• Kolkata moments [14/50]

    Kolkata moments [14/50]

    Kolkata in West Bengal, India, is possible one of the most exciting and challenging cities that I have ever visited; nothing quite prepares you for it. I remember when I first came here in the mid-1990s how I felt a combination of fear, excitement, and horror, all at the same time, each emotion competing for…

  • Pokhara [13/50]

    Pokhara [13/50]

    I spent the past week or so in Pokhara, Nepal’s second city after Kathmandu, a fairly relaxed city with a smallish population. It sits on a lake and has sporadic views of the Himalayas, most notably the scary looking Machhapuchhre occasionally sneaks a peak between the clouds. Machhapuchhre, or Fishtail,  has never been climbed,  not…

  • Annapurna says NO! [12/50]

    Annapurna says NO! [12/50]

    I spent the past two weeks hiking to Manang and back on the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal. It is a spectacular trek; one of the world’s greatest high altitude treks. The village of Manang is at about 4000 meters, well above the snow line and yes, it snowed a lot. I had planned to go…

  • Annapurna Circuit Nepal [11/50]

    Annapurna Circuit Nepal [11/50]

    At the moment, I’m a place called Manang on the Annapurna Circuit in the Nepalese Himalayas. I hiked for six days to get here; it takes about 15-20 days to do the complete Circuit which involves hiking over the Thorung La Pass which at 5400 metres, it perhaps the world’s highest. It has snowed pretty…

  • Rishikesh pancake therapy…[10/50]

    Rishikesh pancake therapy…[10/50]

    I have spent the past week in Rishikesh in the state of Uttrakhand in Northern India. It is relaxed and chilled here, a backpacker backwater of the 1960s hippy trail. The town is surrounded by mountains on either side with the clear and fast-running Ganges slithering between it connected by two wobbly suspension bridges. The…

  • Today I woke up with hives! [9/50]

    Today I woke up with hives! [9/50]

    Today I work up with hives! But I wasn’t sure that it was hives. I thought that it might be rabies. Or even Malaria. Or perhaps even Typhoid. What are the symptoms of Typhoid again? I was worried because I had spots all over me and I spent half the night scratching.  I threw my…