Dhan-ya-vaad (Thank you Nepal we had a ball)

The trek will go down as an incredible experience for the both of us. We had a lot of laughs along the way and our visit to Onni House was humbling and inspirational. One of the first kids to enter the House is four year old Kiran (pictured). Yes, he's as cheeky as he looks and partial to cheese balls.

We'd like to extend some thank-yous to some people who helped make our trip memorable. Thanks to Carl and Tuuli for looking after us in Pokhara and showing us around Onni and Namaste House. A big thanks to Kumar at the wonderful Four Seasons Hotel in Pokhara for "sorting things out" and getting John back Kathmandu in time for his flight home.


Shalik (our un-official guide), thanks for all your "Yo-didis" and "Sure no problems". Best of luck with your studies. Hopefully you'll get to see re-runs of Fantasy Island in Nepal one day and see what the real Tattoo and Mr Roarke look like.

Gherig, you're the Keith Richards of porters. You smoked your way up the mountain, carrying 20+ kilos and that apple brandy you insisted John drink at the farewell gave him a shocking hangover. Keep smiling.

Claire and Ken, hope EBC was as much fun as the circuit. Thanks for the games of 500, the tea, purified water and taking our publicity shots.

Suzan, thanks for the poetry and the tunes. We'll give you DOP credits on the movie. Thanks also to Ramkrishna at Himalayan Scenery Treks and Expedition.

Thanks to our fellow trekkers who survived the pass on that miserably cold day. To the Crazy Spaniards (Marta and friends) - we loved the high altitude strip. To Soona and Arnu, great work making it and look forward to seeing you both in Melbourne. To Alex and "the Germans", hope the row across the lake in Pokhara after the mushrooms was fun. To the Israeli girls (you know who you are), you were a bad influence on the young and impressionable Anthony. To Martin and Christine, best of luck with the studies and hope to see you in Australia one day or on Enews partying with the Hiltons. To Kimber, hope the knees held out for EBC (safe travels as you bounce around the world).

Finally, thanks to all our donors (big and small). We are close to making our target of $5,000 in donations. Super effort...and inspiration for another trekking suits adventure. Watch this space.

The partition and the jeep ride

My split with John was premature and swift, but without acrimony.

We pulled up to dusty Jomsom, sorefoot after a long trek through high altitude desert. On that day we didn't stop for lunch, although we did gorge on some tasty apples from the Mustang region.

My plan was to stay the night in Jomsom and see John off in the morning. As we pulled up to the hotel, we bumped into four young Israeli girls that we had occassionally shared the trail with. They were taking a jeep to shortcut the trek by a day.

"Why stay here?" they asked. I look around town. Why indeed. Where the Trek is concerned, the actual stays don't usually count for much. The movement is the reward.

John and I agreed that Switters would go, so that's what I did.

I really dig buses and trains. I like zoning out while the world wizzes by - with the right attitude it's meditation in motion. Sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I banter, sometimes I just sleep and drool. Long hauls don't bother me; when travelling in developing countries I regularly clock up 10 hours plus trips.

On this occasion the only seat available was the back of a troop carrier with seven others. The man opposite stared with intrigue in his eyes and asked my "good name". He then introduced me to his wife and elderley in-laws sitting next to me. Pleasentries quickly turned to family.

"Are you married?"

My response prompted a familiar look of puzzlement and pity. As he translated, there was a ripple effect throughout the cabin. Next time I get asked that question I am going to reply that I am Mormon, have three wives, and am blessed with eight healthy children.

I looked out the open back window and waved as some familiar trekking faces passed by. It was like trekking in fast forward. Anthoer man interrupted my reverie to offer me some more tasty Mustang apples, which I gratefully accepted.

Into the trip, I heard one of the passengers say 'Aushtraya' and immediately realised that I had been the topic of conversation for the past half an hour. What must they think of me?

Who is this rugged, devilishly-handsome fellow? Why is he wearing that filthy beige suit? Why is the suit so appealing despite its state? WTF?

Passengers disembarked and were replaced by others who were quickly debriefed about my situation. It got squeezier and squeezier. At one point I felt a hand on my knee and looked up to see an elderly Tibetan lady with twinkly eyes smiling at me. In my own country I would be a bit freaked, but here I give smiles back.

I got off at the appropriate stop, bade farwell and was given a parting gift in the shape of some more tasty Mustang apples.

The next day I took a horse for the day's trek. It wasn't very obedient.

Bye for now!

Theft and help

I knew that Nepal would offer new adventures, but I hadn't counted on robbery being one of them.

To be honest, it had been a long time coming. In many cities, in many countries, I have taken many drinks and explored dark streets with reckless abandon. On this occasion it was very late, very dark and very dodgy, so much so that robbery seemed too obvious. But sure enough, I was caught mid swagger by the tug of wallet departing pocket and looked up to see a local making haste down the backstreets of Kathmandu. Although it was an unexpected and new experience, the feeling felt much like the first time I hooked a fish.

Always good at the short sprint, I caught my assailant running down one of the windy backstreets and collared him in a "your knicked" type fashion. He handed the wallet over quickly, and there was a few embarrassing moments of silence as we each tried to work out what was the appropriate next move. I gave up and departed.

Feeling high from the chase, I ordered rickshaws for myself and John so that we might take in more of the delights of the night. We drove around for about half an hour, waking the ghosts and gods of Durbar square before heading back. En route, we noticed a crowd, a mob, attacking the same pickpocket Rodney King style. I jumped out and yanked him out of reach, while John did crowd control on the mob with an impressively loud voice. While they backed off, I led the bloodied and crying fella away. Shaken, drunk and irrationally guilt-ridden (he had robbed me), I tipped him and told him to run.

That was the night before our departure to Besasihar, the embarkation point for trekking the Annapurna circuit. For a nostalgia slave like myself, it has been great to catch up with my old mates again, Annapurna's one, two, three, and four. The trail is still great nine years on, despite some electrification and road building. And still the good times keep rolling.

John and myself have taken local help along for the ride this time round, which helps compliment the colonial flavour of our adventure. Our porter's name is Suzan (male), but I like to call him Sus after a friend of mine in Melbourne (female).

Help is great to have. Sus fetches things, orders our food, yells at the hoteliers (even though we are nearly always happy with the service) and generally keeps the good ship Trekking Suits running swimmingly. He is no longer awed by our inexplicable formal wear and constant costume changes in the same way that the other locals are, but I think he views us as 'gifted'.

Today is a beauty in Manang. It is our acclimatisation day, and we spent the first half of it hiking up a 1000m cliff face to visit a ninety-two year old lama who lives in a cave there. He gave us blessings and necklaces, and after some tranlsater-mediumed banter, and some tea, he offered us some dry lama snacks from a silver tray. Mine tasted like fruit loops.

So now the Thorong-La pass beckons. The suit is bloodied (leeches) stained (sweat) and unfortunately bleached near the fly area (toothpaste) but otherwise respectful. More from the other side in a short while, thanks, Anthony.

Mission accomplished

On 14 September Anthony and I successfully crossed the pass. The 4am start was pretty tough but the snow soon had as alert and alarmed. With one third the normal level of oxygen the going was pretty slow. I had on most of the contents of my backpack, including my $7 poncho, but still felt a bit of a chill (note to self, must do better research in future). Thankfully some ingeneous fellow had set up a shack at the top of pass and was selling hot tea and chocolate biscuits at a criminal rate. Not that anybody was complaining...we were at the cruising level of a 747 and feeling a little giddy.


Anthony and I tried to spruce up for the occassion. I wore my acqua bow tie and cumberband circa 1989 deb ball. At the time I thought it was the worst $40 I'd ever spent as I'd never use it again. How wrong can a person be. My formal attire and Anthony's colonial suit and hat had some trekkers arriving at the pass wondering if they were suffering from acute altitude sickness.

The decent was rough on the knees but the beers at the Bob Marley hotel later that night tasted very sweet.

So I find myself in Pokhara having left Anthony yesterday. In about an hour I'll visit Onni Children's House to see first hand the great work that Wind of Change International have been doing in this amazing country.

John

Llama says Turnbull is his man

Now for the rest of John's first blog....the local internet connection is about as fast and as effective as a Tongan swimmer at the Olympics (with apologies to my Tongan friends).

It's day seven of the trek and we find ourselves in Manang (3570m). The first three days of the trek were murder. The heat, leeches, stinging nettles, steep climbs and my blisters (resembling fine grade mince) conspired to take the shine off the trail. But the trail always won through. Jaw dropping vistas, stone villages and smiling locals were an anesthetic to the pain. Oh yes, the fist full of Nurofen plus I was chomping and electrical tape holding my heals together helped too!

Now for answers to some obvious questions.

How is the suit holding up? Mine is mud splattered and a little creased, but only missing one button so far. Hey they're not called Endurance suits for nothing.

Any health problems? Apart from the bad blisters I'm feeling great. The knees are creaking away. I'm yet to suffer any tummy troubles. Not that that I'm too worried. I chose the colour of my suit (brown) strategically.


How are the locals reacting to the suits? As you'd imagine many people are doing double takes. Some think we are property developers, others men of god, but mostly we are just a curiosity. Our fellow trekkers are responding well. We got a standing ovation at breakfast the other morning and each of our daily costume changes are eagerly awaited. Not sure we'll get as warm a welcome when we unleash Manpower day. There may be a few people gagging on their porridge.

Our porter/guide's name is Suzan (male). He's doing a cracking job of lugging our load. Sooz, as we affectionately call him, is a 21 year old poet/university student. He works his magic each day sourcing hot water, blankets, chocolate treats and sometimes even helps cook our meals. Should he be able to produce cold beer and a super supreme pizza then I'd happily quit work and follow him around as a supreme llama.

Speaking of llamas, we trekked up a mountain this morning to be blessed by a 92 year llama. He had us eat some weird nutty things from his hand and then drink something that looked like castor oil. He then proceeded to wave some things about and clocked us on the head with a wooden book as a finali. We then shared a cup of tea and some words about Brendan Nelson's chances of leading the Liberals to an election victory. I left my passport photo on the llama's photo wall. Hopefully one day Jack or Sophia might trek this way and visit the new llama. I think much will be changed by then. There is bound to be a 7-eleven and a casino. The new llama will probably take visa, mastercard and amex instead of just cash for a blessing.

I'll need to sign off now. This internet connection is more expensive than a shot of Keith and Nicole's precious Sunday. A small mountain (5416m) stands between us and the visiting the Children's House. Piece of cake...make mine dark chocolate fudge.

John

One night in Bangkok (well two actually)

Anthony and John are leaving Melbourne for Bangkok on 31 August to begin their odyssey. Like most travellers they have overpacked and feel underprepared.

Time has flown by since the trekking suits plan was hatched three months ago (read the posts below for the full story). To date almost $4000 has been raised for Onni Children's House and the boys are bearing down on their target of $5000. A terrific effort thanks to people's enormous generosity. If you haven't donated yet and were thinking about it, then we'd love to get a boost during the trek with a few extra donations.

Anthony and John would like to single out the following big donors and dedicate a trekking day to them:

JO BROWNLEE [Sept 4: Gordon Gekko (slicked back hair and Wall St power ties will be the order of the day)]

MARWA KHALAF [Sept 5: Miami Vice (not sure about no socks, but Don Johnson will definitely be impressed with our choice of t-shirts)]

ELAINE YONG [Sept 6: Fantasy Island (no white suits, but bow ties will pay tribute to Mr Rourke and Tattoo)]

BAJINSKIS FAMILY [Sept 7: Paul Keating (Zegna ties will adorn these two Lizards of Oz)]

CLAIRE SUTHERLAND [Sept 8: Men in Black (skinny black ties and shades will protect us from aliens)]

MELANIE KELLY [Sept 9: Dapper Mafia Dons (loud ties and loud hair)]

WSP ENVIRONMENTAL [Sept 10: Man Power (hopefully we won’t scare too many mountain goats, but it’ll be bare chests under those suit jackets)]

ANTHEA HARRIS [Sept 11: James Bond (shaken but not stirred, it’ll be bow ties and cufflinks for these two agents on Her Majesty’s secret service)]

SURRI GRAY [Sept 12: Reservoir Dogs (Mr White and Mr Pink will look groovy while discussing a comparative analysis of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”)]

ALEX BADHAM [Sept 13: John Travolta “Saturday Night Fever” (we would love to do it in leisure suits, but our vintage disco shirts will set a party mood as we attempt to scale the Thorung La pass)]

STEPHEN TUDOR [Sept 14: Harajuka Punks in Suits (What better way to finish than as anarchist punks)]

One more sleep until Anthony and John arrive at their training camp in Bangkok. The high humidity and political turmoil should get the boys sweating.

Two mates, two suits, one audacious challenge for charity

Anthony Williamson and John Krbaleski have set themselves an incredible challenge to raise money to help establish a Children’s House for disadvantaged kids in Nepal. In September 08, they will trek for 11 days in Nepal along the famous Annapurna Circuit, crossing one of the highest altitude passes in the world.

Climbing from around 790 metres above sea level to almost 5,500 metres the trek is tough enough in comfortable clothing. Anthony and John will undertake it wearing business suits.

Trekking by their own self-styled rules, each of the 11 days will see them dress in a style inspired by a “famous suit”, ranging from Gordon Gekko (Wall Street) to Sonny Crockett (Miami Vice). Contact us at trekkingsuits@yahoo.com.au to sponsor one of the themed days.

Why business suits you ask? The idea emerged from a lively discussion at the pub on the merits of business suits. Anthony and John agreed that suits have unfairly copped a poor rap when it came to comfort and practicality, and that their casual grace was undervalued. They vowed to take bold action to right the wrong. There was no turning back.

Anthony and John are supporting Wind of Change International (WoC), a not-for-profit organisation that is establishing Onni Children's House in Pokhara, Nepal, due to open in September 2008. Anthony and John share WoC’s belief that every child has a right to a decent childhood – to be healthy, live in a safe home, and enjoy quality education.

Donations are tax deductible. WoC do not draw any salaries, and all administration costs are covered, meaning 100% of funds received from donors are used to directly benefit the children and the community they work with in Nepal. A donation of $44 will provide clothing for an entire year for one child, while $133 covers overall health care for an entire year for one child (doctors fees, medicine and treatment, child counselling).

Please donate generously in support of a great cause and the spirit of adventure.

Scroll down the right hand side of this page to:

- make a donation

- learn about the guys behind trekking suits

- check out the trekking trail

- peruse the rules of the challenge

- check out the 11 themes we have chosen for each of the days of the trek.

If you have any questions you can contact us at trekkingsuits@yahoo.com.au