Sherpa Hospitality

Our last day in Nepal was spent with the man who organised our trek to Poon Hill, Phuri, a Sherpa who grew up in the shadow of Mount Everest. As we walked along the undulating ridge that made up the Nagarkot region, we learned more about this incredibly likeable man. 

After spending his childhood accompanying his dad on long mountain treks and then leading his own expeditions, Phuri eventually set up his own tour company, 'Himalayan Friends'. We had been put in contact with him through an old friend of Steve's and he had already made our time in Nepal a great deal more organised and stress free. 

Spending the day walking with Phuri was a great way to wind down from the chaos of Kathmandu. As I listened to his stories about other individuals who he'd taken trekking, I was struck by how important relationship was to him. He appeared to remember each of the people whom he had led on expeditions. We weren't paying him to come walking with us that day - he wanted to come and spend time with us.

One of my favourite moments of that day came when we had reached the end of our walk and were sat admiring the view. Steve spotted a little lad who grinned at us and waved postcards in our direction. As we ushered him over we soon realised that we were in the presence of Nepal's answer to Richard Branson. He was so charming that he made Steve part with 150 rupees - fifteen times as much as we'd paid for a card in Pokhara (but still only just over a pound!). Watch out for this face on a future episode of 'The Apprentice'...

Later that evening, Phuri invited us back to his place where Dendi (our guide from the trek) had prepared a local speciality, dal baht. The rice dish was accompanied by a dubious looking drink that was served in what can best be described a bucket with a straw. Tongba, which turned out to be a millet based wine, was actually quite nice! We sat chatting to Phuri and Dendi whilst our food and drinks were topped up every few minutes by other family members who treated us like royalty.

We left Phuri's a few hours later, and probably a few stone heavier. As we were on our way out Dendi presented us with scarves to wish us well on our onward travels. We tried to say goodbye to Phuri but he insisted he would pick us up and take us to the airport the next morning. Probably just to make sure we left the country.

So, if you ever consider trekking in Nepal - which you should - make sure you look up Phuri. You won't regret it.

www.hftreks.com