Hi friends,

Flying to Kathmandu

Welcome to Kathmandu airport, straight off the plane on our way to customs check-in

It’s Cherie again blogging from Bangkok airport. The team had a good flight from Melbourne and now have a 5 hour transit before we head direct to Kathmandu. We will arrive at 1pm Saturday (Kathmandu time). The time difference is 5 hours and 15min behind Melbourne time. So we will arrive in Kathmandu just after 6pm Saturday night (Melbourne time).

An excited Erica at Bangkok airport

The Radisson Hotel in Kathmandu (our accommodation for 2 nights pre and post trek)

Just to brief you on the itinerary for the weekend before we start the trek on Monday with an exciting flight to Lukla, the starting point for our trek to Base Camp Everest.

Cherie briefing the team on arrival to Kathmandu

Peter "Pav" looking rather....cautious? on the sightseeing tour. Yes, the traditional local gentleman does have his dreadlocks around Pav's shoulder!

When we arrive at Kathmandu we will travel to the Radisson Hotel. We will check in and then have a team meeting and distribute kit-bags, down jacket and sleeping bags for the trek.

Susan & Erica enjoying the mandatory tourist activities in downtown Thamal, the heart of Kathmandu

 The afternoon will be spent at leisure to soak up the vibrant city of Kathmandu.

The largest Buddhist Stupa in Nepal - the famous "Eyes of Buhhda"

 In the evening we will have a “welcome dinner” at The Roadhouse restaurant, Thamel (the heart of Kathmandu). This is a special night hosted by some of our Nepalese guides and Sherpa crew.

Our rooms at the Radisson

On Sunday we will have a sight-seeing tour around the ancient city of Kathmandu. The remainder of the day will be spent exploring Kathmandu and preparing for our departure and exhilarating flight to Lukla Monday morning.

That’s all from me now, Steph (my communication helper) will be blogging for me beginning on Monday, the first day of our trekking adventure. I will be calling her daily via satellite phone and she will relay back to you all.

Stay tuned for all the updates from the mountain!

Have a fantastic long weekend friends, stay happy & healthy! 🙂

Smiles always

Cherie