and Terry sharing a Dhal Bhat

Look at the little forest pixie

Bex and the butterfly.....

Nepal's answer to the London Eye

The holy mountain "fishtail"

One of the 'hotels' en route.....

.....and the sunset

Final push....

....and we made it to our summit....

...so did Terry!

And then back down the mountain a bit for breakfast at cloud level.

The knee crunching descent thorough the valleys....

Past waterfalls...

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...... and terraced paddy fields.

Nepal: 25th October-12th November

Nepal - a land of big skies and very very big mountains ...

and plenty of waterproof watches (QED)

Bex in bead heaven!

Kathmandu temples

and more f*%@ing temples!

Terry Tiger found us a bikram yoga centre...

...and then he found us some beer!

Tea cosys are back in here; were they ever out? Were they ever in?
At least this guy's got a sense of humour!

Dehli Delights: 20th-25th October

We spent a great few days in Delhi in with our old friends, Charty and Ishmael and their lovely kids Jazzi and Feodora. We lunched in the British Embassy, lounged by the pool at the American (Harry was beaten by Jazzi at bowling) and attended a dance recital and a master puppet show. Not to mention the luxury of a comfortable bed and generous hospitality! Not really backpacking as such!

Addiction replacement therapy. Still on a packet (of tea) a day. Chai chai chai!

Harry with Jazzi  and Feodora

Even in the full length dress and headscarf, Bex still did
not comply with the door policy at this mosque - hence the table cloth.

Even Harry looked a bit slutty in his shorts and was
given a lunghi to preserve the modesty of his knees.

THE most amazing puppet show.

The first visit to the barber resulted in a Bollywood style mullett.....

......which was swiftly remedied by a second visit

2 Day warm-up trek in Ladakh

So with the tourist season well and truly over, we decided to embark on a wee two day trek using a description from the Lonely Planet and a very basic local map (no contours and very much not to scale). A very gentle first day had us fetching up at a 'Homestay' with a warm and welcoming Ladakhi family.
Day 2, however, turned out to be a rude awakening as we made an ascent from 4000m to 5000m above sea level in a morning; the last 400m up a slope of about 45 degrees taking us a good couple of hours and a lot of puff!
After much dizziness, a certain amount of disorientation, getting a tad lost, and a blister the size of an orange on Harry's heel, we made it back to Leh before dark. Just!

Still a bit to go till the top....

Made it!

Where we stayed

Where we did not stay...

Bex learns to spin a yarn.....

.....in the face

high altitude, home spun weird animal toys

thanks bex for buying me
those really cheap walking boots!

Tibetan marriage headdress - male shop keeper took quite
a shine to harry and his 'beautiful eyes - blue like kashmiri lake'!

have you met my wife?... Face like a yak's arse, arse like a yak's face!

Crisp and clean but very thin air!

So now we are in Leh, in the Ladakh region of Northern India, 3500m up in the Himalayas. Beautiful blue skies but cold nights. Leh sits in a basin surrounded by dramatic mountains; many snow-capped.
The season ended here about a month ago, so it is quite quiet and empty of tourists with restaurants and guest houses shutting down for winter every day.
We walked up the mountain to the north of the town today to the old palace and then even higher up to a monastery that used to be the highest building in the world until a couple of decades ago. Thousands of prayer flags stretch out hundreds of yards between peaks as you look down on the entire town of Leh. We sat at the top eating cold samosas appreciating our lot that we were not stuck in an office or face down in a stranger's grotty bath tub!
Tomorrow we set off on a wee two day trek with a somewhat basic map, summer-weight sleeping bags and no guide......