Kathmandu, Rafting and the Annapurna circuit, part 1

It felt good to be arriving in Kathmandu, to be away from South East Asia for a while and back to a place that I love so much. This time Kathmandu seemed much more peaceful than the last time I was here, most of the people happy that peace was now here between the Maoists and the King. Tej picked me up from the airport and so far his service has been excellent. Filling in my time in Kathmandu I walked to Durbar square, visited Patan's Durbar square, and went to see the Burning Ghats where funerals are held and where Nepal's most holy Hindu Temple lies. I wandered Thamel's shops but did not have enough money to buy, and I read for several hours by the light of my head torch after a heavy downpour of rain put the city into several hours of blackout. I really enjoyed my time in Kathmandu but for me it was also mostly just a prelude to my time back in the mountains....
Before setting off on my trek around the Annapurna circuit I was booked in for a one day trip of rafting down the Trisuli river. I had read the scenery around Trisuli was not so nice but I found it to be absolutely beautiful. The rafting itself was loads of fun, wet season conditions making for big rapids and for several occasions when we all had to dive for cover into the raft. I was not so happy being placed in a raft full of Indian tourists that included an old mother who should never have been in the river and never once even made an attempt to paddle, and another young man who skimmed the surface with every stroke, essentially doing nothing. But in the end it didn't matter, rafting was just so much fun regardless. Unfortunately I did not get any photos as taking my camera into the raft would have been suicide, but I have my memories...
After rafting it was time to start my trekking in the Annapurna region. This time of year the weather was very cloudy as it is wet season but the clouds that kept the mountains hidden also kept the tourists away. For almost three full days I walked without seeing another tourist, past waterfalls and picturesque villages. My goal was to make it over the high pass of thorong-la, and despite being bedridden for a day with some unknown illness that had me in a terrible state I recovered and crossed the pass in just 7 hours. For me, I must say I preffered the scenery of the everest region to the Annapurna's but I must also admit I did miss alot of the bigger mountains this time around because of cloud cover.
Fin.