Today’s correspondent is Della, our expedtition team’s nurse: 17 pile into the silver van “Napali style” on our way to Durbar Square. As we roll out of the van we are overwhelmed with sensory overload. The intense smells of smog, thousands of years of dirt and grime, raw meat and food. The sounds of continuous…
Today’s correspondent is Sam: After a breakfast of porridge and pancakes we were ready for our last day of walking in the mountains. We set off, out of the comforts of the Nirvana lodge at 8:30am, slopping on some sunscreen as we did. We stopped to have lemon tea and a snack a little earlier…
Today’s correspondent is Clark: Well, it’s my birthday. I woke after a great sleep and dozed in bed until Sam knocked on the door, saying that the porters were all ready and wanting our bags. Everyone screamed, “Happy Birthday” to me as we headed across the street for an amazing breakfast of hot chocolate,…
Alysha is today’s correspondent: It snowed! We woke up at 5:45 to everyone yelling, “It’s snowing!” And it did snow! The landscape that had previously been rock and scrub was covered in a foot of white powder. Naturally, 14 teenagers, some of whom who had never been in snow before, were out in the snow,…
Jack picks up the story: We left Kumjong in the early morning and set off down the hill to “Funky Town” where we stopped for lemon tea (again). We then started the long climb up the Temboche bump, which actually wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been made out to be. At…
Today’s correspondent is Rita: Today we made the trip from Namche Bazar to Khunde. We started out by walking up yet another steep hill until we crossed over a small airstrip in another small village – Zarok. We continued walking gently up until we could look over Khunde, a small and quiet village, the home…
It’s known as the Namche Bump. A climb of about 600 meters elevation. It starts with a mind-numbingly terrifying (for me anyway) crossing of a wire bridge, suspended high above a gorge and then a street, steep climb that takes in countless sharp hairpin bends in the path. The journey took us…
Up at 4:00 and on the bus to the airport with a team of very sleepy teenagers at 4:30am. Finding the entrance to the domestic terminal of Katmandhu airport is a challenge, particularly in the dark. They are building the shell of a new terminal around the old one, which meant that we had to…
Arriving in Katmandhu yesterday was as painless as it could possibly be. I was met by John Gully in the immigration hall, handed my passport over to his local agent – and my visa was organised before I could scarcely draw breath. My luggage, which I was rather worried might not have made…
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award has a presence in more than 140 countries worldwide and, as its Secretary General, I get the opportunity to meet some of the amazing young people and adults who are involved. Many of the countries I visit are members of the Commonwealth, a family of 53 nations. It…