Kathmandu & Booking Everest Base Camp Trek

Wow what an experience this has been! So you read up online recommendations by people that have been in this boat before and with all that knowledge you think this is easy peasy… Hahaha!

After researching what others have done we decided to get to Kathmandu and go it alone armed with a route map.
So after a couple of days in Kathmandu we walk across town to the Tourism & Immigration office. The walk in itself was crazy. I have never been to Asia so not terribly accustomed to the manic way of life here. I’d read it can be an assault on the senses. Now an assault to me is something rather negative which Kathmandu is far from. Never have I been in such a friendly town I’ve totally had to re-evaluate the way I see strangers as the country seems to rely on trust which at first challenges your values as I found myself wanting proof that things would happen and be safe rather than just someone’s word. But someone’s word in Nepal has for me been as good as any proof of receipt I’ve ever had. It’s made me trust mankind again. Well at least while I’m here in Nepal anyway.

There are bright colours everywhere here from the fruit being sold to the stunning clothes of the women and the buildings they sit in front of. The noise, wow! The air is full of car horns, bike beeps and tuk tuk quacks, men’s  belly laughs and women chattering. So loud at first, but then when you adapt to this alternate way of life you soon don’t hear it. You’re senses are certainly tested, but more in a way that reminds you how lucky we are to be given them.

So we set off in the middle of the day just down the road so we thought with what felt like the population of Nepal and its live stock. It was a great walk down past the stunning Park to where on the map we were shown. Unfortunately it wasn’t in the location we were shown but we were in and around the right area with lots of traffic police gladly telling us yes keep going right it’s on the left to then find another officer who would say yes keep going left its on the right!

We found it eventually and it happened to be a huge red brick building that stuck out for miles against the typical concrete market buildings surrounding it and was opposite the park we had visited! We got there just in time before it closed at 2pm and were able to have our passport pictures taken for free as part of the seamless service for the TIMS card and national park pass we required  to do our trek (you need to visit there for all national park treks not just Everest).

First thing ticked. Now we could book our flight to lukla. This was easier as we asked our incredibly lovely hotel manager who booked it for us for $160 each which came in at my expected cost of $150-190.

We had planned to go it alone but heard there were different routes around Everest base camp that we also wanted to try out so opted in the end to book a guide to meet us at Lukla. This way we avoided paying for the guide’s flight too. Porters will help carry your stuff for around $15 a day where as a guide isn’t expected to carry anything but should have necessary insurance, English speaking and know where they’re going. They also assist in booking the tea lodges along the way at a cheaper rate and help out when, I mean if, your flights are cancelled.

We also arranged to hire down jackets and sleeping bags that were delivered to our hotel as this worked out lots cheaper than buying especially as we could not have carried them with us for the rest of our world trip. We were told to take trekking pants as well as waterproof pants, have a good pair of boots, long sleeved top for sun protection, down jacket and waterproof jacket, water purification tablets, good sleeping bag to cope with cold nights, thick socks, hat and gloves.

So within 2 days we were knitted out and had everything we needed. You arrive at Kathmandu airport for 6am and will be told by 10am if the days flights are cancelled. Unfortunately for us this has been the case for the last 3 days as Lukla airport being a very small and dangerous runway requires near perfect weather conditions and the monsoon had not passed as it should have done by August. You then go back to the check-in to collect your bag and just keep trying everyday at 6am with your original ticket untill they can fly you up there. There’s no hassle and again the airport staff are very friendly and helpful. And you get to meet lots of other guys all trying to fly up there too so it’s not all bad 😊

Tomorrow will be our 4th attempt to fly to Lukla to start our 18 day trek to Everest Base Camp. Please stay tuned to see if we ever make it and to hear about our experiences whilst up there!