Potential Gurkha Registration
It’s that time of the year again where British Camp in Pokhara plays host to the annual recruitment of Gurkhas. Today is the very first stage where Potential Recruits turn up just to register for further selection tests later in the year. It is not that straight-forward though! Because of the huge amount trying to [...]
Machhapuchere up close
I am heading off to Brunei tomorrow (to brief our Battalion over there on the work of the GWS in Nepal) so I will be away for a while. However, one of our fellow photoNepal participants, Captain Guy Norton, has recently returned from a little trek up to Mardi Himal; one of the peaks just [...]
Visit to Gurkha (Goorkha)
Another chance to trek out from Pokhara took me to Goorkha – the spiritual home of the Gurkhas, (and one of the stops for photoNepal 2012!) The weather was not very kind because, although it didn’t rain, there was significant haze so no mountains to be seen – you can see most of the Annapurnas, [...]
Captain Kulbahadur Gurung
It has been a while since my last post – apologies; I was travelling around all Gurkha units in the UK to bring them up to date on what is happening in Nepal. But, the day before I left, I photographed ex-Gurkhas Kulbahadur Gurung and his brother, living near my house in Pokhara. Capt Kulbahadur [...]
The Paragliding….
So, the paragliding was good – really great fun, and not nearly as scary as I thought it would be! Photography was tricky however, so I set the aperture to f16 to limit the chances of getting poor focus. The weather was not brilliant; it was sunny, but a little hazy. Could just see Machhapuchere [...]
Around Pokhara
There are so many things to see and do around Pokhara that it is often impossible to prioritise. This is often the problem with photographic courses arranged in the UK for Nepal – too much to do that in the end it can be disappointing. The advantage of living here permanently, is that it is [...]
Life with the Gurkha Welfare Scheme
So….since my last message I have been quite busy. Firstly, I zipped off to Dehradun in the north western part of India, north of Delhi. The reason is that we have quite a few ex-Gurkha welfare pensioners still living here; there was a very large depot for the British Indian Army up until partition of [...]
A great start to 2012
It has been a very busy start to the year. I started by going on a short trek to try to find some tigers! It has been pretty cold here, but the weather and the subsequent views have been breathtaking. So setting off very early in the mist was very “romantic” and a little exciting! [...]
Johnny in World Elephant Polo Championships
Again, not much to do with the course, but I am trying to convey what an exceptional place Nepal is! This year, the World Elephant Polo Championships (with teams from Hong Kong, Switzerland, Mongolia etc) were held again in Megauli, Chitwan – about 4 hours drive south of Pokhara. I managed to get a team [...]
Early Morning in Pokhara
Well, I couldn’t resist! The weather has just been amazing over the last week or so – the Annapurna mountain range and Machhapuchere (the magnificent “Fishtail” mountain) are looking incredible. I arranged to meet a member of my photographic club here in Pokhara, and I took him up to this unique viewpoint, ready for the [...]
Johnny’s November Gurung Trek
So, we have been live for 2 weeks, and already a couple of participants signed up! You had better move fast if you want a place at the discount rate! My first blog entry follows a short trek for a week in the hills north-east of Pokhara – Gurung territory and as well as checking [...]
