• Day four and five: Sete to Junbessi (rest day) with a high point at Lamjura La 3530m

The upwards slog from Sete continued for a long long time. We knew these past two days of steep uphill trekking was going to be tough but we were always welcomed by fantastic views. After a sturdy porridge and ginger tea breakfast we made our way through some of the higher villages on the climb including Goyam where we stopped to enjoy some hot lemon and were entertained by the hyperactive children.

When we left Goyam we went higher still and eventually we came across snow and ice on the path. At Lamjura-La (3530m / 11,581ft) which was for both of us the highest point we’d ever trekked to, we were greeted by a large Yak or Nak and a fantastic Stupa dressed in prayer flags. It was really cold on the pass, misty and atmospheric with a lovely dog following us all the while. Just before the pass descended we stopped for some noodle soup and poorly made chapatti at the last tea house on the pass. We were ripped off when she told us our bill was 900 rupees! Ah well she was an entertaining chef to watch.

This was a long day of trekking, we were on the go from 7.30am until 4pm and the long downward walk to Junbessi felt like it took forever. We did pass some fantastic mani walls and stones and the weather was nice and moody by this point. We certainly welcomed the sight of Junbessi though and with school children singing their way up the valley on their way home we were enchanted by this beautiful place. We already knew at this point that we would have a rest day in Junbessi.

Thanks to KEEP (Kathmandu Environmental Education Project) we’d made some notes prior to the trek whilst we were staying in the capital. They have notes from trekkers recommending places to stay on the trek, gear, porter and guide advice and so on and we’d jotted down a few of the recommended tea houses and lodges. In Junbessi we wanted to stay at the Ang Chopka as it sounded rather special from the write up. We were welcomed in and actually stayed in Sir Edmund Hilliary’s room, which was so far the nicest room we’d come across.

The family are really welcoming at Chopka and on our first night we were joined by Joshua and Amata who we’d met the day before in Sete. Little did we know they would be our trekking companions for the rest of our trip. We enjoyed some fine food in the family kitchen and by the time our rest day came along we were well and truly fitting in with the furniture. Even more so on their sunny veranda! This is where we spent most of the day in fact, washing clothes, eating, drinking tea, reading and chatting with our new buddies. More trekkers joined us that night including the Singapore lads and a few other solo hikers. There was a good little vibe going on at Ang Chopka.

• Day six: Junbessi to Nuntala with a high point of 2930m

By this point we felt like our bodies had enjoyed a good relaxing day in sunny Junbessi and after a fairly early start we journeyed off with Amata and Joshua for the day. This was perhaps one of the easiest and quickest days of trekking as we pretty much chatted the whole way and time just flew by.

We enjoyed an excellent Nak cheese and crackers stop at the first official place where Everest can be viewed from. The only thing for us was that Everest was in cloud, still we had a really good taste of the vast peaks awaiting our presence in the distance. Plus the little lady at Everest View was very sweet, how could we not buy cheese from her?

Along the trek we stopped in Ringmo for lunch as the wind blasted by us and each of us picked up a mars bar for a later treat. We enjoyed this straight after the pass on our way to Tragshindo. The monastery at Tragshindo is a nice place to stop for a little while along the way. We picked up on the fact that we were probably a little slower trekking with our new friends, mainly as we were chatting about food…A LOT! And we were taking in more sights (and mars bars).

We got to Nunthala at 5.30pm and stayed at the Shangri La Lodge. It’s American/Nepali owned and one man runs the place which did mean that the food service was slow, especially for those ordering momo’s. Our fellow Singapore trekkers were also staying there the night. It’s a pretty over the top colourfully decorated place.

• Day seven: Nunthala to Bupsa

By this point we were undoing a lot of the uphills we’d been trekking earlier in the trek by going down! Much of the trek was averaging at around 2-2500m but on this day we hit a low of 1676m, lower than our starting point in Jiri! However all of the training and going up and down was great for acclimatisation and we knew it would be helping us later on in the trek. After leaving the bizarre Shangri La Lodge we carried on along the easy to find path and criss-crossed through more terraces, tribal villages and donkey trains. We enjoyed more of the wonderful Nak cheese and milk tea before stopping for lunch at the top of Kharikhola.

Kharikhola is a lovely largish village with many options for accommodation. We wanted to continue further though to Bupsa which we could see perched on top of the hill in front of us. So we went up from 2072m to 2350m in a one hour or so hike steeply uphill. We had another long day of trekking and arrived at The Kwangde View Lodge at 4.15pm to the sun going down all around us. It was a lovely golden light across the valley.

Our hosts here were super friendly although the macaroni dishes were a little poor, should have stuck to the Daal Baht! Joshua gave us a great tip about using duct tape in the boot or on the back of the sock for Dave’s bad blister that was taking quite a battering from all the walking in his boots. The evening’s were getting pretty cold, perhaps at around 2C (36F) or so and our down jackets were getting lots of use. Dave also worked out for us that evening that we would be trekking around 170-190km on the trip and by the end of it all of the meters climbed would equate to over the height of Everest!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 processed in Lightroom 3)

We went out for a bike ride with one of the Chinese girls’ Sylvia who was staying in the dorm with us, she was friends with another of the girls working at the hostel. It was good to have her with us as she could help us to find our way by asking the locals which way to such and such a place. She wanted to go to a specific village called Xixhou which is about 20km away from Dali old town. We wanted to cycle through some of the villages closer to the lake so we could explore the farmland, the most direct way would be to cycle along the high way for the entire ride but that’s no fun, so we compromised and spent some time cycling to the villages and some time catching up and taking the highway to the furthest place.

The farmland in Dali is very lush and extremely beautiful to photography. During our stay in Dali the sky was a perfect blue and it was a very comfortable temperature indeed, only being cold in the shade. By night it dropped significantly but we had electric blankets to cope with this!

So we took in the scenery around us, some farmland, some lake and some road. It was stunning. We got to Xixhou at around 3pm and ambled through the village market before stopping for some very good value soup rice noodles. For 3 of us to eat it cost around £2.80, and the food tasted really good. The only bad thing was a local guy pestering us for left over food and drink, he wouldn’t leave us alone and eventually got what he wanted. Still the setting took us away from this. We continued out of the village and took the road to some older parts of the area. Once more fantastic views, terraces and buildings surrounded us.

We decided to make our way back at around 4pm and set off for Dali. We were going quicker than Sylvia on her lady-like bike so we waited for her every so often, plus the drivers on the road aren’t the most reliable often overtaking two cars in one go so we wanted to make sure we were all with us. When we got back Sylvia joked about how fit we were compared to her and she said she’d only ever ridden a bike once before in her life. Considering this fact she did very well indeed.

When we got back we ate at an Indian restaurant down the road from our hostel and enjoyed more chai. Back at the hostel there were a few more travelers, Helen got chatting to Jane who she’d seen at various other places around China. It’s very easy to bump into people when you use Hostelworld for recommendations on where to stay. Many people also choose to travel through South China from Vietnam as it’s a good route and the weather is pretty good in Yunnan.

So it was our last night in Dali and we really loved the town and the hostel had a nice vibe too. We decided to nip back to Bakery 88 the next morning to get some take-away sandwiches with very good cheese and meat! Yum!! We also sneaked in a few more granola slices.

The bus back took the scenic route as part of the highway was closed but this wasn’t a bad thing as it meant we got to drive through some more beautiful countryside and villages. It was quite a luxury bus with only a few of us on board, and we got back to Cloudland at around 7pm. We had some food, chatted away and got ready for our flight to Guangzhou the following day.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We have taken the final nights sleep at our first accommodation of our adventure. Bye bye Hotel Sakura you have done well. It’s time to leave the city-scape and head into the hills. First stop is the local underground station to get to the overland train. With one change of train along the way, we settle into our seats. Even the ordinary class, non-reserved seats are very comfortable with lots of leg room and space for bags etc. We see people eating out of wooden boxes that contain a surprisingly nice looking assortment of food items. We think we may have to get something like this for a quick and easy meal.

Views along the second train are great and the sun is shining. Blue skies adorn the mountain trees and the small plots of land that people tend for vegetables and fruits. So much is grown locally for personal consumption its great to see. The Ryokan owners supplied us with a free pick up from Fuji Yoshida station so while we waited, we popped into the food store and bought ourselves a takeaway boxed meal. Looked good.

Our pick up arrives and we are taken out of town to the smaller village Oshino where our Ryokan is based. Inn Fujitomita is lived in and run by a lovely couple along with their three children. It’s a big place and we learn that we are the only guests for the next two days. The film “The Shining” springs to mind with the retro 70′s carpet and long corridors. Never the less we are shown around and given instructions of what to do. There are a few rules you must follow when staying in more traditional guesthouses in Japan; not shoes in the house and slippers are provided, no slippers on Tatami mats and we are told the correct way of wearing a Yukati gown. The room is huge, about four times bigger than Sakura rooms and its very traditional Japanese in style with a great view of the “Shy mountain”, Mt Fuji. Now this is what we have been waiting for!

Feeling the need to get out and see whats around we set out for the nearest lake in Yamanaka. When I say nearest it is about 4km away but we thought we could make it there and back before dinner at 6.30pm. After a long highway path we eventually made it to the lake, a quick photo and then a turn around to walk back along a slightly different road. Oh how quickly it gets dark here in Japan. Before long we were walking in the dark following a map that wasn’t exactly accurate. We even had to stop and ask at a hotel in the village to ask for directions. Time was rapidly approaching 6.30pm! We made it with 30 minutes to spare but it was a quick last few km to make it on time. Freshen up and a change of clothes then dinner. Dinner at Inn Fujitomita was outstanding! We will leave it to the photos to tell that story! There were a couple of strange flavors and textures but we pretty much demolished the lot.

Our host Hiromi, asked us if we would like a lift to a nearby village in the morning. We accepted and headed to the Onsen bath. Very hot and soothing on our weary legs. Back up to the room followed by a little bit of photo editing, free wi-fi and then off to bed.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)