May have confused anyone reading the Pokhara blog entry re Everest, the mountain visiblke from Pokhara is Machupuccre known locally as 'Fishtail' , Everest is much further East and will be, if all goes well, trekking to within sight of it by the 14th - 15th December. Am back in Kathmandu amidst the smog and pollution - definitely a city that could have survived better without the internal combustion engine. 5 days here and am preparing for a 20 day trek to Everest base Camp (EBC), my guide has a greatly improved , compared to the last one, command of the English language. Temperatures here have dropped since I first came in October, though midday it is about 21C, but nighttime is chilly. Must not complain as it has been in the 30's centigrade up until a week or so ago in Pokhara.
Have had an opportunity to catch up with some Nepali friends I met in October, and have had the chance to visit some of the sights of Kathmandu and the surrounding countryside, from the back of a motorbike, again!