Off the Couch and On the Road

We had woken, packed, eaten, dressed, walked, flew, landed, drove and arrived in Kathmandu before the shops were even open. My first shower in many, many days was insanely long and it was the first time I was truly clean in about two weeks (maybe a bit longer, but I wouldn’t ever admit that to you, would I?).

I handed a garbage bag full of disgustingly dirty clothes to a poor little Nepalese man before catching up on internet and eating a huge plate of french fries for lunch, and wandered around the shops for the afternoon before catching up with the group for dinner at 6pm.

Technically, our tour was over once we arrived at the hotel, but noone was flying out until the next morning at the earliest, so it was a good chance to relax with a beer and some pizza as our last meal together. I don’t actually know when I will be flying out of Nepal, anytime between tomorrow and two weeks from now - so this time next week I will either still be here and perhaps volunteering at the orphanage, or I will be in Italy.

Some time ago I would have been paraletic with fear that my plans weren’t set in stone, but it’s nice not knowing what you’re doing sometimes, living day to day, flying by the seat of your pants, so to speak.

As long as you trust your travel agent. And know somebody in London.

-Sarah

The few days before Christmas are always hard. You try to finish as much work as you can before holidays, shopping malls are packed with last-minute-mums and the rush to get Christmas cards out (and to who?) is a continually postponed chore. But despite this, everyone is so damn happy - because no matter how hard it is, it’s almost Christmas, right?

On that last day, it was like we could hear the sleigh bells ringing, the end was that close. It was all uphill, 200m over about 4 hours, but the mood was so light you would be forgiven for thinking the increase in oxygen had affected us. We couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces on arrival in Lukla that afternoon, and celebrated with some red wine and yak steak with fries for supper.

It was the simple things we missed most, a proper bathroom, clean clothes, and being warm with a full belly. And although a lost my Sketchers shoes (damn it), my beanie, a bit of weight and a lot of sleep, I gained an insight into Nepalese Himalayan culture, and the most spectacular scenery in the world that no photography could ever do justice.

Especially my photography, because I doubt it does anything justice.

-Sarah

A theory. The ability to face the challenges of travel is directly proportional to the length of the trip itself. I had a month in Indochina, and on the last day I was ready to leave. Similarly, we have 3 ... [Continue reading this entry]

We were the only guests in the tea house at Khumjung, and so joined the family sitting around the fire, watching Nepalese TV and listening to stories by the father, a sherpa who climbed almost to Everest's summit, and who ... [Continue reading this entry]

Because of the length of my last few entries, I have decided to keep this one brief. Today we trekked 500m down a mountain and then up another about 400m, over 7 hours.

There are lots of details about the mountains, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Although base camp is kinda the whole point of this trip, climbing Kalapathar at 5550m (higher than base camp) was supposed to be the visual highlight, with scenery at the top so spectacular you would be forgiven for bursting out ... [Continue reading this entry]

It's hard trying to think of the most physically and mentally demanding challenge I've faced to date. There are always those nights at the gym when you get to the point where you can't take another step, or maybe some ... [Continue reading this entry]

It snowed yesterday afternoon. We were sitting around the fire heater drinking tea when it started falling, slowly turning the surrounding mountains and huts a powdery white. Now, call me naieve or un-worldy, but I have never seen snow fall, ... [Continue reading this entry]

With quite a few people suffering a bit of altitude sickness, we al took the trek up to 4850m very slowly - a breath after each slow step, kind of like walking on the moon I guess, except they get ... [Continue reading this entry]

Today was technically an easy trekking day - only ascending about 500m at a very gradual pace. The altitude however left everyone breathless and slowed them down to what I call 'Sarah's Pace'.

The forest track, which so far wouldn't look ... [Continue reading this entry]