When Kathmandu Valley became the location for a Bertolucci film An old man taps the grey head of the carved lion in confusion. It had not been here last week, and only the hollow ring distinguishes it from the twin stone sculpture guarding the temple entrance. We are on the…
The Twin Otter lurched, and a blur of elephants and people flashed past the left wing The two pilots wore their Royal Nepal Airlines uniforms, but from my vantage point in the front seat of the Twin Otter it never occurred to me to notice that both were only qualified…
Who lived life to the full and left a footprint in Nepal ADVENTURER: Warwick Deacock (above) and (below) crossing the Simpson Desert in South Australia in 1983 on the route from Pumi Bore to Birdsville. Major Warwick Deacock’s erect bearing and bronzed craggy features evoke his British military background, his…
Remembering the legendary Boris Lisanevich, founder of the Royal Hotel We recline on trekking mattresses on the sweet-smelling grass, bees and insects busy in the overgrown garden. Nursing a tin cup of Boris’ signature bullshot, a mix of local vodka, tomato juice and home-made beef bouillon, I take a break…
Those wonderful Pilatus Porter pilots and their flying machines The crags and rocks were perilously close to the wing tips as our Pilatus Porter aircraft spiralled downwards towards the tiny landing strip clinging to the remote Himalayan hillside. I could see our shadow on the side of the valley, insignificant…