So what made you choose Nepal?
This is a question that I get asked often. I think that it's safe to say, that Nepal probably doesn't spring to many people's minds when they think of a travel destination.
The decision to travel to Nepal was because of my best friend Michael and his wife Andrea. They had decided to travel around the world for six months and I wanted to go meet them somewhere. Visit their website here, to see pictures and stories from their amazing journey. My decision to visit Michael and Andrea somewhere was mainly decided by looking at their list of countries they were planning to visit and then picking a country that I normally wouldn't consider visiting. Two countries immediately jumped out at me. One was South Africa, the other was Nepal.
When I made my decision in the fall of 2007 on what country to pick, Michael and Andrea's trip to South Africa was coming up too quickly to be able to pull everything together. The trip to Nepal didn't start until March 2008 so that provided me enough time to get the vacation time, money and gear together for the trip. I also had recently started getting more serious about photography with the purchase of an SLR digital camera and I knew the mountains of Nepal would provide a fantastic opportunity for photography.
Did you have any previous hiking experience?
I had no previous hiking experience, so this was a leap right into the deep end. I have a tendency to be a bit impulsive and that's why I booked my flight to Nepal before seriously thinking about it, as I was worried I might talk myself out of the trip. I was nervous about how I would handle the altitude as I had previously never been above 5,000 feet as well as how I would hold up on the 125 mile trek that the circuit provided.
Did you have any problems with the altitude?
I was nervous before the trip as I had never been over 5,000 feet. I am happy to report that everyone handled the altitude extremely well. I felt a bit sick going over the summit, but fortunately I didn’t start feeling any effects until we starting coming down on the other side. I was able to give some of my gear to Michael and speed up to get lower and start feeling better.
Our success with the altitude was due to proper preparation and planning. We took the high roads and paths when hiking whenever possible. We were also smart about taking extra days of rest to acclimatize. We took the high road to Manang and rested for a day in Bryaga. While there, we did the Ice Lake hike which was a 4,000 feet climb. It was an absolute beast of a climb, but we were so much better prepared for the pass at Thorong La because we did the climb.
Also, by the time we got to Thorong Phedi, we were a lot better acclimatized than other hikers due to taking the high roads when possible before returning to sleep at a lower altitude. In Thorong Phedi, we took an extra day and while there hiked over 1,000 feet up to High Camp. It was another part of acclimatization and also was nice to familiarize ourselves with the beginning part of the hike the next morning as we crossed the summit. Pay attention to the signs of altitude sickness and give yourselves plenty of time to do the trek. You can’t rush altitude as it affects everyone differently.
Did you have any problems with the Maoists at all?
Fortunately no. When we were there, it was right before the election in 2008, so I was a bit worried about what might happen, but we never saw them at all. While out on the trail, we had heard they were busy with the election and trying to get ready for voting etc. We did hear stories about travelers who were stopped by them and then rather paying the “fine” to be allowed to pass, decided to fight the Maoists. The tourists got their ass kicked to the point of having to go to the hospital.
We had anticipated getting stopped and having to pay a fine, so what I always did was carry a small amount of money in one of my pockets that was easily accessible. I would carry around 500 – 1,000 rupees in one pocket in case we got stopped, and another 500 – 1,000 rupees in the other which I would use for purchases along the way. Since you have to exchange all of your money ahead of time and bring it with on the trail, I had around 48,000 rupees with me. I didn’t want to be pulling out money to pay for things along the way, or in front of the Maoists and show them that I had a huge wad of cash. My main wad of cash was split between two locations hidden in my backpack. I never put my money in a bag that I let anyone else carry.
So in summary, have money set aside in your pocket in case you get stopped. If you do, lie about how long you’ve been on the trail, as they fine you per day that you’ve been out on the trail, pay the people and be on your way. No need to get into trouble over what works out to about $5 or $10. From what I’ve heard, when you get stopped and pay their “fine” you get a receipt that you can carry along to prove that you’ve already paid a fine and you shouldn’t have to pay anymore as long as you keep your receipt along with you.
How much money did you bring?
For the trip, I brought along $800 total in cash. Michael and I visited several money exchanges in Katmandu and we both exchanged our money together which got us a better rate. When by exchanging all of my $800 at once, I was able to barter the exchange up from 63.20 rupees per dollar to 64 rupees per dollar. Basically, I got an extra 640 rupees out of the deal. Traveler’s checks are a pain for Nepal. Bring cash, but make sure you’re smart about where you store it. Katmandu does have ATM machines if your bank card will work.
On the trail, I went through about 28,000 rupees including 4,300 rupees for a stop at a medical clinic due to some stupidity and the resulting face melting sunburn I got. If you factor in the tips to my guide and porter (5,000 each), I spent 38,000 rupees on the trek or about $600. I also didn’t run into any Maoists, but I think its safe to say, that my medical bill cost would probably be more than you would get fined by a Maoist. Make sure you bring enough cash with you on the trail though, as I never saw a place along the way to exchange money at all while we were out hiking.
Now out on the trek, I was with a group of five counting myself and all four other travelers had been traveling around South East Asia for several months. This helped make them a lot better at bartering than I was. Blaine and Mike frequently negotiated free nights lodging on the trail if we promised to eat a lot of food, which we always did.
It’s always easier to negotiate a better night for lodging when you’re the only people staying at the guest house. As you get higher up, the places to stay become fewer and fewer and there is no bartering to be had. When you go in to negotiate, leave expensive items outside with the rest of your hiking party. It's hard to barter for a good discount if you're wearing hundreds or thousands of dollars of camera gear or other expensive items that are easily seen.
What about creature comforts along the trail - showers, battery charging, internet?
Most hotels / lodges along the way will have thermal showers that you can take. The water is stored in large containers on the roof and heated by the sun. The longer you wait towards the end of the day, the more people will take showers and reduce the amount of hot water. The water will also start to cool as the sun goes down, so take a shower as soon as possible after ending your day of hiking.
Certain lodges along the way also have power where you can recharge camera batteries. They cost between 30 and 50 rupees per hour to charge your stuff. Don't count on being able to find them though, although I did find places in Tal, Upper Pisang and Bryaga that let me charge my batteries. I brought along 6 camera batteries to make sure that I had enough power for the entire trip and probably could have made it through the entire time without having to recharge, but I wanted to make sure that I took the opportunity to top my batteries off.
Along the way, you will also find places that have internet. Out on the trail, it is very expensive and very slow. The computers are often virus ridden and are setup to record your login name and passwords in internet explorer. Make sure that you disable autocomplete and clear the browsing history to try to minimize the possibility that someone is able to steal your passwords. This goes for any internet café in Nepal. In Katmandu, you can surf the web for 20 rupees for half an hour. On the trail, it can cost up to 30 rupees per minute, although you can usually barter them down. I did manage to check in via Email in Chamje, Jomsom and Ghorapani.
What did you do for a guide and porter
Blaine, Bethany and I all shared a porter, while the entire group shared a guide. I know that some people want to go gung ho, and do the entire trek without anyone's help, but that’s not my style. I had never done anything like this before and didn’t want to have any problems. I wanted someone who could speak the language and who had been on the trail before. I also wanted the ability to be able to enjoy the hike more and take lots of photos which would have been a lot tougher to do if I was carrying all of my crap.
The guide and porter cost us a grand total of $16 per day. The rate was $9 per day for the guide and $7 per day for the porter. If you are by yourself, you can get a guide / porter in one, although we had two separate people. If you figure out my share, it was roughly $5 per day. Rather cheap insurance in my opinion to help keep us safe, on the right path and make the trek more enjoyable. Plus you are also supporting the local Nepalis by helping provide them with work and income. Our guide's name was Raj and our porter's name was Anish. Blaine and Bethany found both of them through a photographer in Katmandu named Chris Beall. To get more information on porters and guides email him. Both our porter and guide were excellent and a lot of fun to be with.
What was the weather like?
I was there in the spring from March through April. Down in the valleys it gets quite hot and wet. I'm guessing it would be around 80F with lots of humidity, so you will sweat and go through a lot of water. As you get higher, its gets colder. From Yak Kulka to over the pass to Muktinath, it was easily below freezing (32F) every night. You will need both warm and cold weather gear. Take no chances, especially with your cold weather gear. The day after we crossed the Thorong La pass, they got five feet of snow at the pass and had to close it. Be prepared for everything. You will experience all of the seasons from spring through winter during your couple weeks of hiking.
What did you do for water while you were out trekking?
Water is a critical part of success on the trip. I learned that my first day on the trail when I literally ran out of sweat due to dehydration. Later, at Thorong Phedi, I saw lots of people suffering at the higher altitudes due to not drinking enough water. On my trip, I brought along a one liter Nalgene bottle and a two liter Camel Pack. I wouldn't recommend anything less than three liters of water per person, per day on the trek. At the lower altitudes you sweat from the heat, and at the higher ones, you get tired enough from the low oxygen alone. No need to compound the problem with dehydration.
In Katmandu, we bought bottled water, and then brought those plastic bottles out on the trail with us. Mike and Andrea had a great MSI water purification pump along with them, and that's what we used every morning or evening to filter our water before heading out onto the trail. Everywhere we went, we were easily able to get free buckets of water to filter. This saves a ton of money, especially at the high altitudes as bottled water gets expensive. There is also the environmental aspect to worry about, because Nepal has no trash collection, so the plastic bottles end up laying on the side of the trail.
A UV light for killing bacteria is not enough in my opinion. In Muktinath, we met a couple from England in the lodge we were staying in and the husband told me the following story. That morning, he filled up his water bottle and then used a UV pen to sterilize the water for the required time. After he was done, he happened to hold his bottle up to the light and saw a very small worm still swimming through the water in his bottle. Needless to say, he didn't end up drinking that water.
In short, UV pens are worthless; get yourself a good water filter. Buy a two liter bottle of water in Katmandu and take it out on the trail with you. Fill it with filtered water into as you travel so you will have extra along in addition to the Camel pouch and Nalgene bottles. It also makes it easier to filter water and then pour into other containers for your trekking party if not everyone has their stuff with them when you are filtering. Also try to make sure that you have clear or translucent bottles so you can better detect if any weird things end up in your water.
Did you have any regrets about the trip at all?
Overall, the trip was wonderful and the scenery was incredible. I have two small regrets though.
#1 – Due to a miscommunication with Michael, I didn’t bring along any anti-diarrhea pills. Everyone got sick multiple times and it makes for a very long day hiking when you spend your entire night running to the bathroom every 20 minutes. Eventually you just can’t go anymore. I never got better from any medicine that I took for the diarrhea, I just had it bad enough that there was no food left anywhere in my system. That’s how I got over the three to four cases I had while on my trip.
#2 – I didn’t bring along a small point and shoot camera. I was so focused on my big Canon SLR, that I didn’t see a need for a small point and shoot. The small point and shoot cameras are perfect for capturing everyday photos and pictures to help you remember your trip. They also can be conveniently hidden away when you don’t want to attract attention. It’s rather hard to get a good price bartering when you have a huge Canon camera dangling from your neck. Also, as you get into the mountains, the weather might turn bad. There were several days or parts of days when I have almost no pictures because my big SLR was tucked away for safety in my backpack. A small point and shoot camera would have made it easy to sneak out a camera for a couple of pictures.
How did you get there? What did you bring? What did you use to take your photos?
If you click here or at the gear and travel link at the top, you will get a more in depth explanation of everything that I brought along. With gear, I also discuss why I brought it and provide links to the locations where I bought my gear from.
I also have some final thoughts from my journal section about a couple of other topics you can read about here. I recommend reading my journal to get additional insight about what to expect along the way.
Any questions not answered in this section? Please Email me. I’d love to hear from you.