It's the simple things in life

Ah, a bed, shower and toilet. It's good to be back to modern life. So the trek phase of our trip is complete and we're now hanging out in the spiritual and exiled political home of Tibet- Mcleod Ganj- for a few nights.

The trek was great albeit probably somewhat easier than expected. We had a bit of everything: camping on snow, walking up and down steep rocky/dirt/grass/snow paths and windy roads. The weather was very fair to us with the only bit of rain on the rest day. The start and the end were the toughest parts and I think we felt a bit under-challenged in the middle where we were typically only going about 10 km each day, arriving at each campsite fairly early in the afternoon.

We fell into the routine easily- set up tents, explore, snack/late lunch, keep warm, dinner, bed, wake up, pack up, breakfast, walk, repeat. The guide and porters were great and having ponies/donkeys to carry our big packs made it a lot easier. Food was fantastic too, although not all of the boys would agree with that and very quickly they were talking about food they missed from home and what they'll eat at the airport (meat being high up the list). Aside from a couple of instances where tensions boiled over and got the better of a few of the boys, everyone seemed to enjoy it and we got to see some amazing scenery and can now say we've treked the Himalayas!

It is great to have had a shower after 10 days (probably the longest I've ever been without one in my life!). And not having to dig a hole for pooping anymore seems like luxury. Mcleod Ganj is cool and I'm looking forward to starting our rest and relaxation phase here before heading down to Agra. It's raining this morning and the boys decided last night that this first day here is going to be more or less doing our own things so might just find me a warm spot to have some chai and read for a while.

Thanks for the messages etc. It's cool to know this does get a read or two. I'll try tidy it up and stick pictures etc when I get home.