"The Tibet trip was an incredible experience of my life. Me and Tibetan people look similar, so it felt very familiar. With no words I can see behind their strong eyes, they are holding a lot of pain from the past, that is why they have an equal balance of love and understanding, and they are very caring, once you connect you can trust them.
When I joined Tibetan monks and ordinary people chanting in a monastery, my tears kept falling and I never felt so close, nothing special, but all one. Gods and monks and people.
I felt that I just came back home.
Tibetan nature is powerful with abundant energy, of course sometimes intense just like life. Life is sometimes mountain sickness: super mind, headache, not easy to breathe, but I found if I look at positive things, even a small light, and just accept myself, then it started to get easier.
This is what I learned from the beautiful Kailash Kora."
Mukti - Japan
Our first two nights and last night in Kathmandu will be in our four star hotel on the edge of the tourist district of Thamel in the heart of the city. Our third night on Day 4 in Nepalganj will also be in a hotel as will our last night in Tibet on Day 20.
From Day 4 until Day 19, we will be camping (except for Day 9 in a basic guesthouse). Accommodation will be twin share in the hotels that we will use. There will also be an option to have your own single room while staying in hotels at an additional charge. Please be aware that on Day 9 for our one night in Taklakot, the accommodation is necessarily in a very basic guesthouse as there is no other alternative to this arrangement.
For most of the journey we will be camping and our Nepali camping crew will look after us in every way during these days. The tents will be on a twin share basis with the option to arrange for your own single tent at an additional charge. I have given clear instructions that our Nepali camping crew and guides should choose more isolated and beautiful campsites close to running water for our privacy and comfort.
While staying in hotels, breakfast is included in the total cost. While camping and for our one guesthouse night in Taklakot, all meals are included in the journey price.
Transport in Nepal will be in private vehicle or bus and for the rest of the journey in Tibet transport will be in Toyota Landcruisers (4500 model) with four people to a Landcruiser.
This journey is essentially meant for those of you who have long had a desire to visit Tibet to experience for yourselves its people, history and culture and to do the kora around Mount Kailash. For nearly all of this journey we will be travelling into very isolated areas of the planet and sometimes over rough roads. We will also be experiencing the effects of living at much higher altitudes than most of us normally do.
The most common symptoms of altitude sickness can be shortness of breath, headache, a difficulty with sleeping, nausea and subsequent emotional irritability. There is medicine to alleviate these symptoms until the body acclimatises. We will be carrying Diamox pills and homeopathic medicine for that purpose and also oxygen in case of any emergency.
Each of us should prepare intelligently for the journey by making sure that we are at reasonable fitness levels and by having a general physical check-up with a qualified doctor before leaving and getting his professional advice to prepare for this unique journey.
The itinerary has been designed to allow us the easiest time to acclimatise as we slowly gain height from our trailhead at Simikot up to the highest point of our journey on Drolma La around Mount Kailash. During the last trip no one experienced anything more than headaches, a little nausea and some difficulty with sleeping.
While not wanting to minimise the importance of your fitness for such a trip, I would also add that many people in their sixties and even seventies have successfully completed this trip and the kora without any problems. At the same time the journey will be a demanding one and each of you should take whatever personal steps you feel is necessary to ensure your physical preparedness for going a long way into the wilderness.
