Departure Day: Singapore Changi Airport

I remembered having our very first meeting in Jan 2008 to discuss who should be in the team. Many of us, including myself, were unsure if we would be able to participate. There were concerns about having to take long leave, level of diffculty, etc. The day finally arrived...

Log No: 07-04-09
Flight number (Thai Air): TG402-TG319
Departure Singapore: 0800hrs
Arrival Bangkok (Transit): 0855hrs
Departure Bangkok: 1035hrs
Arrival Kathmandu: 1245hrs

The team gathered at Changi Airport Terminal One at 5.45am waiting to check-in. We did not really talk much other than some small discussions as to what should we do when we arrive in Kathmandu. Deep down everybody knew that "this is it...the time has come"

Our flight went well, less the cloudy sky that blocked a fair bit of the Himalayan range when we peered through the window.

At Bangkok Airport

We arrived at Kathmandu at 12.35pm (KTM) and waited for over 40mins before our duffle bags showed up on the conveyor belt. As we stepped out of the airport, our Nepali Scout friend Naresh was there to greet us with kata scarves. ACME guesthouse had also sent a driver to pick us up from the airport. And when we approached our van, several Nepali came forward offering to carry our bags up the van. Of course, they wanted tips and so I conveniently pointed at Yew Hoong and asked them to get the tips from him :-)

Waiting at Kathmandu Airport ...Wearing the Kata scarves from Naresh

ACME guesthouse is located in Thamel, the heart of Kathmandu for tourists, where the streets are filled outdoor adventure companies and shops that sell trekking equipments, food and souvenirs (tea, handicrafts and embroidery).

Thamel street (and also the rest of Kathmandu) is always dusty and we had to resort to wearing our face mask and buff to prevent ourselves from developing any cough that will only aggravate when we gain higher altitude during the trek*. I was particularly vulnerable as I had developed an infection just before the trip, making me cough non-stop. I had to make sure that the coughing does not get worst in Kathmandu.

Once we dropped our bags in the guesthouse, we headed straight to Equator Expeditions, the trekking company that we engaged to guide us to Everest Base Camp, Kalapatthar and Island Peak, for the first briefing and payment.

Briefing at Equator Expeditions

Once the briefing ended, we left immediately to buy our trekking stuff such as lightweight pants, long sleeve tshirts, fleece pants gloves, sleeping bag liners, etc. The rush was necessary because of our dinner appointment hosted by Naresh's parents at their home.

Naresh's father, Naresh, Naresh's wife and me

*From basecampmd.com: The relative humidity at high altitude is extraordinarily low, and almost invariably irritates the respiratory tract. The result is the infamous “Khumbu cough”, which can be serious enough to cause a person to cough hard enough to break a rib.

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