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We last wrote to you on our way to peninsular Malaysia. We had planned to spend 3 or 4 weeks there but it was incredibly hot and humid and not that interesting. There are a few photos at the bottom of Melaka and Kuala Lumpur but, basically, we left Malaysia 2 weeks early and what we really want to tell you about are the last 3 fantastic weeks in Nepal.
We arrived in Kathmandu in the Middle of April and spent a few days soaking up a new country and seeing the sights. The city has daily power cuts while they flog their electricity to India, they call it load shedding, and so we usually eat diner by candlelight. That may sound romantic but it also means the food is cooked under candlelight and it’s often a mystery what we actually get to eat.
We also used the first few days here to hire a mountain guide, KB, and porter, Rajdhan, for our trek to Everest Base camp. (Nick claimed he knew the way but the last 9 months have taught Jen to be weary of Nick’s short cuts). We flew to Lukla in the Everest region on
24th April and, including extra days to acclimatise to the altitude, we took 8 days to walk to base camp and 6 days to come back. We stayed in small simple guesthouses for less than a pound a night each but the views were priceless! In fact the whole trip was very special. Jen’s dad had always wanted to go to base camp so we took some prayer flays and chocolate and made a little ceremony (puja) for him.
Our porter, Rajdhan, is running the Everest marathon on 29th May and he hopes to be in the top 10, possibly even win it. At the end of each day he’d run back to where we’d come from and, the next morning, run to meet us before we’d even had breakfast. Then he’d carry our heavy backpack!
The weather was very changeable. In the morning it would usually be warm and sunny then the clouds would come in about mid afternoon and by 6pm is was very cold, particularly as we got higher up. It even snowed a couple of times but this made the trip more authentic and we just wrapped up, bowed our heads and plodded on.
We’re now back in Kathmandu, warming up and relaxing, We got a public bus yesterday. It was small, Toyota hi-ace size, and although there were 11seats they managed to cram 22 of us on board.
It’s a special feast day today and we’re going for a meal at our guide’s house and his wife is going to show us how to make traditional Nepali food, probably by candlelight.
Hope you’re all well and enjoying the English summer
Love,
N&J
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PS. We understand the photos are missing from the last blog. It’s something to do with a server error at the blog website. We’ll try to reload them soon if we can find another decent internet connection.
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Sharne
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Hi N&J. Lovely to catch up with you both. Another amazing adventure to add to your list. A fitting tribute to Jens Dad too. Rajdhan sounds quite the athlete, hope nick wasn’t too competitive. Good luck to him in the marathon. Love to you both S x