We had our first ‘family holiday’ experience towards the back end of the summer, taking advantage of the Roscoe cottage in Llanberis, North Wales.  We spent a lovely, relaxing week away which gave us a chance to explore the area with an 8 month old baby. We’ve always traveled as Helen and David but now there are 3 of us there is a lot more to think about. The car was full to the rim with walking gear, wet gear (this is North Wales we are talking about) a pram, a carrier, food, drink, toys…I wont go on.  Yes we definitely are more organised now it has to be said.

A week in Llanberis and here are some of our highlights…

Walking through Newborough Warren to get to the glorious Newborough beach on Anglesey, where Frank experienced his first handful of sand, and very nearly a mouthful! We managed to sit down for our first picnic of the holiday only to be threatened by a big, dark cloud which was heading our way. There was even a little tornado on the horizon. If it had swerved a little more to our left we would have been okay, but we sat it out a little longer and suddenly started to make a dash for it only to get absolutely drenched. It was good fun though. We managed to keep Frank nice and warm under our make-do picnic blanket shelter.

So beach time scuppered by the weather we drove down the road to the Anglesey Sea Zoo, which was money well spent. Frank again had another ‘first’ experience, this time of sea life and was mesmerised by the fish following them with his newly found pointing finger, at last he had something definite to point at and follow. It’s £7.50 per adult but the ticket lasts for 7 days and under 3′s are free.

When Nanni Barb joined us for the next few days we ventured over to the Llanberis National Slate Museum, which is free and a good option for half a day of ‘sight-seeing’, not that we were expecting anything else but you have to be open minded when it comes to finding activities that not only appeal to us but may also engage Frank’s ever increasing imagination. And so the Slate Museum did this for us, we even attended a slate cutting session which again was enjoyed by us all. So that Frank could have a bit of play time we took him to the village play-park which definitely helped him to work up an appetite for some dinner.

Another trip over to Anglesey, to Beaumaris saw us take in the Puffin Island cruise, which although there were no Puffin’s on the Island as they had all migrated for the winter, was still a really nice ‘family-activity’ to do. Having said that Frank snoozed the whole time, so perhaps we’ll come back when he is a little older and the Puffin’s are back from their travels. We did spot all sorts of birds though and a lonesome seal popped up to see us too. The boat trip costs £8 per adult and we were out at sea for 2 hours, along with lots of other families and a really fun tour-guide/boatman who was informative enough. On this very beautiful day we had clear views across to Liverpool.

You can’t really visit this area and not go hiking, afterall it is one of our favourite activities and with Frank we managed a couple of half day hikes. The first being a trek upto the Halfway house on the Llanberis Snowdon Pass, a moderate hike, probably one of the busier paths up to the top of Snowdon. When he is older we will go all the way up, this route is scenic and it’s nice to wave at the train as it makes its way up to the top. We also walked through Padarn Country Park around the back of the Slate Museum, not too steep, nicely sheltered from the wind and some lovely views too. Closer to the village it’s nice to walk around the lake and take a peak into Dolbardon castle too. Follow this with a hot chocolate at one of the many tea rooms and you will have a nice day planned!

Sometimes we didn’t want to put too much pressure on doing too much as a family. Afterall, not everything we did was free, suddenly there were various admission fees to consider, plus it’s nice to enjoy our time together, watching sheep through the window rummaging in the compost pile, or spending our time eating as a family and photographing it. Frank is used to the camera now and so it’s easy enough to capture his cheeky smile, or document him exploring his toy box. The simple things bring so much more enjoyment now.

Llanberis is a lovely part of the Snowdonia National Park and it’s a really good location to base yourself if you want to explore further. There are loads of family activities going on there too from canooing to rock climbing so we are sure to be frequenting this lovely mountainside village time and again as Frank grows. We did manage some child-free time too with a walk up to and around Moel Eilio behind the back of Llanberis village when the Roscoe grandparents came to stay and on the night time the Mennai Seafood festival was taking place and so we enjoyed our first night out together since before Frank was born.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 and Nikon D600 with 35mm f1.8)

Helen recently submitted two photographs from our Notworkrelated travels into the AOP’s winter online exhibition. This year the exhibition is titled ‘Elements’ and will run until the 15th January 2013. The brief was fairly open with the main theme being ‘elements’ interpreting this in whichever way we wanted to. It didn’t matter what time of the year it was taken, it could be a more abstract interpretation or something more literal. 26 photographers have been accepted into the exhibition and there is a really lovely body of work which is also on offer in limited edition print form.

Helen’s submission included two photographs taken whilst we were trekking in Nepal. ‘Rest’ was shot whilst we were on an acclimatisation work from Namche Bazaar to Thame. The weather closed in when we arrived and it was a beautiful site to see the village engulfed with snow. There was so much to draw us in photographically and the impact or The Sunshine Lodge covered in a light dusting of snow had to be documented.

The second image titled ‘Friends’ was taken whilst we were having more acclimatisation time higher up in the Gokyo valley at Dole. This was at around 4000m and there isn’t much to do once you arrive in these villages other than to recover, rest and acclimatise. Our great friends Joshua and Amata traveled with us for most of our trek and this was a very memorable thing that we did; all wrapped up warm in many layers, blankets, hats and gloves before the fire would be lit. We both love this image as it conveys such a lovely message of companionship to us and humour to others.

‘Rest’ has also been selected as the offical AOP Christmas card for 2012 much to our delight and Helen will be attending the exhibition launch and AOP Christmas social on the 18th December. What a lovely end to 2012!

We wish you all a wonderful Christmas, this is our first back on English soil for 2 years! Looking forward to 2013 and what it will offer!

Thanks for following!

You can see more of what we are up to by having a little peak at the following:

Helen’s portfolio
David’s portfolio
Notworkrelated Shop

After a 2.20am flight from New Delhi, 8 hours in the air (with 5 hours sleep) and a pickup at Heathrow by Dave’s mother we eventually made it back to Dave’s family home. We unpacked our bags, lunched on some homemade soup and took some much needed rest.

On Saturday 21st April we drove north to see Helen’s brother, Emily, Sukie and spend the weekend at Helen’s family home. It was lovely to see everyone again and have we all enjoyed catching up and the delights of home cooking.

Now to find some work, earn some money and evolve notworkrelated. Stay tuned.

Helen & Dave x

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 processed in Lightroom 3)

Day 21: Flight out of Lukla to Kathmandu

Up early and ready for our exhilarating flight leaving the Himalayas behind and arriving back in Kathmandu (after 21 days of hiking) in under 30 minutes! The weather looked favorable and from the window of the Northface Lodge we could see planes landing and departing. We made the 5 minute walk through Lukla town to the airport which is quite the site to behold. You walk behind the runway and get a great view looking down the steep tarmac to the cliff as the tarmac disappears over a cliff face.

Checking in for our 7am flight was relatively easy, bags weighed and tagged, airport departure taxes paid (we paid 150rs each) security searches and then arrival into the departure “lounge”. Passenger and delivery planes arrived and departed with surprising efficiency whilst we waiting to be called. At 8am our plane arrived and we were hurried onto the 12 seater aircraft and greeted by the lone air hostess.

Takeoff is an exhilarating experience that rapidly descends downhill and as we became airborne a little cheer from one or two passengers emerged. The views are obviously exquisite and it was great to see some of the paths that we hiked and the villages that we frequented whilst hiking. The video (taken on the Olympus Pen) hopefully gives a little flavor of the experience…

Upon landing in Kathmandu we collected our bags and exited the airport with surprising speed and jumped in a taxi. Kathmandu, in the three weeks that we were absent, had dramatically increased in temperature and we were soon stripping off the mountain layers. We returned to spend the evening at Pilgrims Guest house where we had stored luggage and utilised the free safety deposit box. Dave required a haircut and beard trim before we settled back into city life which cost 150rs.

We also arranged for the collection of our Indian Visas and passports, we had left them with Deepak at Mount Fuji Adventures and Laxmi from the Indian Embassy. With a little waiting around to do they didn’t let us down and by 6pm we had our passports back with the Indian visa stuck firmly inside. We did have to return to the embassy with Laxmi earlier on that day so that they could confirm that it was indeed us applying for the visas but that’s all we needed to do. The steep fees for arranging an agent to take care of this meant that we were able to undertake our trek without the stresses of waiting in Kathmandu for several or more days.

Hiking in the Himalayas was quite possibly the highlight of our travels so far. The friends we made along the way, the locals who provided shelter and food, the mountains for such wonderful awe inspiring views, the quite perfect weather conditions and the feeling of personal and physical accomplishment was every bit we could have wished for. We are certain that one day we will be back for more!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 processed in Lightroom 3)

• Day 17: Morning hike up to Gokyo Ri 5360m

We were up fairly early and opted to have some breakfast before heading up to the peak. Most trekkers leave for the views before sunrise and enjoy the sun rising up over Everest. We had heard it can get pretty packed up on the top and so we wanted to leave it a little later so we would get up there and have the views all to ourselves.

We took it very slowly and we were all feeling the altitude slowing our bodies down. We passed many trekkers making their way down from the sunrise, some of which had started out at 4am and exclaimed that it was freezing for the most part. Even though most days the clouds close in as the afternoon arrives it’s usually pretty clear in the mornings and we were not disappointed by any means when we woke up to bright sunshine and clear views.

There are many paths all intertwining with each other as you start heading up the so called hill that is Gokyo-Ri. We took around 2 hours to reach the top and as we were on our way up we kept looking out across the lakes, the glaciers and to Everest. When we reached the top we felt emotional, this was the ultimate part of the trek, the highest we would go and we’d taken 17 days to get here. Before long the 3 French boys whom we’d travelled with on the bus out of Kathmandu had arrived to join us in our little moment of triumph. They had been to Everest Base Camp, trekked up to Kala-Pattar, crossed over the Chu-La pass and were now on Gokyo-Ri, all of this they’d done in the exact same time as we’d taken to get here! They were mountain boys though after all and we felt like we’d achieved what we wanted to. Still it was very ironic for us to be up so high with those guys and we timed it right, for over an hour we were on the top enjoying our time with no other trekkers or groups around. For a little while we weren’t sure which one was Everest and felt stupid when it was confirmed by the French lads as we’d been looking at peaks much further away!

We were a little trigger happy as the prayer flags were blowing all around us and we were just in awe of the views out across to Everest (In the below image Everest is the highest peak with very little snow). The four of us tied our prayer scarfs onto the line of hundreds that were already there and relished the moment. We even took time to enjoy a mars/snickers break.

It took us an hour to get back down to the lodge where we chilled out for the rest of the day. We were happy to be in Gokyo at our little lodge with our quirky lady owner entertaining us! Later on we were joined by a loud group of American, Brazillian trekkers with their highly accomplished guides and porters (their head guide had summited Everest 12 times). They spoiled our little haven but we were amused by their bragging stories of guru’s, buddhism and the Vietnam War.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 processed in Lightroom 3)

• Day 14: Phortse Tenga to Dole with a high point of 4084m

We had now been on the go for 14 days making our way to Gokyo, 14 days of trekking! This is the longest either of us had hiked with our backpacks from place to place, valley to valley, mountain to mountain. We were loving every minute (nearly). So this would be perhaps our easiest day of hiking in terms of distance and landscape. We did have a fairly steep up hill section out of Phortse Tenga which leveled out as we got closer to Dole. Most of the trekkers left at around 8-8.30am but we found that having a slightly later start meant we didn’t bump into so many groups meaning we often had the paths all to ourselves.

We arrived in Dole quite rely before midday and opted to stay at The Dole Resort on the other side of the village heading on the path outwards. We had the place to ourselves, the owners are friendly enough and so we opted for an afternoon of reading wrapped up in our thick blankets until they put the yak-dung fuelled fire on. The main reason why this went on as more trekkers were arriving with a guide and porters and we assume that they call ahead to say they’re on their way. The other thing we witnesses was a local trekker getting seconds on ra-ra noodle soup!! This never happens being a tourist trekker! By the evening though we were pretty snug in our dining room den. We were pretty lazy that day once we’d settled but the best advice is to do next to nothing when you arrive at your new altitude, so we were merely following the rules! It was snowing for most of the afternoon and evening and so we felt good to be next to a hot fire.

• Day 15: Dole to Machhermo with a high point of 4465m

By now we were starting to have unsettled sleep, for some reason we felt like we were almost trying too hard to get air to breath in order to feel like we were getting off to sleep. It’s a weird feeling and the mind definitely plays tricks on you. Helen was getting headaches, but during the night they would subside, whilst Dave was still struggling with his blistered feet. Our bill in Dole for 2 breakfasts, lunches, dinners and tea came to 3130rs.

We really enjoyed the 3 hour hike to Machhermo, suddenly we were presented with new mountains and valleys to gaze at. We felt like ants in this massive mountainous environment. The mist and snow had cleared from the day before and although the winds were cold the skies were blue and the sun very strong. We also noticed that over the past 2 days we’d crossed the tree line, there were no longer trees just rock, some shrubbery and bits of grass. We drank plenty of water along the way and had a few snack breaks too.

Machhermo is a pleasant place with lodges dotted all around. We opted for Namgyal Lodge, quite a big lodge in comparison to the rest but we thought is there were more people staying there they’d get the fire going earlier. We did a little bit of clothes washing with a pot of water costing 50rs and sat in the sun soaked dining room. The rooms at the lodge are really nice and well insulated and they are built around a garden/patio area.

By this point a small pot of tea was costing 550rs and so thinking a little bit about our budget we opted for a pot of hot water at 350rs, as we carried some extra tea bags with us. At 3pm we went to an altitude lecture which we’d felt encouraged to go to when the volunteer doctors came around earlier on to let us know that it would be taking place at the rescue centre that afternoon. They are a porter charity offering food and lodgings to the many porters hired by individuals and trekking agencies. We were pretty shocked to learn that up until recently most porters would sleep in caves if there were no beds available in the lodges. Plus there were a few incidences of porter neglect at altitude and so this charity is there to support the scheme as well as offering medical and rescue care for trekkers in the region. We felt reassured that our altitude gain had been sensible and we all donated 100rs each to do an oxygen saturation test. Amata came out top with a whopping 96%, Joshua was next with 94% and Dave 91%, this is excellent for the current altitude, Helen’s sat more averagely at 86%. Based on the talk though both Helen and Joshua opted to take Dymox to help with the restless nights and mild altitude sickness.

After some fairly good dal bhat and potatoes with veg and cheese we were ready for bed. Dave felt he’d been discriminated against as there were no seconds on the dal bhat (this is usually a guaranteed bonus of having the local dish).

• Day 16: Machhermo to Gokyo with a hight point of 4750m

We both slept restlessly once again but Helen’s headaches seemed to have gone and it didn’t feel as cold mainly because the rooms are well insulated at Namgyal Lodge. Again we left a little later than most which worked in our benefit as we trekked towards Gokyo. This would be our penultimate day of hiking before reaching the dizzy heights of Gokyo Ri.

We loved the walk to Gokyo, it was full of contrasts. We were welcomed with wide open plains, the wild river below, more 6-8000m peaks and the totally awesome presence of the Ngozumpa Glacier (36km/22miles the longest in the Himalayas) with Cho Oyu (8,200m / 27,000ft) dominating the upper valley. At the first lake which was the only lake not frozen we met thousands of rock cairn monuments built by the trekkers who have passed through the area. It felt a little like a spiritual graveyard representing each and everyone of us who have journeyed onwards to Gokyo. It did feel quite special.

We took the day slowly and marveled at the views whilst also joining Joshua and Amata for some celebratory snacks along the way; teriyaki beef jerky (enjoyed by all but Helen) and some ginger dark chocolate which they had lovingly carried with them since leaving America for their trip. We passed by the 2nd and 3rd lakes which were both totally frozen and snowed over and then we were in Gokyo, a place now occupied with tea houses and lodgings. There aren’t any locals living here other than to run their guesthouses.

We had been given a card for The Lakeside Lodge by a Japanese hiker whom we’d bumped into in Thame. So this is where we ended up. It’s pretty much the first lodging that we got to but we thought we’d go with it, plus the lady owner had lots of personality and said to us in a whisper that if we stay with her she’ll give us a room for free! How could we pass that offer? The food was good and for the first night we had the place all to ourselves. 4750m would be the highest we would be sleeping at. We were running out of money but decided we would spend 2 nights in Gokyo so that we could hit Gokyo Ri the next morning and then rest before making longer days to get back down to Namche and onwards to Lukla.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 processed in Lightroom 3)

• Day 11: Namche to Thame with a high point of 3950m

We opted to take a 2 day acclimatisation period by hiking from Namche to Thame which is an elevation gain of around 400m. It is recommended to do this perhaps more so if you’re flying into Lukla but we wanted to take advantage of the time and also the walk sounded really nice. Amata was still struggling with a cold and so we set off at around 9am perhaps later for the 3 hour hike to Thame, and we left a good few items behind which would make the journey a little easier for all of us.

This particular hike is a really beautiful one taking in the valley north-west of Namche through a few smaller dwellings and pine forests. There are some impressive mani-walls and scripted paintings on the cliff along the way and we stopped for our consistent cheese and crackers snack which did mean that we took a little longer to get to Thame. Dave was also in trainers which mean’t he had a pain free walk.

The hike into and upwards towards the Thame is again really rewarding with parts of the river frozen below and the mountains that engulf the village covered in snow. We crossed through a gate and before long we were in Thame opting the stay at The Sunshine Lodge, where we enjoyed a basic room, it was pretty dirty but the mattresses were soft which was fast becoming one of the most important things when we were getting a bed for the night. The food at Sunshine is pretty good, and the main lady put the fire on nice an early too.

That same afternoon we hiked upto the monastery overlooking the village of Thame, from here we enjoyed vistas looking back to the vast mountain ranges ahead of us, plus we had a further elevation gain of around 60m. When the weather started to close in we made our way down and got ready for an evening around the fire, dahl bat and random chat.

• Day 12: Thame to Namche

We woke up to snow and a moan from Dave about the uncertainty of getting back to Namche through the snow wearing trainers! The whole of the valley was in a blanket of snow and we watched Amata and Joshua playing outside whilst Dave worried about his feet! He’d purposely hiked in trainers to give his feet a break from the boots but now he was thinking he wouldn’t make it back and would be stranded in Thame! All was not as bad as it seemed though as we came up with the ingenious idea of plastic bags around his feet and lots of tape! Plus the snow is very dry in this part of the world so it wasn’t too slippery under feet and so Dave managed to get his rhythm going again leaving us all at the back of the line!

The walk back was mainly in the snow and it was really nice to see the valley and mountains in a different way, up until now we’d enjoyed sunshine most days and so it made a change. When we got back to Namche it started snowing again and after checking back in The Moonlight Lodge we sat in the dining area and watched as Namche became lost in cloud and snow. By late afternoon it had all cleared and once again we could look down over the town.

• Day 13: Namche to Phortse Tenga with a high point in Mong of 3973m

From now on we were on strict altitude gain wanting to stick to the rule of 300-400m elevation gain per day. We were all feeling well acclimated after trekking in from Jiri plus spending a few days in Namche and Thame but at the same time we didn’t want to risk altitude sickness. This time we left Moonlight with a considerably smaller bill and we were lighter again by leaving a few things behind. On this particular part of the hike we started out on the Everest trekking highway and after leaving Kyangjum we came to a sign heading to Gokyo, this was the valley where we would be trekking for the high point of the trip. We couldn’t see Everest anywhere but had great vistas of Ama Dablam, Nuptse and Lhotse some of the highest peaks in the world. (Lhotse is the 4th highest peak at 8501m)

There are some ups and downs on this part of the hike and a long traverse towards Mong where we enjoyed a decent lunch and tea at one of the lodges called Snow Land View Lodge, home to a very friendly lady owner who tried to coax us to stay the night by offering 3 extra servings of Dahl Bat and a free room! This was a tempting offer but we wanted to push onto Phortse Tenga for the night. From Mong it isn’t that far to Phortse Tenga which sits much lower at 3643m, a little higher than Namche. Opposite and further up is the larger village of Phortse which would take you to the other side of the valley.

In Phortse Tenga we stayed at The River View Lodge along with several other trekkers and guides making their way up or down to and from Gokyo. We weren’t anticipating meeting so many people on this part of the trek but it made for a good atmosphere at the Lodge even though the rooms felt like we were in a very dingy hospital ward. We even had to link up the wires on the lighting to give us some light in the room. The food here though is good and it was warm and cosy around the dining room fire. We were a little mischievous and ended up sharing a shower, mainly as we were steadily eating into our budget and the showers were 350 rupees each! We met several other Americans, English, Ozzie’s and Kiwi’s at this lodge.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 processed in Lightroom 3)

• Day 6 Bupsa to Chaurikarka with a high point of 2900m

By now we were averaging long days to cover the miles on the trek. We really wanted to make it to Namche on our 9th day of trekking and so pushing through to Chaurikarka seemed like a good idea. Our bill at the lodge in Bupsa came to 1780 rupees and the host didn’t charge us for our rooms. He was also really kind in giving each of us white prayer scarfs to wish us a safe journey up to Gokyo Ri. We all decided we would leave them up there once we’d made it to the peak of our trek.

The highest point of the day came at Khari-La (2900m) and all the while we could spot our route as tea houses would crop up along the way. We also passed mani-walls and lot’s of prayer flags. We weren’t too far from the Lukla to Namche trekkers highway and so we were holding onto every moment we had on the paths before we met the busy pathways ahead.

In Puiyan we enjoyed an excellent lunch at one of the lesser known lodges, here we had what we jointly voted was the best ra-ra noodle soups to date plus we couldn’t help but lap up the fried eggs! Even Helen who isn’t an egg lover enjoyed one!

As we approached Chaurikarka it had been a really long day and we got there at around 5pm joined by a few other trekkers. We can’t remember the name of the guesthouse we stayed at but it’s at the top of the village past the Stupas and the Hilliary school. In fact right in front of the lodge is a sign on the pavement; down to Jiri onwards to Namche, also upon leaving the lodge to the left there is a Mani-gate so we hope this helps in identifying which lodge we stayed at, for anyone who’s interested! After dahl bat times 6 we enjoyed another early night in our cosy tea lodge.

• Day nine: Chaurikarka to Namche with a high point of 3446m

We were once again ready for a long day, leaving at just after 8am (most trekkers tend to up and leave at around 6-7am but we preferred to have breakfast and get ourselves ready before heading off). As we left the village we were hiking through village upon village, with pathways lined with mani-stones and walls. When we reached Cheplung we finally joined the Lukla to Namche highway which is the path most people take when they fly into Lukla and start their acclimatisation walks.

We had lunch in Phakding at the second lodge we came to on the left of the path, there is a nice outdoor seating area which always marks highly on our scores! By now the four of us seemed to be marking the standard of food in relation to the best meals we’d been enjoying along the way. We knew some awards would be given out at the end of the trek (hypothetically that is!). Dave and Joshua had been chatting pretty much all the way about food and so it deemed right to stop at this point. The Singapore lads passed us as we sat there, this time they had their friend with them who’d flown out to Lukla to join them for their trek to Everest Base Camp. It had been really nice bumping into them most days.

We had a good break for lunch and then continued onwards, stopping in Mondzo (Munjo) to buy a few choccie bars that we thought would help us out later on in the climb to Namche. We then passed the checkpoint had our names entered into the log book and we were suddenly in The Solo-Khumbu National Park. From here there is a steep downhill climb and several villages to pass through whilst criss-crossing over the rivers on large swing bridges. After leaving Jorsale there are no more villages until Namche.

There is a fantastic swing bridge taking you over from one side of the river to the other which then leads you into a really steep and dusty climb. This climb doesn’t stop until Namche Bazaar, and it is pretty relentless. Amata was struggling with a head cold and sore throat and so all the dust being blown up around didn’t help. Dave was on good form with his duct-tape socks but we all needed our little chocolate boost along the way. We also got our first real glimpse of Everest from an abandoned tea house in ruins. This last part of the climb is tough coming in from Chaurikarka and Helen felt it was the hardest day to date, the elevation in this section is around 800m or so.

The sight of Namche was welcomed indeed, we were just a little annoyed by all the steps and such getting into the village. Once we did there was some music playing from one of the many shops along the street and so Joshua and Helen broke out into a little celebratory dance, Amata filmed us and Dave just did a cool head nod! We opted to stay a little way out of the busy area of Namche at The Moonlight Lodge one of the higher lodges, which also meant more stair climbing. But it was worth it, Moonlight is a great lodge, the owners are helpful and the food was some of the best we’d had so far. Showers are on the pricey side at 300 rupees but it was a very hospitable place to be.

• Day 10 Namche rest day

We did very little on our rest day; washed clothes, showered and ate! We enjoyed the luxury of a coffee and hot chocolate as well as a danish pastry later on in the day. Amata was mainly trying to get over her cold, but all four of us were happy just to chill, read and chat in the Moonlight dining area. It was also a good place to check emails and stock up on a few essential snack items for the treks ahead of us (200rs for 30mins in an internet cafe). We decided to do an acclimatisation hike the next day to Thame sitting at 3800m and we wanted to stay there. This meant we could leave some gear behind at the lodge and make it a nice 2 day hike with a small load. Our final bill at the Moonlight Lodge came to 7450 rupees, this was our biggest and perhaps most indulgent bill to date!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 processed in Lightroom 3)

Our stay in Singapore was more of a two night stop over than anything else. We hadn’t quite anticipated how tired we would be after our 3.30am start the morning of our flight and so by the time we’d reached Singapore, enjoyed a chai and a little breakfast at Starbucks, plus the time taken to actually navigate and exit from the airport terminal, we were almost ready for lunch!

Thankfully for us and to Barbara (Dave’s mum) we had booked ourselves a lovely place to stay through the wonderful world of Airbnb. Our hosts Sam, Linda and Phillipe all from the creative sector certainly offer a great alternative to staying in hotels and hostels in Singapore. They’re base just off Club Street is easy to find and only a short walk from the Chinatown metro stop. Staying in their homely apartment didn’t really give us much reason to leave, but we knew we would have to venture out at some stage. On our first day though we were very low key and enjoyed the comforts of our room, called home and ate at an excellent local sushi restaurant. Club Street itself is full of charm and seems to attract the ex-pat crowds, it’s perhaps a little over-rated in terms of eateries, restaurants and bars but the night life is pretty strong there.

We enjoyed exploring the local area which is rich in multi-cultural temples including Hindu, Buddhist and Chinese temples scattered throughout China town. The Hindu one was perhaps the most interesting to us; bold, colourful statues and decor with a daily ceremony taking place to traditional Indian instruments. Quite atmospheric.

We also stumbled upon a very nice independent bookstore called Woods In The Books. Primarily a visual bookstore it sells mainly illustrated books most of which are aimed at children, but it’s a lovely place to explore and absorb. We were more than happy to idle away time going through their collection and noticed some of their own illustrated publications were dotted around too. It’s a lovely concept indeed and we bought ourselves a few items as well.

On day two of Singapore we had a little more motivation to do some sight-seeing and so took off in search of a few famous places. Our first stop was at SAM; Singapore Art Museum, which was a pretty excellent stop for us. They were hosting some really interesting exhibitions and installations. It’s a bold, white colonial building with a melting Superman standing outside the front! Just around the corner at 8Q SAM’s sister gallery we found a contemporary exhibition showcasing young artists work from Singapore.

Moving on from our art-experience we ventured down the street to Raffles, perhaps the other extreme of sight-seeing as this is what most people try to get to when they have only 2 days in Singapore. Raffles is probably the most famous building in Singapore aside from some of the architecture on the harbor front, mainly because of it’s history and it’s infamous Singapore Sling cocktail. We couldn’t really push the boat out to afford a cocktail each but we did find the Leica store and we were also enticed into the little Chinese cake shop on the 2nd floor. Phillipe had told us about it and so we wanted to find it ourselves to experience.

It’s a lovely space with interesting art, old bikes and an all round great concept for a place to come and enjoy tea. The best past is you don’t even need to buy anything, the tea and one piece of their complimentary pineapple cake is free and so we sat there and enjoyed the space. Sunny Hills are solely a cake and tea shop and only sell the one type of cake, they are very successful and provide a unique experience. If you like the cake of course you can buy little boxes of them and they are very beautifully packaged.

So after our tea break we walked onwards to the water-front, a place again where nearly every tourist will visit during their time in Singapore. It is home to the crazy looking Marina Bay Sands resort with a boat on top as well as what seems like hundreds of sky-scrapers! Not to mention the Merlion statue! We simply wandered around, took a few photos and people watched as the rain came down and stopped everyone in their tracks.

When we’d had enough we were already nearly back at our accommodation and so we opted for another low key night. We ate on Club Street at one of the Italian restaurants as we were both a little tender from something we ate on our last day in Bali. A few more calls home and then we were ready for another flight onwards.

Our next flight was taking us to Kathmandu for the next stage of our travels.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 processed in Lightroom 3)

We left Padangbai at around 9am once we’d checked in and watched several other ferry and boat companies jet off packed to the rim with tourists and their bags. We were hoping that our boat wouldn’t be so rammed tight! We bought our tickets the night before from a guy operating on behalf of the Ocean Star Express who are one of the companies with International standards, we got a good deal with it being off-peak and paid 950,000 rupees for us both return and with a transfer to Legian at the end. This was an open ticket and so we would just need to reconfirm this when we wanted to leave.

The boat journey was smooth and took around 90 minutes, we sat next to Carryn from South Africa who then became one of our buddies for the week. When we got to Gili Air we grabbed our bags and decided to walk from the jetty to the main street, although on Gili there are no paved roads it’s all sand and people with quite a few donkey carts manoeuvring tourists and their goods around. We went straight to Manta Dive as Carryn had already pre-booked 10 dives and we knew we’d be able to leave our bags there whilst looking for accommodation ourselves. Behind Manta is Nina’s which is a good budget option at around 100 rs a night but we wanted a little more luxury for our Island stay. We checked out a few other options and then happened upon a small collection of newly built “Chillout Bungalows” set back from the beach and busy area. We loved them and chose the first on the left with an open bathroom and big thatched roof, we had our own seating area at the front and it was quite peaceful. For 200,000 a night we were happy with this place.

Once we’d settled into our Island life on Gili Air we took advantage of the good food and fresh fish on offer and before long we were booked onto a snorkel trip around the 3 islands to give us a taste of the shallow waters. It was 70,000 each for the snorkel trip  with the gear, although don’t expect anything too new! The trip was good in that we swam with turtles and got to have fun with our underwater camera, plus we saw the other Islands. Some snorkelling points we better than others and the lunch on Gili Meno was disappointing; we waited an hour for noodles and rice with veg and we were constantly pestered by hawkers!

Back on Gili Air we were starting to make friends and met up with Carryn who then introduced us to her new dive buddies, some of whom were related to a few of the people on the snorkelling trip so it was all starting to fall into place, our little Gili Air community. We also frequented the local Muslim Warung in the village which for 10-15,000 rs you’ll get a well packed veggie, squid, or chicken and rice delight topped off with roasted peanuts and coco-nut shavings.

Helen was also pretty excited at the prospect of attending some yoga classes once she’d noticed that there was a yoga school on the Island. H20 Yoga is not too far from where our bungalows were located and so it was a simple hop across the field or 3 minute walk from us. There are two yoga teachers at H20 at the moment, Natasha who is acting manager offers and Anusara approach and Gene a Vini-yoga style. Natasha also offers a free meditation class on Mondays and there is a teacher training program coming up sometime later this year. It’s a lovely yoga circle with some accommodation surrounding the deck and a cute kitten who by now will be nearly fully grown called Surya!

One thing we have failed to mention is that all three Islands are occupied by cats, and for some reason the ginger cat comes up top! There are no dogs on the Islands and so it’s a nice an easy life for them! We walked around the Island in about an hour but had plenty of stops along the way to catch the low golden sun, the east side of the Island is way more developed but its worth exploring the perimeter and the village within.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, Sony DSC-TX5 underwater camera, processed in Lightroom 3)