My adventurous friend who invited me to Japan invited me somewhere new. I actually have been to Nepal before but didn't really like it so this one was a bit of a tough sell to me.
I have put on a bit of unwanted weight in the past year though so I thought that even if I have less than an amazing time that this would do me some good.
I'f you've never been to Nepal let me explain what most of it is like. Once you get out of the capitol city of Kathmandu (which is dirty, crowded, and kind of shit in my opinion) it is really clean, really quiet, and really nice. I just hope you don't mind hiking a lot because for the most part, there are no roads.
Footpaths like this one are rare, and this one only exists because we are just beginning our 6 day trek. We aren't going fully hardcore, this is called "tea trekking" where you march from one small village to the next and each one of them has cheap accommodation for you to lie down in at night. It is close to November right now and in a little while it is going to start being very cold up here.
Mountains and rivers abound out here and when you are trekking you are very likely to spend the entire day not encountering anyone that isn't already in your group. If you do encounter a local on the trail they are probably wandering with a pack-mule to get supplies. Other locals who carry heavy things called Sherpas can be seen every now and then as well. Mostly you encounter nobody. Just nature.
Our plan is to do all of this but like a lot of plans, they can fall through. My buddy is the guide and even though he is definitely into this sort of thing a lot more than I am, I am no quitter. If we are still chugging along at thousands of meters above sea level, so be it.
It is quite serene though. the absence of city noise makes this all really nice to me. I live in a fairly high population part of the world so to get away from all of that is a very nice break indeed.
That's not a stock image. I took that picture with my own shitty phone. Shots like this are all over the place. I didn't have to find some sort of special perch to get that one.
The food isn't great up here because there isn't much to choose from. Almost nothing grows up here and everyone is vegetarian. You can get some eggs and occasionally some Yak cheese but for the most part you are going to get lentil soup for every meal. I guess that's how we are going to lose weight .
I'm trying to not complain and just take it all in. This is a much different trip than the last time I was in Nepal because back then lithium battery tech was pretty poor and you weren't going to be able to charge anything. These days with portable solar arrays you can do almost anything up here. Nobody has Wifi but simcards work pretty well. This surprised me a bit.