It's really very cold.

Not so sure about this place yet. I haven't been this cold at bedtime since we were trekking (oh, and perhaps when our boiler broke down last winter in a foot of snow). I lay in bed bursting for a wee but not wanting to brave the icy bathroom. There was a howling gale in the middle of the night that left poor Hamish up and down like a yoyo as he made regular checks on the kids (they hadn't wanted to lock themselves in, so despite wedging their door shut with a thin inflight magazine, we were worried that the wind would force its way in.) He also climbed up onto the roof at some unearthly hour to rescue the washing that I had hung there yesterday. I had visions of spotting clothes on distant roof tops: Martha's gorgeous cotton shirt, a prized Monsoon hand-me-down, that she's been living in, Gus' favourite (and more vitally ONLY) pair of shorts, my lovely comfy yoga pants, to name but a few.

I am now sitting in the cold light of day. I'm as close as can be to the oil fired radiator that has tried valiantly to warm our icebox through the night. Gus and Martha are sitting in bed under a mountain of blankets, watching Pink Panther and eating biscuits. This trip might have been very different without the iPad. It has bought us so much time and saved us from many difficult situations. It has been the ultimate distraction on long journeys.

Is it the essential bit of kit for a young family travelling? Of course we could have done it without it, but things mightn't have been so harmonious. They only have a couple of films on it, but it's the classic episodes of our iconic childhood cartoon that amuses them time and time again.

Hamish is now hammering thick blankets at our window in an attempt to keep in the heat. Kunsang, our gentle Buddhist host, tells me that it is all about how we think. If our brain tells us it's cold, our body's 'warming cell' shuts down and we feel even colder. If we tell ourselves we're warm, the reverse happens.

He is so very Zen. He and his wife both exude a deeply mellow and contented vibe. And boy is she strong (they both are). She's about my height and build, but she looks as though she is solid muscle - in a very soft and beautiful way, not with the harshness of a body builder. She made light work of carrying Hamish's really heavy bag up three flights of stairs.

Last night it snowed. Perhaps there is more to come. As we step outside in our kagools, can we test out the mind over matter theory?