Dropped off Kieran in the morning, sorted out the keys to my house with Audrey next door, and then drove to Kinloss to meet up with Andy the duty MT driver who took me to Aberdeen airport. I caught the early afternoon flight down to London sharing it mostly with off shore workers who were returning home after completing 2 weeks on the rigs.

As I had never actually met the majority of the members before, I tentatively entered the bar in Terminal 3, only to clock onto to Ed and Jim with huge bergans next to them, both of whom were having a pint or two. One by one the expedition members arrived from their various origins. With everyone cleared through customs we boarded the A330 Airbus to Doha, Quatar.

Although there were a variety of films to chose from Cold Mountain, Peter Pan etc. I think everyone cat napped in between the main meal and breakfast. 7 hours later we landed at Doha at 0600 hrs in a temperature of 30 degrees, which immediately hit us as they opened the aircraft door. At the top of the aircraft steps the terrain was incredible; it was simply mile after mile of flat dessert. The airport was spotless with BMW's lined up for chauffeur drivers and only Quatar Airways and United Arab Emirates aircraft on the pan. We also saw a military plane land, which resembled a large Hawk. Inside the airport complex there were a wide array of goods for sale varying from digital cameras to DVDs including 'Only fools and horses', Absolutely Fabulous, Dads Army etc, I wonder which shoppers they were targeting. Another astonishing fact was the price of cigarettes, £35 for 1000, which has a UK price of around £250, I'm so glad I support Cancer Research UK.

After a two and half hour stop over, we boarded an Airbus, for the 4 hour flight to Kathmandu. As I wrote the diary at 0920 local you could see the team were tired but eager to reach our destination. Already a good team spirit has been generated and I'm sure the mickey take will soon start. Incredibly Quatar airways provided us a lovely meal with metal knives, forks and spoons, not bad considering the security checks we had been processed through. Following our second breakfast, all the blinds and lights were dimmed allowing us a quick mid morning nap. 10 minutes before landing the French sounding pilot advised us that the winds were too strong to land at Kathmandu and we would have to stay in the circuit for a little while to hopefully let the winds decrease. Fortunately they did and we landed safely 30 minutes behind schedule.

On collecting our rucksacks, Jen realised her poles had been stolen, so she filled in the appropriate forms and will claim them back against her insurance. It is worth noting that you require a passport size photo and $30 to enter Kathmandu.