It's the good standard itinerary, still too fast in my opinion. If you can add one extra day, I would also spend it visiting Ama Dablam base camp, either sleeping in Upper pangboche or the lodge there (it was closed in Dec).

If the weather is clear, I would just drop my bags in gorak shep and then directly go to Kala Patthar on the first day up there, there is more than enough time. I love sunset from Kala Patthar as the light is really good (in morning, sun rise just in front of Everest), plus you also have the best day light on the way up compared with the morning. Obviously, then you don't have to wake up super early for sunrise as it's damn cold there, especially if you want to spend time for shooting.

Good that you have an extra day in Gokyo, but note that lakes will be frozen, thus a bit less scenic.

For charging your batteries, it's no problem but "somewhat" expensive (up to 500 rupees for a charge), but it will be low season and you can negotiate to include a charge in the night price.

If you need wifi, you can buy a 10gb everest link card in Namche that can be used in lots of lodges all over your itinerary (even Chukung), very usefull.

Here is how I would describe the tri-national parks.
They are all the same rainforest.

Nouabale-Ndoki: Has habituated gorillas and some easy to see elephants. Unfortunately you have to "reserve" well in advance with some apparently not terribly easy to work with people or you wouldn't be posing this question (and I would have visited had they not basically told me to get lost as they were "full" when I showed up). My understanding is you stay at some camps in the jungle which is cool. You also meet the Bomassa pygmies which could be interesting.

Dzangha-Sangha: You mostly stay in hotels and visit during the day unless you take the amazing opportunity to sleep on the platform next to Dzangha-Bai (elephants get pretty noisy at night). This park has habituated gorillas. What makes this park stand out however is Dzangha Bai where you can see up to 200 elephants just hanging out and doing their thing. We counted 60 when we were there and saw a bunch of Bongos (maybe 30 of them) as well. They also have a bunch of organized activities where you can learn about Ba'Aka culture (which is incredibly interesting and merits some of your time). This park is not going to get "full" as they only had about 200 tourists last year.

Lobeke: Hard to see elephants. Easy to see WILD non-habituated gorillas. We only saw one during our 3 day stay, but still, it was cool. At this park you stay at camps pretty deep in the jungle that you have to walk to. This for me was A LOT of fun. You see a bunch of monkeys and get a good feel for the rainforest. You then spend your days next to a couple Bai's where you wait for gorillas, buffalo and have the option of seeing thousands of green pigeons and African grey parrots. This park is far from ever going to get "full" as you can arrange all kinds of treks through the jungle and they only had around 50 tourists last year.

Re #26 I'm not sure how accurate that link is - seems to be from 2012. Have spent the last two weeks at Lonely Beach and it's still possible to be lonely there! The hardcore hippies/crusties have indeed moved on and there are some newer resort style hotels along the beach, but these are relatively small/low-rise and set back from the beach (actually quite handy to have somewhere to go the the loo), and as well as those there are still some simple, small shack-style reggae bars/cheap restaurants......

I don't know if there was ever much of a hard core hippy scene . The simple bungalows used to be on the rocks 10 minutes from the beach with places like Treehouse Lodge etc . There were resort and a concrete hotel already by the early 2000's , it was too much for me then . You might find Bangbao beach (Klong Koi) a bit less built up.

Lonely Beach Memory Thread

PICTURE of Lonely Beach in about 1998 before road was finished and when Treehouse Lodge was one of main places to stay

PICTURE - Lonely Beach when only way to get there was by steep walk from Kaibei

To reach the bus stop for transport going north from Khartoum I took a tuktuk, which dropped me right at the bus. Just make sure during the initial contact with the tuktuk driver that he really seems to know where he needs to go.

Meroe is in the middle of nowhere and not a regular bus stop. You can get off, but getting a ride north may be difficult because the regular buses coming from Khartoum may all be full. Stand by the road and take whichever vehicle stops. Could be a local minibus or even a private lorry or car. I am not sure how much traffic there still is by the time your Meroe visit finishes, which will probably be late in the afternoon. You can camp free of charge, but need to bring all your food and equipment (sleeping bag and some warm clothes, plus ideally a micro-tent).

There is no need to pre-book accommodation in mid-sized towns such as Atbara and Karima. There are plenty of cheapish, simple, no-name hotels that are unlikely to be full.

How are you getting around, public transport or rental car?

You must have a guide/permit/reservation to enter Corcovado, and hike the LOOP, 2D/1N, and sleep at ranger stations. Otherwise, best to access Corcovado via boat from Drake Bay, if not hiking the Loop.

Yes Manual Antonio is a small park and very touristy, its for families and package tourist.

The caribe has all the fantastic nature, wildlife and bio diversity, you should focus on on Sarapiqui-La Selva, Tortuguero, Cahuita and the beaches below Pt Viejo, and raft the Rio Pacuare, as a day trip, back to San Jose.

You also dont need a rental car for the caribe side either, easy to sue buses, boats and taxi hire, and rent bicycles at the beach areas.

Have fun.

Hi Willemspie,

Re the Mestia to Ushguli trek, is it quite an easy route to follow? Hopefully i'll meet some other trekkers in Mestia. I also heard there are guesthouses in each of the villages so I shouldn't need a tent or sleeping bag.

I have done 5 treks in the Everest region - 1 in mid to late Nov 2005, and 3 in Dec - Jan (2010-16).

I trekked to Gokyo in mid May 2008, spent 5 nights there and 1 at Tagnag then headed down to Namche. I did not wear my then new DJ at all, and used my sleeping bag (also then new) just as a loose duvet. From what I can remember water did not freeze at night. I have had a look at my photos, as memory is not always reliable, and none of the lakes are frozen at all - all were completely ice free. Even up near the 6th lakes, there are some ponds that were not frozen.

So if 2008 is representative, I also think you will be fine without a DJ , and with layers. Obviously people feel the cold differently.

BTW May 2008 was in massive contrast to Nov - Jan.

Do you mean Liuyuan? It's imperative to spell things correctly in Chinese, otherwise people will really struggle to know what you're talking about.

There are no high-speed trains to Kashgar. The high-speed line from Liuyuan will get you to Turfan or Urumqi, where you could change for a regular train to Kashgar. High-speed trains don't travel overnight.

If you mean a regular train from Liuyuan to Kashgar, those should exist. They don't have "soft seats" though. Your options will be hard seat, hard sleeper, or (probably) soft sleeper. Tickets on those trains often sell out, so try and book in advance.

Hard sleeper comes with some bedding, though it's not always as clean as you'd like it to be. I always bring my own sheet. The trains are generally adequately heated, you shouldn't need a sleeping bag. I've never traveled soft sleeper overnight, but imagine they must have bedding too. In hard seat, you get enough space to comfortably accommodate a toddler, and nothing else.

The last time I took an overnight train to Kashgar, I got to stand: no bedding needed. So whatever bedding you end up with, please remember to say a quick word to whatever god it is that you prefer (but before you get to the Xinjiang border, where such things are banned) thanking him/her/it/them/me that you don't have to stand.

Last time I went to Nigeria was September 2019. Been going there each year since 2014. What struck me most last time was a dramatic surge in kidnapping. Even in the Middle Belt which was okay until 2019. Currently Ibadan is a bad choice to even pass by. It is ridden with kidnappers of all kinds.

If you leave Lagos early, you can make it to Abeokuta in 3 hours, see Olumo Rock and commute to Osogbo same day. Sleep Heritage Hotel there. Recently somebody has invested money in Olumo Rock's curio shops, so you can buy some local artefacts and have knowleagable guides there. Osogbo Sacred Groove and its surroundings are worthy of one day visit. If you don't want to stay there one day, you might continue to Ilorin and sleep there. From Ilorin you can go to Abuja via Minna. The trip will take between 11-12 hours.

It is still doable with public transport if you keep a low profile and don't babble your near-term plans out to people around you. Avoid at all costs Kaduna and the northern parts.

Try not to save on hotels in Nigeria as it might be a matter of life.

Safe roamings!

Hi Chris,
All is theory at present but we would like to book our flights and accommodation within the next 3 days.
We have decided to drop Hsipaw out of the itinerary. At present we are thinking (none of the order is a definite)
16 Dec - 9am arrive Yangon - 2 nights
18 Dec - Fly early to Mandalay visit & Mandalay - 1 night
19 Dec - 6AM Boat down Irrawaddy river to Bagan arriving circa 5:30pm sleep in Bagan
20 Dec - Bagan
21 Dec - Bagan
22 Dec - Bagan during day then 8:30pm JJ Express bus to Inle Lake.
23 Dec - Inle Lake Market
24 Dec - Inle Lake & winery
25 Dec - fly Heho to Thandwe Ngapali Beach
26 Dec - Ngapali Beach
27 Dec - Ngapali Beach
28 Dec - Ngapali Beach
29 Dec - Ngapali Beach
30 Dec - Thandwe to Yangon
31 Dec - Yangon to Bago & HpaAn
01 Jan - HpaAn
02 Jan - HpaAn
03Jan - to Yangon
04 Jan - fly out of Yangon