Reisavontuur: unemployed and happy ...
 hile queensday in holland has not only
drowned in drunk orange people but also in heavy rainfalls, the sun in
my head started shining this morning. Waking up having a massive
hangover and being unemployed is something i didn't experience last 8
years, but I can recommend that to everyone. I feel liberated and happy
and of course I finally have time to arrange things for my
trip.Last week I started to make up my mind about what I would like to do when I arrive in Kathmandu. I have been surfing and reading a lot about Nepal; the time of the year i am there, the regions i want to visit, the things i still have to buy, the political situation and since I don't really wanna trek totally solo I have tried to come in contact with people also visiting nepal in the same period as I do. Loads of info is available on the internet but that doesn't neccesarily make things easier. A lot of things i read were contradictonary so I guess, though I wanna be well prepared, i will be surprised anyway. What I found out so far, that due hot weather in may and the monsoon which is coming, the best thing to do is to get my ass up high as soon as possible during may/june and then spend june/july somewhere in the kathmandu valley doing day trips and small treks. I have had a large amount of info from peopele recently visiting Nepal so that should work out fine. With help from some nice but mainly practical internet sites i found some people with the same intrests and same budget, willing to trek together without porters or guides as well. The plan I have now is to spend the first month doing the classical everest trek. Going to Jiri by bus and trek to the Everst Basecamp passing by Lukla and Namche Bazaar, then go to Gokyo climb the Gokyo Ri there and head for the Cho La Pass then descent a little and go up again to Everest Basecamp to watch the Khumbu Icefall, then go back in the direction of Namche Bazaar making sitesteps for climbing some "easy" peaks which one can climb without having a permit. And then finally go to the Tengpoche monastry and leave Namche Bazaar and go to Lukla. Depending on the state i am in after 20/30 days of walking I'll fly out of Lukla back to Kathmandu or walk back to Jiri and take a bus. So this is the main planning I have for the first month of my visit. I really hope that it will still work out when I get there. I don't have the slightest clue how to arrange this when i am in Kathmandu, if i actual will meet the people I email with right now (an australian and two french girls), and stuff like that. So I have to be pretty flexible about it all, which isn't really a problem for me, saying everything will be fine anyway, always :-) The main concerns for now are the things I still have to do before I go next wednesday. Still haven't fetched my visum, I have to arrange some insurance stuff and make some arrangements for my moneymatters, My first aid kit is about to be completed and the gear I have for trekking is pretty complete. Have to buy lots of stuff though, but I have plenty of time next week, because I am really unemployed and don't have to work for a pretty long time :-) Still my emotions switch between being totally nervous and asking myself why the hell i need to go to Nepal all alone and being totally happy that I have the privelege to quit my job and have this feeling that I am totally free and can do what I want with my life. I go for a beer now, celebrating Queensday and practising for the monsoon in the rain. anyway ... i'll keep in touch .. | ||||||||||||||
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