Last Tuesday was a national holiday here – the first anniversary of the peoples uprising that forced the king to reinstate parliament and led to the former maoist rebels joining the government. There is a sense of relief that the last year has been relatively peaceful, but it is mixed with real and growing frustration that the government has not been able to create a stable platform for real development.

We made use of the long weekend and went for a two day trek to Panchase, slightly west of Pokhara. At 2,500m it would be a mountain in any other part of the world, but here it is still just a hill. We hired a guide allowing us to get off the beaten track a bit and see a really beautiful area. He taught us two new Nepali words that sum up much of the trek: juka (meaning leech), and badal (cloud). The first day we walked for around 4 hours with a long break for rice in a little village at lunch time.The clouds were building all afternoon, but fortunately the rain held off until five minutes after we arrived at our night stop – a small hotel in a beautiful remote little village. It was a very peaceful spot and we were very well looked after.

The next morning was bright and clear, so we got up early and climbed to the top of the hill before breakfast. Setting off back towards Pokhara, we followed small paths through forest with occasional views back up to the mountains. A beautiful walk, but unfortunately perfect conditions for leaches.... In places you could see dozens of the little beggers desperately reaching up to try and grab your shoes. Every time you stopped walking it gave them the opportunity to try and bury into your socks – plenty enough motivation to keep going! Fortunately they are pretty stupid and as likely to chew your shoes as your feet, so we only got bitten once each. That second day we walked for around 6 hours before getting down to the road and catching a bus back to Pokhara – again five minutes before the heavens opened.