I spent a very enjoyable night in Pokhara after flying out from Jomson at the end of the Annapurna circuit.  Pokhara is set beside the Phewa lake in Western Nepal and is located within 50 miles of 3 of the world’s highest mountains: Manaslu, Annapurna and Dhaulagiri.

The view of the sunrise over the Phewa Lake where I sat and had breakfast outside my hotel.

Unfortunately my visit to Pokhara was cut short.   Stephanie was meant to meet me there, h0wever a huge thunderstorm (complete with a theatrical display of thunder and lightning) cancelled her flight from Kathmandu.  The lightning also unfortunately killed a number of people in Nepal.

After much ‘fuffing’ (my new word for the day and much more polite than what I originally used in its place) around, I ended up driving back to Kathmandu early the next morning to meet her.  We had to cancel our Pokhara excursion.  This turned out to be a remarkable drive.  I made the mistake of sitting in the front seat and had to change my underpants as soon as I reached Kathmandu.

Stephanie and I have had a wonderful 3 days here in Kathmandu.  Despite numerous offers I have not bought any hash.  We stayed at the beautiful ‘Hotel Courtyard‘ in the tourist district of Thamel.  It is perhaps the most friendly and relaxing hotel I have ever stayed in.

For those of you who read my Annapurna circuit post (to do so click here),   you may remember I met the hairiest dog I have ever seen.  I thought at the time he was perhaps a freak of nature.  Well it turns out he (or she) comes from a breed called the ‘Tibetan Terrier’.  The Hotel Courtyard also has it’s own Tibetan Terrier which as you see below can also work in either direction. Apparently the hair is so long over their eyes, to shield them from the glare of the sun off the snow and stop them going snow blind.

Which end does he eat through?

Tomorrow morning our team leaves for the 5 – 6 day drive into Tibet and Everest basecamp.  I am very excited to be leaving, tinged with the sadness of saying goodbye to Stephanie tomorrow morning for two months.

It is not every day you get a chance to live your dreams. Attempting Everest has been a long-term dream for me, and I consider myself even more fortunate after last year’s expedition to have a second chance.

There is no way  I would have managed this opportunity without the support of my expedition sponsor’s:

–  John Foord (Main Expedition Sponsor)

Together with John Foord Valuation director Gregory Dickersen (L) and Managing Director Graham Copland (R)

–  UFIT (Physical training consultants)

Strength training with Darren Blakeley from UFIT

To Graham Copland, Gregory Dickersen, GT and the team from John Foord, thank you so much.

To Darren Blakeley and the team from UFIT, I am feeling fit as a fiddle and physically ready to climb to the top of the world. All thanks to you.

Well my next post will be from the Tibetan Plateau, so until then this is Axe signing out from Kathmandu.