sorry, will need more time to write this... its been a busy (and expensive few days).
But i leave to start my Everest trek tomorrow, starting with a 13hour bus ride to the village of Jiri. From there, its 2 weeks or so till Everest Base Camp, and then another 2 weeks back down, as i hike out to the east of the mountain, via Tumlingsar, and then back to the Indian border.
So no more updates for a month, but plenty to write about after that i am sure.
UPDATE
I am still alive, and currently in Sikkim in Northern India. As i get home in 2 weeks, i decided i would wait to update, as then i can attach pictures as well..so another 2 weeks of waiting i am afraid!
UPDATE UPDATE
I am back in sunny England, so can finally get around to updating the blog, and sorry about the wait!
If you remember, i arrived in Kathmandu aboard THE BUS FROM HELL, and to make the bloody thing worse, i left my hat aboard (and i would manage to leave the sunglasses behind at the guest house in Jiri - both things i had gotten in Japan)
Finding a new hat proved to be a nightmare - every hiking shop, of which there are many in Kathmandu, only stocked polyester hiking hats, with many insisting cotton ones were not made. Took me over an hour to find a tourist one that was affordable, and while rather hot and heavy for hiking, it had to do (and it served me very well).
Something that i have wanted to do for a long time is bungy-jump, and Nepal boasts the tallest one in Asia, as well one of the cheapest, so i booked myself onto a two day retreat at http://www.thelastresort.com.np/ and tried to convince myself i had made a good decision. The prospect of a quiet place to stay, eating good food, 15km near the Tibetan border, and a bungy as well was promising.
I am glad i did it, but at the same time, i dont think ill go bungy jumping again any time soon. It just wasn't very comfortable, especially the jolting after bounces (after the initial leap). When i jumped off, i clearly remember the thoughs going through my head - first few seconds i was regretting doing it "I just jumped off a bridge, im going to die", followed by "im flying!", then "ahhh, hanging upside down is uncomfortable, my head hurts". I did however, look at the bridges i would cross during my trek rather differently, and on one or two i was worryingly tempted to jump off!
Back in the city, much of my time was spent organising trekking permits and posting as much stuff back home as possible to save me carrying it. So i didn't get to spend as much time sightseeing as i would have liked. While Kathmandu is a hectic place with a huge traffic problem, there is plenty of history in the valley, and lots to see apparently.
Treated myself to a dinner of organic beans and tofu - one of the advantages of being back in a major tourist town - and finished my book about how terrible and dangerous Everest is. It will be nice to return to Nepal one day, and see what i missed, but the focus for me was Everest Base Camp, and i was ready!
On a side note - after taking careful note of my daily expenditures, i decided to stop in Nepal. Partly because it wasn't really necessary (i had to take cash out of the ATM every 2 weeks anyway, so budgeting wasn't so important) and also because i was spending too much of my time thinking about money - thinking more about enjoying the trip seemed like a good idea!
UPDATE
I am still alive, and currently in Sikkim in Northern India. As i get home in 2 weeks, i decided i would wait to update, as then i can attach pictures as well..so another 2 weeks of waiting i am afraid!
UPDATE UPDATE
I am back in sunny England, so can finally get around to updating the blog, and sorry about the wait!
If you remember, i arrived in Kathmandu aboard THE BUS FROM HELL, and to make the bloody thing worse, i left my hat aboard (and i would manage to leave the sunglasses behind at the guest house in Jiri - both things i had gotten in Japan)
Something that i have wanted to do for a long time is bungy-jump, and Nepal boasts the tallest one in Asia, as well one of the cheapest, so i booked myself onto a two day retreat at http://www.thelastresort.com.np/ and tried to convince myself i had made a good decision. The prospect of a quiet place to stay, eating good food, 15km near the Tibetan border, and a bungy as well was promising.
I am glad i did it, but at the same time, i dont think ill go bungy jumping again any time soon. It just wasn't very comfortable, especially the jolting after bounces (after the initial leap). When i jumped off, i clearly remember the thoughs going through my head - first few seconds i was regretting doing it "I just jumped off a bridge, im going to die", followed by "im flying!", then "ahhh, hanging upside down is uncomfortable, my head hurts". I did however, look at the bridges i would cross during my trek rather differently, and on one or two i was worryingly tempted to jump off!
On a side note - after taking careful note of my daily expenditures, i decided to stop in Nepal. Partly because it wasn't really necessary (i had to take cash out of the ATM every 2 weeks anyway, so budgeting wasn't so important) and also because i was spending too much of my time thinking about money - thinking more about enjoying the trip seemed like a good idea!
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