Trekking in Nepal!

So of course it is good to have a plan, but I ended up changing it rather substancially because I was making such good time and was not feeling the affects of altitude thanks to the prescription from Dr. Mendery. I trekked not only to Everst Base Camp, went up to Kala Pattar, then went over Cho La Pass to Gyoko, then hiked up to Gyoko Ri, another good Himilayan Panoramic viewpoint. Brief rundown of what I actually did including heights and times:

Tues 9/8 (1): Fly Kathmandu to Lukla(2840m/9317ft). Trek to Namche(3440m/11,286ft) 10h
Wed 9/9 (2): Acclimization day in Namche
Thurs 9/10 (3): Trek to Tengboche (3860m/12664ft) 4h30m
Fri 9/11 (4): Trek to Dingboche (4410m/14468ft) 4h
Sat 9/12 (5): Acclimization day in Dingboche; Hike Chhukung (4600m/15124ft) 1h30m roundtrip
Sun 9/13 (6): Trek to Lobuche (4910m/16109ft) 3h45m *see body wrapped in a blue tarp tied with rope being carried down on a ladder that was brought down by an avalanche (climber from last season)
Mon 9/14 (7): Trek to Gorak Shep (5180m/16863ft) 2h; Trek to mid Base Camp (5364m/17598ft) 1h15m; Trek to Everst Base Camp with expedition 30m; Trek to Gorak Shep 1h35m *see 4 avalanches!
Tues 9/15 (8): Hike to Kala Pattar (5550m/18208ft) 1h40m up, 40m down
Wed 9/16 (9): Trek to Dzonglha (4830m/15846ft) 3h
Thus 9/17 (10): Trek over Cho La Pass (5368m/17600ft) to Thangnang (4700m/15419ft) 4h50m; Trek to Gyoko (4790m/15715ft) 2h
Fri 9/18 (11): Hike to GyokoRi (5483m/17988ft) 1h45m up, 1h down; Trek to Dhole (4110m/13484ft) 3h45m *begin trek down & runny nose*
Sat 9/19 (12): Trek to Khumjung (3780m/12401ft) 3hr30m; Trek to Namche 1h
Sun 9/20 (13): Trek to Phakding (2610m/8563ft) 3h30m
Mon 9/21 (14): Trek to Lukla 2h30m
Tues 9/22 (15): Fly back to Kathmandu!

Teas included: Black, ginger, mint, nepali masala, tibetan tea
Breakfasts included: tibetan bread with peanut butter and/or honey, vegetable hasbrown
Lunches/dinners included: vegetable fried rice, vegetable fried noodle, sherpa soup, potato soup, potato/onion/veg pizza, Daal Bath curry, vegetable steamed momos, garlic soup, vegetable fried spaghetti, rara noodle soup
Snacks on the trail included: nature valley oats and honey granola bars, RJs raspberry licorice from NZ, sour patch kids, a few clif bars, a chocolate bar, dried prunes and apricots, snickers bar, peanut cookies, cashews, saltines!

Card games learned: chapati (like the food), lucha (awesome austrailian game I can't remember quite all the rules!), slam (similiar to speed)

Other games played: chess, gin, rummy, crazy eights, uno
Books I read: Into the Void, Into Thin Air, The Law of Similiars, studied Hindi

Notable people: 3 Nepalis I trekked with day 1 to Namche and helped me find a place to stay; Jounralist Kaci Christian who insisted I stick with the Aussis; Austrailian guided group of 7 that I met in Tengboche and was on the same schedule until Gorak Shep; UK Alex and his guide Harry who I met in Tengboche and met up with again in Gorak Shep to go over Cho La Pass; 2 Germans hiked with to Gyoko;

Exciting news: Saw Brittany, girl from UW program in India, in Namche!

Weight of pack: 17kg/38lbs (approx including water and base weight taken from airport scale) although this decreased as the trek went on as I ate my snacks!

Lukla-Namche Bazar

So this will certainly be the most detailed blog entry of my trek to Everest Base Camp because I have internet! So here it goes:

I was up at 5:00 in order to finish my last minute packing because I need to be at the airport by 5:45 for my 6:15 flight. So early! I also went to bed late because I was just making sure everything was in order. Shangri-la, where I stayed in Kathmandu, called me a taxi and I was off to the airport. I checked in, paid my fuel surcharge fee, and waited to board my little 20 passengerish plane. I was so tired! I did finish my bagel I brought for breakfast on the plane. The landing was everything I expected, abrupt, but not necessarily scary by any means. I got off and was hasseled for a guide or porter. I am not going to get one until higher elevations or unless I do not feel comfortable trekking alone. However, once I was on my way, I met two Nepalese guys who were headed to Namche. I figured I may as well go that far, because this will be the only opportunity to gain as much elevation as I did (nearly 3000ft for the day!) I didn't know how far I was going, but decided to stick with them at least to walk with people. We took several rest break, especially towards the end of the day, and also found one of the boys' brothers on the trail. I stopped for tea once, but pretty much just snacked on a clif bar, nature valley bar, and some sweets. The weather was dry, with only about an hour gap where it lightly rained. This was definately going to be my longest day of hiking (10hours), and I plan from now on to definately stop for meals more consistently. Once arriving at Namche, it was cloudy in the hills so unfortunately you could not see Everest. The older brother stopped by where he was staying, we went in for tea and noodles, and then he took me to a place to stay. It was so great! I really hardley needed to arrange anything. Exhausted, I unpacked my things, looked at a map to plan my trek, and passed out.

The following morning I woke up at 9am to a knock on my door, the brother had come to make sure I didn't have a headache and was feeling alright. I feel absolutely fine. I can tell that the rest of the trek (obviously) will be much slower, not only to altitude, but also the terrain is much steeper. I walked down into town on my way to a bakery and internet cafe and saw Brittany! A girl from my program. Turns out we will likely be at base camp the same time. They are taking a different route or else I would have gone with them, plus I need this acclimation day.

My plan, that I will let you know how it goes is as follows: I have the extra two days for acclimitation because I will likely spend an extra night somewhere on the way up, but am not sure where that will be yet.

9th: Namche (3,440m, 11,286ft)
10th: Tengboche (3,860m; 12,664ft) or Pangboche (4,010m; 13,156ft)
11th: Periche (4,240m; 13,911ft)
12th: Thokla (Dughla) (4,620m; 15,157ft)
13th: Lobuche (4,910m; 16,109ft)
14th: Gorak Shep (5,140m; 16,863ft)
15th: Everest Base Camp (5,364m; 17,598ft)
16th: Kala Pattha
17th: Lobuche
18th: Periche
19th: Pangboche/Debouche/Tengboche
20th: Namche
21st:
22nd:
23rd: Fly out of Lukla at 7am!

Kathmandu!

Arriving in Kathmandu, I walked off the plane into the small Kathmandu International Airport. I filled out my swine flu declaration, passed the guard and found my on arrival visa application, photo booth, and arrival card. I then stood in line for about a half hour, was granted a visa, and then found my bag! The place I’m staying, the Shangri-La Guesthouse in Thamel, was there with a sign holding my name! I was so happy to not have to grab a random taxi like I did in Bangkok. They 3 guys were so welcoming, and excited I chose to stay with them. It’s the end of the monsoon season still technically, so it’s a bit slower, but still touristy. It was lightly raining when I arrived. They wanted to help me in anyway their could always offering suggestions, although many I didn’t need. They were like secret salespeople that were awesome to talk to, but would just slip those types of salespitches sometimes. I dropped off my bag, was upgraded my room, and decided to walk around. I needed a map. I wanted to exchange money too, but I forgot my travelers checks, but wasn’t too worried because I had changed some money at the airport from my extra baht from Thailand. It was sprinkling, so they dirt/concrete block road was muddy, and navigating scooters, bikes, cars,carts and people was a little difficult sometimes. Stores with housing above them lined the streets. I can’t wait to come back and shop. I find a map! I find three girls from Israel who had been here for a couple weeks and were very helpful in getting me to the exact store I wanted and where things were around the city. I met another guy who was about my age who was trekking later than I am, but was helpful about what to do about booking my flights. I wander my way back to find the owner and friends upstiars hanging out on the balcony. One of them played guitar after a little bit, we snacked on fries and chicken, and since I didn’t eat dinner, I got fried rice. Tired from the nightbefore, I retired to bed after unpacking my bags so things could decompress a bit.

I woke up at 7 and looked into booking my flight for tomorrow, I will have to call. I go upstairs and have some Nepalese Tea and listen to another guy, this one who is in a band and plays in a band and teaches students, plays. Great way to start the morning! I shower, book a flight, and write this before I plan to walk around the city.

I will exchange my money for my trek, get some goodies that I will send in a care package home later, and head back to meet the guitar player who is going to motor bike me around the city to show me some of the touristy attractions of Kathmandu, as well as places that are wonderful and known my Nepalese, but not advertised by agencies or the government, and loved. Afterwards I'll pack and sort what I am going to have stored here and make sure the owners can arrange hotel transport. We'll go to an area a 15 minute walk away for a party because a festival has recently ended here. Great way to unwind and experience Nepalese city life before heading into the mountains!

Probably no pictures until I'm in India, but I may try another upload again before I leave Nepal!

Domestic South East Asian Travel

The first leg of travel happened the day before but included a longtail and mini bus to get to Pak Meng. I still needed to get from Pak Meng to the Krabi airport in order to fly to Bangkok, and then off towards Kathmandu after a layover in Mumbai. I needed to take a mini bus to the Trang bus station, and they leave about every hour or hour and a half. I found out how scheduling works while I was waiting a half an hour after my 10 minute walk from where I stayed for the night. A mini bus driver, of an older 12-16 person Toyota van, will arrive, and write on a chalkboard his “bus number” and when he is going to leave. Then people wait. As the rain started right after my arrival to the undercover bus stop, I was really happy I was leaving and I feel like I had perfect timing for weather while on the coast. Unlike when I got to Trang on my way out to Koh Kradan, I was able to stay on the mini bus I took from Pak Meng and was dropped off at the main Trang bus station. As a result, I was fortunate enough to avoid tuk tuk ride in the rain! Once I arrived at the bus station, I again only had to wait a half an hour. Awesome! I had allotted myself up to an hour and a half wait at each of these transfer stations, for a worse case scenario, so it looks like I will just sit around at the airport for a little longer. Not a bad alternative. This bus was much more full than the one I took before. It also leaked. Granted it was raining, but the seat next to me had a continuous drip for over two hours. Once I arrived in Krabi, I grabbed some chicken and sticky rice and was giventhe option to take a motor bike or a taxi to get to the airport. The rain had stopped and I opted for the motorbike because I had not ridden one yet. I realized on the way to the airport, probably not the safest decision. The roads were wet, and we cruised along at between 60-70km/hr, my 21kg bag on my back, I leaned forward evertime we went up a hill to keep a decent center, without a helmet. No worries, the driver had one though. Arriving at the airport, check in for my flight had just started. Not bad! I thought I was going to have a terribly long wait in between flights at the Bangkok airport, but after dropping off a letter in the mail, which I got to the post office 15 minutes before it closed , I only had half an hour to wait before check in. Then I watched a movie! Got to kill time somehow! Getting into the terminal with my layover in Mumbai I witnessed and was subjected to the most intesive airport security. Although I already went through a metal detector and had my bag searched to get into the international terminal, in order to get to my gate, everyone’s bag was checked, and detected with a wand. Every passenger. It was quite surprising. What could we obtain in the 50 feet we walked?! Although, I do understand it is double checking in case something harmful was missed, but still, it was a new experience for sure. Once I arrived in Mumbai, it thoroughly confused people that I had an Indian visa, although I was just flying through this time. It seemed like airports operated all night because I got to where I’d be able to go through security when I found out they they do close down in the middle of the night. I had several hours to kill, without internet. This is really going to mess up my sleep schedule!! Bummer. I must say this is the most difficult flight I’ve taken so far this trip. Plus, I didn’t sleep for more than half an hour incriments, and only a few for that matter while in Mumbai. Anyway, I experienced more thorough security checks while transferring in India than I have ever experience anywhere else!

Koh Kradan

On route to Krabi, I successfully flagged down a taxi and got to the right airport! Priya and I were going to go to breakfast, but I was able to get a hold of Mason, so we skyped! Very exciting ! Once at the airport, I did some “errands;” I stopped by the post office, dropped off post cards, got cash and small bills for while I’m down south and got breakfast, a fruit plate that was amazing because the fruit down here has just been delicious and then a sandwich to throw in a bag for later. I have a long day of traveling ahead of me!
I have not had internet while on Koh Kradan, an island in the Trang Sea on the western coast of Thailand, although I will describe my week there (it doesn’t take much, it was very low key!). Leaving Bangkok, I flew to Krabi where I then took an airport bus to the bus station in town. From there I was the only passenger to get off and was asked where I was going. Trang. I was immediately put on another busride that took 2 hours. Once I arrived in Trang, I took a tuktuk to the minibus station. After waiting an hour, I crammed in an older Toyota van for another hour to get to Koh Muk Pier where I would be taking a long tail to Koh Kradan. I found myself frequently repeating “Kalume Village Koh Kradan” many times in order to ensure I was going to the correct place. It was windy, and the sea choppy. I got splashed by the salt water several times. Then sun was going down and when we arrived on Koh Kradan we were at Paradise Lost Resort. Wrong place. No one was around and I ran up and down the beach to see if there was somehwere else. The driver was texting on his phone and I gave him the number of Kalume Village. He called, and we put my backpacks back onto the boat and headed down the beach. I arrived at Kalume Village where there were 3 Thai people there. The person who I was supposed to meet had left and was coming by the following day. I ate a silent meal, listening to small Thai conversation before finding myself in bed when the generator was turned off. I stayed in a bamboo hut, 25 strides from the beach, with a hammock on the front porch that looked out at the turquoise water. Not bad! I woke up in the mornings to take walks on the beach, swim, and then kill time by reading “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” by David Sedaris, doing Sudoku puzzles and studying Hindi. I had a lot of Jackie time, which I didn’t quite know what to do with. The owners did come the following day, but were working on figuring out restoration projects due to the last storm, and left that night to come back the following day. I did get awesome pictures, quite a nice shell collection, and some fairly prominent tanlines while on my own. Before the owners arrived to stay for good, I had silent meals with the Thai workers who lived on the island for what I presume to be yearround. I did however over the week appreciate the environment I was in, and it was much better once the Italian owners came. Social interaction was possible with people who spoke English! Although they did often have conversations amongst one another, it was nice to be included periodically, and they were so nice! Also, they knew what to do on the island, and I went snorkeling on the reef just off the beach, and hiked to the other side of the island to Sunset Beach where waves crashed in like off the Pacific Coast, and there was a boulder with really a ladder that I went to the top of. During the week, I ate fresh seafood everyday. From crab, various types of fish, to squid and calamari. The cook there was spectacular. I was going to go to Rai Leh, an area with great climbing, but decided against it because I did not want to get stranded and would be terribly disappointed if I was not able to climb. It is the rainy season techincally, and I didn’t know how the weather had been a little north. Another reason to come back to Thailand, besides enjoying their beautiful beaches and food. I had a flight to catch on Saturday, and the owners were going to the mainland, Pak Meng, Friday night for a friend’s birthday party which I was invited to. I went knowning that they would be able to set me the right direction in the morning to catch my afternoon flight, and I was at least on the mainland, so I cut out at least an hour of transport time. Also it was great because even though I paid for the place to stay for the night, I saved massive on transport because I went with a group of people to the mainland. So really, everything is working out about the same! I got too much money out before I left for Krabi, but I’ll just exchange it in Nepal. I figured better to have too much than not enough!

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/allen.jackiem/KohKradan?authkey=Gv1sRgCLKynrS6kp2W6QE&feat=directlink

the internet I am using is being slow, so I will update the pictures once I'm in Nepal or the airport