Kathmandu-Delhi-London 23 February 2009

We flew home ahead of everyone else.

Checked in for the flight - more bureacracy - first you must queue at the bank and pay departure tax (lower for us than the others because we were flying out via Delhi), then change your Rupees for Dollars (no sterling), then check in with your receipt for the departure tax.

We were in the departure lounge when they announced our flight was delayed by an hour and a half. Jenny had visions of missing the connecton at Delhi - in which case the next flight was the following day - when she was supposed to be in Bristol teaching.

However, Jet Air staff re-assured us that they would hold the connecting flight at Delhi.

On arrival at Delhi we spotted that our cases, along with half a dozen others, were offloaded immediately and whisked away across the tarmac to our onward flight. We in the meantime were met at the terminal by Jet Air staff who had our boarding cards for the Heathrow flight, which had indeed been held for us. They marched us through security (Mark carrying his boots to avoid further delaying and adding to Jenny's stress level by putting them bac on and doing the laces) and onto our flight.

The perfect connection - no hanging around at all.

Mount Everest/Kathmandu 22 February 2009

Early start (natch - do you detect a theme developing here?) for our Buddha Air flight to see Mount Everest up close - or at least as close as I ever want to get (Mark). The plane was even tinier than the day before but the flight was mercifully smooth as we were much higher than the day before.

On landing we were dropped off at the Boudha Stupa after which we haggled for taxis back to the hotel - 250 Nepali Rupees ( approx. £2.25) the eventual price for a cross town ride.

Using the Lonely Planet as a guide we explored the older part of Kathmandu eventually finding the Kumari Bahal - home of Nepal's living goddess - in Durbar Square.

Rounded the day off with another swim in the hotel pool and dinner at the same place we found on the first night.

Chitwan National Park 21 February 2009

Another early start - who said this was a holiday?

Eerie canoe ride across the river in the morning mist to enter the park for a jeep safari.

Saw deer.

And a rhinocerus.

As well as buffalo and crocodiles. We allegedly saw a sloth bear but only the guide could see it; "It's about 10 metres beyond that tree and a metre to the right." If only it would move we might have a chance.

Continued to the Gharial crocodile breeding centre. Here we saw our only tiger of the holiday. Sadly she was in a pen as her mother was a man-eater who was shot before she had learned to hunt so she couldn't fend for herself in the wild.

Afternoon flight back to Kathmandu in a 18 seater plan with Buddha Air http://www.buddhaair.com/index.php . The flight was only short but turbulent. We were glad to have our feet back on the ground. We stayed again at the Shanker Hotel and had dinner at the Rum Doodle Bar - as used by Everest Expeditions (though what sort of a recommendation is that - these guys voluntarily go and camp at extreme altitude in sub-zero temperatures) http://www.therumdoodle.com/.

Chitwan National Park 20 February 2009

After an early morning walk in the National Park - during which we again saw no tiger (probably good thing) - we joined in the elephant bathing.

We seemed to get wetter than the elephants!

In the afternoon we took a canoe down-river.

We saw Marsh Mugger crocodiles.

And the very rare fish-eating (we hope somebody told them) gharial crocodile.

We disembarked to find a rhino in amongst the livestock.

At the elephant breeding centre there was a mum with twins aged 3 months.

Chitwan National Park 19 February 2009

Drove to Chitwan National Park, descending nearly a kilometre from the Himalayan foothills to the Terrai Plan, barely 200m above sea level even though it is nearly 1000 mile from the sea, where we stayed at the Royal Park Hotel http://www.royalparkhotel.com.np/welcome.html.

Elephant safari in the aternoon. We spotted a one-horned rhino in the elephant grass.

Also saw deer and wild boar, but no tiger.

Bandipur 18 February 2009

5 hour walk along the ridge of mountains linking Bandipur with Rangkot.

Rangkot is a Magar village with some of the last surviving examples of the typical round house design.

Tried locally spirit distilled from Maize.

Bandipur 17 February 2009

Breakfast in the delightful garden of the Himalayan Encounters http://www.himalayanencounters.com/ office befre driving to Bandipur - a mountain village in the Newari style, where we stayed at The Old Inn. This offered delightful wod-beamed rooms, higgledy piggledy through the building, delightful food and, allegedly, the hottest showers in Bandipur though not, it turned out, at 6.30am.

Late afternoon walk around the village on dusty tracks that presumably degenerate into impassable mud in the monsoon. Kids playing badminton with a shuttlecock improvised out of cassette tape.