We are now back at Delhi on our way to Bangkok but we have 6 hours to wait for our connecting flight so it's a great opportunity to get you up to speed with our travels. Nepal was amazing and we both successfully trekked to Everest base camp and climbed a peak called Kala Patthar for great views of the mountain itself!
We arrived at Kathmandu from Delhi a couple of weeks ago on Indian Airways and jumped straight into a taxi for the 'Kathmandu Guest House'(KGH). This is the oldest guesthouse in the city and is perfect for our needs! We had a spare day before our Everest trek meeting so we had a lazy breakfast at a great outdoor restaurant and then spent some time drinking beer in the KGH trying to spot fellow trekkers!
At the meeting we met our group - 12 in all, 3 girls 9 boys all below 37. After the meeting it was time for some speed shopping to kit ourselves out with the equipment and clothing we would need for our trek. Luckily you can’t walk more then 10 feet without passing a shop selling rip off North Face and Alpine Lowe gear! We actually managed to get everything we needed including head torches, waterproofs, 3 bags, walking poles etc for about 70 pounds!!! C-mon the rip off gear!!!
Early start the next morning to catch our flight to a little place called Lukla in the mountains. This was pretty interesting as it was a 16 seater; no flight deck door, and the air strip was only 250 metres long and sloped at 30 degrees with a brick wall at the end of the runway, a flight not for the faint hearted!
Our tour lasted 16 days starting at an altitude of 2700 metres walking gradually up to Everest Base Camp (5280m) and then up to Kala Patthar (5550m) then trekking back down to Lukla to fly back to Kathmandu. All our accommodation was in tea houses which are basic stone buildings, run a little bit like a guesthouse which is essentially a family home with extra rooms for tourists, with very very very thin interior walls made of ply wood - this means you don't get an awful lot of privacy and you are effectively living in each others pockets but it is a great opportunity to get to know new people!
The whole group managed to successfully complete the entire trek to all of the highest points which is apparently unusual. Some of the group did suffer from AMS (acute mountain sickness) including us, although the symptoms can be relived by a handy little drug called Diamox which seemed effective. At one point we both had quite bad headaches which make trekking even harder when you are trying to keep up with the group and breathe!
The first 3-4 days we didn't see much of the beautiful scenery we had come for because of such low cloud on the mountains. It got to the point where we thought we would never see the famous Himalayan peaks. On the day we made the final push from a place called Gorek Shep to Base Camp, the weather suddenly cleared and we were able to get a fantastic view of the summit of Everest and the surrounding mountains. In actual fact the weather then stayed really nice for our entire trek back down to Lukla.
Once the weather improved the scenery was breathtaking, you cannot begin to imagine the magnitude of the mountains around you. No other mountain range can compare to the Himalayas. The scale is truly of a different order. The shape of the mountains is so spectactularly irregular, apparently due to the fact the mountain range is relatively young in geological terms and still growing! We have taken absolutely loads and loads of photos almost hitting the 500 mark which we will take you through one by one when we get home ;o)
The trek itself is extremely challenging and requires an excellent level of fitness (so the guidance notes say!). Despite us not training at all and our not particularly successful practice trek in India we did brilliantly. We were at the back of the group pretty much most of the way but that allowed us to enjoy the scenery, chat to our new friends, take photos and spend time together instead of looking at the ground or someone else's back all the time. Our guides did recommend that we walk slowly to reduce the effects of AMS, which is exactly what we did! The hardest days were the 2 days at the top, effectively climbing staircases continuously at over 17000 ft is really hard work. The paths are not straight or level, a lot of the time we were jumping over boulders hopping from rock to rock avoiding yaks, porters, and yak crap.
When we descended we actually got a low altitude buzz from all the extra air to breathe. We feel soooooooooooooooooooooooo fit now, and have definitely toned up and lost a bit of weight in places – happy days!
The last 2 days of the trip we have allowed ourselves a some celebratory drinks which have lead to a few a stories…
• Trek leader polishing off 2 bottles of Everest whisky by 4pm
• Entire group commandeer local night club for live music and dancing action
• Chris takes over the decks (well actually one CD walkman) on the floor behind the bar to pull out the best ABBA dance floor fillers
• Zaida gives another group member (21 year old ice hockey player) a fat lip in comedy air guitar incident (oops)
• Dancing to Nepalese folk music in a guesthouse with guides and porters after necking special Everest coffee's (local brew)
• 2 porters having it to uplifting house music
We really have had the most amazing time! One thing that we have been blown away by is the Nepalese people. They are genuinely friendly and welcoming to us throughout the entire trek. We have made good friends with our guides and learnt a lot about their culture and lifestyle which they are more than too happy to share with us. Our experience of their warm nature has been celebrating the Hindu religious festival in Nepal called Dasai where we were invited in to dance with this family as we were trekking past their house – we think they had a few glasses of the local brew though ;o) It seems like Nepalese people are more than happy to party at any excuse.
We are sad to leave Nepal, but leave with brilliant memories and huge achievement. It also very exciting that we still have 5 more months of adventures ahead of us!
Chris and I not only celebrated 1 month of marriage, but it was also our 9 year anniversary since we met today - so we couldn't be in a more perfect place.
TTFN and LUMU
C & Z xxxxxxxxx
p.s. write soon with all your news!!
Click on the following links for the Nepal photos: basecamp trek set 1, basecamp trek set 2, Kathmandu.
Hi guys
it's so nice to read your diary updates, but it makes me so jealous! Sounds amazing and you have the best memories for life.
Nepal is defnitely on my list (don't know when I will start this list), sounds wonderfull.
Love
Karina
xxx