As usual, trips, expeditions and expectations need to be flexible when you have planned to do something in Nepal. You may often hear people who have visited Nepal on a regular basis say the phrase T I N – meaning that you can expect everything and anything to change and that things just may simply not make much sense.
Another way to think about this is that you shouldn’t come here thinking to change Neoal but instead expect it to change you.
One of the more recent inexplicable changes was the sudden planned upgrade to the main airport in Kathmandu – announced only 1 1/2 weeks before the start of the main tourist season – so flights up to Lukla and other regional airports have been severely disrupted and instead climbers and trekkers must now travel by car/Jeep/bus to another rural airstrip in Ramechhap. Which is where we are currently sitting
The region doesn’t have very good infrastructure to support the loads of climber and trekkers impatiently waiting to fly in and, as is the case now when the weather prohibits flights there is an ever increasing number of people getting stuck and or searching for a place to spend a night or two waiting
Fortunately we have a reasonably robust plan which is to stay about 45 minutes away in case we can’t fly in but listening to the large number of other travellers sitting around us it seems that they have no back up plan and are beginning to panic a bit as it becomes obvious that – for today anyway – there will be no flights up to Lukla as the thunder continues and the rain increases
Kegani – TIN
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