Sweating and tired, we heaved our belongings off the roof of the bus and schlepped to the boarder to meet the tour company. We had our passports and visas checked both at the Indian side, and over the road in Nepal. It was surreal walking from one country to the next, momentarily crossing ‘no man’s land’.

We piled on to the next coach and headed off to Kathmandu. We were given pale yellow, silk scarves called dhauni with Tibetan good luck symbols and writing, and were told that it’s the Nepali custom to hand these out whenever there was a special occasion i.e. a wedding/birthday or in our case, a trek to Everest Base Camp.

We soon found out that the journey was over seven hours long. I had never smelt so bad or felt so disgusting before. We hadn’t washed for nearly three days, had been literally sweating solidly the entire time, wearing the same clothes, covered in dust and dirt, sleep deprived and very hungry!  But ironically, because everyone was in the same boat it didn’t matter – we saw it as training for the trek!

When we finally reached Kathmandu at 4am we walked down to the hotel and we were met by a magnificent sight too good to be true. The hotel was beautiful, with wooden carvings on the walls and ceiling and gold leaf along the pillars. It was like a dream! Within 10 minutes we had our room keys and could finally get some sleep.

We found out later on that flying from Delhi to Kathmandu takes just 2 hours! – two members of our group who had been unable to get Indian visas had done this and were bragging about their good fortune in comparison to ours. However, I would not have changed our journey from India to Nepal. The experience was tough but so rewarding, and it made everything in Nepal so much sweeter.

Two more pictures from the train. To read about this journey, check out my last Everest trek post. Cheers, R 

We went to Delhi train station to catch a train to Gorakhpur. We were
told to keep watch of our belongings as anything hanging loose from any pocket would be pinched. In the station, chains were being sold along the platform as it is not uncommon for bags to ‘wonder off’ while you’re sleeping.

The station was crazy. The platform was rammed full off people and the stench of human waste was pungent. The train was 2 hours delayed, and when it came we all squeezed on, trying to find our seats. The train was packed, so much so that people were lying on the floor and in the doorways. It said on the side of the train that our coach would be air conditioned, but what that really meant was that there were three fans strapped to the ceiling of the compartments wafting the hot air and stench around the train. The journey was overnight, and was meant to last 11 hours. Therefore, the seats of the train folded down in to 3 tiered bunk beds. It was a very uncomfortable journey, not only because all my bags were on the bed with me, leaving me very little room to sleep, but also because a number of men were staring intensely at the girls in our group.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some more photos of our visits in Delhi to the Childreach-related projects. I’m really glad that we got to see this in the run up to our Everest base camp trek.

Hope you like em!
Rosanna

Day 2 of my Everest Base Camp Trek adventure began with a much needed lie-in before we went to breakfast at the Smile Foundation’s office – the partner charity in Delhi. We had spicy crackers, biscuits and a MacDonald’s veggie burger … interesting! We were then given a briefing about their partnership with Childreach and the projects they have in India.

Then we went to visit two of the projects. The first was a college where the students could learn beauty therapy, English and basic computer skills. The students attend sessions which last for 6 months, 6 days a week. The students couldn’t speak much English and when they spoke to us they were quite shy, but they all wanted us to write our names out for them on paper.

We went to a shopping mall briefly before going to the next project and I was again surprised to see that in the toilets there was a shower hose connected to the wall to use in place of loo roll!

The next project was in a slum and I was shocked at some of the conditions the people were living in - flies and bugs were all over the food which was being prepared in the streets.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last night, I went out for an ‘authentic’ Indian meal with my family to prepare and get in the mood for the journey ahead. I had just one hour’s sleep before the taxi came to take me to the airport (at 2.30am!)…so, I arrived at the terminal exhausted and met the rest of the Everest trekking group there.

It was pretty weird everyone all getting together for the first time – a lot of us hadn’t ever met each other before. I spent a fair while talking to one of the guys, Andy, who runs the Leeds Student Television Channel. He had decided to make a documentary of the Everest Base Camp trip for the LSTC channel and Childreach! Pretty cool.

The flight was delayed so we sat in the departure lounge getting to know each other, but we were all so knackered we could barely hold any conversations.

The flight was not direct – we went via Paris. The flight on the way to Paris (once we got started) was quick and I slept the whole way with the aid of my velvet, padded, lavender-smelling eye mask – I fully recommend one!

The connection to the plane for Delhi was smooth on the whole even though the first plane was delayed – Pardeep managed to leave his passport on the plane to Paris, but fortunately he got it back in time for the next plane! Read the rest of this entry »

After a week, Rosanna and David and all the others on the Childreach trek will be well on their way now. Everest Base Camp Trek routes. The latter stages show the Kala Pattar variation of the Everest trek where you climb to the summit of the neighbouring mountain to overlook Everest base camp. I just posted this video really to give a sense of Kathmandu and the first few days of what Rosanna and David will be seeing.

Here is a video I found showing the opening locations on one of the

Thanks to justindav1s for putting this up on Youtube.

So it’s now 1 am. I have to leave to get to the airport in 2 hours - I don’t quite know what to do with myself…should I sleep for two hours or just stay up? Is it worth sleeping?

I’m feeling a mixture of

1) tiredness!

2) worried that I’ve over packed

3) a little worried worried that I may not be fit enough for the trek, or being able to cope with the altitude.

4) extremely excited !

5) nervous about meeting the whole group at the airport terminal before we get on the plane excited! (i’ve only met half of them so far)…

I can’t believe I’m finally going!!

I have now sorted out both my Indian and Nepali visas. The Nepali visa was very easy to get, I sent off for it and it came back to me within 5 days!

The Indian visa however was a bit of a palaver. The website is rather complicated and the helpline is a premium number –I had a huge shock when I saw my phone bill!

I know quite a number of people going on the Everest trek were also confused by the website. I was worried that it wouldn’t get processed in time so I sent my documents to my father in London who took them to the visa application centre.

Luckily, he was there for just 20 minutes and they said it would be processed in 3 working days. I picked it up yesterday. Doing it this way was completely hassle free. If you can do it, going to the visa centres in person is so much easier than doing it online!

I spoke to Kirsty at Mountain Kingdoms on Thursday. She cleared up a few worries I had about going out to Nepal. She gave me tonnes of great advice, so I’ll only post the highlights right now:

Altitude Sickness

We talked a bit about altitude sickness. She explained about the necessary built-in rest days set in the Everest Base Camp Trek itinerary so that our bodies can acclimatise to the high altitude and decreased oxygen in the air. In these rest days we will either rest in the place we’ve stopped in, or we’ll have the opportunity to do a small walk up the mountain nearby and then come down to let our bodies adapt to the high altitude.

Altitude sickness usually brings on symptoms such as - headaches, loss of appetite, nausea and restless sleep and most people will get it to some degree. To prevent it as much as possible, I have to take full advantage of the rest days and drink lots of water and the black tea which all the Sherpas drink. Normal painkillers such as paracetamol and aspirin are fine to take. It’s also important that I don’t hide it if I’m feeling unwell.

The Weather in Nepal

We also discussed the weather. We’ll be going to Nepal just before the monsoon period and so Kirsty told me not to expect clear blue skies every day; sometimes it maybe grey and drizzly. Generally, in the day the temperature will be very warm - in the mid-late 20s however, as soon as the sun goes down the temperature drops rapidly and it becomes very chilly. The best thing to prepare for the weather and temperature changes is to layer up and always have your waterproofs handy!

As we get higher the air gets thinner so the sun gets stronger therefore it’s important to have good sunglasses – I’ve got some ones I use for skiing which are fine, it’s also essential to carry a very high factor sun cream and lip protection.

Kit for the Base Camp Trek

We also discussed kit – apparently what I have is very good and appropriate for the trek, but I need to get some T-shirts and a sun hat as I’ve not really prepared for any warm weather. I should also get a duvet/down jacket for the days when we’re closer to base camp, but they’re pretty expensive in England and you can buy them much cheaper in Kathmandu so I‘ll have a look once we’re out there.

Snacks!

Kirsty said that I should have a snack supply before setting off on the trek, although food supplies are sold in the tea houses we’ll be stopping in. The sort of snacks to bring are anything with a high energy content, that’s not bulky and will keep for the whole time. Nuts, raisings, biscuits, Kendal mint cake, sweets and flapjacks are all good. Chocolate will melt! It’s also good to bring boiled sweets/cough sweets as the air will be very dry and it’s common to get a sore throat.

I also found out that there will be electricity most of the way up the mountain which I fantastic and means that my camera won’t run out of battery.

I went out last night with some friends, but I had to leave early because I felt so ill. I was really dizzy and I found it difficult to focus, my arms were also aching from the jabs and countless people bumping into them throughout the evening.

I don’t know whether it was the cocktail of injections I’d had which made me feel like this, or perhaps I had heat stroke, but I had to leave. Feeling loads better today though!

I’ve just had my appointment with the nurse to have my jabs. I think I mentioned in an earlier post why I got them all together in one go – diphtheria/tetanus/polio, hep A/typhoid and meningitis.  

I have plasters all over my arms, and they’re aching quite a bit. The worst by far is the hep A/typhoid which is making my arm feel very heavy and there’s a constant dull ache.

There was a pre-departure meeting and social on Wednesday evening for the Leeds group going out to Everest on the Base Camp Trek. It was good to finally meet some more of the group that would be going up the mountain with me.

The meeting was informal, held in a room upstairs in a pub opposite the university. We went over bits and pieces such as medical forms, booking forms, insurance (which I still haven’t got!!!! – but I will get very soon) the itinerary, and general questions. We saw some pictures and video footage of the trek. It’s all getting very exciting!

There were nine of us at the meeting. In addition to Dave and I, there was Chris who I went bag packing with, Lucy, Jack and Paul who I met at the last social and some new people I hadn’t met before: Hannah, who’s Irish and studying at Edinburgh university but is going out with the Leeds group; Alex, who’s American; and Andy who’s on the Leeds Uni film/TV crew and will be making a documentary while we’re out there!

After the meeting we went downstairs to have some drinks and get to know each other better. Everyone’s very friendly and we all got on immediately, sharing our anxieties/excitement about the trip and how our training’s been going. I’m really looking forward to going out!!!

Sorry about the lack of contact! - I’ve had my final flute recital yesterday so it’s been quite stressful week but I’ve now finished everything for my degree!!!!

I went on a trip to the Yorkshire Dales with Dave last weekend. It was such a beautiful day, perfect weather! We wanted to get the train over but being a bank holiday, there were very few trains and they only went at awkward times - so we drove over on Dave’s motorbike. Sounds pretty cool, but sitting on the back of the bike with only yourself to talk to is quite boring and you get an exceptionally numb bum, but the views once we got out into the country were fantastic!

We didn’t go walking for very long, but it was great to go for a proper walk up and down the mountains, after all, that really is the best training you can do. It also gave me an opportunity to try out some of the new hiking clothes I’ve recently bought which are so much more appropriate than what I was wearing in the Lake District!

I’ve just seen Monday’s episode of Everest ER which I downloaded off iPlayer. It’s a good show and it was great to see the BBC’s film of the place where I’ll be trekking.

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ktb46/Everest_ER_Episode_1/)

The programme follows the doctors at the Base Camp on the southern side of Mount Everest, and how they deal with the injuries and illnesses of the climbers tackling the mountain. They deal with climbers with frost bite and fluid on the lungs – even swelling of the brain – all “without the facilities of a modern hospital”.

And this is where I began to worry.

Next they showed a lone volunteer doctor in a small clinic at a village about 4240 metres’ altitude. She was waiting for a helicopter to collect a patient that she was unable to treat. Apparently, she has to deal with “hundreds of trekkers that fall ill on the trek to Everest Base Camp”.That could be me!The narrator (David Tennant – Doctor Who!) went as far as saying “even trekking here can be lethal”.

Lethal!

Perhaps the show was just exaggerating the dangers to make things seem dramatic, but now I can’t stop thinking about what might happen if things go wrong.

Rosanna

PostScript: 

Hi folks,

Just a note to say that since I wrote this I’ve had some reassuring advice from Kirsty at Mountain Kingdoms, and I’ve posted it for everyone to see:

http://www.everestbasecamptrek.co.uk/blog/experts-corner-kirsty-on-altitude-sickness-part-1/

Check out what she has to say. It made me feel better.

R

With the Everest Base Camp trek in a few weeks, I’m getting quite excited about the prospect of tackling the massive mountain, but I’m also rather worried about my lack of climbing experience! This weekend I’ll be going to the Yorkshire Dales, but so far this year, so far I’ve only climbed one mountain. That was in the Lake District with Dave …it was an interesting experience.

We climbed up Red Pike Mountain which is 826m (2710ft). I found it pretty tough partly because it was raining the whole time, but also because Dave decided to make his own route up – we didn’t follow a path/advised routes. We started by climbing past a sign saying ‘Danger! Do not climb’ and then proceeded to scramble up a waterfall! I wasn’t too impressed, especially when we got to the top of the waterfall and there was a demented sheep in our path!

Half an hour of climbing felt like two hours. It was exhausting, but getting to the top felt amazing and so worth it, especially for the spectacular views! At the bottom of the mountain it was very lush and green, but as we climbed closer to the top it got colder and once we were there, it was amazing to see that the lake had frozen and it was snowing!

I wouldn’t have been able to manage the walk had it not been for Kendal Mint Cake – a fudge textured energy bar made almost entirely of sugar (100% carbohydrate!) but tasting like peppermint. It was used in the first British expedition to the summit of Everest. Dave introduced it to me about half way up the mountain – it was a saviour! I’ve got an incredibly sweet tooth so I am a massive fan of the Mint Cake.

Although I was wearing walking boots, the rest of my attire wasn’t particularly suitable – jeans, a pashmina, and a hoodie, topped off with a ski jacket. The rain and moisture made the red dye from my scarf run all over my top. I borrowed Dave’s waterproof trousers (which were massive and wouldn’t stay up!) but they helped all the same.I’m very glad I had this experience as it gave me a very small taste of what it may be like on the way to Everest Base Camp, which will be much tougher!

I’ve reached my target! - Well actually I’ve exceeded it having raised £2,450! Everyone’s been so generous and supportive. I really thought it would be very difficult to get the money and convince people to donate but it was actually much easier than I thought.

I raised the money through a combination of writing letters and pestering everyone knew to help out. I visited my old school and spoke to past teachers who were interested in supporting me, and the head teacher told me to put an advert in the school newsletter to spread the word. I also put a post in my synagogue newsletter about the Everest base camp challenge. The bag packing at M&S was successful, and before I knew it, my target had been reached!

I had planned to phone up some big supermarkets in Leeds to organise sponsored carwashes, put on a few fundraising concerts and dinner parties, and I also wanted to do some pub crawls, collecting in each pub along the way. However, by the time I got round to thinking about doing these events, it wasn’t necessary!

One of the easiest fundraising activities I did was busking. In February, I played a double flute concerto from memory in Leeds town hall. The concerto is very showy, and the other flautist I did it with happened to be down in London one weekend. We’d talked about busking for some time and we thought this would be a perfect opportunity. Over that weekend we went to some bustling markets around the area I live in London. We spent one morning making a big, eye-catching poster, explaining what the money would be going towards. The weather was fantastic and there were so many people sitting outside pubs listening to us play.

We played the concerto over and over again (it’s about 25 minutes long), people listening would walk past and not realise that we’d been playing the same piece for the last hour! In just under two hours we’d raised £40!

I’ve started to research about Nepal and Everest. Dave gave me two books to read to start me off - Coronation Everest by Jan Morris, and Everest: A Trekker’s Guide, by Kev Reynolds.

Coronation Everest is a novel by a journalist for The Times who went on the first ever successful expedition to the summit of Mount Everest. Morris describes in detail the journey up the mountain. Recounting details such as where they stayed, what they ate and drank, the effects of the altitude, and the people they met including the company of the porters and Sherpas. It was interesting to read the journey told by someone who was not an experienced climber – like myself – and how he found the trek/coped with altitude and weather conditions etc.

Everest: A Trekker’s Guide is an informative guidebook explaining facts about the mountain, the routes and trails, the culture of the Nepalese and the people living on the mountain. How to go about preparing for the journey and what to expect on your travels are also explored and there are photos and maps of the mountain. The photos are particularly useful just to see what sort of clothing the trekkers are wearing.

It’s a really useful book to read and so easy to dip in and out of. I learnt things such as: we’re travelling up the mountain just before the monsoon season and the mountain will be infested with leeches! I am not looking forward to that at all! It was also useful to read that it’s important to get a dental check up before going out, as even minor tooth problems/loose fillings/decay will be badly affected by high altitude.

I’ve booked appointments for my jabs.

I’m getting the Hep A/ Typhoid, Diphtheria/ Tetanus/ Polio, and Meningitis at the beginning of June. I’ve decided against the rabies jabs as apparently we’ll have very good medical insurance so in the unlikely event that I get bitten by a rabid animal, I can get quick medical attention. Now I just need to sort out the malaria tablets.

My foot feels a little better now, but you should notice that the nerve barometer is set to panic.

I’m going to go on a jog this evening and see how it goes.