Below is a list of Notworkrelated ‘Awards’ which we allocated during our trekking adventure, some of them were reached with the aid of our trekking partners Joshua and Amata and were loving called the ‘Rutcoe-Urdan’ awards!

Here we go:

• Best Accommodation/Lodge/Teahouse – Ang Chopka, Jumbessi
• Best Dal Bhat – Moonlight Lodge, Namche
• Best Finger Chips – Moonlight Lodge, Namche
• Best Ra-ra Noodle Soup – Unknown lodge in Puiyan (left hand side further on from The Sun Shine Lodge)
• Best Breakfast – Ang Chopka, Jumbessi: Porridge
• Best Apple Pie – Worlds Highest Bakery, Khumjung 3780m
• Best Milk Tea – Ang Chopka, Jumbessi (masala milk tea)
• Best Bed – Gokyo Lakeside, Gokyo (great blankets) and Ang Chopka, Jumbessi (although we cheated and doubled up the mattresses from one of the other unoccupied rooms!)
• Best Shower – Moonlight Lodge, Namche
• Best Views on a Hiking Day – Machermo to Gokyo and Gokyo Ri
• Best Lodge Terrace Views – Everest View, Sete (No view of Everest but a lovely valley below)

Bonus:

• Hardest Trekking Days – Lamjura Pass (Steep and Hot), Chaurikarka to Namche (Long distance, relentless up hill to Namche) and Namche to Lukla (Exhaustion and distance)
• Most amount of time without a shower – 6 days
• We worked out from our guide book (the excellent “A Cicerone Guide: Everest: A Trekker’s Guide (Trekking routes in Nepal and Tibet) by Kev Reynolds”) that we in total for the entire trip we… ascended 9297m, descended 7358m and walked for a total of 173km.

Top tips:

We realise some of you may be well read on what is useful and or what should go in your trekking backpack. We were pretty organised and as well planned as we could be incorporating a trip like this within our World travels. That is until we met a few other trekkers who were way more organised and weight conscious than we!

We want to offer some advice on what to bring, what not to bring, a few top tips and so on. Here’s what we feel would be a sensibly packed trekking backpack for the Himalayas in the Spring:

• A good, lightweight rucksack; we opted for Osprey but there is so much out there. Our friends had packs weighing around 20 pounds total (9kg’s), that’s good weighing skills! Ours weighed at least 15kgs each (33 pounds!!) way too heavy, which is why we left items behind in Namche before heading to Gokyo.

The rest of the list…

• Well worn-in trekking boots
• 1x pair of flip flops
• 2x thermal long sleeve tops: 1 for trekking, 1 for sleeping
• 1x thermal trousers lightweight
• 2/3 pairs of wool trekking socks perhaps making one pair a thin pair.
• 3 pairs of underwear and 1 thermal underwear
• 1x fleece
• 1x windproof lightweight rain jacket
• 1x feather down jacket (it’s very cold in the evenings from early on in the trek) We hired one from a supplier in Kathmandu for 50rs/day per jacket
• 1x thin woollen gloves, 1x thick waterproof gloves
• 1x snood/scarf
• 1x buff
• 1x good UV protection sunglasses
• 2x t-shirts (ice-breaker/merino wool)
• 1x warm hat, 1x sun hat
• Sunscreen, lip protection
• Earplugs
• Travel towel
• Sleeping bag liner
• Sleeping bag – Duck down at least 700 Loft (it can get very cold at 5000m+)
• Water purification – we had a steri-pen (Èbought in Kathmandu for around $45) which was well worth the investment and aqua-tabs for back up – no tummy problems at all.
• Books/ Kindel (there is plenty of time to read and Kindel’s can be a little unreliable in extreme weather climates)
• Guide Book – A Cicerone Guide: Everest: A Trekker’s Guide (Trekking routes in Nepal and Tibet) by Kev Reynolds.
• Shoe laces (use as a washing line, a belt)
• Screws/nails (use to tack up a washing line in the room)
• Trekking poles (we only had 1 each but most people tend to have 2)
• Padlock and keys (in case there are no locks on the doors)
• Refillable water bottles (we chose Platypus and a metal Sigg bottle) The Platypus bottles are excellent, light-weight and squash down when empty, the Sigg bottle doubled up as a hot water bottle

Female advice:

• Try to get used to using a Shewee, it’s more discreet than squatting
• Take some wipes for those times when water just isn’t an option
• Take own Tampons and panty liners
• Take some moisturiser, this perhaps is a luxury item but it works when the dry skin sets in!

We also picked up some parcel tape along the way but our friends had Duct Tape wrapped around their pole in case of blistering and repairs. The duct tape can be strapped onto the inside heel of the boot to prevent foot blisters, or on the sock; Dave found this to be extremely helpful when it came to aiding his blister problems.

Things that helped us along the way:

• Nak Cheese – cheap and very good for a mid-trek snack
• Chocolate: Twix, Marsbar, Snickers, Toblerone, you name it we got it. We couldn’t believe how much chocolate we got through but the energy fix it gave us each time was well worth it.
• Own tea bags – for when it gets pricey higher up.
• Cinnamon and raisins from Kathmandu – helped with the porridge in the mornings.

Our budget:

We calculated that we would need around £20 ($32)/day taking into account that it would get more expensive the higher we got. Sometimes we went over budget, and by the end we had to borrow 3000rs from our friends (Thank you!!).

So we estimate that 55,000 Nepalese Rupees would be sufficient for a 22 day trek in this region. That equates to around £500 which when you break it down is roughly £22 ($35)/day. Not bad for the both of us. You could be even tighter by bringing more of your own tea bags and hot water from the teahouse and basically eat the cheapest things on the menu.

We hope that some of this information is useful to anyone considering or planning their very own trek. Any more tips or advice please feel free to add in the comments section.

• Day 18: Gokyo to Mong

We were up early and breakfasted by 8am as we wanted to be on our way and get as far as we could in one day on our return to Namche. We felt ready to start heading down and Helen was starting to feel ill with a sore throat. This was our final morning with our new best buddies Joshua and Amata as they would leave a little later than us. We arranged to meet up with them in Kathmandu.

We left at 8.15am and it took us around 4hrs30mins to reach Dole. Although we were taking a few photographs along the way our main goal was to get down. We had borrowed some money from our friends to help us out with the budget; we’d gone over budget but only just. At the Himalayan Lodge in Dole we had some ra-ra noodle soup and hot lemon which was more expensive than nearly anywhere else we’d eaten the whole trek. We left Dole at 1.45pm and got to Phortse Tenga an hour later, from here we decided to head up to Mong and get the nasty uphill out of the way. We were feeling pretty shattered though and Helen was starting to feel rough so we opted to stay in Mong for the night at The Bouddha Lodge. We shared a Dahl Bat and sat in the smoky dining room with the family whilst they drank chang we watched and soaked up the warmth. We went to bed at 7pm which was probably a mistake as we didn’t sleep well at all.

• Day 19: Mong to Namche

Helen woke up with a stinking sore throat and cold, she was not the happiest of bunnies but we got up early enjoyed a pancake, porridge and tea and then set off at around 7.45am. It was a really lovely morning with clear blue skies, bright sunshine and hardly anyone on the paths. We decided to take a little detour on our way  back to Namche to visit Khumjung. Khumjung is one of the places that most people will do an acclimatisation walk to when they are staying in Namche as it sits at 3780m. We arrived there pretty early and were in search of the world’s highest bakery, which we found as we walked through the streets of the town. It’s quite a big place Khumjung and nearly every building has a green rooftop so it’s picturesque and also home to more locals than Namche.

We got to the bakery and decided to stay there a little while enjoying the hot chocolate, coffee and the best apple pie we’d eaten perhaps in the last year of travelling! It was well worth the stop. We left Khumjung via the Hilliary school and the massive mani wall that sits to the right of it. From here there are a few steep up and down hill sections which eventually lead you towards looking out over the town of Namche below.

We were back in Namche by 1pm and settled into The Moonlight Lodge, they welcomed us back and we enjoyed more of their good food. By the evening we were sat in front of the fire hoping that we would be able to set out to Lukla the next day as Helen wasn’t feeling very good at all. We said we would let them know in the morning and then they would be able to fix our flight ticket. They do really good finger chips at The Moonlight and they have a very sweet grandchild who is often the center of attention.

• Day 20: Namche to Lukla

We decided to push on the next day and hike to Lukla, at Moonlight they re-confirmed our flight ticket and told us which guesthouse we would need to arrive at later on in order to arrange the details. We were reassured that we didn’t have to rush though, usually people would need to arrive in Lukla between 3-4pm in order to confirm their flights for the next day but as Helen was feeling ill he said not to worry about that and to take our time.

We still felt an urgency to get there though and before dark. It took us a lot longer than the average 6 hours taken by the locals (we assume it’s the locals – perhaps they do it in even less!). We were now also fully laden with the gear we had left behind at Moonlight and straight away this was pretty noticeable. We enjoyed a good first 3 hours after leaving Namche as it was all pretty much downhill, as we passed by many porters carrying goods up to Namche for the weekend market. We enjoyed a cheese and crackers stop in Mondzo and later on, which felt like hours, we stopped in Phakding for lunch at the same place as we did on our way up. We were probably a little late getting lunch as our energy levels were in need of some rejuvenation, and fortunately for us the food was really good; noodles, eggs and chapatti, followed by a much needed Twix.

It was another 2hrs30mins before we finally got to Lukla at 5.30pm, we were spent and tired and it was a very good feeling to have made it to our final destination. We stayed at The Northface Lodge which is by all accounts a business highway of trekkers coming in or out of Lukla, they are there to sort out flight tickets and try to sell expensive food in the process. Although the food was good and the room decent for it’s price this place doesn’t have much personality. They arranged our tickets and we had all fingers crossed that we would fly out the next day. We were on the 7am 4th flight, and that morning only 4 planes had left Lukla for Kathmandu on the 6am rota so we only hoped the weather would be in our favour.

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

• Day 17: Morning hike up to Gokyo Ri 5360m

We were up fairly early and opted to have some breakfast before heading up to the peak. Most trekkers leave for the views before sunrise and enjoy the sun rising up over Everest. We had heard it can get pretty packed up on the top and so we wanted to leave it a little later so we would get up there and have the views all to ourselves.

We took it very slowly and we were all feeling the altitude slowing our bodies down. We passed many trekkers making their way down from the sunrise, some of which had started out at 4am and exclaimed that it was freezing for the most part. Even though most days the clouds close in as the afternoon arrives it’s usually pretty clear in the mornings and we were not disappointed by any means when we woke up to bright sunshine and clear views.

There are many paths all intertwining with each other as you start heading up the so called hill that is Gokyo-Ri. We took around 2 hours to reach the top and as we were on our way up we kept looking out across the lakes, the glaciers and to Everest. When we reached the top we felt emotional, this was the ultimate part of the trek, the highest we would go and we’d taken 17 days to get here. Before long the 3 French boys whom we’d travelled with on the bus out of Kathmandu had arrived to join us in our little moment of triumph. They had been to Everest Base Camp, trekked up to Kala-Pattar, crossed over the Chu-La pass and were now on Gokyo-Ri, all of this they’d done in the exact same time as we’d taken to get here! They were mountain boys though after all and we felt like we’d achieved what we wanted to. Still it was very ironic for us to be up so high with those guys and we timed it right, for over an hour we were on the top enjoying our time with no other trekkers or groups around. For a little while we weren’t sure which one was Everest and felt stupid when it was confirmed by the French lads as we’d been looking at peaks much further away!

We were a little trigger happy as the prayer flags were blowing all around us and we were just in awe of the views out across to Everest (In the below image Everest is the highest peak with very little snow). The four of us tied our prayer scarfs onto the line of hundreds that were already there and relished the moment. We even took time to enjoy a mars/snickers break.

It took us an hour to get back down to the lodge where we chilled out for the rest of the day. We were happy to be in Gokyo at our little lodge with our quirky lady owner entertaining us! Later on we were joined by a loud group of American, Brazillian trekkers with their highly accomplished guides and porters (their head guide had summited Everest 12 times). They spoiled our little haven but we were amused by their bragging stories of guru’s, buddhism and the Vietnam War.

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

• Day 14: Phortse Tenga to Dole with a high point of 4084m

We had now been on the go for 14 days making our way to Gokyo, 14 days of trekking! This is the longest either of us had hiked with our backpacks from place to place, valley to valley, mountain to mountain. We were loving every minute (nearly). So this would be perhaps our easiest day of hiking in terms of distance and landscape. We did have a fairly steep up hill section out of Phortse Tenga which leveled out as we got closer to Dole. Most of the trekkers left at around 8-8.30am but we found that having a slightly later start meant we didn’t bump into so many groups meaning we often had the paths all to ourselves.

We arrived in Dole quite rely before midday and opted to stay at The Dole Resort on the other side of the village heading on the path outwards. We had the place to ourselves, the owners are friendly enough and so we opted for an afternoon of reading wrapped up in our thick blankets until they put the yak-dung fuelled fire on. The main reason why this went on as more trekkers were arriving with a guide and porters and we assume that they call ahead to say they’re on their way. The other thing we witnesses was a local trekker getting seconds on ra-ra noodle soup!! This never happens being a tourist trekker! By the evening though we were pretty snug in our dining room den. We were pretty lazy that day once we’d settled but the best advice is to do next to nothing when you arrive at your new altitude, so we were merely following the rules! It was snowing for most of the afternoon and evening and so we felt good to be next to a hot fire.

• Day 15: Dole to Machhermo with a high point of 4465m

By now we were starting to have unsettled sleep, for some reason we felt like we were almost trying too hard to get air to breath in order to feel like we were getting off to sleep. It’s a weird feeling and the mind definitely plays tricks on you. Helen was getting headaches, but during the night they would subside, whilst Dave was still struggling with his blistered feet. Our bill in Dole for 2 breakfasts, lunches, dinners and tea came to 3130rs.

We really enjoyed the 3 hour hike to Machhermo, suddenly we were presented with new mountains and valleys to gaze at. We felt like ants in this massive mountainous environment. The mist and snow had cleared from the day before and although the winds were cold the skies were blue and the sun very strong. We also noticed that over the past 2 days we’d crossed the tree line, there were no longer trees just rock, some shrubbery and bits of grass. We drank plenty of water along the way and had a few snack breaks too.

Machhermo is a pleasant place with lodges dotted all around. We opted for Namgyal Lodge, quite a big lodge in comparison to the rest but we thought is there were more people staying there they’d get the fire going earlier. We did a little bit of clothes washing with a pot of water costing 50rs and sat in the sun soaked dining room. The rooms at the lodge are really nice and well insulated and they are built around a garden/patio area.

By this point a small pot of tea was costing 550rs and so thinking a little bit about our budget we opted for a pot of hot water at 350rs, as we carried some extra tea bags with us. At 3pm we went to an altitude lecture which we’d felt encouraged to go to when the volunteer doctors came around earlier on to let us know that it would be taking place at the rescue centre that afternoon. They are a porter charity offering food and lodgings to the many porters hired by individuals and trekking agencies. We were pretty shocked to learn that up until recently most porters would sleep in caves if there were no beds available in the lodges. Plus there were a few incidences of porter neglect at altitude and so this charity is there to support the scheme as well as offering medical and rescue care for trekkers in the region. We felt reassured that our altitude gain had been sensible and we all donated 100rs each to do an oxygen saturation test. Amata came out top with a whopping 96%, Joshua was next with 94% and Dave 91%, this is excellent for the current altitude, Helen’s sat more averagely at 86%. Based on the talk though both Helen and Joshua opted to take Dymox to help with the restless nights and mild altitude sickness.

After some fairly good dal bhat and potatoes with veg and cheese we were ready for bed. Dave felt he’d been discriminated against as there were no seconds on the dal bhat (this is usually a guaranteed bonus of having the local dish).

• Day 16: Machhermo to Gokyo with a hight point of 4750m

We both slept restlessly once again but Helen’s headaches seemed to have gone and it didn’t feel as cold mainly because the rooms are well insulated at Namgyal Lodge. Again we left a little later than most which worked in our benefit as we trekked towards Gokyo. This would be our penultimate day of hiking before reaching the dizzy heights of Gokyo Ri.

We loved the walk to Gokyo, it was full of contrasts. We were welcomed with wide open plains, the wild river below, more 6-8000m peaks and the totally awesome presence of the Ngozumpa Glacier (36km/22miles the longest in the Himalayas) with Cho Oyu (8,200m / 27,000ft) dominating the upper valley. At the first lake which was the only lake not frozen we met thousands of rock cairn monuments built by the trekkers who have passed through the area. It felt a little like a spiritual graveyard representing each and everyone of us who have journeyed onwards to Gokyo. It did feel quite special.

We took the day slowly and marveled at the views whilst also joining Joshua and Amata for some celebratory snacks along the way; teriyaki beef jerky (enjoyed by all but Helen) and some ginger dark chocolate which they had lovingly carried with them since leaving America for their trip. We passed by the 2nd and 3rd lakes which were both totally frozen and snowed over and then we were in Gokyo, a place now occupied with tea houses and lodgings. There aren’t any locals living here other than to run their guesthouses.

We had been given a card for The Lakeside Lodge by a Japanese hiker whom we’d bumped into in Thame. So this is where we ended up. It’s pretty much the first lodging that we got to but we thought we’d go with it, plus the lady owner had lots of personality and said to us in a whisper that if we stay with her she’ll give us a room for free! How could we pass that offer? The food was good and for the first night we had the place all to ourselves. 4750m would be the highest we would be sleeping at. We were running out of money but decided we would spend 2 nights in Gokyo so that we could hit Gokyo Ri the next morning and then rest before making longer days to get back down to Namche and onwards to Lukla.

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

• Day 11: Namche to Thame with a high point of 3950m

We opted to take a 2 day acclimatisation period by hiking from Namche to Thame which is an elevation gain of around 400m. It is recommended to do this perhaps more so if you’re flying into Lukla but we wanted to take advantage of the time and also the walk sounded really nice. Amata was still struggling with a cold and so we set off at around 9am perhaps later for the 3 hour hike to Thame, and we left a good few items behind which would make the journey a little easier for all of us.

This particular hike is a really beautiful one taking in the valley north-west of Namche through a few smaller dwellings and pine forests. There are some impressive mani-walls and scripted paintings on the cliff along the way and we stopped for our consistent cheese and crackers snack which did mean that we took a little longer to get to Thame. Dave was also in trainers which mean’t he had a pain free walk.

The hike into and upwards towards the Thame is again really rewarding with parts of the river frozen below and the mountains that engulf the village covered in snow. We crossed through a gate and before long we were in Thame opting the stay at The Sunshine Lodge, where we enjoyed a basic room, it was pretty dirty but the mattresses were soft which was fast becoming one of the most important things when we were getting a bed for the night. The food at Sunshine is pretty good, and the main lady put the fire on nice an early too.

That same afternoon we hiked upto the monastery overlooking the village of Thame, from here we enjoyed vistas looking back to the vast mountain ranges ahead of us, plus we had a further elevation gain of around 60m. When the weather started to close in we made our way down and got ready for an evening around the fire, dahl bat and random chat.

• Day 12: Thame to Namche

We woke up to snow and a moan from Dave about the uncertainty of getting back to Namche through the snow wearing trainers! The whole of the valley was in a blanket of snow and we watched Amata and Joshua playing outside whilst Dave worried about his feet! He’d purposely hiked in trainers to give his feet a break from the boots but now he was thinking he wouldn’t make it back and would be stranded in Thame! All was not as bad as it seemed though as we came up with the ingenious idea of plastic bags around his feet and lots of tape! Plus the snow is very dry in this part of the world so it wasn’t too slippery under feet and so Dave managed to get his rhythm going again leaving us all at the back of the line!

The walk back was mainly in the snow and it was really nice to see the valley and mountains in a different way, up until now we’d enjoyed sunshine most days and so it made a change. When we got back to Namche it started snowing again and after checking back in The Moonlight Lodge we sat in the dining area and watched as Namche became lost in cloud and snow. By late afternoon it had all cleared and once again we could look down over the town.

• Day 13: Namche to Phortse Tenga with a high point in Mong of 3973m

From now on we were on strict altitude gain wanting to stick to the rule of 300-400m elevation gain per day. We were all feeling well acclimated after trekking in from Jiri plus spending a few days in Namche and Thame but at the same time we didn’t want to risk altitude sickness. This time we left Moonlight with a considerably smaller bill and we were lighter again by leaving a few things behind. On this particular part of the hike we started out on the Everest trekking highway and after leaving Kyangjum we came to a sign heading to Gokyo, this was the valley where we would be trekking for the high point of the trip. We couldn’t see Everest anywhere but had great vistas of Ama Dablam, Nuptse and Lhotse some of the highest peaks in the world. (Lhotse is the 4th highest peak at 8501m)

There are some ups and downs on this part of the hike and a long traverse towards Mong where we enjoyed a decent lunch and tea at one of the lodges called Snow Land View Lodge, home to a very friendly lady owner who tried to coax us to stay the night by offering 3 extra servings of Dahl Bat and a free room! This was a tempting offer but we wanted to push onto Phortse Tenga for the night. From Mong it isn’t that far to Phortse Tenga which sits much lower at 3643m, a little higher than Namche. Opposite and further up is the larger village of Phortse which would take you to the other side of the valley.

In Phortse Tenga we stayed at The River View Lodge along with several other trekkers and guides making their way up or down to and from Gokyo. We weren’t anticipating meeting so many people on this part of the trek but it made for a good atmosphere at the Lodge even though the rooms felt like we were in a very dingy hospital ward. We even had to link up the wires on the lighting to give us some light in the room. The food here though is good and it was warm and cosy around the dining room fire. We were a little mischievous and ended up sharing a shower, mainly as we were steadily eating into our budget and the showers were 350 rupees each! We met several other Americans, English, Ozzie’s and Kiwi’s at this lodge.

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

Prior to leaving Kathmandu we had arranged to leave one of our bigger bags at Pilgrims Guesthouse and we also took advantage of their free security safes at the desk and hid away our valuables. The return date written on our bag was for around the 22nd March, 21 days away! EEK!

We had a taxi pick up booked for 5.15am to take us to the main bus station for our Super Express Bus to Jiri at 6am. It was a little confusing in the dark as to which one our bus was but after asking around and a small tip to one of the vendors we found the Jiri bound bus and opted to take the first two seats behind the driver. We mainly did this so that we had space for our backpacks. One thing we’d forgotten to mention was that we weighed our packs the night before and we were at around 15kg’s each, perhaps a little too heavy!

The bus ride to Jiri was actually okay, the driver was perhaps a little crazy but he knew the roads well and we were on the Super Express after all! We had anticipated around 8-10 hours for the 190km journey but we arrived in 7.5, and this was with a fast couple of toilet breaks, an excellent stop for Dhal Baht and a small automotive repair on the roadside.

Jiri sits at 1600m and it’s quite a bustling village and we opted for the Cherdunna Hotel and Lodge which was our first taste of the basic lodges we would encounter on our trek. We enjoyed our brief time in Jiri taking in the Stupa and village overlook whilst enjoying our first trekking meal of vegetable momo’s and noodle soup. The owners are really friendly at this place and even turned on the British commentated tennis match that was taking place on TV.

There were a few French-men on our bus who were ready for a big trek and we knew that when we started out our first day of trekking the next day we wouldn’t be seeing them for a while. The route itself is easy to find and thanks to the Cicerone Everest Guide to trekking in the region we had a really well described guide to the trail. There is a big blue sign and an orange dot that marks the start of the trail and so that was that, we were on our way to Namche in the Mid-hills.

Here’s how we did the first 4 days of our trek from Jiri to Sete:

• Day one: Jiri to Shivalya – 4 hours with a high point of 2400m

Many people go further than this but we wanted to see how we would get on with the backpacks and it seemed like a logical place to stop. This first day of walking was beautiful, we were surrounded by terraces, farmland and views of the valleys around. We walked through more smaller villages along the way and were welcomed by many orange/red circles which indicated the trail. We did get it wrong a few times though and locals came along to point us in the right direction. In particular at Mali when we managed to miss the path completely but were called back by some happy homeowners who sent us on the correct steep downwards path. We also had our first glimpse of snow-peaked mountains in the distance, we had a long way to go yet!

We crossed over a swing bridge and then as we approached Shivalaya we crossed another swing bridge which took us straight over to The river Guest House, located on the right as your enter the village. For 100rupees we had a room and we opted for a deal baht lunch with noodle soup later on. We met a handful of trekkers, some were pushing on quickly whilst others were already dealing with stomach bugs. Shivalaya is a picturesque village and we managed to buy ourselves a few bananas and suntala (oranges) for the next day.

• Day two: Shivalaya to Bhandar – 5 hours with a high point of 2705m

We were up early and trekking by 7.30am after a sound breakfast of porridge and bananas. So far our bills were low and we were paying around 1500-2000 rupees for accommodation and food. The first section when leaving Shivalaya (still accompanied with orange circles for the trail marking) is steep and gave us a good taste of what lied ahead of us. We once again enjoyed fine views back down the valley and to the village before making our way over and beyond to a high point at 2705m for lunch in Deorali. From here we looked down upon Bhandar which was our next port of call.

In total we trekked for 5 hours including the lunch break and we wound up in Bhandar at 1pm choosing the Shobha Tea House and Lodge. The lady owner here is quite a character and a little pushy but we were happy to be led into making our dinner order. This time we had one daal baht and a potato curry, no frills here though and a potato curry is what it says on the tin! We had our first encounter with a group of lads from Singapore and we had a feeling we would be bumping into them along the way. Bhandar village has a lot of charm and the locals are really friendly, the group of girls were more than willing to pose for the camera.

• Day three: Bhandar to Sete – 6 hours with a high point of 2575m

We started out fairly easy on day 3 although we knew some of the worst was to come today! The hike from Bhandar is downhill and fairly easy, especially after some tasty apple porridge for breakfast. We found the trail once more and took a few hours to get to Kenja, this could be another stop over point for trekkers but we were prepared to start the steep climb to Sete in order to break up a big hike over the next few days. We met the Singapore lads again in Kenja who were worried that they were going too slow.

Lunch was at The Buddah Lodge in Kenja, where we sat and watched the locals prepare for a market and we found some more suntala to boost the non-existent fruit intake. The food was good and cheap and we were ready to start more steep climbing upwards to Sete. This is where we would say it got tough! For 3 hours we were hiking up a steep hill which was relentless, dry and hot. We also knew by this point that we were carrying too much gear and so this made us grumble a little! Still you can’t help but be rewarded by the views over the valleys. We passed porters carrying goods up and down hill and again saw some of the Himalaya mountain range far far away.

We opted for Sete as our overnight stay at this point and arrived at around 2.30pm, greeted by a friendly American couple who we’d seen sign in on the check point sheets. They were moving on upwards but we thought we’d see them again also! So the Singapore lads carried on and we enjoyed a very nice afternoon on the terrace of The Everest View Lodge, looking out over the distant hills and close-by terraces. This was accompanied with a pot of milk tea and a warm foot bath. The family at Everest View are really friendly, we enjoyed more Dhal Baht and an apple pie, something that is commonly on the menus in this part of the world. The rooms at Everest View are really basic and we were happy to be the only guests staying as the rooms are packed in with lots of gaps all around.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

There was some misunderstanding between us and Pilgrim’s Guesthouse in Kathmandu; we’d tried to book a room but didn’t have any response and so when we arrived at the airport we decided we would head there first of all to see if they had any rooms. When we arrived they said they had a taxi waiting for us at the airport with our names written on a sign! We were none the wiser, it would have been a free pick up but their forms are way out of date, and we didn’t get an email to confirm this.

Anyway it all worked out okay, we were excited when we first arrived. The streets were busy, full of bikes, pedestrians, cars and buses, and we were back in the land of horn honking! In this part of the world it’s okay to beep your horn at a person, a car, a truck whomever it may be to let them know you’re there. Makes sense in some ways. It’s really polluted in Kathmandu and we noticed this straight away, a soft haze is around all the time with only a 4km point of visibility.

So we checked into Pilgrims and agreed a price for 3 nights with the owner, a frank Nepalese man. We were happy with our room although failed to notice the schedule for electricity and hot water. Every place has a schedule we later learned. It was much cooler than where we had come from and so had our winter clothes at the ready.

For our first 3 days in Nepal we did little but focus on the trek. We were hoping to fit in some sight-seeing but we couldn’t quite fit this into our days of planning. Our plan was to start the Everest region trek from Jiri, the original route from which all Everest treks began before the days of the Lukla airstrip. We were aiming for a 20 day-ish trek taking in the heights of Gokyo-Ri and flying back out of Lukla.

First on our agenda though was to organise our Indian visas for the next month. We were ready for the queuing and thought we would need about a week to arrange this, but as we looked into it and with our time-frame we opted to pay for someone to organise our visas for us. This was obviously the more costly option but it did mean we would be able to start our trek by the end of the week, safe in the knowledge that our visas were being dealt with. It also meant we had to leave our passports behind in Kathmandu with our agent Deepak at Mount Fuji Adventure and Laxmi from the Indian embassy. We were very reassured though that we could put our trust in them and we felt that the steep $90 fee each was enough to confirm this.

So with the visa in hand we had to organise our TIMS trekking permits and find ourselves some gear as well as try to arrange for a one way open flight ticket from Lukla to Kathmandu. Although we were happy to do the Jiri walk in, we most certainly didn’t want to have to walk it out too!

TIMS is straight forward enough, just make sure you know the opening times of their office at the Tourism Board building, 10-4pm we think. It’s (1200rs) for the TIMS permit which is what you need if you’re not trekking with a group or guided tour. There is the 1000 rupee fee for entering the Everest Solukhumbu National Park and we were also told we would need to pay 1500 rupee each for a permit to trek in parts of the Jiri region. We didn’t have any knowledge otherwise and so paid for all 3, perhaps the Jiri one can be avoided, but hopefully it all goes to preservation and conservation of the local areas so for a small fee its worth it.

We rented some down jackets from Guide Himalaya Trekking Shop in Thamel and were happy with the standard of the jackets. We also bought some thicker gloves, a snood each and splashed out on a steri-pen, something we’d been advised to buy if budget could stretch to it. Little did we know how good the steri-pen was until we started using it and so it was well worth the $45 splurge.

Lastly our bus tickets to Jiri and the open flight ticket was bought through another agent who was working at Pilgrims. They don’t work for the hotels’ they’re just agents who pop in to see who they can sell their services to. Most of them are ex-guides and so have extensive knowledge of the system. We thought we would get our tickets through one of these men, he had a fairly decent deal on the table and it was easier for us to organise the tickets in one go. We were booked onto the 6am Super Express Bus from Kathmandu leaving on the 1st to Jiri, and we were told it would only take 6 hours! Hmmm we had our reservations about that one. We also paid $135 each for the open flight ticket from Lukla to Kathmandu, if you arrange a fixed ticket the price should be around $116 if bought in Kathmandu.

Our photographs from our first time in Kathmandu are a handful of street photography images, as we were gathering information, ideas and equipment for the trek. This was for either of us the biggest trek we had done in one go and we decided sight-seeing in Kathmandu would come at the end. We mainly enjoyed food at Pilgrim’s and during the day at other restaurants around Thamel. Very soon we would be venturing out into the mid-hills to start the trek of a lifetime.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We wont be on here for a little while as we’re off exploring parts of the Everest Region. We start our trek in Jiri and will be making our way to Gokyo Lakes and Gokyo Ri. We hope you don’t miss us too much!

Thanks for following, and we’ll be updating when we’re back and resting from our epic hike!

Helen and Dave x

We drove back into Te Anau to get a weather update for the area, which was looking better as the days passed. From Te Anau we took the Milford Road north and once again took in the amazing views, from meadows and lupin lined roads, glacier formed valley’s to the mirror lake and mountains forming around us.

 We did a half day hike to Lake Marian which was a tough 3 hour return hike signposted around 7 km from Gunns Camp. We passed over a swing-bridge which led us through forest and to a pretty immense series of waterfalls. The track was steep with a few scrambles up trees and rock fall but the effort was well worth it, and chatting to a few locals they had been informed by a guide that this was perhaps the best half day hike in South Island, New Zealand. A statement!!

Lake Marian is in a hanging valley formed by glacial action, reflecting the Darran Mountains surrounding it. We waited for the low cloud to lift and a few blue spots of sky joined us too. It was pretty amazing and we worked up a good sweat along the way. Heading back was much quicker and less of an effort but we still had to be careful as parts of the path was slippery and steep.

When we left the parking area we drove down to Gunns Camp which had been recommended to us by friends Vic and Dave. It’s a quirky place with a lot of history and a free museum for guests which is well worth a peek. We learned a little about the legend of Davey Gunn aswell as taking some time to photograph the campground with it’s cabins and funny oddities lying around the place. It cost £12 each to stay in our van and they have good cooking facilities and a spacious common room. We enjoyed cooking a pretty fabulous dahl which was taken from the Wholemeal Cookbook purchased in Takaka. We know it was good because our American friends tried it and were raving on about it too! ha ha!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

Here are our top FIVE tours from our Notworkrelated adventure in Asia…

1: Cambodia – Boat trip, beaches and fishing village, Koh Kong Island

Company: Koh Kong Eco Tours, organiser Mr T booked from their office next to the Dug Out Guesthouse in Koh Kong.

We met Ali and Carl and the 4 of us wanted to visit Koh Kong Island – our main reason for travelling to the area. After much discussion and debate Mr T customised a tour for us the night we arrived for a departure the following day. We paid $55 each for a 2 day 1 night tour over to the Island, with 2 bbq lunches. one evening meal, one breakfast and a home stay. The Island was breathtaking, with around 6 beaches to explore, on which stood no other tourists other than us, we had the place to ourselves! With one guide and one boat driver they cooked us excellent fresh seafood, taxied us from one beach to another and delivered us back to Koh Kong via a rare and huge Mangrove forest arriving safe and sound.

The reason this was our number one tour is that it was so personal to what we wanted to do and we had the most authentic experience of Cambodian hospitality in the form of a floating fishing village homestay. The children loved us being there, we ate with the families, played pool on a snooker table and slept in their home. A true homestay and a very humbling one. The beaches are also idyllic on the Island.

This tour was excellent value for money, we received great hospitality and it was a wonderful experience.

We booked the tour once we arrived in Koh Kong at Koh Kong Eco Tours office based at The Dug Out hotel on street 3 (although we wouldn’t recommend the Dug Out for customer service they do have a great tour company positioned right on their doorstep) A bus from Phnom Penh took 5 hours and cost around $10 each. Our blog post for this tour is featured here.

2: China – Trekking and exploring The Great Wall

We booked our Great Wall tour through the Chinese Cultural Centre based in Bejing and paid around £22 for a one day trip with no food. We visited a remote part of the wall called JianKou Great Wall and we only passed 3 other people the entire time we were there! It’s 73km north of Beijing and is a truly wild and beautiful section of the wall and described as being one of the most dangerous parts of the entire Great Wall.

Why did we put this as number 2? We had a local tour guide from the village from where the walk started who provided us with information about the history of this part of the wall and what it meant to the village. We walked for around 3-4 hours taking in the immense scale of the wall in a very autumnal landscape. Afterwards sitting in the tour guides home with his family was a great way to finish the day. You can view our full write up on this tour along with a few other China Highlights here.

3: Vietnam – From Ho Chi Minh City, cycling in The Mekong Delta

A 3 days 2 nights cycling tour booked through Sinhbalo Adventure taking us through the  Inner Mekong region. A fantastic tour that saw us take in wonderful parts of the Mekong in a way that most people don’t – on a bike. Most tours tend to operate in the form of bus and boat transport and we fancied something different. There were 4 of us on the tour with one tour guide named Du-at, a driver and our own bikes. Our bags were transported from one destination to the other which was a great help when cycling.

We travelled on a variety of boats to various parts of the Mekong, visited a traditional Mekong Delta house and kitchen, ate seasonal fruits, tea and rice cakes, had 3 lunches, 2 evening meals and 2 breakfasts included in the price, as well as our own branded Sinh Balo cycling top! Our tour guide had excellent knowledge of local routes and trials through the delta and villages. Accommodation comprised of one night in an eco-lodge and one night in a hotel in Cantho city.

On day 3 of the tour we were up early for a visit to the Cai Rang Floating Market, if you ever have the chance it’s best to get there early as many tourists make their way from 9am onwards. Children followed us and ran shouting ‘Hello’ at the top of their lungs. It’s a very welcoming place indeed and this type of tour certainly offers an alternative route through the Delta.

If your wallets can stretch that little bit more and you fancy the exercise we’d highly recommend it. 3 days, 2 nights starts at $165/person. View our Notworkrelated write up for this tour here.

4: Laos – Trekking in Tha Khaek

We booked this 2 days one night tour through the Thakek tourist information, our guides were called Mii and Sawadee (me and Hello in English) we think they might have made their names up!!

The Tha Kek tourist information office is listed in the Laos Lonely Planet and are far cheaper than rivals Green Discovery Laos. We went to Phu Hin Bun NPA for 2 days including transfers, food, eco-lodge accommodation, cave exploration, hiking and an amazing blue lagoon. The food wasn’t as good as any on the top three tours but we did have 2 very cheeky tour guides who provided us with lots of local knowledge and new card games.

We stayed at a village in the national park and participated in a traditional Baci ceremony. The people on the tour with us were loads of fun too which always adds to the enjoyment factor. We paid $70 per person for this tour. There is no official website for the tourist information office but you can compare similar tours with Green Discovery Laos for the area. For more of how we got on visit the blog post here.

5: Thailand – Boat trip, jungle trek and cave discovery, Khao Sok

A wonderful tour booked at the end of our travels in Asia from our accommodation at Nungs house in Khao Sok National park. The tour cost 1500 Baht each which is around £32, it was difficult to find anything cheaper in the area.

The tour comprised of a one hour transfer to Chiaw Lan Lake where we had an hour long boat journey on a long tail boat via various wildlife and amazing karst peaks. An excellent lunch, kayaks and snacks were included along with a 2 hour jungle trek and exploration of the Tham Nam Thalu Cave. The cave was fantastic, we had no idea what to expect and it certainly thrilled and excited us with rivers flowing throughout, bats and spiders to scare us and a spot of swimming!

This again was a great value tour arriving back at our lodge at around 8pm so we certainly got good time out of it. The tour guide was another cheeky chappy who entertained us along the way. Getting to Khao Sok is fairly easy, we arrived on an overnight train from Bangkok to Surat Thani and ended up getting a minibus to the national park, you can also get a local bus if you don’t mind hanging around and being packed in! Our write up for this tour is feature here.

If you have any comments or further Top Tour Tips you’d like to add, we’d love to hear from you!