So I'm finally getting around to updating my blog,I've been prepping for the best part of 8 weeks for this trip but all my time has been consumed with checklists,inventories,things to do...I though checklists were suppose to simplify things,but note to self...Not when u checklist a checklist and then checklist that list etc.
I guess my initial move was to book this trip which i had been researching for some 10 years now but the rat race of life kept sticking its nose in and i always found something more important to focus on,or maybe i was putting it off subconsciously because i thought maybe it was a dream.Well if it was a dream,my dream is coming true, I've got exactly 3 weeks left to prepare before i hit Brisbane Airport to take this on.
My plan all along was to get all the planning the packing and list etc out of the way early on so i would have time to focus on the important things on the run in to the departure date.So once i had booked the trip i focused on the accommodation and travel and getting all of this done,like extra days to acclimatise in Kathmandu when i arrive and also to get some final bits for the trip which are notably cheaper in Nepal.I booked my flights through Flight Centre Australia and they were able to arrange and schedule different flights so my times matched up compared to me doing it online,it seemed to just give me set flights and i could not waiver much from these dates or times.I chose to fly with China Southern Airlines which i have never travelled with before,but hey,its all about the experience,i did manage to score a business class flight on my flight back to Brisbane which will be a welcome luxury when all is said and done.The Company i am climbing with are called Mountain Monarch and they provide me with 1 nights accommodation at the beginning and the end of the trip in Kathmandu.I decided to fly in 2 days before that for Acclimatisation to the altitude and i also reserved another night on the end og the trip because flights from Lukla are extremely likely to be cancelled due to inclement weather and this gave me some breathing space for the flight connecting me to China for 5 nights en route back to Brisbane Australia.
i booked my accommodation for the china stopovers via Booking.com and got some good deals as a result of booking early.Hopefully a comfy bed as it will have been a big few weeks of no showering and sleeping in camps,ill most likely be feeling sorry for myself and indulging at this stage.
Once the accommodation was sorted i began to apply for my visa's and tried to knock this paperwork out,The Nepalese Visa is pretty routine and you can process this once you arrive at KTM however the Chinese visa is a little more complicated.One would think that in this day and age its possible to make an application online but in the case of the Chinese embassy you must apply in person with a paper application,mind you they do give you the option of a postal application but personally i would not like to place my Passport in a mailbox and rely on several people doing there job correctly and it being returned with that slip inside to say i can visit there country.
i plan on picking up my Chinese visa this coming week,i think at a cost of $150 which will be almost the last of the "paperwork".I also plan on booking my train tickets in advance for China which will secure me a cabin on the high speed trains from Guangzhou.
So for now i think i have most of the travel arrangements in place and i could begin to focus on the actually task in hand,and that is to get to the top of this mountain.
