Kathmandu, Nepal 12th November 2016

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.
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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...

Ban Nam Khem, 6th November 2016

Dear readers,

It turns out that lazy Sunday afternoons are a global thing, and so I write this having spent the morning vegetating, negotiating with the local laundry lady/ gang (still not too sure how many people live in that house) and battling the enormous waves at the beach. I am sure that there are quite a few people out there who have gone swimming with dolphins, but how many people can say that they have been swimming with cows?! Yes that actually happened.

As I am coming into my final week at the GVI Phang Nga base, I feel like it is time to get real about some of the things going on in this country. Yesterday we decided to have a bonfire on the beach in honor of a dude named Guyfawks (most english should by now be aware of who he is) with some great company, great music and great drinks. Unfortunately when we came back to base we were confronted with the death of Foxy, the GVI adopted dog who was named in honor of his fox-like appearance. Our trusty gang of three dogeteers has now been narrowed down to Cafe and Tiger who still seem eager to follow us wherever we go and protect us from anything that moves.

Pets in Thailand are a very interesting concept as every household seems to 'own' either a cat, a dog, or an exotic bird but very few seem able/ willing to take proper care of them. Anywhere one looks, we are confronted with sad looking dogs battling mange, or cats who look like they have been through hell and back. It leaves a very sour taste in my mouth. What is worse, if we were to call and pay for a vet to visit e.g. the dog up the road who most probably will not get to see December, we are liable in court if the dog were to die. Its a lose-lose situation. Al one can really do is give them a cuddle and some much needed attention.

Other than the pets, I have come to the conclusion that Thailand has two very contrasting faces. On the one hand, I see the beautiful country with its welcoming people who despite having nothing, will eagerly spend 20 minutes cutting coconuts off a tree a for you and carts full of children who drive past our base screaming 'hello' as loudly as they can. On the other hand, you have a country which is struggling to develop, desperately lacking in global education (sustainable development is definitely not a priority here) and struggling to put food on the table. One is almost too eager to turn a blind eye to the struggles that we as westerners are too privileged to fathom. And this keeps me up at night.

This being said, I cannot comprehend Thai society's obsession with material goods. Having spent a lot of time wandering around the small village of Ban Nam Khem where our volunteer base stands proud (and is well known by the local community) it seems that those who can, will opt to spend their life savings on the flashiest cars and technology available. The houses here are no more than a four wall shell with no more than two rooms. Most houses lack any form of decoration, host a single bed and stove, and boast a 42 inch flat screen TV, state of the art stereo system, 4x4 jeep or similar parked in the drive and a series of smartphones to cover the needs of the principal members of the family. Apparently keeping up appearances in the small little village in the middle of the Phang Nga rain forest is a priority. I just can't digest the concept.

A boozy weekend in Khao Lak with a few of the other volunteers made me realize that I will actually miss this place and the people here. Even though daunting at first, I finally feel like I am beginning to settle in to the way of life here. But I predict that this will be the hardest part of my 'Great Adventure'... That and Everest of course. Not only will I have to drag myself up the mountain but I will also have to drag the 10 kilos of rice, noodles, beer and Sangsom rum that I have consumed in the past month. Shit.

Going back to what I was saying about the base here, it has taken me a while to 'place' the rest of my peers, who bar a few, are mostly younger than me. It was a little hard to break into the 'lads group' of guys on that compile the conservation team, mainly because I originally did not know what things like a Red Wattled Lapwing was (I mean who the hell would know that?!) and because I later found out that I was looking to fill the shoes of the girl on the team before me, who apparently should be held on the same scale of awesome as Chuck Norris... I mean was there ever any hope?! But it looks like I have finally made it and would easily consider them my closest friends here.

We have some brilliant people here including two boys who are dedicating 6 months of their lives to in depth TEFL teaching programs and I would honestly say that they, perhaps more than the other teachers, are making a huge difference to the schools here due to the detail and dedication of their program. Not saying that every little does not help because the smiles on the kids faces prove otherwise. I share a room with another 4 girls who are on the teaching programs, who are accompanied by 2 boys who are on short term teaching programs too.

What I find fascinating, is the reason that each of us has chosen to come out here. We are driven by and interesting concoction of desires and goals mixed in with a array of personal reasons for jumping ship to Thailand, yet we are all so very different at heart. I feel that some are really enjoying the experience and looking to make the most of their time here, whereas others feel trapped and perhaps a little lost in their reasoning for coming, if not judgmental of the life choices of others. But at the end of the day, we are all different and that's what makes us stand out in life. What matters is that we are here and looking to help.

I cannot close without briefly mentioning one of our most recent volunteers who at the age of 50 odd has decided to temporarily leave her family behind and start ticking items off her bucket list. I have never quite had a role model before, but I can honestly say that she has inspired me in every sense of the word. In brief, she is an absolute legend and I hope that when I reach her age, I am able to be as positive and adventurous as she is.

By the end of the week I will be airborne again and off to Nepal where I have already begun researching the endless options the country has to offer. One of my uncles made me aware of a fantastic foundation called the 'Himalayan Tiger Foundation' based in Nepal, whose objective is to protect the very much threatened Bengal tigers that prowl the region. I will definitely need to investigate further once I am 'on the ground' so to speak, but for those of you who would like to take a further look check them out on their website: http://www.himalayantigers.org/

As my rambling comes to an end I wanted to leave you with the things I have come to accept in Thailand:

1) The sweat is real. I gave up long ago about caring about the embarrassing sweat patches that one accumulates out here as they have now become part of me. I will have an ice cold shower and by the time I am dressed again I am covered in a new layer of sweat. Lesson: Embrace the sweat.

2) The mosquitoes know where you live. I have been graced with the superpower of having bitter tasting blood (or so it seems) as I seem to be the only one who has been spared, thus far, from the blood sucking massacre that takes place on the 4 other beds in our room.

3) They creep, they crawl and they love playing hide and seek. I never thought I would ever have to relive having a mutli-legged, evil looking bug under the toilet seat again but it seems as though I spoke too soon.

4) Do not touch Thai moonshine. Enough said.

On that rather long and endless note, I leave you until my next post and hope you take a moment to check out the tiger foundation, along with the Shark Guardian foundation which is doing its best to save the oceans from disaster: http://www.sharkguardian.org/

They are in constant need of support and assistance and to be honest, they are an awesome bunch of people. If you fancy a documentary on sharks, Sharkwater is a must! Mind = Blown.

Did I mention that I need cheese back in my life?

Over and out!