Annapurna Base Camp- the adventure begins….

26-27 February, 2024 I begin my journey back to Nepal via New Delhi to attempt a trek to Annapurna Base Camp. Surprisingly the elevation is less than the Druk Path done last fall, but anything combining Nepal, Annapurna, and base camp sounds like a cool thing to see and do, so I am off, returning on March 11.

This trip is starting on a bit of a sour note as I pulled a lower back muscle a few days ago and it is quite painful. Thankfully I have a lot of drugs and I hope things will ease over the next few days....

It took me 2 days to get to India because I had a night flight on Etihad Airlines via Abu Dhabi, allowing me to fly business class for a reasonable fare. Etihad is an airline based in Abu Dhabi and I flew out on a new 380 which was quite nice, except my seat squeaked when it changed position. I didn't mind so much but it might have awakened the neighbors.

Chris was home for the weekend so he was able to drive Me to terminal 3 and he waited with me- I catching my flight and he his back to Saudi. We couldn't get into each other's lounges, so we had a drink at a bar and he bought us a sinfully expensive bottle of rose champagne and said our goodbyes in style.

I left first and stupidly tried to get in with the economy folks before I was escorted to where the premium flyers entered.

I had to laugh at the amenity case- it had a container of hand sanitizer, 6 sanitizer towelettes, socks, eye mask and a small tube of cream. Interesting assortment

There was a nice selection on the menu. I had a Bellini to start, the Arabic mezze, sea bass and vanilla ice cream. It was a 7hour flight, so only one meal.

I've not been to Abu Dhabi before. From the air it looks a lot like other Middle Eastern countries and I was glad my lay-over was only about 40 minutes.

I spent the time in their new fancy lounge with bunny and I tried to hydrate.

The next flight was on much older equipment and my movie screen (in the arm rest) didn't work after about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile my back started complaining that I really needed to move. The meal selection was the same as on the prior flight, but I had the vegetarian option which I ended up not eating because I was so uncomfortable. Sorry no photos. I did have a pleasant surprise of the option of a real ice coffee!

Under the heading of "truth is stranger than fiction", I was number 3 on the flight. One woman was some kind of VIP and was escorted first on/first off. I glanced at the monitor as the man with a Russian passport scanned his boarding card and his name was A Botcharov- spelled the same way as my x-husband. They seated the vip lady in my seat and I was in 1e instead of 1a - no big deal, but had I had my original seat I would have been sitting next to him. I was dying to ask him questions, but kept my mouth shut.

The flight was uneventful and arrived 20 minutes early. My visa line was mercifully short, so I was out in record time. I tried something different this trip and booked my own hotel, using one of their cars which was 1/4 of the cost of using the travel agent. I was a bit concerned, but it worked without a hitch.

The weather is sunny, about 24C/in the 70sF and the air is amazingly pretty clear!

The Four Points isn't the JW Marriott, but it's just fine for a night. The bed is big and I got complimentary snacks and fruit.

I've spent the last 30 minutes under a hot shower (no tub) and using my 1-time ice pack on my back which has stiffened up again. It's 6pm now and hope to stay up a bit longer before I pass out. Tomorrow on to Nepal!