Hey All,
I watched the world cup final in Kathmandu; was pretty crazy. The Nepalese all had adopted one of the finalists and there was a great atmosphere in the bar that we were watching the match. (I had run into the Dutch girl that i met in Darjeeling so we had organised to watch the match). There was a mini nepalese bar fight which was interesting as everyone involved was probably under 5'5"...Either way never nice to see fighting, and no one really broke it up...The result was good and I felt Spain deserved to win.

I left Kathmandu for Pokhara early the next morning, my aim was to meet someone to do the AC with. I lucked out actually on the transport there. I got a taxi to the bus stand in Kathmandu which cost me 100Rs (about a pound). The taxi driver was a really nice guy and told me he'd flag down one of the people's bues for me which cost only 350 instead of the 450/550 that you pay on a tourist bus. Another taxi driver pulled up but he spoke no English, the other guy translated to me saying this guy was returning to his family in Pokhara and asked if I wanted to split petrol, he asked for 500 but I refused saying i'd get the bus, so he agreed to let me go in his taxi for 300. He drove me the 200km all the way to hostel entrance that I wanted to go to, I felt generous and gave him 400. I spent the afternoon walking around the lake, the weather was nice and the lake was very picturesque. In the evening I ate in a Tibetan restaurant, I am addicted to Momo's now, steamed/fried/soup... all great. I had some with this tomato chilli broth which was ace. After the early start i crashed out for 12 hours waking at 10 the next day. I trekked to the world peace Pagoda on the top of a hill. I took the scenic route which was beautiful but quite slippery, got some good photos. I ate probably my worst meal so far in Nepal, i'm convinced the vegetable Thukpa I ordered (Tibetan noodle broth) was nothing more than supernoodles. I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the countryside near Pokhara, i visited some Tibetan villages (There are many Tibetan villages dotted around Nepal) the people are super friendly. One chap had caught a fish the size and thickness of my torso, it was the ultimate chode of a fish with a huge mouth. I returned to Pokhara around 7 and ate in a chinese restaurant that evening. I had Lemon duck and spare rips, which were very nice.
I received some good news as well, I am meeting a French guy on the 16th to start the trekking of the Annapurna circuit. I've lost 5kgs in the last 3 weeks so i'm determined to fatten up before leaving. Today i'm reading/eating and enjoying the scenary, there is a Gurkha museum that i may visit, but the weather is best i've had in Nepal. I've read nearly 12 books already, which is probably more than I read in the last year. I finally found a cheap copy of Shantaram, (I had been reading it in Hostels from their libraries, but book swaps were forbidden...) so blasting through it, it's a quality book. I think I won't make a post for a while now as I leave on the 16th trekking and i expect that to take 12 days. Supposedly there is internet in one or two of the villages so I may post a short note...For anyone interested in the route, it's called the Annapurna Circuit and i'm leaving from Besi Sahar and intend to travel as far as Jomsom and then trek to Tilicho lake time permitting. So love to all, hope everyone is well, thanks for following me (10 offical followers now!) xxx More photos to come soon!