Well folks... we're back from our adventures in the Himalayas... by day 10 we were tired and sore and incredibly smelly but feeling rather proud of ourselves for completing this pretty tough trek. (Click on the photo left to see more photos of our trip so far.) Finding it difficult to explain what the trek was like really, it consisted mainly of walking alot (dur!) through a vast and wonderful land of extremes... from rolling grasshills, to forest tracks, to steep scree slopes, snowy glacial peaks and rough morraine, across streams and rivers, down steep, dusty, narrow paths into forgotten villages where no roads go; from freezing cold nights to boiling hot days; from 2000m to 5000m altitude; from starving hungry and serious lack of energy to stuffed beyond all belief (after every meal!); peace and quiet like we've never known before, giving us unknown time to reflect and think about anything and everything; We did have a secret weapon to help us through and I don't think I could have done it without our incredible porters, horsemen and ponies who carried the bulk of our stuff for us, cooked for us, woke us up with a cup of tea and a bowl of hot water every morning, built fires for us, and kept us going with their cheerful outlook, endless energy and incredible hard work.

Now we're back in the civilised land of guesthouses, showers, toilets, beds, cafes, shops, laundry services, untold amounts of chocolate cake and even a couple of beers... Macleod Ganj is where the Dalai Lama currently resides (when he's not in Canada) and his temple was certainly worth a visit to see the devout Buddhists meditating and praying to the elaborate statues.

We're feeling relaxed and healthy and plan to spend our last 10 days in India by visiting the famous Golden Temple in Amritsar, and then off to Rajistan to do a touristy trek on camels into the desert, then I guess we'll pay a quick visit to the Taj Mahal, (apparently it's quite impressive) and finally back to smelly Delhi (- oh joy) before we're off to Hong Kong... Loads of cool stuff to do yet!