not much to report today.
it is snowing, just started. big flakes.
MOM - dad is at 100%. you need not worry about him. and dad says to tell you "don't listen to alisa, i'm not going to have a brain clot."
CINDY - peter read your comment and just laughed. i'm not sure it motivated him enough. he says yes he is cheap. so cheap that he won't even buy lemon tea which costs less than 75 cents.
we got up this morning and did a little hike. just up and down to help acclimatize. i felt really good the whole time. i've finally gotten my walking legs.
one more day before the big day to everst base camp. we all feel like we've been away for a very long time. in one week and a day we will be flying home though. we've been talking about seeing our kids again. ian will get into cranbrook, he thinks, around 530am. he said he will just sit on the couch and wait till his girls wake up. it will be a nice reunion.
after our hike tomorrow we will have some very long days ahead of us. 8-10 hours walking.
thanks for telling Rob about the blog, glad you're up to date now!! can't wait to see the kids play together!
i guess that is all. no much happening in dingboche this afternoon. if there was a movie playing somewhere maybe i would go, but alas we are in the middle of nowhere. i'll have to go take a nap i guess.
oh yea, our guide has been calling sylvie "kanchhi baihni" which means "littlest daughter." he calls me just "baihni", meaning daughter. our guide sings a lot too. he is a good guide.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Day 5 - Tengboche to Dingboche
Dingboche 4300m.
at another internet cafe. truly incredible i can still get connected this far up.
before i begin, an update on dad; he is doing really well. he is mostly over his bug and is eating things again. mostly fruit and granola bars. the thought of any nepali cuisine makes his stomach turn. but he is keeping everything down and working hard at drinking enough water. he walked with his own pack the whole way, and kept slow. now that we have him in dingboche we are confident he will make it all the way. tomorrow is a rest day, no climbing. so by the time we hit the trail again he should be 100%.
today was a good hiking day. less up and down like it has been. just a steady climb with only a couple places we had to descend. it has gotten cold. at this altitude we have to be wary and keep our chest and heads warm. the wind is chilly because its coming off all that snowy mountains. it started off very overcast in the morning. but it cleared enough that we could see Ama Dablam. that mountain is very cool. we could also see Lohtse again, and Everest behind it. from where we are Lohtse looks bigger, but it is deceiving.
nothing to extraordinary about the trail today. we ascended above the tree line. the landscape is very rocky and barren, with only shrubs for greenery.
there isn't much to do in dingboche, so we may be a bit bored on our rest day. sylvie and i just spent the last hour showing pictures of our kids and of canada to our guides, Gyanu and Guness. Guness doesn't speak english very well but is eager to visit and see things from canada. we've also been playing games on the iphone with them. anything to pass the time.
my fingers are swollen from the altitude and from swinging them by my side all day. it is making typing difficult. i have sausage fingers.
we have a few more "up" days ahead of us, then down. unbelievably it will only take us 2 days to descend.
i have been feeling the altitude a bit more. last night i had trouble breathing. nothing serious. just feeling like i can't get a full breath of oxygen. so instead of slow shallow breathing i've adopted a more quick deep breathing technique. especially for night. it is hard work at this altitude. my 20lb pack makes my body work as if it were a 50lb pack. it is harder to catch your breath. but still no major distress. my legs don't burn, and neither do my lungs. do you like how every post i give you an update on my cardio condition? hahaha, this is a big deal for me. my cardio was crap before i started training for the trip, so every day i am in awe that i haven't keeled over to die.
anyway, not much else to report. the nights will be cold from here on out. maybe -10C.
MOM-are you watching the royal wedding right now? there is a Brit sitting next to me in the internet cafe who is getting his royal wedding update.
thanks for your comments, it's nice to know people are actually following along. that reminds me, does anyone know if Rob knows that i'm doing this on my blog? i'm not sure i even mentioned it to him that i was doing that before i left.
anyway, i'm sure i'll update again tomorrow, just because i'm so bored when we have to sit around and wait.
we've been gone from canada a week! it feels like a month!
at another internet cafe. truly incredible i can still get connected this far up.
before i begin, an update on dad; he is doing really well. he is mostly over his bug and is eating things again. mostly fruit and granola bars. the thought of any nepali cuisine makes his stomach turn. but he is keeping everything down and working hard at drinking enough water. he walked with his own pack the whole way, and kept slow. now that we have him in dingboche we are confident he will make it all the way. tomorrow is a rest day, no climbing. so by the time we hit the trail again he should be 100%.
today was a good hiking day. less up and down like it has been. just a steady climb with only a couple places we had to descend. it has gotten cold. at this altitude we have to be wary and keep our chest and heads warm. the wind is chilly because its coming off all that snowy mountains. it started off very overcast in the morning. but it cleared enough that we could see Ama Dablam. that mountain is very cool. we could also see Lohtse again, and Everest behind it. from where we are Lohtse looks bigger, but it is deceiving.
nothing to extraordinary about the trail today. we ascended above the tree line. the landscape is very rocky and barren, with only shrubs for greenery.
there isn't much to do in dingboche, so we may be a bit bored on our rest day. sylvie and i just spent the last hour showing pictures of our kids and of canada to our guides, Gyanu and Guness. Guness doesn't speak english very well but is eager to visit and see things from canada. we've also been playing games on the iphone with them. anything to pass the time.
my fingers are swollen from the altitude and from swinging them by my side all day. it is making typing difficult. i have sausage fingers.
we have a few more "up" days ahead of us, then down. unbelievably it will only take us 2 days to descend.
i have been feeling the altitude a bit more. last night i had trouble breathing. nothing serious. just feeling like i can't get a full breath of oxygen. so instead of slow shallow breathing i've adopted a more quick deep breathing technique. especially for night. it is hard work at this altitude. my 20lb pack makes my body work as if it were a 50lb pack. it is harder to catch your breath. but still no major distress. my legs don't burn, and neither do my lungs. do you like how every post i give you an update on my cardio condition? hahaha, this is a big deal for me. my cardio was crap before i started training for the trip, so every day i am in awe that i haven't keeled over to die.
anyway, not much else to report. the nights will be cold from here on out. maybe -10C.
MOM-are you watching the royal wedding right now? there is a Brit sitting next to me in the internet cafe who is getting his royal wedding update.
thanks for your comments, it's nice to know people are actually following along. that reminds me, does anyone know if Rob knows that i'm doing this on my blog? i'm not sure i even mentioned it to him that i was doing that before i left.
anyway, i'm sure i'll update again tomorrow, just because i'm so bored when we have to sit around and wait.
we've been gone from canada a week! it feels like a month!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Day 4 - Namche to Tengboche
I am at at internet cafe right now, so no pictures with this post. Too bad too, because today we saw Everest!
Today was a longish day. We hiked out of Namche and headed towards Tengboche. We hiked for about an hour along side the mountain. Very flat and nice. but to get up to tengboche you had to descend all the way to the valley floor where the river is, then back up 500m to tengboche. it was steep, but not like the way to namche.
Dad had a hard day. he is not doing well, having trouble eating and if very tired because of it. peter and ian carried dads pack up the steepest part going up to tengboche, and that seemed to help. but we are all still in good spirits. a lot of joking on the trail and laughing. dad will rebound. we all made it together today. nobody went ahead. we all kept slow with dad. i think if we can get him to dingboche tomorrow that will be good. we have two nights in dingboche. the hike from tengboche to dingboche may be the easiest leg of the journey. not a lot of up then down then up again like we have had. not to worry though, we are all taking care of each other. no one else has felt sick yet or the effects of the altitude. mild headaches, but that is about it.
tengboche is a monastery, the highest buddhist monastery in the world. we just went in and watched them chant their prayers. different, but enjoyable to experience. then we went to the tengboche bakery. ian said his cinnamon bun was better than the one in namche. who would've figured? my chocolate croissant was pretty good too. we are going to try and get dad there later this evening to get some food in him.
we met a lady along the trail who was 70 years old coming back from her trek to base camp. randy was up ahead and told her to find dad. she came upon us on the trail and said "are you folks from canada? where is don?!" then proceeded to tell us her story and motivated dad to keep going. she suffered from the altitude as well, but made it. she was fun to talk to. then she told dad to "get his butt down that trail!"
we saw everest today too. it was a big motivating factor. seeing the mountain energized us. the mountains are unbelievable.
i feel like i've finally got my walking legs today. they still get tired, but they feel good most of the time. still no cardio distress for me. i've been lucky. ive kept my appitite and haven't had any headaches yet. i've been drinking about 3L of water a day, i'm sure that helps.
tomorrow will be a good day for hiking. not so much up and down, but a steady climb. i think i will like that better.
mom- randy would like you to call ardie and tell her that he's found himself a little phillapeno and is staying in nepal because he likes it here so much, and she can send him money each month. (she will understand what he means)
mom- don't worry about dad, we are taking good care of him. we won't let him do anything he can't.
i found myself today doing something that robbie would do. i was about 50yrds ahead of the group and came to a small bridge. i quickly ducked under the bridge and waited for the rest of the group to catch up and go over it. when they did i started to yell and roar!!! they weren't very scared. robbie would've done that exact thing, and i usually just roll my eyes when he does. but it made me smile for the rest of the day.
well, we are all still together so that is the most important thing. we take it very slow, but steady.
that is all for today. we will see if there is internet any farther up. i have been surprised to find it here, although it is twice as much to use as it was in namche!
NAMASTE!!
Today was a longish day. We hiked out of Namche and headed towards Tengboche. We hiked for about an hour along side the mountain. Very flat and nice. but to get up to tengboche you had to descend all the way to the valley floor where the river is, then back up 500m to tengboche. it was steep, but not like the way to namche.
Dad had a hard day. he is not doing well, having trouble eating and if very tired because of it. peter and ian carried dads pack up the steepest part going up to tengboche, and that seemed to help. but we are all still in good spirits. a lot of joking on the trail and laughing. dad will rebound. we all made it together today. nobody went ahead. we all kept slow with dad. i think if we can get him to dingboche tomorrow that will be good. we have two nights in dingboche. the hike from tengboche to dingboche may be the easiest leg of the journey. not a lot of up then down then up again like we have had. not to worry though, we are all taking care of each other. no one else has felt sick yet or the effects of the altitude. mild headaches, but that is about it.
tengboche is a monastery, the highest buddhist monastery in the world. we just went in and watched them chant their prayers. different, but enjoyable to experience. then we went to the tengboche bakery. ian said his cinnamon bun was better than the one in namche. who would've figured? my chocolate croissant was pretty good too. we are going to try and get dad there later this evening to get some food in him.
we met a lady along the trail who was 70 years old coming back from her trek to base camp. randy was up ahead and told her to find dad. she came upon us on the trail and said "are you folks from canada? where is don?!" then proceeded to tell us her story and motivated dad to keep going. she suffered from the altitude as well, but made it. she was fun to talk to. then she told dad to "get his butt down that trail!"
we saw everest today too. it was a big motivating factor. seeing the mountain energized us. the mountains are unbelievable.
i feel like i've finally got my walking legs today. they still get tired, but they feel good most of the time. still no cardio distress for me. i've been lucky. ive kept my appitite and haven't had any headaches yet. i've been drinking about 3L of water a day, i'm sure that helps.
tomorrow will be a good day for hiking. not so much up and down, but a steady climb. i think i will like that better.
mom- randy would like you to call ardie and tell her that he's found himself a little phillapeno and is staying in nepal because he likes it here so much, and she can send him money each month. (she will understand what he means)
mom- don't worry about dad, we are taking good care of him. we won't let him do anything he can't.
i found myself today doing something that robbie would do. i was about 50yrds ahead of the group and came to a small bridge. i quickly ducked under the bridge and waited for the rest of the group to catch up and go over it. when they did i started to yell and roar!!! they weren't very scared. robbie would've done that exact thing, and i usually just roll my eyes when he does. but it made me smile for the rest of the day.
well, we are all still together so that is the most important thing. we take it very slow, but steady.
that is all for today. we will see if there is internet any farther up. i have been surprised to find it here, although it is twice as much to use as it was in namche!
NAMASTE!!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Lohtse and Ama Dablam
Day 3 - Namche Bazar rest day
Namaste.
Today was a rest day for us. We still did a short climb in the morning, but is was very short. The climb was up to a museum looking up the valley towards everest. The morning started off clear and the mountains were looming. As we came up to the point where we could see up the valley, Lohtse was just beginning to be obscured by cloud cover. Everest was completely hidden in the clouds. We think had we been an hour earlier we would've see everest in full view. But we have many days ahead to see it. We also saw ama dablam. The mountains here are formidable. You have to remember that we are already at 3440m elevation and the mountains are still towering over us.
After our hike in the morning we went SHOPPING!! I'm not much of a shopper, but I managed to pick up a few nice souvenirs that are very Namche. The markets are pretty nice. They all have a lot of the same stuff. A few things I wanted to get, but I know I can get them cheaper in Kathmandu so I will wait till the end of the trip to complete my shopping. Plus, anything I get here I will probably have to carry out myself.
Tomorrow we hike to tengboche. Tengboche is the highest Buddhist monastery in the world. Should be a 4-5 hour trek. As far as difficult hiking days go, the worst is behind us. Although our guide says that the say we hike to everest base camp will be the hardest. That is because of the altitude and it is a very long day. 8+ hours.
Dad hasn't been feeling well today. He figures he caught a bit of a bug. He is taking some antibiotics and we are all hoping it runs it's course quickly. He has slept most of the afternoon and is feeling better since taking a bit of medication. We will all be watching him and will be taking things very slowly for him. Send your prayers because we don't want to leave him behind!!
I don't know what kind of Internet access there will be as we gain more elevation. If there is any opportunity for Internet I will continue to post updates.
That is all for now.
-AV-
From my iPhone
403-915-2452
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Day 2 - Phakding to Namche
Well, Sylvie and Peter say that they found a place with wifi, so I will give if a go on the iPhone so I can post some pictures too.
Today we hiked to Namche. It was grueling. Our starting elevation from Phakding was about 2600m. Our final elevation in Namche is 3440m. Really the first few hours were okay. Our guide, Gyanu, called it "Nepali flat". Which really means lots of up and down. We didn't gain much elevation in that time. Maybe 50-100m. Then we came to the steep part. We started on that just after lunch. It was a VERY intense incline. You gained a lot of elevation in a short amount of time.
So before the steep incline things were going really well. Felt good and didn't have any stress. I was slow going, but everyone was going at an even pace. As we progressed it was easy to see different paces. Randy goes goes goes. Ian too. But they aren't careless and rest a lot. Pete is more middle if the pack. Dad Sylvie and I are back of the train. We really take it easy. Everyone is taking it easy. We all agree when it comes to hiking, none of us are in a rush.
Once the hiking started to get steep, WHOAH!! It was VERY steep. I don't think I've hiked anything that steep before. Luckily the trail is just steps. Steps and steps and steps. It is actually nice that way. Keeps your feet more flat, less strain on the ankle/heel. So for 2 hours it was steps. We would walk 25 yards then rest. We really kept it easy and slow. I don't think I saw Randy or Ian that whole time once things got steep. I saw Pete a few times. I was tired in my legs a bit, but no cardio stress. I'm mostly worried about my cardio, so I've been happy with my performance so far.
I was really happy to see Namche bazar. I was tired! We got to our teahouse at about 2:45, and I had a hot shower by 3:00. Best shower ever! Even though the water pressure was bad and it stunk like BO, it was heaven.
Right now we are waiting for dinner. A note on the food: we like the mountain food quite a bit better than the food in Kathmandu. We've had very good veg fried rice, fried noodles, oatmeal, and potato dishes.
We've got a rest day tomorrow that we are all looking forward to.
Cindy- pete says hello and that everything is going well. He is going shopping for you tomorrow! (we've found some neat stuff already)
Mom- dad says to tell you the guide kept telling him to SLOW DOWN!! And that he got tired of waiting for Randy all the time. (that is not true, he is just being stupid. Really, we kept slow and are feeling okay)
I think that is all for now. If I think of anything else I will add it before I use the wifi.
Ian is wowing the guide with card tricks right now. Pete and dad are having a hard time staying awake, but we are going to try and stay up late tonight. We can't keep going to bed at 830.
Anyway, I will post some pictures too. All the pictures will be from the Lukla to Namche leg of the journey.
Oh yea, the bathrooms have been pretty good so far. Sylvie dropped her sunglasses in a "porcelain hole in the ground" though. I laughed really hard.
Peter and dad want me to add a comment about the hike. They want me to make sure people know how "niggardly" and awful the hike was. People were sick on the trail puking (not us) and it was the hardest incline we've ever had to climb. Pete says that the Sherpas are the men. They carry loads that are unbelievable. Some of the are just boys! they have hard jobs.
Okay that is all for today. I am going to eat my mushroom pizza now.
Mushroom pizza was no good. Mushrooms were chewy. Probably came from dehydrated.
My porridge for breakfast will be much better.
-AV-
From my iPhone
Longest/highest suspension bridge of the trip
Monday, April 25, 2011
Day 1 - Lukla to Phadking
i am at an internet cafe right now so i can type with much more speed.
the day started very early. 430am. we went to the kathmandu international airport to catch our flight. what a zoo!! couldn't believe it. people rushing the doors to try and get in. guys just taking your tickets and bags. other guys taking your bags and wanting a tip in canadian dollars. so crazy. but we got on our flight to lukla at 630am. it was a very little plane. 15 people or so on it, and that was at capacity. the flight was something else. flying through the clouds, then banking this way and that. at one point we banked pretty hard left, and i was wondering why we were turning so fast, then i noticed the mountain we were turning away from. wouldn't be good to fly into one of those. landing was a riot. 200 yard air strip. you stop pretty quick. then we get off, other trekers get on, and away they go. very fast turn around time.
so today we hiked only about 3 hours. less than that even. and it was mostly losing elevation. lukla is on the side of a mountain, and phadking is in the valley next to the "milk river". i forgot how much i just like to hike. the trails are pretty crazy too. you have to watch exactly where you are going, or else you will fall right onto your face. very rocky. lots of stone steps. i think the trail terrain gets better after namche bazar. the hike was pretty easy. but my legs, calves especially, are sore. but i experienced no cardio/respitory distress. so that is good for me.
we got to our guesthouse at about 1130am and ate lunch. garlic soup and tuna fried potatoes with cheese. much better than it sounds. ian and pete went for a walk after that and the rest of us crashed. i slept soundly for 4 hours. had a real hard time waking up. ian and pete went to a little primary school and said the experience was unbelievable. highlight of the trip. i won't talk about it, they can tell you about it if they want. but i will regret forever not going with them.
anyway, we got up finally and went for a walk around phadking. nice place. i find the people in the mountains to be nicer looking. rounder faces. nice eyes. the children are friendly. they want to talk to you and love to have their pictures taken so they can see themselves on your camera. i got a really cute picture of a little girl we were playing with. she had a balloon. i guess it doesn't matter where you are, a balloon is still the best toy for a kid.
anyway, i love being on the trail. the trek to namche tomorrow will be killer. you gain a lot of elevation. the last 3 hours of the day are straight up! don't love that, but can't really don anything about it.
i should go, others are waiting to post updates to their loved ones. no pictures today, maybe in namche tomorrow i can find some wifi.
love to my kids and husband! seeing all these kids makes me, well we won't get into that! having a blast! more updates to come!
the day started very early. 430am. we went to the kathmandu international airport to catch our flight. what a zoo!! couldn't believe it. people rushing the doors to try and get in. guys just taking your tickets and bags. other guys taking your bags and wanting a tip in canadian dollars. so crazy. but we got on our flight to lukla at 630am. it was a very little plane. 15 people or so on it, and that was at capacity. the flight was something else. flying through the clouds, then banking this way and that. at one point we banked pretty hard left, and i was wondering why we were turning so fast, then i noticed the mountain we were turning away from. wouldn't be good to fly into one of those. landing was a riot. 200 yard air strip. you stop pretty quick. then we get off, other trekers get on, and away they go. very fast turn around time.
so today we hiked only about 3 hours. less than that even. and it was mostly losing elevation. lukla is on the side of a mountain, and phadking is in the valley next to the "milk river". i forgot how much i just like to hike. the trails are pretty crazy too. you have to watch exactly where you are going, or else you will fall right onto your face. very rocky. lots of stone steps. i think the trail terrain gets better after namche bazar. the hike was pretty easy. but my legs, calves especially, are sore. but i experienced no cardio/respitory distress. so that is good for me.
we got to our guesthouse at about 1130am and ate lunch. garlic soup and tuna fried potatoes with cheese. much better than it sounds. ian and pete went for a walk after that and the rest of us crashed. i slept soundly for 4 hours. had a real hard time waking up. ian and pete went to a little primary school and said the experience was unbelievable. highlight of the trip. i won't talk about it, they can tell you about it if they want. but i will regret forever not going with them.
anyway, we got up finally and went for a walk around phadking. nice place. i find the people in the mountains to be nicer looking. rounder faces. nice eyes. the children are friendly. they want to talk to you and love to have their pictures taken so they can see themselves on your camera. i got a really cute picture of a little girl we were playing with. she had a balloon. i guess it doesn't matter where you are, a balloon is still the best toy for a kid.
anyway, i love being on the trail. the trek to namche tomorrow will be killer. you gain a lot of elevation. the last 3 hours of the day are straight up! don't love that, but can't really don anything about it.
i should go, others are waiting to post updates to their loved ones. no pictures today, maybe in namche tomorrow i can find some wifi.
love to my kids and husband! seeing all these kids makes me, well we won't get into that! having a blast! more updates to come!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
430am
It is early. I went to bed before 10 last night, so I'm feeling pretty rested. We fly to Lukla this morning at 630. We have the first flight of the day, which I am told is very fortuitous. There can often be delays/cancelations due to weather. But because we are the first if there is ever a break in the weather we will be guaranteed a chance to get there. Sometimes even the second plane is the day can be canceled because the weather can turn the quickly.
Anyway, I couldn't be more happy to get on the trail. Wish us luck! The real adventure starts NOW!
-AV-
From my iPhone
403-915-2452
Kathmandu!!
Kathmandu!!
So today we did a tour of the city. And can I just say, I am SO looking forward to the hike just so i can get a chance to rest! Site seeing is EXHAUSTING!!!!!
I was up at 430am (because the power to our hotel finally cut back on and all the lights came back on too and woke us up) so I was pretty beat today already.
I'm sorry I don't remember the names, but I will give you a brief description of some things we saw.
First- the place where they cremate people. Okay, sounds a bit creepy (and it kinda was since we were literally seeing people cremate their dead loved ones) but it was so cool! This place is the number one pilgrimage destination for Hindus. This is the place all Hindus would like to be cremated. They do the cremations on the bank of a river, then push the ashes into the river. The river is considered holy. I consider it an unsanitary bio-hazard, especially when you see people washing their clothing in it 50 yards downstream. We walked around that place for a long time. Got some cool pictures.
NEXT- to the Buddhist place (sorry! I don't know the name). Very cool. Peter liked it better because at least there he wasn't inhaling the ashes of cremated people. I also liked it very much there. I will add pictures.
LAST- to and old city. This place was described to us as something like Washington DC. Not it's own state, but kinda a city within a city. Very old place with lots of cool streets. EVERYTHING made with brick. We ate at a rooftop cafe (which greatly boosted our depletes energy) and saw done pretty cool temples.
The highlight of the day was when Sylvie made some pottery on a totally old school potters wheel. SO awesome! I wish I had the pictures, but i was taking them for her on her phone and didn't snap any of my own. Check her blog and a few may be up there.
Anyway, we had our meeting with our trek guide and finished up some last minute details. Sylvie got the rest of her gear and we packed up all our hiking needs.
Half of us went to bed and the other half went out fir pizza. Best pizza ever! We went with to ladies who are also trekking with Ace the Himalaya. They ate hardcore though and summiting a peak above 22000 feet high. The one lady has been to Nepal many times and took us there.
Anyway I am beat. I am going to bed. I will post a few pictures before that.
Ps- Cindy, pete had been having trouble uploading pictures. I am trying to help.
-AV-
From my iPhone
403-915-2452
Saturday, April 23, 2011
First exploration
Kathmandu
We took the van with our travel group into Kathmandu. A few nervous travelers. There aren't really any.... aaaaand the power just went out in our hotel room. "are you kidding me?!" says Sylvie. "this sucks" quoth Annie. I will investigate.
Well, maybe they just have "lights out" policy and cut the power at 12:46am. Power in the building next door. Whatever.
As I was saying, before power went out, there aren't many street lights so it makes everything look darker and creepy a little bit. Check that- there are NO street lights. A lot of times on our way to the hotel we were not sure if we were on a road or in an alley way. I can't wait to get out to explore.
Well, with no power I might as well go to bed. I am thankful the power didn't cut out while I was in the shower (which aren't as nice as our campground showers even on a yucky day).
Good night!!!
6 hours in HK
My feet are sore. But the day was awesome! We did a walking tour of HK and it was really cool. It started off pretty boring (sorry mom, what I meant to say was "slow"), but picked up as we went along (especially after we had lunch).
We saw a lot of the new/modern HK with many office buildings, and a really cool garden. We were all starving though, so after we took the tram up to Victoria peak, we got some food. We ate at "the best vietnamese restaurant in hong kong" (according to our guide). It was pretty awesome.
After lunch we saw more of the local scene. Some markets and local night spots that are popular. One of the coolest things was seeing the graffiti about the missing artist Ai Wei Wei. Look him up, he is very cool.
We walked at least 7km, and now my feet are a bit sore. But we are all doing really well.
Today was also some sort of national holiday weekend, so there was virtually no one in the city. Nice not to have to fight with crowds. I HATE that.
We have been having a good time with each other. We are tired, but all looking especially forward to the next few days when we get to Kathmandu.
5 more hours of air travel and we will be at Kathmandu. Can't wait to get trekking!! Bit first we'll have another touring day, this time of Kathmandu. I am REALLY looking forward to that. Should be able to get some pretty gnarly pictures.
Peace out!
Big time love to my Rob and kids! I can't help thinking how much Rob would love this. Rob, if you are reading this, we went to a really cool Taoist temple. It made me think of you.
-AV-
From my iPhone
403-915-2452
Friday, April 22, 2011
Hong kong here we come!
Hong kong here we come!
Well we got on our flight after all. Was starving from not being able to eat dinner in calgary so we got some A and Dubb in Vancouver airport to tide us over. I was so hungry. Everyone was already exhausted from the ordeal in Calgary, so we were mostly looking forward to getting on the plane to sleep. Sylvie was looking particularly wasted.
After checking with the cathay pacific desk to make sure everything was okay with luggage and stuff we were all supremely relieved it all went without a hitch.
The flight didn't leave till nearly 3am local time, so we were all wiped out. I pretty well passed out as soon as we got on the plane, and missed "dinner" which was served at about 5am lethbridge time. Weird. I slept like a baby for about 3-4 hours, then attempted to watch a movie but fell asleep during. The remainder of the flight has been long, but nice enough. I've watched 3 movies, not including the two I attempted then slept through.
We land in about 30min. We are all ready for it. With the longest leg if the trip almost over we can all relax a bit. Plus, it is 6am in Hong Kong and already 23 degrees. Ready for some warmth. Plus I've skipped all of Friday and went straight to Saturday. Thats just how I roll. I will include a couple pre hong kong pictures if time allows. And maybe after our day in HK I will post a few more!
Yea!
-AV-
From my iPhone
403-915-2452
Sheeeesh
Well we have had an interesting start. We spent 2 hours at the west jet check in!! Some complication. Anyway, we made our flight to Vancouver, but just in the nick. But we are not out of the woods yet. We will need to talk to cathay pacific to sort out the rest of the ordeal. Hopefully we will get some smooth sailing in BC.
We think our bags are checked all the way through to Nepal. But only time will tell. So far our patients and tempers have been tested, but we are moving forward slowly.
I believe all will be well. Who knows, if it isn't sorted out I may just spend 2 weeks in Hawaii.
-AV-
From my iPhone
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
24 hours
well the impossible has happened. the time has arrived! 4 months ago i thought april 21 was FOREVER away, but it has crept up on me faster that expected. and the closer it has gotten, the more anxious i have felt.
not for the trip. no, i am not an anxious traveler. i've done my share of world travels, and truly it doesn't make me nervous. alas, i am anxious to be leaving Xander and Judy for all those days. but i have resolved not to let it ruin my trip, so that will be the last (i hope) we hear of that.
onto the details!
we fly out tomorrow night (thursday) from Calgary with a quick stop over in Vancouver before boarding the 14 hour flight to Hong Kong! yuck. i don't mind a plane ride, but i've done a 14 hour one once before and it was LONG! about 12 hours in Hong Kong, we'll do a walking tour, then back on the plane. touch down in Bangladesh, then onto Kathmandu. total trip time from Calgary to Kathmandu= 36hrs.
once in Kathmandu we have one day of sight seeing, then onto the trek!
this is our schedule, in case anyone out there would like to know:
- April 23- Arrive at Kathmandu airport (1345meters)
- April 24- Pre-trip Meeting and Sightseeing around Kathmandu valley. Overnight at hotel.
- April 25- Fly to Tenzing and Hillary Airport in Lukla (2804 meters) from Kathmandu, trek to Phakding (2610 meters) 3 hours. Overnight at Guesthouse.
- April 26- Trek to Namche Bazaar (3441 meters) 5 hours. Overnight at Guesthouse.
- April 27- Namche Bazaar Acclimatization day. Overnight at Guesthouse.
- April 28- Trek to Tengboche Monastery (3860 meters) 5 hours. Overnight at Guesthouse.
- April 29- Trek to Dingboche (4350 meters) 6 hours. Overnight at Guesthouse.
- April 30- Day trip to Chhukung valley (4710 meters) and trek back to Dingboche. 4 hours. Overnight at Guesthouse.
- May 01- Trek to Lobuche (4910 meters) 5 hours. Overnight at Guesthouse
- May 02- Trek to Everest Base Camp (5365 meters) then back to Gorak Shep. 8 hours. Overnight at Guesthouse.
- May 03- Hike up to Kalapattar (5555 meters) early in the morning then trek down to Periche (4200 meters). 7 hours. Overnight at Guesthouse.
- May 04- Trek to Namche Bazaar (3441 meters) 6 hours. Overnight at Guesthouse.
- May 05- Trek to Lukla (2804 meters) 6 hours. Overnight at Guesthouse.
- May 06- Flight from Lukla to Kathmandu in the morning. Overnight at hotel.
- May 07- Leisure day in Kathmandu Overnight at hotel.
- May 08- Transfer to international airport for your final flight departure.
and that's it!
i will be doing my best to put updates on my blog as often as possible. pictures too. but the higher we get into the Himalayas, the less accessible internet connections are. plus they get more expensive.
i hope all will go well, both here and in Nepal. i am so excited for the trip, but equally as anxious to get back.
that's all for now! next post will be en route!
Friday, April 1, 2011
3 weeks and counting!
actually 3 weeks minus one day!
i may be getting a bit anxious about going on this great nepalese adventure. i've got ALL my gear (minus a few things i'll be picking up for a fraction of the cost in Kathmandu), and have spent the last week ordering a few miscellaneous items on amazon.com. bandanas, hand warmers, travel pillow, sanitizing hand wipes, ear plugs, new SD card, dry stuff sacks, the list goes on!
in my antsy-ness, i decided to get all my gear together for a sort of "dry run" for packing. this is probably 90% of my gear.
seems like a lot. good thing i don't have to carry it!
speaking of carrying things, i've also been trying to find a logical solution for carrying/easy access to my DSLR. i've tried 2 different backpacks, and settled on the bigger one because of its superior frame and comfort. i've also found this camera solution after much searching.
yes, i know what i look like. a HUGE nerd. but there is a price to be paid for easy access. one thing i will NOT do is have my camera stuck at the bottom of my pack and forego an opportunity to snap a shot just because i don't want to stop, take off my pack, undo the straps, dig out the camera, and snap the photo. the above solution will eliminate inconvenience and allow for optimal access and ease.
i feel like there are a billion things to do before i go, but i know that is not true. it's just the anticipation of leaving. not only that, the anticipation of leaving kids for 19 days! i think that is what is making the most nervous. it will be good though. judy only wants her dad these days anyway, and xander will think its an extra treat to have dad around for so long because he can get whatever he wants from rob.
physically i'm am ready as i'll ever be. in the short time i've been preparing i've made great strides. i could categorize my cardio fitness as "poor" when i started. now, i'm 10 points away from being in the "excellent" category (harvard step test).
should be a great adventure! i hope i make it all the way!
that is what my gear looks like packed in dry sacks. i didn't take a picture of my gear packed in the suitcase... that would be weird.
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