[ Not happy in Kathmandu!!]

Having reached Kathmandu after coming from Bangkok, I was sent into culture shock overdrive. My first day, Bryan looked at me concerned and asked "Are you ok?" after he noticed me clutching onto the chair in our dodgy hotel room with clammy hands. However, after walking around a bit and after the beggars went to sleep, Kathmandu opened up and I actually enjoyed it (it's sort of like walking through the Parsamalam in Malaysia where people hassle you x 10).

[ Everest Base Camp ]

[ The group on our way up ]

[ Ram (Guide Leader) and Me ]

At lower levels, the trek isn't so bad - just lots of walking done in warm temperatures, and up till Namche, there are facilities such as hot showers in the teahouses that we stayed in (although you do have to pay for them). At higher altitudes, and certainly from Phortse onwards, the facilities dry up and with it, any resemblance of a hygienic self.

[ We made it to Base Camp!!! Smiles on our face hide our sheer exhaustion. A few people are missing from the photo because while they made it, they were quite affected by Altitude Sickness, and had to descend to avoid getting worse]

We went for about 10 days without showers, using wet wipes to clean ourselves the best we could, but even then the grime and the dirt built up and no doubt, caused some people to get rather sick.

The food was repetitive everywhere we went, with garlic soup, sherpa stew, fried eggs and dal bhat being the norm. However, as we got higher up, we started to lose our appetites (a side effect of high altitude) and started eating only for the sake of eating. Besides that, each of us were armed with a high supply of chocolates and peanuts as they are high energy foods. In conditions where we were using thousands of kilojoules each day and not having much appetite, the chocolates were definitely a salvation.

[ Kae and Eva . The poor girl was sick almost every day yet she still made it !! ]

I think one of the best parts of my trip is the group of people that came with it. We came from all walks of life, and from all parts of the world. There were doctors, there were lawyers, accountants, but what worked well was that everyone got along and were so considerate and generous with each other. Mike really looked after me that almost-frostbite day and made sure I was sufficiently warm with my three beanies and 4 gloves, Drs John and Eva (even though they were sick themselves) made sure everyone else was okay by taking their temperatures and pulses and taking care of Adam when he passed out, Silvi was always there to vomit with you or to give you hugs if you weren't feeling well, and Team Omar showed that perserverance gets you there. I dont think this trip would've been what it was if the weren't there.

[ The Boys celebrating with a beer]

Afterthoughts

They say a trip like this doesn't leave you unchanged, and I agree. I think having roughed it for three weeks and being privy to the way the Nepalese people live (and in particular, the mountain people), it really has made me appreciate everything I've got and am able to do.

For the Nepalese, they aren't even allowed to holiday in another country without a sponsor. Privileges like freedom of movement are something that we take for granted. But seeing Deepak (an assistant guide) get really depressed over his life and wanting to visit other countries really opens your eyes.

I'm really glad that I did this trip, but in all honesty, I dont think I'd do it again (although, I would definitely still be interested in doing Annapurna Circuit or other treks, just not EBC again). It's one of those things that I'm proud to say i've done but for a myriad of factors of factors, am okay with putting it in the "been there done that, wont repeat" pile.

Labels: holidays, nepal