Eight Months In

At the seventh-month mark of my trip, I was suffering though a loss of momentum regarding my travels -- fighting a certain laziness and state of indecision that set in as soon as I arrived in Hong Kong. But, despite lamenting the weeks of doing next to nothing, I was looking forward to Nepal. I was looking forward to being back on the road again. To exploring unfamiliar territory. To challenging myself. To getting right back into the fun of travelling.

Once I arrived in Kathmandu, I didn't waste any time mulling over options. Before I had spent a total of twelve hours in Nepal, I'd arranged for an eighteen-day trek into the Solukhumbu region of the Himalaya. I departed to the starting point at Lukla the first thing the next morning.

I accomplished a lot during the next twenty-eight days. I trekked up to Everest Base Camp and descended via Gokyo and the Dudh Kosi valley, after climbing the 5,420m mountain pass at Cho La. I went para-gliding during an all-too-brief visit to the Pokhara valley. I got my fill of Buddhist and Hindu religious sites scattered throughout the Kathmandu area.

Towards the end of my time in Nepal, I had to start thinking about the next stages of my trip. I had arrived in Kathmandu on a round-trip airfare and had no clear idea about my subsequent travels after returning to Hong Kong. I was going to spend a couple of days resting and regrouping, get some some research done, decide between China and SE Asia, make my bookings and get on the move again before stalling for too long. My intention was to be back on the road again in seven to ten days.

That was the plan, anyway. Then I came down with a nasty sinus and throat infection during my last two days in Kathmandu -- a virulent cold that just got worse after a seven-hour plane ride back to Hong Kong. I was drained of energy. I lost my voice. I spent lots of time in bed reflecting on how I had the perfect ammunition against the 'bundle up and keep warm or you'll catch a cold' crowd; given that the two vicious colds I've had during my travels were both contracted in places with daytime highs well above 30°C, and where I was sweating almost all the bloody time.

Time doesn't stand still for illness. I've been back in Hong Kong for a week, with no progress on the next stage of my trip. But my voice almost sounds normal again.

Related Posts:
1. Seven Months In
2. Six Months In
3. Children are Germ Factories