STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

I think your travels are so cool!

My hairstylist is currently doing a India/Nepal/Tibet trip (with a stop in Thailand for relaxation on the beach....) but I can ask him some things when he gets back if you want me to.

I've had a few friends who have done the Tibet thing but they have all gone into Tibet from China so it might be a different experience. They've all had to arrange things through a travel company which facilitates all the extra crap that China will throw at you. They've all done Base Camp stuff and have said it's been life-changing to go to Everest.

My brother is leaving for Nepal soon, for a month and a half to two months. I can ask him what he plans to do (although he's a super hardcore cyclist/mountain biker/hiker). I don't know if you'd be interested in his plans to kill himself mountain biking in Nepal though. He's also planning on stopping in Malaysia and Singapore on his way back to the States.

I haven't been to Nepal myself, but I would HIGHLY recommend tours from this company: www.adventurecenter.com. I've used them for a trip to Egypt, and my parents did a tour with them through Thailand and Malaysia. They contract with European tour companies, they tours are always very small, and they focus on giving back to local communities, off the beaten track activities, as well as the major sites. They're also generally very affordable.

gingembre - thanks for the info. I'll take a look at that site.  I'm kind of anti-tour group, but maybe they have some piece meal tours...

relrel - good idea - I'll PM escrime

You'll LOVE it there, D. It's amazing there. What are you looking to do? What areas are you looking to go?

3 days in Kathmandu was enough for me to see everything. The temples and everything just got tiring, especially when you could see the mountains while walking around the city. When I got to the jungle and out of the city...it was amazing.

The best time to go is actually around October and November (the times that I have been) as well as in March and April.

I spent time in Kathmandu, Chitwan, Pokhara and Nagarkot.

Let me know what thoughts you have and I can throw in my two cents. :)



-- Edited by Escrime at 13:45, 2009-02-26

I played e-polo in the jungle. :)

I actually stayed at a jungle lodge, and we did safaris...walking, boating, elephant back. We played with the elephants and had black tie events...wearing evening gowns in the jungle is an interesting experience!

We saw so much wildlife though...a few of the other players got to see a tiger! It's crazy seeing these animals and then realizing...uh...there's no gate there to protect me. LOL We did have guides with us there who worked for the jungle lodge, and it was cool being with people who were so well versed in the area and could track the animals.

Kathmandu was really neat. It is very polluted though, and the sounds and smells got to me after a few days, so it was nice to go out into the countryside. The people were really nice, and the temples and museums were really interesting...just not one after the other because it just got blurred.

Nagarkot was amazing. We stayed at the hotel http://www.nepalshotel.com/ch/ and went to go watch the sun rise over the Himalayas with hot tea. In the evenings, you could sit out on your balcony, and it just looked like you could reach up and grab the stars.

I also proceeded to have an all day spa treatment there which ran me about 75 for the whole day. I tipped them more than I paid for the treatments, but it was soooo nice.

Pokhara has two great lakes and is a great area for trekking, too. A friend rented a motorcycle with a guide and toured the countryside for two days with a local guide. He loved doing that.

Which base camp trips were you looking for?

Escrime wrote:

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I played e-polo in the jungle. :)

I actually stayed at a jungle lodge, and we did safaris...walking, boating, elephant back. We played with the elephants and had black tie events...wearing evening gowns in the jungle is an interesting experience!

We saw so much wildlife though...a few of the other players got to see a tiger! It's crazy seeing these animals and then realizing...uh...there's no gate there to protect me. LOL We did have guides with us there who worked for the jungle lodge, and it was cool being with people who were so well versed in the area and could track the animals.

Kathmandu was really neat. It is very polluted though, and the sounds and smells got to me after a few days, so it was nice to go out into the countryside. The people were really nice, and the temples and museums were really interesting...just not one after the other because it just got blurred.

Nagarkot was amazing. We stayed at the hotel http://www.nepalshotel.com/ch/ and went to go watch the sun rise over the Himalayas with hot tea. In the evenings, you could sit out on your balcony, and it just looked like you could reach up and grab the stars.

I also proceeded to have an all day spa treatment there which ran me about 75 for the whole day. I tipped them more than I paid for the treatments, but it was soooo nice.

Pokhara has two great lakes and is a great area for trekking, too. A friend rented a motorcycle with a guide and toured the countryside for two days with a local guide. He loved doing that.

Which base camp trips were you looking for?

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that sounds right up my alley!

however, this is what dc had in mind:

"Basically it is two weeks of trekking (staying at tea houses, camping, etc), and it also includes summiting one of the mountains (18K feet) with a view of everest."

Here are some sample itineraries:
http://www.alpineascents.com/everest-trek-dtd.asp
http://www.mountainmadness.com/trekking/asia_support.cfm

after talking more about it, I learned this would be her celebration for her MBA graduation, and she's been wanting to do this for a long time, so it's kind of up to me if I want to go along or not.  still debating... 

Escrime wrote:

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I say you should go.  Are there any treks you would be interested in?  there is a two week one from Nepal to Tibet that I have been eyeing for a little bit.

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 BEAUTIFUL shots, Escrime!  I'm interested in everything, I guess.  I just want to be able to cater to what dc wants to do if I go, and she's dead set on everest base camp.

that said, I may go with my husband instead.  do you have a link to the Nepal/Tibet trek?

Escrime wrote:

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It was one that was recommended to me. You'd go through Mustang, which is pretty cool. http://tigermountain.com/

It was through this company. They have helped me with my other trips in that area and have had reasonable rates and prices and from talking with the employees, they really enjoy working for the company.The owner is the head guy for epolo. :)

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excellent - I'll look into that.  thanks for the info!