Friday May 18

Archive for December, 2009

Dec
29/09
Ganpati
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 July 2010 01:55
Written by Dom Reid
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

It can take time to find a good place to stay in a town, but we landed on our feet here at the Ganga View Hotel for Christmas and anywhere is going to be downhill after that. (more…)

Tags: , , , ,   |  Posted under Travel Blog  |  Comments  No Comments
Dec
28/09
Paragliding Video
Last Updated on Thursday, 19 August 2010 12:31
Written by Dom Reid
Monday, December 28th, 2009

When I was about to leave The UK, a buddy (more…)

Tags: , , , , ,   |  Posted under Previous Posts, Travel Blog  |  Comments  No Comments
Dec
24/09
Varanasi
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 July 2010 01:56
Written by Dom Reid
Thursday, December 24th, 2009

I read today that Varanasi is the world’s oldest inhabited city with an unbroken lineage back to 800BC, and there is evidence of early Aryan settlements as far back as 4000 years ago. I can certainly believe it, the small alleys and dirt roads that snake around the back of the ghats look timeless, every nook and cranny seems to have grown as slowly as a snails shell, encrusted with time. (more…)

Tags: , , , ,   |  Posted under Travel Blog  |  Comments  No Comments
Dec
23/09
Mahindra College, Pune to Varanasi.
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 July 2010 01:56
Written by Dom Reid
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

I woke to a sunrise that calmed the clamorous valley of the previous night. I walked up the arcing stairs of the YHA to the roof and was met with a far warmer world. The laborers on the neighboring building site were huddled around warming morning fires, Pune had become solid after the little pinpricks of light had joined together. (more…)

Tags: , , , , ,   |  Posted under Travel Blog  |  Comments  1 Comment
Dec
23/09
Bombay to Pune YHA
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 July 2010 01:57
Written by Dom Reid
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Arriving in Bombay was like going straight from Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here on a walkman to having Johnny Rotten singing in your face. I’d think it a privilege if Johnny would do that, but I’d have to be in the right mood and when I arrived in Bombay I wasn’t, so I muttered my way to an overpriced hotel and battened down the hatches until I felt cheerful enough to make the journey to see my daughter at her college near Pune. (more…)

Tags: , , , ,   |  Posted under Travel Blog  |  Comments  No Comments
Dec
23/09
Pokhara to Kathmandu to Bombay
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 July 2010 01:57
Written by Dom Reid
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

God knows how I made it out of bed on the morning of my flight to Kathmandu, but the same goes for the morning of my flight to India; my autopilot seems to work fine and I arrive at the airport in good time, if not really in any kind of fit state for flying. (more…)

Tags: , , , ,   |  Posted under Travel Blog  |  Comments  No Comments
Dec
18/09
Pilot
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 July 2010 01:59
Written by Dom Reid
Friday, December 18th, 2009

So after our wee Maoist intrusion we carried on with the last days of our course. These melted into nights our with new friends in local eateries, good local  food, then we went to a Thai restaurant next to Maia Devi, next I discovered the Japanese restaurant in Pokhara and didn’t leave there for the last 5 nights of my stay. (more…)

Tags: , , , , , ,   |  Posted under Travel Blog  |  Comments  2 Comments
Dec
06/09
Maoists in Pokhara
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 July 2010 01:59
Written by Dom Reid
Sunday, December 6th, 2009

Yesterday was a day off and a good job too, we were hungover from the night before and needed to sleep late. So I popped on over the Maia Devi, the home of Adam and Jennifer from Frontiers Paragliding Nepal to use the internet connection and relax in front of the landing zone. (more…)

Tags: , , , , ,   |  Posted under Travel Blog  |  Comments  1 Comment
Dec
05/09
Paragliding Course day Five, High.
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 July 2010 01:59
Written by Dom Reid
Saturday, December 5th, 2009

We went up to the high site at Sarankot today which is just under a kilometre up in the air. We made two flights and landed in a field by the river where the local kids came and helped us to pack up our wings. (more…)

Tags: , , , , ,   |  Posted under Travel Blog  |  Comments  4 Comments
Dec
04/09
Paragliding Course Day Four
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 July 2010 01:58
Written by Dom Reid
Friday, December 4th, 2009

More of the same as yesterday as we needed to get the hang of launches etc – tomorrow we get to try high launches for the first time, so looking forward to that. (more…)

Tags: , , , , ,   |  Posted under Travel Blog  |  Comments  1 Comment
Dec
03/09
Paragliding Course day Three FLIGHT
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 July 2010 01:59
Written by Dom Reid
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

Twas up at 7am like a good pupil and out in the paragliding shop by 8am to use the internet to do some work, then we gathered in the bus (that had been topped up with kerosene due to the fact that it wasn’t possible to buy fuel in Pokhara for various reasons) to head out to a place called ‘Sarankot’ to take our first flights. (more…)

Tags: , , , , ,   |  Posted under Travel Blog  |  Comments  No Comments
Dec
02/09
Paragliding Course Day Two
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 July 2010 01:59
Written by Dom Reid
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

Today we did more ground handling to get used to the Alpine Launch (launching forward at a run rather than a reverse launch more commonly used in the UK) (more…)

Tags: , , , , ,   |  Posted under Travel Blog  |  Comments  No Comments