Travel blog: Latest news from Nepal

Nick Claxton has never ventured outside of Europe before but a combination of too many years in London, a lack of proper responsibilities and an unhealthy admiration for Michael Palin now means he is spending a year travelling the globe. A terminally-disorganised 24-year-old taking on the world - solo. Here is his eleventh blog entry:

My last blog makes Kathmandu sound like a terrible place. But put that down to falling ill. Sure, I was somewhat dreading my return after my rafting trip, but this time I coped better and had a chance to discover more of the city that's hidden behind the smog.

I ventured much further outside the tourist-haven of Thamel, taking in Buddhist sights such as the Swayambhunath and Boudhanath stupa (temple mounts) and the monks serenely-spinning prayer wheels. Hundreds of Buddhist temples flying their flags across the capital made an enthralling sight - especially as the Buddha's birthday celebrations added even more than normal.

The recent election upheaval had created a real fervour on the streets and every Nepali I met wanted to discuss it. The king was still yet to be formally deposed while I was there and rumours of his impending fate were running wild.

And despite the results having been announced some weeks before, loudspeaker trucks celebrating the Maoist victory were still making noisy circuits around the city through the night.

It was a thrilling time to be there. Anyone intrigued by the current situation in Nepal should head straight for the hotbed of the capital. Nowhere else in Nepal were the people so filled with worry and excitement over what the future holds.

But listening to Kathmandu's constant rumour-mill quickly threw up a story that sparked my under-used journalist instincts - and sent me on the road again. This time I made a direct run for Nepal's eastern border with India at Kakarbhitta (travelling by sleeper bus which cost 400 Nepalese rupees or around £3).

Some 17 years ago, the small kingdom of Bhutan forced out some 100,000 citizens in a program of ethnic cleansing. These refugees eventually found a home of sorts in a series of camps along the Mahendra highway in the eastern Terai region of Nepal.

A stalemate has kept these people in limbo - unable to return to their home in Bhutan, unwanted in Nepal. But recently, a deal has been struck to allow these refugees to settle in nations including the US and Canada.

While this offers an attractive way out of their situation, only a couple of hundred refugees have signed up for the deal. It is not the return to Bhutan they'd hoped for, after all. And the new Maoist leadership in Nepal has expressed opposition to this plan - making even this new hope a potentially fleeting one.

I spent a couple of hours discovering the refugees' confusion and frustration over their situation at the Beldangi camps. Some I spoke to were adamant in demanding a return to Bhutan and expressed anger towards those who had left for the West.

Others were more philosophical over the repatriation scheme but no less determined to keep fighting for a return to their homeland.

Having stood for 17 years, the camps didn't match my expectations for the most part. These were no emergency camps thrown up to deal with a recent crisis. Health issues and the lack of electricity remained problems, but sturdy bamboo huts provided shelter and clean water was available, although closely rationed.

But 17 years stuck in this situation means that children have grown up in these camps and now face the same choice as their parents - either accept charity and stay in the camp or break the law by working without proper ID papers on the black market.

Some were more than willing to take that risk, if only to escape the atmosphere of frustration. But a harrowing trip to the nearby Goldhap camp showed me an even better reason.

A recent fire had razed nine out of ten huts to the ground. Despite some repairs, the refugees were still racing against time to throw up shelter before the monsoon hits in just a few weeks.

I wish I could have promised more would come of my interviews with the refugees. Some saw me as one of the enemy since early media attention has died away and done little to promote their cause. I felt terrible not being able to give any answer to this. But I was made welcome by the many others who were delighted that interest in their story remained after 17 years.

Unfortunately the typical traveller would find it pretty tough to volunteer or visit these camps without prior arrangement. I only managed to get past the UN guards by flashing my press card. But meeting these people stuck in a desperate situation was one of the most important experiences I had in Nepal.

It's no tourist excursion. If you just want to say you've been to a refugee camp - please, don't go. But if you feel some empathy, want to open your eyes to some of the world's cruellest suffering and, most importantly, try to do something to help - there are people that need it all over the planet.

Nick Claxton