Kathmandu - Pokhara - Chame

Day 9 & 10.

Quick overnight in Pokhara after a bumpy 7 hour bus from Kathmandu - roads are minimal here so reading during journeys has quickly been ruled out, but the scenery is fantastic!

Spent an hour haggling for the best bargain sleeping bags in town, apparently we have down sleeping bags but I'm fairly confident if I'd asked for a sleeping bag lined with gold the lovely Indian gentlemen would have told me it was stuffed with that too. Anyway still fairly confident I won't need one but let's pray to god it keeps Ellie alive, losing at least one of those lanky limbs to frostbite is still a real risk.

Back to the hostel for some rest, Limbster awkwardly hid behind the door tonight whilst I chatted up the receptionist. Not something we want to repeat too often..

To get to Chame, our starting point, it was a 6 hour bus plus a 6 hour jeep climbing 2500m. It needs to be a jeep as there are virtually no roads, at no point in 6 hours did we exceed 5mph, we met Dieke and Wouter today from the Netherlands after clubbing together to haggle the very aggressive young jeep drivers, if only they where nice Nepalese ladies they might get their asking price! Shared lots of laughs during the jeep ride together and also met Susan today (awesome Nepalese local who hitched a ride) - "too much dust..!"

Super scary edges followed by warm apple pie and tea to finish the day around a much needed fire.

Quickly dodged a bullet here and avoided sleeping at what could only be compared to a scene out of the movie 'Hostel'. Don't trust young Jeep drivers or cold dark cabins.

The trekking fear has begun to settle in now coupled with a little excitement! Tomorrow it begins!Read more