Ashram Life at Sadhana yoga Pokhara

So this was my thing...Gary wanted to do everest and I wanted to do Yoga. I found a place rated very highly on tripadvisor and read about the programmes they offered and decided it was perfect for me. It was called Sadhana Yoga, in a secluded spot above Pokhara lake. It claimed to offer an ashram style routine with multiple daily meditation and yoga session's steeped in Yogi tradition but not affiliated to any particular religion.

The routine
5.30 - wake up
5.45 - pre meditation practice
6.00 - morning meditation
7.00 - Tea break
7.25 - Neti Kriya (nasal cleansing)
8.00 - Reflexology
8.15 - Morning Yoga
9.45 - Morning Nature Walk
10.00 - Breakfast
10.30 - Steam / Mud bath
12.00 - Pre meditation
12.15 - Afternoon meditation
13.00 - Lunch
15.30 - Karma Yoga
16.00 - Tea and Popcorn
16.30 - Chanting
17.45 - Evening Yoga
19.00 - Dinner
20.00 - Candlelight Meditation
21.00 - Retire

So as you can see the routine is pretty intense. Waking up early and going to bed early with lots of activities but also there is sufficient rest/self-study time too.

The meditation
- Morning -  Breath work followed by a mixture of different meditation styles including; body scan, mental or actual chanting, prayer bead counting etc. This was then followed by a (mostly) gentle body warm up.
- Lunchtime - Yoga Nidra (psychic sleep) trying to keep your mind active but your body sleep. It was a very challenging meditation and I very much struggled to keep my mind awake! I definitely fell asleep in more sessions than I didn't!

The yoga
Mixture of difderent flows - routines e.g moon/sun salutation, then some more static postures which would include a mixture of balancing postures as well as those which are more intense and provide really deep stretching. The morning yoga was always more energetic with more dynamic flowing yoga and then the evening we focused more on pushing ourselves a bit harder! This sometimes included couple yoga, where you were put with someone else of equal height to then work together to get into a variety of different postures. I really enjoyed these sessions!

The food
The food here is lovely and there really is always more than enough (except when fasting!). Due to the fuel crisis it was all cooked on a wood fire giving it even more of a delicious taste! Mostly the lunch was a variety of the traditional Nepali Dhal Bat (dhal rice and veggies). Dinner would vary more with a soup and then a carb option with veggies.

Cleansing
While here I completeing a digestion cleanse. This included 3 days of fasting -eating only apples or boiled veg - which gradually got less until the last day where we only had lemon, honey ginger water. On day 4 we completed a salt water 'flossing' of the digestive tract. I wont give you any details...... It certainly was an interesting experience but I did feel great afterwards.

Sunrise yoga at the world peace pagoda
One morning we left the centre very early, took a boat accross the lake and hiked to the top of the hill to see the Peace Pagoda. It really is beautiful and we felt incredibly lucky to be able to practice yoga in such a beautifully peaceful place. The weather wasn't on our side and there was a lot of cloud which meant we didnt really see the sunrise and the view of the mountains was pretty hidden. But we still had a lovely morning which really is an experience I will never forget.

The overal experience
I really enjoyed my time here and honestly felt part of the family. Despite the difficulties caused by the ongoing fuel crisis, this place still ran pretty well. There were some times when things couldn't happen (e.g steam bath due to it being run by gas) and also due to a festival the teachers had to switch around a bit but otherwise it was great. The location is fab and so peaceful. It felt amazing to have a routine again and the yogi lifestyle seems to really suit me. I felt incredibly content and healthy the whole time I was there.

**pics to follow**

Everest, its cold up there

My BIG Trek

So on the 5th November we were met at our hotel at 5am and taken to the airport for one of the most dangerous flights on earth. We were lucky the weather was good and in our small plane we didn't suffer any major turbulence and our flight was delayed by around an hour in the morning due to bad weather at Lukla airport. But we had landed and started trekking by 10am.

Our first day was some easy downhill trekking from Lukla to a small village called Phakding, this took about 3-4 hours. It was here where we found how cold it can get in the valleys of the Himalayas. Due to the fuel crisis, the guesthouse didn't fire up the heaters and we were freezing.

The following day we headed to the largest town on the trek, Namche Bazaar. It was a long day of walking the first 2 hours were relatively flat, but then the next 3 hours were pretty steep uphill. It was on this day we had our first viewpoint of Everest. It was quite a small mountain in a landscape full of snow capped peaks. We also experienced a rather enjoyable rope suspension bridge around 200m above the ground, surrounded by flapping Buddhist prayer flags. It was a special moment and one we would get more used to as the trek went on. We arrived at our accommodation in Namche Bazaar and were told by Kiran (our guide) that the following day was an acclimatisation day. 

During this day we would walk for about 1 hour up to the Everest view hotel and relax on the veranda with a great viewpoint. Little did I know that the acclimatisation treks were not easy, I was unfortunately having some stomach issues which started the day before the trek and I was feeling quite weak by this point. This day is steep and sapped my energy very quickly.

None of the teahouses had any heating in the rooms but we were supplied some good sleeping bags by the trekking company. They were cold at first but warmed quickly and you were warm enough to sleep in a bedroom where it was cold enough to can see your own breath. Often the teahouses were where you spent most your afternoon and evening refueling on the super high carb menu of pasta, rice, or pizza.  The food was generally ok,  but nothing fantastic. however they were cooking on open fires due to the fuel shortage so we can excuse them for not whipping up Michelin star style grub.

After 8 days(some harder some easier) we arrived at Lebouche around lunchtime and this was when we first had a symptom of altitude sickness.  We had stayed well hydrated the whole trip and suffered no symptoms until in the middle of the night I woke up with an excruciating headache,  my friend was also suffering the same. We stuck it out and reported it to our guide, and kept tabs on it for the rest of the day where it slowly reduced. 

Then the day arrived where we would make it to Base Camp.  It started early, we were on the trail at 7.30am. We had a two hour walk that was quite challenging to Gorakshep, the highest place we would stay on the entire trek.  We left as much of our stuff as possible at our accommodation after lunch,  because at 5100m the reduced oxygen made it hard enough without carrying unnecessary weight.  The trip to Base Camp took around an hour and a half.  It was quite an easy ridge walk most the way until within a few hundred metres of the Base Camp where the khumbu icefall turns the ground into a mix of slippery shingle and ice. I had been suffering a bad back and this day was pretty tough but we made it had some stunning views of everest, we briefly stopped for a few photos then began the trek back asap.

The next leg of the trek would have involved starting at 4am the following day.  I was unsure whether my back would be any worse or any better the following day so we decided it would be worth attempting it that evening.  It was an evening walk up the mountain called Kallapatta. At an altitude of 5500m the air was very thin, and this was very tough to get up to the top.  We made it just before sunset and saw the everest pink in the last of the sunlight. It was stunning and it was at that moment we realised how harsh the mountains can be. The temperature dropped from +3 degrees to -11in less than 10 minutes. The cold got into our bodies very quickly as we gloved up and put our jackets. It was black very quickly and with our headtorches on we began the descent as quickly as possible.  We were basically jogging (yes it was painful for my back,  but was warming me up)  the descent took around 45mins in darkness and freezing temperatures. As well as a nice gusty wind whipping dust in our eyes whenever it could. We stumbled back into the teahouse and were disorientated by the heat. The fire was on full blast and the change of temperature made both of us dizzy,  but relieved. We'd made it, about 10 hours trekking at the highest altitude of the journey.  We were exhausted....I have never felt anything like it! Struggling to force down our food before sitting as close to the fire as we could before an early night to rest.

The efforts of the day before meant no more early starts and we could start the descent. This was news to my ears. I knew the quicker we got to lower altitudes, the quicker I could take painkillers for my back (you can't take a course of painkillers at high altitude, as this will mask symptoms of altitude sickness which if untreated can be fatal). Deep heat got me to the Base Camp, but the desire for painkillers got me down at quite a rate.

We trekked hard for 7 hours to Tangboche/pangboche /damboche. This altitude was 4000m. We had managed over 1000m descent in one day. The extra oxygen made such a big difference.  Another carby meal before bed....trust me the food was so repetitive...I was dying for some steamed Veg!

Then the next day,  a 5 hour trek to Namche Bazaar again. The place we had stayed on the way up was full, we were lucky as this allowed us to stay in the same hotel as some Dutch people we had met at various times throughout trekking and have a few beers and a few games of cards.

The next day we took rest, Watched into thin air (pretty terrible film, but does show the dangers of the mountain) Played a bit of pool,  visited the museum in Namche bazaar. Watched some champions league highlights. Saved some energy for the final push the following day back to Lukla where we would stay one night, before our early morning flight the next day.

We were on the flight,  nice and early. Heading back to the warmth of Kathmandu and a Long HOT shower!!!

We made it!!!

Everest in the last of the days sunlight!

the view from Kallapattar- 5565m

Swinging rope bridges with added prayer flags!

Our Casual Guide Kiron

Face of Exhaustion

The Lukla flight, in a 12 seater plane!

Stunning weather!!

Abi's 5 day Poon Hill Trek

Why Trek?

I decided that as Nepal is famous for its trekking and I had the time, I would be foolish not to try a little trek. I'd read and heard such amazing things about what Nepal has to offer in terms of wildlife and views on its many popular routes. I selected the Poon Hill Circuit which in 5 days gives you a great insight into the different terains Nepal has to offer as well as being  sufficiently challenging to get your heart racing, sweat dripping and legs aching!

So I took the tourist bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara at 7.30am which arrived at 2.30pm. I checked into my hotel and then spent some time getting some last minute bits, finding somewhere for dinner and packing my small bag.

Day 1:
Pokhara - Nayapul - Ulleri (2,050m): From Pokhara, the drive to Nayapool takes about an hour in a jeep, then the trek begins from here. After a short walk along the banks of Modi River, we reached Birethani. There were lots of small teahouses along the route. After crossing a village, we climbed to Hille where we stopped for a lovely Dhal Bhat lunch and then on to Tikhedhunga. We then took a very steep ascent up to Ulleri, a large Magar village, which was rather challenging and involved climbing up over 4000 steps!! Today we walked for around 6 hours before our overnight stay at Ulleri.

Day 2:
Ulleri - Ghorepani (2,750m): 4 - 5 hrs From Ulleri, the trail is a gentle ascent and we passed through rhododendron and oak forests to reach Banthanti where we stopped for tea. We then kept walking for a few nore hours to make it to Ghorepani which is popular for the Poonhill hike as it presents a spectacular view of the sunrise and a superb panoramic view of the mountain ranges.

Day 3:
Ghorepani - Poon Hill - Tadapani (2,700m): 5 - 6 hrs Today's journey began with an early morning (5am) short but tough hike to Poonhill, the best viewpoint in the trail and unmistakably a photographer's paradise - I was very snap happy for the whole time I was there!!!. A 45 min walk took us to the top of the hill which is at a height of 3210m. We returned back to Ghorepani for breakfast and then moved onto Deurali after a steep and strenuous climb. The walk after that is an easy jungle route where we came across lots of wildlife including  monkeys and Langurs. We started to descend in order to reach Tadapani, our stay for the night.

Day 4:
Tadapani –Hot spring  (2,170m):  After an early breakfast at Tadapani, we moved down gradually along forests of rhododendrons, cross the Kimsung River and ascend to reach a Gurung village called Gurjung. From here, a straight uphill climb took us to Chhomrong a beautiful village where we stopped for tea before then continuing for another hour to reach Jhinu Danda. Here is where there is a famous natural hot spring renowned for its relaxing atmosphere and its ability to soothe your aching muscles as well as cure diseases. The hot spring was a  30 min walk from the hotel but it was very much worth it, we stayed there in the hot water for hours! It was such a beautiful place, I just kept wanting to pinch myself!!

Day 5:
Hot Spring to Birethanti and drive to Pokhara. From Jhinu, we took the trail down to Modi Khola with magnificent views of Fish Tail and the Annapurna range. The walk continues through the banks of Modi Khola until we reached Birethanti, from where the trek started and where we caught our bus back to Pokhara.

My Trekking Experience :
I organised my trek through 'Happily every after hostel' where we stayed in Kathmandu. They have their own organisation (Green Valley Nepal) and were able to source me a fantastic female guide which put Gary's mind at ease. The package included my transport to Pokhara, all my accomodation and food the trekking permits, the guide and her expenses etc. I definately didnt do it the cheapest way but I was happy with what I paid (350usd). It definitely wet my appetite for trekking and I'd love to come back and do some more possibly longer and more challenging treks!

**Pics to follow**

Abi's experience volunteering

How did I do it?

I found a place I wanted to go via workaway.info.  A site that we purchased a 2 yr membership for before leaving as it helps find volunteering and casual work opportunities.

About the place:
It was around a 15 minute drive out of Thamel, near the Swayambhu Temple (monkey temple).

It was a family run NGO, that is a children's home as well as during the day being a day centre for disabled children. They also have a lot of dogs that predominantly have been saved from being put down due to being stray or unwanted.
So there is an opportunity to help with all of these projects. 
You are asked to pay a $5 per day contribution and in return have somewhere to stay and all drinks, meals and snacks provided.

My main interest was helping with the disabled children. However the family running the place had a bereavement just before I arrived resulting in them having to be away for my first few days and so I was able to relax, read my book and then play with the kids when they were home from school.

Once they returned it was difficult to get the children to the centre due to the fuel crisis but we set about creating new advertisements and trying to reach out to get some new volunteers with specific skills (such as other SLTs, OTs, Physios and SEN teachers).

I did also get a small selection of the children on 2 days which was lovely to see and take part in helping take care of them and provide them with a stimulating day.

While I stayed with the family it really did feel like I was part of their family. I was able to learn a lot about Nepalese culture. It was just so nice. I definitely didn't want to leave!

It was a great experience so I will definitely be looking at doing some other volunteering during our trip!

**Pics to follow**

Nepal!!! Kathmandu

Transport

We arrived in Kathmandu at around 3pm on the 1st November. The bus dropped us on the side of the road and we really had no idea where we were! We had no wifi and no phone signal so no way of finding out how close we were to the centre of town where we had a hostel booked.
We managed to find a taxi that would take us to the main street for 400rs (a good price considering the fuel shortages!) We then were lucky enough to see the sign for our hostel while driving slowly through thamel.

Where did we stay?

We stayed at a hostel called 'Happily Ever After Hostel' it was down a side road off of the main strip and a perfect base for checking out the town. We paid 300rs for a bunk in a shared room, then 350 each for a private double room. This included a basic breakfast of 1 piece of toast, an egg, jam and tea/coffee.
It was great for meeting other travellers, clean and with good wifi!

What did we do?
In all honesty....not a lot! Gary had a lot of things to buy and sort out before he left for his trek on the 5th as well as us both wanting to sort a trek for me to do. Also the fuel crisis really impacted on our ability to travel around. So most days we wandered the streets of Thamel purchasing gear for Gary. We did take a stroll to the Durbar square and were shocked to see the level of damage caused by the earthquake. It was so sad to see - especially as a friend of mine had visited the year before and I had seen her photos so it was really a stark contrast to those.

We did try and visit Bhaktapur - the famous old city that used to be the capital, however, the buses weren't really running and taxi's were charging a fortune for the one hour drive due to the ever worsening fuel crisis so we decided to leave it which was a real shame!

We ate in a few different places while there, including:

-Rama's Kitchen - We ate here on our first night and had a Nepali Thali - it was really yummy!

-Chick N Falafel - Delicious wraps that are uber filling
-Sandwich Point - Here I actually had a tuna mayo sandwich and it was soooo good!
- Gilingche - A tibetan Restaurant - Here we tried, momo's, Thukpa and Thenthuk

-Friends Cafe - We ate here on our last night together before Gary went off trekking and I had steak and Gary a burger...it was sooo tasty and unbelievable that everything had been cooked on an open fire!
-Macdonalds Fast food - Not the place your thinking...this was a Nepali curry and kebab place - They do great tandoori Chicken 

-Bakery's - There are a number of Western bakery's that have a selection of cakes, pasties etc and most of them after 8pm offer 50% off their remaining stock! - A great way to clear the shelves and a cheap way to fill your tummy
-Rosemary Kitchen & Coffee House - We ate here on our last night in Nepal, the food is very good quality and the wine is good too. Its not cheapest but the quality is high and it was a lovely place to spend our last night!

Visible earthquake damage at Durbar Square

The Vananasi to Kathmandu bus...what you need to know!

So there isn't a great deal of information about this bus out there... We struggled to find anything on google (other than newspaper articles like this one) and every time we asked people about it no one seemed to be able to give us any concrete answers....so we figured we would write a quick post!!

So when we arrived in Varanasi we were assured by the hotel staff that they could get us onto the bus and that was the end of the discussion!
As the days progressed we continued to pester the staff and they continued to reassure us that we could go on the bus but that we shouldn't book the tickets until the day we want to go in-case the bus gets cancelled at the last minute. Apparently this is common if there are not enough seats booked. So we continued to have good faith in the staff and waited...This was very hard not knowing whether we might actually need to change everything and get a flight or a train or something else at the very last minute!!

On the day we wanted to go, our hotel (Elvis Guesthouse) sent a staff member to the bus stop to reserve us tickets - they only needed our names and ages to do this.
We then had to leave the guesthouse early (8pm) for the 10.30pm bus to get our tickets. The bus leaves from the main bus station in Varanasi and was in bay 9 (Not sure if this is always the case). We had to go into the main office and confirm our tickets and pay for them. They cost 1,350 rs per person.

They ran a ticket system with the large bags whereby you paid 20rs and they attached half the ticket to your bag and gave you the other half. The bus was new and had aircon & leather reclining seats - as per most a/c buses they insisted on having it on full blast for the whole journey - making it rather chilly! The leather seats were also super 'slidey' any time the bus driver used his brakes or accelerated so we were moving around a lot!

Anyhow we arrived at the boarder at around 5.30am and had to wait the 30mins for the boarder crossing to open. We all got off the bus and had our passports taken and exit-stamped by the indian officials. We then had to walk across the boarder to the Nepal office where we had to fill out paperwork to sort our VISA on arrival. The visa for 30days cost $40 and it was very easy to get at the boarder. Once obtaining this we walked to the bus on the other side and continued our journey to Kathmandu.

We arrived in Kathmandu at around 3pm the following day, so it was 16.5 hrs in total. A long journey but a fairly uneventful and easy one!!