December 30th .....

When we came to stay with our friend, Robyn, on the evening of December 21st, she was showing us details of a cruise she is taking in May next year. She is very excited and is looking forward to the experience.


Something must have triggered in Marilyn’s brain because less than a week later she announced, ‘I feel a cruise coming on.’ Half an hour on the Best Cruises website and we’ve decided on a Sydney to Fremantle cruise on the Sun Princess leaving on April 16th, stopping at Brisbane, Townsville, Port Douglas, Darwin, Broome, Bali, and Geraldton. We’ll be able to visit friends in Brisbane, Townsville and Perth as well as see some parts of Australia we haven’t yet visited.

We left Mudgee on Boxing Day just after 7am, hoping to be in time for lunch at Sharon and David’s home in Pennant Hills. Sharon is Marilyn’s niece and is just about the same age as Jamie. They have two small children.

There were more than a dozen adults and half a dozen children and it was great to be part of a large-ish family gathering after too many years of spending Christmas on our own. Sharon and David were generous, with wonderful food and outstanding wines. The desserts were a particular triumph. Of course, the guests contributed to the feast and that’s how it should be.

We stayed there overnight and left early to meet other old friends for lunch. Marilyn has known Barry since he was a child and his wife, Lynne, is her cousin. They were both in our wedding party and it is too long since we caught up with them. Our resolution this year is to make every effort to see the friends we have neglected over the years and at least we have started the process.

Our GPS, Dorothy, decided we should travel back to Wollongong via Campbelltown and the Picton Road. This is not the way I might have chosen but Sydney traffic has developed significantly since we moved to Tasmania and Dorothy chose a route which had no hold-ups and was fast all the way.

We’re now back in Wollongong, again staying with Robyn and seeing Mum and Uncle Archie when we can. I saw them this morning and we’ll take morning tea in to them tomorrow to celebrate the New Year.

Yesterday, Marilyn and Robyn decided we should go to see the new movie, The King’s Speech. It’s just been released and hasn’t got to Wollongong so we had to travel to Cronulla to see it. We caught a train at Oak Flats at 11.20, changed at Sutherland and were in plenty of time in Cronulla to catch the 1.50pm showing. After a nice afternoon tea we caught a train at 5.27 and were home by 7.30. A great day out!

The King’s Speech is a wonderful film. The audience clapped at the end, and rightly so. The story was fabulous and the acting superb. Jeffrey Rush never ceases to amaze and Colin Firth was a very believable Duke of York. I was surprised to see Guy Pierce as Edward VIII but he did the accent very well. I can never think of him without remembering Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, but he has had a more varied career than that.
All of us thoroughly recommend the film.

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. Sandy and Janet are meeting us in the evening and we’re going to the Oak Flat Bowls Club for dinner. We’ll probably come home in time to watch the fireworks on television. Last year, we celebrated Christmas and New Year on the Diamond Princess but this years’ celebration will be a little more low-key in comparison. However, that can only be a good thing.

December 25th .....

This time of the year brings out the best and the worst in people. The last fortnight has shown us just how pleasant and helpful people can be, but also how rude and offensive others are. No doubt, the stresses of Christmas: the expense, the busyness, the expectations, all make it a difficult time, but it will be great to get past January 1st and get on with a more realistic life.

We flew to Sydney on the 21st, picked up a hire car and drove down to Wollongong. Our original plan was to drive straight up to Mudgee but it’s a good five-hour drive and we didn’t get the car until 6pm so it put on too much pressure. Instead, we decided to have a night in Wollongong and drive to Mudgee in daylight. We hired the car from Redspot this time; I’m fed up with trying to compare the prices from the major companies and there is always some item I don’t know about until the final bill comes in. Redspot quote an all-inclusive price, with no insurance excess so you know what the final cost will be before you start.

We picked up a nearly-new Commodore which gave Marilyn plenty of room for her leg and headed for Sandy and Janet’s for dinner, before driving to Warilla to stay with our friend, Robyn. She had been at a Christmas Party and didn’t get home until about 9.30 so it all fitted in very well.

Next morning, Marilyn wanted to go to the crematorium to put flowers on her mother’s plaque. It’s been a family tradition to visit the placements on Christmas Day so it was good that she was able to represent the family on this task. My father and niece are there too, and Marilyn’s grandparents, aunts and uncles, and her brother-in-law’s family as well, so there were quite a number of small bunches needed.


This task completed, we called into Macdonald’s for coffee and cakes to take to Mum and Uncle Archie at the nursing home. It’s too difficult to take them both out for morning tea (we can’t get both the wheelchair and walking frame in the car) so we bring in the little delights which they miss.

Sadly, Mum was very sleepy and kept dropping off so she didn’t get to enjoy the occasion. Uncle Archie, though, was in good form and really got stuck in to the sweet treats. I suspect he doesn’t always go to breakfast so he was probably hungry.

We got away before lunch and headed up the road. The section between Wollongong and Penrith is pretty quick but once we hit the Blue Mountains, the traffic slowed down. There’s a lot of roadworks going on, which will be terrific in the long run, but keeps the traffic to a crawl in the meantime.

After Lithgow, we get on to the narrow road to Mudgee. It’s quite a reasonable road but slow in parts. However, we arrived in plenty of time to visit Bill’s nursing home and pick up the keys to Anne and Alan’s house.

Bill seemed fine and was very pleased to see us. The difference between The Links in Wollongong and the Mudgee Nursing Home is very marked. At the Links, the staff are few and far-between and often there is no-one on the floor. In Mudgee, there are always many staff around. Even on Christmas Day, the ‘skeleton staff’ was six people plus the cleaner and laundry lady who were on for four hours in the morning.

Mudgee is very green; they’ve had a lot of rain and it shows. The sheep on Alan’s property are healthy and very heavy with wool. Apparently, they’re due for shearing but it probably won’t happen until the new year. The sheep are in the habit of sleeping outside the gate to the house enclosure so the ground there is covered with sheep manure and the smell is appalling. I think we’re city people at heart.

The property, Saxby Downs, is about 20 minutes out of town. When Marilyn decided we would bring Bill out for a visit, we rang the local Maxi Taxi who picked him up and brought him out. The driver, Amy, said it wasn’t worth her while driving back to town so stayed and had afternoon tea with us and then took Bill home, with no extra charge. It could only happen in the country.

The house is beautiful with stunning views. It has been renovated to accommodate three families and guests so there is plenty of room.


Christmas Lunch at the nursing home was great. They set Bill and Marilyn and I in a separate room with another resident, Heather, and her mother. The five of us were served separately. The meal was very tasty: ham and turkey, roast vegetables, and Christmas pudding and custard for dessert. We missed the wine but you can’t have everything.

It was an unusual Christmas but enjoyable, none-the-less.

December 15th .....

I think my last comment before I took a break from writing was that we had no plans and would wait to see what unfolded. The short answer to what unfolded is ‘not much’.

It’s been four weeks now since Marilyn’s operation and she is recovering very well. She had optimistically allowed herself five weeks for recovery before we head off to Mudgee and she is well on track to be ready for that. Of course, she has the right attitude and that makes all the difference.

We’ve found the caravan a particularly good place for Marilyn to recuperate. Everything is within easy reach: the shower and toilet is just a few steps away as is the kitchen. It’s great, also, to be free to move around from town to town if we feel like it. We’re in Latrobe at the moment, free-camping. The caravan is pretty self-contained and the solar panel on the roof gives us regular 12v power for the water pump, TV, and so on. We do miss the microwave which can only be used when we have access to 240v but that’s a small price to pay for the independence.

I had an appointment with the radiation oncologist who supervised my treatment for prostate cancer. A blood test showed that my PSA count is too low to measure so that’s the best news I could wish for. We can now put that behind us and get on with life.

There has been one little sad moment recently. I carelessly dropped my Bebook which I use for my electronic book collection. I think I’ve had it for more than 3 years and it’s already had a new screen following a crash on to concrete and a replacement mother board and battery. I won’t bother having it repaired again. New models have many more features and they have become much more sophisticated so I’ve ordered a new Sony with a touch screen and in-built dictionaries. It’s more elegant than the bebook and I hope will last me for many years – if I can avoid dropping it.

I was asked to talk to my Rotary club last night about our recent trip to the Philippines. It was a good chance to re-visit some of the interesting times we had. I focused on the parts of the trip which related to our club’s involvement in projects there and said a little about possible future projects. Of course, I could have talked for hours about the beautiful new places we saw and people we met but if you talk for more than half an hour, the members get very toe-ey. Is that how you spell it?

We’re heading back to Launceston tomorrow for a Christmas party on Friday night and to get organized for our trip to Mudgee on Tuesday. There probably won’t be much to report until the middle of next week

Back in Launceston …..

Marilyn and I both came back from Nepal with the notorious stomach bug. Marilyn had hers for a few days before we left but mine burst upon the scene on the second-last day. It’s inevitable, I suppose, that travelers to countries like Nepal will get some level of stomach problems.

It’s been a week since we left and we’re both pretty well back to normal.

I’ve been giving some thought to the trip, trying to put it into some context. Some of our initial thoughts about Nepal are not particularly positive. Perhaps it was a mistake to take us to the three sites at the beginning of the trip which were so confronting. The number of beggars at the Monkey Temple and Durbar Square was very distressing and the sight and smell of burning bodies at Pashputinath was very challenging to our Western sensibilities. We also found the dirtiness and shabbiness of Kathmandu hard to accept. We saw locals dropping rubbish in the street without any sense of responsibility nor pride in their environment. The rivers are appalling and seem to be treated as rubbish tips. Even in some of their high-level tourist attractions rubbish had accumulated.


Of course, there were some wonderful highlights during the remainder of our trip: the lovely town of Pokhara, the spectacular Annapurna Range, the beautiful rivers, and the Chitwan National Park. However, our last memory of Nepal was also negative: the inadequate and sub-standard international airport. Clearly, it is not set up to deal with reasonably large numbers of departing passengers and, if the government’s hope of doubling their number of tourists in 2011 is to be reached, something will have to be done about the infrastructure.


When we arrived at the airport, there were hundreds of people milling around outside. We had to fight through that crowd before we even made it into the airport building and then it was a matter of following the lines of other departing passengers, with no real understanding of what the procedure was. At each checkpoint, we received a rubber stamp from an official in pseudo-military uniform, complete with beret. When we reached the boarding gate, it seemed we had missed one stamp so Marilyn had to go back to the Immigration and bully her way to the front of the line so that our cards could be stamped.

It was a total schemozzle and our anxiety about possibly missing the plane was wasted. They were still boarding passengers an hour after the scheduled take-off time. These were obviously the less assertive ones who just went with the flow and were held up. Some I recognized as being close to us in the line at the beginning but clearly not as adept at making their way forward.


So, we had a less-than-perfect beginning and a best-forgotten ending. Overall, was it worth it? Oh, yes! It was worth every anxious moment, every negative second, every dodgy meal, every bumpy road. To stand at the foot of Nilgiri, and look up and up to the clouds at the top; to walk along an ancient mountain trail and see the town of Marpha; to sit on the back of an elephant and experience the sight of a prehistoric animal like the rhinoceros, with a baby, no less; to sit in the back seat of a Twin Otter flying between two of the world’s highest peaks and land on a too-short runway; and to fly alongside Everest and see the Khumbu glacier which I read about as a starry-eyed kid, are memories I’ll cherish forever.

We experienced perfect weather during our stay. Our flight around Everest was on the clearest day for weeks, our flights to and from Jomsom were not affected by cloud or mist and every sight-seeing day was in bright sunshine. We saw a rhinoceros on our elephant ride, even though none had been seen for days. We used to joke that we were enjoying our good fortune because Kumari, the living child-goddess had made an appearance on the day we visited Durbar Square.
Whatever the reason, we know that many of the good experiences we had could have been so different.

So, here we are back in Launceston. Marilyn had arranged that she would be going in to hospital to have a knee replacement just a couple of days after we arrived so she is there now, after a successful operation on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, I’m staying with Jamie and twiddling my thumbs until Marilyn is released and we can get on with the next stage of our retirement journey. The caravan is still in storage and, as soon as I have a date for Marilyn’s discharge, I will get it set up and put on-site somewhere.

She has allowed herself just five weeks for recovery and has promised her father we will spend Christmas with him in Mudgee. Until then, we have no plans and will see how circumstances unfold.

Farewell to Nepal

On our last night in Kathmandu, Anne read us a poem she had written to celebrate our trip. Here it is:

Nepal

Never ending peace and love
Where mountains peek through clouds above
In order to see this wonderful view
We flew to the capital Kathmandu

Our sightseeing tour included world heritage Durbar Square
Swayambunath with prayer flags everywhere
At Pashupatinath we saw funerals conducted with care
And photographed Sadhus with long matted hair

Raj droves us to Pokhara the very next day and the weather was fine
The naughty girls sat in the back drinking wine
Then off to Jomson to spend a few nights
I think all would agree, two spectacular flights

We trekked amidst mountains dusted with snow
The fabulous”D.P.” showed us where to go
Back to Pokhara, a good place for a break
A Melbourne Cup luncheon was held by the lake

We went to Riverside Springs near Kurintar
Visited a temple by a huge cable car
Then to the jungle, culture and dancing the very first night
Rhino Residency proved to be a delight

On an elephant safari we made our way
A rhino and baby the highlight of the day
Back to Kathmandu by a very short flight
In time for the festival of colour and light

We’ve had some very early mornings it has to be said
But for Everest we think it was worth leaving your bed
We enjoyed the history and peace of Bhaktapur Square
And at Bodnath, all felt the power of prayer

We’ve shared great experiences, had lots of fun
And you’all been great, each and every one
Trish was very gracious about the change of plan
Said I’ll just do trekking wherever I can


Marilyn made sure we did it in style
When we had to “dress up” once in a while
John has a great sense of humour and wit
He thought the “wafer thin” desserts were a great hit

Martin was known as “the repair man”
If he can’t fix it, then nobody can
Sue is compassionate and likes to do what she can
So we all went to see children in the town of Patan

During the day, Rhonda was quiet and serene
But at night she turned into the dancing queen
Dianne was our connoisseur of wine
She soon had the waiters whipped into line

Beth views life in such a positive way
Determined to make the most of each day
Unfortunately our time together ends
But we will go home having made new friends

Tomorrow we go to the airport and bid each other adieu
And may the blessing of Kumari go home with you

Monday, 8th November …..

This is our last big day in Nepal. Our itinerary lists that we will visit the mediaeval city of Bakhtapur, one of the three ancient cities of Nepal and Bodhnath, one of the largest stupas in the world.


We left early so as to avoid as much of the morning traffic as possible but even getting out of Thamel was difficult. Nepali drivers must be the most inconsiderate in the world. More than once we were held up because a mini-bus or taxi had stopped at the kerb with its tail stuck out in the traffic, making it impossible for anyone to pass. And, again, more than once, the traffic was jammed by a motorist who had pushed his nose into a gap, locking everybody up, unable to move. The motor-cyclists are horrendous. They ignore all common sense and consideration, honking their horns to demand right of way, whether they deserve it or not. I couldn’t drive here; I would resort to direct action and would probably find myself arrested.

It’s not much fun walking around Thamel. You have to be on your guard at all times because of the irritating honking and dangerous driving of the idiot motor-cyclists, who seem to spend their whole lives zooming around the streets harassing the tourists.


Anyway, off to Bhaktapur, a much quieter little city and very interesting. It has its own Durbar Square but without the distressing beggars of Kathmandu.There were some lovely little streets and, right in the middle were working farms, with haystacks, rice being dried in the sun and so on. Some new buildings were being erected, in the traditional Newar style –very nice!

We were given time off for a coffee break and found a Rotary poster in the coffee shop. It turned out that the proprietor is a Rotarian and was pleased to talk to us and give us some information about his club. He also has a guest house and hoped we would come back to stay with him in the future.

One of the main attractions of Durbar Square is the Art School where artists are trained in traditional skills. We watched a master artist completing a mandala. It seems there are seven stages in the process, with only the final stage being carried out by the master, using gold and a 1- or 2-hair brush. It takes about 47 hours to complete one mandala.


Marilyn watched the artist, amazed, and commented, ‘I feel an art purchase coming on.’ So, these two grey nomads who already have a collection of modern works and no house to hang them in, now have a beautiful mandala as well, and nowhere to hang it.

Bakhtapur’s Durbar Square was a welcoming place and we would recommend it to anyone.

Sue and Martin had invited us to join them in a visit to an orphanage supported by some Australian friends so we diverted the bus a few kilometers so we could all go together. What a delightful place. The rest of the party had brought gifts from Australia for the children but Marilyn and I bought ice-creams and gave a donation to the director to buy anything particularly needed.


It was a great place to visit and a pleasure to see the children, from infants up to young adults, getting such a good start in life, in a loving, supportive environment.

We were running a bit late by the time we arrived at Bodhnath. This is a place of prayer, and people flock there to be part of it. Many walk clockwise around the stupa to pray (only ignorant tourists walk anti-clockwise). There are prayer wheels, and people chanting. Of course, there are innumerable shops and stalls, selling everything imaginable.


For a concentrated look at what Nepal is all about, you could do worse than spend an hour at Bodhnath.

Sunday, 7th November …..

This is listed on our itinerary as a leisure day but all of us opt for a flight around Everest. We had booked for today and for the 9th just in case the weather was not kind. This trip is a bit like Cradle Mountain or Milford Sound where you only get a small number of clear days each year.

The sky was cloudy when we got up (at 5 o’clock!) but everyone was confident so we headed for the airport. I think there were five flights scheduled, three by Yeti Air (isn’t that a great name?) and 2 by Buddha Air. Our Yeti flight was the third to be called and we trooped on to the Jetstream F4. They only sell window seats so we all had a great view. Marilyn and I were sitting over the wing but it didn’t matter as we all moved around when the seat belt sign was turned off.

The weather was sparkling and the mountains were enormous. The pilot flew along the range, then turned 360o so that people on both sides of the plane could have a good view. She (yes, the pilot’s name was Sabina!) flew as close as possible to the mountains so that we could see every details of the rocks, snow fields and glaciers. The hostie had a bit more to do on this flight. After handing out the obligatory mints (we didn’t get cotton wool because the Jestream is pressurized) she took us all one-by-one into the pilots’ cabin where we had a front-on view of the mountains and an explanation from the First Officer about what we could see. All-in-all, a memorable experience!

We had started out so early that we were still able to have breakfast when we returned to the hotel and the rest of the day just seemed to merge into one meal after another. The evening meal was enjoyed at a quite expensive Thai restaurant which cost us a total of $52.

Saturday, November 6th …..

At 8 o’clock, our guide is standing by, binoculars around his neck. I look the part, too, with the wonderful Bushnells given to me by the Giant Steps’ parents. We wander along the road, listening for birdcalls and getting the details from Hem (his name was much more complicated than this but he was happy with Hem). He would say Common Stone Chat and flick open his bird book to show us the picture. Right every time!

It was a bit ho hum while we were in the village but when we headed down to the river, things started to improve. We saw birds called treepies, a buzzard and a very rare Black Stork. Even Hem was impressed as they are an endangered species and not often seen. We saw a bird called a Greenshank, a Brown Heron with green legs which he called the magic bird because it changed colour when it flew, and a green pigeon with yellow legs.

Hem also showed us Magnetic Grass. He cut two stems which are like very thin bamboo. Steve and Ann held the two sticks by the ends and about 10cm apart. After a few minutes the middles of the two sticks started to move together and touched, with no assistance from Ann and Steve.

Our stay here has been fantastic, very well organized and busy but still with time for a dip in the pool. Even though the climate is quite tropical, we can still see the Himalayas in the distance. The food has been excellent and all included in the cost of our trip. This is certainly a place we would have no hesitation in visiting again.

However, it’s now time to head off to the airport for the short trip back to Kathmandu. The plane is a little larger, a Jetstream F4 and soon has us back on the ground. It’s the Deepawali Festival in Nepal at the moment and Kathmandu is decorated for the occasion. There are lights on all the buildings, small business all have small mandalas made of coloured rice at their front door, and even our hotel has a rice decoration in the foyer.

Tonight, we go to the Rum Doodle Bar. I was introduced to a fabulous book, The Ascent of Rum Doodle, at Chakola more than 35 years ago. It’s a spoof of the era of the English gentleman mountaineer around the 30s and 40s. The heroes of the book are attempting to climb the world’s highest mountain, Rum Doodle which is 40000 ½ feet high. They have a doctor who is always sick but ‘has been high’, a navigator who is always lost, but ‘has been high’, and a leader who is always meditating on the responsibilities of leadership and bringing up the rear. It’s a cult book among mountaineers and the Rum Doodle Bar is a Kathmnandu institution.

People who have conquered Everest can always get a free drink there and serious expeditions are invited to fill in their details on cardboard footprints which decorate the walls and ceiling. I found a Joe Christie had been there, and Edmund Hillary, Chris Bonnington, Rob Hall and many others.

It was great to be there to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the great food.

Friday, 6th November …..

We had passed a few elephants last night on our way to the riverbank but today we travelled for about an hour by dugout canoe (yes, all of us were in just one canoe) to the Elephant Breeding Centre. We saw some beautiful birds on the trip including a coucal, kingfishers and drongos. From the river, we had a forty-five minute walk through the jungle to get to the centre. All along the way we watched out for animals but saw nothing except piles of rhino and elephant dung of various ages. However, it was a fantastic walk.

The highlight of the visit to the Breeding Centre is to see the twin baby elephants who are only one year old. We were told that twins are very rare and this pair might be the first ones bred in captivity. Who cares about records; they were delightful.

I thought nothing could beat the majestic presence of the elephants but we met a goat on our way out of the Centre who stole the show. She had set herself up(yes, she must have been a female) on the base of a water tower and preened herself with all the elegance of a super model. She sat with front legs crossed and stretched her neck up and around drawing attention to her good points. I had never thought of goats as being pretty animals but this creature was strangely attractive.

We had a short walk to reach our jeep and we crossed the river on a very interesting footbridge whose pathway was made of sandbags. There was a school group playing in the river, boys to the left of the bridge, girls to the right, and the teachers were tearing their hair out trying to keep the boys and girls separate. There was much whistle-blowing and gesturing and shouting.

Next stop was to the riverbank again to see an elephant being washed. Once upon a time, tourists were invited to join but the danger of accident was too great and it is now ‘Forbidden’. One mahout had trained his elephant to take bank notes from a tourist’s hand and pass it up to him and he was doing quite well from this little sideline.

We gathered mid-afternoon for the elephant ride. I’ve never been in such an uncomfortable position. There was a metal box on the back of the elephant with webbing on the bottom. Four people sat, one in each corner, with their legs on either side of a square metal post – no footrests and no padding. The trip was over an hour and was up and down, into and out of gullies, through the river and on narrow forest tracks. I was worried about being caught up in one of the many leaf-cutter ants’ nests as the elephant blundered about.

Our objective was to watch out for wildlife and we saw lots of deer, various birds, including a superb jungle fowl, and monkeys but our hope was to see a rhinoceros and/or a tiger. Chitwan is one of the last refuges of these two endangered species and they are under constant threat from poachers. A dead rhino was found on the boundary of the park last week but rangers don’t believe it was a victim of poaching as the horns and feet were intact.

The chances of seeing either one of the animals is remote. They are both shy and the last sighting of a tiger was four months ago. However, against all the odds, we did come across a rhinoceros and her three-month old baby. What a treat and to see it from the back of an elephant was even more special.

I thought that getting into the elephant howdah was difficult but getting out was even more painful. I had to go first which was unbelievably difficult. I was jammed in by three other bottoms and I had to push myself to my feet while trying to extricate my legs which were just hanging down and not able to lend any assistance. Finally, I came out like a cork out of a bottle, and having bent my legs in strange ways. Not a comfortable trip but seeing the rhinos was worth every ache and pain.

That evening, our ubiquitous guide offered a slide show showing the wildlife of the reserve. It was very academic and his accent was a little difficult but he certainly knew his stuff. We clearly impressed him with our interest and he offered to take us on a bird-spotting walk in the morning. We don’t need to leave until 10.30 so we’ll meet him at 8.00 after an early breakfast.

What a great day!

Thursday, November 4th …..

It was an uneventful trip from Kurintar to Sauraha, over one of the worst bits of road I’ve encountered. It’s just as well we will be flying to Kathmandu after our three days here because I’m told it might take 6 hours by road.

This region is obviously more fertile than the area around Jomsom and is covered with a variety of crops. The rice is being harvested and the rice stalks are being piled into stacks, I suppose for winter feed for the animals.

Chitwan National Park has many resorts but we’re booked into one of the bigger ones – the Chitwan Rhino Residency. Our rooms are built in a circle so we’re all pretty close to each other and near the pool and dining room. We arrive in time for lunch then it’s off, by a wagon pulled by oxen to visit a local village of the Tharu community who fled from India many generations ago but have maintained much of their culture and language. Their houses traditionally are daubed with a mixture of clay and dung and many are built on stilts to avoid the annual monsoonal flooding.

Those villagers who can afford it have installed methane generators like the one in the picture. The dung is in a pit covered by the rectangular blocks you can see. Extra dung is added through the circular concrete pipe and the gas is fed to the house via the galvanized pipe. Apparently, the system will last indefinitely.
On the way back, couple of kids jump on the bak of the wagon for a ride, and maybe in the hope of a few rupees. No such luck! We're asked not to give them money as it teaches them to be beggars.

They are a very attractive people and hard-working. The guide who takes us to the village is a very precise man and very knowledgeable. I know you can see Asperger’s Syndrome in almost everyone but this man is a classic case. On the way back from the village he took us to the riverbank to watch the sunset, telling us about local birds on the way. He turns up again in the evening introducing a cultural show which features the young men of the village. It was quite impressive and obviously well-rehearsed, but tomorrow is the big day for us – we are going to see more elephants than you can imagine.

Wednesday, 3rd November …..

The roads in Nepal are typical of a third world country: narrow, poorly maintained and inadequate for the amount of vehicles they carry. There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of small buses and 5-tonne trucks which rush along trying to keep to an impossible schedule.

On our road trip from Kathmandu to Pokhara, we were astounded at the risks taken the drivers of these vehicles and nothing was different on our trip from Pokhara to Kurintar. There was one nice interlude. We were stopped a couple of times by groups of young people who had strung a rope across the road and were stopping traffic asking for donations to assist their school.

At the second stop, we noticed a group of women sitting by the side of the road singing and dancing. Sue had already asked if we could stop somewhere so that she could stretch her legs and this was as good a place as any. The dancers among us couldn’t resist and joined in. A good picture opportunity!

We arrived at Riverside Springs Resort in time for lunch, then jumped in the bus for a 5-minute drive to the Manakamana Cable Car which is an extraordinary thing to find in such a remote spot. It’s a terrific ride across a river and up a mountain where there is a famous Hindu temple.

The prices were interesting. Clearly foreigners can afford to pay more and it’s only 150 rupees for a goat. Of course, goats only travel one way as they are being taken up to the temple to be sacrificed.

We couldn’t believe the crowd and the activity around the temple. Lots of people were sacrificing chickens and goats so we had a quick look and left them to get on with it.

On the way back down, we found ourselves sharing a car with an old man and his two grand-daughters. One of the girls told us she worked in Dubai and only came home occasionally. Her parents had passed away and she came home to see the old man who was now 86. He was a Gurkha and had served in the Indian Army. We were quite honoured and asked if we could take his photograph.

Back to Riverside Springs for a swim (quite cool) and a good dinner. In the evening, we had a show-and-tell of good travel gadgets. Sue and Martin showed a suitcase organizer kit which they had purchased. It consists of some pouches to keep particular items together. There is one packet for shirts which includes a template for folding. It seems a pretty useful idea because our suitcases are always a shambles.

Sue and Martin also investigated suitcases and have a couple of very light ones, unlike ours which may about 4Kg each. Steve showed an immersion heater he carries and I showed my Bebook which I think is one of the best gadgets every invented for travelers. I have 20 books currently installed on the bebook and another 700 on the computer – all in a gadget which weights only a few ounces.

Tuesday, 2nd November …..

It’s Melbourne Cup Day in Australia so Marilyn decides we’re going to have a Melbourne Cup luncheon with Melbourne Cup hats to be worn by all. First, though, we have a tour of Pokhara to complete.

The guide is well-meaning and earnest and he has a busy agenda for us but we’re all anticipating lunch so he has a hard task ahead of him. First, he takes us through the Old Bazaar to show us the typical Newar architecture of the area, then to the Devi Falls and the Mahadev Cave. We hurry through these so we have time to visit a Tibetan Refugee Camp. Many Tibetans left their homeland when the Dalai Lama went into exile and have made their homes in Nepal. They welcome visitors and are set up to sell jewellery and other Tibetan souvenirs.

More interesting was the Tibetan Children’s Village which looks after orphaned or abandoned children. The village has a number of houses, each with five boys and five girls of varying ages, looked after by a House Mother. The village was very impressive and we took some photographs and made a donation.

The final item on the morning’s program was a visit to the Varahi Vandar Hindu Temple on an island in Phewa Ta Lake, only accessible by small wooden boat. This is a popular place for Hindus to visit and make sacrifices, but it was particularly busy today because scenes were being shot there for a film. The leading lady was very pretty but the leading man was a dork.

We filled in a half hour or so being paddled around the lake and then it was time to go to the Boomerang Café for the Melbourne Cup lunch. Everyone had made an effort with their hats and a good time was had by all. Ann and Steve had organized a sweep last night so we all had a vested interest in knowing who had won the race. Only Marilyn knew as she had received a text from Jamie during the morning (Melbourne is 5 hours 15 minutes ahead of Pokhara) and she kept the secret to herself for several hours.

As it happened, Ann’s horse won. I had drawn Shocking and So You Think and thought I might be in with a chance but could only get a third. Marilyn had drawn the last horse to finish so got her money back. Steve produced a bottle of bubbly for a toast, which capped a great event.

Most of us had a break during the afternoon although there are some world-class shoppers among our party who took the chance for some more retail therapy. During the evening we went around the corner to see a fantastic cultural show held at another hotel. We were offered a barbecue for 999 rupees, which included a drink. It was pretty ordinary but the management must have realized some of us were a little disappointed and offered us a free go at the buffet. Great stuff, including some excellent desserts!

So ended a better-than-average day. We leave Pokhara tomorrow on our way to Riverside Springs Resort at Kurintar. We had lunch here on the way from Kathmandu and we’re all looking forward to going back.