Ask the crew: first officer Jason Holman on The Himalayas

I’m big on hiking, and I’ve done two treks in Nepal, which were amazing. I did Everest Base Camp in 2018 and hiked the Annapurna Circuit Trek in April this year. On Everest, we hiked up for seven days and then got helicoptered out. We were the envy of everyone, because when you get to the top, you’re like, “Sweet, we’re done.” 

It’s about US$400 (HK$3,150) each. And trust me, when you get there, you’ll throw 400 dollars at just about anyone.

Must-see

Everest Base Camp was my favourite the whole way up until I got to Avalanche Valley on the last day of the Annapurna trek. There were avalanches, so it was scary and awe-inspiring – but it was absolutely breathtaking.

If someone was only going to do one, I would suggest the Everest Base Camp trek just because it’s once- in-a-lifetime – you get to experience the extremes of high altitude up on the glaciers. Annapurna is best for everyday hikers who want to get into the Himalayas, and people say it has the more beautiful scenery.

Must-eat 

There were a lot of teahouses along the way, but the problem is that they try to westernise their food. For example, yak cheese pizza. My top food tip is to get dal bhat – it’s a staple made from rice and lentils. They have a little joke: dal bhat power, 24 hour. Eat dahl bhat and it’ll help you get to the top.

Must-bring 

Everyone knows to bring hiking boots, jackets and all that, but I’ll give you my secret essentials. The first is to take a sleeping bag liner because they don’t wash the blankets they give you in the teahouses very often, but it’s not worth carrying your own sleeping bag. The second is to bring camp shoes – flip-flops or something – because when you’re in the teahouse, you just want to take your boots off.

Hero image: Jason Holman