Update

It's almost six weeks since my accident and I am rather bored. The damage detected so far is a right arm and shoulder broken in five places. Torn rotator cuff and some other muscles ripped from my shoulder. My left wrist broken in three places and still in plaster and both my knees with damaged ligaments.
I have to go back to see the medics on Thursday and they have to decide on what surgery to perform when.
The current forecast is for a six month rehabilitation period and the likelihood that I will have a stiff left wrist and limited movement in my right arm for the rest of my life.
Not really an optimal outcome but as long as I can still walk I am quite OK with it.

Kindness

I have been extremely impressed with the level of concern and kindness everyone in Nepal has displayed since my accident. The doctor that came in from his day off to attend to my case, the speedy treatment at the Himalayan eye hospital to get me new glasses and the young guide who has come with me from bhulebhule to help me negotiate the hospitals and helps me with everything including getting me dressed in the mornings.
Nepal has once again shown it has some of the nicest people on the planet.

Accident

My travels are finished for now. On Saturday while traversing on a narrow cliff face above the Marsyandi river I lost my footing and fell between seven and ten meters into the river and onto the submerged rocks below. I broke my right arm and shoulder sprained severely my left wrist and busted both knee caps.
Although I hit my head on the rocks as well I luckily didn't loose consciousness and managed to get out of the river where I was found by an old women tending her fields. A little later a young man going the other way took my pack and helped me walk back to the village of Bhulebhule where there is a very rough jeep track leading out. I negotiated for a jeep to take me to Pokhara hospital six hours away where they tended to my wounds and where I am now trying to organise travel back to New Zealand.

Ready to walk.

All being well I will be starting my hike of the Annapurna Circuit tomorrow. The first part is the day long bus ride to the start of the trek though. First I have a tourist bus from Kathmandu to Dumre then a Local bus to Besisahar and from there a four wheel drive to BhuleBhule. From Bhulebhule to Manang should be about a weeks walk and I hope to be able to post an update from there. No guarantees though so don't panic if it takes a bit longer then that before I am back updating the blog.

A day in the city.

I managed to obtain my trekking permits from the Tourist bureau in a relatively quick and painless manner the only hiccup being that I had only three passport photos on me and needed four. Luckily we managed to solve this by making a photo copy of one and attaching that to one of the forms instead. Why you need four photos for the just the one trekking permit is unclear but it does keep a few people employed filling out forms.

As the Tourist bureau is handily located at the other end of the city I used the opportunity to make some photos on the way. The first one is of one of the many street vendors in Asan Tole.

This is a small temple in the same market.


And finally this is the hotel I am staying at.

Getting organised.

It is still warm and rainy in Kathmandu and currently the road to Pokhara is blocked in various places by landslides. I am however hopeful of starting a trek on the Annapurna Circuit in a few days.
Today I will try to organize the necessary permits and hopefully most of the land slips will have been cleared in a few days So I am aiming for a start on Thursday or Friday but we'll see how it goes.

Kathmandu

I have arrived safely in Kathmandu and am now trying to figure out what to do next. The weather is still monsoonal with plenty of rain and fairly high temperatures.

Koh San road

Here are some photos to finish of the Thailand section of my travels. All taken at Koh San Road while I was having a beer.

Wat Phra Keaw

After writing how lazy I am yesterday. I got the sudden urge to actually go and do something so off I went to the river hopped on one of the ferries and took a ride out to Wat Phra Keaw and the Royal Palace.
This is an amazing collection of temples statues and royal regalia with more gold leaf then you would think possible. The temple holds special significance in Thailand as it contains the statue of the Emerald Buddha the protector of Thailand. The statue is actually quite small but it sits high atop one of the most ornate altars possible and there is a constant stream of people coming and going to seek it's blessing.
After a view hours I decided that the heat, it's around 37 degrees during the day, and the bling of the gold was getting a bit to much for me so I retreated to the shade of the nearby amulet market. Here all sorts of amulets are sold that bestow protective or magical powers on the wearer if that doesn't work I also saw some tiger teeth for sale and the skin of what could have been no more then a tiger cub.
As always the markets are an interesting sight, I'll probably go and have a look at a few more tomorrow.

Fishy photo

I have belatedly added a photo to the entry Fishy story. Check it out.

Lazy

I think that I have finally managed to achieve what I most admire in cats, the ability to sleep all day only to wake up occasionally for something to eat.
I have now been three days in Bangkok and have still ventured no further then about three blocks from the hotel. My routine is get up for breakfast between ten and eleven in the morning, do some window shopping until about one in the afternoon, have a siesta till three or four, have a snack and a beer somewhere, cruise the chaos of kohsan road and return to the hotel for a swim and maybe watch some tv before turning in for the night.
Maybe I'll go and do some sightseeing today.

Fishy Story

The backpackers ghetto of Koh San road is still home of the weird and the wonderful and although I have no inclination of having myself tattooed, pierced or have my hair extended, platted or colored I had little hesitation to try out the latest craze of having my feet massaged by fish!
The process is simple enough you sit on a bench along a peddling pool with your feet in the water and hundreds of little sucker fish will gather and feast themselves on the dead skin flakes and debris on your feet. The sensation is a weird sort of tickling and the screams of unsuspecting people is fun to watch.



Click on this link for a video of what it looks like.

Arrival in Bangkok

After a long and boring flight I arrived in Thailand and swapped the plane for a taxi that tried to be one. It still brings a grin to my face when we pass the large red 70 kilometer per hour signs at close to a 140. And it does make for a quick ride.
Bangkok is hot and muggy with a temperature in the mid thirties and humidity close enough too 100 % from time top time there is a thunderstorm to liven things up a bit as well.
Anyway I am looking forward to wandering around town tomorrow and see what is new.

Getting there.

Well I am almost on my way again. Coming Sunday I will fly to Bangkok for a week and then from there on to Nepal. I am really starting to look forward to it now.

Still not (H)earing much.

Can't seem to shake the earache. Just when I thought it was improving it has come back with a vengeance and I am back to a hearing through cotton wool effect. So I guess another visit to my GP is in order.

Ear, Ear!

It sounds as if my ears are improving. At least I can hear again although it's pretty fuzzy like having a pillow over your head. You don't normally have a pillow over your head? You should try.
At the moment it's pretty cold in the house as the glaziers have arrived to install new aluminum window frames in the house, at least it's dry!

Ear ache

I am currently hanging around my parents place with an ear infection. I had come over just for a few days to catch up and then found myself laid low with an infection in my left ear. Went to see my doctor who said yep that's pretty bad and gave me drops and an anti-biotic. Two days later my left ear was quite OK but now my right ear is swollen to the extent that even the ear drops can't find there way in. So I guess I'll stay a few more days here till it all clears up.

On the road again.

After having finished the job from hell. I am free man again and planning my next trip.
The short outline of it so far is, Fly on 16 August to Bangkok spent a week there and then fly to Kathamandu. I expect to do plenty of walking, and I need to as I have gained almost 15kg over the last few months, and meet up with various friends and relatives. Edwin and his family are flying in from Holland in the middle of September and Dave comes from New Zealand at the end of October for a hike to Mount Everest.