Nepal is lovely. So calm. Katmandu is full of backpackers moaning about India. That’ll teach them to listen to the Beatles.

Biting off more than I can chew? The Annapurna Circuit trek looks nice in the guidebook. Go for it. Not very sensible. But 21 days walking and climbing a pass of 5500 metres sure cleans out my lungs a treat after all those lorry fumes.

Should be leaving the country tomorrow but it has all been delayed. The Maoist guerrillas choose to kick off their struggle the day I want to leave the country. The state of emergency means my carpenter and freighting agent aren’t allowed into the airport. That and the fact I can't get the bloody front wheel off the bike to get it into the crate, cos the guys who changed the tyre in Delhi decided to tighten it until the alloys welded. So I am going back to the airport with a big f***-off torque wrench tomorrow morning with gritted teeth and some piping for extra leverage. Ho hum, the petit tribulations of the overland biker eh? Still, if this is my biggest worry I clearly haven't got much to complain about.

The state of emergency means that most of the shops are shutting early now: the locals get hassled by the police if they are out much after dark, so the waiters have to get home early, leaving us poor needy dollar-loaded tourists without entertainment outlets in the evenings. Criminal. The "Maoist problem" as it's called here--not the "corrupt feudal hierarchy problem"--has so many ramifications.