Himalaya by Thong

At least that's what the Kiwis are calling it...I'll explain later :) Steph and I finished the Annapurna Circuit and have already returned to Kathmandu and parted ways. This update is a long time coming and was further delayed by yesterday's Labor and Market Union strike. For a day, this jackhammer of a city was humbled to the roar of a fuzzy bunny. It was marvelous! Where taxis and motor bikes usually zip and honk and force pedestrians to cling to the margins of the street, there were kids playing cricket and hackey sack (I even saw a skateboard). There wasn't a single open shop, or a taxi on the street. Steph set off to the airport on a jam-packet rickshaw piloted by a toothpick of a man 1/8 the size of his load. Good laughs. So... I'll start from the beginning and try to slim this amazing adventure down to just the most entertaining details. Suffice it to say that we had the time of our lives, saw scenery that squashes any phrase that includes "awe striking," and met some really wonderful people along the way. Here goes...