Blogs from Lukla, Nepal, Asia

For Eid al Fitr break, my friend talked me into joining her for the Everest Base Camp trek our usual travel group was doing. She and I had previously done the yoga trip to Nepal in December and she had been excited to do this even then. I was a bit nervous, but I said yes and proceeded to do some very half hearted training. Of course, about 10 days before, she got reassigned to lead another trek, Kili, which I refused at this point in time - very different mental preparation! Packing! In addition to the physical aspect, we also had to prepare our packing due to weight restrictions: 10kg for the porters to carry and 15kg total for the small plane and helicopter limits. I was one of only two people who stayed in ... read more

Not being in any rush we had a leisurely breakfast before saying goodbye and heading on our way. The weather was glorious again, which whilst very pleasant to walk in would have been more useful yesterday than today where most of the route is tree covered so views are limited. It was nice to be warm for a change though. Leaving the teahouse we pootled into Namche itself. Here we found a goat bell for Stephens mum and some horse bells for Chance - he’s going to sound like a Christmas pony! Most of the mules and horses here wear them so it’s a little fun. We also picked up a raisin loaf for elevenses and got some emergency cash out in case we end up stuck in Lukla. We then headed down out of ... read more

Much like our last attempt at a trek our first few days haven’t gone quite according to plan. We were supposed to fly to Lukla yesterday morning, and then hopefully walk to the next village the same day. Unfortunately after a day sitting in the airport due to poor weather at Lukla all flights were cancelled and we were put on a flight today instead. The frustrating thing was the complete lack of communication - we only discovered they’d been cancelled after going up the desk to ask for an update. Fortunately we managed to get a room in the same hotel we had been staying in in Thamel, Kathmandu. We also had a delicious dinner of aubergine and couscous in a restaurant called Mitho. It wasn’t too expensive and made a great change from rice ... read more

(**Photos are our favourites from the entire trip, so most have probably already been previously posted**) Nothing can really prepare you for the mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional challenge of trekking at high altitude in the Himalayas. I think possibly like most people who make the decision to trek to Everest Base Camp, or anywhere above 3,000m for that matter, we were in hindsight perhaps a little naive and uneducated. Our research and mental preparation, although it felt thorough at the time, was limited to reading about other people’s experiences through their online blogs. Our physical preparation was gained through regular cardio sessions and some bushwalking around the Brisbane hinterland. However this was all completed at a maximum elevation of perhaps 300m above sea level. Spiritually and emotionally, we went through no real preparation at all. ... read more

We decided to organise a 2 week trek into the Himalayas without a guide or porter, for better or worse (I should clarify that while this may seem rash there are literally thousands of people that attempt this same trek to Everest Base Camp every year - the path is well trodden and there are many guesthouses along the route). Our quest began with a flight into one of the world's most dangerous airports (the most dangerous according to locals - always said while laughing). The runway at Lukla airport is very short, perched on the side of a cliff and ascends at 12 degrees to help the planes slow down in time before hitting a strategically placed brick wall. Hopefully the photos do it justice. Needless to say Meg was shitting herself. Lukla is just ... read more