Game Over, flying out of Mustang

October 1^st, 2026

Pokhara, Nepal

Woke with alarm at 7:00AM.

Feeling beaten still.  Was down by around 10ish, and only up twice for bathroom visit, but still not feeling rested.

Wandered around the atrium a bit, then stepped outside to watch the locals going about their daytime starts.

Went back to the room and shocked that we still had hot water, but did not want to take a full shower, so just washed head and face.

Went back in and sat on the steps of the atrium as there is no chair in the room, but did not want to sit in Café and make them think I wanted something.

Just played games on the phone to wake up.

Guide found me when he was walking upstairs.

We talked for a bit, then went to café and ordered breakfast.

Still no internet or phone, but his talking with various guides and local government people tells us that the roads south are still not passable, and will be out of service for at least 5-6 more days.

We do not have that kind of time.

We briefly think about riding down to the area to see what the story is, but that would take at least 3-4 hours, and waste fuel, which is getting harder to get.

It’s decided that our ride is over.

He talks to hotel about getting a car to take us the 6 miles back to Jomson to reach the airport, and also about storing the bikes at the hotel until a time when they can be retrieved.

We both got and pack, and since the small planes have limited luggage space, we will have to wear our riding gear on the plane, so much joy!

We get geared up, socks and boots are still damp, but nothing that can be done.

Finish packing, checked out the room and then left to wait in the lobby.

Guide arrived a few minutes after me.

Hotel staff took my large bag and we walked out of the small alley ways to the main road area where a car was already waiting to take us to the airport.

We crammed into the small SUV and then took about 15 minutes to drive up to the town and get dropped off in front of the airport (right on the main highway).

Cost me 2000 rupee for the ride. (guess I am paying for the extra transport).

Guide talked to the security in front of the airport entrance for a bit, then dropped bags on the ground and I waited with them while he went inside to see if we could get on a flight today.

Since we have not internet, we could not book online, and the main ticket office on the street was also down, so he was trying the direct route and going right to the airline desk inside.

Guide was gone about 20 minutes or so, and when he returned, he said we could go now.

We walked into the airport gate and found the departures building.

We stood around for a few minutes, then he overheard some others talking that NCell, the cell company I was using, had restored service.

I took my phone out of airplane mode and sure enough, I had service.

He used my phone to call the tour company people back in Kathmandu to explain what was going on and update them on our status.

We then went up to the ticket booth as they were ready for us.

Staff weighed our bags (both overweight) and then took them to checked bag security.

I then had to pay for my flight and bag fees, which came to $215 US dollars.

We then got boarding passes, and were ready to board.

We went through what appeared to be a non-functioning metal detector and then waited outside rooms for security search.

Gender specific rooms where you would be patted down and asked if you were carrying anything prohibited.

Carry on bags were not checked though, or perhaps only if security was not satisfied with answers?

We then went into waiting area and sat down.

Cell service kept going in and out still for me, and his came back, but only phone and only emergency calls, so still not fully restored.

Soon after they started calling us up and checking our passes, then we went outside and waited on the steps next to the plane parking area.

A plane landed soon after, and it was ours (Summit Airlines).

We waited while the plane was unloaded of passengers, and then they let us walk over to start boarding.

We were toward the rear of the line, so would be near back of plane.

We also saw the luggage being loaded into the rear cargo bay.

This was a small plane, and LET L410-UVP-E20  made in the Czech Republic.

I had the last seat on the left side, which was a single seat row.  The exit door was right behind me.

After boarding, we left soon after, the engines had never even shut off, just powered way down while we boarded.

We taxied to the runway and took off.

Noisy plane, we were right behind the upper wing mounted engines.

Great views though.

Flight was amazing as you were constantly going along the mountains and above the valleys, but still had massive peaks rising several thousand feet above.

As we moved down the Mustang valley the clouds started to increase, as did the turbulence, but nothing too bad, just seems worse in a small plane.

We arrived over Pokhara in about 20 minutes and landed.

Quickly arrived at parking area, and deboarded the plane.

We walked over to a simple building where they would bring the checked luggage and waited.

Once that arrive and we had claimed our bags, we left to find a taxi.

That was quick process as they were all lined up nearby.

Driver took us to the same hotel we had stayed at last time, though while we were in route the guide had called, and supposedly the place was full.

Some back and forth with the tour agent in Kathmandu and suddenly we had rooms at the hotel.

We had actually arrived at the place before this occurred, so just sat in the taxi waiting to see what would happen.

Once we were good to stay, we got out of taxi, I paid the 800 Ruppe cost, and we checked into the hotel.

Got into my room (guess the guide will stay at another place across the road that is not as costly?) and got out of the now over heating riding gear. (it was quite warm and humid here compared to when we left Jomson).

I then took a nice warm shower and cleaned myself top to bottom, while I had done this the night before, I had still been wearing dirty clothing and probably smelled quite rank by now.

I then sat down and did some updates online as I figured people might be wondering where I was after a week of silence.

I then gathered all the smelly, dirty clothing into the bag provided by the hotel, filled out the form and called down to have them come get stuff for laundry service.  (not very cheap, but desperately needed).

They came up in a few minutes and took the stuff away.

I then put stuff on chargers that were very low and put boots out on the patio in the direct sunlight to dry, and hopefully kill of some of the smell (they are toxic!)

I then went downstairs to meet up with the guide and go to lunch.

We walked over to a nice place about ¼ mile away and both had pizza for lunch.

Then we walked back, stopping so I could get some water and a Coke, and then returned to the hotel.

He had earlier worked with the tour company to get our flights and airport transfers booked, so we will leave tomorrow around 11:30AM.

We will still meet as usual for breakfast around 8:00AM and then plan any last minute details.

A car will be picking us up for the 20-30 minute ride to the larger airport, and then after 1-2 hours we will take the 30 minute flight to Kathmandu where another car will take us into town.

I am going to be dropped off at the same hotel I stayed at last time as I know the area, it is a nice place (though not cheap) and I still need to pay for the last night I spent there due to the mistake made by their front desk staff.

I will be in Kathmandu for 3 more nights, then will be leaving Nepal for the next stage of this adventure, but will cover that in a later entry.

For now, I am going to try working on getting all the previous weeks entries online and then think about dinner, either eat at the hotel if serving, or see about some place close by, though may even go back to same place we had lunch, nice menu there.

 

 

Motorcycle Trekking - Getting past the road damage

September 30^th, 2026

Marpha, Nepal

Woke early today.

Put on shoes and went outside to get some fresh air on the front patio. A few of the guides and the hotel staff were moving about, but none of the other guests.

Took a few photos and just sat there getting some Zen time.

Eventually people started to move about, more of the guides were hanging out up on the road side and a few other guests went out for walks or taking photos.

I went up with the guides; sun was shining there and was much warmer.

My guide asked to use the charging cable again for his phone on the motorbikes, so went into get it.

We ran on his bike for about 10-15 minutes.  While that was going on, two of the Chinese guests were going on about the bikes and asked to take photos, and a bit later after we moved away, I saw them both posing with the bikes.

We then moved the phone over to my bike and ran it as well to charge phone, and both bikes were not warmed up and ready to ride.

Went in for breakfast and the French group was already eating, and the Chinese group was starting to arrive. 

My food came out soon after and I quickly ate and then went to the room to change into my gear.

Then sat around in various places playing on the phone till we were ready to leave.  We wanted to leave about 9:00AM, but think we got out by around 8:30AM.

All the other groups were also getting ready to leave.

All of us were going to use the alternate way of bypassing the road damage, the village trail.

Those in cars would just hike down the hill and get a different car at the bottom.

We had the extra challenge of moving the bikes down the trail, which was something that we knew could be done, but most doing it were using smaller, lighter bikes.

We got on our bikes right after the French group left, and passed them almost immediately.

The road was a bit better this time as the tractor had cleared a few of the areas and about 2 dozen trucks had gone down the road the day before, so the worst sections were somewhat flattened and we could follow in tire tracks.

Most of the thick wet mud was now damp hard mud, still soft and bit slick, but not going to get stuck in it.

We reached the village of Chele right before the road damage and guide asked around and the work had not even started yet.  They were still waiting on the dump trucks that were needed to haul the gravel up from the river to fill in the washed out sections.

So, we were going to have to move the bikes down the hiking trail.

We rode over into the villages narrow dirt paths and stopped at the top of the hill.

Guide hiked down a bit to check things out and was pretty sure we could do it, but would need help as the bikes would be too heavy to handle alone or even with the two of us.

He went off to find some help, and was gone for probably 30 minutes.

I stayed with the bikes, getting strange looks from the locals going about their business in the same area or passing through.  Passed time with a few photos and just staring at the bikes.

The French group hiked down around this time, and 20 minutes later the Chinese group came and hiked down.

They would have cars pick them up at the bottom to continue on to the Jomson Airport or the next town they were to visit.

Guide brought me a bottle of water as I was thinking I would need it after helping move the bikes.

Eventually the help gathered.

They took guides bike first.

One smaller guy got on the bike, and two (the guide being one) grabbed the bike from the back and they coasted it down the hill.  Several others followed along to help when needed.

I stayed up top with my bike and the bags (we removed all the bags and gear to make bikes lighter.)

When it was my bikes turn, the same guys took it and guide said to wait and he would be back to get the bags.

However, shortly after they went down (I filmed the first segment and the walked back to the bags) one of the drivers that had been with the French group grabbed two of the bags, another guy grabbed another, so I grabbed what was left and we all hiked down the hill.

Figured no point I making my guide hike back up again just for the bags.

We reached the bottom just after they did with the bike and we all stood around a bit while they talked, drank water, and rested.

The guys that helped went back up for another bike, which we watched them bring down, and then it was time for us to get on the bikes and go.

We rode just a short distance to a large, somewhat technical water crossing.

Guide went first and bike got stuck on a rock and he stalled in the middle, then was just spinning wheel when trying to go.

I parked and went over to help, wading into the 6-12 inch deep, quite cold water.  Yeah, my boots are finally wearing out, water got in almost immediately.

We spent a few minutes trying to dislodge the bike from the large rocks and get it up the slightly steep bank.

Finally got it up and he took the bike (it was running and he was operating it while walking on one side, me on the other) up the road a bit to park.

I walked back, now missing my water bottle that had fell out of my pocket and washed away, and got on my bike.

I started the bike and line up, but waited as the guide was in the water moving some rocks around to clear a better path.

Once he finished, I eased the bike to the edge and the drove into the water and crossed.

It was rough, and still found a few rocks, but reached the far bank without getting stuck, then powered up the bank, but slightly off center, so took a rougher route around his parked bike to reach smoother road.

We then got going again.

Rest of the road was rough, some parts washed away, but paths made over the remains.

Many of the slides on the road across the bridge were still there, but tracks had been made over them, so we could get across.  It was bumpy, and still a few muddy spots, but not too bad.

We eventually reached another washed crossing.  Looks like we were just crossing the stream bed as the original bridge was gone.

This area was made up of very loose stones and running, muddy water.

I made the mistake of following the guide in too close, and when his bike slipped for a second and he slowed down, I had to stop to avoid hitting him.

He continued okay, but now I had to get going, and after just a few feet my back tire was stuck and spinning.

He came over to give me a push, and the bike got going, but then lost traction and killed the engine.

Got it going and was able to hit the last section and bounce out of the water.

After this the road was mostly just avoiding fallen rocks, which in many places covered our lane, making us use the oncoming lane instead.

Thankfully there was not too much traffic.

Some sections of mud slide to ride over, and at one point we had to divert onto a path next to the road as the main road was covered in a sheet of thick mud.

Not sure if this area had been used as something else as the trail was well worn, but very rough.

We stopped twice on our way to check out of the permit zones, which we had overstayed by two days, but thankfully guide had already been in contact and the authorities were aware of the situation and reasons why.

We reached Kagbeni and went into town to eat at YacDonalds again.

At this point, my stomach issues were getting quite bad and had to spend a bit of time in the restroom, only to find the toilet would not flush!!!

I did what I could, but then told the person running the place about the issue, and he indicated the toilet had a water leak and water was shut off, he said he would fix later and just locked that bathroom.  Kind of embarrassing, but also a bit annoyed, if the toilet did not work, why was it not locked before someone used it.

After lunch we made our way out of town, some very rough sections of road, and had to wait for a tractor blocking the road while they dumped off a load of rocks.

We then found the highway again and shortly after this the pavement returned.

Still, plenty of loose rock and dirt on the road in sections, but made the rest of it much nicer.

We passed through Jomson as the guide wanted to stay in a different place until we knew what we were going to do as it had the parking needed to leave the bikes if it comes to that.

This section of road had some very beat up areas, though think this was more from lack of maintenance than the recent flooding and rains.

We soon reached the small town of Marpha, which we had stopped in on the way up for coffee.

This was the village with the very narrow roads that no cars could use.

We meandered our way through the small lanes and found the same café/hotel we had stopped at before.

Guide said we would stay here tonight.

So got my room, got out of the dusty gear and wet boots and then took a hot shower.

Dressed and laid out a few things to dry in the window I opened and then wandered out to see if the guide was around, but he had moved the bikes somewhere and then went off to do something, I guess.

I went back to the room to look over the calendar.

Today should have been my return to Kathmandu and the end of the trip.  We now are at least one or two days from being done.

Our problem still remains lack of information.  Internet is still out for the region, so no Wifi in the hotels, and for last 24 hours now, all cell service has stopped working.

We need to find out if the road wash out near Tatopani has been fixed, or at least graded down enough to allow vehicles to pass or not.

If yes, we can ride out tomorrow to Pokhara and then back to Kathmandu the following day.

If no, then we will likely need to leave bikes and fly out, but not sure if that will be a single day or two days of flying.  There are only a handful of flights out of Jomson each day due to high winds that come up in the early afternoon. (Flights are on smaller 2 engine prop planes).

I ended up falling asleep while I was thinking, or so I assume, I just recall waking up and 2 hours were gone.

Went out and found the guide in the café talking with another, so joined them, and soon the other guy left.

We talked a bit about current issues, then hotel asked if we could get dinner order in as they were expecting to lose power in the next hour.

Seems that the main power is down here, but a smaller hydro power plant nearby does provide some power, but it rotates it around the various villages.

We ordered something that could be cooked on the gas stove, just in case, and glad we did as the power dropped about 15 minutes later.

At our dinner (we both had the spaghetti, though they chicken had to be replaced with yak, the chicken they had was no longer good, and other was frozen still).

Once we finished dinner, we talked about various things for a while, then I grabbed the laptop to get this typed up.

They have already closed up the café and think things are winding down.  We are the only guests here right now, most staying here have already moved north, and all access to the region has been closed off now due to the current situation.

Will head back to room soon and upload footage, then probably read a bit and go to bed.

Catch ya down the road.

Trapped in Upper Mustang

September 29^th, 2026

Samar Village, Nepal

Woke before the alarm and sat in the room for a bit.

As I slept in my clothes due to cold, just put on my shoes and went outside to see what was going on.

Guide was doing the morning maintenance on the bikes, adjusting chains, lubricating, checking tires, and try again to adjust his steering response (been an issue since we left Kathmandu)

Stood around for a while, then went in and had breakfast.

A large group that came in last night was leaving to continue north on their trek, and after breakfast, most of the truck drivers parking here went to hang out in their trucks.

I went back to the room and took a short, mostly cold shower, then checked all the clothes that were still damp and put them in the windows as it was very warm with the sun shining today.

Checked on them a few times while working on packing other stuff and eventually it was all dry enough to put into the bag again.  Also put the boots up there with the insoles out to let it dry out as well.

Insoles were dry really fast, but boots will take longer.

Went back out to talk with the guides while we sat around the bikes.

Another American couple was getting loaded up in the jeep, they will go down and then hike down the hill and get picked up by another jeep to get them to Jomsom so they can fly out today.

I had talked a bit with them the other day, and he wanted me to send him the photo of the road hole when I get internet again. (Internet is still down, power is also still out, so all we have is what the solar can store during the day, and nothing is on during daylight to conserve power for night.)

As they were leaving, I ran in and grabbed a card to give them to check out the YouTube, they might enjoy seeing the same places from another viewpoint.

I grabbed my Kindle and went outside and read for quite a bit.

Around lunch I stopped and went inside to check the boots and sat in room for a few.

Then came out and had lunch, and around this time all the trucks decided to head down the road to the next village.  I think they are trying to make a statement to the government to work faster on restoring the road.

They are supposed to be working on it, and reports are coming in that they are there, but no update on any progress or timeframe yet.

Sat around and played on the phone a bit, then went back to the Kindle until it started to get too cold out.

I returned to the room for a bit to put boots back on floor and insoles back in.  No longer getting sun on that side.

Bounced around between room and the dining area trying to kill time.  Phone is getting low on power, so put it on the smaller charging pack I have, but it was used the other night, so only got it up to 45%.

Spent a bit of time taking photos outside of the mountains and other things, but seen most of it several times, does not change much.

Eventually went and read on the Kindle more, finishing the one book, starting and comupleted another short book (Guide on riding motorcycles in Latin America), and started another book (Guy and friends rode vintage motorbikes down the Americas in the late 70s)

I returned to room and dropped off the Kindle as it was getting closer to dinner now.

Grabbed the other charging pack and put the phone on it till it reached 50%, that way I can still play on it some tonight if need.

My food arrived around then as well.  Was a bit slower as a large group of Chinese hikers came in to stay for the night as well, and kitchen was quite busy.  Was also another couple eating earlier and the 3 French people are still here as well.

I ate my food and then played on the phone a bit.  A local had agreed to ride down and check out the road progress earlier, and he had not yet returned, so was waiting to hear any updates.

Not long after he did return and the news is not good.  They are not making much progress on the issue at all.  It sounds like all the slides and damage to the road before the big hole has been dealt with, so at least we know we can get to Jomson if we can get past the hole in the road.

At this point, the guide thinks we should leave in the morning, check out the progress, inquire about getting bikes across in short time, otherwise, hire the help to move the bikes down the hiking trail to bypass this issue.

Once in Jomsom, we can hopefully get updates on the other road issues near Tatopani, and then we can either ride out if okay, or leave the bikes and fly back (they will have to retrieve bikes at a later date).

After all that, I went to room and brought laptop back to the dining area as it was bit quieter now, and is much easier to work on while sitting at a table or desk.  Not easy to type while sitting in bed.

Will finish this up and then spend another hour or two on the phone or kindle before going to bed.

Everything is ready to get geared and out the door tomorrow, so the usual 8:00AM breakfast and then we leave around 9:00AM.

Hope we get some good news tomorrow, moving these bikes down a hiking trail does not sound like a fun experience (will take several hours).

Catch ya down the road.

One Step Forward, One Step Back

September 28^th, 2026

Samar Village, Nepal

Woke with alarm at 7:00AM this morning.

No running water, no shower.

Went down for breakfast and talked with the guide.  He will take a bike up to the spot and see what things look like this morning.

It appears that a tractor has already been up to start clearing the slide area and leveling the road, so he will see what that looks like so we can time our departure.

I went outside and sat in the cool air, took photos of the mountains, talked to two small children with their grandmother I would guess, and watched the cows eat and the cats playing.

The two smaller cats would not let me get near them, though the one would stare at me and meow a lot, it never would come close.

The larger cat (the mother I think) came over for a few pets, but then she left the property and did not come back while I was there.

I eventually went inside and packed the few things I took out and changed into the riding gear, which was still slightly damp in spots, and were my socks, and the boots.

Noticed also that the zipper on my street pants was broken.  Only pair of pants I have for the 2 months of travel and now my fly is constantly open….sigh.

I was putting a few things on the bike when the guide returned.

The tractor was working on the road and would likely be ready in 30 minutes or so.

So, we paid the hotel bill, strapped the bags onto the bikes and left.

It is just 1 mile to the slide, and we arrived to see 4 other bikes waiting, and a few cars, plus the truck that tried to cross last night was working on changing tires. (Heard later that he blew out all 4 tires on the truck trying to get unstuck last night, and had to pull apart all the brake drums to clean them out.)

We stood around for maybe 20 minutes watching the loader push huge piles of sludge like mud over the side of the road and level out the area.

Finally reached a point where the mud was just sticky, but not sludge.  He pushed out the last of the soup mud in front of the slide as well.

When he pulled off to the side, all the bikes took off and we got across the section without too much issue.

We headed onward, going around another section the tractor had cleared as well, though it had not blocked the entire road.

The road heads up here, and in many spots, there was very visible damage to the road surface where water had been running down it.  Lots of exposed rock that would have been buried more before the rains, small ravines running along sections of the road, and quite a bit of loose rock laying around where it fell from higher up.

We found some sections just washed away, just a jumble of rocks and mud and had to pick our way through that mess.

Some muddy sections still as well.

We did stop for a few scenic views, but kept up a good pace to try and make up time.

We came upon a few more slide areas, but these were smaller, only about 10-15 feet across, and both had been driven over my a 4x4, so we at the tire tracks to follow.

Later we came to a spot where a large tree or shrub had been washed into the road, blocking half of it, the rest was split between a deep muddy hole and a narrow dry ridge on the edge, and it was quite an edge, dropping hundreds of feet down.

Guide slowly came up to the ridge and then edge down into the mud and powered out of that.

I pulled up and decided that the dry ridge looked easier, so slowly got up on top of it, stopped briefly to make sure I was straight and level, then just hit the throttle and passed the 20 feet without any issues. Just do not look down.

We then crossed the same two water crossing we had on the way up, both still full, but not running as heavy.

We arrived back in Samar Village for lunch, stopped at the same place we stayed a few days back.

We had a decent meal and sat around for a bit, and a few other groups were there too, trying to make it south.

The guide had been told the road was out farther down, but we wanted to see it for ourselves as sometimes the drivers of cars/trucks do not realize that bikes can sneak through some damaged areas.

We came down the big hill of switchback again, and it was slow going.

Lots of lose rock, lots of fallen rock to dodge, some mud and washed out sections, and even a large deep raving running down the middle of one section.

We came upon one long section where the mud had just piled up on the road, but gain it had been driving over, so we had some tire tracks to follow, but some times those tracks were the high points, with ruts beside them of washed out rock.

It was mostly dried mud, so not too slick, but very uneven and took quite a bit of effort to keep the bike going as the tire ruts were not in a straight line either.

I had a few close calls in getting stuck in the holes, but kept it out and kept going down.

We both made it out and then continued on the way.

We stopped to look over the bottom of the valley and immediately noticed that a good couple hundred feet of road going up to the bridge was mostly washed away, however, it did appear level enough we would probably be able to get over it.

Farther past the bridge were at least 2 slides that went over the road.

One already had tire tracks in it, and from the distance (probably a mile off) it looked easy enough to ride over.

The other which was bit farther was much larger, probably 10 feet above the road surface, but had very gradual slopes on both sides, so if it was not too soft, we could make it too.

However, there was still the wash out near the small village the guide had been told about, so we rode on down to see it.

Two bikes come up talked to the guide, and it appeared the were saying it was not possible.

We decided to go see it anyway.

We rode up where a few bikes were waiting as well, and soon saw the problem.

The water running along the drainage ditch along the inside curve of the road had cut a channel across the road and into the large ravine next to the road.  It then just dug a huge ravine across the road.

There was a gap of probably 15 feet, and the whole was 15-20 feet deep.

Absolutely no way to cross it with a vehicle of any kind.  You could not even walk it as the sides of the hole were straight up, no path down.

While there was an area off to the side where one might have been able to walk down a hill and back up, it was not possible for the bikes, too steep and too loose a surface.

We turned around and rode back up to the village and into the parking area for the local hotel.

The guide walked over to talk with them and when he returned, he said they were mostly full, with only basic room left that had no bathroom, having to walk outside to use the outhouse.

Some people working on a building near the track down to the hotel said they would be willing to help us haul the bikes down the hiking trail that would get us past the gap, but it would have taken at least 4 people and several hours to get the bikes down, and if we could not get past any of the next obstacles, we would be stuck in the middle of nowhere.

As that option had little be desired, and the local hotel was not a good setup, the guide called back to the place in Samar and they had rooms, so we rode back up to there.

This meant going through all that torn up sections again, only uphill this time.

We reached the hotel and got into our rooms.  I have same room as I had last time we stayed here.

Thankfully the last 2 days of sunshine has allowed them to have hot water, so was able to take a shower finally after 5 days.

Once cleaned up and rested, I went outside and the guide was washing the bikes to clean off the layers of mud caked on them.

I then went inside and sat in the room for a bit and did nothing.  The power is out here, so no WiFi again.  Turns out the main power transmission lines were also wiped out, so no power any where in the valley, except those with solar power.  The days of bad weather caused issues, and even now they have limited power as the solar cannot replace all the power needs, so lots of stuff is turned off.

Still no cell signal either.  I really bought the wrong cell SIM card; most the locals use a government owned cell service and have no issues making calls and using internet.  Not sure tourists can buy into it, but will try that if I ever come back here.

I went outside after a bit and found the guide talking with some of the other group guides here.

I sat in the dinning area and played games on the phone for a bit, and then went back out and found the guide was running the engine on a bike to charge his phone.  We stood around talking and then noticed a huge line of trucks making their way down the road toward us.

They all pulled up and parked along the road, and in front of them was the same tractor that had cleared the issues this morning.  Guess he had been working his way down the road clearing stuff as he went.

We kept talking while the phone charged.  I went inside to get a bottle of water from the hotel and then stood around as the truck drivers soon started to take over the hotel.

Besides the guide and myself, there are at least 3 other groups here with their guides and drivers.  One group had stopped at lunch, but they were hiking out and we saw them when we rode back to the hotel.

Two groups were same we had been seeing along the way, going the same route.

Another group was trying to head north, and had hiked up the hill today to get picked up in another vehicle too bring them to this hotel.

As it was getting busy, we put our food order in and I was sitting in the smaller dining area with all the drivers for 20 minutes or so playing on the phone, but then went to use toilet in my room and when I was coming back the hotel staff saw me and said my food was about ready and said I could sit in the other dining area, which another group was already sitting in as well.

I sat down and my food was brought.  Having Potato soup and a Fanta soda.  Guide found me there and we talked about plans.

With all the trucks here, they are slowing pushing onward and sounds like the local governments are sending crew up tomorrow to try and create a way past this road cut.

It is hopeful we can get past sometime after lunch, and figure they will also be clearing the slides on the way up at least enough to get traffic by them.

Our goal if we can leave will be to reach Jomsom.   This town has an airport, and since there is a large road washout farther down the way, and no way to get around it, and until the river level drops, no way they can even start fixing it, it may end our trip.

Guide is working with the tour company to see what options we have, but may be leaving the bikes in Jomsom, then taking the small plan flight into Pokhara, and then fly back to Kathmandu.

Not sure on the time frame yet, but we still have 2 more days of the original tour to go, and then I have 4 more nights before my flight out of Nepal, so things are not tight, but need to make some choices.

The guide has a tighter time scale as he is supposed to be leading another group starting the 1^st of October, where I have till the night of the 4^th to get back to Kathmandu (I fly out early on the 5^th).

I do need to get back to the Kathmandu hotel to get that night paid that they forgot to charge me last time, or find some way to pay it otherwise.

I am supposed to have 1 night stay there included in this trip, so may still end up back there.

With the possibility of flights and maybe extra nights, I may have to pay some more money as well, not sure how this works.

Guess we will see.

After dinner I returned to the room to use toilet (still having stomach issues) and then worked to type this up.

Now I think I will just read or something, bit early to go to bed, but not sure there is much to do out of the room either, place is full of truck drivers still.

Will wander out and maybe grab another soda.

Catch ya down the road.

 

Snow, Mud, Landslide

September 27^th, 2026

Ghami, Nepal

Woke with the alarm at 7:00AM.

Used the toilet and then looked out the window.

Took a few seconds to realize that the brightness I was seeing was a layer of snow covering everything!

Today is going to be interesting.

I went ahead and packed up everything, and set aside the gear I would need today, which is the full setup.

Went over to have breakfast and talked with the guide.

He is thinking we should be okay, the roads are already melting off and we will just need to take it slow.

After breakfast we decided to check at 9:00AM and see what things looked like.

I went back to the room and finished packing and got more of the gear on.

Went down a bit earlier and found the guide and moved the bikes over to the main door and cleared most of the snow off them.  He was letting them run to warm up and checking them over.

We decided that it was good enough and would just get geared and load the bikes now.

Went back to the room and put everything one, and then carried the bag down.

Dropped the key on the desk and then we strapped the bags onto the bikes and put on the final gear.

We pulled out of the hotel lot and rolled along the pavement in the village, which was partially covered in inch thick slush, but otherwise just wet.

We moved out onto the dirt roads which were a combination of hard packed wet dirt, rocky sections, and lots of puddles, and rivulets running down the roads.

Then things got muddy.

We had some slick sections and a few spots where we needed to push through a muddy rip in the dirt.

We came upon a small hill, not very steep, but was just torn to hell and covered with thick wet mud.  The top of the hill was a partially buried metal pipe, and beyond was a lake of muddy water.

The guide attempted first and got about 2/3 of the way and lost traction.

I had to find a level, harder surface to park and then walk up to assist, which was not easily done.

We attempted to push the bike, but just kept getting stuck, moved a few rocks, but nothing helped.

We backed it up a bit to get straight, and then he got off the bike.

I stood along side and ran the throttle while he pushed from the rear.

Took a few tries, but we got it up and over the pipe and onto a less wet section of dirt.

He got on and rode the bike out of the muddy section and parked up the road.

I had walked back to my bike while he was doing that, and picking a different path that I thought would be less difficult I attempted the hill.

I did make it to the top and up and over the pipe, and then had to slip and slide out of the muddy water to the drier dirt.

We were both exhausted and covered in mud now.

The road from here had a few muddy spots, but was mostly drier dirt, and eventually started to be good and dry where we could get some speed.

The slush was behind us for a bit, but as we headed uphill and into the snowed in areas again, we found the road full of large patches of slushy water, and the usual muddy sections and running water across and down the road.

A few muddy sections where we had to put feet down to keep bike upright kept us alert.

Then the guide rolled into what looked like a simple soft muddy road section and instead found the bike in 8 inches of thick mud soup.

He was committed at that point and made it quite a way into the mud hole which was probably 50 feet across at least.

I came in behind and was about 2/3 across when I stalled the engine.

Had to use feet to push the bike along as it kept stalling when pushing through the thick muck.

We both made it out after 2 minutes of work, and then rode down and through a few shallow puddles to wash off some of the muck.

The road then stayed okay, just the usual water running and having to cross from one side of the road to the other to avoid the really bad spots.

Once we reached the top of the hill, we then started the slow down hill on similar wet and muddy roads.

We passed through one village and headed onward.

Once we reached the village of Ghami we were warned that a mudslide had blocked the road just past the village.

It sounded like the road crews were on the way, so we stopped at one of the local tea house places and sat to wait and have something to drink.

The guide then decided to ride up the road and see how bad things were, and sometimes what stops a car is not a huge problem for a bike.

He returned a bit later and it was pretty bad.

While he was away, I just sat in the kitchen area and drank some water and played with the local kitty cat who wandered into the room.

A large soup mud lake like we had hit earlier, followed by the main section of mud and rock washed over the road.

The police said we could try it and they would help push, but guide thought that would still be a difficult thing to attempt as things were still quite muddy.

He went back up later and talked with the police and the local mayor of the region and now it sounds like the crews will not be there till the next day.

He decided we would stay here in this hotel tonight instead of getting to our original destination.

And since there was a bridge out near one of the towns we needed to pass through, it would require a small detour to get around that.

This hotel however was not really wanting guests and the heavy rains had caused severe leaking in the roof in most of the rooms and common areas.

Some were badly flooded, but enough only had a small section that was wet.

I ended up in a small room with an attached bath, something most rooms lacked.

The bath had a small leak over the toilet, which was a floor unit, so will make using it complicated if the need arises.

There was also a leak over the second bed and table in the room.  It had soaked the bath towel, which I would not need anyway, so used it to cover the table so any drips would not splatter, but it had also gotten the heavy blanket wet as well.  Will need to get another.

Thankfully the other bed was dry.

The first challenge was getting out of my gear which was coated with mud from the knees down.

Made a mess on the bathroom floor getting the rain pants off, and then the riding pants had some much mud, I could not get the legs to unzip.

I went out and the guide, who was having same issue, found the water source outside so we could wash off the legs and get the zippers to work.

Which brings me to the small fact that there is no running water in the place.

All the taps ran for a few seconds, draining the pipes basically, then nothing.

Even after washing could not get the zipper to move, so just went up and pulled things off the harder way.

Boots were just coated in mud, even the parts under the pants.

Once I had the gear off and changed into normal clothes, I carried the pants out to the same water source and washed them really good.  Then did same with the rain pants.

This will prevent the mud from drying and falling all over the room floor and be less messy to put them back on in the morning.

I then did the same with the boots.

We hung the pants over a clothes line in the front courtyard, and just sat boots on the walk to dry in the sun.

I had also put my wet socks in the window with it open, hoping the sun and breeze would dry them.

We then walked up the road a mile to the slide area to get a good look at it and see how things were going.

The mud was already starting to harden, at least on the edges, and much of the running water was done, though still some water running in the main channel of the slide.

The larger slide area was about 50 feet across, and had two large ridges running along it, where the channel of running water had moved.

Lots of large rocks and small boulders were scattered in the same area.

The hope is that in the morning things will have dried up enough in the muddy area up front to move the bikes along the edge at least.

Then the 2^nd hope is that the water will have stopped and the rest of the mud will be dry enough to move across it without sinking into it.

We will then need to walk a path and clear some rocks most likely, and probably just push the bikes, one at a time, across the slide area to the road on the other side.

Possible some 4x4s will move through earlier and make a path, though one already tried tonight and got stuck, and took a few hours to get it out using a tractor, which was having issues of its own.

Worst case, may need to wait for the crews to get here and clear it, but not sure how long that will take.

Of course, once we get past that, still need to go over the 4000 meter pass, then down a long way to the river valley below, and then in the village of Kagbeni, we will need to route around the bridge that is out.

At this point we will not go up the mountain to the originally planned stop, but we also cannot reach the next stop either as a large section of the road has been washed away.

Our hope is to reach Kalopani where we stayed on the way up and stop there tomorrow and then see what comes next.  Might be stuck here for a few days.

Thankfully I have 4 extra days left in Nepal, so have some wiggle room, but things could get ugly.

There is another bridge out past one town that might pose an issue, and landslides could still be in areas we have not heard about.

The road between Pokhara and Kathmandu was closed again last few days due to a landslide, but pretty sure it will be open again by time we get down there.  Otherwise, will have to take the longer way around, and that could create problems as well since there was a fair amount of flooding in the south parts outside the mountains, which is a small part of the route we might have to take, but there might be other options as well.

We returned to the hotel and I went up to the room to lay down for a bit as the hike up and back winded me in the thin air.

I must have fallen asleep, as I woke up about 2 hours later.

I went down and found the guide, and we went into have dinner.

I was still not hungry, though stomach was feeling a bit off, so decided to just have an omelet to put something in there, but nothing too crazy.

After dinner, we walked out to check out the clear skies and full moon reflecting on the snow covered peaks nearby, then spent some time sitting in the kitchen while others ate.

I then walked around outside a bit for some fresh air, and hoping to catch the kitty again, and found 3 cats out there, but while they would stare and meow at me, they would not approach this time.

Guide acquired another, dry, blanket for me, and I then came up to the room to upload footage, put phone on portable charger (power is flaky, was out earlier, and might not stay on long), and type up this blog entry.

With that done, I am going to go to bed.

Catch ya down the road.

Exploring Upper Mustang – Maybe

September 26^th, 2026

Lo Manthang, Nepal

Was up and down all night.  Bladder seemed to have a never ending fountain of piss to remove.

I woke around 5:00AM to use toilet and then just sat in bed listening to the rain coming down.

Heard a cat meowing out back, so went to the window and opened it up.  Did not see anything though.

Laid back in bed and decided to read in the Kindle for now.

I drifted off to sleep at some point as my alarm woke me at 7:00AM.

I got up to use toilet and then laid in bed again to stay warm and breakfast is not till 8:00AM.

I think I dozed in and out, listening to the rain coming down.

Finally got out of bed about 7:40, looked outside and it was raining enough that I could see the drops….or was that snow?

I put on my shoes (slept in clothes, so no need to dress, no hot water either, not taking cold shower today) and jacket, then walked over to the dining area.

Guide was already there, as I expected since he gets up quite early most days.

Looked out the windows up front and yes, you can see snow collecting on the windshields of the cars, and on the seats of the bikes.  Few other spots it collected, but nothing staying on the ground, melts upon contact.

You could see it on the ground farther up the mountainside where we had ridden into town yesterday, but just a light dust.

Ordered food and talked about various plans for today depending on what the weather does.

We were supposed to go visit the Jhong Cave, and also the old walled city and monastery in town.

The cave would require a ride on the bike, and with the snow/rain, that would be less than desirable to walk around in the cave all wet.

We will still look at going over to the city later today, either if the rain stops for a bit or at least lightens up.

The snow has already stopped, now just rain again.

When we were both done eating and discussion various scenarios for the following days if the weather causes any issues, we both returned to the rooms.

I spent an hour or so going through all my gear, checking the dampness level, and if already dry, moving it over to another place until I am ready to repack everything.

The stuff still damp I flipped over or moved to a spot where it might dry better.

I sorted through all the bags to make sure nothing wet was missed, then sat on the bed and just stared into space for a while.

Then I went through some of the smaller things to see if stuff was good, and found the money in my wallet was slightly damp. (I had waited till half way through the day to move the wallet into the plastic bag in the pocket, so got some moisture.)

I laid out bills to dry out, which did not take too long and then decided to go out into the café area again and work on videos and blogs.

I completed all the audio for the next video and exported it, but no internet still, so will not get put online for a few days likely.

The rain stopped outside about an hour ago, and looks to be holding off.

Guide was fairly sure we could get up the road to Jhong Cave and back before any weather returned.

We geared up (in still damp gear) and got on the bikes.  At least this time we did not have to strap down the bags and such and will be lighter riding.

We headed out of town and immediately onto some crazy rough, uneven, muddy roads.

We then turned off and headed down along the river area to travel the 6 miles or so to the cave area.

The road was nice in spots, but still quite wet in many and lots of mud still.  As we turned off again into the village it got really beat up as well, created some fun little obstacles.

We turned off toward the cave and the road was basically gone.  It had been washed away and/or buried over the last few days.

But it was still level enough and had been driven on enough to form a trail at least and we were able to bounce up that to reach the part of the road still in place and travel up to the parking area for the caves.

We had bought our ticket from a guy at the bottom of the washed out road, and then showed it to the guy at the caves.

The Jhong Caves (at least the main complex which we will tour) is a 5 story series of rooms dug into the sandstone cliffs of this region.

While modern steps have been added to reach the entrance and inside, the original inhabitants would have used rope ladders to access the various levels.

There are approximately 40 rooms in this section which all show heavy carbon build up on the ceilings from the use of fires inside.

This layer of carbon has been dated to around 2,500 years ago.

The exact identity of the people using the caves it not clearly known, nor is it clear how they used the caves.  Possible they lived year round in them, or could have been a seasonal hunting lodging while they hunted in the valleys around this area.

The caves were designed in a way to hold in heat, with only a few windows and air vents.

This also created a very defensible position, and the rope ladders access is another key that the complex was built to be defended.

We climbed up the steps and into the entrance.

Most of the ceilings inside are only about 4 feet high in spots, and in others barely enough for me to stand upright (6 foot).

We explored the small number of rooms on the lower levels, and then reached the 4^th level which has the largest number.  Most of the rooms are spread along the front wall, and maybe going 30-40 feet back into the cliff.

We did not go up to the 5^th level as the access is a bit tighter, and was already a challenge to fit through some of the ladder openings.

Once done, we descended back to the bottom and outside again.

And to make this exit more interesting, the sun was shining!  It’s been nearly 3 days since we saw any significant sunlight.

I needed to use the toilet, so we moved the bikes over to the building the attendant uses where I could use the facilities, and then sat for a bit to admire the view.

We also had a hot tea while sitting and I ended up buying a bag of chocolate candy from the large assortment of Chinese snacks on sale.

Note that we are only about 6 miles from the China border now.

We then left the cave parking lot and bounced down the road, where we took another turn to cross the ripped up section (which was quite the challenge and bottomed the bike out once) and up a small road which will take us to the old monastery.

This road was very muddy, and almost lost the bike on one muddy hillside, but going slow enough to catch myself with my foot and keep it upright.

We arrived at the monastery, which was built into the cliff a bit. 

This monastery is not that old, having been built only in the early 1990s, but was used by the monks until a much larger and newer building was completed nearby just recently.

We climbed up to the main rooms and looked around, then left to get back on the bikes.

We rode out of the village by a different road and stopped briefly at the crossroads where the road continues up to the Chinese border and goes over to another village.

Here is where the Nepal Customs office is.  It looks more like a temporary camp, lots of large tents and trucks parked all over.

Not sure if this is just due to the increase in truck traffic since the tragic flood that destroyed the main truck border east of here, or if they always looked this casual.

We then proceeded up to the village and then out another road that would loop around and connect back up to the road we took this morning outside of Lo Manthang.

Several sections of this road were beat up, or under construction, so lots of mud to navigate and bike was getting a bit loose in the front at the worst spots.

A few more deep gashes in the roads to bounce through and we reached the edge of town.

We tried to take another road into town, to avoid the really bad muddy one, but a small van was stuck in the road as it too was quite muddy and on a hill.

We arrived back at the hotel and agreed to meet for lunch after getting out of our gear.

Lunch was chicken sandwich and some fries, way too much food.  I am starting to think the altitude is decreasing my appetite and metabolism as I get full with what would normally be a regular meal for me, not even over eating.

It was now 3:00PM, so we could get access to the monasteries inside the old walled city nearby, so walked over to the city gates and visited the first monastery where we bought our access ticket to all 3.  The city itself could be walked without a ticket, but entry to the monasteries requires one.

We got that sorted and then stood in the courtyard for a bit while guide described the place.

It had the original 15^th century monastic building and the much newer building next to it.

We went inside the older building which is now only used during festivals.

It was a typical Buddhist layout inside with some old artwork on the walls.

We left this building and the monk that had been giving another group a tour opened up the museum on the ground level of the new monastery (which we cannot enter).

This place had lots of old buddha figures, artwork, temple artifacts, musical instruments, and clothing on display.  Much of it was 18^th-19^th century, but some pieces went back to the 14^th-15^th and even a few to the 12^th century.

Once done, we gathered in the courtyard and watched all the kids playing with a small ball or other things, and a group playing with one of the big dogs that are common around these parts.

Once all 3 groups that were getting tours were done, we went with the monk over to the next monastery and he opened it up.

This one was also quite old and we climbed up to the main hall and then later up to the roof of that building for some views of the valley.

Once done we made our way to the 3^rd place, though we ended up waiting in a light rain for the rest of the group to catch up.

This place was quite large and had several large Buddha at the front of the building.

When done, we made our way over to the main plaza in front of the old royal palace.

The Mustang region was an independent kingdom alongside Nepal until the dissolving of the Monarchy in 2008 with the creation of the republic.  At this time, the Mustang royal institution was also dissolved and the region became part of the Nepal republic.

The palace now sits empty, no one lives there.  The last members of the royal family all live in the capital, Kathmandu, now.

We then left the old town and walked back to the hotel, with a steady light rain now.

We arrived back at the hotel, slightly damp, but at least not soaked.

Went up to the room to get out of the wet jacket and sat on the bed for a while to rest as the physical activity had hit me pretty hard in the thinner air (and I am badly out of shape to begin with).

We had about 3 hours till dinner, so I was planning to take the laptop to the dining area and work on videos.

But I was really cold after being out in the rain, so crawled under the bed covers and sat on the bed for a bit while I tried a few chocolate candies and tried to see if internet was working with the better weather, but still down.

The power went out while I was doing that, and I hunkered down in the bed covers to get warm, no point in going over to the dinning room if there was no power.

I then fell asleep, as I do not recall anything till, I woke up about 6:30PM, not long before I was to meet for dinner.

I then laid there for a bit longer as no point in going down early.

Walked over to the dinning area and sat down.  Was a bit cold, but my jacket is still damp, so made it worse if I tried to wear it.

Guide was there, and we sat in the corner so I could plug in the laptop.

Ordered a hot chocolate and a bowl of soup as I was not that hungry

The drink warmed me up and the hot soup helped even more.

I was unable to finish the soup though, still feeling stuffed.

Once done eating, the guide left to his room and I finished typing this blog up.

I am now going to return to my own room and go to be soon after.

We will be having breakfast at 8:00AM again, and then hopefully on the road by 9:00AM.

While it is raining good again, we are hopeful it will pass in the night and at least let us ride back down in dry air, even if the road is wet and muddy.

Guess we will see what the morning brings.

I will likely be up early anyway since I am going to be so early, and can then get packed as nearly everything is out of the bags to dry over last 2 days.

Catch ya down the road.

Rain, Mud, Cold – Upper Mustang tosses us a curve ball

September 25^th, 2026

Lo Manthang, Nepal

Woke with my alarm and got up to use the toilet.

Decided I was not interested in a cold shower, so just a quick wash of the head and face to help wake me up.

Looked outside and the clouds were covering everything, a white blanket spread across the land, with just a few distant ridges of the nearby mountains peeking through.

Oh, it is also still raining.

Went over to the restaurant after packing up some of the stuff, but not yet changed into my gear, not sure if we will depart on time or delay, see what guide thinks.

Watched the rain come down and also noted the small waterfalls coming off the roads along the steep walls holding up the road beds.

Could also see the rivulets of water running down the roads in a random pattern more reminiscent of a river delta.

Guide joined me and we waited for our breakfast while watching the weather.

Clouds were coming in and then out, but the rain stayed steady.

We decided that waiting might just bring worse weather, so we would hit the road a bit early actually, and our first challenge would be a river crossing a few miles up the road that has no bridge.

Depending on how full this was, and if we could safely cross it, would decide the rest of the day.

We started up the road going uphill still.

Road was the same dirt with imbedded rocks and gravel, but now was wet.  Large puddles sit at random, most shallow, but some can be a few inches deep.

Just as we saw from the restaurant, rivers of muddy water flowed down the road beds following the path of least resistance, and making it a fun challenge to ride without splattering water all over.

We would cross from one side of the road to the other every few feet it seems, trying to find the smoother, but still slightly graveled sections of the road.

The spots, mainly along the edges, where the gravel was no longer embedded, or buried deeper, could be a bit slick.  While the surface was solid, it had a layer of slime across the top that could make the wheels slide if you hit it just wrong.

To make things more interesting, my bike is using a basic street tire on the front, practically smooth with very little tread grooves.  So, it was sliding around pretty good if I did not watch my speed, the angle of turns, and the surface.

Then you have the sections of road that the large trucks have torn up.  Large ridges and bumps in the road, and in many cases the surface is a soupy mud.  The bikes will move well in a straight line, but trying to turn in this stuff is a puckering action.

We soon reached the river crossing.

The water comes rolling down a fair-sized water fall and then crosses the road and over the edge to continue its way down to the valley below.

The distance across was probably about 50 feet, and it was flowing pretty good, but the guide after a short pause went into and across so I just followed.

It was moving quick, but not really fast enough to cause issues with pushing the bike, and the depth was not more than about 6 inches in the middle, and thankfully the surface was rough stone, but mostly smoother from al the trucks crossing same area.

We then continued onward, crossing another small river later that was not as large, but similar flow and depth.

The rain was coming steady for the first hour, then slowed some.

We finally stopped in a village for a hot drink and while inside the coffee house the rain started coming much harder.

We waiting about 30 minutes, but with no signs of abatement, we decided to just push onward in the rain.

The road climbs and descends often in this area, and we reached nearly 4000 meters (about 13000 feet) at the pass.

Some great views along the way, when the clouds were not blocking the views.

Could see snow on some of the higher peaks around us, maybe 1000 meters more, hopefully that does not move down any.

The temperatures dropped down quite low, only a few degrees above freezing at one point, but then went back up a little from there. Guide saw between 2 and 7 degrees, which would be 30s and 40s F.

We stopped for another hot beverage for a while and then continued, needing only 1 hour left to reach the hotel.

We finally pulled into the village of Lo Manthang and after riding through its narrow roads, we arrived at the hotel.

It was still raining, but had dropped to a light rain at least.

Unloaded the bikes and set stuff aside, then used a hose to wash off the lower legs as I was covered in light mud.

We then went inside and got into the room right away.

It was very cold still, and no hot water today. (Solar water heater, and no sun now for 24 hours).

I took partial cold shower to wash face, head, feet, and hands.

Then I unpacked my street clothes, hoping they would be dry.

Yeah, so the bag I have everything in is NOT a water proof bag.  It has some resistance, but a good amount of water will soak through.   When I planned this trip, all the rides would have support vehicles to carry the bags, so did not worry, did not think that I might find a need to have it on the bike instead.

The stuff I had in the bag along the edges were damp, but thankfully most of the clothing was inside the other duffel bag which is inside this bag.  That other layer allowed the cold through, and some light dampness on stuff along the very edges, but nothing serious.

Dressed and then laid down in the bed for a bit.

I was exhausted from the technical riding, and the cold.

I was also feeling the altitude more.  We are at 3800 meters (12300 feet), so air is starting to thin a little and I could feel that in my breathing.

I needed to relax, let my body calm down, heart rate decrease, and then could move around slower and things should be good.

Also having a slight headache which is normal for the first few hours.

I ended up dozing off.  Probably 90 minutes went buy before I decided to wake up and go check on getting lunch.

Found the guide in the restaurant already, and he had ordered, but only a few minutes ago.

He grabbed me a menu and I decided to have something more familiar since things were less than great at the moment.

Ordered a pizza and a hot tea.

After eating, it was about 2:00PM.  We agreed to meet around 7:30 for dinner.

I was going to sit in the main atrium at the café tables and work on stuff, so returned to the room and sat on the bed for a bit to relax while food digested.

I was really freaking cold though, so pulled the covers up and then laid down to warm up, and fell asleep again.

Slept for about 2.5 hours, then woke to use the toilet and made myself stay up.

I gathered the laptop and all the stuff I would need and went down to the main floor café and sat at a table to work.

Uploaded all the footage from today to the laptop, then worked on a few things online.

I am getting sporadic and very limited service on my phone.  The hotel Wi-Fi is down due to the weather as well.

I soon gave up trying to do more as most of the apps would not work at all, and those that did work, would stop working at random.

I typed up the blog entries for last 2 days and then will try to get video finished tonight.

Finished up to the present and then went up to have dinner.

Had a nice bowl of mushroom soup and a bowl of spaghetti Bolognese.  Pretty good dinner.

I then returned to my room around 8:00 PM, and decided to just go to bed.

It was cold and no desk, so working on laptop is not easy to manage in bed, and was tired enough that reading would have just put me to sleep anyway.

Hoping tomorrow things lighten up weather wise?

Catch ya down the road.