INDIA:                                     Bombay: (1993) Bombay was not a very pleasant city to spend a few days, but I do want to visit India thoroughly later. Where to stay: I stayed at the Salvation Army which costed US$ 2 for a dorm bed (incl. breakfast) What to do: I enjoyed the trip to Elephant Island and the caves there. Agra (Oct 2002): Taj Mahal is simply incredibly beautiful and a must if you're in the area. The marble building that reflects itself in the water lined in the middle of the passage leading up to it, is stunning and worth the trip to Agra (no matter how you get there) plus the Euro 16,- entrance fee (includes the Agra Fort and a couple of other temples in Agra also). Taj Mahal is just as beautiful seen at a distance as at arm's length. The decorations of semi-precious stones n flower patterns, the carvings of the marble, all make Taj Mahal so incredible. Do also check out the arches at the sides of the entrance as they will frame your photos in beautiful way. The Hotel Ganga Ratan not far from the Taj Mahal is quite good. It's quoted price is Euro 25,- for a double but this is highly negotiable (in low season we easily got it down to Euro 15,-). Getting there and away: From Delhi there are trains, buses and taxis to Agra. The trains and buses are easiest to get early in the morning with advance booking. From Delhi Airport you can get to Agra and back staying over in Agra and having the taxi at your disposal for 36 hrs for Euro 78,- (hotel, food and entrance fee to Taj Mahal not included),  The taxi will take you to a couple of carpet/souvenir shops in Agra and Delhi, but this is important for the driver who gets a commission whether you buy anything or not The shops are expensive and have great products, and nice to browse. Don't feel pressured to buy anything. The prices are horrendous - you'll even get the same items at the airport for half the price these places give you.  Delhi:  If you're desperate for a bed at the airport (for one of the many sunrise flights out of Delhi), there's a dormitory just behind the car park by the terminal. It's not good value at all for a bed with not too clean sheets at Euro 5,- but it's very convenient. Most travellers seem to prefer sleeping in the chairs in the transit hall, though, for free.  Getting there and away: See Agra above. ------------ NEPAL (Oct 2002) The land of Everest, Nepal is without doubt best known and visited mostly for its dramatic and spectacular mountains. Rightly so;  8 of the 10 highest mountains in the world are in Nepal, and all of these have peaks over 8000 meters. However, Nepal has a lot more to offer, which most find out when visiting the old Durbar square of Kathmandu or the neighbouring towns Patan and Bhaktapur with their magnificent old temples. Set off some extra days in Kathmandu to take in theses attractions also. You can even go on a tiger or rhino safari in the south of Nepal. Nepal is a poor country and prices are sometimes almost embarrassingly cheap for westerners. Some good guesthouses on the treks have double rooms for as low as Euro 1,10. Food is also very inexpensive. For souvenirs and gear you will have to bargain, but it's also important you remember the value of the Nepal Rupee. That last 50 rupees (Euro 0,70) in a bargain usually means a whole lot more to the seller than to you. Everyone says the best time to visit Nepal is October to November as it's still warm, the air is clear and the views great. This means that you'll not be alone, but also that you should pack accordingly - that means mostly light clothes. It's amazing to see so many backpackers walking around in Kathmandu with heavy mountain boots and thick woollen socks in almost 30 degrees Celsius. No wonder the guide books says the smells of Kathmandu can take some getting used to... Bring your sandals!  Kathmandu: Even though Kathmandu is a busy town, it's not stressful like bigger towns in India. Kathmandu has a very nice atmosphere. However, the air pollution is quite bad. It also has everything from backpacker restaurants, internet cafes and trekking gear shops, to 450 year old magnificent temples with exquisite carvings and stupas with Buddha's eyes watching over everything. However, the Kathmandu valley has more to offer than what you find in Kathmandu city. Don't miss out on day trips to the more quiet and old Bhaktapur with beautiful temples and no traffic, or temple town Patan, or the views of the Himalayas from village Nagarkot. Flying in you will get a glimpse of the Himalayas, and lying in a valley it's quite a fun approach over the hilltops surrounding the town. From the airport you arrange with the taxi guys to be taken to your preferred hotel district (Euro 2,50 to Thamel). They will take you to their preferred hotel (not yours) where they get a nice commission if you choose to stay. If the place/price is not to your liking, simply walk away and look for a room on your own.  Indian rupees can be used everywhere, so if you arrive from India and have enough left over for the taxi, you don't need to exchange money at the airport. In Thamel around the corner on Kantipath Rd, Standard Chartered Bank has an ATM machine that take intl credit cards and is open 24 hrs. There's another ATM opposite the Third Eye Restaurant, and even one more at the Kathmandu Guest House, so getting cash is never a problem. Places to stay: of the ca 10 places we checked out, the Pilgrim Guest House (or Hotel Pilgrim) was the nicest but was a bit expensive at Euro 20 for the nice rooms. They had simpler rooms at Euro 10, but not good value. The second nicest was Marco Polo Guest House ( marcopolo@wlink.com.np ) with good rooms at great value for Euro 4,- for a double with private bath. It's also very central in Thamel. The Garden Guest House at the outskirts of Thamel had a nice garden with good views of mountains, but rooms were very basic and it is a bit out of the way. Hotel Florid also had a nice garden but rooms again were very basic. What to do: The Thamel area is the hotel, restaurant, internet, tour, and shopping area of Kathmandu. The most popular souvenirs seems to be the thankas (Tibetan paintings in different categories; among them the wheel of life, Buddha's life and meditation motifs), and t-shirts with what ever you want machine embroidered on (everything from trekking routes to the Buddha's eyes and you can also bring your fleece jacket, hat or backpack to be done if you get carried away). There are also lots of statues, pendants, bracelets, nice shirts and trousers, pashmina scarves and Tibetan copy artefacts to spend your rupees on. Durbar Square is the old temple area. It's an entry fee of Euro 3,- to Durbar Square, but it is valid for 7 days and goes to conservation of the temples. The beautiful temples have great carvings, especially on the struts. There are Sadhus (ascetics with hair longer than themselves) an Shaivites (holy men in bright orange costumes and foreheads painted  with ash and colour) who are more than willing to be photographed for a small donation.  The grand stupa Swayambunath to the west of Durbar Square/Thamel is a nice half hour walk away and definitely a must see. The entry fee is only Euro 0,70. There is a long and steep stairway leading up to it. The stupa is surrounded by lots of shrines and statues and there are monasteries there also with practising monks and great Buddha statues. The stupa itself is one of the most photographed sights in Kathmandu, with the Buddha eyes overseeing Kathmandu and the other parts of the valley. The views are really great from here. Bhaktapur : It's only ca 20 minutes by taxi (Euro 4,-) to Bhaktapur. It's a pricey Euro 10,- (7 day pass) to enter this old town but it's worth it. The Durbar Square is much more spacious than the one in Kathmandu. There are some magnificent temples and a nice atmosphere here. There is also a pottery market in Bhaktapur worth checking out. Patan: The Durbar square of Patan is also a must. It is more crowded than Bhaktapur though, but has a lot of beautiful temples. Just outside the Durbar Square is the Golden temple with a monastery attached. The temple is very impressive, but the place is swarming with big rats, so it's not so enjoyable to stroll around there.  Nagarkot: The views from Nagarkot are special, even though the mountain ranges are very far away. Still it's definitely worth the trip up there, and it's a nice getaway from the busy streets of Kathmandu. There are buses irregularly from Bhaktapur taking up to two hours, or you can get a taxi from Kathmandu. Pokhara: Pokhara has a much more relaxed countryside feel to it than Kathmandu. Situated by the lake Phewa with the majestic and dramatic Annapurna mts as a backdrop, Pokhara is a beautiful and peaceful place. The lakeside area has everything that's nice about a special backpacker’s haven; some quiet pleasant guest houses, very little traffic, some souvenir shops and clothes shops, good bookstores with lots of second hand and new books, lots of nice restaurants with roof top views and pleasant gardens, and stunning scenery.  When you  arrive with the bus, you stop some distance outside the Lakeside area where the main hotel/backpacker strip is. There will be a horde of taxi touts waiting eagerly for you, and as soon as you step out of the  bus, you'll have 15-20 taxi touts persuading you (at the same time) to let them take you to their hotel. Just pick the one you feel is nicer, to get away from the chaos. It's a standard fare of Euro 1,- to Lakeside, and some taxis might even take you to your choice of hotel before theirs (not without marketing their own for the whole 5 min trip though). The restaurants in Pokhara all seem to have the same idea; a diverse menu (something for everyone), a long cocktail list, a roof top dinner area and a garden or front area for those who like to sit outside, and a daily video running for those inside. They also seem to have the same idea of how food should taste; it ain't food if it ain't tasting garlic! It's amazing just how similar spaghetti, burritos and moussaka can taste if you use enough garlic...  Either some Nepalese have the impression that western tourists are obsessed with germ-free food, or they have a not too good English Phrase Book. On a huge board in front of a Pokhara restaurant, I found the following information: "All vegetables soaked in iodine!". Somehow I never found out if the food was any good there...   Where to stay: The Lubbly Jubbly Guesthouse has a nice open sitting area and nice clean double rooms with bath room for only Euro 2,75. It's a good place to stay, but their trekking agency is run by a guy who is pushing you to choose more expensive solutions and not telling the truth about what the different options include. Better go straight to our great guide Surendra at hmtpkr@mos.com.np and his porter friend Pradeep. You're guaranteed a wonderful trek and a good humoured companion that will make sure you get good rooms and food along the trek, as well as good company. An even better option for rooms is the lovely and peaceful Pokhara Peace Home in the next side street (south). They have even nicer rooms, a big nice garden, and the rooms have views to the mountains. For Euro 2,75 it's a great place. Things to do: It's  really nice to do nothing in Pokhara, just hang around and read a book lakeside and enjoy the atmosphere and scenery. The views of the mountains are better from the Damside area, especially from the Fish Tale Lodge across the lake (you get there by a rope-pull raft). There are great views from the hilltop Sarangot, closer to the mts, but you don't get the lake in front like at Fish Tail Lodge. The very best view is probably from the World Peace Pagoda overlooking the lake and the mts. It is quite a beautiful pagoda or stupa, with four golden Buddha statues. You can take a boat across the lake for Euro 2,- then climb the hill through the forest. This is a steep 45 min walk and it's damp, so you'll probably find you've been bitten by a leech or two  (you won't notice it apart from some  trickling blood on your foot). There are some great viewpoints on the way up also. Going back down, you can use the other side of the hill and walk by the Devi Falls. The falls are quite nice and special as it has dug a deep gorge where it just disappears. Almost next to the falls (just before you reach them going this way from the pagoda) is a Tibetan refugee village where they sell Tibetan artefacts.. But, first and foremost, the thing to do is TREKKING . From Pokhara you can get everything from 2-6 days treks ranging from low altitude walks (mostly between 2000 to 3000m), to the three weeks Annapurna Circuit trek where you reach 5400m and go behind the Annapurna range and into the Tibetan plateau in Mustang.    In Mustang it's dry arid hillsides and deep gorges with snow peaks rising above. Quite different from the lush hillsides on the southern part of the Annapurnas. It also gets colder on this side with some strong winds, so a windbreaker is not a bad idea. It's very beautiful and also the villages are quite different in their Tibetan influence. You can also fly in to this area by Jomsom (2700m). Its Euro 65,- one way. You also need a trekking permit costing Euro 26,- (that goes for the whole Annapurna conservation area). In Jomsom the Hotel Snowland across from the airport has good doubles with bathroom for Euro 4,-. From Jomsom it's an easy flat (just walk on the river bed) 3,5 hours walk to Kagbeni, the northern most part of Mustang you get unless you make a special trek with agencies,  costing US$ 700 just for the ten day permit. This is "the Last Forbidden Kingdom" that was totally closed to tourism until 1992. Kagbeni is a beautiful place with a very old (from 1429) monastery that accepts visitors (entry fee of Euro 1,50). Inside the monastery the monks will show you around and you can see books that are close to 800 years old with gold and silver painted letters. 200 years ago this was part of Tibet, according to the monks. Opposite the monastery are ruins of an old palace. Kagbeni is situated at the bottom of a gorge with apple tree fields along the river to the east. It's really beautiful in the main tourist season of October/November with the autumn colours. The Mustang area is famous for its apples and apple brandy. Do try the Mustang Coffee while there! From Kagbeni it's another 4 - 5 hours all steep uphill to the holy place of Muktinath at 3800m. In Muktinath the Royal Mustang has good doubles for Euro 1,10 or Euro 3 including private bathroom. just below Muktinath is the beautiful village Jarkoth with its red monastery on the edge of the ridge the village is built on. Muktinath is probably a better option for staying overnight, but Jarkoth is much more interesting as a village. In October and November it's usually quite warm during the day and you'll need to dress lightly (T-shirt and thin trousers or shorts) on most parts of the treks. Many choose to hire a guide and a porter (it's said in Nepal that the tourists that are lazy and load everything on the porter will be reincarnated as a mule, so their time of carrying heavy loads will come). The guides and porters are usually good company and have lots to offer when it comes to making the treks even more interesting. We were very lucky with Surendra ( hmtpkr@mos.com.np or chandrat@mos.com.np ) and Pradeep  and recommend them highly. They definitely made our trek special and more fun, as well as taking good care of us. The popular way to do treks is to stay at tea houses along the treks. These Tea Houses might have been just that way back when, but these days they are quite big guest houses with restaurants and plenty of rooms, at least along the Ghorepani trek. Still, it's usually very cosy, and you meet other trekkers and guides at dinner and around the fire place in the evening, and it's a great way to exchange experiences and advise for further travels/treks. The Ghorepani trek (also called The Annapurna Panorama):  The Ghorepani trek takes you through lots of nice villages, some on the hillsides in between the rice terraces, some on mountain ridges with spectacular views, and some in deep valleys. You go through thick forests of Rhododendron, cross beautiful water falls and swinging hanging bridges. You stay at nice guesthouses and enjoy the atmosphere of the Nepali villages. The climax is the sunrise from Poon Hill with panoramic view of the Annapurna range and the Dhaulagiri range.  Day 1: The five-day trek starts at Naya Pul (ca one hour by taxi from Pokhara). the short stretch to Birethanti and the first two hours towards Ghandruk is fairly flat and easy walking. The next three hours to Ghandruk, however, are at times quite steep. You're walking up between small villages in the middle of rice terraces on one side of a deep gorge with a river at the bottom. On clear days, you have the snow-capped Annapurnas in front of you most of the time. Ghandruk (at 1960m) is a beautiful quiet village where it's about time to stop and rest for the evening. It's a six hour walk total, including lunch and rests, if you walk at very slow and relaxed pace. At Ghandruk, ca 10 min walk up into the village, you find the friendly and spotless Hotel Sakura Restaurant. Doubles here are Euro 2,- and the food is good. It's run by a young and very nice couple.     Surendra's drawing of the view from Hotel Sakura, Ghandruk Day 2: You walk on in a western direction to Tadapani. This is an easy stretch only 4 - 4,5 hours of slow relaxed walking, and there are few steep climbs. Close to Tadapani you enter a Rhododendron forest. In most other places of the world, the rhododendron is more of a big bush, but in Nepal they grow to big trees. This must be an amazing sight in March when the flowers bloom, but it's still really special in October even without the flowers. Tadapani (2680m) is a very small village and gets easily a bit packed, and staying at Hotel Sakura in Ghandruk was much cosier. In Tadapani, the Himalaya Guesthouse just as you enter the village, has basic doubles for Euro 1,75. It's a popular place an gets crowded, so if you want it more quiet you might want to try one of the other guest houses. Some walk on as this is such a short walk (starting at ca 0800, you're there at 1:00 pm with a long lunch on the way). However, the views are much better here than at the next village Bathanti. You are almost right under Annapurna South. Day 3: It gets steep at the middle of day 3. The first hour to Bathanti has some steep climbs and from there to Deorali at 3200m, it's a scenic steep climb criss-crossing a creek with many pretty water falls. After Deorali it's an easier up and down walk for a while, before it drops towards Ghorepani (the blue village). You will have good views of Ghorepani, and if weather is clear you'll look straight at Dhaulagiri (8172m) as you approach the ridge before the descent to Ghorepani (take the trail down to the right - as the trail straight ahead leads to the neighbouring Lower Ghorepani without the views). In Upper Ghorepani, the Hotel Snowland on the trail up to Poon Hill, has spotless rooms with a view for Euro 2,-. Ghorepani (at 2860m) is sort of a cross-roads with the last stretch of the Annapurna Circuit trek and the beginning of the Jomsom trek, so many trekkers come here. Ghorepani caters according to this demand and is quite developed.  Day 4: First thing in the morning before sunrise (start at 0500 hrs), you head up to the top of Poon Hill (where but in Nepal would a mountain peak of 3210m be called a hill?) for stunning views at sunrise. Actually, the views are great long before sunrise, and seeing the snow-capped Himalayan mountains under the stars is breathtaking (not counting the steep ascent to 3200m). You can see Dhaulagiri (8172m) and  the whole Annapurna range in one incredible panoramic view from the top, an the sunrise gives the snow peaks a golden colour. After a few rolls of film and about an hours time you head down again for breakfast. Between 0830 and 0900 you start the long and steep descent from Ghorepani to Thikedunga or Hile. This is tough on your knees and back of your legs as you descend almost 1500m, mostly down stone stairs (a walking stick or two can be of good help here). In Hile (ca 1475m), the Annapurna Guesthouse has nice double rooms for Euro 1,40. Don't forget to stretch out the back of your legs properly - they will hurt quite bad the next day! Day 5: It's an easy walk back to Birethanti and Naya Pul - taking 3,5 hrs. From Naya Pul there are lots of taxis to Pokhara, where you can get a well-deserved foot/leg massage for Euro 2,50. Getting there and away: The ordinary tourist bus to Pokhara costs Euro 3,25 and takes ca 7 hours including a couple of stops at restaurants along the way. It leaves at 0700 from the Bus station on Kantipath Rd in Thamel. Most hotels in Kathmandu can book the bus in advance for you. The Air Bus (booking office is close to Lubbly Jubbly in Pokhara) has air-con, and a hostess serves you soda and mineral water along the trip. It's got much better seats and space, and is  worth trying if you care for a little extra comfort on the 6 hour journey. It's Euro 6,50.