• Tina travels
  • Tina travels

Mera top of the world take 2

Journey to the top of Mera Peak in Nepal Read more
  • Trip start
    September 23, 2023
  • Singapore stopover

    September 23, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    ALLE and I got in to Singapore and stayed at a nice hotel.
    ALLE was pretty tired so he had a rest while I went out to have a wander around. When I got back I found an empty Oreo wrapper and ALLE fast asleep.

    We are just out at a cafe now so I can have a much needed coffee before we go to Din Thai Fung for lunch. I’ll be introducing ALLE to yummy dumplings
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  • Eating in Singapore

    September 24, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    ALLE and I ate dumplings at DinThaiFung and they were delicious. A little boy thought ALLE was a dinosaur so I had to show him a website about frill necked lizards.

  • Kathmandu

    September 25, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Arrived in Kathmandu late last night.
    We met up with Maree and Russell and had a great 2 hour catch up over breakfast.
    We then had our trip briefing out in the gardens of our beautiful hotel. Hotel Shanker was formerly a palace and has been converted. It’s very grand.
    ALLE needed a big sleep while I went shopping and had lunch so he stayed in the room and did some of the puzzle book.
    In the afternoon ALLE and I went out by the pool and made some new friends before heading into the Black Olive for momos for dinner.
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  • Cancelled Flight

    September 27, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Alle and I were excited to go to the airport today to fly to Lukla. We met our guide Sandesh and our Sherpa Tendi. Our bags were all packed and we drove to the airport after breakfast.
    When we had been there a little while, it was clear that flights had been delayed. The weather in the mountains around Lukla can change quickly and flights are often delayed and cancelled.
    After many hours, the flight was unfortunately cancelled. Sandesh spent a long time on the phone organising for us to drive to another airport where we have flights for tomorrow.
    We are staying in a little town a few hours from our new airport so will have to be up very early to get there.
    Let’s hope we get to Lukla tomorrow.
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  • Airport fun

    September 28, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    This morning we got up mega early to drive to Ramechhap airport for our flight.
    When we got there many people from the Kathmandu airport who couldn’t get flights were there.
    After waiting for a while, the dreaded sign went up to say that flights were delayed due to weather- again!!
    Luckily we had some entertainment while hanging around. It was international tourist day and we had music and dancing and the tikka and scarfs being given out. ALLE made sure he didn’t miss out on one.
    Later in the afternoon there was much excitement when we realised the planes were coming in.
    We finally boarded the flight to Lukla and headed up through the clouds and into the mountains.
    We are staying a 2 hour walk out of Lukla at the teahouse. Early night for us tonight
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  • Rain rain rain

    September 29, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    The past few days have been lots of walking and plenty of rain. ALLE wasn’t keen on this weather so he spent quite a bit of time in the backpack keeping dry.
    The rain causes lots of little waterfalls and the track can be quite slippery. Not our favourite terrain. Yesterday along with the mud and sludge we also discovered leeches! Maree had about four and Sandesh had a few. I thought I had gotten away with it but found one on my leg and a huge one on my stomach. The stomach one kept bleeding and bleeding and finally stopped about 5 hours later - yukky things.
    Today we are staying at a pretty lodge up on a hill at Kharte with beautiful views.
    ALLE made friends with the local kitty.
    Hopefully no rain tomorrow!
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  • Up down up down

    October 1, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Wow today was another big day of walking. We left the tea house and headed off down the track. It looked like it was going to rain so we all bought big sheets of blue plastic to cover everything. We were hoping it would be a good omen and the rain would stay away.
    We did a big downhill walk followed by a huuuge uphill that took us to a place we stayed last time in 2020 where it snowed.
    We had some lunch there - Aloo Dum, then headed off for a huuuge downhill walk. I fell over but luckily neither ALLE or I were hurt.
    After our down we had a steep uphill for about an hour til we came to our lovely lodge where we are staying. It is perched on top of a hill with amazing views.
    ALLE and I are having fried rice for dinner yum yum.
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  • Bridges and rocks

    October 2, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    After a nice cozy sleep, ALLE and I had rice pudding with honey for Brekky which was very filling.
    Today was challenging. A slightly shorter day but a very big and strenuous walk. There was lots of rain overnight which again left the track slippery but luckily the rain held off.
    The one part of the track we had all been dreading was today- up and over a big rock formation, lucky they had put in a chain to help. We also had lots of waterfall crossings today and needed lots of help from Sherpa Tendi as they were slippery and flowing fast.
    We arrived at our destination at Toktou where we had visited for lunch in 2020. It was so nice to stop by lunch and have some relax time.
    ALLE and I shared a bowl of soup which we ate by the fire.
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  • ALLE’S new clothes

    October 3, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    We got to Khote which is a cute small village in the middle of the Hinku valley.
    ALLE and I shared a plate of momos for lunch which were yummy.
    It’s a lot colder up here and decided that ALLE needed some new warm clothes. Maree and I walked to a tiny shop selling a few things and I found this great jacket for him.Read more

  • Over 4000m

    October 4, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    Unfortunately another rainy day!
    I had a yummy breakfast of fried Tibetan bread with jam which tasted like donut.
    We got our blue plastic bags and waterproof gear and ALLE tucked himself away in my backpack nice and warm in his new jacket.
    Todays walk is stunning following the Hinku valley. The river was raging and we trudged through lots of waterfalls and rivers. Just a real gradual uphill for about 4 hours.
    The only thing that made it not such a nice walk was the constant rain.
    We got in to Thagnak at around lunchtime and ALLE and I had fried potato momos and loved them.
    The afternoon was spent around the fire and reading, playing cards and staying dry.
    We have 2 nights here and just a short acclimatisation walk tomorrow to get us over 5000m to make the next few days easier.
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  • Finally at Khare

    October 6, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 2 °C

    Yesterday morning we woke to a crystal clear sky and packed up for a walk up the hill to Khare. This was the place we never got to see last time we were here and I was excited for the views.
    We wandered up and just off the track went and saw the beautiful lake which used to be massive until the walls broke many years ago and caused the river the flood.
    Halfway along the track we stopped for a tea and sat in the beautiful sunshine.
    It wasn’t long before we got to Khare and stopped at our lodge Mera Alpine.
    It was time for a nice rest and ALLE and I sat by the window watching the views and reading.
    We had veggie momos for lunch and garlic noodle soup for dinner.
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  • At Base Camp 5400m

    October 8, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 2 °C

    We all made the 2 hour trek up the hill and across the moraine to base camp. It was very rocky and my knee was not happy. At one point Sherpa Tendi had to rescue me from the rocks and help me up.
    It should look very amazing here but the cloud has come over and can’t see much.
    We have our tents set up and a cute Little Rock cabin for eating and having cups of tea. We have our own chef who came up with us to prepare our delicious food.
    ALLE and I had fried rice and a ginger tea for lunch.
    We went to bed in our lovely new tents and snuggled in to keep warm.
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  • To not quite the top

    October 8, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C

    After a restless night the group of us decided to not go further up from base camp. My knee was painful and the other two just didn’t feel good. The weather was also forecast to be cold and very very windy.
    That’s is the way in the mountains. We had seen a few people we met along the way have to be rescued by Sherpas with altitude sickness and didn’t want to join them.
    So Maree and I put on the snow boots and crampons and headed up in the snow onto Mera for a short walk then would return down to Khare again for the night.
    I ended up just doing a short walk with Shepa Tendi and we had fun taking photos and videos.
    Maree walked a bit further up with Sandesh and got some nice views.
    We had a yummy lunch at our camp then walked back down for the night. On the way, I slipped on the trail and landed on my bottom, luckily I only cut my hand a little bit. It was very steep in some parts.
    ALLE and I had the same room at the Mera Alpine and had a lovely cosy sleep after the yummy hash brown with yak cheese.
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  • Waiting for the helicopter

    October 9, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C

    Today was the day to fly to Lukla by helicopter. We got up and packed and had our breakfast.
    Then we heard the news we were dreading- Lukla airport closed again!
    It was horrible and cold and windy here and we were so glad we weren’t still up on Mera.
    We kept waiting to hear whether the airport would open again so spent our time reading, playing cards and relaxing.
    It got to 4pm and knew that was the cut off for flights. Hopefully we get better news tomorrow.
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  • Waiting for the helicopter part 2

    October 11, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ -3 °C

    We got up mega early, packed, had breakfast and waited for helicopter news. At first Lukla was closed and all choppers were in Kathmandu.
    Then we heard exciting news that a chopper was on its way but had to turn around at Khote because of low cloud.
    So we have been trying to keep warm listening to the howling wind and watching the clouds swirling around. We have a few more hours to go until they say there is no more chance.
    Fingers crossed.
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  • Yes! The helicopter arrived

    October 12, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    We got up to a nice clear morning and waited for helicopter news.
    It was a very chilly day - possibly about minus 5 and I made sure ALLE was staying nice and warm.
    We got news that the choppers were flying but had to wait our turn as they were very busy.
    We went down to the helipad and waited in the sunshine trying to thaw out a bit.
    We finally got news that our chopper was on its way and we were all good to go.
    ALLE was pretty excited for the flight and I had him tucked safely in my jacket.
    The flight was so beautiful- such incredible views of the mountains and the track we had walked along.
    We got into Lukla and had never seen it so busy. There were planes and choppers coming and going and people everywhere.
    In the afternoon we wandered down the Main Street to a coffee shop where we sat and watched the airport action from the balcony. Sandesh and Alle had some fun scaring the coffee waitress- cheeky boys!!
    It’s a lot warmer in Lukla about 4 degrees so had a much more cosy sleep.
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  • Going to Kathmandu

    October 13, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    This morning we are flying from Lukla to Ramechapp then driving the 5 hours back to Kathmandu.
    Planes have been coming and going since 6.15 this morning so it’s looking good for us to get out of here.
    We had a short delay but jumped on the plane and took off into the mountains.
    The flight was short and before long we landed in Ramechapp and our driver picked us up for the long trek back to Kathmandu.
    We stopped at a little local place for a curry lunch and got back to Hotel Shanker in the afternoon.
    We had time to unpack and take some washing in to get done then wandered into K-too for a yummy dinner.
    It was so nice to be warm again, even though the mountains are beautiful- they are soooo chilly.
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  • Pokhara

    October 14, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Yesterday ALLE and I said our farewells to everyone and headed to the airport to visit Pokhara.
    We had a lovely dinner the night before with the whole crew and ALLE enjoyed the traditional dancing.
    Pokhara was nice and warm and we are staying in a small lodge in the Lakeside area.
    We will be doing some relaxing and a bit of sightseeing while here.
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  • Sightseeing around Pokhara

    October 17, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    After breakfast the taxi driver picked us up and took us to the top of the hill where the shiva statue sits. We had a wander around then walked over to the Buddha peace temple which had great views of the town.
    After this we went to the Devis falls which is really amazing. The falls are fast flowing and narrow then vanish into a cave.
    Our final stop was the International Mountain Museum. Some of the displays looked a bit old and faded but it was good to have a wander through and see the lives of people who live in the mountains, info on the 10 highest peaks, impacts of global warming, formation of the Himalayas and the mountaineers who climb them.
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  • Thanks Nepal

    October 19, 2023 in Nepal ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    ALLE and I are checked in to our flight back to Singapore. Sandesh and Tendi saw us off at the airport.
    We have had such an amazing time here in Nepal. It’s a beautiful and rugged country and the people are so lovely.
    I am already starting to plan another trek in a few years to see some different parts.
    ALLE is excited about going back to DingThaiFung in Singapore for some more dumplings!
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  • The aquarium at Sentosa

    October 23, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ 🌩️ 29 °C

    After a breakfast of Kaya toast and eggs, ALLE and I had a brilliant day exploring the aquarium at Sentosa. We discovered heaps of different types of fish and other sea life.
    My favourite was the huge main aquarium with the Manta Rays.
    ALLE liked all the really bright little fish.
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    Trip end
    October 24, 2023