C., S., and I joined for this trip at different time and place. We thought a good idea to keep a journal only for Nepal although, C. and S. will update their own travelogues which cover far more trips and countries. Yet, it´s funny to see our names appear in each other stories every now and then.

C. has just quit a job in Dublin and set off to travelling round-the-world for a year. This trip is part of the Asian leg with a non-scheduled itinerary of India-Nepal-China-HK (that is, to visit me)-somewhere else...S. is French but worked and lived in the States and working now in London. Got a 3-month unpaid leave and joined C. 10 days ago for a short stay in Shivanand Ashram in Rishikesh to attend the preachings of Swami Muktanandah. The results of their sun-rise prayings and veggie diet could be summoned as of finding God in everything and everywhere -say a table, lamp or a keyboard...- and filling your life with compassion...good karma, there you are!

Then, from Banbassa (India) a bus trip through Western Nepal to our reunion place. To note here that Western Nepal is the root of the rebel insurgency in the country and therefore, stronghold of the Maoists. No other foreigners travelling in the bus so the whole experience is about learning how to be more Nepali, having the same food for two days, smelling like them and peeing in communal with no more inhibitions, as C. said: our bun flesh is free and exposed to Nepal now!

Another thing of travelling in low season in Nepal is that you bump into the same people over and over again! There is just a bunch of few tourists and all hanging around the same spots either in Kath, Pokhara or the mountains! We were extremely lucky and met only awesome guys under totally unexpected circumstances like Ono, Jos, Linda, Melissa, a piercing-tattoo Italian artist named Francesco and so on. One of our favorites is Ono, a Malaysian guy with the weirdest looks on earth: long hair, piercings, nose rings, nails (yeah, you can have nails in any part of your anatomy), a tattoed body and all sort of pendants, bracelets and rings...but he turned out to be shy, sensitive and talented in drawing, playing musical instruments -say an ocarina, a coconut with a string or the guitar- and composing. We were offered maria, cannabis, hash and the lot when hanging together but he doesn´t even drink, only warm milk instead, like babies!

The breathtaking Annapurna range above Pokhara: Machapuchhare ("my peak") dominates despite the other mountains being significantly taller