Kathmandu

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I've made it to Kathmandu - the flight yesterday was good - it was funny at Sing airport when I got to the departure gate as pretty much everyone was wearing trekking pants, boots and had a fancy North Face day pack on their back!!

I sat next to a nice older couple from Sydney who are going trekking the Annapurna circuit.I got a window seat on the right side of the plane to see the mountains but unfortunately it was bit cloudy and we could only see a few snow covered peaks, but not clear enough to identify them or take photos - but I'm sure I'll get more than enough Himalayan views in the next month.

Had a minor drama at the airport as my trekking company said they'd pick me up but nobody was there for me. I stood around for ages hoping to see someone with "Mr Scott" on his cardboard but nobody came and I was a bit worried so I went over to the taxi stand and thought I may as well make my own way to the hotel. I paid USD7 for a cab which I know was a rip off but I couldn't be bothered arguing and the guy was trying to sell me some other hotel but I refused. He asked me who was supposed to pick me up and I said Himalayan Glacier Trekking (HGT) He says " I work for them" and I'm thinking yeah right and he shows me his card that sure enough is a HGT card but I'm still not believing him as he's literally the only person in the pre-paid taxi area and HGT are not a big company but just at that moment his mobile rang and he blabs away to a guy in nepalese and then turns to me and asks me if my name is Scott? On the other end of the phone was the HGT rep that I'd been emailing the last few days as my usual rep is away on festival leave (I think it's the biggest hindu festival at the moment where they go home to visit their family). So I got my taxi money back and the HGT guy pays for my cab to the hotel and was very apologetic.

The HGT guy on the phone said he'd come to my hotel at 5pm but I thought I'd rather go to their office as it all just seemed a bit too convenient and I didn't want to hand over $2000USD and get scammed but sure enough when I went to their office it was all legit so I payed the rest of my trekking account.

Anyway the Hotel is pretty good - great location in Thamel in the middle of everything, room is basic but does the job and I have a/c and my own bathroom. I just had a massive steak breakfast + eggs, hashbrown toast and coffee that was included in my US20 a night!

On my first day I spent the afternoon just wandering around triying to get my bearings and did a bit of browsing for trekking gear. I basically haven't brought anything with me as I'd heard (correctly) that you can pretty much buy anthnig here for a fraction of what it costs in Oz. There's soooo many shops with all the same stuff but the quality of the fakes does seem to vary a bit. I haven't tried to bargain for anything yet but the starting price for most stuff is around 10-30 AUD for backpacks, trekking pants and fleece jackets. They don't hassle you here too much which is good - if you say no I'm just looking or no thanks they pretty much leave you alone - nothing like Luxor in Egypt!!

Yesterday was shopping day and I purchased pretty much all the trekking gear I'll need for my trip. What would cost thousands in Australia I got for about $160 and I was probably still ripped off but there's only so hard you can bargain.

I still haven't found anywhere to watch the Grand Final (Go the mighty eels!!) but yesterday I met an aussie who said they have fox sports at his hotel so I might go over there now and see if they have a bar or something that is showing it. I met him walking up to a big stupa - the biggest in Nepal apparently) and it was at the top of up a massive hill so it was a good little introduction to what we have in store for us (he's doing the Everest Base Camp trek which is what everyone I meet seems to be doing). The stupa had heaps of dogs and monkeys everywhere and Joy you'll be pleased to hear none of them scratched me!!

Anyway I was hoping to upload a couple of photos but this computer is not letting me so I'll have to try somewhere else later. Tomorrow (Monday) I'm doing a rock climbing course and then Tuesday I fly to Lukla to begin the trek...can't wait!!

Hope everyone is doing well. If you want to email me send a message to [e-mail]

cheers
Scott

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Comments

[Narayan Regmi]

Thank you as well as sorry
Dear Scitt, We are glade to get your beautiful words and very nice site in the internate regarding the Everest base camp trek combind the Island peak climbing with the himalayan Glacier Trekking. Thanks again for your patient and We are very sorr about your inconvenience at the arrival. You are thankful that you have let us know the misbehaviour of our staff at the airport, so that we can correct for the future clients. We are committed for the safty of our valued customer and to make our trips as an unforgotable event in your life time. Kind regards, Narayan Regmi Himalayan Himalayan Glacier Trekking