| The story starts in the troubled Kingdom of Nepal... Main characters - Adam (whom I met on the plane from Dhaka and Raj, out 'interesting guide!) and a cast of 1000 sherpa's and yaks! We jumped on a Yeti Airline plane for the 35min flight thru the foothills to Lukla to start our 2 week trek to Everest Base Camp (70ks away). We started our walk to Monjo where we met the Royal Navy team (they were doing the same walk, as an exercise!) We stayed there overnite and watched the Yak trains pass and looked in awe at the formidable snowy mountains in the distance. We were at 2800m and it was starting to show when we climbed up hills... The next day was tough, a serious climb thru pine forests and across Indiana Jones type bridges [some of the planks broke under my feet!] to Namche Bazar at 3450m. Here we rested, ate and slept. Our daily routine was forming -up at 5ish, porridge for brekkie - walk for 4hrs then have a snack/tea/sleep at new place. Lunch was usually a dall bhaat (bland lentil curry). The afternoons were spent trying to dry your sweaty clothes out/sleep and play cards. Anything else was too much effort! Dinner was at 6ish (Dal bhaat or yak steak!) and then some more cards until bedtime 8pm. Showers were there, but it was too cold and pricey - so we did without! We all carried about 10ks on our backs... Namche Bazar is set on a cliff side overlooking a few valleys and snow capped peaks. Its mainly a collection of guest houses and shops selling warm clothes/choc etc. The streets are very steep and usually have yaks walking loose down them. There were loads of banners everywhere celebrating the 50th ann of the 1st ascent of Everest On day 3, our rest day, we walked up the big hill behind hill (about 400m) to the everest view hotel. We couldn't see anything, which we were slightly peeved about! Headed back to town to watch the Everest Base camp to Namche Marathon finish. 35 guys had been training for weeks to acclimatise to be able to run from Base camp to Namche. We watched the winner come in at 3.5hrs...astounding, considering the heights and difficulty of the trail. Sat and watched these guys arrive over the next few hrs...I think the last guy did in 8hrs! The following day we climbed to Tengboche at 3885m. Here there is a Buddhist monastery and a great restaurant. We sat and watched the locals try to build a marquee for the 29/5 celebrations here (150 folks attending including Peter Hillary [son]) Got some great views of Everest then chatted to Peter for a while. Chatted to his nice daughter (Edmund's grand-daughter) for a while, but she was too young and ozzie! Mixing with the cream now! I walked past Messner also - v famous Italian climber! Day 5 - walked to Pheriche at 4200m It was a hard climb here and it was fairly cold here. My clothes were stinking of sweat and I was filthy, but the beard was coming on a treat! Just heard from some guys that a porter died the day before from AMS and that a Canadian died from a sleeping pill (mixing with altitude doesn't work), its a dangerous road. I hadn't been sleeping well due to the altitude, and now the cold was making things worse. On the path, you pass loads of Sherpa's carrying the strangest of things - toilets, 2*4's, corrugated iron sheets and beer! They can carry up to 80ks on their backs - there is no protection like in Peru! These guys are tough - I saw one carrying 6 cases of beer and a cupboard wearing only flip flops! Day 6 - Insomnia... A really tough walk to Labouche at 4900m. Here we all had headaches and suffered from the cold. It was snowing when we arrived. There was no trees here, only rocks and the permafrost! Adam was really bad, but after some garlic soup and diamox, he seemed better. My headached disappeared at 2am...so i managed to grab a few hrs sleep. Met Cameron the Canadian today, a fellow sufferer. He was trekking solo, so he joined our group. It was better for us as 4 is a good number for cards (switch and nomination whist) 7 - today was going to be our rest day, so we walked to Gorak Shep [1.5hrs] at 5150m then decided to climb Kala Phattar (mt just behind town which at 5500m offers great views of Everest and surrounding mts). It was a hard climb up there, about 1hr - all the time you are gasping for the little air there is. At the top we saw it... pretty amazing views of Everest and the Khumba glaciers. Everest is set back and sometimes hard to se as the clouds rolled in, but it was spectacular and hard to believe we were looking at the Top of the world. From there we could other mts, base camp and into Tibet. The glaciers were snaking down the mts onto frozen valleys scraped out by previous glaciers...It was too cold to linger as the wind picked up, so we headed down to Laboche. On the way back we saw the mythical Yeti...it was wearing a North Face jacket though, like everyone else here! Our headaches had passed but our guide, who stayed at Laboche still had a cold. Raj used to walk ahead of us all the time, tell us of all the many Sherpa girls he was going to marry and eat Dal Bhaat all the time. He was so lazy, but a great laugh. He was only 21 and a funny guy! 8 - Base Camp The four of us walked to Gorak Shep for brekkie. We passed a Russian being carried on a Sherpa's back - he had fallen asleep drinking whiskey on the glacier and now had exposure! Raj stayed behind, and we walked the 3hrs to base camp at 5300m. It was a v long path which winded up and down over valleys and on over ridges. We arrived and I celebrated by opening the whiskey that I had been carrying since the Scottish party in Sydney in Oct (remember Daz/Ryan/JJ!) A mars bar was another deserved treat. The fotos should be funny! Base camp is just a collection of tents on top of the Khumba glacier by a ice field. From here teams progressed to the different camps on the slopes of Everest. We heard that an American and Indian summited today...the funny thing is, you cannot see Everest from here! We walked back to Labouche after stopping for lunch in Gorak Shep. Carried on down to Periche (another 3hrs) after Raj had to pay a porter 500 rupees to collect my bag from Gorak as he had forgotten to take it with him! Back at Laboche I didn't feel too well...and after chatting to an Israeli guy who said he had Macaroni and cheese at Gorak shep 3 days ago and had to be carried to here as he was so ill, I ran out the lounge and vomited several times...I felt bad... After I had finished, people walked past and stared. So I just said, don't eat here! I headed to bed early and only threw up once...blo*dy yak cheese! On the Everest base camp circuit there are 2 types of folk - those you have had Diarrhoea and those who will get it... The other guys got it soon after. There is no hygene on the mt - you cannot wash your hands anywhere and so its unlikely that the kitchen staff will have either! I started on some drugs, which always helps! The following day I slept, ate [I had missed a day of food!] and played a lot of cards. I ate double yak steak for dinner...that will teach them for poisoning me! We were totally fed up now - dirty, smelly, dreaming of Big Mac's we walked to Namche about 8hrs away. A totally knackering walk! The path was full of Yak trains as folk where packing there gear up from Base camp as the season ends this week... Chatted to some guys whom had summited the previous week - of course I told them that I had, you have to, to gain any respect off these mountaineering types! The next day we walked to Lukla and stayed in the nice Khumba resort where we vegged by the pool table and TV with BBC news! On TV they showed pics of the 50th ann celebrations in Kathmandu and Edmund...his son is the spitting image! We had decided to come home early as we needed to wash and the boredom gets to you after a while! Today we flew out of Lukla back to Kathmandu which was boiling hot and still as chaotic. There are loads of banners everywhere left over from yesterday's street parades. Had a long shower, scraped off my clothes and took them to the laundry and shaved my beard off {I was a Bin Laden lookalike!]. I never want to see a mt again or trek, would I recommend it...only if you are mental! Its alot tougher [ended up walking 140ks round trip] than I imagined and the altitude really kills! I forgot to mention...whilst we were on the circuit world record attempts were made on the mt. The latest completed yesterday,was 10.5hrs from base camp to summit! I think if i was at sea level I could complete a half marathon...I feel fit but totallt drained! I think over the next few days, I will chill here, eat loads of steak and drink loads! I want to go Bengal tiger shooting/spotting in the West and rafting, so my schedule is pretty packed! Keep an eye out for the party on the 29th - it should be on the BBC/ABC as its full of ozzies... website is worldexpeditions.com.au The path is fairly good but covered in stones which makes walking hard. There are many memorials on route to the dead climbers/sherpa's that the mountain has taken over the years! 29/5 - 29/5 - 31/5 - relaxed in Kathmandu. Did my washing, watched crappy movies and ate loads of cow! 1/6 - 4/6 Pokhara = Caught the bus with Boaz (my Israeli mate I met in Shanghai) to Pokhara. The ride was fun for the first hr, but it was OK. After arriving we met Boaz's mate who took us to Everest Steak House for monster steaks...yummy! Then we just relaxed and watched a movie at nite. Met some girls at our hotel, so we hung with them. Pokhara is a small town, set on Phew Tal (Nepal's biggest lake) with views of the Himalayan foothills and the Annapurna's in the background. Beautiful place to waste a few days! The town is dead as its off season and the monsoon has started, but we met some nice girls at our hostel whom we have been out with. There is nothing to do here, but sleep, eat (everest steak hse) and relax. Its nice, the weather had been hot but the monsoon blew in last nite and now its cloudy and wet...so no walking for us! I think Boaz is off to India in a few days , I would love to go as I have met other folks who are going there but I don't have the time and I have other plans... Went out drinking to Club Amsterdam and Hard Rock cafe loads - too many San Miguels! Anyway...let me set the scene...last nite we went to bed early and heard the girls come home at 12...at 2, the monsoon started and it was heavy rain, wild winds and continous lightning. All the power went out for a bit and left in pitch dark...we were all up as it was too noisy. Anyways, 1 hr later I woke to hear voices outside... Somebody had broken into the ozzie guys room and taken half his bags+sleeping bags/cash and cameras (he is a journalist, so he had a digital SLR with lenses about $8k worth!!)...they sliced open the mozzie net then walked thru his rm and lifted his stuff whilst he was asleep. He never heard them cos of the loud fan on in these rms ( i canny sleep with them as they are too noisy!) At the same time, the girls were startled by a girl trying to break in to their rm... Me and Boaz are OK, but shocked. So we sat up and chatted last nite and went over things. Today half the police in town are looking for this gang, the hotel staff have been questioned loads. We have moved hostels to nr where M stayed and we are carrying passports with us all the time. Found out that 3 hotels were hot last nite... So I may to go Chitwan (if the rain lets me) or I will head back to Kat in a few days. Spoke to loads of guys here about Myanmar and they are all raving about it. Been out drinking in the Himalayan Hard Rock cafe - nice place, although full of Nepalese! Brazil |