I'm travelling form Manchester and wondered if any other members of the group were doing the same. 

It's too early to be anxious but my anxiety will be catching up with the group in Abu Dhabi airport if I'm the only one flying from Manchester.

Many thanks

I'm really interested in this holiday, flying from Manchester but can't decide whether to go for the October or November trip.  I wondered why you chose the November one.

I picked November just in case the monsoon over runs!! I'm hoping to get some clear skies. I've been on holiday to Asia in November twice before and thought it was a great time to get away - November is starting to get too dark at night and miserable.

Angie

Hi Kathy,

I picked November just in case the monsoon over runs!! I'm hoping to get some clear skies. I've been on holiday to Asia in November twice before and thought it was a great time to get away - November is starting to get too dark at night and miserable.

Angie

Well, I've booked the November holiday!  I decided to go from London as it cost quite a lot more to go from Manchester and I can get to and from Heathrow on the train without incurring an overnight stay.  Looking forward to meeting fellow travellers in the Heathrow lounge.

Looking at the website this tour looks sold out including the add on.

It's going to be good. You may not know there have been itinerary changes but its mostly tinkering with the walks to improve the experience. It all reads well. 

Angie

Many thanks.

In terms of any changes, our team of Holiday Advisors are the best people to call, they will be able to explain the changes and how your holiday has been enhanced.

Kind regards

Matt

Day 3 -The Gokarna Forest Walk is replaced with a Monastery Walk (at Pharping), sacred to Tibetan Buddhists which very much interests me having been to Tibet last year. It seems quite an early walk as we hopefully participate in a morning prayer ceremony. Later we get to get visit one of the few nunneries in Nepal. All this really appeals to me rather than walking through a forest.

Day 4 - The walk to Shivpuri is replaced with a community walk to Panauti. After a good walk, we enjoy a lunch experience with the local people then explore the town with a host family. This too is very appealing to me... a real chance to engage with the people.

Day 7 - Optional Peace Stupa walk now has a different walk down from the way up. Thumbs up.

Day 8 - Dhampus walk, same again, different walk down from the way up. Thumbs up again.

Day 10 - living museum replaced with villages of Bungamati and Khokana. Described as one of the most genuine experiences of traditional life. Sounds super.

I must say these changes excite me but then you perhaps have to read the complete wording of the changes which goes in to more detail.

I hope this helps Kathy.

Angie

Try not to worry pbro1701.  We've all been through this on our first time JY adventure, but after my first one on June 5th last year, I have been on two more JY trips since, - one long haul to Florida, and I  have another one booked.  Someone will meet you at Manchester and see you to the plane, but you may have to travel alone until you get to your destination. It is still early days for bookings from Manchester, and I am sure it will fill up by then. However, coming back , you'll know people by the end of the trip and you will be fine.  Try not to worry, although I know it is daunting on the first trip, but I can GUARANTEE that you'll be well looked after throughout.

Thank you Mike, that's very encouraging. I'm a grown -up (just) so should be fine to negotiate the next airport, it's just I've only ever travelled to Europe and the States with my family but I expect it will be fine even if I'm the only one from Manchester. Really looking forward to it, I read such good things about Just You so fingers crossed. Thanks again.

I'm on this trip. I'll look out for you in Abu Dhabi!! This tour is selling well - I would be surprised if no one is going from Manchester- but don't hold me to it :-)

Thanks Angie, I'll wear something obvious when I arrive in the airport so you'll recognize me (nothing to cliched tho i think)  🙂

Hi

I'm really interested in this holiday, flying from Manchester but can't decide whether to go for the October or November trip.  I wondered why you chose the November one.

Hi Kathy, I didn't realise there was an October option actually but I like the idea of travelling in November....October is still possible to potter around at home in terms of closing down the garden and the allotments and November misses a lot of the Christmas hiatus! 😉

Kathy,

Day 3 -The Gokarna Forest Walk is replaced with a Monastery Walk (at Pharping), sacred to Tibetan Buddhists which very much interests me having been to Tibet last year. It seems quite an early walk as we hopefully participate in a morning prayer ceremony. Later we get to get visit one of the few nunneries in Nepal. All this really appeals to me rather than walking through a forest.

Day 4 - The walk to Shivpuri is replaced with a community walk to Panauti. After a good walk, we enjoy a lunch experience with the local people then explore the town with a host family. This too is very appealing to me... a real chance to engage with the people.

Day 7 - Optional Peace Stupa walk now has a different walk down from the way up. Thumbs up.

Day 8 - Dhampus walk, same again, different walk down from the way up. Thumbs up again.

Day 10 - living museum replaced with villages of Bungamati and Khokana. Described as one of the most genuine experiences of traditional life. Sounds super.

I must say these changes excite me but then you perhaps have to read the complete wording of the changes which goes in to more detail.

I hope this helps Kathy.

Angie

Thanks for this Angie.  It sounds even more exciting now!

Many thanks.

Hi Kathy,

I picked November just in case the monsoon over runs!! I'm hoping to get some clear skies. I've been on holiday to Asia in November twice before and thought it was a great time to get away - November is starting to get too dark at night and miserable.

Angie

Well, I've booked the November holiday!  I decided to go from London as it cost quite a lot more to go from Manchester and I can get to and from Heathrow on the train without incurring an overnight stay.  Looking forward to meeting fellow travellers in the Heathrow lounge.

Here's a rundown of the changes for Walking in Nepal, we have changed and improved a lot of the included walks and also the optional excursion.

Day 3 – Kathmandu

Monastery Walk

Drive from hotel to south of Kathmandu for about 45 minutes to a serene mountainous village called Pharping. This is a sacred place for Tibetan Buddhist as one of the great master – Guru Padmasambhav also referred as Guru Rimpoche (Precious Master), meditated in the caves around this area. Because of the sacredness and religious significances of this area, many monasteries are built around here and many pilgrims visit the holy caves. We will stop by at one of the very beautiful and impressive monastery in Pharping called Neydo. If time and schedule of the monastery favors us, we will get to participate in the morning prayer ceremony and chanting by the residents monks in the main sanctum of the monastery. We then take a tour of the monastery and immerse ourselves in the beauty of the monastery, intricate arts and iconography and pray for positivity and good vibes to big statue of Buddha in the main sanctum. We will be having simple breakfast at the monastery. After breakfast, we will take a short walk around the area for about an hour or so with the option of visiting one of the very few nunneries in Nepal. This nunnery is called Arya Tara School.

Day 4 – Panauti

After visiting the Budhanilkantha Temple

Drive to Sanga (45 mins to one hour drive). Walk slight uphill for around 45 minutes and then after gradual uphill walk all the way to Panauti town. The hike last up to 4 hours and it is pleasant walk. Upon reaching Panauti town, enjoy local lunch experience with locals of Panauti town/ explore Panauti with your host family and return back to Kathmandu

The starting point, Sanga, is just outside the eastern edge of the Kathmandu Valley, and will be better known by most as the place with the tallest Shiva statue in the world. After a steep ascent for about half an hour, the hike mostly flattens out, and takes walkers along ridgelines with steep drops below, views of rice fields and farmland, the town of Banepa and–on clear days–unobstructed views of the Himalayas. The paths we followed were mostly just local paths that the villagers of this area have always used. The curious faces with which we were met proved that these people weren’t used to outsiders passing through.

The hike ended at Panauti, a beautiful Newari town surrounded by rice fields, and famed for being one of the best-preserved Newari settlements in the whole of Nepal.

Day 8 – Dhampus

Dhampus Walk in Annapurna:

After breakfast, we take a short drive for about an hour to our hiking starting point Kande (1883m). Stretching our legs and we start our hike up to Australian Camp (2200m) through rough trails and steep steps. It will take us around 1 hour to 90 minutes to get to Australian Camp. It has a great vantage point from where we get to see beautiful panoramic view of Annapurna Mountains, the valley, Phewa Lake, Pokhara City and World Peace Pagoda. We can take a short break for tea, coffee or cold drinks and enjoy the beautiful scenery. We will then hike downhill to Dhampus (1600m) through rough trails and steps for about an hour. We will then stop for lunch at Dhampus still enjoying and appreciating the beautiful Annapurna Mountains. We will take some time to relax and settle our belly, walking around the village of Dhampus before we start our downhill hike on steps for about an hour to Phedi to catch our bus back to downtown Pokhara.

Day 10 – Patan

Cultural Walk of Bungamati & Khokana:

A classic Newari village, Bungamati has rows of brick houses lining streets paved with flagstones. The village is the winter residence of the Rain God as well as being justifiably famous for the significant number of skilled woodcarvers among its inhabitants. Nearby is another ancient Newari village, Khokana which has earned quite a reputation for its mustard oil made in the traditional ways of oil pressing. If you come across somebody with a weathered face carrying two tin drums hanging at the two ends of a pole across his shoulders in the old marketplaces of Kathmandu, it is likely that he is from Khokana and in town to sell mustard oil. A day exploring these 2 villages will be one of the most genuine experiences of traditional life in the Kathmandu Valley you will find.

For the optional excursion walk to the Peace Stupa you can now take an alternative route that involves a boat trip.

Thanks,

Vickie

Kathy,

Day 3 -The Gokarna Forest Walk is replaced with a Monastery Walk (at Pharping), sacred to Tibetan Buddhists which very much interests me having been to Tibet last year. It seems quite an early walk as we hopefully participate in a morning prayer ceremony. Later we get to get visit one of the few nunneries in Nepal. All this really appeals to me rather than walking through a forest.

Day 4 - The walk to Shivpuri is replaced with a community walk to Panauti. After a good walk, we enjoy a lunch experience with the local people then explore the town with a host family. This too is very appealing to me... a real chance to engage with the people.

Day 7 - Optional Peace Stupa walk now has a different walk down from the way up. Thumbs up.

Day 8 - Dhampus walk, same again, different walk down from the way up. Thumbs up again.

Day 10 - living museum replaced with villages of Bungamati and Khokana. Described as one of the most genuine experiences of traditional life. Sounds super.

I must say these changes excite me but then you perhaps have to read the complete wording of the changes which goes in to more detail.

I hope this helps Kathy.

Angie

Hi Angie

Just realised I never replied to this, so thanks for the info.  I haven't got the official itinerary yet but expect it any day now.

I'm beginning to get really excited now, particularly after reading some of the other questions about this trip, eg what to wear, will altitude sickness be a problem.

I'm travelling to Heathrow from Yorkshire and will be arriving fairly early to will be looking out for other Just You travellers to pass some time with.

Can you say how many are in the group and give some idea of ages?  I'm an older traveller and wonder if I'm the only one.

Many thanks.