Richard gave a fantastic presentation to the students of Snow College today! But on the drive down to Ephraim he took some time to tell me all about the shopping day we’ll have during our layover in Bangkok. It was quickly apparent that shopping in Thailand is a standard part of the itinerary on any Nepal treks. Many travelers will gladly backtrack in their flight route to get at the Bangkok markets. After being cramped in that middle seat between the window and aisle seats for practically two days, what’s a few hours more? Bangkok and other similar southeast Asian cites are manufacturing centers for many Western name brands. Rich’s plan is to bring an entire extra trekking duffle bag (the huge kind) to stuff with merchandise that is priced scandalously low relative to Western levels. Richard’s favorite items are the authentic Callaway brand logo items. He’s an avid golfer, and his friends really appreciate getting Callaway golf shirts as gifts. Richard expects to pay US$3 per shirt in Bangkok for shirts that would cost US$45 in America.

My next question though was whether we were going to pack all those wares to the top of Kala Pathar with us or could we mail them out of Thailand or Nepal. Dead end there, the mail systems in those countries are a headache to deal with and with our short itineraries we won’t have much time for that. The best option he says is to check the duffle bags in Kathmandu, preferably at the Hotel Yak & Yeti with their guest baggage checking service. With that in mind, thoughts of eBay started to flash in my mind, but Richard had already though of that before, and every other traveler to such shopping smorgasbords.

We will rent a car and driver in Bangkok (US$100) to get us around, but he warned me of some typical scams that catch many unobservant tourists. One of them is a driver promising a thrilling ride out of the city to see the charming rural landscapes. It turns out to be a very long drive out to a stinking rice patty far from the city. The driver then graciously offers to let them out there to walk back on their own or pay his gas and a US$500 bonus for a return. It may sound feasible to you to get out and walk, but remember the huge duffle bag full of golf shirts you’ll be carrying.