bed bugs???

just got back from EBC and due to some of the nasty places you end up sleeping i must have picked up some bed bugs in my kit bag. When i got home i emptied my bag sorted it out for washing and storing and went about getting on with normal life. 2 weeks later i am getting bitten whilst sleeping. I called in a pest control company and they identified it coming from asia in my luggage. Its something that i did not think about and just want people to be aware. The advise i would give would be to leave any gear that you done need there and if bringing gear home bag it in polythene in kathmandu and when returning home take it straight to the laundrette for cleaning dont bring it to your home. Even bringing just 1 or 2 bugs home can soon infest. As if the trek was not mentally hard enough with trouble sleeping, headaches, cold, sickness or just fatigue the last thing you want when returning home is having bugs infest your usually lovely house. If anyone else has had this problem it would be good to hear. Have a great trip but be aware when returning.

bed bugs???

chill out

ife can be too short to let some little bugs get to you

chill out and stop worrying people - people have been travelling 4 yrs without so much washing etc

bed bugs???

i am very chilled thanks, but thank you for your constructive reply it was well worth the effort!i have been living the last 16 years all around asia but never had this problem. I was hoping for a more constructive comment to actually advise me on future preventitive measures and what other people done , not some hippy telling me to chill because of other problems in the world with clearly too much time on there hands that they actually click on the message to critique its contents knowingly. i am more than aware that my life is good thank you. i simply wanted to tell people so they would not have the same issues. lets hope it does not happen to you.

Sorry

i miss read yr post wrong ( due to a glass of wine)

i thought you had the itch - ie scabies ( which is common from Asia and horrid)

I must have been horrible 4 you to have brought back some horrid Bugs -

Did you Enjoy Nepal we are going back next year

Good luck to the Maoists we say -

hi, no worries about the post. i loved nepal, the people are great. To be honest kathmandu was a bit busy for me especially after the trek.We were also caught up in marches and demos about the maoist plight and the chinese banning expeditions this year. The trek itself was great, fantastic guides and the scenery was awesome. I found it quite hard mentally as i got insomnia high up due to altitude but the scenery made it worthwhile. However, when you finish the trek after 3 weeks of basic living , being cold and constant headaches etc it was nice to be home to my wife and child. Bringing the bugs home was not expected and the following disruptions of spraying the house, moving out due to the bug bomb and then cleaning absolutely everything in the house which has taken 5 days total was , well lets say A pain in the A and turned out to be quite expensive.

However, if this post stops people making the same mistake i did then great. I love travelling and will carry on doing so, i will make sure i dont bring these little buggers home again. Regards and have a great trip next year

Bucks,

I am curious..where did you stay in Nepal? Hotels? I am worrying about it now because my mom and I are going next April.

tnsauerkraut.........

There are some fab places to stay in Nepal.... When I was in Kathmandu I stayed at the Hotel Manasalu. It was very nice( no bed bugs LOL). In fact when I stayed there with my ex hubby and a friend in March 05 we were the only people there for the first half of our trip! It%26#39;s in a very good place to be able to mooch around the city.

I have a lovely Nepalese friend who has just set up his own travel agency (he accompanied us on our trip, is hugely knowledgeable) and he found us some lovely hotels. I will definitely go back again. If you get a chance to go to Pohkra then take a microlite flight... its brill.

I sprayed the beds with anti bug stuff ... not sure if it worked or not but the plcebo effect was good enough for me!

i stayed at the tibet hotel. Dont get me wrong the hotel was good. Really not sure where we picked them up from but more than likely in Kathmandu rather than at altitude. It could happen anywhere, the more people i have told the more stories i have heard of the same experience, even in 5 star hotels etc. Dont be paranoid, just make sure when you return you dont dump your travel bag on your bed to empty it like some idiots......... Me!

I will keep on travelling but will now take more care when returning to my home.

Hi BucksBrrr

Sorry to hear about the bugs. Sounds a nightmare. Don%26#39;t know if I have just been extremely lucky but have not experienced this. One thing I always do is take all my gear to a laundry in KTM (usually a man in a phone booth in Lazimpat) and get everything cleaned overnight there, then wash it again when I get home. Not sure if this helps, but it is cheap, quick and uses a local service.

Sorry you got insomnia at altitude too. That must make it extra tough. Altitude has the opposite effect on me as I sleep the best in Nepal. Usually 10-12 hours a night with really whacky dreams! Altitude really does effect people in different ways.

How were the boots?

Hello Dukla, long time since we spoke. The boots were excellent, infact all the gear was great. I cant think of anything bad to say about the trip itself, adventure company was brilliant, very professional. The only problem i had was mentally really. Insomnia was a nightmare and i needed sleeping pills from namche up, when we came down i was fine. Only 5 of us from 16 made it to kala patar and 12 to EBC. Two got helicoptered off and a couple found the last day too hard. Other than that and the bugs i loved it. It was physically straight forward but mentally quite taxing. Minus 10 near the top and the tea house basic toilets were like an ice rink after 3 pm? sure you know all this though. Good idea about the laundry, i have certainly learnt my lesson. I lived in asia for 14 years and never had them, come home to uk and bingo? whats that all about?

Take care

Hi Bucks - what tour company did you do your trek with??