24 January 2018

Geneva is the gateway to the Alps and as a consequence extremely well served in the winter from most parts of the UK. With most ski resorts selling accommodation Saturday to Saturday, flight prices mid-week can be exceptionally good. This is what drove our interest in finding somewhere in the Geneva area for a short pre-Christmas break. I'd heard of Montreux because of the Jazz festival but had never visited but when I found that it had a Christmas market and was accessible by train from Geneva airport we thought why not. It turned out to be a great choice. Montreux is a charming town, small enough to see in a couple of days but with enough of interest to keep the family happy. We stayed at the 4* Royal Plaza right on the lake with amazing views of the mountains. Although a little dated, it had spacious rooms, great service and views to die for from the breakfast room. There can't be many Christmas markets that have such a stunning setting as Montreux, the stalls and festive food and mulled wine outlets wrap around the promenade next to the lake and offer the usual Christmas gifts, ornaments etc and every kind of food including the obligatory fondue. In the evening a real-life Santa takes a high wire ride on his sleigh above the market which is charming and a great surprise to our kids - although his Christmas message in French was lost on me! This takes place at 5pm, 6pm and 7pm. For families with younger children I would highly recommend taking the train up to see Santa at Rochers de Naye. This traditional link train leaves from central Montreux to the peak at Rochers de Naye. The 50-minute journey takes you above the snow line to a converted ski station turned grotto to meet the big man himself. There's time for a snowball fight, a bite to eat and to take some photos before taking the train back, this costs about £25 a head but includes a gift from Santa and is a must for younger children. In summary, Switzerland is not cheap for eating out and shopping, but for a quick and easy trip to the Christmas markets in a beautiful setting with the option to visit Father Christmas and have a snowball fight its perfect!

24 November 2011

I recently travelled to Nepal for a week of trekking, white water rafting and mountain biking. We also visited Chitwan National Park in the south central part of the country. We flew with Jet Airways from Heathrow via Delhi to Kathmandu where we spent the first night. Jet Airways were excellent with good leg room, in flight service and entertainment and I would definitely use them again. We were lucky to get upgraded to business class on the way out which featured fully flat beds and again excellent in flight food, service and entertainment. We came home in economy which was also very good. Nepal is one of the most visually breathtaking countries in the world but Kathmandu is very dirty, noisy and overcrowded and whilst it was good to experience the city I was glad we were spending just the night here before moving on to our first taste of adventure; white water rafting on the Trisuli River, which was simply exhilarating. Our second night was spent at the Bandipur Mountain Resort high up above Dumbre Bazaar, at an altitude of 1005 metres. Bandipur is an ancient Newari Mountain town and a great base for hiking. Day four took us to Pokhara, which is Nepal’s second largest city and a very popular spot for tourists, it has a large beautiful lake and stunning views of the Himalayan Range. We hired mountain bikes here and spent a lovely afternoon doing some gentle cycling around the lake. The next day was our toughest challenge; we hiked from New Bridge to Ghandruk. At 1982m high it was an easy climb for experienced hikers but would be challenging for anyone not used to hiking. The views from the mountain here are spectacular and I was surprised to meet so many local people on the trail, some of them very young school children making their way to school. I was told by our guide these amazing children some aged no more than 5 or 6 years old would walk for miles to school, some in their bare feet. At one point it started to rain and these amazingly resourceful children simply picked the largest palm leaf to use as an umbrella! We arrived early evening into Ghandruk, which is a Gurung Village in the Annapurna range and we stayed in a traditional tea house where we bizarrely enjoyed the most amazing Mexican food! Next was a long drive on very poor roads (all the roads are very poor in Nepal) to Chitwan National Park in the south central part of Nepal, for a full day of Jungle activities. The landscape is very different here, as Chitwan lies in the subtropical lowlands, it feels more like India than Nepal. Here we did Elephant Trekking (and bathing) and also saw Rhino, crocodiles and went on a jungle walk “hunting” for tigers (unsuccessfully!) We left Chitwan after breakfast for the 5 hour drive back to Kathmandu before flying home via Delhi. I would recommend Nepal for anyone with a taste for adventure, the scenery is stunning and the people are very friendly. Be prepared for long drives between resorts and some hairy driving moments (most roads cling to the side of the mountain and the locals like to overtake on blind corners!) I would also recommend using a quality adventure travel company like Exodus. The biggest lesson from travelling on this kind of holiday is that adventure holidays are not just for the young and super fit (or else they wouldn't have let me go!), anyone with a reasonable level of fitness of any age can enjoy a walk on the wildside!