The Change in Nepal...

I have been hearing of recent that Nepal has been through some real changes. There was a time, not long past, when the the streets of Kathmandu, in Thamil centre, were a buzz with travellers from all over the world and alongside them, the Nepali were thriving off the spoils of mass tourism.

Groups would gather in the bars and restaurants to discuss coming adventures or to reminise journeys made. Climbers and mountaineers would wander, peering through every door longingly, stalking the streets, claiming a quiet distain for the hubub that the city would generate. Backpackers were taking time out from the hardships of neighbouring India to enjoy the colour and hospitalty that Nepal so casually laid before them.

Kathmandu has had some great glory days, however there was always a side or untouchable reality for the Nepalese that is hard for most of us tourists to realise. After the royal family massacre, the proud Nepal of old was gone forever. The instabilty and distrust by the people for their King, whom many believed was responsible for the killings, was only felt by us, but never clearly understood.

What happened allowed the minorities and the extremists to call to action and no more so than the Moaists. They found an unspoken and secretive support with the young and many of the poor from the countryside. Eventually after many years of badgering and enforced ‘tourist tax’ they we heard by the parliament and they won a voice and places of power.

With this new responsibility came a new power that was inexperienced and often way out of its depth. The repercusions have been severe. There have been power shortages and curfews. The efficiency and social fabric was torn as road blockades seperated people and families and the feeling of watch thy neighbour was becoming apparent even to the tourists, there were riots on the streets and embassies were advising to stay away for a short time. However, the charms and the draw of the mightiest mountains in the world did still prevail and we travellers: trekkers, mountain bikers and culture vultures did still continue to visit this incredible and wonderful country.

Nepal has found its way through, but it has felt the scars of change and it carrys them to the future as it looks ahead. The tour operators like Direct Adventures are in Nepal with clients and tourists; Everest has still drawn hundreds to its lofty heights and tourists are hearing more and more of Nepals wonders. It is truly magnificent country that like all great countries carries its history close while it looks forward to the good time round the next corner.

A ‘Direct Adventures’ Heliski in Uzbekistan

After a fairly straightforward 7 hour flight from London via Riga, in Latvia, we arrived at silly o’clock in the Uzbekistan capital, Tashkent. Our flight was met by our Direct Adventures Rep, an enthusiastic young Uzbeki called Nikolai, who whisked us off to our recently refurbished, rather grand ex-soviet Hotel. Complete with huge water feature and flagpoles out front!

There was time for a few hours kip before breakfast and then we were whisked off on a tourist tour of the sights and delights of Tashkent. After Lunch we load our Minibus and cars for our 2 hour transfer to the awesome yet slightly misplaced Pyramid Hotel, which nestles alongside the Charvak Reservoir and beneath the Charvak Ormgohi Ski Station. (This is a two lift resort that is hugely popular w/e destination for the dudes and dudesses of Tashkent!)

The first afternoon was spent getting ourselves sorted with all our gear, meeting guides. After a run through of all the health and safety aspects of Heliskiing, we checked our gear and made ready for the week to come and generally got settled into our ‘home’ for the next week. The Hotel itself is pretty awesome, with its bars, disco, pool and saunas. It was built 12 years ago, in the ‘new, independent’ Uzbekistan by the Presidents daughter, to encourage tourism into the area.

Our next morning started with breakfast in the dinning room and then, all geared up we got into the awesome MI8 Helicopter. All aboard, we soar off for the short flight to a superb area of the Maidantal Range. The terrain was varied and sympathetic to our needs and expectations, easing us into the great snow. (It was classic Frog Pow!) We flew four flights today. The terrain was rolling and varied which meant we could explore freely and never cross another track all day. Awesome.

That evening we settled into dinner and the bar! Eagerly talking about the day and things to come...

We head for a new destination and different range, where there were more treats in store. We had quality skiing again today, with blue skies and great snow again. There were some challenges out there today, much to amusement of some of the group! Then again into our trusty stead and back to the hotel for a rest before our supper and frivolities (Vodka!)

Over the next few days we flew to various peaks and into different ranges. We searched out and rode awesome north facing slopes of the Chimgan Mountain (3309 m). We flew through and out into the Chatcal Range that sported some truly epic open, rolling ski fields and then into huge weaving half-pipe gullies. Our guides found us the glades in Pskem valley which satisfied the whole group with its trees and drops and classic fun skiing. We skied from the 3500 m peaks of the Padir and Kaptarkumish through awesome and varied terrain that was both challenging, exhilerating and truly memorable. Incredible skiing.

We were lucky with the weather as we had mostly clear weather and good visibility and in the 7 days of skiing we had three fresh snowfalls that thankfully didn’t impede our skiing days. Each day we skied with our local Russian guide and our English speaking fully qualified ski Guide.

The skiing in the ex soviet Uzbekistan is not necessarily the highest nor on the whole the steepest but it rivals any of the best skiing I’ve ever done; with great terrain and descent altitude gain; accommodation that doesn’t scream of opulence but the rooms are clean and not to ‘cosy’ with ensuite bathrooms; the food was good, tasty and filling; our Russian guides were excellent, and our qualified high mountain guide and Direct Adventures Rep couldn’t have worked harder at making this trip as good as anything, if not better than anything we have experienced in some of the more well known Heliski destinations around the world.

BOOK YOUR HELISKI TRIP

Mountain Biking in Norway: Freeride Finnmark

Follow large section of legendary Off road Finnmark bike challenge.

Unique and rare chance to ride this virtually untouched and remote terrain.

Ride in the midnight sun at 70 degrees North.

Stay in lodges & in the lavvu, a traditional Sami tent.

350km off road ride through the arctic wilderness.

Excursion visit to Nordkapp.

Go fishing for the incredible King Crab.

This mountain biking adventure to Norway's Finnmark is an awesome and unbeatable experience.

We have set up a trip that allows us to get into the virtually untouched hills of the far northern Arctic wilderness. We travel through 350kms of reindeer country staying in both traditional Sami tents called Lavvu and lodges. The route combines single track, great descents and technical ascents, all the while splashing through rivers and chewing up the miles. We will ride in the midnight sun and we follow the incredible offroad Finnmark route. We have an excursion to the worlds most northerly point and we will try crab fishing for the awesome King crab.

'We advise against all travel to specific regions of Pakistan and against all but essential travel to other specific regions of Pakistan, including Lahore.'
-Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice for travellers, 06 September 2010
Leapt out of your chairs to book an immediate holiday to Pakistan yet? Why ever not? Surely you only need to be told once not to do something, because it is dangerous and verging on the insane, before you are itching with excitement to do exactly that, the dangerous and the insane?
Or perhaps you only need to read the word 'Pakistan' before the sense cells of your brain, the ones which constantly tick-off those other insane-dangerous-excitement cells with their relentless cautioning, start remembering snippets of information you may have read this summer; 20million harmed by flooding, thousands marooned, 1600 fatalities, 3.2million homeless, below-subsistence economies destroyed, cholera, dysentery...and your enthusiasm has been crushed.
Moreover, Pakistan's dangers are an older story; 10 000 Pakistani civilians have been killed in terrorist attacks since 9/11, suicide bombings are a daily occurrence in the North-West; inter-ethnic feuds have led to 100 deaths in Karachi this summer alone. And yet, by even mentioning terrorism, I feel myself leaning towards hypocrisy, since like others I noticed how shamefully political issues have been allowed to cloud the focus on an overwhelming humanitarian crisis. On both sides of the conflict, too many have seen the flood as an opportunity to present themselves as a useful ally to the Pakistani civilians.
However, whilst the US and Islamic charities with supposed links to terrorist groups may have needed to sort out their priorities the aid itself should not be criticised and their own motives have, at least, greater merit than the widespread disinterest that initially ensued the flooding over a month ago. The reasons for the sluggish reaction and lack of aid may have been valid; Haiti this year has already exhausted charitable interest and the gradual nature of the disaster removed the 'shock-factor'. Furthermore, August is holiday time thus, surely, news doesn't happen (with the exception of course of the David Cameron's holiday pics and new baby which usurped the Pakistan story from the front page for several days).
Apathy should be the very last response on reading about Pakistan, the numerous values of which are being wrongly obscured by its dangers. It is not surprising, given these dangers and the advice from the Foreign Office that foreign travel to Pakistan has never taken off, and of course caution is necessary, but caution must not counter curiosity in Pakistan.
Lahore and Peshawar are cultural centres offering bustling bazaars, shady boulevards, a mixture of history and architecture from Buddhist ruins to British Churches. Although bridges and communications have been severely affected by the floods, the natural beauty of the Khyber Pass, along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the Karakoram Highway (KKH), will recover. Here travellers can witness the ravines, peaks and glaciers of the Hindu Kush mountain range, bathe in hot springs, river-raft and hope to witness the endangered snow leopard. The adventure and excitement of wandering along an ancient Silk Road, tramped along by Alexander the Great himself through an area where tribal customs supersede national law is incomparable. The local population, scattered in small villages, some nomadic, offer notable hospitality. Lonely Planet described this province as possessing 'romance', and yes, maybe the sight of bombed sites in Peshawar, the need for an armed tribal escort and the sign 'Foreigners Not Permitted Beyond this Point' along the Khyber pass might diminish this 'romance', but ask yourself this; did Alexander the Great stop here?

We should take heed of the Foreign Office advice, Pakistan is a multiple-hazard country, but avoiding travel, inquiry and insight into this country is self-defeating and will only allow our growing indifference to the consequence of these hazards to perpetuate, thus travel to Pakistan is more ‘essential’ now than it has ever been before.

Icelandic Volcano

We are sure you'll be comforted to know that over the past week there has not been a single Direct Adventures traveller disrupted by the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull (pronunciation- somewhere between a grumble and a yodel) since with remarkable foresight our potential customers have still not made any bookings - very commendable, but we are now here to assure you that flights have resumed, travel is back!
For many stranded British tourists the shutdown of UK airspace has been a costly nightmare; stories have emerged of less than fairytale-like flights from Russia before visas expired at midnight on the only available train - to Helsinki. For others the ash has highlighted the peculiar length of Icelandic words, the sound of birds singing and the cheek of many insurance companies. But for the lucky ones it's been an adventure and their greatest disappointment was being unable to answer How was your journey? with "Fine, but you know how it is, HMS Ocean was a little slow."
However, the full consequences for travel are yet to be seen. Under EU regulations airlines have been forced to compensate travellers for the cost of flights, food, hotels, transport and phone calls, providing these are 'reasonable costs.' Insurance companies have been willing to extend cover and some such as Amex have provided a set payout per day- but only for 36 hours. HSBC, First Direct and M&S Money have been more forthcoming, accepting the eruption as a 'severe weather' incident.
Yet for most this has been an 'act of god,' and absences from work have not been compensated. In the future, insurance policy is likely to be more specific and, being insurance policy, less willing to provide cover in similar circumstances. Airlines such as Ryanair are threatening to push for change to passenger's rights and regulations, reducing their own responsibility. The airline industry may take 3 years to recover the loss of this single week and the prices of flights have already gone up in the short-term, to supposedly discourage new fliers while demand remains high. In the long-term airlines may make up for costs in ancillary charges: luggage, food, going to the loo, number of breaths per minute, that sort of thing.
But it's not all bad news for travellers, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) ensures that travel companies, including Direct Adventures, refund the full package price or provide an alternative trip if travellers are unable to go on holiday at all due to the volcanic eruption. All fingers are crossed that, given the change in the rules for flying through ash -changes which were admittedly a little suspicious at first but Nats now assures us (disconcertingly) outdated rules were being used - a shutdown on this scale will not happen again soon.