In mid-2023, Mr. Tung and his wife had nearly three weeks to explore new things together in Nepal. Although he had heard of the Nepal mountain route, Mr. Tung had many times doubted whether his health could complete the 5,000 - 6,000 m high mountain. Until one time he watched the documentary "14 peaks" on Netflix, recounting Nimsdai Purja's journey to conquer the 14 highest peaks in the world over 8,000 m within 6 months. It was the image of the majestic snow-capped mountains in the film that overwhelmed Mr. Tung and made him think to himself "if not now, then when".
In mid-2023, Mr. Tung and his wife had nearly three weeks to explore new things together in Nepal.
“That same week, I researched information on the internet and contacted a company in Kathmandu, Nepal to prepare for the trip 5 months later. At first, my wife and I only planned to climb to Everest Base Camp 5,364 m, but after researching, we decided to add a route to Gokyo Mountain 5,483 m. Because from this mountain peak, we will have a beautiful view of the 8,000 m peaks, the most prominent of which is Everest 8,848 m,” Tung confided.
As a travel enthusiast, Tung and his wife have previously explored culture, cuisine, and nature at several locations in a short period of three to four days and have their own means of transport. Tung recounted: “The highest altitude I have ever reached is 4,900 m in the Potosi plateau, Bolivia, where the world’s largest salt flat, Uyuni, is located.”
17 days of effort to conquer yourself
The trip to Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Ri was the longest solo climbing journey Tung and his wife had ever experienced: 17 days with more than 150 km from an altitude of 2,800 m to 5,483 m in many harsh weather conditions and lack of amenities.
As a travel enthusiast, Mr. Tung and his wife have previously explored culture, cuisine, and nature at several locations in a short period of three to four days and have their own means of transportation.
The trip to Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Ri was the longest solo mountaineering journey Tung and his wife had ever experienced.
17 days with more than 150 km from 2800 m to 5483 m in many harsh weather conditions and lack of amenities.
The 17-day journey started from Kathmandu at 1 a.m., traveling by car for 5 hours to Ramechhap airport to catch a flight to Lukla town. According to Mr. Tung, this is one of the most dangerous flights in the world because Lukla airport is hidden in a valley at an altitude of 2,860 m in the middle of the Himalayas. Although the flight time is only 40 minutes, if there is a mistake during takeoff or landing, the plane will fall straight into the abyss below.
To reach Everest base camp at an altitude of 5,364 m, Tung and his wife spent 8 days to overcome the distance with many stages up and down the mountain peaks, passes and breaks to adapt to the altitude. Everest base camp is the base area of climbers when they begin the challenge of conquering the world's highest mountain, Everest.
Everest Base Camp is the base camp for climbers when they begin their attempt to conquer the world's highest mountain, Everest.
When arriving at the campsite, travel enthusiasts have the opportunity to experience camping in tents, practice crossing glaciers, ice climbing...
“This is a famous and crowded route every climbing season. You will meet many companions from many countries, many ages, including the elderly in their 60s. Some people come here to start their inspiration for more difficult challenges, while others consider trekking to Everest Base Camp as a journey to affirm themselves in the face of challenges or to make the final mark of their lives,” said Mr. Tung.
The experience continued with a four-day journey to conquer Gokyo Lake with the challenge of crossing the Chola Ice Pass. Mr. Tung recalled: “When we went, there was a snowstorm so Chola Pass was closed, my wife and I had to hire a helicopter to fly to Gokyo Lake, so the journey was shortened by two days.”
The experience continues with a four-day journey to conquer the Gokyo Lakes with the challenge of crossing the Chola Ice Pass.
Upon arrival, Tung and his wife rested for half a day to continue conquering the 5,483 m Gokyo Ri peak at night. This was the most difficult challenge of the whole journey because they had to trek up a steep slope in temperatures of -15 degrees. The road to Gokyo Lake was more deserted, the villages were also far apart, creating a feeling of relaxation, alone in the middle of majestic nature. Somewhere, you can also see yaks resting on the roadside, goats, wild deer or rare Himalayan pheasants.
This was the most difficult challenge of the whole journey because we had to trek up a steep slope in -15 degree temperatures.
The road to Gokyo Lakes is quieter, the villages are also far apart, creating a feeling of relaxation, alone in the middle of majestic nature. Somewhere you can also see yaks resting on the roadside, goats, wild deer or rare Himalayan pheasants.
The journey of accepting your own limits
According to Mr. Tung, the most memorable memory of the whole journey was the moment when the couple watched the sunrise on the mountain tops together. “To admire the image of the sun shining its first rays on the golden mountain tops against the deep blue sky is a memory that can overwhelm you. Especially at Gokyo Ri, when we set off at around 3am, the valley around Gokyo Lake was covered in a layer of ice. When reaching the top of the mountain, we could observe the sea of clouds covering the valley until the sun rose behind Mount Everest, shining its first rays of light, making the whole valley light up. The snow-covered mountain peaks appeared behind the clouds rising from below. Until the sun rose high, Mount Everest appeared prominently, the highest in the Himalayas,” the architect recalled.
To have precious memories is a difficult, arduous journey but very worthy. According to Mr. Tung, the biggest difficulty is having to adapt to the altitude in harsh weather conditions and lack of amenities. In spring, the weather will gradually change from wet in pine forests at an altitude of 2,800 - 4,000 m, then dry and cold or snowy. From 4,000 m and above or after 5,000 m, trekkers will encounter frost, possibly snow, the temperature will change from 16 degrees down to -10 degrees at night, on the mountain tops there are strong winds and it can be as cold as -15 degrees.
According to Mr. Tung, the most memorable memory of the whole journey was the moment the couple watched the sunrise together on the mountain tops.
At the end of each day, there are only “teahouses”, simple guesthouses with stone walls, rooms divided by plywood, beds are sometimes just mattresses placed on a wooden or brick platform. Daily meals are also very simple, mainly fried rice, traditional Nepalese rice, fried noodles, traditional Sherpa soups, potatoes… the ingredients are almost only starch, eggs, vegetables and very little meat. With such conditions plus fatigue after a daily 10-15 km mountain climbing journey, the body will have difficulty adapting and experience symptoms of altitude shock AMS, a severe condition that can cause cerebral edema or pulmonary effusion leading to death.
The architect shared that the best time to go to Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Ri is Spring and Autumn. Spring starts from March to mid-May, the weather is cool, there is little rain, if any, it only happens in the afternoon. Autumn is from September to mid-November, the weather is drier and clearer but the temperature is lower than spring. However, the weather in the Himalayas is always unpredictable, many people go in late Spring but still encounter snow, even snowstorms, so the journey in the Himalayas always has weather risks.
The architect shared that the best time to go to Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Ri is Spring and Fall.
Vietnamese ao dai flutters across five continents
As passionate travelers, every year Mr. Tung and his wife have experiences in many different countries. Since 2018, on each of their trips, Mr. Tung and his wife have taken a photo shoot in Ao Dai. This is both to preserve memories and to spread the image of traditional Vietnamese costumes on their journey to explore the world.
Mr. Tung said: “My husband and I started the project 'Ao Dai 100 Destinations' with the first shooting location in the Vatican. The goal of the project is to complete a collection of photos of Vietnamese Ao Dai at 100 famous locations on the themes of historical heritage, culture, nature or the most typical architectural works of countries around the world.”
Since 2018, on every trip, Mr. Tung and his wife have taken photos in ao dai.
This is both to preserve memories and to spread the image of traditional Vietnamese costumes on the journey to explore the world.
There are stories from mountaineers that once you stand on a mountain peak and see the majesty of nature, you will develop a passion for mountains. “After the journey to Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Ri, my wife and I realized that, so we are preparing for a new challenge at an altitude of 6,500 m, which may take place next spring,” added Mr. Tung.
There are stories from mountain climbers that once you stand on a mountain peak and see the majesty of nature, a passion for mountains will appear in you.
Some experiences when trekking Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Ri:
- Train your physical strength at least one month before the trip, mainly climbing stairs while carrying a load of about 7-10 kg, prioritizing endurance and hamstring muscles.
- To prevent altitude sickness, you should drink plenty of water, eat bananas, eat lots of starch and vegetables during the trip. Many people are too tired or find it difficult to eat, so not ensuring enough nutrition can be very dangerous. Always stock up on altitude sickness medicine, other medicines for headaches, diarrhea, flu...
- Make sure to get 8-9 hours of sleep every day to help your body recover after a long journey each day.
- Do not go too fast. At high altitudes, ensuring proper breathing and speed is essential if you want to maintain endurance.
- Always reserve 1-2 days for weather conditions.
- Prices on the journey are very expensive, increasing as you go up, especially for food and bottled water, spare batteries, phone chargers or internet, even a hot shower can cost you 8-12$/time.
- Wear layers of clothing so you can remove them when the sun is high and add more when it gets cold, especially keeping your feet warm because this is the part of your body that can easily get numb when the temperature is too cold.
- Always wear sunglasses to avoid eye burns due to UV reflection from the snow, always apply sunscreen because at high altitudes the amount of UV rays is very high even in cold weather.
