Dispatch 2- Kathmandu, Nepal:
March 22
After surviving the flight, Mark Tucker and I got our share of exercise
in baggage claim retrieving our 22 duffel bags (2 personal
duffels each and 18 group duffels) and shuttling them through
customs to the parking lot where it hits you - we really aren't
anywhere near home anymore (not even a little bit).
Ahhh
... Kathmandu- it is quit difficult to describe the visual assault
that this place greets its visitors with. Small cars, motorcycles,
three-wheeled four-stroke engine bearing tuk-tuks, rickshaws, and pedestrians
are all vying for the impossibly small streets and alleys, swerving
to miss the resident "sacred" cows
and trash piles on the streets. This moving visual stimulation
is paired with brightly colored attention getting signs hanging
from rickety looking not-quite-level cement and rebar buildings
(that I would hate to be stuck in during an earthquake). Then
layer on the fact that people drive on the left side of the
street and Nepal uses a different alphabet. It is enough to
be a little overwhelming.
Over the first few days in Kathmandu , various member
s of our climbing
party have come into town and are starting
to get to know one another. The first few days are really interesting
with everyone adjusting not only to a new time zone and physical
surroundings, but also a new community of people that they
will be spending more than two months with in a variety of situations.
The majority of Mark's and my time was spent at the Great Escapes trekking office preparing for our March 25 departure from Kathmandu: overseeing packing, finalizing gear selection, details of various permits and dates for the approach and a hundred other minute details that can make a big difference down the road.
The numbers . . .
7 - movies were shown on my flights from Seattle to Kathmandu
60 - tents were packed to use on the mountain at base camp and the three camps above
71 - rupees (Nepali currency) can be bought with one US dollar
Day by Day
19 March - Flew from Seattle to Los Angeles , picked up group gear that had been trucked in and checked 18 excess bags at the airline ticket counter. Flew across International Dateline.
20 March - Flew from Dateline via Osaka, Japan to Bangkok, Thailand.
21 March - Flew from Bangkok into Kathmandu , Nepal . Met three team members. Arrived at hotel and rested.
22 March - Worked on packing, organizing etc. at Great Escapes office. Met five more climbing team members and three trekkers. Tested satellite phone / computer compatibility.
23 March - More organization at Great Escapes Office. Some shopping for odds and ends. Meet remaining team members.
Packing base camp food and sleeping bags for up high on the mountain in a tent in the yard of the Great Escapes trekking office.
