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.

Welcome to SherpaTrek.com! Today is the big rollout for our website and we’re launching it with a very auspicious presentation at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. You may wonder why we’ve turned our focus on such a remote location, but the fact is that Richard Christiansen, the Publisher of SherpaTrek.com has a personal interest in that town. Thanks to some remarkable coincidences Richard and his family had the very joyful opportunity during their 2001 trek through Khumbu to sponsor a bright and beautiful teenage girl from the village of Khumjung to be a student in the United States. She has enjoyed a very happy and successful time over the past three years, and just after her graduation this summer, she started to pack her things and set her sights on none other than Snow College. Students there have already taken notice of their unusual classmate, and she has started a little buzz.