I would like to trek in Nepal in March with my children age 14 and 11

I’d suggest looking around Pokhara region as this area has a good selection of short treks with decent lodgings. It offers treks where very few hours you and the kids can find a place to rest and use local facilities without having to carry too much food and water. In fact, a good trek around this area would be the Annapurna region, which has several treks graded easy to medium meaning you walk between three to six hours a day. For example, the Annapurna Panorama takes six days to complete, and involves a stiff climb to Ghorapani to witness the terrific views, and a return through Ghandruk, a large village and headquarters of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project.

The Himalayan Panorama route in the same region takes five days, walking to Ghandruk and then Chhomrung. En route to Landruk, you can enjoy the hot spring at Jhinuwa. On this route you can view the mountain from Dhampus and Deurali and the highest point to climb is only 2,000 metres, so there is no risk of altitude sickness.

Also near Pokhara is the Tatopani Loop, another six-day, easy-to-medium trek that passes through several villages and has a mountain view from Ghorapani, and a long descent to Tatopani. All these suggestions provide a great introduction to the Nepal Himalayas. If your kids have not done a lot of trekking, you can prepare them with a few short treks at home before you head off. You might opt for joining an organised trek if it’s your first time in trekking with children.

 

 

I am looking at going to Hong Kong by train from Shanghai on my budget trip in China. Does the train run every day in April and is the price much different compared to flying? Thanks a lot for your help! Lek

 

Flights are obviously faster and more convenient and these days, only a little more expensive. I don’t think money is necessarily a reason for taking a train trip, but more for the seeing many parts of China that you wouldn’t normally see. 

The train journey between Shanghai and Hong Kong usually operates on alternative days, and in April this year, it will run on the even numbered dates - 2nd , 4th, 6th, 8th, etc. The journey on this T99 train takes about 19 hours, and the departure time from Shanghai is 6.20pm, arrive at about 1pm on the following day. Do book a deluxe soft sleeper class with only two bunk beds. In this cabin, you will get your own toilet, which is very important. The cost is HK$1,289 each way. In fact, the bed is not very soft, but good enough. There are two-bunk cabins as well as four-bunk cabins in the soft sleeper class with en suite toilet too. This class costs HK$1,075 (Bt4,400). If you don’t care about the soft bunk bed, hard-sleeper cabins are available as well. You have to choose between upper, middle and lower bunk. The price for an upper berth is HK$758, HK$769 for the middle one and HK$780 for the lower. Ticket prices vary, but the cheapest way is to buy directly from the reservation office in Shanghai. Also remember that Hong Kong is shown on the destination schedule as “Hung Hom” or “Kowloon”.

You should arrive at Shanghai station 90 minutes before departure for exit formalities. The T99 train from Shanghai to Hong Kong consists of 10 passengers’ compartments to accommodate up to 454 passengers. Many passengers advise choosing the middle compartments as the end of the train will be used as a smoking area and smoke constantly blow into the cabin at all the time. Also, they suggest avoiding using the toilet as much as possible, especially at the end of the trip when the sight and smell are at their worse.  Bon voyage!