I have to admit that I wasn’t quite prepared for everything that occurred during our trek and stay in Nepal.
If you are planning to do a similar trip in the near future or you’re just interested how it all looked like, here’s the whole truth behind the “dream coming true”. Our friends from Relaksmisja did a wonderful job planning our adventure. Below are some tips that they gave us, some that I gathered talking to other trekkers and some that I found out on my own, the hard way.
It’s dirty. The yaks, the dogs, the houses, the lodges and finally the people are dirty, so there’s absolutely no reason to freak out about hygiene. I guess that thin air and cold nights are the reasons why there is no serious outbreak. Sometimes you get to take a shower (or a “hot bucket shower”), sometimes you don’t. And it costs. And you get to see two huge spiders attacking you while being naked and foamed – at least that’s my story.
(yes, it’s poo)
Leeches in the jungle – no biggie! It’s healthy (or at least not not-healthy)
The higher the costlier. In general, on the trek it’s more expensive than it is in the cities and it’s gets more expensive the higher you go. Be prepared and eat where you sleep or be charged double.
No gourmet food on the trek. If you like noodles, pasta, potatoes, dough, toast bread and rice, and sometimes even all those things together, you’ll be fine. I mean, the food is ok. Just try not to think about meat and vegetables because you wont have them anyway. No mutton curry, no chicken tikka masala, no garden salad! NO!
The altitude will kill you softly. If you’re heading to the mountains, be kind to yourself because your body will feel the difference when you get to a higher ground. There is less oxygen – it’s a fact. Some get dizzy, some vomit, some have headaches.
It’s cold. There’s no heating in the lodges so warm, down sleeping bag is a must.
There’s chaos, so don’t panic. I assure you that there’s nothing that can not be managed by those wonderful people. Transportation to any location, better price or maybe getting your clothes out of closed laundry (we got back our precious sweat pants<3)? Consider it done!
(Domestic terminal in Kathmandu)
Some places are lost due to earthquake. It doesn’t mean that there is nothing to see.
But the most important thing is VISIT NEPAL !!