A DARWEN man's dream holiday in Nepal turned sour when he was caught up in a freak hailstorm, protest marches and a complete shutdown of the capital city.

Former photographer Len Partington, of Green Street East, wanted to spend six weeks in the state to see the Annapurna mountain range. But the holiday started badly when he was stuck in the capital Kathmandu for 10 days before he could move on to his destination of Pokhara.

A bandh - a complete shutdown of the area, called for by Maoist rebels which cripples businesses and prevents people using the roads - came into force after he landed at the airport.

When he finally arrived in Pokhara, 200 kilometres west, a haze had settled on the mountains and blocked the spectacular view. Then he experienced another bandh in Pohkara.

Len said: "The streets were deserted for three or four days. People were riding bikes but there was no other transport and everything was shut. It was very strange."

But the solitude did not last. Len added: "I was on a bike, turned a corner, and suddenly there was a crowd of protesters coming towards me throwing stones at the police.

"Luckily a bloke shouted to me to get out of the way. It was very scary. The police had sticks with which they were beating the people. I just wasn't expecting anything like that."

Even the weather turned against Len when a freak hailstorm descended on the city. Spring is normally one of the best seasons to visit Nepal.

Len said: "The hail stones piled up outside the window, the size of golf balls. People told me it was totally out of the ordinary. It got very windy and all the solar roof panels people used to heat their water were smashed."

However, Len added that the experience had not put him off. "I'm hoping to go again in November," he said.