Vietnam. Image courtsey of See Vietnam and Cambodia 2005 participant, Leisa Westerman.
"My 'See Nepal (Trekking)' adventure was BRILLIANT! I'd say to anyone thinking about taking the Challenge - whether it is to Nepal, Vietnam & Cambodia or outback Australia. JUST DO IT (even if you have to consider selling your mother to raise the money)! You'll see some unbelievable stuff, meet interesting people and experience the work of The Foundation first hand" - Adam Spencer


Adam Spencer tackles the See Nepal Trekking Adventure

Foundation Ambassador Adam Spencer took on the 'See Nepal Trekking Adventure in April 2004. What follows is a diary of his experience.

Adam Spencer and multilingual city guide in Kathmandu. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer.  

Here I am before the trek has started with our very knowledgeable city guide. He took us on a tour around Kathmandu to see some beautiful temples and a few other famous sites. This guy could speak Nepali, Spanish, Japanese and English! In this photo he fakes an interest at meeting 'the Spence'.
Adam Spencer and Dr Sanduk Ruit. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer

Our trip involved a visit to Tilganga Eye Centre in Kathmandu. I was lucky enough to meet (and be able to sit down with) Dr Sanduk Ruit. He is the Director of Tilganga and was a great mate of the late Fred Hollows. Tilganga is supported by The Fred Hollows Foundation. The centre includes an intraocular lens (IOL) laboratory, the Nepal Eye Bank and a surgicentre. The Fred Hollows IOL Laboratories (the other is in Eritrea) produce around 250,000 lenses a year, which they export to over 40 countries. 
Tilganga Eye Centre patient, Kathmandu. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer

The day we visited Tilganga was amazing - the centre was bursting with medicos, Nepalese looking for help, and 15 wide eyed Aussies blown away by it all. This man had just been operated on. The whole surgery took less than 15 minutes. I was fascinated by how quick (and easy) the procedure was. Even though we couldn't communicate, it was obvious that he was truly grateful.
Temple, Nepal. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer This is a holy man at a Kathmandu temple. He led us into the mountains before showing us an ancient ritual that was so mind blowing we can't show you the photos here!!!
Adam Spencer with local children. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer  Here I am surrounded by local kids from 'Ramchi'. This was the first stage of our trekking adventure. We had not hiked anywhere yet but the whole group was buzzing with anticipation. We were full of energy and pretty excited about what lay ahead.
Adam Spencer and Gopal. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer This is my first meeting with Gopal, one of our fantastic sherpa guides. Gopal has run the Everest marathon which is a crazy 42 kilometres at high altitude. Even the other guides referred to Gopal as "fit" - he is a seriously lovely dude.
Adam Spencer and STW team. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer Surrounded by beautiful scenery Liz, Kira, Vishnu (our tour leader), Rachael and I have a few laughs before dinner. Purba and Sherjan (our other Sherpas guides) hide in the background.
Adam Spencer with local children. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer These kids followed us for about five kilometres when we headed to our campsite. Because the trek is not a regular tourist beat, there is a real novelty to it for the locals - and hey I taught them how to dance like an idiot.
Adam Spencer with fellow trekker, Kira Sutherland. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer I only wore these leggings once on the trip. It wasn't all that cold, but gee the reaction to my bright red thermals was frosty at best. Kira, one of my fellow trekkers supports my efforts and pretends not to laugh.
Adam Spencer and StW group. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer This is our cosy accommodation. Our tents were set up by the sherpas each day. This made it easier for us trekkers, and also meant that the job got done properly! What a sensational view! As you can see we were well looked after...
Adam Spencer pointing at camera, with local children. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer Here I am surrounded by local kids beside the river where we camped for the last night. It was smiles all round. After many days trekking, they definitely had more energy than I did, but they kept me entertained!
Adam Spencer with Lakba, a sherpa guide. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer We had four guides named Lakba. This was a little confusing to start with but we eventually sorted it out. This photo was taken (with one of the Lakba's) fifteen minutes after the trek finished. Cue the cameras and wipe away the tears. The World Expeditions guides made the trek very VERY enjoyable.

Adam Spencer with fellow trekkers Rachel Opat, Liz Floyd, Belinda Rice and Renee De Saxe. Image Courtesy Adam Spencer

 Here we are on our way back to Kathmandu after the trek (from left: Rachel, me, Liz, Belinda and Renee). We were pretty blown away by what we had just achieved. The trek was absolutely incredible. The whole thing was just great - beautiful scenery, delicious food, great company and the Nepali people are just so welcoming and down to earth.
© 2008 The Fred Hollows Foundation.