Namaste from Kathmandu!!

We are all here, safe and sound! Kathmandu is noisy, busy, and exciting! Sarah met us at the airport. She introduced us immediately to Jenga Lama,who is our Nepali guide for the month, and he gave each of us beautiful silk Katas (scarves) to welcome us to Nepal. (Don't worry, I took pictures.) Sarah has been working with Jenga since 2008 and he is a very trustworthy, intelligent man with a kind smile. He speaks excellent English and has already saved the day: when the porters carrying our bags told me I hadn't tipped them enough and I should tip them twenty times more, Jenga told me not to do it!

We checked into our hotel, which is basically clean and at the end of a side street away from the noisy street traffic. Our rooms are airconditioned--a delightful surprise--and my bed, at least, was actually comfortable. The rooms are quirky, with outlets that make me a bit nervous to use, but they are safe and comfortable for the developing world.

We had a few free hours yesterday afternoon which almost everyone spent browsing the cornucopia of tourist goods in the neighborhood,and then we had a sleepy dinner. Amye and I were easily sound asleep by 8:30 pm.

Now, we are off to Everest!

Waiting to board!

Where are the trekkers today?

Follow our GPS Spot for Bodhi Tree Foundation so you can see where we are each day!
Please beware that this device does not necessarily update the web server in a timely fashion--for example, the latest location posted today is two days old--so don't panic if you see this. It doesn't mean we have disappeared!

Click on the screen shot below or copy the URL:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0dPtUGJjtlkzVOvqd4xZFArngpbv8oRlB

Thank you, CLIF Bar!

Save some room in your bags for extra snacks! CLIF Bar gave us a generous donation of over five boxes of bars and shot blocks for our trek. I'll bring them over and we can distribute in Kathmandu.

Locks for suitcases

Elizabeth asked a great question:

On another note, I had a question about the locks for our bags in Kathmandu. What are you bringing I have a normal combination lock but I that is not going to fit on my zippers. Plus my duffel has about 6 compartments do I need to have a lock on all of them? 

I thought of this exact same issue as I lay in bed last night. It is essential that you are able to lock the bags you plan to leave in Kathmandu while we trek. You may even want to lock your belongings into your suitcases anytime we leave the hotel room.

But you don't need a lock that is Fort Knox--the point is to deter someone from browsing through your bag in a hurry. Imagine the scenario and you will understand--the thief is somewhere he shouldn't be to begin with, so he's not taking his time. He looks at a room full of suitcases: some have locks, some don't. Which do you think he will choose?

A stronger, more expensive lock will not make much difference--if you're dealing with a determined thief who specifically wants what is in YOUR bag, he'll just take your bag.

Regarding the six compartments, well, I wouldn't keep your stash of gold bars in one of those unlocked compartments.... ;) It depends. If you are going to keep things in them, you'd probably not want to tempt the bad guys by leaving them unlocked. An option is just to leave the smaller compartments empty when you check your back at the hotel, and just lock your stuff in the main compartments.

Packing Lighter Than Ever

The bag we carry on our trek (which is only about half of the time we will spend in Nepal–about 15 days) has to weigh 33 pounds or less.

So, I’m carrying about seven pounds of camera equipment alone, and my sleeping bag, ground pad, and pillow together are nearly ten pounds. (No, I don’t want to hear about how I’ll sleep just as well on a lighter weight pad. I won’t.)

First Aid kit is 2.5 pounds… I’m not going to give you all the details but lets just say, 33 pounds is HARD. And I pride myself on being an efficient packer.

I’m going downstairs to weigh my underwear again.

Thank you, Tough Guy Productions!

A big thanks to Tough Guy Productions for donating Beyond Coastal sunscreen & lip balm, CHUMS, and CLIF Bars! It feels great to have the support of the local community. Tough Guy is an internationally recognized ski, film, and event company based out of North Lake Tahoe. www.toughguyproductions.com