Back to normal, Yoga and massage

Monday morning and life is back to normal...well as normal as it gets out here! We are up early and manage a cup of Nepali tea in one of the little German bakeries in town before heading to Devika's Yoga class at 7.30am. It is lovely to be back in the "studio" on the first floor of Mamma Mia restaurant, Devika has done well in making the room lovely even if it is a little chilly without any heating to warm the room on these cold mornings.

After class Ewan and I head to one of the cafes by the Lake - Boomerang - where we warm ourselves in the morning sun while drinking tea and eating breakfast. I decided I wasn't going to get back into the local tea scene but it is just too tempting, I absolutely adore Nepali masala tea, simple as that!

We potter around town, I wasn't sure I wanted to do much shopping while I am here but it is just too easy. Lakeside is stacked with s many small shops selling all the same srt of things and it is all too easy to get into the barterting game. I am not so good at it as Ewan these days, he really does manage to find a price which seems to work for everyone. Perhaps I have already said this but I am aware that often we are bartering over a few pounds and while this is off season and shopkeepers are more flexible in reducing prices, the money they earn does have to inance their families until the next high season in a few months time.

In the afternoon we each have a massage from two of the women from the Trust in the Yoga studio, lying on blankets on the floor - Nepali way. The women are great, Devika should be proud, she has been training them the last few years and they have had a good deal of practice and are now offering their services to the general public. The women really work with their intuition and I feel really good after the massage - and it is also amazing to see how much more the confident the women are these days, not anywhere near as shy as they were when I first started visiting.

We meet Devika for dinner at Dorje's new cafe - Olive, very much based on the western cafe culture with familiar dishes on the menu. Ewan and I are still a little nervous about what we eat and I probably don't make the best choice, but it is difficult to now what is best, the body sometimes just takes a few days to adjust. Then home for another DVD and another early night - rather common over here, and great for getting up early the next morning!