Breakfast date

Weather it's because he's saved up for 9 months or if it's cause he thinks I'm unreliable and could be gone again tomorrow I'm not sure, but Henry and I had a pretty great catch-up over breakfast my first morning back. For over an hour we sat and talked non-stop, or I should say he talked :)

Reunions

I was lucky enough to be able to catch up with Cal, Guy and their newest member of the family...cute little Gabriel, before I left. So wonderful to see you guys again!

When I came home I was greeted at the airport by my favourite little boy...who's not so little anymore...

...he's now a big brother who proudly showed off little Sam to me...the other favourite boy in my life now :)

I'm Coming Home :)

Good Bye SEA

Just cruised down the PIE for the last time in my pimped out bed-back-seat of a van. It's not without sadness that I leave Singapore behind together with many good friends. However, the fact that these two beautiful boys will be waiting in the arrival hall as I step off the plane makes the journey and leaving a little bit easier.

GOOD BYE ASIA....HELLO SWEDEN

Skype I love

So amazing to be able to "talk" to my 24 hours old nephew even though I'm not there. So cute laying on the couch kicking his legs. Henry was lying next to him all passed out on the couch from the excitement and changes coming his way. Crazy how big my little Henry looked all of a sudden, big brother is getting big :)

Baby brother

A skype call with Linda last night made it hard to fall asleep...her water had just broke and the contractions were setting in. I finally did fall asleep but only to be woken up a couple of hours later at 4am by a call from mom...baby brother is here, healthy and cute as can be, and I am an auntie again!! Best wake up call ever!!! Born 22/03/11 around 8pm. Can't wait to see him.

Mar 2nd-4th

Day 14

A somewhat scary, but well worth bus ride took us all the way to beautiful Pokhara. A nice evening enjoying the sunset by Lakeside and strolling down the streets for some shopping.

Our colourful bus

Some sights along the way

that's the road we went on cutting through the mountains

my favourite

Domi and Nima

Lakeside sunset

My whole face peeled off afterwards

Day 15

Back to Kathmandu and a nice reunion dinner with Mingmar. My face might be red, but Nima has the worst sunglas marks ever :)

Day 16

After some final Kathmandu shopping among the streets of colourful wool, it was time to say goodbye and head back to Singapore.

Mingmar and his wife came with Domi to send us off and wish us a good journey...their tradition is to give the white scarfs that I'm wearing for good luck and safe travels.

Mar 1st

Day 13

The last stretch

Poor Sue came down the mountain with two blue nails on her big toes. I never knew how much of a difference being used to walking in snow could make. We still had one day of walking, but had luckily reached a place from which a jeep could be taken. Domi and Nima quickly worked things out for us so that I could continue trekking and Sue could go in a jeep.

Domi and I set off for our last hike which compared to the past two days felt like a stroll around the neighbourhood. I try to breath in and bring with me as much of the mountain air as possible.

Somewhere up there is the top we crossed

Some different views

Reaching Jomsom

where some celebration was in order :)

Feb 28th

Day 12

It’s 5 am, and with our headlights on we set off up the mountain in complete darkness…but under a clear starry sky like nothing I’ve ever seen before. While feeling lucky that my stomach is good enough for me to be able to push it to the back of my mind I’m also wondering what on earth I’m putting myself through. The snow has covered any signs of a path, the icy wind makes it feel like someone is slapping your face and fingers and toes are running a hard battle of trying to keep sensation. Thank goodness for our guides who, despite much harsher conditions than expected, stepped up and trudged through the snow in order to create a trail that we could all follow.

As the sun rises we start to warm up a bit and 4 hours later we reach our peek. 5416 meters, the Thorong La pass…an absolutely amazing feeling! I realize that I like these kind of challenges, I like how they push me forward…which puts me in better spirits than most others there and I believe I might be the only one who actually enjoys the trek back down on the other side. My glass is very much half full at this moment. Eventhough the time at the top, the actual goal that has taken days to reach, only lasts for a few minutes, the achievement of getting there will always stay with me.

We set off...

...in the dark

Sun is slowly rising...but it is still pretty darn cold

4 hours later...first group to reach the top

Yihoo!!

Me, sue and our two heros :) Such a great team

Happiest feeling ever was to look up and see these prayer flags...that meant the top was in sight

On my way down, feeling tired as heck but oh so good!

Finally down and enjoying the warmth of the sun

Feb 27th

Day 11

Some tough times

The day starts off with a beautiful sunrise and I feel great and excited for today’s hike. It becomes a pleasant and beautiful trek through the snow…that is up until lunchtime for my part. My energized and happy spirit takes a hit as a knife cutting stomachache appears from nowhere. While one group after another sets off after lunch to continue on the last 1½ hours straight uphill trek to High Camp, I’m stuck squatting at the outhouse…feeling like I was gonna faint from the pain and fall into the squatter with numb legs, frosty butt cheeks and ice cold toes. However, well taken care of by Sue and Domi I start feeling my toes again and my stomach settles a little bit. Determined to get to High Camp before dark my stubbornness sets in and takes me up the mountain in record time. Mostly because after having to stop twice along the climb up to dig a hole in the snow and politely ask the German couple to pass me and not look back, I was now out of tissues and a slight snowfall had started.

Extremely happy to have made it I forced some rice and soup down my belly, stuffed myself with imodium and went to bed. Tomorrow was the big day and a 4am wake up call awaited. Wise from the -6°C night before I went to bed with a hot water bottle for a warmer and cozier night…however, an upset stomach, high altitude and a slight headache still made it for a bad sleep.

some great views of course

Feeling great at this point

such a beautiful day

trekking crew

trudging through the snow

tea break

the lovely lady at the tiny little tea hut in the middle of nowhere

Finally all cuddled up around the fire

Feb 26th

Day 10

Oh uh...a cloudy morning

Today is make it or break it, if we can't move on then we need to turn around in order to make it back in time...all I know is that I do not want to turn and walk the same way back again, without crossing the pass. Stubbornly, after considering changing flight tickets and waiting around for the blue skies, we decide to chance it. At this point hikers have all caught up with each other and our decision creates a chain reaction, all in all 25 people inclusive of guides and porters push on and set off up the mountain. Luck was on our side as the sun peeked through and the snow held off just long enough for us to get to our next stop.

And we're off

And are one step closer as we snuggle into our beds in Jakarka

Feb 24th-25th

Day 8

Manang

End of day 8 and we reach our rest point Manang. It’s been 5 days since I last washed my hair and 4 days since I had anything other than a wet-wipe shower. The weather has been cold and the water in the pipes is all frozen. So, with a bucket of hot water I decide to go for it. Strategically washing my hair while still fully dressed and then very quickly shower the rest of me, got me surprisingly warmed up. I feel like a new person and look forward to a day of rest and being clean.

I do start to feel that the air is a lot thinner as I have a need of sleeping on my back so that my airways feel like they are as free and open as possible...imagination or real? Not so sure...

Day 9

Our day to acclimatize.

We wake up to a cloudy sky, followed by a constant snowfall all day and it becomes a long day of reading, playing cards and talking by the fire. A short trip out only to experience a dead village. Everything is closed, it feels and looks as if people have just abandoned the cold and snow and fled the field. As I go to bed in a room that holds 6°C, I feel a bit worried about what today’s snowfall will mean for us tomorrow.

A deserted Manang

Feb 21st-24th

Day 5-8

Hike hike hike

Bare hills, lush foresters, harsh rocks, rapid rivers, high waterfalls, cute settlements and snow covered mountain tops are views that overtake each other along our hike. The higher we get the colder it gets, but when the sun beats down and the uphills are steep I am sometimes only in my t-shirt sweating. Hat, mittens, scarf and many other layers come on as soon as the hike is over for the day…and I feel like very quickly I become one with my hat that is on 24/7.

At times we are walking through patches of pine forest and I feel a bit like home. The smell, the trees, the small soft path, and the fresh spring breeze…but then I look up and I'm faced by giant snow-covered mountaintops…yup, Nepal it is.

I must key in to the cliché of heading up into the mountains to find yourself and find piece. There is something so comforting and relaxing about just walking through the mountains…it’s like nothing can touch you and everything just runs off you somehow. Sometimes I think, sometimes I talk, sometimes I sing to myself, sometimes I’m just empty and mechanically one foot is put infront of the other. It’s peaceful, it’s empowering…it’s Nepal!

There was a point in my life when I used to take a picture in my head by the blink of my eyes, to capture a special moment or feeling. In Nepal I quickly learned that no matter how many pictures I take, there is no way for me to capture the magnificence and feel of the mountains…but I also already know that there will still be thousands of pictures on the camera by the time I leave…but non of them probably half as good and special as the ones I keep in my mind.

Day 5 – a long day of hiking, but not to bad of an incline.

Day 6 – a good hike, incline was tough at moments, but not such a long way to go.

Day 7 – same as day 6, but starting to trek through snow. Layers of clothing for sleeping has now increased to thermals, fleece pants, 2 pair of wool socks, long sleeved t-shirt, hoody, wool jacket, wool hat and mittens...starting to get a little bit cold :)

Day 8 – Winter wonderland. A hard trek balancing on a small path on the side of a steep edge, through a snowy landscape...beautiful.

Just the usual run of bringing chickens up the mountain

There were some steep cliffs (skip this one Nillan)

And cute mountain kids everywhere

Working on a new road. Safety first...or not...

The mules walking across one of many wiggly suspention bridges...amazing animals

Bringing the mules home

Spent some nice evenings playing cards with Domi and Nima

"Super granny" walking down the mountain, just carrying a little bit of wood. They are so amazingly strong.

Hmm, I know a day of walking tires you out and you need a lot of carbs for energy...but 9 potatoes for one person, really?! I gulped 5 of them and then thought I was gonna burst.

The swedish pine forest...with the annapurna mountain region in the background :)

Some truly amazing views

and exciting paths

more and more snow is coming our way

Home for the night. My poor ear had to put up with quite a few very hard pillows...in the mornings my ear would have the same feeling as when you've talked on the phone for waaaay to long

Lower Pisang village...

...where I fell in love with the children that lived at our tea house

Note that the little guy on the right has no shoes on!

Love that playing doesn't mean you have to be able to speak the same language

However, it did sort of make me wanna rub every little bit of me down with hand sanitizer afterwards though :)

A little break along the way

Love how the animals just run around everywhere

The tiny little roads of Manang village were covered in snow