Nepal:

a country in a constitutional crisis and a state of emergency;
a country with Maoist rebels sprinled all over the country;
a country where the bus conductors are 7 years old, and cannabis plants grow by the side of the road.

Since the Prince of Nepal turned up to dinner last June armed with a sub-machine gun and shot dead the entire Royal Family, and himself, things have been (understandably) a little tetchy. Throw in some Maoist rebels who want to turn Nepal into some kind of communist paradise (if they knew what happened in China after 1949 they'd probably rethink), and Nepal doesn't seem quite so appealing as a tourist destination.

Wandering around the rabbit's warren of streets that is the old quarter of Kathmandu, there is a noticeable absence of westerners. Only the Israelis remain undeterred; they are still flocking here in their hundreds. Compared to what's happening in their part of the world, Nepal must seem like the very image of peace and stability. Plus, if I'd just spent 2 years doing national service, using Palestinians' nipples for target practice, I think I'd need a holiday too.

After 8 days on the road subsisting entirely on pasket noodles, we spent the first 48 hours in Nepal gorging ourselves on teh gastronomic delights that Kathmandu has to offer: milkshakes, curries, pizzas, all the stuff you can't get in China or Tibet.

Then we took advantage of all the stuff that Nepal has to offer. It really is paradise for the outdoorsy type here: 10 day rafting trips, muntain biking, trekking, mountaineering; they even have the world's largest bungee jump (160m - ie about 50 storeys). The mountain biking around the Kathmandu valley was great (apart from having to stop every half an hour to pull leeches off my feet and wring the blood out of my socks). I have ridden in big cities before, but on our return we cycled all the way across Kathamndu during rush hour. Not recommended.

Annapurna

BAsically you walk uphil for aboput 10 days, then downhill for a week. The scenery gradually changes as you climb, from leech-infested forest, through steep-sided gorges