Into Nepal- Limbini, Chitwan and Pokhara

After an extremely long bus ride that became a 12-hr marathon, we crossed into Nepal just before sunset. Little did we know, the border becomes a human shark pit after dark with people coming out of the shadows claiming to be your tour guide, only money exchanger in Nepal, etc. Luckily, the immigration process out of India and into Nepal was a breeze compared to physically getting across the border. We hopped back on a bus and had a quick overnight stay in a jungle lodge with the promise of a "western" breakfast, complete with sausages, awaiting us in the morning-which our entire group ordered. What did arrive the next morning were indeed sausages, slightly hotdog-flavoured and curiously fingertip sized....but it was a welcome treat :)

After a brief guided tour of the birthplace of Buddha and a nearby temple (with a bizzare Buddha-land amusement park feel), we made our way to Chitwan National Park for a few days of rest. Standout moments at Chitwan were watching a rhino grazing at sunset and an early morning elephant safari.

Then we were on the bus again to Pokhara, home of the Annapurna mountain range. Pokhara is extremely touristy and it seems foreigners outnumber locals here. We had the treat of visiting a nearby mountain village, accessed by 2hr hike into the mountains. We stayed with the host family for one night and had fantastic views of the mountains. We're now back in Pokhara and getting ready to head to Kathmandu, our final destination in Nepal. We'll hang out in Kathmandu and explore some of the World Heritage sites and markets before we board a plane and start the next leg of our adventure: southeast Asia.

PS- We've finally managed to upload some photos on Flickr. We'll post the link in our next message.