Best of 2013

With 2013 almost at a close it is time to look back and reflect on some of the key photographic moments of the year. It was a busy year indeed on the travelling front with 4 major trips to Cambodia, Nepal, Europe and China.

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At the start of the year I was involved in an interesting photo assignment for a property development company who had major investments in Kuala Lumpur and in particular in the Mont' Kiara area. I prepared a portfolio of images of the Mont' Kiara area to highlight all the key facilities such as schools, shopping centres and sporting facilities as well as photographing the properties themselves. This image is a large panoramic view taken from the roof of a property in Mont' Kiara looking over the Kuala Lumpur skyline.

Kuala Lumpur skyline from Mont' Kiara

In February we headed back to Cambodia staying in Siem Reap and this time visiting some of the more remote temples. One of the temples I had always wanted to visit was Preah Vihear which sits right on the border with Thailand in the north and has been in a border disputed area for some time. This magnificent temple sits on top of a large cliff and has a commanding view over north Cambodia and Thailand. More pictures can be seen here.

Preah Vihear, Cambodia

Malaysia has always been known for tin mining and one of the last few tin dredges (TT5) sits close to Tanjong Tualang just south of Ipoh. I made a visit here to capture this incredible piece of machinery. More pictures can be seen here.

Tin Dredge TT5, Tanjong Tualang, Perak

As part of an online video series on photography called "Behind The Lens" by Peter Tan we did one of the video shoots at a favourite lookout point in Damansara Heights overlooking the city of Kuala Lumpur. This is one of the images I captured at this location.

Kuala Lumpur skyline from Damansara Heights

In March it was off to Nepal to trek up the Everest Base Camp Trail from Lukla to as far as Tengboche. After a hair-raising flight from Kathmandu to Lukla it was a 4 day trek up through incredible scenery to Tengboche and then a 3 day trek back down. The views of the Himalayan mountains including Mount Everest as pictured below were just breath taking and worth all the effort of the trek. More photos can be seen here.

Mount Everest from the trail from Namche Bazaar to Tengboche

Kathmandu was a very interesting place to visit and after the trek up to Tengboche we had a few days there to explore. Boudhanath is one of the holiest Buddhist sites, full of interesting sights, sounds and smells as hundreds of worshippers visit and circle around the giant structure. More photos can be seen here.

Boudhanath, Kathmandu

In June we made our annual pilgrimage back to UK and took a visit to the historical city of York for a few days. Clifford's Tower as shown here is part of the York Castle complex. More photos can be seen here.

Clifford's Tower, York

Directly following the trip to UK we headed off to Italy and embarked on a 12 day Mediterranean cruise from Venice, covering Split and Dubrovnik (Croatia), Corfu (Greece), Naples, Civitavecchia, and Livorno (Italy), Monte Carlo (Monaco), Marseille (France)  and finishing in Barcelona (Spain). This was really a wonderful trip and the quality of the cruise could not be criticised. The view below is taken as we left Venice. More pictures can be seen here.

Venice taken from the deck of the ms Nieuw Amsterdam on the Grand Canal

Our good friends Paul and Lindsey left KL for Dubai in July so they hosted a great party with a Black & White theme. She asked me to do the photography so naturally this was done in black & white. 

Paul & Lindsey's "Black & White" Party

In August we returned to Ipoh for a weekend to stay at our favourite spot, Indulgence Restaurant & Living managed and run by the great chef, Julie Song. The food was as ever wonderful and the rooms in the small boutique hotel very comfortable. More photos can be seen here.

Indulgence Restaurant & Living, Ipoh

September was a time to celebrate my wife's birthday and as usual she likes to record this in a photograph taken at home as we toasted here a Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Suit Yoo

In October we went on a 12 day tour of China flying to Chengdu then on up to Juzhaigou for a few days. We then flew back to Chengdu and spent a few days in that area, flew to Guilin and completed the trip by taking a cruise from Guilin down to Hangshuo. The scenery, particularly in Juizhaigou was incredible with all the autumn colours of the trees and contrasted by the magnificent clear waters of the lakes. More photos can be seen here. 

Long Lake, Jiuzhaigou, China

The Complete Nepal Collection

Here is the complete collection of all my Nepal blog postings for easy reference including an annotated picture of the Himalayan peaks as viewed from Tengboche Monastery, Tengboche, Nepal.

Kathmandu Rickshaws

Kathmandu Street Life

The Most Dangerous Airport in the World

Lukla - The Starting Point of our Himalayan Trek

The Trail to Tengboche - Day 1 - Lukla to Phakding

The Trail to Tengboche - Day 2 - Phakding to Monjo

The Trail to Tengboche - Day 3 - Monjo to Namche Bazaar

The Trail to Tengboche - Day 4 - Namche Bazaar to Tengboche

The Trail to Tengboche - Day 5 - Tengboche to Namche Bazaar

The Trail to Tengboche - Day 6 - Namche Bazaar to Phakding

The Trail to Tengboche - Day 7 - Phakding to Lukla

Guest Blog Spot - Nepal Everest Trek by Chan Suit Yoo

Boudhanath

Durbar Square

Bungamati

Video Interview on Behind The Lens Discussing the Nepal Trek

Spotlight - By Behind The Lens

Peter Tan who has successfully been running his live interview series, called Behind The Lens, for almost one year now approached me with the idea of doing an online interview session. This would hopefully cater to a larger audience and particularly those people who could not make the live sessions held in Kuala Lumpur.

Here are the complete set of video interviews recorded covering my focus on landscape and travel photography.

EP1 - Introduction

EP1 - Portfolio

EP1 - Nepal Trek

EP1 - On Location

EP1 - Back from Nepal

EP1 - What's In My Bag?

Guest Blog Spot - Nepal Everest Trek (Lukla to Tengboche)

My very first guest blogger on the HighlanderImages Photography Blog …. and yes … I'm pleased to say it's my wife. She wanted to post an article on her experience on the recent Nepal trek we did and provide a "women's perspective" on this type of trek. Including all the useful tips and advice on what it is like, what to take, what to wear, what the accommodation is like and importantly the vital information you ladies are all going to ask about …. yes … the toilet facilities!

Nepal Everest Trek ( Lukla to Tengboche)

6th April 2013

It was sometime in early January 2013 that my dear husband Stuart told me that he would like to go on a Photosafari trek in Nepal on 15 March 2013 and he asked me to join him. Through all these decades  together he has constantly challenged me to adventures that I (a 100% city girl) would never have dreamed of doing. He convinced me with his “Now or Never” statement  since we are already in our mid fifties. Being a quite pampered mid 50 city girl who is so used to good things and comfort in life, my first concern was the quality of the accommodation and toilet  facilities . I was not so worried if I am fit enough to do it but more worried if I can sleep and my daily routine. 

So I googled and found plenty of information about the treks and the scenery but little information about the facilities. So here it goes,  my little 2  cents worth of tips and information about the Everest treks from Lukla to Tengboche (3,900m) to add on to Stuart wonderful pictures and description of our day to day trekking. Bear in mind that we were there in mid March so it was much colder. 

Preparation

Training 

Our organizer told us it is a easy walk in the park and there is not much training needed. Stuart and I did not believe him. I am a lady of "so so" fitness who only started exercising when I retired 5 years ago. 2x a week at home - 30 min on the cross trainer and 1 hour of yoga. From mid January onwards, I exercised 2x a week at home - 50 mins on  the  cross trainer  covering 5.8 km each time and 1 hour of stretching and yoga plus once a week of 2 hours walking on the jungle treks in Bukit kiara covering about 4 km each time. I trekked with my 2 trekking sticks which are a life saver when trekking in Nepal. So I had 2 months of training and I could feel myself getting fitter. 

List of things to bring 

Our organizer told us our luggage are to be carried by the porter and is restricted to 25 kilos  in total for 2 of us. My girlfriend Karen lend me a big rucksack and I prepared a list of things to bring for our 7 days trekking .  

Day wear 

• dry fit T-shirts (or less as you don’t really need to change every day) , 
• 2 pairs of dry fit pants,
• 1 woolly jumper (very important as it is extremely cold)
• my timberland wind/rain proof jacket with hood and 1 pair of RM5 daisho rain pants. If you do not have a rain proof jacket just buy the disposable RM5 raincoat from Daisho or Guardian.
• a warm scarf for your neck, a woolly beanie hat (or a nepalese beanie < RM10 in Kathmandu), 
• a pair sunglasses and a good hat (I brought my Korean super visor), 
• a waist pouch to put your cash and passport (remember to put these important stuff in a waterproof ziplock bag), 2 energy bar/chocolate, your camera and mobile phone, tissues, wet ones and hand sanitizer.  Better to have side pockets in pouch  for small bottles of water, 
• Water bottles  
• 3 or 4 pairs of warm thick socks and your very well tested water proof  trekking boots (not so old one as the glue may split). If you have new shoes , remember to break in the shoes at least 1 month before your trip.  
• Disposable underwear and for ladies your change of bra.  
• Your very trusted 2 trekking sticks that can save your life if you practise using it the correct way. 

Night wear /use

• 2 thermal long sleeve tops and 1 pair of thermal long pants, can get from Uniglo.
• 1 pair of thick pyjama (lounge) pants also  from uniglo and another woolly cardigan
• a pair of really thick woolly socks that you can wear with a pair of light casual shoes (we brought the RM5 Daisho rubber slippers that can double up as slippers in the bathroom as the bathroom/toilet floors are very dirty).
• Pillow case and very importantly a sleeping bag, (thickness depending on the time of the year you go). If you are fussy like me, a single bedsheet. Your sleeping bag is very important as it can keep you clean and warm so you can sleep in the freezing temperature room as there is no heating. 
• A torch.
• A quick dry towel (just in case you get a chance to have hot showers which is rare)
• A small thermos to fill hot water. 

Other comforts

• Lots of wet wipes (those that remove makeup and sunblock on your face) and those for your body and intimate parts as you have little chance to get hot water (some of the places water is heated by solar panel so it is weather dependent) 
• Toilet paper (not provided for in most lodges)
• Tissue paper
• Small bottle of hand sanitizer (life saver as you may not get water to wash your hands after using the toilet)
• Toiletries – small bottle of face cleanser and toner (if you get hot water ),lots of moisturizers, small bottle of shampoo and conditioner (just in case you get a chance of wash your hair), shower gel, lots of body cream, lip gloss / sun protection 
• Lots of high UV 50+++ sunblock for your face and neck.
• A nail clipper or nail polisher just in case your toe nails gives you problems with the shoes. 
• Camera
• Medicines that may save your life – high altitude tables (diamox), ciprofloxin antibiodics (for flu, inflamed bites, or in my case serious diarrhoea), immodium, allergy pills, cold decongestant pills, charcoal pills, panadols, plaster, muscle ache oilments, rehydration salts (oralite), antiseptic cream and maybe a small first aid bag.
• Comfort food (like sambal/chilli/noodles) or drinks (chocolate/milo/nestum), some biscuits , energy bars and chocolate .
• Your vitamins and supplements ( lots of people catch colds so I had 1000mg of vitamin C a day).
• If you have space bring some sweets for the local children and they will love you. 
• A plastic tumbler and water disinfection tablet. Soak tablet in tumbler for clean water to rinse your mouth when you get into the lodge. 

Tips

• Organise all your clothing (day and night), medicine, and supplies in individual ziplock bags and press out all the air so that it is tight and easy to pack. Bring an extra plastic bag for dirty /wet clothing. You can get these vacuum plastic bags at Daisho at RM5 per pack. 
• Don’t need to bring change of clothing every day as you may not need it  since it is so cold. I did not bring any makeup as it is too cold to bother with it. But sunblock is very important. Your wet wipes are a must so don’t forget to bring lots. Do not need to wear any earrings or jewellery as it is too much trouble and no one cares how you look.  
• Food - Don’t need to bring tin food unless you are fussy as most of the time the food served is quite edible. Fried noodles with vegetables and chicken, fried rice, curry chicken , dhal,delicious little momo chicken dumplings ,  some good lodges even served eggs (cooked any style) with sausages, American, continental or local breakfast. Most main course cost about 300 to 400 rupees (28 rupees to RM1), coffee and tea about 100 to 200 rupees and hot water about 20 to 30 rupees. 
• If you are like us who do not quite enjoy group tours, then go for private trekking with your own guide and porter and book directly in the internet with the reputable trekking companies in Nepal and they can arrange for more comfortable accommodation for you . 
• Remember to use 2 trekking sticks as it gives you stability and can save you from slipping or falling plus it helps you to drag yourself up steep slopes. Buy your trekking sticks here in KL so you can practice using them. 
• When I reached Lukla on the return trek, I was silly enough to let my guard down and eat red meat - I had a buffalo steak. DON’T  as I had bad stomach ache  after that and in Kathmandu I had Korean bbq meat wrapped in raw lettuce which add on to my sufferings. I ended up having diarrhoea for 3 days. 
• Drink bottled waters. Cost 20 rupees (RM 0.7 ) in Lukla but 200 rupees ( RM 7) in Tengboche. 
• Shopping - You can buy most of your trekking stuffs in Kathmandu. North star dry fit pants and shirts at 1200 rupees each (RM43), Columbian socks at RM9, backpacks etc, etc. For the ladies buy pashmina shawls 1st grade fine pashmina is around RM230, 2^nd grade pashmina at RM93. 100% cashmere cardigan RM 140 plus plenty of semi precious stones  jewellery.
• Do it while you are young or when your children are all grown up (like us) when they do not need you anymore. As it can be a dangerous trip since you will be in one of the most dangerous airport in the world (Lukla) plus the treks are tough and can be treacherous at some points. Remember to buy TRAVEL INSURANCE that includes Nepal trekking. We bought ours directly from Axa at 25% rebate.
• Do not hesitate or be embarrassed  to take plenty of stops  throughout the walk to drink water and have a pieces of chocolate or energy bar or reward yourself with a cup of ginger tea at the teahouse after 2 hours of trekking. Do not rush as it is important to take it slowly. At the last stretch to Tengboche I had to stop after every 25 steps to breathe as the air was so thin and that stretch was so steep. This went on and on for 3 hours. Some turn up with pale white face and grey bluish lips. So do not be embarrassed as the locals stop to rest too. It is not because you are not fit but it is the high altitude. 
• If you have bad headaches in the middle of the night it is symptom of altitude sickness. Most people easily recovered from it after a night rest. Stuart and I had  it in Namche (3500m) and  mine went on till the next morning when I had to take a diamox pill to stop it. So do not keep quiet if you do not feel well as it is important that you take care of yourself throughout the treks.  
• It is important to have a good Sherpa (porter) or guide who is there to hold your hands when you need him.  My very trusted porter, Gunkarei, was always walking 2 steps behind me and would be there  to hold on to me when I slipped. He would be there when I need my  jumper and water and  to show me the safe path to go. Towards the end of my trekking, I became quite attached to my very faithful and trusted Sherpa who saved me from falling twice. 

Accommodation and Toilet Facilities

Most of the lodges (except for Tengboche) have attached bathroom and western style toilets which are reasonably clean, not smelly but not absolutely hotel clean. Most of them do not provide toilet paper or toiletries. Not all of them have hot water as most of the lodges use solar heater so availability and temperature of hot water is weather dependent. If you pay more you can get gas heated water (guaranteed hot). There is no heating in the room, the walls and windows  are mainly thin  so it can be miserably cold. The lodges provide 2 single beds with mattress and a pillow and a blanket (if you insist they will provide 2 blankets). So be prepared for the cold. 

Phakding – attached bathroom with no hot water and no water towards evening. 
Monjo – attached bathroom, normal room 600 rupees but we paid an extra 200 rupees ( RM7) per room for gas heated water, however limited to only 5 rooms.
Namche Bazaar – attached bathroom with queen sized bed and heated blanket. We paid an extra US15 per room as our organizer has only a budget of  US20 which is for a normal room with no hot water.
Tengboche – common toilet with no bathroom and sink shared by 10 rooms so no hot water at all and very basic room. No shower and didnt brush our teeth that morning!!! 

Royal Sherpa Lodge, Phakding

Royal Sherpa Lodge, Phakding

Royal Sherpa Lodge, Phakding

Royal Sherpa Lodge, Phakding

 Mount Kailash Lodge, Monjo

Panorama Lodge, Namche Bazaar

Panorama Lodge, Namche Bazaar

 Hotel Himalayan, Tengboche

Sunrise Valley Lodge, Lukla

Sunrise Valley Lodge, Lukla

Toilet Facilites along the treks.

There are some public toilets along the treks but very basic wooden hut with  wooden planks and a hole in the middle. Not horribly smelly (like in China) but bearable. Not a lovely sight though. Or if you stop at a tea house for drinks, you can try to ask to use their toilet which will have a squat or western toilet and most of them are not smelly but bearably clean. Or like me twice in the treks I had to go behind the bushes (make sure you don’t fall over the cliff). 

Summary

The view along the way is spectacular.  The experience is challenging and it is a real endurance test to your mind and your body. As one climber we met said "It's good for the body and soul" when your mind is focussed just on the walk and the scenery. We climbed steep slopes, walk through slippery rocks, cross suspension bridges over deep ravines and rivers but it is not too frightening as your mind is focused on just crossing and not the danger below. The food is not bad, quite edible and you eat to give you the energy. The accommodation is bearable if you are prepared and do not mind a few nights without shower so it is very important to bring lots of wet wipes and warm clothing.

If you give yourself 2 months of training  and your body is reasonably fit it is not impossible as you will be surprised what  your body can do even if you are in your mid 50's like us. My girlfriend went wild with the shopping in Kathmandu for pashmina, trekking gears and semi-precious stones, so be sure to bring extra cash. 

All in all it is tough but totally bearable and doable  and when you see Mt Everest it makes the whole trip all worth while. How many people in the world have faced the mightiest, most majestic and  tallest  mountain in the world, Mt Everest in person. It may be from far but we did it in person and we were  physically there. 

That was my adventure of a life time.

The Trail to Tengboche - Day 7 - Phakding to Lukla

It was freezing cold when we arose for the last day's trek from Phakding to Lukla and we all huddled around the log fire with our hot tea to get some warmth in us before heading out after breakfast. As we headed off down the trail out of Phakding we passed once again through the agriculturally rich area beside the Dudh Kosi River and the many small villages along the way.

We passed the many Mani stones, Buddhist stupas, small monasteries and brightly painted prayer wheels beside the trail, these colourful items providing some good photo opportunities.

The small villages and surrounding field were all neatly tended with vegetables and rice being grown. We stopped at a small shop to buy some water and the lady owner insisted on me photographing her and her baby which of course I duly complied with. Next to the shop a lady was busy laying out some chilli seeds to dry in the sun. There were again many large trains of donkeys heading down the trail this morning obviously to load back up with goods from Lukla. 

After a dull start to the morning it became a pleasant day for the walk back down the valley. Beautiful white tree blossom and blue, alpine style flowers could be seen in the fields beside the trail and as we made our way through the small villages it was interesting to watch some of the locals working and the children playing. Everything is done by hand here and a group of men were busy mending a bridge supporting wall, chisseling large rocks by hand.

Soon we were getting close to Lukla and the end of our long trek and once again the trail started to ascend from the valley floor up towards Lukla. I was interested to watch a couple of local boys play table tennis outside their house. A small group of Nepalese policemen marched down the trail past me all dressed up in their smart uniforms - obviously rushing off to an incident of major Himalayan importance. The last section was steep but as we were in sight of the finish line we made Lukla in good time. It was a great feeling to cross under the arch at the edge of Lukla after 7 days of constant trekking over rough, steep trails. We reached our lodge and sat down for a late lunch and celebratory Everest beer and Everest burger. Our trusty porter, Gunga Rai, had been invaluable in carrying our gear in the rucksack and also he stuck very close to Suit Yoo the whole route assisting her over some difficult sections.

It was a great feeling to cross under the arch at the edge of Lukla marking the start/end of the trail after 7 days of constant trekking over rough, steep trails. We reached our lodge and sat down for a late lunch and celebratory Everest beer and Everest burger. Our trusty sherpa porter, Gunga Rai, had been invaluable in carrying all our gear in the rucksack and also sticking close to Suit Yoo like a shadow the whole route assisting her over some difficult sections. Suit Yoo had become quite attached to him and I was afraid I may have to buy him a ticket to Malaysia to continue to follow my wife everywhere!