There are only 15 months to go before my girlfriend, Smithy, and I head off for our 3-month trip to the Himalayas! This time, we'll be going to Tibet...travelling into Everest Base Camp then across the country to do a 3-day pilgrimage around Mt Kailash. Then back to Kathmandu to meet up with 2 friends from Melbourne who are joining us on the Annapurna Circuit, with a side trek to Tilicho Lake. Back to Kathmandu we'll farewell our friends and head east to the Khumbu region to try and climb Mera Peak, the tallest trekking peak in Nepal.
People ask me why I like trekking so much, and why in Nepal. For one thing, the mountains don't come much bigger than in Nepal. For sheer majesty, you cannot beat the Himalayas. And, you have to work to see them. No driving a car and pulling up beside the road to enjoy the view.
A quote I read a while ago really sums up what trekking does for me. It said "I go to the mountains to learn how to live better in my own world". When you're out there on the trail and there are no newspapers, no TV, no radio, phones, nothing to connect you to the world you come from, you really do become uncluttered and begin to realise just how unimportant so much of what we fill our lives with and yearn after really is.
I come back from the mountains refreshed and relaxed. Each time, I come home feeling more content with what I already have and with loads more respect and humility towards the many many people who are getting by with oh so much less than me. I come home knowing that I can make a difference...that the $4o a month I spend on child sponsorship is effective, cos a dollar goes a long long way in a country like Nepal.
Mainly though, I love trekking in the Himalayas because it is so awesomely spectacular!
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