The conclusion was a trip to Nepal to trek to Mount Everest was very possible and I organized it for March 2015 based on the availability of Wolfgang given he had business in India around the same time. Our friend Jim from New York confirmed his interest in trekking to Mount Everest base camp so plans were made. My friend Christine had been to Nepal on three separate occasions and trekking each time so she was invaluable and loaned me quite a lot of her stuff for the trekking. As well, she set me up with her guide in Nepal named Dorjee.
Nepal is situated between India to the south and Tibet to the north. Nepal is 12 hours and 45 minutes ahead of Vancouver's time zone.
Bhutan is just to the east. Lana and I were in Bhutan about five years ago for more than a week.
The plan is a three week trip for me. I leave Sunday, March 15th and return to Vancouver Saturday, April 4th. The actual trekking is from March 19th to returning to Kathmandu on April 1st. Jim and I will trek together the entire duration. Wolfgang will trek for the first three days and then return to Kathmandu via Lukla. Our friend Markus couldn't make it so we'll need to take good pictures.
Lana drove me to the airport so I was at least two hours before my scheduled departure on China Southern Airlines at 12:30 pm Sunday, March 15th. Pretty nervous for the very long trip and one connection, but excited about the potential amazing adventure in Nepal and getting to Mount Everest. I had my suitcase, a very large trekking backpack loaned by Christine and Christine's smaller day backpack. We have a porter to carry the heavy stuff and Dorjee is our Sherpa guide for the actual 14 days of trekking.
You cross the International Date Line while flying westward over the Pacific Ocean so you lose a day.
You cross the International Date Line while flying westward over the Pacific Ocean so you lose a day.
The actual flight time from YVR (Vancouver) to Guangzhou, China was about 13 hours in the air. We lifted off the tarmac around 12:50 pm so not too late. I have two hours in Guangzhou airport to connect with the flight to Kathmandu, Nepal. I have a window seat and the young girl (21 years old) sitting beside me was pretty talkative. Her name is Cassandra and she grew up in the same east Vancouver neighbourhood that I did. Her final destination will be Bangkok, Thailand. Her first flight across the Pacific Ocean or any flight beyond five hours. Uneventful flight with zero air turbulence. Watched a couple of movies, did my NY Times crosswords and KenKen and the Sunday Province crosswords and sudoku.
Arriving in Guangzhou (southern China) it was very smoggy. Tropical climate so the warmth was appreciated and humidity. You deplane and a shuttle bus takes you to International Arrivals. Cassandra and I navigated through international terminal security and fortunately we had lots of time to spare before our connecting flights. We had pizza and a glass of wine. The pizza was OK and the wine not too bad. I am off to Gate A108 and China Southern Airlines to Kathmandu. I did stop at Duty Free and purchased a nice bottle of Black Label whiskey for Dorjee as part of his tip. In addition, I need to give Dorjee the remainder of the US cash for the trekking.
The loading of the plane was pretty chaotic. There was one particular extended family and others who wanted to sit together. They wouldn't get out of the aisle so everyone was delayed getting to their seats. The flight attendant was very patient. I traded seats to enable a family to sit in the same row. Bad move as the woman behind me loved to get up and of course grab the back of my seat and pull on it. The flight was very weird as nobody had personal screens and most of the flight the lights were off. A number of people sleeping, snoring and passing gas. I did finish reading my Sunday NY Times so all is good. Did some sudokus and then tried to sleep, but only got to what I call "never never" land meaning I am not sleeping, but not super conscious either.
Our arrival into Kathmandu was slightly earlier than expected. Warmish at night and it is pitch black. You need to complete a Nepalese arrival form and have your Visa ready. Fortunately, I got my Nepal travel visa in Vancouver so I made it through customs very quickly. Small airport and pretty informal. I was one of the first to be at carousel two, yet the last to leave as my huge trekking backpack (Christine's actually) was missing. My suitcase arrived though. Phew. I filled out the necessary paperwork with another traveller who was missing her other suitcase. Oh well, hoping my trekking pack will arrive before Wednesday night.
When exiting the airport it was filled with many Nepalese waiting for who? Not sure as there were no flights after our flight. Many taxis and other shuttles hustling for business. I saw Dorjee's welcoming sign across the small street and finally met our guide. We were in a smaller car with a guy driving while Dorjee and I sat in the back and chatted. Not much traffic and the airport isn't too far from where I am staying in the middle of Kathmandu and in particular in the Thamel neighbourhood.
My hotel is the Nirvana Garden. Recommended by Christine and her husband Don. The desk clerk spoke good English and I got set up with Room 208. Needed to fill in a form with a lot of information relative to the passport. No elevator. A clerk carried my bags and then showed me around. Trouble is I don't have any Nepal Rupees to pay him. I promise to pay him tomorrow. As well, I need bottled water so that is another 55 Rupee owing tomorrow. Free wifi and ID provided. The carpeting is dated and it really is just a functional room.
Our arrival into Kathmandu was slightly earlier than expected. Warmish at night and it is pitch black. You need to complete a Nepalese arrival form and have your Visa ready. Fortunately, I got my Nepal travel visa in Vancouver so I made it through customs very quickly. Small airport and pretty informal. I was one of the first to be at carousel two, yet the last to leave as my huge trekking backpack (Christine's actually) was missing. My suitcase arrived though. Phew. I filled out the necessary paperwork with another traveller who was missing her other suitcase. Oh well, hoping my trekking pack will arrive before Wednesday night.
When exiting the airport it was filled with many Nepalese waiting for who? Not sure as there were no flights after our flight. Many taxis and other shuttles hustling for business. I saw Dorjee's welcoming sign across the small street and finally met our guide. We were in a smaller car with a guy driving while Dorjee and I sat in the back and chatted. Not much traffic and the airport isn't too far from where I am staying in the middle of Kathmandu and in particular in the Thamel neighbourhood.
My hotel is the Nirvana Garden. Recommended by Christine and her husband Don. The desk clerk spoke good English and I got set up with Room 208. Needed to fill in a form with a lot of information relative to the passport. No elevator. A clerk carried my bags and then showed me around. Trouble is I don't have any Nepal Rupees to pay him. I promise to pay him tomorrow. As well, I need bottled water so that is another 55 Rupee owing tomorrow. Free wifi and ID provided. The carpeting is dated and it really is just a functional room.
Smallish room with two single beds. A writing desk. Television and armoire. Decent sized bathroom with a shower spray. Two chairs against the side wall. A deck with a table and two chairs to catch the morning sun. Not bad for $30USD per night! :-)
OK, you may not believe this but Kathmandu has a lot of palm trees. These palm trees are part of the hotel's property and just outside my room.
I get my MacBook Pro out of my suitcase and try to get it on the wifi as well as my iPhone. Many dogs barking outside so it looks like I will be going to bed with my customized earplugs. I take a Dramamine (gravol) to help me sleep. I send emails to family to ensure they know I am safely in Nepal. I get to bed around 12:15 am local time. Hoping my backpack shows up Tuesday.
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