The Panchen Lama, Maoist Rebels, and the King of Nepal

Hello from Kathmandu! We're back in Nepal after spending the last week and a half in Tibet.

Our time in Gyantse was definitely heavily influenced by the Panchen Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's No.2 after the Dalai Lama. First of all we were kicked out of our hotel so that he could have lunch there (he was on a rare visit from house arrest in Beijing), and then our sole reason for visiting Gyantse, the Kumbum Monastery, was closed so that he could visit. To make matters worse, the road from Gyantse to Shigatse (a mere 100km) was closed as he would be travelling on it, and then when we did get to Shigatse, we couldn't stay in the planned hotel as it was full of his entourage! On the plus side, we did get to see his entry procession (including a blurry video of the back of his hand waving) which involved Sharon and Liz doing the whole "paparazzi" thing and chasing after him - until they realised how hard running at high altitude was! We also got to spend several hours teaching local kids how to play noughts and crosses in a cornfield! When we did finally get to drive to Shigatse, lots of the poor local people thought that we were the Panchen Lama's convoy, and started bowing, prostrating themselves, and praying at us - all very embarrassing!

Shigatse was good, but the real highlight came next with our trip to Everest Base Camp. After a morning where we couldn't see more than 50M due to cloud, we were rewarded in the afternoon with stunning clear skies and amazing views of the peak.

After Base Camp, it was back down to the border with Nepal. After coping admirably with the altitude, David managed to have problems with descending so quickly! Once back over the Nepali border, the excitement continued as we came across a Maoist rebel road block. However, they kindly refrained from shooting us in return for a 500 rupee "donation" each (about 3.80GBP).

Now we're back in Kathmandu we are enjoying seeing some of the many temples and palaces. Yesterday we spent 3 hours waiting to see the King and Queen, and luckily managed to get a glimpse of them. We also saw the "living goddess", only we didn't realise it until afterwards! Today we went to Bakhtapur, where we very luckily managed to avoid seeing thousands of goats being sacrificed - it is the middle of the Dashain festival, and there are dead animals everywhere! Anyone who knows Sharon will believe that she spent the entire day walking around staring at the ground in order to avoid the many headless goats lying around.

In a couple of days we head off to trek in the Annapurnas - can't wait!

Wet David

We've now been in Lhasa for a few days and had a chance to do some sight seeing. Yesterday we visited the spectacular Potala Palace which sits on a hillside looming over the city. It was the former residence of the Dalai Lamas and is full of Buddha Statues (as is every building!).

We've also been to the Jokhang Temple and the Drepung Monastery and Craig got to his obligatory museum albeit because the third religious sight on the itinerary was closed due to the monks being on a picnic (we're not joking).

However, the most notable thing about our time in Lhasa was Craig's ability to totally shower David in Sprite at lunch yesterday. The waitress dropped the can but Craig decided to open it anyway, spraying over half the contents in a magnificent arc over the table and all over David. Some fast reactions just about saved Liz from a similar fate.

Tomorrow we leave Lhasa (and probably internet access) for about a week as we drive back towards Nepal seeing lots of scenery and monasteries on route.

7 Hours in Tibet

We've arrived in Lhasa, following a couple of days in Kathmandu, which we mostly seemed to spend eating lovely meals out! So far the food has definitely been an improvement from Mongolia. Last night, Sharon had 5 desserts...

In Kathmandu we visited the Bodhnath Stupa, which was very impressive (great eyes!), and a temple complex by the ghats, the name of which escapes me at the moment! We flew to Lhasa this morning, with a spectacular flight over the Himalayas. It was amazing to see Everest and the other mountains poking out through the layer of cloud.

Now we're in Lhasa we're trying to adjust to the altitude, so we'll be taking things very slowly - at the moment we get out of breath whenever we have to walk more than 10 yards!

Off to Everest!

We've had a few days at home now, and although it has been great to catch up with so many of you (and eat some decent food!), we're ready for another trip.

Which is just as well, as we fly to Kathmandu tomorrow! We are going to spend 4 weeks in Nepal and Tibet (or Tepal and Nibet, as Sharon keeps calling them). We're accompanied on our travels by our good friends Dave and Liz, which should be fun.

The trip should include Kathmandu, Lhasa, Shigatse, Gyantse, Everest Base Camp (although Everest will probably be shrouded in clouds!), Pokhara, a trek in the Annapura mountains, and a visit to Chitwan National Park. If we don't see a tiger there Craig will be very disappointed (note to Craig - prepare to be disappointed!).

Right, we'd better go and pack!

Mongolia Piccies

The drivers liked to play music constantly, which wouldn't be too bad if they'd had more than one tape. The van that became known as "The Passion Wagon" had a particularly bad tape that included Boney M and other "classics" of the early 80s. Sharon seemed to like it though, and spent most of the 3 week trip singing "Hands up, baby hands up"...
















Craig at the ruins of Genghis Khan's capital, Karakorum. Genghis and turtles - Craig was in heaven!
















There were so many birds of prey it was incredible. It still took Sharon about 300 attempts to get a decent picture though!
















Playing cards with the drivers. Teaching them was fun, as they didn't speak any English at all. The second one from the right was a real cheat!
















Sharon in the Gobi Desert. It took us about 45 minutes and a lot of effort to climb that sand dune, and Sharon was struggling to find the energy to smile!
















We woke up one morning with the roof of our tent collapsing under the weight of the snow outside. We went out for a walk, and then had a mini-snowball fight, before spending the next 7 hours desperately trying to dry our feet!

Craving a shower

We're back in UB, Mongolia's capital, after 3 weeks of all sorts...

It all started gently with western toilets, pre-packed sandwiches and tarmacked roads. That lasted for approximately 2 hours when reality hit hard.

The first stop was the Gobi, where we had to pitch our tent in the middle of a sandstorm - they hurt! - actually, all we could do was lie on the canvas to stop it blowing away. When you could open your eyes you could literally see the sand blowing off the dunes in waves. When the storm was over, we saw an ice glacier (yep, ice in the desert!), climbed sand dunes and then slid back down them (which makes the strangest singing noise). We rode a bactrian (2 humped) camel and then with no washing facilities smelt of camel for the next fortnight. They have this annoying habit of wiping their noses on your trousers!

After the Gobi, we headed north to the steppe, mountains and the lakes where we did lots of trekking. We also visitied monasteries and Karakaroum, Ghenggis Khan's capital. Highlights include Lake Khovsgol, where we learnt to navigate by horse droppings, teaching our non-English speaking drivers to play cards with us and the wildlife - lots of hawks and eagles, yaks and horses.

Notable mentions should go to day 7 where a cold water tap was our first sight of running water and day 8 where we found a proper road, albeit only for 5 miles!

Sharon coped very well with camping, despite sometimes waking up to a tent collapsing under the weight of the snow (yep, sand storm and blizzard in the same trip), having to wash her hair in the river and dig her own toilet; actually digging a toilet was luxury compared to the toilet stops whilst driving - there are no bushes or ditches to hide you...

A couple of things have changed since we last updated - Craig now has a beard again, and Sharon has acquired a formidable reputation for devouring Mongolian mutton dumplings!

We're back in UK tomorrow for a few days and we're signing off now to go and take our first shower for a month.