chaos! confronted by a protest as soon as we crossed the border into nepal. quite the contrast from the ultra controlled china.
prayer flags hung from kathesimbhu stupa - kathmandu.
this one is for oma, puppets of hindu gods bhairab and ganesh.
vendor selling coloured powders for deepawali.
'gift of god'...the cow with 5 limbs on display for the deepawali festival.
woodcarvings on one of the temples in durbar square - kathmandu.
durbar square.
the madness of thamel in kathmandu...stuck in a traffic jam in the back of a rickshaw.
one of many monkeys at the great buddhist temple of swayambhunanth, also known as 'monkey temple'.
the best way to travel in nepal.
with our friends elle and alan, we took a 2 day rafting trip along the bhote kosi river.
mostly navigating through class 3 to 4 rapids. 
on our way to start trekking, sitting the entire way from kathmandu on the roof of our bus. we spent the next 3 weeks (over 300km) trekking in the annapurna region, completing the circuit, a side trip to tilicho lake and finishing with the annapurna sanctuary. we carried our own gear and met many wonderful people along the way.
day 1 - subtropical vegetation outside bahundanda.
this little one was full of joy, skipping and singing along the path in front of us.
day 3 - entering the village of chame.
security with rifle at the wild west style bank in chame.
tidy kitchen in chame.
gloomy morning.
orchid still full apples in november outside of bhratang.
day 4 - upper pisang, from here we went the more scenic (and difficult) 'upper route' to manang.
autumn colours.
prayer wheels in the village of ghyaru where we stayed the night.
rewarded with another cloudless day and views of the annapurnas.
the tibetan village of bryaga with houses stacked ontop of one another on a rocky outcrop.
day 5 - we ventured off the 'around annapurna' trek for a little side trip up the marsyangdi valley to tilicho lake.
looking down and across the treacherous scree slope we had to traverse.
we decided to take the lower landslide route, as we heard the upper route was also treacherous, with a steep ascent and descent.
view from tilicho lake base camp hotel.
day 7 - highest lake (4920m) in the world as some nepalis say? not likley...but still stunning.
the 'great barrier' ridge which runs along tilicho lake.
getting back to the trek, looking back at the 'great barrier' and the steep path up to the lake.
one of the few times we spotted the infamous 'blue' sheep.
yaks in their element above 3000m.
thorung phedi, (phedi meaning 'foot of the hill') preparing for the next day's ascent to thorung la pass.
day 10 - thorung la pass, highest point of the trek at 5416m. 
and now the difficult 1600m descent into muktinath.
looking up at khatung kang (6484m) and glaciers from the pass.
down from thorung la pass, spectacular views of dhaulagiri (8167m).
moon rising over yakgawa kang (6481m).
the fortress village of jharkot.
day 11 - the baren landscape of kali gandaki valley. thorung la pass is between the two peaks on the right.
sadhus on pilgramage to muktinath.
day 12 - marpha the 'delightful apple capital of nepal'.
local in marpha. he is a happy man, honest...just would not smile for the camera.
farmer ploughing his field in tukuche.
reminded of canada...
walking hay bail. porters also carry caged chickens, wardrobes, propane tanks, everything including the kitchen sink. most wear flip-flops, some go barefoot.
bimal, from india, is walking all over nepal to promote peace.
day 14 - rest day in tatopani, ahh hotsprings and cold beer.
donkey with colourful headress. we were constantly sharing the trail with many donkey trains carrying goods.
day 15 - lunch in chitre.
the fantastic views from poon hill at sunset.
dhalaugiri as seen from poon hill.
day 16 - entering annapurna sancuary, spending the night in chhomrong the village with over 2000 steps.
day 18 - in the sanctuary, and our destination of annapurna base camp at 4130m. now totally surrounded by peaks.
fang (baraha shikhar) and annapurna I (8091m) where sadly anatoli bourkeev died in an avalanche, christmas day 1997.
looking down at the way we came up.
chillin' in our down jackets, even sleeping in them. it snowed during the night, giving us a light dusting to wake up to.
annapurna I, still 8km away...and 4km taller. to think only 13 days prior we were somewhere on the other side.
machhapuchhare (6997m) at sunset.
happy birthday apple roll!
its all downhill from here...well, nearly.
day 21 - FINISHED! the annapurna base camp crew (clockwise from jenny: matt, sara, maya, esgro, joe, gary and jonathan) having celebratory drinks in pokhara.
ready for take-off. paragliding from sarangkot above pokhara.
run and jump!
we had an hour trip, although the visibility was poor (no mountain views) the flying conditions were perfect.
rice terraces from above.
the colourful wings mark our landing spot.
day 1 - subtropical vegetation outside bahundanda. 
this little one was full of joy, skipping and singing along the path in front of us.
day 3 - entering the village of chame.
security with rifle at the wild west style bank in chame.
tidy kitchen in chame.
gloomy morning.
orchid still full apples in november outside of bhratang.
day 4 - upper pisang, from here we went the more scenic (and difficult) 'upper route' to manang.
autumn colours.
prayer wheels in the village of ghyaru where we stayed the night.
rewarded with another cloudless day and views of the annapurnas.
the tibetan village of bryaga with houses stacked ontop of one another on a rocky outcrop.
day 5 - we ventured off the 'around annapurna' trek for a little side trip up the marsyangdi valley to tilicho lake.
looking down and across the treacherous scree slope we had to traverse.
we decided to take the lower landslide route, as we heard the upper route was also treacherous, with a steep ascent and descent.
view from tilicho lake base camp hotel.
day 7 - highest lake (4920m) in the world as some nepalis say? not likley...but still stunning. the 'great barrier' ridge which runs along tilicho lake.
getting back to the trek, looking back at the 'great barrier' and the steep path up to the lake.
one of the few times we spotted the infamous 'blue' sheep. 
yaks in their element above 3000m.
thorung phedi, (phedi meaning 'foot of the hill') preparing for the next day's ascent to thorung la pass.
day 10 - thorung la pass, highest point of the trek at 5416m.
and now the difficult 1600m descent into muktinath.
looking up at khatung kang (6484m) and glaciers from the pass.
down from thorung la pass, spectacular views of dhaulagiri (8167m).
moon rising over yakgawa kang (6481m).
the fortress village of jharkot.
day 11 - the baren landscape of kali gandaki valley. thorung la pass is between the two peaks on the right.
sadhus on pilgramage to muktinath. day 12 - marpha the 'delightful apple capital of nepal'.
local in marpha. he is a happy man, honest...just would not smile for the camera.
farmer ploughing his field in tukuche.
reminded of canada...
walking hay bail. porters also carry caged chickens, wardrobes, propane tanks, everything including the kitchen sink. most wear flip-flops, some go barefoot.bimal, from india, is walking all over nepal to promote peace.
day 14 - rest day in tatopani, ahh hotsprings and cold beer.
donkey with colourful headress. we were constantly sharing the trail with many donkey trains carrying goods.
day 15 - lunch in chitre.
the fantastic views from poon hill at sunset.
dhalaugiri as seen from poon hill.
day 16 - entering annapurna sancuary, spending the night in chhomrong the village with over 2000 steps.day 18 - in the sanctuary, and our destination of annapurna base camp at 4130m. now totally surrounded by peaks.
fang (baraha shikhar) and annapurna I (8091m) where sadly anatoli bourkeev died in an avalanche, christmas day 1997.
looking down at the way we came up.
chillin' in our down jackets, even sleeping in them. it snowed during the night, giving us a light dusting to wake up to.
annapurna I, still 8km away...and 4km taller. to think only 13 days prior we were somewhere on the other side.machhapuchhare (6997m) at sunset.happy birthday apple roll!
its all downhill from here...well, nearly.
day 21 - FINISHED! the annapurna base camp crew (clockwise from jenny: matt, sara, maya, esgro, joe, gary and jonathan) having celebratory drinks in pokhara. ready for take-off. paragliding from sarangkot above pokhara. run and jump!we had an hour trip, although the visibility was poor (no mountain views) the flying conditions were perfect. rice terraces from above. the colourful wings mark our landing spot.
pilgrims in front of jokhang temple.
detailed mandela made of sand by the monks each new year - sera monastery, just outside lhasa.
hand printing copies of scriptures.
the wood blocks used for printing.
yamdrok-tso lake with mt. nojin kangtsang in the distance...
blowin' in the wind. each pass we passed was adorned with prayer flags.
decorative door at the tashilhunpo monastery - shigatse.
at the top of pang-la pass, giving us a spectacular view of the himalaya including mt. qomolangma (everest), mt. cho oyu, and others. brilliant.
head in the clouds...
top o' the world in all its glory...
jenny, lhakdon (wednesday...our fantastic guide), and travel mates ellie & harry.
our menu, simple but good.
literally chillin' in our tent.
our host at base camp, he shares a wife with his brother (this is common in tibet)
sweet old villager...
kids in a small village we stopped at to buy yak wool.
small market - old tingri.
house, horse, and cart - old tingri.
sunrise - old tingri.
just outside old tingri...
the mindblowing scenery of tong-la pass.
