Laptop Computers

[Raymond]

I have decided to live out a life long dream and take an expedition to the Base Camp of Everest. From the information I have read on this site, I gather that this is not a wilderness area. In that it is inhabitated.

That being the case I want to bring my laptop computer with me so that I can surf the web, check my emails and listen to music in the evenings. Will it be possible to plug in my laptop in all the towns on the way to the base camp? Does Nepal have access to the internet?

Ray

[James]

Leave the laptop at home and bring your ipod for music. There are internet cafes in Kathmandu and Namche. There is no internet or phone (just satellite phone) above Namche and I hope it stays that way. If this is your life long dream don't spoil it for yourself or others by hauling a laptop up to EBC. Go and enjoy your experience, your emails will wait until you can get back to Namche.

[Hendrik van Dingenen]

Raymond, Periche is the last all-year setlement, if I'm not in mistake. Most setlements has some kind of other of eletrical energy, but I would not trust it for a delicate peace of material as a laptop. Some places has a more stable energy and charge high wages for yu charge your camera batery, so I believe that pluging a laptop would be lots expensive.

Besides it, even if the trek is not wild, the trails aren´t by any means a walk in the park and falls, bumbings and dust are a constant for any trekker. I believe laptops aren't to friends of those things. Also, I believe it will be you carrying it (I wouldn´t trust it to a porter, who will throw it at his bastket and bump it all his way up and down). Believe me, after 2 hours climbing up to Namche or Tengboche, you will wish never have had brought it with you. 2 or 3kg seems nothing now, but there 100gr will be unbearable. Also, the cold nights and mornigs are all but friendly to any kind of battery and eletronics. The humidity that piles at the small and 1cm woody wall rooms through the sleeps nights aren´t nice to it also.

So, I sugest leave it at Kathmandu, if you really must take it from your home town at all, and take a MP3 player or iPod and a good old paper notebook. E-mails can be sended from Lukla and Namche at high prices, but affordable. Just enough to say the folk back home that all is alright (I hope). If can´t stay much time without communicate, can use the sathelite phones some bigs setlments above Namche has. Is really expensive, so take a good money if want use it.

Hendrik

[Sharon]

Enjoy the mountans, appreciate the lack of sounds from cars, trains and human progress. Talk to the other trekkers and nepalis. Embrace the experience by removing yourself from your everyday habits. If you want to surf the net...stay home and surf the net!

[yakshaver]

Did you see the episode when Bart Simpson conquered Everest? He was sending emails from his laptop (a porter brought it there for him, the other porter was carrying Bart himself...)

No, thankfully the last place to access the internet is Namche Bazaar. No more internet after that, unless you decide to take with you the really expensive stellite connecte notebook. And a lot of batteries, because as mentioned - you will not be able to reliably re charge batteries.
iPod should be good enough for music.

If you are addicted to the internet, and "the rest of the world out there" stay home. Else you will be really traumatised. Or take your shrink with you. But he or she might be just as traumatised...

[Oli]

There are loads of cybercafes in Kathmandu, mostly quite cheap. And there are cyber cafes in Lukla and Namche, but these are much more expensive (just ask Escher about that ;) ).

If you do have your own laptop in Kathmandu then there are some places that'll give you free wifi access whilst you are eating & drinking there - eg, the New Orleans courtyard cafe (or whatever its called) opposite KGH which is a nice place anyway.

One of the delights of trekking in Nepal is the noticable absence of the internet. And I'd also agree with Hendrik about trusting it to a porter & carrying them up hills.

My mp3 player weighs 70g with battery & headphones, my speakers are probably three times that. And I recommend electric gizmos (mp3, cameras etc) that run off regular AA or AAA batteries so there is no worry about not finding somewhere to recharge.

[Sharon]

Sorry to break it to you guys but there is now an internet cafe at the bakery in Tengboche. It is creeping up the mountains. Better left in Thamel I say otherwise why not stya home!

[Hendrik van Dingenen]

Sad news...

Weird place, Tengboche. Less and less a nepali village and more and more a tourist´s place.

Has a nice acclimatization climb just in front of it, thought.

[]´s

Hendrik

[Polar]

I'd heard that there are plans to install a Wifi network in the Khumbu. Apparently it wouldn't be difficult to put a few low level, non-intrusive masts in a few strategic places and create a wifi network so that laptops could be used pretty much anywhere along the main trails. Some of the Everest expeditions have been floating the idea to band together and create one. :eek:

[Hendrik van Dingenen]

Oh, dear...

Radios aren´t enough? why these people just don´t land on top of the Everest by chopper and go back? I know that climbing it is not something to do lightly, but I think they already overeacted now, let alone wanting to make some kind of Net access there.

Whats happended with the good old days of the Alpine style climb? A little more and this guys will not even walk up there but have some sherpas to carry them.

And after all of this, they still behaving like big shots...

[]´s

Hendrik

[yakshaver]

There is only one advantage I can think off about a wifi network... If you "work remotely", in other words you don't have to be with the boss in the office every day, and just put together presentations, reports, attend net meetings etc - well, you can be in the Paradise club in Namche drinking rakshi, or something better if you can afford it, and do some work at the same time, with the boss being none the wiser....

A couple of years ago, a guy working in Japan, for a boss in the USA, was trying to to just that with the fickle intenet connection, and the internet caffes in Namche... I am not sure if he succeeded in fooling the boss that he was in Tokyo...

Else I agree with most people, if they bring all of this modern technology stuff in Khumbu, I will have to go to Manaslu, or Makalu, or Kanchenjunga....
In fact it is getting this way already...

[julia]

This thread is very amusing, can you imagine carrying your laptop around, it reminds me of the Mary and Daisy thread, not quite the ticket as the saying goes! Possibly a forum hijacker who shouldnt be allowed on this very helpful and friendly site! Or very scarily a lym called Raymond!

[Polar]

What is a forum hijacker?

[julia]

you dont know what a forum/site hijacker is? Well it sounds good doesnt it.

Its someone who isnt supposed to be on this forum/site because they are a spy. Actually that wasnt what i meant, i really meant its someone who isnt what they seem, does that make sense? Which, i suppose thats what a spy is, so maybe im right after all, what do you think? Just a quirky female imagination thing!

Possibly spaceman347 has the answer, what with his job and everything.

Julia

[Polar]

I am new to internet forums (or is it fora?) and I have only just found this site and I think it is great.

"quirky female imagination thing" - well I wouldn't know about that, but it sounds very intriguing!

Is Spaceman347 an astronaut or does he work for the secret service as a spy?

Polar Bear

[julia]

Spaceman347, i think would like to be an astronaut, but regards as to his real job, i couldnt possibly say, as i dont know for certain, but time will tell ;)

[julia]

Polar

are you an artic explorer, or is that one of your life long desires? I like cuddly polar bears, they are so cute dont you think. :) Not the live variety, just the soft fluffy toy ones.

[Spaceman347]

Polar: Around these parts we tend to pry into Escher's personal life, not mine. My job is of no concern to anyone, you didn't see anything, move along now please. :p

[Sharon]

Yes, we are very interested in Escher and Julia. The more we know about their persona:cool: l life the better.

[hoot72]

I dread the day....."WIFI NOW AVAILABLE ON SUMMIT OF EVEREST...DIAL 9 FOR OPERATOR ASSISTANCE...DIAL 10 IF YOU ALREADY KNOW YOUR COUNTRY CODE AND TELEPHONE NUMBER AND DONT NEED OPERATOR ASSISTANCE.."

:)

[hoot72]

I have decided to live out a life long dream and take an expedition to the Base Camp of Everest. From the information I have read on this site, I gather that this is not a wilderness area. In that it is inhabitated.

That being the case I want to bring my laptop computer with me so that I can surf the web, check my emails and listen to music in the evenings. Will it be possible to plug in my laptop in all the towns on the way to the base camp? Does Nepal have access to the internet?

Ray


The last thing you want to be doing is lugging around the Himalaya's with a lap top...drop it, save the 2-3Kg and take power bars or power gels or more toilet paper...you're gonna need it sonny! :)

[Raymond]

The last thing you want to be doing is lugging around the Himalaya's with a lap top...drop it, save the 2-3Kg and take power bars or power gels or more toilet paper...you're gonna need it sonny! :)

Well thanks daddy, I'll be sure to pack 3 kgs of toilet paper. That sounds like great advice. :rolleyes:

Yours gratefully

Sonny

[hoot72]

Anytime sonny..Anytime...:)

[Raymond]

Anytime sonny..Anytime...:)

Are you free at 4.30pm this afternoon? :rolleyes:

[Polar]

Yes, we are very interested in Escher and Julia. The more we know about their persona:cool: l life the better.

So what is the with these two then? I am guessing they are regular posters. Are they an item or something?

Polar Bear

[Lottie]

So what is the with these two then? I am guessing they are regular posters. Are they an item or something?

Polar Bear

Trek infos very own soap opera emerging! Cant wait for the next episode, Julia is very quiet on this subject though? :(

[hoot72]

Oh Julia..where art thou?

[julia]

Just around the corner hoot72!

[hoot72]

Just around the corner hoot72!


Ahhh..she emerges, from behind the doors of Love..:)

[Sharon]

LOL
But where is Escher? He is he still behind the doors of love? Lust?
What occupies our small minds when we are not in a countdown to a trek?

[Sharon]

Raymond- you can't have TOO much toilet paper on a trek. Aside from the obvious use you will make a lot of friends from those who didn't pack enough and are in dire need.

[hoot72]

Raymond- you can't have TOO much toilet paper on a trek. Aside from the obvious use you will make a lot of friends from those who didn't pack enough and are in dire need.


Yeap..sharon is spot on...

[Lottie]

Its very amusing how threads start off on one track and then proceed down another, this one starting off on the subject of using laptops, "ho hum" and then at the other end, possibly finishing on using toilet paper! :rolleyes:

L.

[yakshaver]

Its very amusing how threads start off on one track and then proceed down another, this one starting off on the subject of using laptops, "ho hum" and then at the other end, possibly finishing on using toilet paper! :rolleyes:

L.


Yes indeed, as most things in this life end, "at the other end"...

[hoot72]

Yes indeed, as most things in this life end, "at the other end"...


:) Only Yakshaver can come up with a classic end to a topic lol

[Hendrik van Dingenen]

Yeah, Raymond... the decision is up to you carry it or not. Personally, I wouldn´t do it. But are your back, knees, lugs and shoulders and not mine who will cary it, so do whatever feel doing.

Don´t forget do strap it around several layers of soft rubber and carry several extra bateries as well.

For myself, I would prefer to carry 3kg of toilet paper instead of 3kg of laptop (plus bateries and protective cases). At last the toilet paper is really usefull.

[]´s

Hendrik

[julia]

Do you think the laptop will be insured out there, what if it gets a virus and feels unwell, or suffers from AMS, i dont know, is it worth taking the laptop, no course it isnt worth it, what a hinderance it will be, carting it around, worrying about the safety of it etc etc, leave it at home Raymond and go out there and have some fun and experience the fantastic mountains and people of NEPAL! ;)