Katmandu / Kathmandu

Vize za Nepal ni bilo potrebno urejati vnaprej, saj smo na letališču v Katmanduju za 10 USD takoj dobili vizo za 14 dni. Prvih par dni smo porabili za turistične oglede Katmanduja in okolice in za urejanje formalnosti, predvsem dovoljenja za treking. Sicer je šlo vse preprosto, brez zapletov, le en dan je bilo treba stati v vrsti, da smo uredili vse papirje. Ker nas je bilo več v skupini, smo se v vrsti menjavali. Hkrati z dovoljenjem za treking, ki je stalo 30 USD na osebo, so nam tudi podaljšali vizo za čas trajanja trekinga. Dovoljenje za treking je vezano na točno določeno pot, zato smo morali vnaprej povedati točno, kam gremo. Če bi hoteli med trekingom splezati na kakšen bližnji vrh, bi morali imeti za to dodatno dovoljenje. Obvezno smo morali po uradnem tečaju menjati po 10 USD na osebo na dan za vsak dan trekinga (ne pa tudi za ostale dneve, ki smo jih preživeli v Nepalu). Na črno smo lahko po ugodnejšem tečaju menjali denar kjerkoli v trgovinah ali na cesti v Katmanduju. Za na sam treking smo morali imeti s seboj rupije za vse dni vnaprej, saj v hribih menjava ni bila možna. Na dan trekinga smo računali od 3 do 5 USD, od tega skoraj vse za hrano in čaj. Voda v Nepalu ni pitna, čaj pa ponujajo pri vsaki hiši. S seboj nismo nosili nobene hrane, ker so ob vsej poti hoteli. Šotore smo imeli s seboj za vsak slučaj, a jih nismo uporabili. Prvotno je bilo načrtovano, da bo naš vodič na trekingu alpinist Pavle Kozjek, ki se je ravno v tistih dneh vračal iz odprave na Šiša Pangmo. A je imel smolo, saj so mu ozebli prsti na nogah in se je zaradi tega moral vrniti domov. Zato je organizatorica Mojca v Katmanduju prek agencije najela vodiča in pet nosačev. Dobili smo še navodilo, naj se dobro najemo zrezkov v restavracijah v Katmanduju, saj kasneje na trekingu ne bo mesa, kupili smo nekaj sladkarij za s seboj in hoja se je lahko začela.

There was no need to get a visa for Nepal ahead of time, we could buy one for 14 days at the airport for $10. We spent the first few days sightseeing in and around Kathmandu and doing the paperwork required for our trekking permit. Everything went smoothly, we only had to queue for about one whole day to get all the papers but it wasn’t too difficult because we took turns standing in the queue. The trekking permit cost $30 and it included extending our visa for the duration of the trek. A trekking permit is issued for an exactly specified route and any side-trips in addition to that are not allowed. We were required to officially change money in the amount of $10 per person per day for each day of our trekking (but not for additional days spent in Nepal). We could exchange money unofficially for a much better rate anywhere on the streets or shops in Kathmandu. But we had to have rupees with us for the entire duration of the trekking as we wouldn’t be able to change money along the way. We estimated between $3 and $5 per day, almost exclusively for food and tea. Water in Nepal is not drinkable, but tea is available from every house. We didn’t have to carry food with us because there are hotels along the way. We had tents with us just in case but we never used them. Originally it was planned that our guide would be Pavle Kozjek (Note: he was a well-known Slovene Alpine climber, deceased on Mustagh Tower in 2008.) who was just returning from an expedition to Shisha Pangma. Unfortunately his toes were frostbitten and so he had to return home. Therefore Mojca, our leader, hired a guide and five porters from an agency in Kathmandu. We were told that we should eat plenty of steaks in restaurants in Kathmandu because there would be no meat where we were going. We also bought some sweet treats to take along and we were ready to go.