In the beginning .....

I decided to get a local cab to the airport with a driver who was not too sure where Heathrow actually was. After an interesting journey I was dropped off in a mild state of stress.....I must have been in a state as I booked him for the return journey... but more on that later...

I did not want to go to China at all....not at all.. I mostly packed that morning in a state of thinking why/what the hell/how much snow.. oh God.. its too late to back out now...

Name badges had been suggested for the airport so we would know the group, with a prize for the best ... in one of my versions of hell I will have to wear a name badge and tell a group of strangers about myself(on my first night I had to tell the group what my best achievement was in my life.. my response was that I still had all my own teeth..)

Personally, I had hoped I would know who the other trekkers they were by the big bloody rucksacks they were carrying...and the look of WTF on their faces...

I seemed to have one of the biggest bags of the entire group which worried me...I didnt think my knickers were that big.

I have underfloor storage in my new flat and had put this bag there by accident. I didnt want to jump down into my Fritzl cellar incase I could not get back out so I leant over the hatch into the entrance and used a soup ladle to grab the bag handle and pull it out.. If I had fell head first into the "cellar" I dont think I would ever have lived it down..

So we met, got our tickets and boarded the plan... I can honestly say that first impressions can often be wrong ....very wrong.

We were delayed in Munich and so rested on the airport floor. As I looked around I thought to myself " what an odd bunch.. ah well its only 10 days".

They must have thought the same of me...

I was so wrong! I feel lucky to have taken part on this trek and to have met the others. I had one of the best experiences of my life even though it was not the trek I expected...

I also laughed more than I have in a long time.. and for those who know me - that is a lot!!