Getting Home

We had the afternoon and all of the next day to explore and shop in Kathmandu. We visit two  Buddhist Stupa’s: The Great Stupa of Bodhnath and then climb 365 stairs up to Swayambhunath also known as the Monkey Temple. We had an excellent farewell dinner at a Tibetan restaurant. (total cost for 15 persons around $200, including drinks)

Kathmandu to Hong Kong

The married couple, Frith and Sheila remained here and would then continue on to Bangkok. Saturday (10Nov) morning we fly back to Hong Kong and arrive late in the afternoon for an overnight stay at the Metropole Hotel. Ryan and I are invited to Jim and Donna Phair for dinner. (They used to live across the street from us in North Vancouver, and now Jim is on a 2-year assignment for Telus International). The remaining group meets for Chinese dinner and ends up costing $80 each. 

Hong Kong to Vancouver

Pam, Ken and Wake visit here for longer and Marc flies back to England. The remaining group flies out on Sunday (11Nov) afternoon and we arrive in Vancouver in the morning of the same day.

What a great holiday….It exceeded my expectations!

Was I challenged physically? Not at all. I am used to exercising strenuously for 30-45 minutes per day. Yes, we were trekking from 3 to 6 hours each day, but it was not physically demanding. The advantage of being fit is that one hardly sweats and stays dry, were as the others had to change and cover up as soon as we rested. It seems one cannot ever get enough air! In 21 days I only ran 4 times. It is very difficult at altitude; Kathmandu is too busy and polluted.

Despite all the good food, I was down 3 lbs to 152 lbs (68.9Kg) on returning home.

Costs approximately:
Air price         $1400US
Land price      $2300US (covered everything on trek including
                                          sleeping bag)
Extras: meals in Hong Kong and Kathmandu
(except for our final meal at Tibetan restaurant) 
Equipment:
Shots & prescriptions
Passports
Spending 
Film  (we shot 15 rolls of 24)