Lost in Kathmandu

I just love this sign. I laughed so much when I came across it. It pretty much sums up my experience in central Kathmandu, I seemed to go round and round in circles. Leaving today after a really interesting couple of days here; got back in the sightseeing zone after too many days sitting on my arse drinking sweet tea and eating chocolate croissants in Pokhara.

Yesterday I got up early and went to Boudhanath before the tourists arrived - at 7.30am you have the Tibetans for company and it's really an amazing experience to be there with them as they walk round the Stupa chanting their mantras quietly to themselves. I then spent the best part of an hour in one of the monasteries in some sort of a puja; it was so powerful. It's really hard to convey in words how it feels to be there with all the monks chanting and the gongs and trumpets blasting. I even got to threw some rice around at appropriate moments which was quite fun.

A successful local bus trip later, squashed in a minibus driven by a 14 year old, I arrived at Pashputinath which is one of the most holy Hindu temples in Nepal. It's also where families cremate their dead on the ghats by the river. People here are much more comfortable with death, possibly because of the belief in reincarnation, possibly because they're in contact with it much more often, I'm not sure.

To top off a fascinating day, I then managed not only to get on another minibus but to recognise where I was and get off at the right point without being manhandled out by the bus workers that hang off the side. They do their best to help silly tourists like me who decide they want the local experience.

And that was all in one day. Here are the rest of the pics. I've not seen enough of Nepal. Trekking isn't Nepal, it doesn't give you much of a feel for how the Nepalese live their lives. Ah well, I'll just have to come back. Maybe after a trip to India for more spiritual searching or something, we'll see. Oh I have the bug now. I knew I shouldn't have started.... I buried it away and tried to do what I was supposed to be doing instead. But now it's multiplying the more I see and do. I'm going to need a cure.

Just 21 days and you too could have legs of steel

That's as long as you're prepared to walk 5 to 7 hours a day, pretty much relentlessly up and down, up and down. The rivers get in the way of the path, it's most inconvenient!

This pic is of Annapurna South at sunrise - you stand in this bowl at the base camp and all around you are mountains. It's just incredible.

Back from my trek around the Annapurna circuit and into the Annapurna base camp and now relaxing in the funky little part of Pokhara, just far enough away from the tourist hell that is the main drag. (Although compared to Kathmandu it's peanuts.) I really do have legs of steel now. I keep feeling them and getting excited - just in time for the ski season. No doubt I'll be forcing you all to feel them too when I get back. Watch out.

Follow the links above for the pics if you have a spare hour. I went a bit mad on the photos and I'm going to let them do the talking as far as the route is concerned. There are lots of trekkers but deservedly so - the route passes through such varied landscapes and cultures and gives amazing views of some of the highest mountains in the world. It has felt very much like a holiday as opposed to travel proper, it's all very set up for Western visitors - porridge, Mars bars, even lasagne for dinner. But it didn't get in the way of the experience, there's a nice "we're in it together" spirit about the whole thing, you see the same people each day and get to chat about how dizzy/tired/hot/cold/hungry/sweaty you feel and how long it took you to get from A to B. (Incidentally, my "trekking Nepali" now extends to all of these descriptions and I've impressed the guides and porters no end.)

It has however really made me think about the impact of tourism here. First off, I spent a lot of the trek fighting off my guide who became increasingly upset when I did not melt into his arms en route. He behaved like a petulant child and we ended up falling out almost daily. As my friend Kathryn said in her cute Canadian accent "God, it's such a high school relationship!". I decided enough was enough after a fortnight of it; we terminated our relationship and I headed into the Annapurna Sanctuary with Kathryn ("did I tell you I do triathlons?") and her guide instead. But it is partly us in the West who have caused this behaviour - it's not unheard of for guides to hook up with their female clients. Which would be fair enough if it was on an equal basis, but it's not. So many of these guys see a Western girlfriend as their ticket to the best sex of their lives... and possibly out of Nepal and to the West. Most Nepalis don't have sex before they are married so the men are fascinated by our freedom to have relationships with whomever we choose. And of course they see all the wealth we flaunt and want some of our "easy life". They don't realise that an "easy life" in the West for them would most likely be on some godawful council estate in a horrible dead-end job, struggling to make ends meet and to integrate into our world. (Unless of course they actually do bag the rich Western girlfriend... )

Moreover, the tourist dollar often doesn't go to the local communities, it goes to some businessman in Kathmandu who has the money to invest in the teahouses. It costs money to import all the goods we "need" as Westerners, goods and services the average Nepali can never afford. And my current personal favourite - Nepalis have to break the law to bring us steaks. As a Hindu country, cows are sacred and it's illegal to kill them, although they may well be passing yak or buffalo meat off as steak, I'm actually not sure. Consider that 30% of the population live below the poverty line, 80% live on under $2 a day and only 48% of women can read and write - and I think we should try and think about our impact a little bit more. There's lots of publicity about plastic water bottles but I think we're having more of a social and cultural impact - and I know it's not all bad either. Just worth thinking about.

I didn't see the same envy and lusting after a western lifestyle in Borneo, but then my experience there was very different. I'm aware I'm not even scratching the surface of the real Nepal, I'm only seeing a tourist version.

I'm still with Kathryn, we're having a lovely relaxing time in Pokhara. We were just saying this morning how easily we could get stuck here. I even look like a hippy, I'm blending in beautifully with the other travellers. Check out this pic. Oh dear, that skirt, call the fashion police.

Meditating on the meaning of life

Well, I've gone from flaming hot f*cks in a ski town (shots of Baileys and Midori set on fire as opposed to anything more interesting I'm afraid) to ten days contemplating the purpose of life in Kopan, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery just outside Kathmandu.

It really has been an amazing experience and at times extremely challenging. I can honestly say that my perspective on my life has shifted somewhat. Being exposed to your own delusions is very uncomfortable to say the least but I am sure what I've learned will stay with me.

The rituals associated with Tibetan Buddhism were at times rather too much but I suspended my disbelief for once and I even did prayers and prostrations. Did you know that before 1959 there were around 6000 monasteries in Tibet? Such a rich spiritual life, so imaginative. If I compare it to the dour Church of Scotland and all those hard pews and mournful hymns... it's a world away. It's no wonder nobody goes anymore.

I did also realise at one point that four years ago at this time I was away with the fairies at the closing parties in Ibiza... and now there I was chanting mantras and meditating for 5 hours a day. I guess it's all about altered states of consciousness really. I even managed to stay completely silent for a day and a half. Yes, that's 36 hours. (It was supposed to be 48 but I just couldn't do it. I actually started talking to myself. You know how I love the sound of my voice.)

Struggling to cope with frantic Kathmandu after so much peace.... so having spent a fortune on fake trekking gear I'm off to the Himalayas tomorrow. Back in about 4 weeks, unless I get kidnapped by Maoist rebels.

Pics of monastic life are here. Haven't got nearly as many of the monks as I'd have liked, it seemed somewhat disrespectful to snap away at them doing their mantras. Have a look at the sunrise ones. 5.30am over the Kathmandu valley. Just beautiful.

Wanaka moments

I'm typing this in Wellington having just left Catherine; it was so great to see a London friend! Here are the pics, she looks fantastic. We've drunk loads of coffee and caught up on the last 6 months.

I wanted to capture my favourite moments from the season in Wanaka before I move on to the next chapter. It really has been great, particularly the last month as I've got to know people better and relaxed into myself a bit more. Sod travelling proper. You never get beyond the standard travel chat: "so where you from? / where you been? / where you going?" It's all very superficial. I must start working on my travel chat-up lines. Something along the lines of: "so what mess are you running away from then?" would yield much more interesting material, I'm sure.

As ever, it's people who make your world. So here's the rolecall of those people and moments.

Jane, who has been the best possible roomie ever. I knew we were going to get on just grand when we had an evening swapping stories of misbehaving madness. Jane had visions of Medusa-style snakes in her companion's hair this NY. Fantastic. We have dominated 10A for two months; only Morton the Danish hunter has got close to disturbing this domination.

Russ and Jesse for arriving like little angels sent by the universe to play with me. The best night was being hijacked by them on the way back home from yoga class and dragged to Canteen. I'd been walking along the street feeling really sad about Nathan but several Speights and bourbon shots later, I had trouble even remembering his name. Thanks boys.

Hours spent trying to impress Jonno the chef with my cooking and baking. I must have made scones about six times and he still said they were rockcakes, not scones. But they did taste good. And you should have tasted Claire's recipe for flourless chocolate cake that I made for Russ and Jesse's BBQ.

Great chairlift chat with Daisy and Leigh, top ski mates and coffee drinkers. Or tea in Leigh's case because he is just so English.

Skiing fast with Russ one sunny afternoon in the Saddle; yet again, he helped me turn my day around. There was just so much life philosophy in that afternoon. And I rocked! At least until I fell over.

Hammering Jagerbombs with sleazy Colin and holding my own in the & Bar with the kids til way past 2am one Saturday - displaying my usual mature attitude to emotional upset. Yes, booze works. At least for a few hours and possibly longer depending on the carnage you manage to create! That night was pretty mild. I must finally be maturing. Pics of pub nights and things here. On the same sort of note, trying to get a hit from 'chew' supplied by Jesse - thus proving once and for all that I am a sensation-seeking nightmare all on my own and do not require the influence of Iain Cassidy.

Lunch at the Glenorchy Cafe with Russ. Shockingly beautiful scenery, lovely food, fantastic company. A really great day; in fact I'd go as far as to say awesome! (in a cheesy American game show host accent of course.) Pics of the day trips here.

Last day in the Motatapu chutes with Nick, and realising just how much my skiing had come on in the 8 weeks. It was so still and quiet and so beautiful back there away from the lifts and the people, I felt a bit tearful when we'd got to the bottom! Here's some pics of the ski area. Amazing skiing, amazing views. Oh I love skiing. Have I said that before? Oh - another top ski moment was landing that jump off the "cliff" (aka rock) with Jon. There's video evidence of me failing to land it (of course), but not of the success. Jon was great for terrifying the living daylights out of me; all very good for my skiing!

And finally.... swimming in the lake after walking a couple of hours to this secluded beach. I was the only one there for miles. Sun shining, bits freezing, totally exhiliarating. Think this was better than swimming in the sea on the West Coast but only marginally. I've got some great pics of the scenery around Wanaka, have a look.

Another thing I've really enjoyed about Wanaka is the total absence of metrosexuals. Here, it's all about snow/ ski kit/ ski technique and maybe a bit of rugby/beer. You'd never catch this lot poncing around Selfridges on a Saturday afternoon drinking Pinot Grigio and spending shedloads of cash on Nicole Farhi jumpers. Or fretting about their 'issues' for that matter. Issue = a bad day on the hill.

I've just loved Wanaka, I've loved New Zealand and I'll be back. I've been living in a touristy resort town and hanging out with Brits, Australians and Americans, I've not really experienced New Zealand at all. I want to come back and do a road trip and some serious hiking and camping; so I'll need to find some proper outdoor mates who realise a walk is more than a half hour to the nearest gastropub for lunch.

Here are all the pics, you'll need a while but I have organised them a bit so you can peruse at leisure!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10618273@N00/collections/72157602035840437/

Skiing as life philosophy

I am constantly amazed at how much life philosophy there is in skiing. Yes, really. Quite unexpected, I thought I was just heading over here to indulge myself, but I've learnt some good life lessons. My life and who I am is reflected in my skiing. Honestly, I've not lost it (well, not any more than usual), it's true.

• Firstly, don't overthink. Just do it. Don't let your head get in the way.
  
• Secondly, it's not rocket science, it's really quite simple. It's all about staying in balance.


• Thirdly, commit. Don't stand at the top of the chute and scare yourself out of it. Go for it. And keep moving, don't hang out in the turn. Or you'll come unstuck and hit a rock.
  

I had a really sad day the other day, got a really upsetting mail and couldn't get it out of my head. It was even interfering with my skiing. (The bastard.) And just as I was feeling particularly sorry for myself, Russ came up behind me and asked if I wanted company for the afternoon; he's the instructor I've skied with the most and we've become friends. He had managed to escape the evil snow school clutches to get in some decent skiing at last. So I worked very hard to keep up with him for the afternoon, he's an old ski racer so it was quite hard (and I know he was being kind to me)....and then just at the end of the day, I took a huge fall whilst whacking unbalanced into an unseen mogul. Biggest one yet by far, I hurtled down the hill at great speed. And I got up, dusted myself down, smiled, put my skis back on and kept moving. Had a great afternoon, totally turned the whole day around. Russ told me I need to learn to self-arrest. How true!

You see? There are so many life lessons in skiing.

I don't want to leave. My time here is coming to an end all too soon as I knew it would. Here's a kea surveying the view. Keas are these cool kiwi parrots that munch everything in sight including inedible things like rubber on windscreen wipers.

Chris Burnie is a machine

I had suspected it all along but I got confirmation the other week. Hooked up with Chris and his girlfriend Chrissy the other day at Cardrona, it was so great to see a Batu Puteh face. It was Chris' first day on skis, so off he went to his lesson in the morning whilst we explored. (As best as we could as it is Cardrona after all and really boring unless you like terrain parks. I will post the pics of me jumping / falling off kickers when I get them. I am just too classy for the park. Something like that anyway.)

Chris was full of the joys at lunchtime because his instructor had told him he was close to parallel skiing. Yeah, right, thought I, they always tell you you're better than you are. But no. By the end of the afternoon Chris was skiing all over the hill. I was so impressed! So sick! Obviously it's those years as a gymnast which have given him those abs and that back. And the balls to go for it. It's so unfair. He's got a 1st in neuroscience from Cambridge too. And he's a great guy. In fact I hate him.... so I made sure to take him down some baby bumps just as he was getting really cocky. Result! As you can see above.

Life as a ski bum

Here's the view over the lake as the sun sets, it's so amazing and I still appreciate it every day. I've been here for a month now and life has settled into a nice little rhythm. But I'm really a very bad ski bum. Real ski bums are very very poor but I keep forgetting I'm not earning. I just cannot live without at least one latte a day and custom made footbeds for my ski boots.

There are however are some tricks to being a bad ski bum. Firstly, hitch up the road. Not only does it save you $25 a day, you also meet some interesting people. And I am sure being female helps hugely with the transport process. I've even been lucky enough to get an extremely nice dinner out of it, followed by mojitos and some single malt. My (now extremely grotty) puma trainers didn't quite live up to the occasion.... Even better, I skiied with an ex ski-patroller (for those not in the know, these guys are God on the mountain, way higher than instructors on the cool scale. You've got to be able to ski anything with a stretcher behind you. And you get to set off avalanche bombs.) He reckoned the only thing wrong with my skiing was too much oestregen in my body. Praise indeed. Although I wasn't quite so happy as he zipped off down this gnarly chute expecting me to follow.

I had such a great day today. Probably the best one yet. It's all just coming together and I've been working hard at it for the last few weeks so it's very gratifying. I just love skiing so much. It's different every time as the snow conditions and the terrain changes and it's all about being able to respond to that as you move and maintain your balance and technique. Along with windsurfing, it has the ability to tune me out of all the other thoughts in my head - and for the whole day too. Skiied with a guy from Lake Tahoe today, he's really good and was taking me over jumps and down some really narrow chutes.... Oh I love skiing!! Have I said that already? I'm still not bored of it. I can talk about it for hours. I've even developed a penchant for ski perving. You go into a gear shop and spend time nerding over all the kit you can't afford. IPT bindings and side cuts anyone?

My roommate is a fantastic girl called Jane who's from Sydney and is a real free spirit, unlike me who's just playing at it for a while! We swap life adventures and indulge in vicarious gossip about the gang in the hostel. She's really making my time in Wanaka, it's a real stroke of luck.

You'll also be amazed to know I've been doing loads of cooking and baking. There's a real live decent chef in our place, he normally works for Bill Grainger (some famous Ossie chef). Many an evening has been spent trying and failing to impress him with my efforts. I've always mixed it a bit too long/ not cooked the flour enough/ created too many dishes to wash up/ not thought about the presentation enough.... Richard Valle Jones, eat your heart out. It's mussels night tomorrow. (I told you, a very bad budget traveller.)