Start of an Adventure

The start of a journey to the roof of the world......may be not quite to the roof. Not an ordinary destination though unless you are into adventure or may be going for some soul searching!

Accompanying me are two avid trekkers, also keen photographers. Although setting off a few days after Hari Raya isn’t the best timing, but then this is supposed to be the start of good weather period in these high grounds of Asia. The massive flooding of the low lands down below in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan over the last months are stark reminder of the severe calamity the wet season could cause in these parts of the world.

As usual, it was a last minute packing. Out came my geological boots, back pack, sleeping bag and all sort of gears that I used to be fairly acquainted with during my university days. But those were the good days when one just pack and carry the bare minimum.

During those days when I was out for days or weeks on field-trip to Snowdonia, Spain or Scotland, it was just a matter of packing a few clothing, some notes and of course the geological hammer. Nowadays you would not go without taking a travel insurance, a long list of medicines, spare clothing, plenty of food rations, laptop and charger, mobile and charger, blackberry and charger...and the list just go on and on.

There is no easy flight going to Nepal. One has to go via Singapore or Bangkok and staying overnight in these two places. We opted for the latter and it costs about BND1250 for a return trip. I have only been twice to Bangkok, not a place I am familiar with. The airport is quite large and busy – a sign of how important tourism is to this place.

One thing that I am always impressed about the Thai people is their utter respect and deep obedient to their king. The people themselves are also very respectful to others especially tourists, and importantly it really comes for the heart, something that is getting harder to find in many places in this modern world.

The flight to Kathmandu takes about 3 hours. Surprisingly the wide-bodied Boeing 777 aircraft was used for our flight. The flight was full, packed with trekkers from all over the world, many going for their own adventure and exploration to one of the last place on Earth worth visiting by everyone. Time will tell how our own adventure will develop.