Mark & Aisling's MTR Challenge

In a break from my usual blogging, here's a little snippet from our Hong Kong life. I have all of the photos up on Facebook anyway, so it only makes sense to throw them all together in one big entry. There are 83 stations in the HK metro system. I don't know if anyone has visited them all, and I'm even less sure if anyway has taken a picture at each one. But I do know there are at least two people that have done both - us! 

(Thanks to Nacho & Thanda for putting them together into this lovely poster for us!)

We started this whole thing in January 2013 and just under a year later, we made it to our final station. I doubt we realised at the very beginning how many there actually were, and in fact, they're building more as we speak, so we have an excuse to come back and visit again some time in the future. We lived in Hong Kong for three years and it will always hold a special place in our hearts, which is why I'm extra glad we took on this task and snapped all of these pictures - the perfect memento from our time here.

And, as an added bonus, I'll try to give any stories or explanations behind each photo (if indeed, there is one). So, without further ado, it's Mark & Aisling's MTR Challenge!

Tung Chung Line

What better place to start than Hong Kong itself! Emmm... for this one... I'm eating rice with chopsticks, because... that's what they do here... (Wow, I'm struggling already).

The milk here comes from Kowloon Dairy, so here we have Aisling drinking milk, with the added bonus of our little, black and white friend, Frankie! (Kow-loon, right?!)

One of the few stations that's in English so that made things a lot easier. And what better opportunity to show off my 'Ka Fuk Wing Chun school sports day 2013 - Parent/Teacher Relay silver medal'? There's also a little homage in there to athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos from the 1968 games (Olympic games that is, not the Ka Fuk Wing Chun school sports).

Ok, the first in a long string of stations that really don't have any rhyme or reason. Here's Aisling reading the Pyongyang Times after our recent trip to North Korea. Can anyone think of a particularly good play on words for Nam Cheong?

With a hairbrush in hand, having a bit of a sing-song (tsing tsong) in Tsing Yi. Fun fact: I taught in Tsing Yi during our last 4 months here. It was not enjoyable...

Here's Aisling again adding some much needed colour to the otherwise quite dull sign for Sunny Bay. Fun fact: we bought that umbrella in Mongolia! (These fun facts probably won't be very fun, or factual...)

Getting my tongue out for Tung Chung.

And the last stop from the Tung Chung Line (even though it's technically on its own special line) is Disneyland! We actually did spend the day in Disneyland itself after taking this photo, so don't worry, it wasn't just a passing business trip.

Kwun Tong Line

Having a little kip at Shek Kip Mei. Incidentally, this is one of my favourite stops colour-wise. Isn't that just a lovely shade of green?!

Definitely up there with one of the most embarrassing photos to pose for, never mind the obvious physical discomfort! Whipping a thong out in public is never easy at the best of times, and it didn't help that this is one of the busiest stations in Hong Kong! On reflection, I probably should've used this idea for Kwun Tong or Yau Tong, somewhere a bit quieter.

Lok Fu, you know, like Kung Fu...?

One station that was more based on what's in the immediate vicinity, rather than a poor play on words. So, this one goes out to Wong Tai Sin Temple.

Aisling showing off her bling bling at Diamond Hill.

Choi Hung is one of the few words I actually know in Cantonese, all because of this station. And unsurprisingly, it means rainbow!

Goggles at the ready for a swim in Kowloon Bay. I'm not actually sure if there's a beach in Kowloon Bay. We maybe should have researched this whole thing a bit better...

In some places, we had a play on words or some landmark to work with. For some, we had nothing so we just did a funny pose or used random props. Here, we had nothing at all. Even the colour is horrible!

And speaking of random props that have nothing to do with the station - Aisling in her Red Riding Hood cape!

Here's my little lamb impression. It would probably have been better if we could actually find a tin of lamb, if such a thing even exists.

Tsuen Wan Line

This one is hopefully obvious for people in HK. Here I am selling some jewellery and trinkets in TST.

This one is actually based on a photo of our friend, Jordan, who was visiting HK over Hallowe'en, and the funny image of him having a smoke, dressed as the pope. It was either that or getting Aisling to 'black up' as Michael Jordan. (So much potential wasted...)

This is actually one of the first photos taken in the series, you can tell by the lack of props and the vague posing. Here I'm drinking a little 'cupán tae', to borrow the Irish phrasing.

This one was quite fun to make, snapping a pic of Ais as she whipped her hair back and forth. Check out the relating pic from Mongkok East!

Giving my best Edward Scissorhands impression. Again, you can tell it's an early photo by the lack of scissors or any sort of real effort!

Sham Shui Po is kind of like an electronics district, so here I'm boogieing down with my headphones and ipod.

Don't worry, you're not missing any clever word play here. We made fajitas for dinner the night before and had one tortilla wrap left over, so we cut out a face, and used that... That's it.

Our original idea for this one was to buy a few lychees, and manufacture them into some sort of cock shape. It could have been spectacular, but it turned out that lychees were out of season at the time! Instead, you'll just have to use your imagination that my cock is indeed made of lychee.

Another station where we didn't have much to go on, so Aisling just wrapped some cling film around her head. It seems like there should be better for Mei Foo... something to do with the Foo Fighters, maybe...?

Here I am, taking a Facebook selfie in the hopes of people 'Lai King' it! (Even when we do have an actual idea, it doesn't mean it's a good one!)

I don't think I'm alone in always mixing up Kwai Fong and Kwai Hing, so to reflect that, we've paired them up for this set of photos. Here's Aisling putting on her lipstick...

...and me on the receiving end of said lipstick! This was also another quite embarrassing one to take.

There are a lot of "Tai" stations in HK, so we had to use some ties for at least one of them. It even works with all three characters - Tie? Woah! How?!

I know I should also be embarrassed by this one, but I think I actually pull off the look pretty well! This wig was left over from Hallowe'en when 5 of us dressed up as the Scooby Doo gang. I was not Daphne that night, but looking at the picture now, I definitely could've been!

Island Line

The first picture ever taken! And that's the only reason it stayed in, compared to a few other early snaps that we decided to redo. The logic behind this one was that the Macau ferry leaves from Sheung Wan, so I think I'm doing a kind of 'motion of the ocean' kinda move...?

In honour of Lan Kwai Fong, here's Aisling getting shitfaced in Central.

I actually looked up an online tutorial on how to make a paper boat for this one. Look at all the fun you can have with a sheet of A4 and a roll of cling film!

Our lovely home, Wan Chai. And what better way to represent it, than by saluting the place where we ate about 40% of our meals in Hong Kong - Subway! Fun fact: In this picture, the cup was empty and the wrapper is just filled with bits of rubbish. We were going to do it for real, but didn't want the food to get cold, so we ate it...

Here I am reading, in honour of Central Library where we used to stock up on books. Fun fact: It's not actually a book, just my day planner as it was the only book-like thing we had on us at the time.

Another temple related pic, this time for Tin Hau. Hopefully you can just about make out the incense that Ais has stuffed in her hair.

The trouble we went to for some of these pictures. In HK, there's a chain of kitchen appliance shops called Fortress, so I carried our oven all the way to Fortress Hill just for the sake of this one photo!

North Point, get it?! Fun Fact: For interchange stations, we were originally going to take two photos, with each of us in different poses, so there actually exists two photos from some of the early interchange stations.

Another from the original batch. I'm working in a quarry. That's all.

Yes, those are real $500 bills. We're just that loaded! Doesn't it look like the cover of a rap album or something? This picture actually has a reason too, Tai Koo - like Tycoon...!

One of the many stations where we had to wait about 10 minutes, until there was nobody around. We almost got it a couple of times, then someone would walk around the corner at the vital moment and I'd have to quickly throw my clothes back on, which probably looked even more suspicious. Looking back on these now, I'm not really coming off very masculine...

Another station that has a great colour to it! For this one... K for Shau Kei Wan. Hmmm.... I'm not really sure...

Heng Fa Chuen - where even is it?! Who knows, and quite frankly, who cares!

And to round off the Island Line, here's Aisling with her super cool and super real tattoos!

Ma On Shan Line

This line was so far away, and at the very end of it, Wu Kai Sha. Again, we had no idea, so we just raided our kitchen drawers and used up the end of our Christmas wrapping.

This was one of the final lines we did, so at this stage we had friends donating props and getting their own little shout-outs. This one was for our Irish contingent who previously lived out in Ma On Shan. Ais even has a tiny shamrock painted on her face.

Another donated prop (thanks to Andy, Shaun and Imo!), and another less-than-masculine pose. Those don't even look like my hands!

Another rare moment where we actually used the entire station name, as we see Aisling 'tie' her 'shoe', letting another pair 'hang' around her neck.

This one had no motive, other than we thought it would be a good picture if I could do a handstand. But afterwards we realised that the second character in the name, so the "Mun" part, actually looks like a pair of legs in the air! I should've just said that was our idea all along... Fun Fact: I'm actually not doing a handstand at all, I'm just lying on the ground with my legs in the air.

Here's Aisling wearing my Lo Gwai United jersey. It's the same colours as Man City, so our thinking behind City One was a sort of scoreline, you know like, Man City 1 - Aston Villa 2 (and yes, I am an Aston Villa fan).

Potentially another 3 syllable success, although there's no pride to be taken here. I was going for a kind of 'Shat in, why?'. Yeah, maybe the less said about this one, the better.

So, that's another line complete, and another temple to portray. Fun Fact: We got those lanterns in Hoi An, Vietnam, which is where I also got the suit jacket I'm wearing for the Tsim Sha Tsui pic!

East Rail Line

This line goes all the way up to the border with mainland China, where it connects up with the Shenzhen Metro. This was the only Lo Wu sign in the whole station too, so it's not as colourful as some of the other pics. We got a fair few stares while taking this one...

The other border station, so here I am with passport in hand. You can also see Aisling's reflection in the blue of the sign!

Nothing really to note from this one, but have you noticed our positioning in the pictures so far? Aisling always stands on the left, and I, on the right. Fun fact!

Fanling is where I taught for two years, and where I won the medal as seen in the Olympic photo. So, here I am doing my best teacher pose.

Another shout out here, this time to our friend Shirley who lives in Tai Wo and who owns the panda hat pictured.

Stocking up with fruit and veg from Tai Po Market. Again, I'm not sure if there are actual fruit and veg stalls in Tai Po Market, I've never been. Fun Fact: We just bought the eggplant in the picture because it looked colourful and exotic, we never actually ate it afterwards.

We had no graduation cap to throw in the air here, and even if we did, it would never fit into the frame, so just pretend there is one.

Here I am lathering myself in sun screen, because after all, why should you wear sun screen? Fo' tan! Fun Fact: We had no tissue to wipe it off afterwards so I had to use the broccoli from the Tai Po Market picture. It was not a good idea.

There's a racecourse in Sha Tin, hence the Gangnam-esque horse riding pose. There is actually a special Racecourse MTR stop, but it's only open on race days, so we couldn't go there. Another reason to return to HK again.

People in Hong Kong say "Wai" when they answer the phone. I don't know if it's the same Wai as this Wai, but it makes a lot more sense than some of our previous picture rationales!

If you can cast your mind back to Mongkok, where Aisling had her hair flung into the air, we now have Mongkok East, where it's delightfully positioned over her face, so there was some thought process there. Fun Fact: In Mongkok East, the two train platforms are facing each other, so everyone on the opposite side was looking straight at us while we took this photo. 

Pfft! No idea!

Tseung Kwan O Line

You'd rarely see a bench on a station platform, so seeing as we had no other ideas, we had to use it in some way. Funny story: There was an old woman parked on this bench when we sat down, so we said we'd take the picture as soon as she leaves on the next train. The train came and went, and she was still on the bench! We wondered why she didn't get on, as the trains were only going one way, so we just waited for the next one, hoping that she'd get on that. She didn't. We couldn't wait around all day for this woman, so we thought how could we make her move? How could we make a Hong Konger not want to sit next to us? So, we started coughing violently. You've never seen an old lady run so fast!

Trying to hang up some washing, with a sock in hand and pegs clipped onto my face, as if to ask - "Hang, how?". Fun Fact: Those pegs hurt. A lot.

Aisling with mini footballs in her hair, because you play football in the park... maybe...?

Using bubbles to put the "O" in Tseung Kwan O!

A contender for station with the worst colour scheme. We had no plan for this one either, so we just put a bag over Aisling's face. The end.

Again, no ideas for this one. I should've really worn a thong here instead...

West Rail Line

We were going for a kind of 'Tuen Mun' - 'Two-in-One', sort of idea here. It's probably the station that took the most preparation. I hope you can see all of the little details.

We bought a bib especially for this one and smeared Nutella over it. The plan was to then do the same to my face when we got to the station but we forgot to bring the Nutella! Instead, I had to buy a Cadbury's Caramel and mash it up in my pocket. It didn't really work as planned so in the end I just stuck bits of it to my face!

Playing the tin whistle in Tin Shui Wai. Fun Fact: I brought that tin whistle over from Ireland so I could learn to play it. I gave up after one song.

Ping, they're a brand of golf clubs aren't they? Well, let's say they are for the sake of this picture as I get ready for a Long Ping.

Our plan for this one was to get a jumping shot, but the pictures kept coming out blurry. So, in a tactical ruse, Aisling just sat on the edge of the railing and pretended that she was in mid-air. Clever, no?

Kam Sheung Road... pillow fight... blindfold... I'm sure you can fill in the blanks yourself... (please?)

Seeing as we had a little link between Mongkok and Mongkok East, we probably should have done the same for Tsuen Wan and Tsuen Wan West... But, we didn't. So, here's Aisling with a face mask and some hand sanitiser.

It felt like there was so much potential here, but nothing really worked. Austin Powers? Jane Austen? Stone Cold Steve Austin?! In the end, Austin Texas, led to Texas Holdem, which led to me holding cards with cards stuck to my head. Should've gone all out on a Stone Cold costume...

There's a mosque here, although it's actually a lot closer to Tsim Sha Tsui... still, 83 stations! It's hard work!

Airport Express Line

AsiaWorld-Expo is where a lot of concerts and performances are held, so here I am showing off my mad juggling skills.

And this is the end! Taken as we flew out of Hong Kong, a fitting finale to the series and the only photo we appear in together.

We're back in Ireland now, with plans afoot to visit all of the 32 counties in a similar fashion. As for Hong Kong, I'm just looking it up now, and there are an awful lot of new stations opening up in the next few years, so hopefully the MTR manager will see these pictures and pay for us to fly back over for each new grand opening! Sound like a plan?

The Final Adventure - 22nd Stop: Kathmandu

It's strange that Kathmandu will be my last blog entry from Nepal, seeing as it was actually the first place we visited here. Our stay in town came in three parts: before Everest, after Everest and before China; and equally, our impression of the place could just as easily be divided into three stages, namely: preparation, rejuvenation and finally, realisation.

Stage 1: Preparation

When we arrived in Nepal, we had two days here before we set off on our Everest expedition, and in that period we did nothing but get ourselves sorted for the task ahead - between buying and renting gear, researching where to go, and getting our bags in order - so, we really had no time to do anything else of note. In fact, in those two days I only took one photo, of an ATM machine that took my card and gave me no money (which added another point to our, already lengthy, to-do list...)

Still though, for those two days, Kathmandu provided us with everything we needed, so our first stay here was a complete success.

Stage 2: Rejuvenation

Fast forward two weeks and after completing the most grueling challenge of our lives, we were absolutely ecstatic to be returning to civilisation, and had been fantasising about Western food, hot showers and clean clothes. Again, Kathmandu came up trumps, taking us in and giving us everything our hearts desired.

Being honest, it was just nice not waking up to icicles in my moustache! One of the best things about being back in Kathmandu was, not only spoiling ourselves, but seeing all of the newly arrived trekkers buying their gear, or at the supermarket, stocking up on energy bars. Meanwhile, we’d pass by at the checkout with an armful of Toblerones! Sucks to be them! Enjoy freezing your holes off!

We had four days in town this time and while the first two were spent pigging out, I couldn't relax fully as I also had some studying to do. See, the thing is, while we were on Everest, I had received countless emails and phone calls from Trinity College Dublin about my application for my Masters in Education. And it's lucky that we just so happened to finish our trek two days early, as I found out that I had a phone interview in two days time! Anyway, long story short, I was accepted! So, time well spent!

For the remainder of our second stint, we decided to do the whole tourist thing again and see what the town had to offer besides trekking shops and Pizza Hut.

And apart from a few Marge Simpson Buddhas, the answer was... not a lot. Thus began the start of:

Stage 3: Realisation

Kathmandu wasn't really that great at all. During our first two stints here, it was perfect and we couldn't have hoped for more from the place. But when we viewed it in the cold light of day, as a city in itself, it wasn't all that impressive. It quite quickly turned from Kathmandu, to Kathmandon't...

Still, it gave us what we needed, so it gets a thumbs up from us (though we won't be heading back for a return trip any time soon). Ah, but we did see a couple of nice things while in town. One of the days, we followed the Lonely Planet walking tour of the city, which was worth doing. It's not the nicest city aesthetically, but it does have its own style.

On this tour, we finished up at Durbar Square, which is just a square really in the centre of the city, nothing special, but here's a quick tip for you (and I'm not encouraging people to do this... I'm just saying you can if you want... and we did...!), in Kathmandu Durbar Square and also in Patan Durbar Square in the south of the city, there are ticket booths at the entrance charging something like €5 just to walk in. It's a ridiculous price considering how much things are in the country, and more so because it's just not that good. But, if you really do want to see it, or if you just want to stick it to the man - once you reach the entrance, backtrack a bit, walk through some side alleys instead and you'll be able to enter the square from a different angle free of charge!

Again, I'm not saying you should do this, but... well, you should.

The nicest thing in the city is probably the Buddhist pagoda of Boudhanath. We've seen countless Buddhist shrines, temples and pagodas all over Asia, and sometimes they can all seem a bit samey, but at least in Nepal they seem to have their own style with the distinctive, round shape, big set of eyes and the classically Nepali coloured flags.

Also, a point to note - Nepali people seem to be big into wrestling! And I don't mean that the sport itself is part of the culture here, like it was in Mongolia. I mean, they watch a lot off WWE! I've seen it now on three separate occasions and it's not as though I'm wandering around, peeking through people's windows or anything (not often anyway). The first time was when a staff member was having a sneaky peek as we were applying for our trekking passes in Kathmandu. Then, they were watching in our hotel in Pokhara. And strangest of all, we saw an episode from like 20 years ago while having dinner after our first day of trekking on Everest. (The Rockers vs. Legion of Doom in case you're wondering).

The only other little excursion we took was a daytrip to Bhaktapur - only 12km from Kathmandu, although it took close to 90 minutes to get there with traffic. It's worth visiting though and is much nicer than Kathmandu. It's quite similar in terms of architecture and all that, but it's much more authentic and there was just a nicer atmosphere around the place. In fact, if you only have a short time in Kathmandu, I'd recommend coming here for a day, instead of exploring the crowded and bustling capital.

On our last day, Kathmandu was ready to get a much needed boost in popularity as we had planned to go bungee jumping, but as it turns out, the one day we had set aside for it, was the one day it was closed! Major bummer! And the worst thing is, we had lots of free days here, we could've gone any time if we had only known! Instead, we had to downgrade with a visit to a climbing wall. Having said that, it was actually a lot of fun, and dirt cheap too! Less than €2 for a couple of climbs. I’d been meaning to try it for years. They even had a wall in UCC and I always said I’d do it some day and never did. I got to the top as well, on both climbs! If only Gladiators was still on, I’d fancy my chances.

And that was all for Kathmandu and Nepal as a whole! Here's our latest video diary, squashing together our stays in Kathmandu and Pokhara.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OOVIsLJe6E

So, Nepal... as I said in the last entry, we were expecting it to be up there with our all time favourites, and although we have some very memorable moments from Everest and paragliding in Pokhara, it'll more than likely finish mid-table. For now, we were in the final stretch of our final adventure, and about to return to China for the last time. Next stop, Yunnan Province!

The Final Adventure - 21st Stop: Pokhara

Our lasting impression of Nepal is a lot like that of Laos, and in the same sense, Pokhara is to the former what Luang Prabang was to the latter - high in expectation, low on delivery. Before we even stepped foot in the country, our head had been filled with glowing reports from friends and strangers, and we were expecting Nepal to be a serious contender once we made out our final rankings at the end of our time in Asia. And in Nepal's potential quest for dominance, Pokhara was set to be the jewel in its crown. In reality, both the city and country were relatively pleasant but disappointingly unspectacular, just like the aforementioned Luang Prabang and Laos before them. I guess it's best to go into any new destination without preconceived notions and just enjoy the place for what it is, rather than measuring it against what you expect it to be.

As I said, Pokhara was quite nice and it's a shame that we do have this sense of negativity towards it, especially seeing as we spent a whopping ten days here in total! That's probably the most we've spent in any one place ever in our travels, and it kinda came about in unplanned circumstances. Originally, we had intended to do a bit of trekking here too, as well as Everest, spending maybe 4 or 5 days on the Annapurna trail. As it turned out, by the time we reached Pokhara, going on another trek was the last thing we wanted to do, so instead decided to take it easy for the duration of our stay in town. But remember, that was a good thing as Pokhara was set to be heaven on Earth! I'm sorry, I’m probably making it sound like we had an awful time here, and we really didn't! We were just expecting a 9.8/10 and got maybe a 7.4. Expectation is a killer…

We did, however, appreciate the rarity of having an extended period somewhere, and the luxury of waking up in the morning with no plan to follow.

Seeing as I previously mentioned Luang Prabang, they’re actually quite similar, and I can see how a lot of travellers would fall in love with places like these, but it’s just not our type of thing. They’re both laid back, water-side towns, with lots of nice restaurants and Bohemian cafes and that’s fine for a day or two, but we’re doers. We like to go and see things, or try new activities, not just sit around and drink tea. (The Nepali tea they gave us in our hotel though was absolutely incredible! I've already looked up the recipe!)

I'm not going to give you a blow by blow account of our ten days here, simply because, some days we didn't do much at all! So, you'll just get the highlights reel, or at least what I can remember.

Pokhara is actually surprisingly big, even though you wouldn't think it due to the main tourist area being nestled snugly in a little pocket on the banks of Phewa Lake. The lake was our main focus during our stay and even on the days where we wouldn't do much, we'd still walk along the edge, or just hire a boat and paddle about (paddle a-boat).

Overlooking the lake, high on a hill is the Peace Pagoda. You can get a bus there, or take a boat across the lake, and walk up, but sure, we weren't doing much else so we just walked the whole way! It doesn't look like much from down at the lakeside, but it's actually quite nice once you finally work your way up through the forest.

And who did we meet up there, only Raiden, the God of Thunder himself! Well, it was a nice change from the Sub-Zero temperatures we were facing the week before!

While we were here, it just so happened to be during the Paragliding World Cup. I didn't even know there was such a thing! I'm not sure how you can actually win such a competition, but I think it's fair to say, the guy we saw crashing into the lake did not.

It did serve as a lovely background to our stay in town - at any time you could look up and see an infinite number of brightly coloured chutes, swimming about in the sky. One afternoon, we even went to the landing pad and hung out on the grass, just watching them drift on in.

And the only thing more majestic than looking up and seeing these things from below, is looking down and seeing them from above!

That's right, we made our paragliding debut while in town! Obviously not part of the competition, but I'm sure we'll get there at some stage. I've always wanted to do something like this - skydiving, bungee jumping, hang-gliding - so it was great to finally get the chance to take to the skies in some capacity. We're usually quite frugal with our money too, and rarely splash out on big activities like this, so it's always nice to spoil yourself now and again.

It was a great experience and probably the least extreme of the above mentioned 'bucket list contenders' as, once you take flight, you just float casually down, enjoying the surroundings, rather than hurtling towards the ground.

The only other excursion we had was going from one lake to another, as we took a little trip to Begnas Lake. It was just for the change of scenery really as there isn't really anything spectacular to note about the place. We just went for a couple of hours, had a stroll around, sat down, read our books and came back again. It was a nice enough spot though.

That was about it for solid activities. The rest of the time we had here was spent eating, a lot! After Everest, we were so sick of the same, measly food day after day, that we really stuffed our faces at every possible opportunity. And Pokhara was a great place to do that. Cheap food, a huge variety of restaurants and a nice atmosphere to just sit back and reflect upon how much you've just eaten, and how little you can move.

All in all, Pokhara wasn't so bad, and if we had come here for say, 3 or 4 days, without any preconceived expectations, maybe we would've really loved it. As things went, our time in Pokhara pretty much sums up our time in Nepal - nice, but that's all.

We spent 10 whole days here, the longest time we've spent in any one place ever, and would you believe, in all that time, we forgot to make a video diary! We just had to make an extra long one in Kathmandu, which will be the next entry, although it was technically the first place we visited in Nepal... Just read it, it'll all make sense!

The Final Adventure - Bonus Entry: EBC Trekking Tips

This blog entry is more of a guide for anyone doing the Everest Base Camp trek, or any siilar mini-expeditions, rather than a retelling of our own time en route. I'll try as best I can to give a full itinerary of things you may need to bring, where to go, how long it should take etc., as well as any general tips we picked up ourselves along the way.

I'm sure any reader will come across other such guides written by people a lot more qualified than me, but that's a large part of the reason why I'm writing this. In guide books or dedicated trekking forums or websites, it's sometimes difficult to know who the target audience is: experienced trekkers, beginners, those with porters and/or guides, or neither? It is, of course, impossible to take accurate advice from such books or websites when you don't know where on the spectrum the advice is being aimed, so I'm writing this entry wholly specific to our own set of circumstances and abilities, and if anyone who happens to stumble across this is in a similar boat, hopefully it'll provide some assistance.

I guess it's easier to write (and read) in a bullet point format, so without further ado...


Who?

To anyone who just found this randomly, or was linked by a friend, I guess it's a good idea to briefly describe ourselves and our own physical condition and trekking experience, so you have a better gauge on our recommendations. We're a couple in our mid-twenties and certainly beginners when it comes to serious trekking like this. We're relatively fit but nothing exceptional, and definitely not overly strong. We did this trek in 12 days, without porters or guides, carrying everything ourselves.


When?

Another factor that will have a major bearing on how you fare on this trek is when you decide to go. The main tourist seasons are from Mar - May and Sept - Nov, when the weather and visibility are at their best, although this also means sharing the route with thousands of other trekkers. We went in mid-Feb, just at the end of the winter season. There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages of going at any time of the year (except probably during the monsoon season of July and August which isn't recommended), you just have to decide when is best for you, or more likely, when you can get the time to do it.

From our experience in mid-Feb, flights were easy to get (and also easy to rearrange) and the routes and lodges were quiet, so I would advise visiting at this time if you're looking for a more personal experience. On the flip side, it is a fair bit colder than the main tourist seasons, and it may be a bit lonely if you're a solo traveller.


Where?

I'll give a proper day-to-day guide of where we went later on in this entry, so feel free to skip down at any time. For now, I'll deal with where the route starts, in a small village called Lukla. You have two options to get here: by flight (the common, and certainly easier option), or by bus, followed by a 6-day trek (the cheaper, but longer and harder option).

I'll just deal with the former as it's what we did and definitely the more advisable of the two. Flights from Kathmandu are readily available outside the tourist season and numerous planes leave every morning for the 20 minute journey to Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla (the most dangerous airport in the world!).

We booked ours a month or so in advance through our hotel, so everything was sorted by the time we arrived in Nepal. Flights to and from Lukla are a flat rate of $160 US each way, regardless of when you book or what airline you choose. As I said, we didn't visit during the busy, tourist season so I can't give much help when you should book for this period, although I'm sure the longer in advance, the better. My advice would be: book yourself into a reasonably nice hotel in Kathmandu and email them to sort it for you. The Kathmandu Home Hotel were very helpful for us in this respect and organised everything at no extra charge.


Why?

Well, this is a question you can probably only answer yourself, but after completing the trek, the two main answers for us would be, the great views, and the even greater sense of accomplishment. I won't lie, you will have some tough times, especially in the colder months and especially-ier (???) if you go without a porter or guide, like we did. So, before putting in the effort of planning your trip, you need to consider if you're prepared to go through these trying moments. If all you want from this experience is to see Everest and nothing more, then there are many agencies and airlines in Kathmandu that offer mountain flights in the Everest region, so you can see it all in one afternoon from the comfort of your seat. I don't mean to deter anyone in this paragraph, but it's certainly not a walk in the park, and it's definitely something you should put a lot of thought into before you start planning and even hiking the route itself.

Having said all of that, if you commit yourself to it fully, do the preparation and come out the other side, then I guarantee you it'll be an experience you will always remember.


What and How?

To answer these two questions, I'll have to go into a bit more detail, starting with what you should bring with you. Bear in mind also that if you go it alone without a porter, anything you pack, you carry!


Clothing (per person):

• 2 thermal, long-sleeved tops (non-cotton): this will be your bottom layer and you should use one for hiking and the other for relaxing/sleeping.

• 2 warmer long-sleeved tops: your next layer, again one for hiking, one for sleeping.

• 1 warm hoody/fleece: all you'll need when trekking in lower areas before it starts to get really cold, and a nice extra layer for truly freezing areas.

• 1 proper down-jacket: this will be your best friend in really Arctic weather conditions. You can rent or buy them in the Thamel area of Kathmandu (we rented ours for 60 Rupees per day).

• Hat, gloves & scarf: pretty self-explanatory.

• Hiking boots: You can also buy these in Thamel but it isn't advisable as you should ideally break them in and feel comfortable wearing them before you begin your trek.

• 2 pairs of thick hiking socks: Again, one pair for hiking, and one to change into upon arrival each day.

• Silk socks (as many as you can): These are my top tip, and I promise you, you won't get a single blister if you wear a pair of these under your hiking socks each day. We bought ours in Beijing the year before so I don't know if they're available in Kathmandu. I'm sure cutting up some silk tights would work in a pinch.

• 1 pair of warm trousers: Some recommend proper thermal leggings, but a thick pair of tracksuit pants were fine with me.

• 1 pair of warm, windproof outer leggings: To give you some extra warmth and to shield you from any cold winds.

• 1 bandana: Helpful to cover your face on days when the wind is biting and also to prevent you from having to breathe in the sharp, cold air at higher altitudes.

• 1 pair of sunglasses: On blustery days, to stop anything from blowing into your eyes. On sunny days, the sun and fresh snow can combine to blinding effect.

• A few pairs of spare socks and underwear: Be prepared, you will be roughing it here so don't plan on bringing a pair for every day of the week!

These are all of the essentials you will need. You can always bring extra sets of everything if you're prepared to carry them, or even better if you're paying someone to carry them. Some people also recommend bringing a pair of comfortable shoes or warm slippers for the evenings, but we survived fine without them. Remember, you will most likely be staying in very basic accommodation, not a 5-star ski lodge!


Medicine:

• Iodine tablets: fresh water here isn't safe to drink, and you're recommended to consume 3 litres per day (I don't think we ever did, but we tried at least!). Each packet comes with 50 tablets, and each tablet will purify one litre of water. You just fill up your bottle from numerous springs or taps along the way, pop in a tablet, wait for 30 minutes, and you have your own supply of drinking water.

• Diamox: This is for altitude sickness, a very common ailment, especially if you try to ascend too high, too fast. It's generally a good idea to take one each morning as a preventative measure, although you can wait to see if you develop any symptoms if you prefer. They're not expensive, so you're better off just taking them from the start.

• Sun cream: Just because you're in the snow, doesn't mean you won't get burned! A small tube should be enough, just to protect you nose and cheeks as everything else will most likely be covered up.

• Lip balm: Your lips will get very dry and very sore from the freezing conditions. Apply some of this regularly when hiking and also before bed.

These are the most important things to bring, although it's always handy to have a stash of general remedies for things like diarrhoea, headaches, muscle pain, sore throats etc. So, if you have room, here are a few more things you should add to your first aid kit:

- throat lozenges
- Imodium tablets
- ibuprofen
- tiger balm
- rehydration salts
- plasters


General supplies:

• sleeping bag: In most, if not all lodges, they do have blankets available but I'd certainly recommend bringing your own sleeping bag along too, especially if travelling in the colder months. As with our down-jackets, we rented ours in Thamel for 60 Rupees per day.

• money: I think there might be an ATM in Namche Bazaar, but to be safe, you should really bring all of the money you need with you first day. It's always hard to gauge how much you'll need, but for 12 days, we spent a total of 33,250 Rupees (for two people). 99% of that went on meals as we didn't pay for a single night's accommodation (I'll come to that later). Bear in mind, you'll also have to pay extra for things like battery charging, internet and hot showers.

• 1 litre water bottle/flask: As mentioned, you should be aiming to drink 3 litres a day, so it's handy to have your own bottle to refill instead of buying expensive mineral water.

• 1 head torch: I'd even recommend one torch between two people as you only really need it to use the toilet at night. Most lodges will have lighting in the rooms.

• toilet paper / tissues: Always have your own, although most places will have them for sale if you run out.

• snacks: We probably packed too heavily in this respect. A few cereal bars, some chocolate and a pack of hard sweets should be plenty. You'll be eating your three square meals in the lodges so everything else is just to keep you going in between.

• toiletries: Toothbrush, toothpaste and a small towel should be enough. You won't be doing any extensive bathing or grooming here, so leave the creams and lotions at home.

• book/notepad/cards/games: You should definitely bring something to keep yourself entertained as you'll have a lot of free time once you finish your trekking for the day. Some lodges (mainly in the lower levels) have book exchanges available.

• camera & charger: Batteries can be charged along the way, but at a fee which increases the further up you go.

• a plastic bag or two: Always handy to bring anywhere you go, to separate wet or dirty clothes in your bag.

Again, these are all of the essentials, but I'll list a few more items that some people recommend and you can make up your own mind.

• phone/ipod/tablet/laptop: There are of course obvious benefits to bringing these things, but remember, electricity isn't free, nor is wifi, and the price for both will increase steadily as you ascend.

• hiking poles: I'm sure they do make the uphill climbs easier, especially if you have bad knees, but we decided to go without.

• map: If you hire a guide, obviously there's no need for a map. But even if you go it alone, a map will only get you so far as there are an endless number of tiny paths and trails that didn't appear on any maps we saw. If you ever get lost en route, there should be enough people around (trekkers, villagers, yak herders) to point you in the right direction.

• blister plasters (moleskin): The reason why I didn't mention these in the essentials is, as I mentioned previously, if you have a few pairs of silk socks, you shouldn't have to worry about blisters.

Our route:

Next, I'll talk briefly about what path we followed and how long each leg took. For the most part, we went by the Lonely Planet recommended route, although we veered slightly on occasion. Again, (and I'm sorry if I keep repeating myself) this was our own personal experience as a couple of beginners with no guides or porters, so if you have either of these things, or are relatively fit and/or experienced, then take these times as an absolute maximum.

• Day 1: Lukla --> Phakding (3 hours 15 minutes)

• Day 2: Phakding --> Namche Bazaar (7 hours)

• Day 3: Acclimitisation day in Namche Bazaar

• Day 4: Namche Bazaar --> Tengboche (4 hours 30 minutes)

• Day 5: Tengboche --> Dingboche (5 hours)

• Day 6: Acclimitisation day in Dingboche

• Day 7: Dingboche --> Duglha (2 hours 15 minutes)

• Day 8: Dughla --> Gorak Shep (5 hours 30 minutes)

• Day 9: Kala Patthar roundtrip (2 hours 20 minutes), and EBC roundtrip (3 hours 50 minutes)

• Day 10: Gorak Shep --> Tengboche (9 hours)

• Day 11: Tengboche --> Namche Bazaar (3 hours 45 minutes)

• Day 12: Namche Bazaar --> Lukla (6 hours 15 minutes)

For more detailed information on each individual day (scenery, pictures, landmarks, difficulty etc.), visit my previous blog entry:

http://amasianadventure.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-final-adventure-20th-stop-everest.html


That should be enough to get you started at least on your journey to EBC, and even if you're trekking elsewhere, hopefully some of the information will prove useful. Before I finish, I'll just share some general tips and tricks that we read, heard or learned ourselves along the way.

• Batteries (from cameras, phones, ipods etc.) drain faster in colder climates, so each night, sleep with them close to your body (in your pockets or sleeping bag) to keep them warm and make them last longer.
• If you're trekking off-season, it is possible to negotiate a free room in some lodges if you agree to eat all of your meals in their restaurant. During our entire trek, we didn't pay for accommodation once!
• In Kathmandu, when buying your supplies, medicine is much cheaper in supermarkets compared to pharmacies or trekking shops.
• Avoid meat at all costs during your trek (chicken flavoured soup or noodles are ok). All meat has to be portered up, so the further along you go, the older the meat is and the more likely you are to get food poisoning. It's just not worth the risk.
• There actually is quite a good selection of food in most places though, below is a menu from Namche Bazaar with prices for reference:

• It may sound like an obvious tip, but before you set out on your first day's hiking (or any day, in fact), make sure the straps on your back-pack are tightened properly and evenly. It's not good for your back, and a lot harder to carry if your bag is leaning to one side, or hanging too far down.
• If you are going without a guide, and even if you do have a map, it's a good idea to ask locals every so often if you're going in the right direction, even if there were no diverging paths. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
• And if you do hire a porter to carry your things, make sure it's in a rucksack or some other easy-to-carry bag. We saw some porters on the way having to carry big, awkward suitcases. If you wouldn't carry it up a mountain yourself, then don't give it to someone else to carry!
• When flying to or from Lukla, try to book yourself on the first flight of that given morning as, in the event of bad weather, this is the most likely one to actually take-off. The later your flight, the more likely you'll be rescheduled til the next day.
• For the EBC trek, you'll need to buy two things to be allowed access the route - a TIMS card and a conservation fee (2,000 and 3,000 Rupees respectively). These can be bought in advance in Kathmandu, or also on the trek itself.

If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to message me and I will try my best to help. Thanks for reading and safe travels!