Surviving a terrifying ride into the Himalayas

8 October 2018

Hello everyone from Phaplu, a very small village in the Himalayas. 

Our journey here has been an adventure! We were told the drive would be eight hours on ‘fairly good roads’. The caveat the guide gave was that the roads were ‘fairly good’ for Nepal..! 

It has actually taken 13 hours over some mildly terrifying track where our minibus, laden with all of our kit, tents and food has ended up almost tipping over several times. I think I might have preferred the flight into Lukla! We’ve crossed rivers with no bridges, had to navigate boulder fields and complete the end of the journey in pitch darkness. 

We saw one minor accident – two cars getting too close on a hairpin bend (the drivers don’t stop overtaking simply because they can’t see, they simply toot their horns to let others know they are coming!). This accident caused a great commotion as the drivers wanted the police to arrive to confirm who was responsible! 

I tried to ignore the track and focus on the scenery and places we were passing through. We have been lucky to see rural Nepal which has been fascinating and beautiful. The tiny villages have their own infrastructure based on farming and the people we have seen have been very friendly and welcoming. Having blonde hair, I stand out and the Nepalese children have been waving at me a lot! 

We’ve now arrived at our first tea house. It is very basic but I have my own room, albeit with no water and intermittent electricity and light. There is, however, free Wi-fi! 

Tomorrow we’ll be trekking into the mountains and I’m really looking forward to it. My sister sent me a quote yesterday: ‘the best view comes after the hardest climb’. I’m hoping to see some fabulous views and will keep you all updated on my progress. 

Thank you for all the messages you’ve kindly sent – my phone lit up when I got to the Wi-fi area and they all made me smile. Have a great day everyone