Annapurna Goes Green With New Treks

Ever since my arrival in Nepal I've heard trekkers complaining after coming back from The Annapurna Circuit.

The reason is the new infrastructure up there: On some stretches the trekkers share their routes with cars and motorbikes.

Luckily the tourism industry has taken note of these complaints. In today's Himalayan Times there is a report on new trails being planned, the so-called 'disturbance-free trails' will open soon.

Now my only hope is that the Annapurna Area Conservation Project (ACAP) applies the disturbance-free-concept widely.

Not only cars and motorbikes are a pain in the ass for any trekker. Litter along a trail is as much of a nuisance: Empty chips bags, bottles and small black plastic bags (filled with stuff you don't want to know about) sure doesn't get you into that relaxed Himalayan mood.

Luckily 'eco-tourism' seem to be the latest buzz word in Annapurna.

Nepali Mobility

After a long time of feeling wing clipped I realised my Nepali operator Mero Mobile actually offers a pretty stable GPRS service.

So now true mobility is the name of the game. As long as I am in the Kathmandu valley (99 % of the time anyway).

And my mobility on a daily basis means getting of the house here in Patan and walking a few blocks to New Orleans Café to have my regular: Lemon soda and a coffee.

Can mobile blogging save Namaste Express?

No point in going into the excuse department. Namaste Express has been dead for a long time and that's a fact, Jack.
But there might be some hope:

A) I'm back in Kathmandu after a couple of months in Finland.

B) I've added a Blogger component to my mobile so there can potentially be more on-the-go-blog posts from me. Sadly, most stuff people shuffle away into cyberspace from buses, bars and god knows where from tend to be utter trash.
Could Namaste Express be an exception? Let's hope so.
Anyway, this is just a test so that I can see if this stuff actually leaves my mobile.