Nepal - hiking adventure

[Dantas]

We arrived at the Durbar Hotel in Kathmandu at around 8.30pm - a long day! It was twin share rooms again (it works well with these types of tours) and we were on the fourth floor, via stairs only. I'd put this hotel in the two star category and it was fine for one night.

After checkin we grabbed a late snack of momos and had a refreshing ale at Reggaes Bar, which is rooftop.

Tuesday - breakfast at Durbar was a very lightly stocked buffet but they cooked eggs to order so I had a masala omelette and black coffee. We then set off on foot to Durbar Square, dodging traffic, locals, dogs, motorbikes and the like. It's easy enough to get around with Google Maps, as with any city like this, you just have to take care and stay alert. There's an entry fee of Rs1000 at the square which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which has multiple temples, a palace that was used by the former royal family and a museum. Market vendors are also scattered around the square but they weren't pushy and prices for souvenirs etc were reasonable.

After a quick coffee my travel mate and I broke away from the rest of the group who went to the Monkey Temple. We had a much needed shave and haircut at New Barber Junction for the bargain price of Rs400 ($AU4.40).

We then found lunch at Local Restro and Bar. We shared a momo selection (steamed and fried) and I had chicken biryani. Great food here and good views from the rooftop section. We then wandered around with no real plans apart from shopping and then caught up with the rest of the group at Mitho Restaurant for an early dinner.

We farewelled our local guide Naran and caught taxis to the airport. It's really the only means of getting there. I’ll let the photo of the airport drop off area explain the chaos that we had to deal with but once we were in the terminal the chaos became slightly organised. Checkin for CX was quick and straight forward but I used the J/priority queue. We then were told to watch our checkin luggage go through the scanner and if it wasn’t pulled aside then we were good to go. After passing through immigration which was also quick, I went to the Horizon Lounge which is used by CX. Strangely, it is before security! It doesn't have showers and toilets are external to the lounge which was a little frustrating as I needed the use of the facilities as soon as I arrived. There's a small but reasonable buffet and a decent selection of drinks including beer, wine and spirits. It became quite crowded after an hour or so and would have been close to capacity. Overall it was just a quieter space to wait rather than in the main section of the terminal but not a particularly great experience.

There were some boarding announcements but not CX640 to HKG! I passed through security with a few minutes to spare before boarding commenced. Again, a short bus ride from the terminal to the aircraft, my first of four Airbus' to get home. CX640 left on time at 2255 and I was in 11A in J. The seat next to me was vacant.

I ordered chicken biryani and a glass of French white wine (I can't recall any further details) but I nodded off during service but they came back to me when I woke up. It's just a four hour flight and I slept for most of it given the time of night. The arrival into HKG was on time at 0525.

 

[Scarlett]

Some great and fairly unique images in this trip report @Dantas.
Noicely done.

 

[Dantas]

Thankyou, it hasn’t been difficult though! So many great landscapes and opportunities.

 

[Dantas]

I booked day-use room at Novotel Citygate which is about a 10-minute shuttle bus ride from HKG airport. I arrived shortly after 6.00am and wasn’t surprised when they told me my room wasn’t ready as it was reserved for 7.00am. Clearly they weren’t familiar with the day-use concept as they also told me that check in is at 2.00pm. After further discussion they told me to check back at 10.00am. By about 9.00am the dedicated ALL Accor desk opened so I tried my luck and had a room key within minutes! I just had a standard room but it was fairly spacious with a huge bathroom.

The plan was to catchup on sleep given the short flight the night before and time change, but I decided against it. Citygate Outlets is an outlet mall that inter-connects with the Novotel so I spent a few hours shopping. I then caught the train into the city for further shopping and lunch.

It was then back to the airport for QF128 HKG-SYD which was delayed by 40 mins. Check-in was straightforward and I was issued with a ‘Courtesy Channel’ (handwritten) voucher for priority security and immigration clearance. The queues were short though so it was of no benefit.

I went to the Pier Lounge again and was surprised to see the menu had changed since my last visit only a week or so earlier. I can recommend the clam chowder, pan seared Atlantic salmon and mushroom ravioli but didn’t care for the Dan dan noodles. The soup/liquid was too thick which made the noodles too hard to separate. There was no boarding announcement (as I was on QF I suppose) and it was a 10-12 min walk to the gate. Further delays at the gate and we boarded about an hour late. The A330 was 21 years old (I’ve been on this one twice previously) and I was in 4K. The interior is showing ware with its fair share of chips and scratches. The IFE screen was blacked-out and eventually changed to ‘please wait’ and we were told it will fire up when the second engine is running. Which it did.

The service was pretty slow; it was about two hours into the flight before mains were served. I had potato and carrot soup followed by beer roasted chicken and lemon panna cotta to follow. I also souvenired another of the new amenity kit bags – makes a change to the plain boring ones they have had recently. I slept right though until breakfast was served. Arrival into SYD was fast and easy. I wasn’t aware of the (temporary?) changes to the QF transfer bus and was ushered outside (not through security) to opposite Rydges and onto a Skybus to T3. I’ve since read comments in the QF forum on here – worth a read. It takes longer as the bus exits the airport precinct and joins normal traffic via Airport Drive and then approaches the terminal in the public drop-off area, which at times I would imagine would be rather busy. Then I had to go through T3 security. So anyone transferring with a tight connection might be in trouble.

I freshened up with a shower in the J lounge before having a scrambled egg panini and a decent coffee.

I’m currently on QF443 SYD-MEL on VH-OGA; the first QF A321XLR. And this is my first experience on it. This is the 1230 service and I then connect to HBA. But why fly direct…. Well three reasons: to try out the new aircraft, more SCs and points and I’m also on a DSC itinerary. And perhaps a fourth one: the next service to HBA was a later 1410 departure so I won’t lose too much time. I’ll take this TR to the finish and will have one last post.

 

[Dantas]

QF443 was on time and with friendly crew. I sat in 1D and had a great beef salad (huge) with a Barossa Shiraz. As for the 321 – nothing remarkable but the overhead blue lighting is a nice touch. Larger overhead lockers are also a bonus. I think the wireless phone chargers might be 1mm wider than the A220 (someone will tell me they are the same, no doubt) as my phone actually fitted and it was charging. It won’t fit comfortably on an A220 as my case is too big.

I didn’t venture backwards to confirm the looax situation but I believe they have got that under control for future orders. No spice bar for me in the J lounge as the beef salad was filling on the last flight, but had a chat to a fellow Hobartian before my next flight being QF1295 A220 MEL-HBA.

It was a full flight so boarding took a while but all on time. The owner of MONA and his wife were in row 3; I was in 1D again which is my preferred seat on this aircraft. I’ve been on the A220 countless times and it is so much quieter than the 321. They have different purposes but I know which one I prefer.

Service was great (always is on QantasLink) and they had the exact same selection of wines as my previous flight. I had a veg curry and the Shiraz, which was going down well so I even said yes to the paper cup in preparation for landing. Now…back home after the usual 30-40 min wait for baggage claim at HBA.

So that concludes my first TR! I probably went into too much detail and perhaps too many photos but I’m usually after specific information when I search on AFF, so hopefully there is something useful in amongst all this for other members. Happy to answer any questions if anyone wants to send a DM.

If you are considering hiking in Nepal, here are a few tips/considerations:

- Whilst it is possible to go alone, pre-arranging a guide that will accompany you will take all (or at least most) of the stress away. I went with Adventure Nepal which is Melbourne-based; find their website for more info. This included both an Australian guide and a Nepali guide. The fee paid to them was about $3500 per person which included all accommodation, road transport, domestic airfare, most meals, hiking permits (which can be frustrating and expensive to obtain), local guides. It excluded porters ($210 for six days), alcohol, lunch/dinner pre and post-trek, international airfares to and from Kathmandu (but they can arrange), travel insurance and additional activities such as paragliding and the helicopter ride. Whilst those additional activities were extra cost, they also arrange them for us.

- Take appropriate gear, including walking poles. I only started using poles a year or so ago and they really pay off when descending, reducing strain on your knees.

- I suggest taking a sleeping bag and inflatable pillow. Another member commented that the tea houses can be damp (one we stayed at was) and it is questionable how often the linen is washed. The mattresses are fine, so I don’t believe a camping mattress is required. I used the linen/doona under my sleeping bag for extra comfort. The sleeping quarters are not heated and usually separate to the dining quarters which have wood-heating (or was it yak poo?).

- Use a porter. The cost is minimal and it’s a good experience for you both to get to know each other. Depending on the weight of your park and the level of your fitness, it may also mean enjoying the hike rather than struggling to get through it. Also, we played cards and shared a drink with our porters on most nights which I am sure they appreciated.

- Go with an appropriate fitness level. Obviously this varies depending on your circumstances but if you’re not used to hiking up (and down) reasonably steep terrain then find a national park and do some training.

- Take a selfie stick (I forgot mine).

 

[kileskus]

Great TR and photos, thank you.

Did you see anyone in your group not using a porter, and if so how did they go with that? If they struggled mid-way during the trip was it possible to hire a porter then or would that be too late?

 

[OZDUCK]

Excellent TR - especially for your first go

Some pretty amazing photos.