On Sunday we hit the high street for a spot of shopping. Lakeside in Pokhara is full of touristy little shops and we enjoyed pottering about and bartering (some with more success than others). We met quite a few characters, several of whom could probably sell ice to an Eskimo! Since one bout of shopping is never enough, Camilla and Abraham took us into Mehendrapol where local Nepalis would shop. We visited a couple of haberdasheries and kurta shops and after what felt like half the kurtas in the shop were shown to us, we made our purchases.

After arriving in Pokhara we had a few hours R&R before spending the evening with Chunman and the street boys he is involved with. It was great to meet the boys and understand a bit more about the work he is doing. It was encouraging to see that much thought had been put into supporting children at different levels, from the daily food kitchens to the boys housed at the centre, to the halfway houses provided for older boys entering work. We also heard there was also support for the smaller number of girls who also find themselves on the street. We shared sweets and cake with them, enjoyed being sung to (quite rowdily in fact) and had a lovely Dal Bhat.

Tuesday saw the start of our Nepali trekking experience. We took a pair of jeeps up past Nayapol and stopped about an hour and a half walk from Ghandruk. As the mountains drew nearer there was some apprehension but at the same time, we couldn't wait to be out of the cars. After a drop of tea, the six of us, our two porters and our guide set off.