The Friendship Highway: Tibet, Everest & Kathmandu
July 27th 2009.
We reached Everest just after midnight, on my 21st Birthday.
The mountain lay naked in front of us, with a silver dress from the full moon. No clouds, despite it being monsoon season. One could call it fate.
Everest was a big dream of mine. Before Travel, I was into mountains, and that was the one that always lingered in my mind. I was a 20 year old broke student that couldn’t afford to Summit it, so I settled for its Base Camp. I researched thoroughly how to get there, planned it all carefully a Year in advance.
In this quest for information, I came across a movie, “7 Years in Tibet” by Jean-Jacques Annaud. It absolutely blew my mind. This peaceful Kingdom in the Himalayas, hidden from the World and the frantic lifestyles in the West. I had to make sure I explored it on my upcoming trip, so I set out to roadtrip the Friendship Highway: 1300km between Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, and Kathmandu, the legendary backpacker hub since the 70s.
That trip changed my life. That night 15 years ago, standing in front of Everest was the moment I fell in love with Travel.
