Snake charmers move from corner to corner hoping to catch the eye of an inquisitive tourist. Brad and I have so far managed to escape their clutches...........
"Chicken delivery van" - funny site to see is the guy riding around on his motorbike with about 20 live chooks strapped to the bike delivering to the restaurants. At least we are guaranteed to have fresh chicken for dinner..lol.
Amsterdam Bar - great night out last night - live band churning out sounds of Led Zep, Doors, Gun's and Roses etc - few drinks and a few dances (don't ever ever get the Margarita be warned ........I don't think they know what actually goes in it!)
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Cones for breakfast!!!!!!
Just finished breakfast at our fav restaurant...... nothing too unusual about it really... but I just wanted to share in what seems to be the norm here for a lot of people at breakfast time in Pokhara!!!!! We are totally not in the scene - its just omelet and coffee for us thanks.....as we managed to find a space to sit where we were able to avoid getting "high" on the pungent smell of pot coming from the next table. Seriously.................... "cones for breakfast" eeek.
Coffee and Music
Had a very lazy morning and didn't feel like facing the same ol breakfast always on offer at our hotel.......juice, eggs and non palatable coffee or tea, so we strolled down to our favorite little restaurant called "Once Upon a time" and had something decent, along with plunger coffee.
As we sat sipping our coffee, we heard this incredible voice - sounded like Ben Harper.....I thought it was a CD..................
We turned around to see a guy just sitting by himself at one of the tables playing a small guitar and singing a few tunes ad-hoc. We listened for ages as it was so good and then on leaving the restaurant we said to him "great music - loved it". He picked up on our aussie accents and started up a conversation with us so we stayed and chatted longer. His name is "Kin" and he's from Perth...Fremantle. He has played a bit around Freo and was one of the performers at the Fairbridge Folk Festival. He does not make a living out of music, but from teaching English as a second language in other countries. I hope one day he becomes famous for his music as he certainly has the voice of an angel.
As we sat sipping our coffee, we heard this incredible voice - sounded like Ben Harper.....I thought it was a CD..................
We turned around to see a guy just sitting by himself at one of the tables playing a small guitar and singing a few tunes ad-hoc. We listened for ages as it was so good and then on leaving the restaurant we said to him "great music - loved it". He picked up on our aussie accents and started up a conversation with us so we stayed and chatted longer. His name is "Kin" and he's from Perth...Fremantle. He has played a bit around Freo and was one of the performers at the Fairbridge Folk Festival. He does not make a living out of music, but from teaching English as a second language in other countries. I hope one day he becomes famous for his music as he certainly has the voice of an angel.
Adventures in Pokhara
We ended up hiring bikes for a couple of days to explore Pokhara and surrounds. First day we followed the road which sort of ran beside the lake. We were actually looking for "Devi Falls" which we had a lot of trouble finding due to the fact its not what we thought. Eventually after seeing a sign amongst some little shops saying "Welcome to Devi Falls" we decided that this must be it - maybe - Anyhow we preceded to park our bikes when this guy came out of his shop and tried to charge us for parking on the dirt in front of his shop. I became a little annoyed and said no way are we going to pay for a piece of dirt......so we moved onto the next bit of dirt!! We then got chatting to a young 18 year old guy called Raj from another shop. He explained to me that this was pretty normal and it was just another way of making some money. He asked us if we would like him to give us a bit of history and a guided tour around Devi Falls and the village for a small fee. We accepted after negotiating a price, as his English was really good and he seemed like a nice kid. Just to put you in the picture.........at first we were not sure if Raj was a girl or a guy......his voice was very high pitched with a slight American accent.......very similar to that of Michael Jackson. His English teacher is an American guy so obviously he was picking up on the accent. The tour he gave us was really informative. He advised us to take a look at Devi Falls from below the ground in a cave called Gupteshwor as we would get a much better view. He was right - it was incredible. You would not have even thought there was a cave existing under all that chaos above......sacred cows ambling along the main roads, local villagers going about there business and the main road just meters above us. After taking us through the cave, Raj escorted us through one of the many Tibetan Refugee camps in Nepal. This particular camp was home to 2000 refugees who were very happy to have fled Tibet over the years. It was a very interesting community for us to have had the privilege of visiting.
As we said our goodbyes to Raj we set off back to downtown Lakeside..............well we eventually got there on dark, after getting lost and not having a clue where we were. Brad came good with directions (funny how he is very good at directions in foreign countries........but in Perth not all that good!!hehe). Getting lost in these places is part of the adventure. The children in the streets were so friendly and were waving at us and yelling out "Namaste" (hi) all the time.
As we said our goodbyes to Raj we set off back to downtown Lakeside..............well we eventually got there on dark, after getting lost and not having a clue where we were. Brad came good with directions (funny how he is very good at directions in foreign countries........but in Perth not all that good!!hehe). Getting lost in these places is part of the adventure. The children in the streets were so friendly and were waving at us and yelling out "Namaste" (hi) all the time.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Pokhara
Cool - here we are in Pokhara, which is the second city of Nepal. The city is situated around a massive lake and sits in a valley at the foot of the Annapurna's. Pokhara is the starting point for all treks within the Annapurna Region. Our next visit to Nepal will no doubt encompass another trek and I would choose the Annapurna Circuit, for various reasons - one being that altitude doesn't seem to pose as much of a problem as the Everest Region.....especially as Pokhara is already at lower altitude than Kathmandu itself. One of the other reasons is that if we were to bring our boys here, I believe there is a lot more on offer around the region, including white water rafting, mountain biking, paragliding.....
Anyway our trip to Pokhara was by "tourist" bus which takes 7 hours but its cheap at around $18AU each, including lunch and water. The bus was air conditioned.......but the driver only put the air con on after a couple of people started getting ill - and I mean ill as in vomiting out the window. He was obviously trying to conserve energy!!!!! The bus trip was a real treat - lots to see - going around mountains and passing trucks and other buses by "beeeeeeep" then just going for it and hoping someone else wasn't coming the other way!!!!!! OMG! Seeing village people showering under the various outlets from the river and doing their washing, waving at tourists and locals riding on the top of the bus with all the luggage (very dodgy), rice paddy fields and locals farming, beautiful river running through the mountain ranges. It certainly was another exciting experience.
Once settled into our hotel .....after beating of the hoards of touts offering or should I say forcing upon us taxi rides and hotels..... we took a stroll down to Lakeside where all the restaurants, bars, shops etc are. Its so peaceful here - I think we will stay a few extra days and do very little - maybe hire a mountain bike and explore this city, go up to Sarangkot for a sunrise view of the snow capped mountains hovering over the lake, do some boating and maybe take in a "bollywood" film at the local cinema hall - and of course EAT HEAPS.........great food around here! Lost a bit of weight climbing those mountains in the everest region - I don't think anyone will see any evidence of it though - as I said the food is great here....YUM!
Anyway our trip to Pokhara was by "tourist" bus which takes 7 hours but its cheap at around $18AU each, including lunch and water. The bus was air conditioned.......but the driver only put the air con on after a couple of people started getting ill - and I mean ill as in vomiting out the window. He was obviously trying to conserve energy!!!!! The bus trip was a real treat - lots to see - going around mountains and passing trucks and other buses by "beeeeeeep" then just going for it and hoping someone else wasn't coming the other way!!!!!! OMG! Seeing village people showering under the various outlets from the river and doing their washing, waving at tourists and locals riding on the top of the bus with all the luggage (very dodgy), rice paddy fields and locals farming, beautiful river running through the mountain ranges. It certainly was another exciting experience.
Once settled into our hotel .....after beating of the hoards of touts offering or should I say forcing upon us taxi rides and hotels..... we took a stroll down to Lakeside where all the restaurants, bars, shops etc are. Its so peaceful here - I think we will stay a few extra days and do very little - maybe hire a mountain bike and explore this city, go up to Sarangkot for a sunrise view of the snow capped mountains hovering over the lake, do some boating and maybe take in a "bollywood" film at the local cinema hall - and of course EAT HEAPS.........great food around here! Lost a bit of weight climbing those mountains in the everest region - I don't think anyone will see any evidence of it though - as I said the food is great here....YUM!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Kathmandu, Garden of Dreams, Pilgrims
First of all if my brother is reading this blog, I must say happy birthday to him.
"Happy Birthday Buk" catching up to me.........
mmm what did we do on our first day back in Kathmandu.............well we visited the "Garden of Dreams" which is a walled garden near the royal palace right in the heart of Kathmandu. Once stepping inside this oasis in the middle of chaos, you could be anywhere in the world. Immaculate manicured gardens and people just relaxing and enjoying the surrounds of this serenity. An elaborate Indian Wedding was being set up in the gardens so we watched the goings on of this for a while before we left.
We left and went for a drink at a famous place in Kathmandu, called "Fire and Ice", which was very nice. Will probably have to go back for an ice cream today as apparently the ice cream is good and SAFE to have there. After that we went back to our room and tizzied ourselves up to go out to a place called "Pilgrims Feed and Read" which was a groovy restaurant tucked in a garden at the back of a bookstore. Plenty to read and a great menu. We were lucky enough to have had live music in the form of a Sitar Player and a Tabla drummer to entertain us whilst eating our meal. I would have to say that this is one of the most authentic southern indian meals we have ever had. It was delicious. No power of course so it was a very romantic evening by candlelight.
Our Trek - Day 16
20th April, 2008 - Back to Kathmandu from Lukla on our twin otter plane loaded to the hilt. Got on the plane, jumped in my seat and guess what - NO SEATBELT to be found. I think I went into shock. There was absolutely nothing I could do as the only spare seat on the plane had been broken by some big guy just a moment ago. He was moved to a double seat at the front! Brad just kept me calm and we eventually landed in Kathmandu with no probs. In actual fact it was a pretty good flight with amazing views.......I just kept focusing on those views.
Once back in Kathmandu we were met by our Sherpa Guide, Dawa, who helped us back to our hotel through the crowds, beeping horns and polluted streets. Aaaah Kathmandu - It felt like coming home. Shower was first thing on the agenda....then absolutely nothing.
Once back in Kathmandu we were met by our Sherpa Guide, Dawa, who helped us back to our hotel through the crowds, beeping horns and polluted streets. Aaaah Kathmandu - It felt like coming home. Shower was first thing on the agenda....then absolutely nothing.
Our Trek - Day 15
19th April, 2008 - A day in Lukla...........well we thought that staying in Lukla would be a good idea as there seemed that there would be a few things to explore - WRONG! Our Sherpa Guide, Dawa managed to get himself onto a flight back to Kathmandu that morning but we were to hang around until tomorrow. The Porter, Kaljar stayed with us in order to help us get ourselves to the airport in the morning. Soooooooo our day was spent sun-tanning in the court yard of the hotel reading our books and watching the planes come in and out of Lukla. We did see a few sights though - the amount of children around the 35kg weight, carrying goods from the airport into town (weights of approximately 50kg) on their backs. Training to be Porters maybe!!!!!! Very hard work. We also met up with a few people whom we had met somewhere along the trail and had a few drinks with them. The next day we were to fly out to Kathmandu at 8.00am - I think we were both now ready for that....a hot shower, a warm double bed!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Our Trek Days 11,12,13
April 16, 2008 - Six hours of trekking today dodging Yak poo and crowds of people going up. It was hard work but feeling heaps better helped I can tell you. It was so nice to be back in Namche. This place is a little oasis nestled in a valley surrounded by mountain ranges capped with snow. We shared lunch with a couple of oxen who were just hanging about our tables - it really is a funny, but normal sight to be seen along the trail. Retired early to bed hoping for a good sleep and the sound of barking dogs kept us awake for most of the night grrrrrr.
April 17, 2008 - Dog Hunting!!!!!!!!! When we finally got over our lack of sleep we took in every bit of Namche whilst sipping on coffee, chatting and eating the best pastries. We were watching the Prayer Flags blowing in the breeze, the smell of incense burning, the frequent stream of hikers trekking through the streets of Namche, the enchanting sounds of Tibetan music playing in the background, the Nepalise people doing their washing in the streams and hanging clothes over rocks to dry, the children playing simple games in the streets and finding so much pleasure from those games. In the evening as we sat in the warm tea house talking about our journey we met a guy who was trekking with his neice 18 and nephew 15. My thoughts immediately diverted to thinking about bringing my boys trekking. What a culture shock it was for this 15 year old.....but he was enjoying every minute of it and it certainly was getting him away from the "computer".
April 18, 2008 - We awoke to the Nepalise stone masons chipping away at rocks to help form part of a new building. This was a daily occurrence in Namche. The chipping started at about 6.00am and continued on through the day until night fall. The other sound which had become very common was the sound of rescue choppers. I would say that we would hear this sound at least 4 times a day. People just push so hard to get up those mountains and get so sick they can't get down without the aid of a helicopter. Just imagine the costs involved in evacuation - It doesn't bear thinking about............We worked hard to get to Phakding with plenty of time to spare, so we decided to push on to Lukla which was another 2 hours down the track. Did I say down????? I certainly didn't mean down. We had so many steep hills to climb before finally getting into Lukla it wasn't funny. I think I had lulled myself into a false sense of security thinking that it was Down. We stopped at a stream on the way to refill our water bottles as there was a sign attached to the pipe coming out of the wall written by the Monks that said "safe holy water for drinking". No way was that holy water - it had so many floaties in it, even our guides wouldn't touch it. Anyway we made it to Lukla eventually, but were pretty tired, so we didn't do much that night....just practically had dinner and were in bed by 7pm.
April 17, 2008 - Dog Hunting!!!!!!!!! When we finally got over our lack of sleep we took in every bit of Namche whilst sipping on coffee, chatting and eating the best pastries. We were watching the Prayer Flags blowing in the breeze, the smell of incense burning, the frequent stream of hikers trekking through the streets of Namche, the enchanting sounds of Tibetan music playing in the background, the Nepalise people doing their washing in the streams and hanging clothes over rocks to dry, the children playing simple games in the streets and finding so much pleasure from those games. In the evening as we sat in the warm tea house talking about our journey we met a guy who was trekking with his neice 18 and nephew 15. My thoughts immediately diverted to thinking about bringing my boys trekking. What a culture shock it was for this 15 year old.....but he was enjoying every minute of it and it certainly was getting him away from the "computer".
April 18, 2008 - We awoke to the Nepalise stone masons chipping away at rocks to help form part of a new building. This was a daily occurrence in Namche. The chipping started at about 6.00am and continued on through the day until night fall. The other sound which had become very common was the sound of rescue choppers. I would say that we would hear this sound at least 4 times a day. People just push so hard to get up those mountains and get so sick they can't get down without the aid of a helicopter. Just imagine the costs involved in evacuation - It doesn't bear thinking about............We worked hard to get to Phakding with plenty of time to spare, so we decided to push on to Lukla which was another 2 hours down the track. Did I say down????? I certainly didn't mean down. We had so many steep hills to climb before finally getting into Lukla it wasn't funny. I think I had lulled myself into a false sense of security thinking that it was Down. We stopped at a stream on the way to refill our water bottles as there was a sign attached to the pipe coming out of the wall written by the Monks that said "safe holy water for drinking". No way was that holy water - it had so many floaties in it, even our guides wouldn't touch it. Anyway we made it to Lukla eventually, but were pretty tired, so we didn't do much that night....just practically had dinner and were in bed by 7pm.
Our Trek - Day 10
15th April, 2008 - Just after midnight, lying awake after no sleep at all, head pounding, feeling like I was going to vomit, I leaned over and asked Brad if he was awake. Yes he was..............so I began.......................................
Tears flowing down my cheeks, I softly began to acknowledge the fact that for me to go on any further was just taking too bigger risk. As I lay awake ALL night (just another symptom of AMS) I thought about the many experiences that made our journey so special thus far. At that moment it became apparent to me that it was more about the journey than the destination. So many people get caught up in "the destination", without taking time to smell the roses. Maybe 10 years ago this would've been me - but not now.....particularly when I have my beautiful sons and the rest of my family waiting at home for me. I truly learned a lot about myself during that sleepless night and realized that I had done something quite extraordinary by having the courage to turn around at that point and head down those mountain ranges, feeling totally at peace with my decision. I said to Brad that he should go on and summit Kalipattar as he was certainly coping with the Altitude a lot better than me. He lay silent for a while and then said to me that it would be no fun without me by his side sharing in this experience, as we had shared so much.......it just wouldn't be the same.
The decision was made and by 6.30am, after Brad packed everything up, we took off down to Pangboche (3860m). By this time, I was really sick and feeling quite faint but kept afloat with Coedine and tomato soup. I was sure that the headache would go once we hit the lower altitude! Once we reached our destination (slowly I might ad), I went to bed for four hours. When I awoke the headache was gone and I was feeling heaps better. I actually went and had a shower (first shower in 10 days - lucky I'm a camper hey!!) We had to pay for the showers and they were not cheap so it just wasn't even a consideration most of the time. Whilst I was resting Brad was out taking some amazing photos of the imposing mountain ranges of Kang Tega sitting at approximately 6885m. Tomorrow we would set off for Namche where we would spend 2 days just hanging about and resting.
Tears flowing down my cheeks, I softly began to acknowledge the fact that for me to go on any further was just taking too bigger risk. As I lay awake ALL night (just another symptom of AMS) I thought about the many experiences that made our journey so special thus far. At that moment it became apparent to me that it was more about the journey than the destination. So many people get caught up in "the destination", without taking time to smell the roses. Maybe 10 years ago this would've been me - but not now.....particularly when I have my beautiful sons and the rest of my family waiting at home for me. I truly learned a lot about myself during that sleepless night and realized that I had done something quite extraordinary by having the courage to turn around at that point and head down those mountain ranges, feeling totally at peace with my decision. I said to Brad that he should go on and summit Kalipattar as he was certainly coping with the Altitude a lot better than me. He lay silent for a while and then said to me that it would be no fun without me by his side sharing in this experience, as we had shared so much.......it just wouldn't be the same.
The decision was made and by 6.30am, after Brad packed everything up, we took off down to Pangboche (3860m). By this time, I was really sick and feeling quite faint but kept afloat with Coedine and tomato soup. I was sure that the headache would go once we hit the lower altitude! Once we reached our destination (slowly I might ad), I went to bed for four hours. When I awoke the headache was gone and I was feeling heaps better. I actually went and had a shower (first shower in 10 days - lucky I'm a camper hey!!) We had to pay for the showers and they were not cheap so it just wasn't even a consideration most of the time. Whilst I was resting Brad was out taking some amazing photos of the imposing mountain ranges of Kang Tega sitting at approximately 6885m. Tomorrow we would set off for Namche where we would spend 2 days just hanging about and resting.
Our Trek - Days 8 & 9
13th April, 2008 - Last night we slept well, no funny dreams, but I awoke once with a pounding head and needing the toilet!!!! Seems to be the norm at the moment! When morning came we both felt reasonably well rested but again a slight headache was bothering me. Anyway Dawa had planned for us to take a 3 hour walk up to Chhukhung at 3734m in height after breakfast as another way to acclimatize us for what was ahead. It was the coldest part of the climb that we were to endure. After reaching Chhukhung, having magic views of Island Peak and grabbing a bite to eat, we quickly made our decent back to Dingbuche where on arrival, Brad and I went straight to the room and slept for 3 hours solid. We were completely whacked by the climb and the cold. Didn't do a great deal in the afternoon, just tried to chill out in preparation for our climb tomorrow.
14th April, 2008 - Today was a hard slog, particularly with the harsh, cold winds and craggy surfaces we were to climb.....at one stage we were on Khumbu glacier where there was plenty of ice to be seen and hints of snow from the evening before. About half an hour out of Lobuche (4930m) our destination for today, my fingers, hands and arms began to swell at a rapid pace. Dawa said it was probably due to the cold, but I did become frightened as all I could think of was my blood pressure and the fact that I still had a slight headache. Once we hit the lodge, both Brad and Dawa massaged by arms until the swelling started to reduce. I also took an extra Cartia tablet (which I had already been taken daily anyway) as a precaution which helped increase my urine output and reduce swelling. The headache seemed more like just a pain in the back of the head at this stage and was controlled once again by panadol and the addition of coedine. Today although a difficult walk, was a very interesting one. We were now at the serious stage whereby there were memorials scattered about, honoring those who died whilst trying to summit the mighty Everest in the past. We also saw lots of snow.....the roof of the tea house even leached a little bit of snow. The tea house was overflowing with people hovering around the fire (actually pathetic excuse for a fire really). The burning of dried Yak patties just weren't cutting it in this freezing weather!!!!!!!!!!! It took a while to warm up after sitting around for a couple of hours in down jackets/sleeping bag, yak scarf, hot water bottle etc etc.......but FINALLY we were warm enough to retire to our freezing cold little room upstairs. Prior to going to bed though we managed to trade a chocolate bar for some more panadol, as we had run out and my head was still hurting.
14th April, 2008 - Today was a hard slog, particularly with the harsh, cold winds and craggy surfaces we were to climb.....at one stage we were on Khumbu glacier where there was plenty of ice to be seen and hints of snow from the evening before. About half an hour out of Lobuche (4930m) our destination for today, my fingers, hands and arms began to swell at a rapid pace. Dawa said it was probably due to the cold, but I did become frightened as all I could think of was my blood pressure and the fact that I still had a slight headache. Once we hit the lodge, both Brad and Dawa massaged by arms until the swelling started to reduce. I also took an extra Cartia tablet (which I had already been taken daily anyway) as a precaution which helped increase my urine output and reduce swelling. The headache seemed more like just a pain in the back of the head at this stage and was controlled once again by panadol and the addition of coedine. Today although a difficult walk, was a very interesting one. We were now at the serious stage whereby there were memorials scattered about, honoring those who died whilst trying to summit the mighty Everest in the past. We also saw lots of snow.....the roof of the tea house even leached a little bit of snow. The tea house was overflowing with people hovering around the fire (actually pathetic excuse for a fire really). The burning of dried Yak patties just weren't cutting it in this freezing weather!!!!!!!!!!! It took a while to warm up after sitting around for a couple of hours in down jackets/sleeping bag, yak scarf, hot water bottle etc etc.......but FINALLY we were warm enough to retire to our freezing cold little room upstairs. Prior to going to bed though we managed to trade a chocolate bar for some more panadol, as we had run out and my head was still hurting.
Our Trek - Days 5,6 & 7
10 April, 2008 - The morning was beautiful and warm as we set off for Khumjung. Our first stop was at a small tea house for some soup and then onto our ascent up to Everest View Hotel where the best views of Everest are to be had. A lot of wealthy tourists actually fly in and just stay at this hotel to experience Everest instead of climbing (are they mad...or is it us who are mad). We crossed the airstrip and began our ascent. Thank god we weren't coming in on that airstrip..........no bitumen and plenty of pot holes!! We got to the hotel and sat down to enjoy the view and catch our breath. The waiter came over and gave us menu's, but we were not hungry especially when we saw the prices, nor did we want a cup of tea. He very sarcastically said to Brad, "Sir this is not a museum you must order something from the menu". We turned to our guide, Dawa, and questioned this. Dawa said, "lets leave, there are plenty of vantage points to view Everest - we don't need to be forced to buy!" Obviously we moved on and after a 20 minute descent we were in Khumjung at 3763m which was our stop for the day. After resting and having a cuppa, Brad and I strolled around the village. We met up with some local children playing in the square. They were facinated by Brad's eyebrow ring and they all wanted to touch it. Brad had them in fits of laughter as they all took turns in touching it and running off....some of them pulled on it a little too hard, but Brad patient as ever, just laughed it off. Brad's knee started playing up (tendon) so we managed to scout out a brace for the rest of the journey from a local shop. On returning to the lodge for the evening I managed to find some Australian Red Wine, so I had a glass of that and Brad shared some Chang (local rice/millett beer) with Dawa and Kaljang, forming closer bonds with them both.
11 April, 2008 - Our trek from Khumjung to Tangbuche started at 8.00am and was supposed to take approx 5-6 hours, but we arrived after only 3.5 hours.......mmmmm I do believe the fitness has kicked in ....... hehehehe. We had Garlic Soup for lunch (yes we have been eating a lot of garlic soup up here as its supposed to keep the colds away - every second person you meet has a cough or a cold). After our soup we wandered around and looked at the famous Monastry which was re-built 20 years ago. The original Monastry dated back to the 1600's, but was sadly burnt down 20 odd years ago. After our tour of the Monastry, we decided to press on to a tiny town called Debouche for our evening's rest, as we were told it was warmer than Tangbuche and slightly lower altitude. On our arrival we met an Irish girl who had a chest infection and had attempted climbing Mt Kalipattar. After only 1 hour in, her guide insisted that she return to lower altitude with a porter as she was very sick. We spent our evening exchanging stories with her.....I hope we managed to brighten her day as she was pretty miserable about not making the summit.
12th April, 2008 - We took off at about 8.15am for our long trek to Dingbuche, stopping again for some more garlic soup (I can't understand why no one wants to come to close to us!!!!!). About 1.5 hours after our first stop with the garlic soup, I started to get a really bad headache and was feeling a bit dizzy, so we stopped again, this time having some lunch. I sat quietly and ate my lunch, then had some panadol. The headache seemed to have lifted, so we continued on our journey. This part of the trek was now becoming very cold and tougher by the minute but we eventually got there at 4343m and my head was pounding yet again. We went straight to the dining room at the tea house and had a couple of cups of tea and I had more panadol. We met a New Zealand couple in the dining room and they were deciding whether or not they would be going on, as the woman had a very bad headache and her husband could not keep any food down since arriving in Lukla which would have been approximately 7 days ago. We were to learn later that they did start their decent back down the next morning as he was too sick to continue. Altitude sickness is more serious than I had originally thought and the higher we got, the more of it we were seeing! I had drank 3 litres of water that day in the quest to keep well hydrated and keep the symptoms of AMS at bay. My bladder was not very happy...lol! From this wonderful location of Dingbuche we were spoilt for views of the very imposing Mt Ama Dablang. Its virtually staring you in the face the minute you walk out of the tea house. Apparently Ama Dablang is a far more technical mountain to climb than both Everest and Kalipattar. Our guide, Dawa, is off to Ama Dablang with an expedition group in October. Dinner tonight was Yak Steak and Chips - Yum, then off to bed. Tomorrow is a rest/acclimatization day.
11 April, 2008 - Our trek from Khumjung to Tangbuche started at 8.00am and was supposed to take approx 5-6 hours, but we arrived after only 3.5 hours.......mmmmm I do believe the fitness has kicked in ....... hehehehe. We had Garlic Soup for lunch (yes we have been eating a lot of garlic soup up here as its supposed to keep the colds away - every second person you meet has a cough or a cold). After our soup we wandered around and looked at the famous Monastry which was re-built 20 years ago. The original Monastry dated back to the 1600's, but was sadly burnt down 20 odd years ago. After our tour of the Monastry, we decided to press on to a tiny town called Debouche for our evening's rest, as we were told it was warmer than Tangbuche and slightly lower altitude. On our arrival we met an Irish girl who had a chest infection and had attempted climbing Mt Kalipattar. After only 1 hour in, her guide insisted that she return to lower altitude with a porter as she was very sick. We spent our evening exchanging stories with her.....I hope we managed to brighten her day as she was pretty miserable about not making the summit.
12th April, 2008 - We took off at about 8.15am for our long trek to Dingbuche, stopping again for some more garlic soup (I can't understand why no one wants to come to close to us!!!!!). About 1.5 hours after our first stop with the garlic soup, I started to get a really bad headache and was feeling a bit dizzy, so we stopped again, this time having some lunch. I sat quietly and ate my lunch, then had some panadol. The headache seemed to have lifted, so we continued on our journey. This part of the trek was now becoming very cold and tougher by the minute but we eventually got there at 4343m and my head was pounding yet again. We went straight to the dining room at the tea house and had a couple of cups of tea and I had more panadol. We met a New Zealand couple in the dining room and they were deciding whether or not they would be going on, as the woman had a very bad headache and her husband could not keep any food down since arriving in Lukla which would have been approximately 7 days ago. We were to learn later that they did start their decent back down the next morning as he was too sick to continue. Altitude sickness is more serious than I had originally thought and the higher we got, the more of it we were seeing! I had drank 3 litres of water that day in the quest to keep well hydrated and keep the symptoms of AMS at bay. My bladder was not very happy...lol! From this wonderful location of Dingbuche we were spoilt for views of the very imposing Mt Ama Dablang. Its virtually staring you in the face the minute you walk out of the tea house. Apparently Ama Dablang is a far more technical mountain to climb than both Everest and Kalipattar. Our guide, Dawa, is off to Ama Dablang with an expedition group in October. Dinner tonight was Yak Steak and Chips - Yum, then off to bed. Tomorrow is a rest/acclimatization day.
Our Trek - Days 3 & 4
8th April 2008 - Rest day in Namche spent shopping, eating and drinking coffee, sleeping and then off to Park Headquarters (the highest point in Namche) to take in the spectacular views of Mt Everest and the surrounding mountains.
9th April 2008 - Off we go again - We made our way to Thamu, where we had been earlier invited for tea.. by the Head Lama and a lady from America who was staying with the nuns at the local nunnery. It was a real treat as we were ushered into the Prayer Hall where we were served tea and snacks. Once finished our tea, our friend showed us around the hall and gave us a run down on the different aspects, fixtures and ways of the Buddist faith. When we went to leave the nun who was present for the duration we were there, poured holy water into our hands and gave us a blessing. We were to taste the water and put the remainder through our hair.
From the prayer hall we were shown through the new Monastry being built which had been designed by the head lama. It was magnificent to see and we hope to return one day to see the finished product.
On leaving Thamu we continued on our journey to Thame, where we were to stay for the evening. The walk to Thame was really pleasant, through pine forests and we managed to catch sight of a musk deer grazing in the forest which was a buzz. We arrived at Thame with headaches at about lunch time. We put the headaches to rest with some panadol then wandered through this tiny medieval looking village. I'm not sure if anyone realizes but there has been a bit of political tension around the place and this has been due to the impending elections which were to take place tomorrow in Kathmandu. Voting in Thame was to take place at the local school....which we quickly learn't, as Brad was ushered off the grounds by military. We decided after lunch and a bit of a sleep to take a stroll up to 3900m and check out the Gompa Monastry on the top of the hill which was certainly worth the walk. Early night was had in preparation for tomorrow.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Our Trek - Day 2
7 April 2008 - Today we set off from Monjo at 8.00am, after having apple pancakes for breakfast - mmmmmmm stodgy! This trek proved to be a lot harder even though it was to be a shorter distance of approximately 4 hours. We had to deal with some pretty grueling slopes whilst ascending to an altitude of 3400m, finally reaching our destination of Namche Bazaar at approx 12.30pm. It was half way to Namche Bazaar that we saw our first view of Everest - what a beautiful sight it was.... We were in oar of its greatness. Our lodgings for the next 2 evenings was a place called "The Holiday Inn" - it sounds good doesn't it? Well it was another simple tea house which suited us fine, as we were able to interact with the local Sherpa people and have some fun. We were to use tea-houses as our accommodation for the duration of our trek.
Brad and I both had slight headaches on reaching Namche and I had slight shortness of breath, which is quite a normal given the altitude we were at. We were advised that if symptoms arise just to treat the symptom with panadol or something similar and wait to see if things settle down. Apparently if you still have a headache in the morning you don't go any higher. The saying goes - Dont take a headache higher! Anyway for us it was good news, after a good nights sleep we were both fine, also we were to have a rest day in Namche to help with the acclimatization. We spent our rest day buying up some more warm clothing, as everyone we met was telling us how cold it gets from here on in - good advice as we were to find out down the track.
Brad and I both had slight headaches on reaching Namche and I had slight shortness of breath, which is quite a normal given the altitude we were at. We were advised that if symptoms arise just to treat the symptom with panadol or something similar and wait to see if things settle down. Apparently if you still have a headache in the morning you don't go any higher. The saying goes - Dont take a headache higher! Anyway for us it was good news, after a good nights sleep we were both fine, also we were to have a rest day in Namche to help with the acclimatization. We spent our rest day buying up some more warm clothing, as everyone we met was telling us how cold it gets from here on in - good advice as we were to find out down the track.
The Trek Begins - Day 1
6th April 2008 - Our day started very early with a 4.30 wake up call ready for transfer to the Kathmandu airport where we were to fly out to Lukla - the starting point of our 16 day trek in the Everest region of the Himalayas.
My god, you should have seen my face when I saw the plane we were going on!! It was a twin otter, approx 12 seats, run by Yeti Airlines. We were fortunate enough to have had the first flight out of Kathmandu which was ok, as they only fly until the weather turns sour. The weather turned sour at about 11.00am that day, so visibility was nil. No more flights to Lukla for that day! The flight itself wasn't as bad as what I thought it would be. It cracked me up that they had a airline hostess on board even though there was practically no room for her to move between the seats to offer lollies and cotton wool. The landing was very eventful - it was the smallest runway I have ever seen and plonked on a nice slope.
Once inside the baggage claim area we were greated by our Sherpa Guide Ang Dawa and Porter Kaljar, then taken to the Sherpa Coffee Shop for a briefing on our trek and some breakfast. By the time we were ready to take off on our trek it was pouring with rain AND it didn't stop all day, so we donned the ponchos over the trekking gear and off we went. Our Porter carrying our duffel bags of approx 22 kilo's and a gamow bag 7 kilo's (gamow bag is a little pressure chamber which simulates lower altitude). I had asked for one of these to be taken on our trek, as before leaving home, my blood pressure had been unusually high which caused me a little bit of concern.
So off we went........up and down, through villages for approx 7 hours until we reached our first destination...a little village called Monjo where we were to stay at a little tea-house. It was pretty cold in there for us....after walking all day in the rain, what with sweating at some stages and then freezing at others! It took 2 cups of tea and 2 changes of clothing and when someone eventually lit the fire, before I actually felt a bit of warmth. Once feeling warm and pretty happy that we managed a 7 hour trek, I decided to ask for a COLD BEER. The guide took a beer straight out of the cabinet and gave it to me. I said to Brad....oooh I don't know if I'll be able to drink that - it hasn't been in the fridge....just have to have cold beer. The tea-house people though it was very funny as they never refrigerate beer in the Himalayas due to the altitude. Oh how stupid of me - I opened the beer and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was VERY cold!
My god, you should have seen my face when I saw the plane we were going on!! It was a twin otter, approx 12 seats, run by Yeti Airlines. We were fortunate enough to have had the first flight out of Kathmandu which was ok, as they only fly until the weather turns sour. The weather turned sour at about 11.00am that day, so visibility was nil. No more flights to Lukla for that day! The flight itself wasn't as bad as what I thought it would be. It cracked me up that they had a airline hostess on board even though there was practically no room for her to move between the seats to offer lollies and cotton wool. The landing was very eventful - it was the smallest runway I have ever seen and plonked on a nice slope.
Once inside the baggage claim area we were greated by our Sherpa Guide Ang Dawa and Porter Kaljar, then taken to the Sherpa Coffee Shop for a briefing on our trek and some breakfast. By the time we were ready to take off on our trek it was pouring with rain AND it didn't stop all day, so we donned the ponchos over the trekking gear and off we went. Our Porter carrying our duffel bags of approx 22 kilo's and a gamow bag 7 kilo's (gamow bag is a little pressure chamber which simulates lower altitude). I had asked for one of these to be taken on our trek, as before leaving home, my blood pressure had been unusually high which caused me a little bit of concern.
So off we went........up and down, through villages for approx 7 hours until we reached our first destination...a little village called Monjo where we were to stay at a little tea-house. It was pretty cold in there for us....after walking all day in the rain, what with sweating at some stages and then freezing at others! It took 2 cups of tea and 2 changes of clothing and when someone eventually lit the fire, before I actually felt a bit of warmth. Once feeling warm and pretty happy that we managed a 7 hour trek, I decided to ask for a COLD BEER. The guide took a beer straight out of the cabinet and gave it to me. I said to Brad....oooh I don't know if I'll be able to drink that - it hasn't been in the fridge....just have to have cold beer. The tea-house people though it was very funny as they never refrigerate beer in the Himalayas due to the altitude. Oh how stupid of me - I opened the beer and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was VERY cold!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Kathmandu
Aaahh Kathmandu - the atmosphere of this place is unreal. After getting used to the idea of limited power as they load shed daily here, unreliable mobile phone connection, tiger balm sellers, hash sellers and the like we are totally in love with this place. Our first day in Kathmandu we were transferred from the Airport to Tibet Guest House which is located just off one of the busiest streets in the Thamel area. Just away enough so we could get a decent nights sleep, but just close enough to all the most popular restaurants and shopping areas of Kathmandu. Most of our afternoon was spent getting our bearings and trying to work out the Rupee against the Aussie dollar and then a quite night.
The next day we met our Sherpa guide, Nima, who is a lovely man. He met us at our guest house for coffee, then took us back to his office to organise all the formalities of our up and coming trek to EBC. Once the formalities were out of the way, he invited us to meet his family and join them for a meal - wow traditional nepalize food. I love my indian curries, but this may have even surpassed the ol indian curry!! Nima and his family are lovely people and I would gladly recommend his company to anyone wanting good, reliable service for trekking and mountaineering. After lunch Nima's daughter (Chookie) took us for a stroll over to one of the most holy Stupa's in Kathmandu. This was a great experience for us, as her great grandfather on her mother's side was one of the gurus way back and there was a picture and statue of him in the temple. She was able to share a wealth of knowledge with us and even got us in through the back door...whereby as a foreigner we would usually be charge an entrance fee of course. After that we made our way back to the Thamel area and went up to the roof top garden at the top of our hotel which offers magnificant views of the Kathmandu valley. We met a party of 7 Aussies up there who were off to trek Annapurna region. They had an interesting story to tell - they all met whilst trekking the Kokoda Trail 2 years prior and had reunited to do this trek. After speaking with them, Brad and I took off for dinner. Just had to have some western food, so indulged in Pizza and red wine at the "Roadhouse Cafe" which is a very popular cafe in Thamel - again I can highly recommend the food at this place.
Next day Nima came to visit us and took us for breakfast at a Hotel where he does a lot of business. Our breakfast was provided by the hotel free of charge because of Nima. He then booked us in there for our return from our Everest Trek. We then went and got the rest of our hiking gear. Nima suggested walking poles which we got and a windbreaker jacket.
After shopping (one of my favourite passtimes), we took a Rickshaw up to the Monkey Temple which was about 20 minutes away from the city. After climbing the million steps up to the top of the temple we were suitably impressed. It certainly set the mood. We decided to walk back to Thamel after visiting the temple to give us a little warm up for the trek. The walk was only about 45 minutes, so not too bad. Lunch was next at a local Nepalise cafe called Himalaya Cafe which served up good honest cheap nepalise food. After our lunch we popped into the bustling internet cafe as it had POWER on...............(huge thing in Kathmandu...and Skype, so we could contact our boys and my mum. Its always a buzz to see them, gotta luv Skype. Now its time to stroll out and peruse the shops..mmmmm more shops...
The next day we met our Sherpa guide, Nima, who is a lovely man. He met us at our guest house for coffee, then took us back to his office to organise all the formalities of our up and coming trek to EBC. Once the formalities were out of the way, he invited us to meet his family and join them for a meal - wow traditional nepalize food. I love my indian curries, but this may have even surpassed the ol indian curry!! Nima and his family are lovely people and I would gladly recommend his company to anyone wanting good, reliable service for trekking and mountaineering. After lunch Nima's daughter (Chookie) took us for a stroll over to one of the most holy Stupa's in Kathmandu. This was a great experience for us, as her great grandfather on her mother's side was one of the gurus way back and there was a picture and statue of him in the temple. She was able to share a wealth of knowledge with us and even got us in through the back door...whereby as a foreigner we would usually be charge an entrance fee of course. After that we made our way back to the Thamel area and went up to the roof top garden at the top of our hotel which offers magnificant views of the Kathmandu valley. We met a party of 7 Aussies up there who were off to trek Annapurna region. They had an interesting story to tell - they all met whilst trekking the Kokoda Trail 2 years prior and had reunited to do this trek. After speaking with them, Brad and I took off for dinner. Just had to have some western food, so indulged in Pizza and red wine at the "Roadhouse Cafe" which is a very popular cafe in Thamel - again I can highly recommend the food at this place.
Next day Nima came to visit us and took us for breakfast at a Hotel where he does a lot of business. Our breakfast was provided by the hotel free of charge because of Nima. He then booked us in there for our return from our Everest Trek. We then went and got the rest of our hiking gear. Nima suggested walking poles which we got and a windbreaker jacket.
After shopping (one of my favourite passtimes), we took a Rickshaw up to the Monkey Temple which was about 20 minutes away from the city. After climbing the million steps up to the top of the temple we were suitably impressed. It certainly set the mood. We decided to walk back to Thamel after visiting the temple to give us a little warm up for the trek. The walk was only about 45 minutes, so not too bad. Lunch was next at a local Nepalise cafe called Himalaya Cafe which served up good honest cheap nepalise food. After our lunch we popped into the bustling internet cafe as it had POWER on...............(huge thing in Kathmandu...and Skype, so we could contact our boys and my mum. Its always a buzz to see them, gotta luv Skype. Now its time to stroll out and peruse the shops..mmmmm more shops...
Breeze Restaurant Bangkok and Silom nightlife
Brad arrived in Bangkok the day before yesterday and it was great to see him. We really missed each other and I think the time apart just made us more appreciative of each other. We booked into Asha Guest House for the first evening but were disturbed so badly by some guests in the next room, that we checked out the next morning. After taking Brad to Chatachuk market, we made our way into the Silom area where we found ourselves a little bit of luxury - Silom Village Guest House. At only 45 AU$ per night we felt that it was worth it. The hotel is comparable to a 5 star in Perth and it is only classed as 3 star in Bangkok. Anyway after settling in at Silom Village we strolled around the area getting our bearings. After about 5 hours of walking we were totally shot to pieces, so it was an early night for us....yeah I know.....just far tooooo much excitement!!!!! The next day was our 17th wedding anniversary and we had booked one of the best restaurants in Bangkok called "The Breeze Restaurant" which is an open air restaurant perched on the 52 floor of the 64 floor high building of the Lebau State Tower. My god we could have been in HOLLYWOOD! It was like walking the red carpet on our arrival at the restaurant. From the moment you walk into the state tower itself you are greeted by an entourage of thai people. They move with you to the 52nd floor where you are seated whilst they make sure your booking and table is organised. They then accompany you over the luminious skywalk (red carpet) up to the bar and then over to your table. Our table was the closest table to the edge of the platform. All that separated us from the drop was a glass dome shaped panel. As you can imagine, the view was spectacular. The food was just as good with us sampling specialties such as shark fin soup, lobster, scallops, kobe beef, caviar, french wine and Moet champagne - YUM! I can highly recommend this place if you are up for a lavish evening. It is a once in a lifetime experience, but expect to pay top dollar for it too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are now living on rice and lentils (still getting over it) hehehehehe. After "Breeze", we checked out the other facilities of the State Tower. The other restaurant called "Sirocco" also looked fabulous. The cocktail lounge was hilarious. It was full of wanna-be's, lying around on the couches and looking around to see who was looking at them.
The next day we spent sightseeing the Grand Palace and Wat Arun, which were both equally as good as each other. SAME, SAME, but different........ After we had finished there we both had a kip and then it was off out to find somewhere for dinner. We decided to head down to the "Patpong" strip of Silom for a bit of an education. I must have had "Ping Pong" written on my forehead as I was asked a million times by Thai touts if I would care to see a ping pong show - very sexy. I was starting to get a complex!!!! NO I don't want ping pong, just a nice cold beer will be fine! Eventually after having a quite drink in a small bar, Brad and I set off to find a place for dinner. We ended up in the gay district, which was so much quieter and no touts. Had a great meal there and very friendly staff...so all in all...another great evening in Paradise.
The next day we spent sightseeing the Grand Palace and Wat Arun, which were both equally as good as each other. SAME, SAME, but different........ After we had finished there we both had a kip and then it was off out to find somewhere for dinner. We decided to head down to the "Patpong" strip of Silom for a bit of an education. I must have had "Ping Pong" written on my forehead as I was asked a million times by Thai touts if I would care to see a ping pong show - very sexy. I was starting to get a complex!!!! NO I don't want ping pong, just a nice cold beer will be fine! Eventually after having a quite drink in a small bar, Brad and I set off to find a place for dinner. We ended up in the gay district, which was so much quieter and no touts. Had a great meal there and very friendly staff...so all in all...another great evening in Paradise.
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