Follow that poo ...

In a change from showing traditional trekking vistas we decided on some alternative highlights of the Annapurna Circuit - a 210 km trail of donkey poo around the Annapurna mountains in Nepal that starts at 800m above sea level, climbs to 5400m and drops most of the way back again over 16 days... please choose your own captions from the selection below ..

A. Shaun's pioneering trekking style .. John McEnroe wants his look back

B. "Chocolate, money, photo, school pen, sweet?"

C. How KFC is delivered in the mountains ...
D. When beards go bad ...

E. It was always SO disappointing to reach the day's destination

F. When my feet got sore some of the wildlife started looking hopeful for a meal

OK OK so I added 2 more traditional photos to finish ..

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Ignorance and a big stick

"If a rhino charges, run as fast as you can away because their eyesight is poor. If a wild elephant charges you should run but make it a zig zag (they're not so good at the side step), and if a sloth bear charges then get in a group and make as much noise as possible." That was the safety talk from our guide Chitra before commencing a day long walk through the jungle and grasslands of Royal Chitwan National Park.

He left out what we should do if we came across a tiger but as he'd given me a bamboo walking stick I didn't feel too vulnerable ... and as it turned out the only dangerous animals I saw were crocodiles from the other side of the river and a rhino from the top of a fallen tree trunk (which apparently made us "100% safe"), not to mention the ubiquitous insect life.

We'd made it to Chitwan after a two day rafting trip from Kathmandu during which both of us managed to maintain our composure inside the raft but Michaela managed to pick up giardia which sidelined her for the walk through the jungle but couldn't stop her from going for a swim with our resort's elephant the next day ...

or heading into the buffer zone around Chitwan on elephant back. While Michaela was fortunate indeed to spot some deer and the mysterious jungle fowl a.k.a. a wild jungle chicken I managed to hit the jackpot with a sighting of a baby rhino and its mother.

S

Monkey Business and Lasagne

Kathmandu - the ancient city of the Malla kings, and formerly The destination for hippies making the overland route to Asia from Europe. We had been hearing all sorts of stories in Tibet about the amazing food in Kathmandu (the mere thought of lasagne when you are sitting in a smoky Tibetan guesthouse looking at your 3rd plate of yak dumplings in as many days is enough to start rabid thoughts of commandeering vehicles and driving over the border in search of this culinary oasis).

Kathmandu did not disappoint. After 48 hours of gorging on steak, chips, beer, wine, pasta, salad and tiramisu!! we surfaced to explore the city. We discovered that monkeys appear to have taken over.

Traffic is fairly chaotic in Kathmandu, and walking is often the best option. Most walking tours end up at Darbur Square, the heart of the old town. The square features a disparate but beautiful collection of old temples where you can sit on the steps and pass the time, and have numerous small children approach you for money.

Around the square the old town is like a giant medieval bazaar, made up of numerous smaller squares and interlocking courtyards which are often hidden behind tiny passageways from the street. On almost every corner is a small shrine to one or more Hindu or Buddhist deities that have been liberally sprinkled with red tika powder and rice.

And just when you think the traffic can't get any worse a bull gets snarled up in it all...

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