Annapurna South from the Gurung Hill view tower above Deurali.


Pokhara, Nepal

I made it out of the mountains alive! A few days after leaving Jomsom I developed a nasty stomach bug that slowed me down considerably. I'll spare you the details... suffice to say that several emergency trail-side pit stops were required. Fortunately, the wonders of modern anti-biotics saved the trip and I was back to normal within a few days. Highlights included: Sitting under the stars in the natural hotsprings near Tatopani, The views of Nilgiri south from my guesthouse in Tatopani, The views of Machhapuchre, Annapurna south, and Dhaulagiri from the Gurung hill view tower, The forest of giant (40-50 feet tall) rhododendrons, the bamboo jungle between Chhomrong and Himalaya, sunrise and sunset in the Annapurna Sanctuary. I had a second encounter with the Maoists outside of Chhomrong. The experience wasn't as interesting as my first meeting with the rebels. These guys weren't especially interested in talking politics or philosophy... They only wanted money. I've been hanging out and resting for the past few days in Pokhara, Nepal's 2nd largest city. I celebrated my birthday last night by drinking large bottles of Carlsberg with some locals. The plan for the next week or so is to spend one more day here in Pokhara before heading west to Royal Bardiya National Park, where i hope to see crocodiles, elephants, tigers, and the like. After a few days in the park i will return to Kathmandu for my remaining couple of days in Nepal. I fly to Bangkok on the 28th of november. From there i'll head.... who knows where... Loas, Cambodia, and Vietnam look interesting though...
Thanks to those of you who have posted comments. It's nice to read messages from home.