Road To Nepal – Where Did It Start and how?

2019 has passed and i’m proud to say that i hiked a mountain for the first time in forever that year! It was one crazy idea that my friends and i threw out around Ramadhan last year. We met up on this place named SRSLYCOFFEE talking a bit of here, there, and everywhere which then later came out with an itinerary of India and Nepal. Starting from Jakarta – Amritsar – New Delhi – Khatmandu – Jakarta.

It was one session full with laughter with lots of chat follow up. ‘Till finally we purchased the first ticket Jakarta – Amritsar (1 way ). Did you know that the ticket price for that one was only around 70USD?WOOT. Of course it’s with an LCC but still it was one long flight. Even this one with another drama where one of my friend gave a wrong info of the stated name in her passport. Careful guys!

After that first purchase the story continued, we still need 3 more flights : Amritsar – New Delhi, New Delhi – Khatmandu, Khatmandu – Jakarta. Among those 3 we chose to purchased the main one first which is Khatmandu – Jakarta and only decided the other 2 once we stitched around our itinerary details especially the trip in NEPAL. OMG Can’t Wait!

We tried to look around through websites and instagram. You will find plenty of it. Our trip revolved around many things and route. Only by that time we notice that Nepal is not only about Everest. Some main routes that come to our plate were EBC ( Everest Base Camp ), ABC ( Annapurna Base Camp) , and AC (Annapurna Circuit). I will take about it in more detail later, but finally decided to go with AC, one of the realistic route for us. We really didn’t want to aim hard realising that we are bunch of citylife-office-worker type. LOL. if i may share with you please consider some items when choosing your routes :

1. Trip Duration – we don’t have all the time in this world and oh dear on leave days number.
2. Cost – if you are not an adventurer kind of type, there are many equipment and gear to purchase / borrow. They ain’t cheap. >_<
3. Fitness level and experience. As a tropical and low level altitude creature, i’ve learned that the higher you go even breath itself is already an exercise. not to mention the temperature.

Once we choose the route and service provider in NEPAL. Btw, We decided to go with local service provider after much deliberation. Here goes other things to manage! The trip in India. There are hotels, transportation, and flights to book. Oh dear so many things. To share it with you, we chose Amritsar mainly because of it’s Golden Temple and location that is very near to Pakistan. As for New Delhi, actually, it’s only like a pass by before our destination in Agra – how can you not see Taj Mahal? 😉

After we had our itinerary taken care off, we still have to prepare ourselves for D-DAY! we know by heart that hiking a mountain is not a joke. So, we tried to make our own fitness regime that will work for all of us. To share it with you here is my portion :

• Time for preparation : 2,5 Months
• Food – Oh yes, indeed, i ate salad everyday a lot of greenies, complex carbs, less sugar, and other things which help your body to procedure red blood cells. Reason : You will need it to support your oxygen needs later. However, the simple carbs will be needed later when you start and during the hike. Lovely, eat all the chocolates and sugar yeay!
• Exercise – Cardio is a must but don’t forget strength training. You will need your muscles and stamina to support items that you will bring along the way. My routine was ( these are the minimum ) :
  • Running 2x/week 30 mins
  • Running 1x/Week 1 hour
  • Front & Back Lunges 20 reps
  • Squat 20 reps
  • Machine training 3 reps each which target legs, quadriceps, back, shoulder, Chest, triceps, and biceps.
  • Note that i have knee condition so essentially running is challenging for me.

Apart from preparing your body, you will also need to prepare the right gear and equipment. Within those 2 months of preparation, i think we visited numerous shop countless time until it becomes a habit for quite sometime after the hike ended for me. I will go through it more later but let me emphasize this. Those items are not cheap and it’s not that easy to find it for my size.

Woops, need to go now, if i could say another thing is that you will also need to prepare your mentality. inner peace.. inner peace…control yourself better!

See you on the updates of the rest of the stories…wish you were there with us!

Cheers,

Triana Mustika Rukmi