"Plans are nothing; planning is everything."
- Dwight Eisenhower
My flights are booked and already I have most of the daily routes sorted. Each days' stop could change depending on sleeping accommodations, terrain conditions, wanderlust, and my stamina. I had hostels and monasteries lined up back in 2020 and I'm working to confirm their availability in 2025 as some of the hostels didn't survive the plandemic, or they have changed management. The path from Kathmandu to Everest Base Camp is one that is well-traveled and the locals are accustomed hosting foreign wanderers for ridiculously cheap prices compared to the rest of the world. Some of my routes will be far off the beaten path and that's where the monasteries come into play. A safe place to sleep and sometimes a meal can be had in exchange for silence and a nominal donation.
My plans for each days' routes will be posted as I can complete and verify them. My inbound flight route is below.
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Outbound Flight Path - Dallas, Philadelphia, Doha, Kathmandu
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April 12 - 13: Kathmandu Arrival
I am scheduled to land at 1:00am NPT, which will be 10:45 hours ahead of central time in Texas. Strangely enough, the time zones over there are sliced into 15-minute regions. And I thought our Daylight Savings Time habit in the US was odd... But I digress.
Given my arrival hour, I suspect there literally won't be many sights to see, so I'm hoping to just be able to get a ride to my hotel. I'll be traveling for thirty hours straight though four airports; one of which is a complete third world shithole with a mostly bitter and unmotivated staff. OK, Philadelphia Airport isn't a complete dump bucket, but it is among the worst in the US. I could probably sleep standing up by the time I land in Kathmandu and if I can catch a few winks on my flights and after I land, then hopefully I'll awaken bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to function on local time.
I'll need to meet my local fixer in the morning and get a visa for Tibet through the local Chinese Embassy. "Red Tape" takes on a new meaning over there and the visa experience will probably be its own entry. I'll have all day the 13th and 14th to get over my jet lag, and I hope to have some sightseeing time after I secure my motorcycle rental. There are a few Americans over there from whom I can get some advice on getting around, and especially the Tibet border crossings.
This is all great on paper when in fact, the only things firm right now are my flight schedule and my motorcycle reservation. I still need to sort out several details and the list below will most certainly grow.
-International Driver's License
-Cell Phone SIM Card(s)
-Fuel Availability
-Inter and Intra Country Currency Exchange
-Chinese Customs Entering/Leaving Tibet
