Nepal is simply a lovely country. The scenery, food, and the people are lovely. Most of the ~80 days we spent there were wonderful in every possible way, and in the end we were very sad to leave. Nepal is a country that penetrates your heart and soul, and there is no doubt in our minds that we will return some day-hopefully soon. Our time in Nepal granted us some fine views of the tallest mountains on earth and glimpses of many aspects of Nepal’s rich culture. There is no place like Nepal! With that in mind we have put together our “Best’s and Worst’s.” These are divided into two sections: one for Nepal, in general, and the other for the Everest Trek. Namaste, Nepal. Enjoy!
Nepal By the Numbers
Days in Nepal: 44+34 =78
World Heritage Sites Visited: 5
Days Trekking: 31 (26 in Everest, 5 in the Annapurna Region on the Poon Hill trek)
Days of hell stuck in Lukla: 7
Consecutive Days of Yoga: 6
Hours of walking (approx. 6 hours/day): 156 on the Everest Trek, 30 on the Poon Hill trek
Highest Point: Kala Patthar- 18,208 feet
Distance Walked: Approx. 180 miles (150 for Everest, about 30 for Poon Hill)
Elevation Gained on the Everest Trek (total of all uphill sections): Approx. 38,000 feet (give or take a few)
National Parks/Natural Areas Visited: 3
Bus Rides: 5
Helicopter rides: 1
Ripped Pants: 1 (Nick is happily wearing his brand new Sherpa brand trekking pants)
Plates of Dal Bhat (lentils and rice) consumed: Too many to count
Showers taken by each of us in 34 days (Everest): 5 (An average of once a week while trekking!)
Longest stretch w/o a shower (Everest): 10 days (Namche to the end of the Lukla flight delay)
Photos Taken: 3964 (~50/day)
Nepal Best’s
Best Day
Nick: The trek from Ghorepani to Tadapani-great, great views all day, plus a wonderful sunset
Rachel: New Years Eve – Trekked down the mountain and had a beautiful dinner in Pokhara
Best City/Town
Nick: Bhaktapur, great architecture and a laid-back feel
Rachel: Pokhara
Best National Park
Nick: Sagarmatha (Everest) NP
Rachel: Sagarmatha (Everest) NP
Best Meal
Nick: Dinner at The Third Eye in Kathmandu after our release from Lukla-tandoori chicken at its best
Rachel: dinner at La Dolce Vita in Kathmandu –great Italian food!
Best Wildlife Experience
Nick: Running into a rare musk deer on our way down from Gokyo-what a cute animal
Rachel: Early morning run-in with 2 rhinos while on foot – yikes!
Best View
Nick: Sunset from our lodge in Tadapani on the Poon Hill trek
Rachel: sunset from Tadapani
Best Surprise
Nick: The experience of riding on an elephant in Chitwan
Rachel: How much I love pouring salt water up my nose!!!
Best Hotel/Hostel
Nick: The North Face Inn, Pokhara
Rachel: The North Face Inn, Pokhara
Place to which we’d most like to return
Nick: Trekking to the Annapurna Sanctuary-we were so close
Rachel: The jungle to try and see a tiger!
Most Fun
Nick: Christmas booze cruise on Phewa Lake with Cheryl and Ryan in Pokhara
Rachel: yeah, the booze cruise for sure
Funniest Moment
Nick: Running into one of our Lukla partners, Geoff, in the middle of the jungle nearly 2 months after we parted ways-totally random
Rachel: ditto – especially the way that I yelled “LUKLA!!” the moment I saw him
Nepal Worst’s
Worst City/Town
Nick: None really-Patan if I really had to choose
Rachel: None
Worst Meal
Nick: Every meal at Island Jungle Resort in Chitwan
Rachel: ditto
Biggest Waste of Money
Nick: Probably the Chitwan safari, but it was still pretty cool
Rachel: ditto
Most Disappointing Moment
Nick: Missing Bandipur due to a transportation strike
Rachel: the yoga classes at our yoga retreat (maybe I’m a yoga snob, but the classes were just not good)
Worst Hotel/Hostel:
Nick: Hotel Encounter, Kathmandu, although it had its redeeming points
Rachel: ditto
Saddest Moment
Nick: The street kids in Kathmandu-they beg, get high sniffing glue, and smoke cigarettess
Rachel: Waving goodbye to Dev (our guide) in the airport upon leaving Nepal for the second time
Everest Trek Best’s
Best Day
Nick: The hike from Namche to Deboche (Great views the whole day followed by a splendid sunset)
Rachel: walking down from Gorekshep to Pheriche
Betsy: Hike from Lobuche to Gorakshep. Misty day cleared into beautiful views of snow covered mountains.
Favorite Mountain
Nick: Nuptse or Tabuche or Pumo Ri or Lhotse (I can have 4 favorites)
Rachel: I liked them all
Betsy: Ama Da-BLAM and Tabuche
Favorite Section of Trail
Nick: Machermo to Gokyo (Beautiful views of Cho Oyu and the Gokyo Lakes)
Rachel: Dingboche to Labouche
Betsy: Ditto Rachel
Best Lodge
Nick: The White Yak in Pheriche
Rachel: Hotel Namche, in Namche Bazaar
Betsy: Ditto Nick
Best Meal
Nick: Dal Bhat at Hotel Namche
Rachel: Dal Bhat at Hotel Namche
Betsy: Ditto
Best View
Nick: The top of Gokyo Ri
Rachel: The view from the 5th Gokyo Lake
Betsy: Ditto Rachel
Funniest Moment
Nick: Watching one of our bags roll 100 feet down a big hill.
Rachel: Laughing hysterically as Nick masqueraded around our room late at night (ahem, after 7pm) wrapped in a blanket with the words “miss you” written all over it
Betsy: Tie: Debating with Nick whether the fact that a large dog resembles a small bear actually means they are closely related. Turning into a sloth bear at Lukla.
Biggest Surprise
Nick: Praying with the Buddhist monks at the Thupten Chholing Monastery near Junbesi
Rachel: How happy I was to still be walking after 26 days!
Betsy: Getting altitude sickness at only 7000 ft! Strange! Hurray for Diamox!
Everest Trek Worst’s
Hardest Day
Nick: The trek from Thukla to Lobuche (I had horrible nausea from the high altitude)
Rachel: Hiking up Kala Patthar, feeling like I was going to puke
Betsy: Phortse Tenga to Machermo...no energy left!
Least Favorite Section of Trail
Nick: Pheriche to Phortse (beautiful but scary)
Rachel: anytime we spent too much time going downhill
Betsy: Lukla to Surke (can that count?)
Worst Meal
Nick: None stand out to me
Rachel: the whole cockroach I found in my lunch the last day in Lukla (yuck)
Betsy: Fingernail in soup doesn’t beat cockroach but sure was gross
Worst Lodge
Nick: Machhermo (I can’t remember its name)
Rachel: The Khumbu Resort in Lukla
Betsy: Machermo- had to use floor mat to stay warm...not enough potatoes
Least Favorite Moment
Nick: Every time I had us the restroom at the Khumbu Resort, Lukla-honestly this was the grossest bathroom in the world, and we have seen some gross bathrooms)
Rachel: getting vertigo from the steep trails
Betsy: Weeping at last high point before reaching Machermo because I was so tired and felt so sorry for myself. Haha.
Posts
