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Reader's story - Summer 2000
On arrival in Kathmandu I was met at the airport by the tour rep and taken through the busy city streets to our hotel, The Shanker, a former royal palace, located in the Thamel district. The rep insisted we hurry as a demonstration was rumoured to be starting and there was a risk that our mini bus would be bombarded with bricks and stones - not quite the welcome I expected. Fortunately, the demonstration was called off, and that evening all the trekkers were introduced to each other by our trek leader, Jigmi, over dinner at a splendid restaurant in the city centre. My fellow trekkers consisted of a family of four from Texas currently living in Australia, a young woman from Korea living in New York, an English teacher from South East London living in Bangkok, a husband and wife team and their best friend, all from Hampshire, a guy from Atlanta, a young woman from the Oval and a married couple from Salisbury. The next day we were given a trek briefing, issued with our camping equipment, and taken on a guided tour of the city. We started the trek on Day Three after a perilous seven-hour journey through high mountains and what struck me as the world's most dangerous road Our trek took us through some of the most spectacular and unspoilt scenery I have even seen. Apart from an aircraft spotted high in the clear skies on about Day Five, there was absolutely no reminder that we were on the brink of the 21st century. The main benefit of doing a camping-based trek like this is being able to take off as a self-contained unit into the mountains, passing through remote, unspoilt and un-westernised towns and villages. Our cooking crew, porters, Sherpas and guides looked after us extremely well,catering for all of our needs Given that we were high up in a Himalayan mountain range miles from so-called civilisation, our expectations, particularly at meal times, were never that great but the delights that were cooked up and presented to us by our cooks were fantastic. Our porters -often no bigger than schoolboys-would carry huge loads, supported by a strap lashed around their foreheads, for up to nine hours a day. Often they sustained ankle injuries but, surprisingly, no back or neck injuries. After the trek most of us went on a three-day white water rafting trip on the Trisuli River, which was also great fun. We then had a three-day jungle safari in Nepal's largest national park on the back of an elephant which allowed us to get right up close to the animals. It was in the jungle lodge that we celebrated the millennium in the company of about 3O other western tourists and many locals, including senior members of the Gurkha regiment. The following day we made our way back to Kathmandu for our final night's stay at the Shanker hotel. That evening we took all our porters and Sherpas to a city centre restaurant for a farewell thank you dinner where we presented them all with a commemorative Tshirt. It was during the flight home that I had time to reflect on the role Fighting Back played in my ability and ultimate decision to undertake the trip. It's now seven years since I sustained my back injury and although I have never considered my injury to be wholly debilitating, it has plagued me to various degrees in most day-today areas of my lifestyle. It occurred to me that had it not been for the Fighting Back pain management and attitude techniques that I learnt, and the inspiration I received from Pete Moore and all the other people who attended (some of whom made my injury look like a walk in the park) I may not have realised this childhood ambition. My trek in the Himalayas was a unique experience due largely to the people I met and the friends I made (a reunion is planned for June in London). I am currently planning a return trip to Nepal, this time to trek a high peak or to Everest base camp - so watch this space! Thanks for everything.
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