• Mustang Mally
    Mustang Valley in situ
    1Our plane was too little to qualify for the new airportAn early rise and a bit too much coffeeNever understood the pea soup description. I prefer clam chowder.Plan B is a goAt first they roads were greatBut the views were terribleAs the roads became worse..The views improved.We stopped for a lassi at the world's second tallest bungee (at the time the sign was made anyway)The clam chowder hung around so driving was the right call. That's the jumping point. Gotta be braveGotta be brave here too1And hereOur next stop was a beautiful waterfall. Is that a woman on a yak?!They both looked a little oddAha. You could pay $1 to take a photo having a ride1Prettier than a yak15 hrs from Pokhara: The main entrance...to the bar!And the spa! I knew we came to Shinta Mani for a reasonCold shower then hot 3 ways.Then the first of our daily included massage sessions at the wellness centreDinner would follow a theme every night as per the yak board1Tonight's theme was the trade route so the table decorations and the meals matched the theme"Do we scrape some Himalayan salt into the bath?" No, you add 1 or 2 slabs!

    Slow that Mustang Down

    March 10 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    A brilliant night's sleep was followed by 90 minutes of sky watching at the airport. Spring usually produces the crisp blue skies behind mountains that you see in postcards but forest fires are playing havoc with visibility. We had a 4WD on standby in case our plane was unable to fly. It became clear that it would stay murky so we jumped in the car and took a fascinating 5hr, 160km drive along windy roads (half-wrecked by landslides), across creaky bridges (that took one car at a time) and through many small villages that were once important stops along the Mustang valley trade route that once connected Tibet and China with Nepal and India. So it took a little longer than expected, but we had fun and still arrived in time for lunch.
    Shinta Mani Mustang will be our home for the next 5 nights. If their welcome is anything to go by we are in for a real treat.    Read more