They are all there safe and sound. The flight from Muscat was delayed a couple of hours, that doesn't sound so bad but the original flight time was 0230 so it was a long night for them. It was only a 3 and a half hour flight and bizarrely the time difference is an hour and three quarters...!
Arrival in Kathmandu (1330 metres)
PLAN: The guys will welcomed by the trek company representative at the airport then transferred to the hotel in Kathmandu where they will be briefed. Arrangements for the distribution of their big items – kit bags, jackets, sleeping bags etc.
He called us on Skype this evening. So far, so good and he loves Kathmandu. He describes it as chaotic and noisy. It's in the midst of a power outage this evening so they were wondering through the city in pitch darkness this evening.
They will have a traditional Nepali welcome dinner accompanied by the trek guide. Traditional Nepali food apparently differs from one culture to the next. It consists mostly of dal bhat and tarkari - translated as Lentils, Rice and Curried vegetable. It is the main staple diet of most Nepali people.
I'll ask him about the food next time we communicate - they have internet in the hotel and a team mobile so I'll try and track him down...not sure how much he can tell me in a text though!
POST EDIT: Things don't always go to plan, bear this in mind when you read these updates! Dinner on their first night? Pizza and beer....suddenly the exoticness and sense of adventure has faded for me! Mrs. Kiwi has updated me saying me that they will have their traditional feast at the end of the trip.
So anyway, I had a quick look at typical Nepali food. I love the sound of it!
Appetisers/Snacks
Chatamari - (Newari) food resembles Pizza or Dosa (south Indian). rice flour flat bread cooked over heat with toppings such as minced meat (with or without some vegetable), egg, sugar or no toppings.
Choyla -(Newari) grilled /roasted spicy meat. usually eaten as appetizer with liquor
Gundruk - dried and fermented green vegetables leaves. when made to soup gives a slightly sour, slightly tangy.
Kwati - (Newari) soup with many beans. a festival speciality
Momo(cha) - (Newari) a dumplings filled with minced meat (usually buffalo in Nepal, Turkey elsewhere), served steamed or fried. very popular appetizer, afternoon snack or evening meal.
Samay Baji - (Newari) beaten rice with roasted meat, smoked fish, boiled-then-fried egg, black soybeans and diced ginger. Samay Baji is an important main course that is prepared on every Newari festival and celebration. Especially prepared for the gods, the preparation and presentation of it is very interesting and is often eaten by mixing all the side dishes with the beaten rice.
Sekuwa - grilled meat usually made from mutton, duck, chicken, buff, wild boar.
Sel - doughnutlike shaped dessert/snack made from rice flour
Sukuti - spicy dried meat roasted over a charcoal fire.
Aloo Tama - Potato made with bamboo shoots.
Tawkhaa - (Newari) Jelly of meat soup served cold.
Wo - (Newari) flour patty made of lentils with or without meat/egg topping. used in ritual or festival or used as snack.
Main Dishes
Aloo Tama - Bamboo shoot and potato.
Dal - lentil soup usually eaten with rice. most popular lentils used as dal in Nepal are black, red and yellow.
Sag - Green Vegetables - Spinach, mustard greens or broad-leaved mustard. A standard accompaniment to plain rice for lunch or dinner.
Masu - meat with spices (curry) and gravy. usually served with rice. Most Nepalese eat chicken, mutton. Some eat buffalo and pork. Almost no one eats cow. Killing cow is prohibited in Nepal
Bhat - steamed rice
Tarkari - any vegetable or group of vegetables in curry, usually broth. Can be made in thousands of ways.
Relishes
Achar - a sour, spice or sweet pickle. can be made in a thousand ways. The most popular are made of ground tomatoes, sliced radish, ground coriander, boiled or diced potatoes.
Sanya Khuna - (Newari) hot, spicy, salty jellytype food made from fish soup.
Desserts
Dahi - Yogurt/Curd
Juju Dhau - popular creamy curd from Bhaktapur. Juju literally means ‘‘king".
Sikarni - curd mixed with dried fruits.
Drinks
Rakshi - liquor (can mean local liquor)
Thon (Newari) or Chhyang (Tibetan) - the milky white beer/liquor made from fermented rice.
Tongba - a popular liquor in the hills, made by pouring hot water into a pot of fermented millet and drunk with a bamboo straw.
Hungry....!!!!!
Tomorrow looks like they'll take a trip to some Buddhist and Hindu sites and then on Day 3 the trek begins... although they have to get to Lukhla airport first!
http://www.himalayas-trekking-pictures.com/lukla-airport.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3bN4c7CfVM
Arrival in Kathmandu (1330 metres)
PLAN: The guys will welcomed by the trek company representative at the airport then transferred to the hotel in Kathmandu where they will be briefed. Arrangements for the distribution of their big items – kit bags, jackets, sleeping bags etc.
He called us on Skype this evening. So far, so good and he loves Kathmandu. He describes it as chaotic and noisy. It's in the midst of a power outage this evening so they were wondering through the city in pitch darkness this evening.
They will have a traditional Nepali welcome dinner accompanied by the trek guide. Traditional Nepali food apparently differs from one culture to the next. It consists mostly of dal bhat and tarkari - translated as Lentils, Rice and Curried vegetable. It is the main staple diet of most Nepali people.
I'll ask him about the food next time we communicate - they have internet in the hotel and a team mobile so I'll try and track him down...not sure how much he can tell me in a text though!
POST EDIT: Things don't always go to plan, bear this in mind when you read these updates! Dinner on their first night? Pizza and beer....suddenly the exoticness and sense of adventure has faded for me! Mrs. Kiwi has updated me saying me that they will have their traditional feast at the end of the trip.
So anyway, I had a quick look at typical Nepali food. I love the sound of it!
Appetisers/Snacks
Chatamari - (Newari) food resembles Pizza or Dosa (south Indian). rice flour flat bread cooked over heat with toppings such as minced meat (with or without some vegetable), egg, sugar or no toppings.
Choyla -(Newari) grilled /roasted spicy meat. usually eaten as appetizer with liquor
Gundruk - dried and fermented green vegetables leaves. when made to soup gives a slightly sour, slightly tangy.
Kwati - (Newari) soup with many beans. a festival speciality
Momo(cha) - (Newari) a dumplings filled with minced meat (usually buffalo in Nepal, Turkey elsewhere), served steamed or fried. very popular appetizer, afternoon snack or evening meal.
Samay Baji - (Newari) beaten rice with roasted meat, smoked fish, boiled-then-fried egg, black soybeans and diced ginger. Samay Baji is an important main course that is prepared on every Newari festival and celebration. Especially prepared for the gods, the preparation and presentation of it is very interesting and is often eaten by mixing all the side dishes with the beaten rice.
Sekuwa - grilled meat usually made from mutton, duck, chicken, buff, wild boar.
Sel - doughnutlike shaped dessert/snack made from rice flour
Sukuti - spicy dried meat roasted over a charcoal fire.
Aloo Tama - Potato made with bamboo shoots.
Tawkhaa - (Newari) Jelly of meat soup served cold.
Wo - (Newari) flour patty made of lentils with or without meat/egg topping. used in ritual or festival or used as snack.
Main Dishes
Aloo Tama - Bamboo shoot and potato.
Dal - lentil soup usually eaten with rice. most popular lentils used as dal in Nepal are black, red and yellow.
Sag - Green Vegetables - Spinach, mustard greens or broad-leaved mustard. A standard accompaniment to plain rice for lunch or dinner.
Masu - meat with spices (curry) and gravy. usually served with rice. Most Nepalese eat chicken, mutton. Some eat buffalo and pork. Almost no one eats cow. Killing cow is prohibited in Nepal
Bhat - steamed rice
Tarkari - any vegetable or group of vegetables in curry, usually broth. Can be made in thousands of ways.
Relishes
Achar - a sour, spice or sweet pickle. can be made in a thousand ways. The most popular are made of ground tomatoes, sliced radish, ground coriander, boiled or diced potatoes.
Sanya Khuna - (Newari) hot, spicy, salty jellytype food made from fish soup.
Desserts
Dahi - Yogurt/Curd
Juju Dhau - popular creamy curd from Bhaktapur. Juju literally means ‘‘king".
Sikarni - curd mixed with dried fruits.
Drinks
Rakshi - liquor (can mean local liquor)
Thon (Newari) or Chhyang (Tibetan) - the milky white beer/liquor made from fermented rice.
Tongba - a popular liquor in the hills, made by pouring hot water into a pot of fermented millet and drunk with a bamboo straw.
Hungry....!!!!!
Tomorrow looks like they'll take a trip to some Buddhist and Hindu sites and then on Day 3 the trek begins... although they have to get to Lukhla airport first!
http://www.himalayas-trekking-pictures.com/lukla-airport.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3bN4c7CfVM
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