End of expedition, Kathmandu, 11 December 2009
I’ve been in Kathmandu now for a couple of days again, after the always-exciting flight out of Lukla. Beers has been drunk, and some great dinners had in Kathmandu’s finest local restaurants. After spending a month in such a remote area, it took a while to get used to the mad traffic and bustle of Kathmandu again. At least the Hotel Shanker provides old-world colonial style peace and quiet. It’s the Mount Nelson of Kathmandu and I feel a bit like a character out of a Wilbur Smith novel. (His characters always stay in the Mount Nelson in Cape Town, and wears Rolex watches!) Not having to eat breakfast in full down gear in subzero temperatures is awesome, and doing it via room service even better!
It’s hard to really describe the friendships formed, and the awesome opportunity of having been on an expedition like this. I hope that through attempting to share some of my experiences in trying to cope in this harsh environment also brought you some understanding on the heroism of cancer survivors. Hopefully it inspired you to support an organization like PLWC who tries to make that hard cancer road easier for people who have to travel it.
I’m off on an overland trip into Tibet tomorrow, ending in Lhasa in a week’s time, to be back for Christmas in the Southern Cape. Looking forward to some warmer weather! I wish everyone who’ve read all this a Merry Christmas, and prosperous New Year!
Pieter