Day 1: Arriving in Kathmandu

After a long plane journey from London via Doha, I arrived in Kathmandu, the capital and most populous city of Nepal. After a short taxi transfer to my hotel from the airport and a little relax, I was ready to venture out to explore the city before my team briefing in the evening. Kathmandu is an incredibly busy, energetic, bustling city which is a bit of a shock to the senses to experience only an hour after getting off the plane. I decided to use the map from the hotel to head to the Thamel district, characterised by a series of narrow alleys crowded with various shops selling local handicrafts and souvenirs. The first barrier was attempting to cross the road in a city that hasn’t adopted the use of traffic lights and the drivers just simply beep their horns to alert other vehicles or pedestrians of their presence. Standing on the side of a busy road, it was daunting to step out into the wide road congested with fast moving cars and motorbikes, as once you enter the road you have to commit to moving forward. I joined onto a group of locals and unsuccessfully attempted to mimic their confidence as they walked across while vehicles swerved round them, unwilling to stop.

After a few more road crossings, I found Thamel and wandered through the alleys, browsing the shops and answering the questions that locals asked me; “Where are you from?”, “First time to Nepal?” The place had a fun but chaotic atmosphere and I enjoyed exploring. The streets were lined with colourful scarves, outdoor gear and stray dogs basking in the morning sun. Whole chickens and other meat products were hung up in the sun at the front of shops, confirming my decision to steer clear of meat during my visit.

The city has a strong religious presence, with various temples and intricate carvings on walls and roofs. It was a fascinating insight into the elaborate rituals seen by a sizeable Hindi population coexisting with a Buddist community. A local man showed me around the outside of the temple and sprinkled marigold petals over my head, a flower regarded as sacred in the Hindu community. I was taken aback by the friendly nature of the locals, their curiosity and willingness to have conversations with me.  

After my little exploration into the city, I returned to the hotel to attend my group briefing prior to embarking on the Everest base camp trek. The EBC trek is rarely omitted from hiker’s aspiration lists and has been on my radar to complete for many years. I’ve always been fascinated by many aspects of the big mountains in Nepal. From the geology, the hostility of the weather and altitude, the beauty of the scenery to the history of the adventurers and mountaineering pioneers that have followed this route. The most popular time to hike to base camp is in the spring, between the months of March and May. The spring is appealing to hikers as there is the opportunity to meet climbers at base camp who are preparing for their summit push, coupled with the route through the valley offering warm and clear conditions. However, due to the short weather window for climbing opportunity this makes the trails and teahouses overpopulated which reduced the appeal for me. I seek out these environments to escape the over-crowded, overpopulated areas which sadly dominate the world today. The only solution to avoiding excessive people on such a popular Himalayan trail was to complete the route in the winter. The winter months offer quieter trails with the harsher conditions delivering the sense of challenge and adventure that I seek. We gathered in the hotel lobby and our team of 6 met our trekking guide Bikash. He briefed us on the upcoming days and the overall trek, reminding us that this was “not a holiday, but a difficult experience”. He covered all aspects including gear, altitude, the cold and the route itself. There was a sense of nervous anticipation in the air, coupled with excitement and eagerness to begin the adventure that we all longed for. We all became acquainted, a mix of travelers from the UK and Australia, then retired early to catch up on sleep ready to embark on the adventure the next morning.