Hello all,
11hrs to Tokyo, a 2hr layover -6hrs to Bangkok, a 10 hour layover -2.5hrs to Kathmandu. It didn't sound bad on paper, but the 20hrs in coach was even worse than a 2hour wednesday staff meeting run by Jim Wiatt when he was in one of his "tempers". Now I know why the ticket was so inexpensive. But all in all it went off without a hitch and our hundreds of pounds of gear made it safely off the plane and onto the sadly sagging vehicle that would swiftly "put-put" us through the dusty broken streets of Kathmandu, past sullen looking cattle that were resting in the brick and rock strewn dirt fields where school children were playing. After a Yak steak dinner at the Green Ice, an Italian/Chinese/Indian/Mexican restaurant in the Thamel district, we crashed for the night in our "fancy" hotel.
We are here until the 24th dealing with the final preparations, then we fly by helicopter to Phablhu to start our 14 day trek up to Base Camp. I am sending the Sat-phone on up on Yak train and won't be able to send another message until around April 7th.
Hope all is well back in the world.
Best regards,
Doug MacLaren