Nepal : Part 2 - Kathmandu, I Am Here Again!

This is a story of my adventure to Everest Base Camp. To read on how it all started, start with this post - Preparations for Everest Base Camp Trek.

14092013 - Today, I board the plane to Nepal for the 2nd time. I love being in the airport. Airport is like my second home. The skies were gorgeous at 7.30am as we boarded for our 7.45am flight. The flight was going to take us 4 hours 15 minutes. Since it was my first time flying to Kathmandu (previously, I flew to Chengdu, and walked across the Friendship Bridge from Tibet to Nepal), I was in awe as I saw the view of Mount Everest where the peak was above the clouds. Well, not only Mount Everest, as there were a few other mountains above the clouds too.

You know you reach Nepal when you see mountainous view everywhere. Nepal is on a mountainous region after all.

At 9.45am Nepalese time, we reached the airport. There were lots of interesting facts being displayed along the corridor. I think I took photos of all the facts.

We queued up to purchase our visa. We purchased the 30-day visa for USD25 as we were going to be in Nepal for 18 days. The minimal amount of visa fees is for a 15-day stay, which I believe is USD15. Well, we could have opted the 15-day stay, and paid the fees for additional stay, but it is not possible for us as we will be in the National Park then. Our itinerary - Everest Base Camp and Royal Chitwan National Park.

Our agent's representative were waiting for us at the airport as we exited. He has really light brown eyes. There was a car to bring us to our hotel. It was great to be on familiar grounds. As we entered Thamel Street, I could recognise some of the shops that I visited.

He brought us to Hotel Buddha, where the agent has booked for us earlier. I requested that I stay in Thamel Street because it is easier for me to buy things. I was also surprised that this place is recommended in Trip Advisor. Anyway, it is a nice hotel, and we were staying on the 4th Floor. My sister says that this is where our trek starts, as we climb up the stairs. There was no fan in the room, but I was fine with it, as from tomorrow onwards, we will be sleeping in the cold zone. We placed our stuff and was out in 30 minutes to go to the agent's office to make the payment.

It was a short 8-minute walk. There I saw it - Nepal Environmental Treks & Expedition. Finally, I shook hands with Mr. Nava, the man who has been patiently answering to all my queries. He managed to convince me to buy the trekking package with food. He said that food gets more expensive as we go up higher. I hesitated to agree but I went ahead because I was not familiar with the Everest region. But I realised it was a mistake, as the food expenditure was much cheaper than the amount we paid for in the package. It was true, though, that food gets more expensive but both of us did not eat much.

After settling the payment, we went out for lunch. I went back to the same place where I had my dinner during the last night in Kathmandu 2 years back. Both of us had dhal bhat and tea which came to about Rp926. It is not cheap.  

We got back to our hotel and my sister who bird watches, shared her knowledge and binoculars with the staff of the hotel. The staff took turns to birdwatch. They were all excited to see the birds while I was sitting from afar, wondering how can a bird be so fascinating. Also, we started on our Diamox medication today. Just one pill a day.

At 5pm, we were back at the agent's office to meet our guide. He briefed us on the things to bring, and we got our sleeping bag and down jacket too. Down jacket is essential if you do not have a fleece jacket. I also requested to borrow trekking sticks too. Trekking stick helps to ease the burden of walking, and plus, I am a weak person. I need the stick.

That night, it was time to pack our stuff. We need to bring the essentials only as the porter can only carry about 15kg load. Also, I brought along two bottles of nail polish (light green and fuschia - a purplish shade of red) - birthday present from my sister, that was going to be used as my day indicator. One colour for each day. It makes me anxious as I painted each nail. Today is Day 1. Unfortunately, this was done at the end of Day 1. But from tomorrow onwards, it will be done in the morning.

Ta-da, the single luggage we will bring to the mountains. The smaller bags are kept in the hotel.

So, now we sleep.