Dear readers,
You may have noticed from the title of this post that I have made it successfully to Nepal. Before I delve into the absolute chaos that is Kathmandu, I would like to touch on my experience leaving Thailand as all in all, it was a truly memorable one.
One of the girls from the volunteer house and I decided to make the journey to Phuket airport together and chose to stay at a little sea side hotel known as 'Chill House Nai Yang Beach' which in terms of its price and the service at the hotel, far exceeded all my expectations. I would highly recommend it for anyone needing to spend a night near the airport but also wanting to combine it with a day at the beach. Having said a very difficult goodbye to the other volunteers, we spent the afternoon roaming around the local market and having dinner and drinks at a not so warm and not so dry beach restaurant. It wouldn't have been a good final night in Thailand had we not gotten ferociously rained on mid-dinner. To help raise our spirits and feeling like we'd earned it having spent 4 weeks folded into a dormitory, we indulged in a Thai massage. Now let me tell you something about Thai massages. The most impressive aspect about them (other than feeling like warm fudge afterwards) are the masseuses' acrobatic skills. There was a point, and I kid you not, where she was massaging my right butt cheek with her elbow (why this was necessary I still do not know) her left leg on my right thigh and her right leg on the base of my neck. I mean I can barely touch my toes here! Moving on swiftly from that mildly disturbing imagery, my journey to Nepal was rather uneventful apart from finding out that I had overstayed my month long visa by a day even though I arrived in Thailand on the 11th October and having flown out again on the 11th November... After having received a bollocking by the airport immigration office, a lot of smiling and apologising and 500 THB, I was 6000 ft in the air and on my way to my next destination. The pilot used the decent into Kathmandu airport to display the plane's mid-air somersault prowess, claiming that it was a necessary skill so as to land the plane in Kathmandu airport. In retrospect, I do not doubt it seeing as the landing strip is located at the lowest point of the Kathmandu valley/ basin/ whatever you want to call it.
Despite finally being in Nepal (a dream of mine since I can remember) I can't help but feel a sense of loss for rural Thailand and the little town of Baan Nam Khem that I called home for the past month. Surprisingly, I will miss the 7am hour long Song Tao (pick-up truck with seats in the back) rides feeling tired, cold and windswept.Those drives almost acted like a portal into Thai life as we witnessed the morning hustle and bustle of kids going to school, shops opening for business and eager breakfast eaters in thatched eateries. I will miss bearing discreet witness to the morning visits of the local monks to our neighbors who, whether rain or shine, would offer their daily alms and join the monks in prayer or blessing for the day ahead. I will miss the smells of Thailand and the ever changing aromas of people's cooking as I walked down the street, no matter the time of day. I will miss it even though my tongue still cowers in fear in reaction to the 'not spicy' smells which inevitably always turned out to make my eyes sweat and my lips swell from the heat of the chilies. I will miss the transitioning colors of Thailand with its jaw dropping sunsets and mystical misty sunrises which often brought to mind shots from the film 'Gorillas in the mist'. I will miss the local convenience shops which often doubled as bars if you knew the owner well enough, and the feeling of being accepted by the local community into their customs and way of life despite our 'this is not done in Thailand' blunders. I will miss being screamed 'HELLO' at by the village children as they passed us by on the road. I will never forget the sense of absolute respect shown to us by the local community for having volunteered our time and money to come and help out. No one will ever make it a priority to take the time to thank you for your time, your work or your effort but somehow, the Thai manage to convey their sentiments without exchanging a single word. I will without a doubt miss the GVI family in Phang Nga who not only adopted me for four weeks but who also made me feel very much at home in such a foreign country. In short, I would happily go back and do it all over again. But it is now time for the next part of my adventure.
H
My father warned me about Nepal with a weird smile on his face and his notorious 'you'll see' trait which over time has instilled a sense of dread in me upon hearing the words. How to best describe Kathmandu? Picture a busy middle-eastern city, apply it to Asian culture, remove any law and order from the equation and dust it off with a layer of thick red dust. Voila, you have now perfectly described Kathmandu! In all honesty, while I was trying to find shampoo and some dinner last night I finally felt the 'Oh my god what have I done' that I expected to feel 5 weeks ago. I am completely overwhelmed and terrifically excited all at the same time with the prospect of living here for the next two months. My initial fear of obtaining a 90 day visa with no proof of an outbound flight was squashed by the very friendly clerk who seemed more interested in flirting with me than checking my paperwork, and who eventually provided me with the wad of paperwork that has allowed me access to the country. A delicious meal in a trippy restaurant called Or2k (feeling like it catered to the more shroom-prone clientele) and a fantastic and much needed night's sleep in my own room, in a double bed, with my own bathroom (never underestimate the luxury of privacy my friends) and I feel reborn!!
I am currently writing this having escaped the battle that are the streets of Kathmandu and am comfortably sitting on a rooftop oasis that serves food and beer. I believe that I am about to enjoy a Nepalese dish compilation which has very kindly been brought down in spice to cater for the unexpecting tourists to be accompanied by an Everest beer. I mean come on, no originality in this place! But at the same time you can't not inaugurate your journey up the mountain without one! I have only explored the quarter of Thamel so far, as I am taking it easy after suffering an undercut punch from the altitude. Within 6 hours I went from 0-1000ish meters. Over the next 2 weeks I am planning on crawling up to 5500 meters and back down to 1000 (eventually) so a day of rest has hit every good spot for me. That and Nepalese Masala tea (mother would be proud). The altitude combined with the heat (yes correct, it is about 25 degrees in the sun here!!!) combined with the pour choice of alcoholic beverages, has left me running in search of caffeine and shade! I am expecting at least a 10 degree drop in temperature during the climb with winter expected to kick in around December.
What has surprised me the most, living in an area with a large presence of Gurkhas in the UK, is how much of an eclectic mix of nationalities the Nepalese really are!
All that being said, I am now choosing to focus on the slice of apple pie in front of me having purchased a enough trekking equipment in the very aforedable shops here to clothe a small village! People looking to go trekking in Nepal, I advise you to only buy the vital essentials back home and come and enjoy the fantastic exchange rate here! Beware howevere of the 'made in Nepal' Northface, Osprey etc brands as they are only, and I quote, 'good for one trek' as advised by the sales clerk. What a sales pitch and a half that was...
With an appointment to pick up my 'real brand' bladder (they really do flatter you in this country) in an hour and an appointment to meet the trekking team later today I am geared to go! After a nap.... and some chocolate...
I am probably going to go quiet for the next two weeks whilst I cry my way up the mountain as the internet here is questionable and with no signal/internet on Everest, I have thrown as much information at you as I can with this post.
Wish me well and feel bad for the Sherpa that will be carrying my luggage (please do not try and tell me that the new Louboutin heels are not essential up the mountain) and expect an update from me when I roll back down to a hot shower!
I'm sure that finding someone to carry me back to the hotel won't be too difficult...
You may have noticed from the title of this post that I have made it successfully to Nepal. Before I delve into the absolute chaos that is Kathmandu, I would like to touch on my experience leaving Thailand as all in all, it was a truly memorable one.
One of the girls from the volunteer house and I decided to make the journey to Phuket airport together and chose to stay at a little sea side hotel known as 'Chill House Nai Yang Beach' which in terms of its price and the service at the hotel, far exceeded all my expectations. I would highly recommend it for anyone needing to spend a night near the airport but also wanting to combine it with a day at the beach. Having said a very difficult goodbye to the other volunteers, we spent the afternoon roaming around the local market and having dinner and drinks at a not so warm and not so dry beach restaurant. It wouldn't have been a good final night in Thailand had we not gotten ferociously rained on mid-dinner. To help raise our spirits and feeling like we'd earned it having spent 4 weeks folded into a dormitory, we indulged in a Thai massage. Now let me tell you something about Thai massages. The most impressive aspect about them (other than feeling like warm fudge afterwards) are the masseuses' acrobatic skills. There was a point, and I kid you not, where she was massaging my right butt cheek with her elbow (why this was necessary I still do not know) her left leg on my right thigh and her right leg on the base of my neck. I mean I can barely touch my toes here! Moving on swiftly from that mildly disturbing imagery, my journey to Nepal was rather uneventful apart from finding out that I had overstayed my month long visa by a day even though I arrived in Thailand on the 11th October and having flown out again on the 11th November... After having received a bollocking by the airport immigration office, a lot of smiling and apologising and 500 THB, I was 6000 ft in the air and on my way to my next destination. The pilot used the decent into Kathmandu airport to display the plane's mid-air somersault prowess, claiming that it was a necessary skill so as to land the plane in Kathmandu airport. In retrospect, I do not doubt it seeing as the landing strip is located at the lowest point of the Kathmandu valley/ basin/ whatever you want to call it.
Despite finally being in Nepal (a dream of mine since I can remember) I can't help but feel a sense of loss for rural Thailand and the little town of Baan Nam Khem that I called home for the past month. Surprisingly, I will miss the 7am hour long Song Tao (pick-up truck with seats in the back) rides feeling tired, cold and windswept.Those drives almost acted like a portal into Thai life as we witnessed the morning hustle and bustle of kids going to school, shops opening for business and eager breakfast eaters in thatched eateries. I will miss bearing discreet witness to the morning visits of the local monks to our neighbors who, whether rain or shine, would offer their daily alms and join the monks in prayer or blessing for the day ahead. I will miss the smells of Thailand and the ever changing aromas of people's cooking as I walked down the street, no matter the time of day. I will miss it even though my tongue still cowers in fear in reaction to the 'not spicy' smells which inevitably always turned out to make my eyes sweat and my lips swell from the heat of the chilies. I will miss the transitioning colors of Thailand with its jaw dropping sunsets and mystical misty sunrises which often brought to mind shots from the film 'Gorillas in the mist'. I will miss the local convenience shops which often doubled as bars if you knew the owner well enough, and the feeling of being accepted by the local community into their customs and way of life despite our 'this is not done in Thailand' blunders. I will miss being screamed 'HELLO' at by the village children as they passed us by on the road. I will never forget the sense of absolute respect shown to us by the local community for having volunteered our time and money to come and help out. No one will ever make it a priority to take the time to thank you for your time, your work or your effort but somehow, the Thai manage to convey their sentiments without exchanging a single word. I will without a doubt miss the GVI family in Phang Nga who not only adopted me for four weeks but who also made me feel very much at home in such a foreign country. In short, I would happily go back and do it all over again. But it is now time for the next part of my adventure.
H
My father warned me about Nepal with a weird smile on his face and his notorious 'you'll see' trait which over time has instilled a sense of dread in me upon hearing the words. How to best describe Kathmandu? Picture a busy middle-eastern city, apply it to Asian culture, remove any law and order from the equation and dust it off with a layer of thick red dust. Voila, you have now perfectly described Kathmandu! In all honesty, while I was trying to find shampoo and some dinner last night I finally felt the 'Oh my god what have I done' that I expected to feel 5 weeks ago. I am completely overwhelmed and terrifically excited all at the same time with the prospect of living here for the next two months. My initial fear of obtaining a 90 day visa with no proof of an outbound flight was squashed by the very friendly clerk who seemed more interested in flirting with me than checking my paperwork, and who eventually provided me with the wad of paperwork that has allowed me access to the country. A delicious meal in a trippy restaurant called Or2k (feeling like it catered to the more shroom-prone clientele) and a fantastic and much needed night's sleep in my own room, in a double bed, with my own bathroom (never underestimate the luxury of privacy my friends) and I feel reborn!!
I am currently writing this having escaped the battle that are the streets of Kathmandu and am comfortably sitting on a rooftop oasis that serves food and beer. I believe that I am about to enjoy a Nepalese dish compilation which has very kindly been brought down in spice to cater for the unexpecting tourists to be accompanied by an Everest beer. I mean come on, no originality in this place! But at the same time you can't not inaugurate your journey up the mountain without one! I have only explored the quarter of Thamel so far, as I am taking it easy after suffering an undercut punch from the altitude. Within 6 hours I went from 0-1000ish meters. Over the next 2 weeks I am planning on crawling up to 5500 meters and back down to 1000 (eventually) so a day of rest has hit every good spot for me. That and Nepalese Masala tea (mother would be proud). The altitude combined with the heat (yes correct, it is about 25 degrees in the sun here!!!) combined with the pour choice of alcoholic beverages, has left me running in search of caffeine and shade! I am expecting at least a 10 degree drop in temperature during the climb with winter expected to kick in around December.
What has surprised me the most, living in an area with a large presence of Gurkhas in the UK, is how much of an eclectic mix of nationalities the Nepalese really are!
All that being said, I am now choosing to focus on the slice of apple pie in front of me having purchased a enough trekking equipment in the very aforedable shops here to clothe a small village! People looking to go trekking in Nepal, I advise you to only buy the vital essentials back home and come and enjoy the fantastic exchange rate here! Beware howevere of the 'made in Nepal' Northface, Osprey etc brands as they are only, and I quote, 'good for one trek' as advised by the sales clerk. What a sales pitch and a half that was...
With an appointment to pick up my 'real brand' bladder (they really do flatter you in this country) in an hour and an appointment to meet the trekking team later today I am geared to go! After a nap.... and some chocolate...
I am probably going to go quiet for the next two weeks whilst I cry my way up the mountain as the internet here is questionable and with no signal/internet on Everest, I have thrown as much information at you as I can with this post.
Wish me well and feel bad for the Sherpa that will be carrying my luggage (please do not try and tell me that the new Louboutin heels are not essential up the mountain) and expect an update from me when I roll back down to a hot shower!
I'm sure that finding someone to carry me back to the hotel won't be too difficult...
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