Hikkaduwa - 1st to 4th of December 2011

For a relaxing holiday, it didn't really start off that way. A 3am flight, pitching us into Colombo at 9am, only to face a 4.5 hour trip through the heart of the city and south to the beaches of Sri Lanka.

But by the time we got there, we felt a million miles away from anything (especially work), perfect for a snooze and some aimless wandering along the desolated beach. We were staying in an awesome little place, right on the water, that made it very hard to leave the hotel other than for a quick dip!

Dinner listening to the waves. Up the next day at a leisurely hour for lots of sun time and beach time. Managed to fit in a very leisurely stroll too.

Few beers as the sun was setting watching some beach cricket Sri Lankan style.

Third and final day of chilling out, again not bothering to make it much further than a few hundred metres down the beach.

Made our way into "town" to find a restaurant for dinner - mainly because we'd already tried everything on our hotel restaurant menu. Survived the tuk tuk easily enough.
A completely amazing holiday, very relaxing, and exactly what we wanted of our Sri Lankan weekend. We were however up at a ridiculous hour for the drive back to Colombo airport and the flight back to Dubai.

Pokhara - 5th to 8th of November 2011

So how long would you think it would take to drive the 200km to Pokhara from Kathmandu? Surely not 6 hours right? Wrong. Six very long hours stuck in the back of a small car, dodging trucks, potholes and cows. The roads were two lanes, but very busy, and parts were definitely limited to one-way traffic.

We were supposed to have arrived in Pokhara late morning after our flight. In the end we didn't make it until after 10pm - what a waste of a day!

We'd given ourselves lots of time in Pohkara with the plan to do an overnight trek. Given the weather and one or two other issues we flagged it, so had a relaxing first day sleeping in and walking around the little town.
Pokhara is on the side of a lake, and usually very pretty. Unfortunately we were still having weather issues so couldn't even make out the far side of the very small lake!

With plenty of time, we made it around the lake to the site of a pretty impressive waterfall. The river leading from the lake twists its way along a little gorge before disappearing into the earth.

...and then across the round, and down into the cave to see it from underneath.

Back into town for a pre dinner drink, drinks over dinner, and then a few more drinks. Loving the two for one cocktails!

With one of us keen to stretch our legs, and one of us keen for a sleep in, we parted ways in the morning. Warren made it down to the lake to get a local to drop him on the other side for the hour or so trek up to the world peace pagoda.

Normally it would have spectacular views, but it was another misty cloudy day in Pokhara, and at the top you could barely make out the town below.

A very nice green walk back via an alternative route to town. As I cam back into town, I crossed the river upstream from where we had seen it the previous day. Turns out the river plays a key role in Pokhara's laundromat industry.
More greenery.
Back to the hotel to pick up the wife and make our way back down to the lake for lunch and a short paddle in an old canoe. Out on the lake and finally, in the distance, the snow covered mountains started emerging from the wall of cloud.
Guess who did all the paddling?
More shopping back on the main strip overlooked by the fishtail.
We finally work up to a blue sky, on the final day in Nepal and with an early flight back to Kathmandu. So we got up even earlier for a nice little stroll along the lakeside, which only made us realise how pretty the place is!
We made our way to the airport thinking surely with such blue skies our flight back to Kathmandu would be ok. But it wasnt - weather in Kathmandu had delayed all flights out, and so once again we were stranded at the airport.
After stressing for a few hours that the flight would be cancelled and we wouldnt be able to make our flight later that night back to Dubai, we finally heard the drone of an incoming aircraft. More spctacular views the entire (30 minute) flight - if only the weather was like this all week!!
Back in Kathmandu with 3 or 4 hours to kill and facing the prospect of at least a 30 minute trip into the centre, we decided to take a learning from our time in Dubai and hit a nearby hotel for lunch. We went to Dwarikas, which is one of the nicest hotels in Nepal, and had a great meal in the courtyard.
A quick trip back to the airport for the 4 hour flight back to Dubai.