Kathmandu, Nepal [Post #11, Day 105]

I have made it to Nepal after spending the month of April back in Perth. It felt great to be back in Perth and have the chance to catch up with my sister and friends. As always, it was great to spend time with my sister, we always go for fun outings together, share nice meals at our favorite spots, and of course watch a few episodes of The Office, and we sprinkled in a few LEGO Masters Australia episodes this time too! Thank you Micha and Monique for letting me stay at your place! I also want to give a big shout-out to my friends who also so generously hosted me in their homes, Guy and Hannah, Maria and Mario in Perth, and Katie, Matt, Lucas, and Clara down in Albany, thank you so much! I really enjoyed spending the time with you.

I also ticked a few PhD milestones off the list, passing my viva voce oral examination, receiving the classification of "pass subject to minor revision". I've been working away at those revisions and just sent my updated thesis to my supervisors, it shouldn't be long now before I am finally finished!

Today is my second day in Kathmandu. It is quite smoky here at the moment due to wildfires in the area. We just had some brief rain tonight so maybe that will help things. Tomorrow I set out for the 13-day Manaslu Circuit trek. I will be hiking around the majestic Manaslu mountain, the eighth-highest peak in the world at 8,163 meters (26,782 feet) above sea level. I will not be going to the summit but will be reaching a max elevation of 5,106 meters (16,752 feet) over the Larke Pass, which we are scheduled to complete on Day 11. I am very excited but also approaching the trek with humility and respect for the challenges associated with higher altitude trekking. Another special thing about the trek is that each day we will be reaching a new village, and from what I understand they are all culturally unique and beautiful. I will be doing the trek with my guide Surje Lama. I met him today and he is just about my age which I think is very cool and I look forward to spending the next 13 days with him. This will be his fifth time guiding along the Manaslu Circuit trek this season.