On top of the world

Back from my travels I have a lot to catch up on. I'll start with my most recent trip which was to the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal. On New Years Day six of us arrived into Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The airport was about as impressive as a 3 column hay barn. There was barely electricity. The place was lit by candles and there was no sign of any radiators. It was freezing. Our bags arrived out on a conveyor belt that I was convinced was driven by someone pedalling a bike on the other side of the wall. As we walked out the door we were met by total chaos. At least 5o taxi drivers were literally beating the shite out of one another to try and lead us to their taxi. We settled with two taxi drivers who told us to wait where we were as they went to fetch the cars. They arrived back with two Lada's, and by saying Lada's I don't mean really bad cars, I mean that they were actually Lada's. 1970 models at least. Every time we stopped in traffic both engines cut out. Although the steering wheel was on the right hand side of the car there didn't seem to be any side of the road that should be driven on, just where there was space at the time. Arriving at our bed for the night we planned the rest of the holiday. We decided to spend our time trekking across the Himalayas. The next morning we made the 5 hour bus trip with our guide to the foothills of the mountains. Our trekking would start the next morning. As we started out on our 4 day trek towards Mt Everest Base camp we were all in high spirits. The Base camp trek takes 21 days in total so we could only do a fraction of it with our time limit. The first day consisted of a 8 hour trek to our first port of call. The first two thirds were not so bad but the final third really took it's toll. Absolutely wrecked we finally made it to the stop off for the night. On the way up, the sights were amazing. The trail is lined with mountain lodges where locals survive literally off the land. Everything that they eat they produce themselves. Each lodge has a cow, maybe a few goats and terraced fields where they grow anything that they can to survive. No house has electricity and it very rare to find any sort of heating in the houses. These are the toughest people I have ever met. Children are left wander around, most of them wielding some sort of sharp knife, and these children are no older than 3 years of age. On the way up we passed a house and a 4 year old was out cutting up vegetables with a knife I wouldn't trust myself with. Our bed for the night gave us a view down into the valley we had just climbed. Not very well prepared we all had to wear every piece of clothing inside our sleeping bags to keep warm. The next morning faced us with another 8 hour trek up to the next stop off. As the temperatures plummeted and the air got thinner things got a whole lot tougher. Eventually we made it to the second stop. This place was worse than the first, again with no electricity or heating we almost froze to death that night. The next morning all of our legs could barely move with the stiffness. The next 2 days were a bit of a haze as we trundled up the mountain, the air getting thinner and thinner and civilization down to a bare minimum. One of the girls then got altitude sickness but in general everyone was feeling good. If ever we felt the strain we just looked around us at the awesome sights of the valleys and mountains and the hairs would stand on the back of our necks and give us the energy to go on. Our guide told us how lucky we were as every day was crystal clear and the top of Everest could be clearly seen. Apparently it is a very rare thing. On the last day of trekking as we neared our finishing point we were all sad to be leaving so soon. Even though everyone found it really tough we all could have gone on for another 2 weeks. Four days trekking is simply not enough. We have all vowed to come back in the next 6 months to attempt the full Everest Base camp trek. The training starts now.

Coming back into Kathmandu we had a day left to explore the city before getting on our flight and going back to reality for a while. Two thirds of the group could not bring themselves out of the bed so myself and Fi went to explore the old side of Kathmandu. Walking through the narrow streets is some experience. The shops spill out onto the streets with butchers cutting meat on the dirty cobbled ground as their apprentice kills and guts the chickens before your eyes, a place not for vegetarians I can tell you. The streets are lined with Buddhist temples. They really take their religion seriously. Entering the temples from the grey streets you are met with a wealth of colours. Their temples are lined with gold and fresh flowers. Monkeys swing from nearby branches and calves wander around the temples as cows are regarded as sacred. Again our time was too short to really get a feel for the city so a serious pact was made to revisit this breathtaking country again ASAP.