Archive for the 'General' Category

Inside our lodge in Namche Bazar

We stayed in a number of different lodges on our trek towards Mt Everest. Every little village has at least one lodge. Many have several. I am not sure of the overall standard of accomodation in this area but those we stayed in were quite adequate.

The dining room, like the one shown in the photo above, is the social gathering point at each lodge. The trekkers gather here to eat, read, talk, relax and sing; each lodge seems to have at least one guitar. We also used the dining room to keep warm. As soon as the sun disappears behind a mountain the temperature drops many degrees in a matter of minutes. The fireplace in each lodge then becomes a popular meeting place.

The food was adequate without being glamorous. At the higher altitudes one just doesn’t feel like eating so having a fixed menu like we did, while seemingly unattractive, was sensible. I was acutely aware, despite my lack of appetite, of the need to keep eating to maintain energy levels. This was but one of the many challenges of trekking.

Maintaining adequate liquid intake was also important. This I generally had no trouble with, although I probably could have drunk more water during each day’s walk. At the end of each section of the trek a hot lemon drink was very refreshing.

The sleeping quarters were sparse and barely adequate. The walls were thin so I was aware of movement and talking in the rooms on either side. Evidently my snoring also penetrated the thin walls very well. The beds have mattresses but they were so thin as to be almost useless. Bruised hips are all the go as a result. I was pleased to have a very good sleeping bag. This is one area you cannot compromise on for without it sleep would be very difficult.

As I travel around Australia I really enjoy looking at the vast range of trees and other plants that we have growing here. This interest is partly me and partly the influence of my wife who blogs about her plant nursery.

As I travel I look particularly for photographic subjects, especially flowers and trees. I have a growing collection of photos of trees, especially the trunks of trees.

One of my posts has been featured on the latest Festival of the Trees #3 carnival over at the Burning Silo blog, “a place where nature, photography and writing meet”. It is well worth a good look, with plenty of interesting blogs to investigate.

Coincidently, another post of mine, this time from my Birding Blog, has been featured on the I and the Bird #31 carnival over at Migrateblog.

In December 2005 and January 2006 I experienced my first trip overseas. I had a four day stopover in Bangkok, Thailand on my way to spending three weeks in Nepal with my daughter. She was on her way home from a twelve months teaching exchange in England.

At the time I published my journal written during this time overseas. At that stage I didn’t have a photo gallery. I have been progressively adding photos to this gallery over recent weeks. I still have many hundreds to add to the gallery.

Over the coming weeks I will be highlighting some of these photos and how they relate to earlier posts on this blog. So if you are a new reader to this blog you can be aware of earlier postings.

Of course the journal I wrote at the time can also be accessed through the archives section of this blog.

River scene, Bangkok, Thailand