How is Evie?

She is having piano lessons and will soon be starting to learn French and Latin...

A couple of things happenend this last week that might give you a bit of an insight into life in Nepal.

In INF, we are just getting stuck into another of our quarterly three-day management meetings involving programme managers, technical advisors and a couple of board members. The meetings are relatively hi-tech with several people working from laptops, and a beamer is used for giving presentations.

Phil is involved through his role in the Donor team and is also taking the minutes, for which he borrowed the FD's laptop. The job of taking minutes is complicated though by a family of little red ants that live somewhere in the machine. Every few minutes, a head would appear fom between the keys and another little fella would appear. Despite squashing them at regular intervals for a couple of days, they are still coming, so there must be quite a colony in there - Nepali wildlife is mostly small and harmless, but ever-present!

Secondly, we were woken up at 12.30 on Sunday night by the noise of a roaring crowd, that seemed to come from all directions and set the neighbourhood dogs barking, making the noise even louder. It was a shock and the reasons weren't obvious - had there been an earthquake or a break in, was it a riot or had someone died? The noise seemed good natured and soon died down, so we went back to sleep.

The next day we had forgotten about disturbance but the topic of conversation among Nepalis the next day was on one subject only - the Indian Idol TV programme - and it became clear that this was the reason for the noise.

Based on the Pop Idol programme, Indian idol climaxed on Sunday night and was won by a chap from Darjeeling - nominally in India, but mainly populated by Nepalis - a hugely popular result here. People spilled onto the streets after hearing the results, apparently causing drunken havoc in parts of Pokhara and Kathmandu until 3 in the morning. There is a whole class developing of young Nepalis who are well off, fashion conscious and face the same issues as kids growing up in Western countries - a fascination with celebrities, peer pressure, alcohol - and who are unable to identify with their parents or communities and have absolutely nothing in common with the huge numbers of rural poor here in Nepal.

I feel a bit miserable for having whinged about the weather in our last blog - the truth is, we are healthy, happy and feel well looked after. We have been feeling pretty remote recently with difficult times for the family at home, plus groups of friends getting together reminding us just how far away we are - we're thinking of you all.

In the last week there has been a real change in the weather - the damp and rain that seems to have been here for months have lifted and the air has cleared, reminding us just what an awesome place we live in.



We went away for a night last weekend, taking a group out for a two day trek in the hills close to Pokhara. It turned out to be a really good time with everyone from the very mixed group coming back happy and not too sore. We had our concerns on route though as the weather was unsettled, the path was very slippery in places and the leaches were ferocious - we tried a combination of dettol, deet, salt and tobacco to ward them off but we all got bitten at least once.








A Hindu festival was just ending as we got a bus back from the end of the trail and a lot of people were wanting to get back to Pokhara. We piled on the roof thinking that we were lucky to fit on, before they proceeded to cram another 50 or people bodies on and around us. Fortunately it was a fairly short journey on a very slow road, but we were delighted to get off in one piece.


We had a great time yesterday afternoon, somehow lining various bits of technology to hold a group telephone call with the INF conference taking place in the UK.
It was great to feel part of the bigger INF family and incredible to think that it was only at the same conference last year that we were meeting a lot of INF characters for the first time and learning more about the organisation - feels like a life time ago!

The rain continues....

We had been told be lots of people that it stops rainng in early September, and were kind of hanging our hopes on that, so the fact that we still get a storm most days is a bit disheartening, but at least it has cooled down a lot. Apparently this monsoon has been longer and more severe than most, and the saturated ground seems to have had enough.

There has been a spate of landslides just around Pokhara - at one point last week all three roads leading out of town were blocked. One community just near the lake to the West of town has had a terrible time, with what looked like half the hillside crashing down on them during the night. Five people were killed and many are homeless with livelihoods destroyed.

The next day was a shocking sight - the hilside strewn with boulders and trees where previously there had been well tended rice paddies. I felt very helpless watching people leaving what was left of their homes carrying all their possessions on their backs.

There has been a wave of conjunctivitis affecting lots of people, but so far we have been spared that. Evie has had a cold for the last week, but has stayed cheerful almost throughout. She now understands quite a lot of what you say, but not to the point of being able to make you a cup of tea or do anything useful. She is growing up frighteningly quickly: she came home from creche with painted nails the other day and apparently had a crush on a small boy at the swimming pool. I am scared, very scared!

Counting down the days until our first visitors arrive in early October...

Mountainbiking in Nepal: the article below was written recently for www.sussex-mtb.com...

Firstly a bit of background... Sussex was my home for 20 years, and during that time I spent many hours riding various bikes on the north and south downs plus many of the trails in between. Last year my wife, young daughter and I upped sticks and are now working for a Nepali Christian health and development organisation and living in Pokhara, Nepal.

We brought our mountain bikes with us, but the roads here in Nepal are scary. They are governed by many rules, although only two are important or adhered to. Rule 1: cows are sacred – do not mess with the cows. Rule 2: after cows, the big and the brave have right of way. I'm not actually sure there is a Nepali highwaycode, but if there is one, I am confident it does not mention bicycles - despite there being a lot of them around, they are at the bottom of the food chain.

Trucks, buses, taxis and motorcycles, not to mention children, dogs, buffaloes, street traders and cows all seem to lie in wait for cycles to approach before wandering aimlessly into the road. In all situations, rider beware: they will not get out of your way!

I have seen a couple of road bikes here, but you wouldn't want to be on anything with skinny tyres. The few tarmac roads are full of potholes, and when it rains you can't see how deep they are! Most people ride single-speed Indian or Chinese made, sit-up-and-beg machines that feel like they are made of solid iron with tyres full of concrete. I bought one recently to commute to work on. At £35 new, it cost less than a replacement chainring on my mtb, and it is a good bit of kit - for riding short distances in the dry on flat roads with no corners...

However, Pokhara lies at the foot of the 8000m Annapurna range, and there are more than enough trails and breathtaking views to make running the lottery of the roads worthwhile. There isn't much singletrack here – the footpaths tend to lead straight up or down the hills and are usually too steep to ride in either direction – but there are a lot of jeep tracks and from Pokhara there are big hills and great trails in every direction.

The tracks are rocky and rutted – similar to trails I have ridden in the peak district – but you can usually find a clean line. The heavy rains cause many landslides though and deep erosion gullies can rip through tracks, completely changing them overnight. The sheer scale of the mountains is awe inspiring – you can climb hard for an hour to reach a ridge that looks impressive from the valley floor, only to find another higher one looming above you and the snowy peaks seemingly getting no closer.

One of my favorite rides here is a two hour loop onto a ridge to the West of Pokhara that combines a mixed road and track climb with some some fantastic views and includes the best singletrack descent in the area. Setting off early in the morning, you can avoid most of the Pokhara traffic and taking the main road out of town, you quickly leave the noise and smell behind. Climbing gradually on a decent surface, it is a good way to get warmed up and gain some height. The tall ridge to your right shields you from the mountains, but looking back down the valley you get a good view of Pokhara, often shrouded in morning mist.

After about half an hour, you take an indistinct track up to the right (route finding is often more by luck than judgement and can be very time-consuming: the maps are criminally inaccurate, there are no signposts and many dead ends), the work rate rises up a notch and you need to concentrate: the surface is loose and quite technical. Following the stony track as it switchbacks up the hill you pass through a couple of small villages, much to the amusement of the local kids, and finally, after climbing up around 300 metres you reach a larger village just below the ridge line. There are a couple of tea shops here where you can buy a little glass of Chiya (sweet, milky tea) for around 4p, and sit and recover your breath.

From here you can see Pokhara in the distance, and it is all downhill! Heading East back along the ridge down a broad smooth track, the gradient is not steep, but you build up speed quickly, looking ahead all the time for gullies or animals that might interrupt your progress. We don't have dog walkers here in Nepal, but buffaloes take their place as mobile trail hazards – many Nepalis keep them for milk and meat and they are often free to wander during the day. Although usually placid and slow moving, they can get quite skittish when startled and several times I've had to make emergency stops or take avoiding action after coming face-to-face with one on a narrow trail!

Continuing down the track, you round a corner and cross over the top of the ridge, and suddenly the awesome sight of Machhapuchhare appears – a perfect 7000m pyramid of rock and ice, with the higher Annapurna mountains arranged either side of it. Down in the valley below is Fewa lake, with Pokhara jammed up on its eastern shore. If you can take your eyes off the mountains and get back on the bike, the trail runs through a couple of technical boulder fields, before emerging alongside a massive white stupa or Buddhist temple that is one of the best known landmarks around Pokhara. There are often plenty of tourists here who have come up on the bus and a cluster of teashops, but the descent to come has a stronger pull!

A short carry up some steps, a quick blast over some open ground, and then the trail narrows and drops down into the forest. The next two miles cover some of the best singletrack I have ridden – as good as anything in the Surrey hills: fast, tight and technical with a mix of corners and surfaces, and a few drops offs and rocky chutes to make sure you are concentrating. There are often monkeys in the forest, but if you do see them, think twice about stopping for a better view – during the wet season the forest floor is swarming with leaches – persistent little beggars that will give you a very itchy bite!

As Pokhara approaches, you start to hear the traffic below, and the trail takes a sharp turn to the left, dropping down a long flight of steep steps. Don't follow the trail but go straight on for a short off-piste run, finding your own path through the low undergrowth and over some small drop-offs, before emerging from under the trees onto a smooth track on the edge of a large rice field. Take a left, and you'll quickly find yourself back in the middle of town – the noise and dust a sharp contrast to the peace and quiet of the ridge where you were a few minutes before.

If you are interested in visiting, try and come between October and April. It warms up rapidly in May and during the monsoon, it is too hot to do anything energetic after 6.00 in the morning: you can get up a good sweat just brushing your teeth.

An MTB 'scene' is starting to emerge in Nepal. There are a couple of reasonable bike shops in Kathmandu plus groups who ride regularly and even occasional cross country races. As well as several firms that offer cycle touring holidays, the Pokhara Mountain bike club run some serious mountain biking trips. The club is run by a Frenchman who used to race at the top level. He came to Nepal several years ago for some high altitude training and never left. The aim of the club is to take tourists on guided trips – anything from a two-hour cruise around the valley to three-day downhill blasts starting high in the Himalayas – and also teach young Nepalis how to ride and hopefully train a future champion. You can hire a very nice Commencal Meta-5 and a guide to ride with you for ~£20 per day – a couple of weeks wages for many Nepalis, but peanuts by western standards. Get hold of a copy of the Commencal catalogue: several of the pictures were taken on the local trails and if they don't inspire you to get out and ride – nothing will!