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.
Monday, April 21, 2008
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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