+ 1 - 0 | § ¶Kathmandu but where are the hippies?

As soon as I arrived in Kathmandu I said to myself, right head straight for Thamel, the tourist sector, and head straight to the hotel you have chosen, and then think. About 50m into Thamel though, I get caught by a local, "150 rps for a room!", "oh, okaaay then, I'll follow you...".

Up the four flights of stairs with the bike and bags, and there I was, ready to organise my stay here in Kathmandu, and ready for a shower!

I am still wanting to head for Tibet as fast as possible in order to start the "Burma detour" during the month of august, when temperatures should still be acceptable high up on the Tibetan plateau. If I manage to depart by bicycle from Tibet (from Lhasa more precisely) by mid-august, I will get a good month and a half to come to Laos, or maybe Vietnam.

+ 0 - 0 | § ¶Pokhara, and getting back into it

I needed a trek. What, yet another from a holiday from a holiday, whatever next?? No but seriously, my body was demanding some exercise and I was going to give it to him. No matter where and no matter for the weather. The monsoon is striking down hard here in Pokhara and the tourist season only begins in October.

There are not many people in town at the moment, and by people, I mean tourists. This leaves the locals by lakeside in a semi-dormant phase, occasionally getting up from their card games to ask “do you need a guide?”. Um no thank you, after the ridiculous trekking paths of Pakistan, I’m sure I can handle the sedate tourist trails up near Pokhara and the Annapurna! I was told that along the trail are frequent hotels and restaurants, meaning there was no need for a tent, sleeping bag or cooker. All that was needed was clean socks, a couple of books and some salt, to get rid of the leeches that harass walkers in this season.