Hokkaido ,Japan

Beach resort about 110 kilometers from Manila, nice new resorts ,hotel, condominiums surrounded by 13 coves- we only got to see one.
Food was great- buffet spreads for the main meals- lunch & dinner during the weekend, we were there on a saturday. The beach was not overly crowded, but the infinity pool was a bit crowded for my taste.

Arrived via DragonAir form Hong Kong - flight delayed arrived about 1130pm - stayed at Marshyandi hotel , Thamel. Rolling blackouts- 7 hours with power from electric grid and 7 hours no power. HOtel nice location, in the heart of the city-lots of shops, jewelry, camping and trekking outfitters, singing metal bowls, pashmina right outside the hotel- Backpacker's Row. 2Nites stop in Kathmandu as our tour operator International TRek & Expedition takes care of our trekking permits.

We left Kathmandu for Bandipur (3hrs by land) - got billeted at Mountain View Resort in Bandipur- simple hotel with a balcoany and great view of the Annapurna himalayan range. After our overnight stop we proceeded to Pokhara -checked in at the nice Trek-o-Tel , cozy boutique hotel right across the former Royal Palace facing the lake. Lots of shops line the street right outside the hotel- from money changers, pashmina shops, camping gear stores.

We leave Pokhara fo Nayapul (1070m) ,

Day 1 trek to Tikhedhunga(1540m) , estimated hike time- 5- 1/2 hrs- we took 7 hours. We even had sherpas taking care of our packs.Today was not so difficult.
Day 2 Tikhedhunga to Ulleri (2070m) to Banthanti (2300m) to Ghorepani (2874m) estimated 5 1/2 hrs - we took 11-12 hours, we got caught in the rain - ponchos out, was cold and ice coming down. We were literally dragging our feet the last 2 hours, taking rest & water breaks till we arrive exhausted and drained to the last sweat.
Day 3 Decided to have an extra day of rest and enjoy Ghorepani -slow and easy. Enjoying our morning cafe with Annapurna South peaking through the sunrise. Transfered to the Tenzing Norgay Suite with a simple attached bathroom (a luxury).
Day 4 We skipped the Poon HIll Trek and viewed the sunrise once again from Ghorepani, we leave Ghorepani for Tadapani ( 2,590m) , here at Tadapani the guest house was a bit cramped. the hot showers under the kitchen was great. water pipes are designed to pass through the kitchen to pick up the heat to give hot water for the showers- good idea!
Day 5 We leave for Ghandruk (1940m) , model village, the hometown of the courageous/brave fighting Gurkhas of the British Royal Army. We had a good stay here, with 24 hour electric power and powered up our iphones/ipods/camera batteries. This town is supposedly powered by hydro-electric power-hence the 24/7 supply of electric power, yes attached bathrooms!
Day 6 WE happily leave for the last trekking day to get back via Syauli Bajar / to Nayapul for our extraction and ride back to Pokhara.

Arrived in Pokhara- Trek-o-tel , Korean food tonight and the neighborhood Korean BBQ- yummy.

Day 7 Take a plane back to Kathmandu- 30 minutes only - Gana Air , sure beats the 5-6 hour land trip to Kathmandu. ($100)
Uh Oh back in Kathmandu- General strike in Kathmandu- all shops closed for the day!

Day 8 City tour, we visit Pashupati, Bhatpur & Boudda-(lots of tibetan buddhist) - also saw the living Goddess- the Kumari- awesome.

Nepal , a trip of a lifetime indeed. the snowcapped Himalayan mountains, the kind Nepalese , the great shopping, the sight and sound of Nepal-will be etched in my mind for a lifetime.

Travel period, Feb 8-17. We started our trip from Osaka, Japan. We took the Twilight Express train from Osaka to Sapporo (nice train with private cabins for 2) , supposedly Japan's response to the Orient Express. We had to add about 10,040 yen despite our 7Day JR Rail Pass. Buy bento box at Osaka station before departure - Bento on board dinner was expensive - 6000yen ($72) a bit steep. Left Osaka 11:50am and arrived in Sapporo the next day at 9:50am. Transferred to the Super Ozaru train for Kushiro- its a limited express train with minimal stops but still took about 4.5 hours to reach Kushiro. Then wait about 50 minutes for the connecting bus for Akan- get off Tancho No Sato bus stop after 1hr 20 minutes travel. Akai Ber (Red Beret) hotel/inn just across the bus stop. Simple and nice japanese ryokan type rooms- 10 tatami mat size-no private bath. Yet hardly any other guest so it felt very private.
Akan Crane Center(6000 yen per pax per night with japanese bento breakfast) is just across the hotel- about 400 meters away, 10 minutes walk due to snow & ice on the road. 400 yen entrance fee-- and voila you walk into the Tancho Observation deck and see a lot of japanese photographers with their Safari Lenses on their 35mm DSLRs- 600mm to 1000mm lenses. It was truly a site to behold. The Japanese Cranes roughly about 70-100 of them would fly in and take off time and again- beautiful images to be taken- the majestic birds had a field day flying in and out, doing the love dance and prancing in the snow. We were so pleased to spend 2 full days photographing the cranees at the Akan Crane Center. There was a Tancho Observation center outside that protected us from the cold, small restaurant service-yummy japanese noodle soup was perfect for the cold weather.

Return to Kyoto via Sapporo, stopped in Sapporo to catch the Ice & Snow Festival- nothing great. Visited Tomamu- Alpha ski resort - nice resort- but the brochure we saw had a terrace above the clouds- only to find out that that scenery is during summer time only. Ok maybe next summer. The photo on the Alpha Resort brochure was truly amazing- breathtaking.

Took Shinkansen from Sapporo to Kyoto, left 7:30am arrived 8:15am exactly. We were amazed with the punctuality of the Japanese JR train Sinkansen system- arrives on the station and leaves within seconds. I used Hyperdia.com to find the japanese train schedules.