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.