I have ridden to Pokhara twice in the last two weeks. Try the motorbike rental shops down in Jyatha to the south of Thamel they should be able to get you some petrol, and i also got petrol at two gas stations either side of Mugling.

Pokhara was much more difficult. Try the motorbike garages up the hill from the Lakeside.

If you have time and petrol go up the hill to Bandipur, just to the west of Dumre an excellent Newari town.

The people of Nepal rose up in April 2006 Jana Andolan - the peoples movement, and King Gyanendra gave the power back to the democrats. The Maoists' joined the government in the November and laid down their arms.

However, since then there has been two years of wasted opportunities where Nepal could have returned to peace and normality. The Maoists have never been committed to the peace process (due to the 13,000 people or so that have been killed they have lost support from their power base in the hills), and the government has not addressed the genuine demands raised by the ethnic minorities, who have also taken up arms (the Madeshis in the south of the country whose culture and language is more closely aligned to the Indian states of Bihar and Utter Pradesh, and resent their lack of representation in the Kathmandu-based government).

Nearly two years have passed by, but the people are yet to witness he dividends of democracy. The state has been unable to fulfill its basic duties towards its citizens: shortages of fuel, 8 hour power cuts, water supplies low, wide-spread strikes, a short of food stuffs, and school closures. Outside petrol stations I personally counted over 100 cars and over two hundred motorbikes queuing up for petrol.

Safety and security of civilians is a major concern. On Thursday night a man was murdered in Bhaktapur one of the sister cities to Kathmandu, here in the valley and the local people went on the rampage and a curfew was imposed. One man - a bus helper, was shot and killed for defying the curfew.

The Madeshis have called an indefinite strike - a bandh in the south of the country, the Terai, and a large part of the country is a no go area for the Pahadis the people from the hills. There has been widespread burning of Pahadi houses and destruction of their businesses.

The first free elections for nine years are due to be held on 10 April, however, due to the lawlessness in the country and the fear that the Maoists will not do well in the polls, the elections seem increasingly unlikely.

The elections have been cancelled twice since April 2006, and commentators are suggesting that Prime Minister Koirola of the Congress party should form a government of national unity to include representatives of all civil society organisations, religious leaders, regional/ethnic leaders, and all political parties, even those outside of the present ruling Seven Party Alliance. The SPA includes the Maoists' and the six major democratic parties.

After the new government has been formed and have fulfilled the legitimate demands of the regional parties, then free elections should be held. However, the Maoists under Prachanda have put in place a parallel government across the country and there is a worry that the Nepalese army, who are loyal to King Gyandera could carry out a coup.

Both China and India are worried about a further war happening as it could flow over into their territory and inflame there own ethnic minorities and Maoist insurgents. Due to the mountainous nature and weak infrastructure of Nepal a further Maoist insurgency or an army backed coup is only likely to succeed in the short term. Which can only lead to further turmoil and insecurity for the people of Nepal.