Happy Little Vegemites

G'day cobbers , how are ya? Well, it's been a ridgy-didge little ripper of a trip so far. We're stoked to have made it to Oz without Jools cracking the shits and knocking four shades of blue outa me. We've been busy as a one-legged man at an arse-kicking contest but she'll be right - we're on a good wicket.

So, the plan is to roll out our swags in W.A with the sandgropers for a month, do some hard yakka then hit the bitumen out into the back o' Bourke for a spot of fossicking. Then shoot through for Chrissie in Brissie with the rellies, sink a few schooners and sit about like a pair of lazy bludgers - perhaps spend an arvo or two watching the bodgy, jumped-up, piss-weak Poms getting tonked for six. Fair dinkum mate. Maybe bring in the new year with the banana benders, then join the Mexicans for Oz Day with lamingtons, pavlovas, snags and prawns (on the barbie) all round. We'll be flat out like a lizard drinking and hope to meet the croweaters for a butchers or two. No worries.

Hopefully the weather will be corking and we can don the sunnies, thongs, togs and budgie-smugglers and get out in the surf with the other shark biscuits. Holey dooley.

You may think I've a few roos loose in the top paddock but fair-go, I'm not one to come the raw prawn. Call me a flamin' galah if you wish.

Well, bloody oath, I've had a fair crak of the whip - all this gasbagging, I'm dry as a dead dingo's donger. Time to hit the bottle-o to pick up a carton of stubbies and get a gutful of piss. Strewth, after a few coldies (and I'm no two-pot screamer) I'll be as much use as tits on a bull. She'll be apples. Strewth.....

Kathman-don't

The eagle eyed blog-watchers (or the biggest wasters) amongst you may have noticed that we aimed a brief volley of abuse in the direction of ******* $#^?$ travel agents a couple of months back. The reason for this was that on our return to Kathmandu after trekking and safariing, the plane tickets we'd booked and paid for 4 weeks previously didn't actually exist. After much tooing and frooing, (which I quite frankly can't be arsed explaining) we cancelled our 3 day stopover in Hong Kong and were forced to endure the following 36 hour whistle-stop airport tour instead:

Kathmandu airport









Delhi airport - 17 mind-numbing hours in a drab transit lounge








Hong Kong Airport - 8 hours of tongue-lolling inactivity








Perth Airport - bonzer!

Chitwan

After a couple of days spent recuperating (i.e gorging on lashings of steak and pizzas) from the rigours of our wee stroll, we hopped on the luxury (it had seats), air-conditioned (and windows), tourist (and a handful of other tourists amongst the throngs of locals squashed up the aisles and on the roof) bus to the outskirts of the Royal Chitwan National Park in the south of Nepal. Here we spent an idyllic 5 days enjoying an assortment of (predominantly)heffalump related activities.

We cooed (well Jools did) over the cute babies at the elephant breeding centre:

Took a bone-shoogling elephant-back ride through the local forest:
The elephants got wind of a rare event occurring down by the river, and turned up for Kev's bath time:

Spent a day on a guided jungle walk, spotting an assortment of dangerous snakes(including a cobra), crocodiles, deer, monkeys and a heap of gorgeous burdz. The highlight of the day being a (reasonably) close encounter with a rhino.

Another thrilling experience was a high speed, white-knuckle minibus journey which we enjoyed from the roof rack of the vehicle - almost (but not quite) as scary an experience as sitting in the passenger seat whilst Col drives to Glen Coe! (only joking matey)

Cribbage Update: Who knows? I've lost count

A Close Shave

Smooth as a yeti's bottom











































Smooth as a baby's bottom.
I might add that this photo was taken using one of these fancy wide-lens doodas. I don't normally look so scarily bulbous and elongated.

Annapurna Circuit

After a week of culinery overindulgence in Kathmandu (and a couple of wasted days seeking medical attention for a mysterious back/chest injury(guess who?)) we set about assembling an elite walking squad to tackle the 19 day circumnavigation of the Annapurna Circuit. The elite squad never quite materialised but we found these guys(only joking guys!):

The Guide
Name: Kanchha
Favourite food: Daal bhaat
Hobbies: Eating mountains of daal bhaat, drumming, singing and dancing













The Porter
Name: Surya
Favourite food: Daal bhaat
Hobbies: Eating mountains of daal bhaat, singing, playing the leaf and breakdancing.













For info; daal bhaat is the staple diet of the Nepalese nation. It consists (funnily enough) of daal(lentil soup with herbs and spices) and bhaat(rice) and is consumed twice per day in mountainous quantities, traditionally using ones hands as eating utensils. Whilst it's quite a tasty dish, I'm not sure if I could eat it twice a day for 365 days a year.

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking this time:























Day1, Hour1:
"Are we nearly there yet...hmmmph"













Altitude sickness can do funny things to people














Jools on a bad hair day

















Jools looking buff


































Ahem...we came across this in a backstreet











Jools' 19 day supply of potatoes














Corn on the cob












Corn off the cob.
We sat for hours one night (until our thumbs were blistered) helping the family to separate the corn from the cob.









Beans beans good for the heart,
The more you eat the more you...


















A few pics of Manang which was probably our favourite place enroute. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking:






































The 100 ruppee lama. He poured oil on our face and hit us over the the head with a big book - a blessing apparently!




























You dancin'?
You askin'?




















A typical sight on the trail














Kev enjoying the popular Asian game of tiddlywink pool













High point (quite literally) of the trek. Set off for the pass at 3am after a hearty breakfast of garlic soup. With the temperatures sitting at around minus 20 all our drinking water froze in a matter of seconds.







Other events of note included a couple of run ins with the maoists. The last of which ended in a heated discussion due to a difference of opinion over how much money they wanted and how much money we wanted to pay (i.e. nothing). They obviously hadn't heard about the Scots reputation for tightness with the pennies.

..oh and that mysterious back/chest injury I mentioned earlier - turns out it was brought on by the stresses of the Chino-Scots Arm Wrestling Championships a couple of weeks earlier....

Cribbage Update: Jools 19 Kev 16