As with everything in life I spend a lot of time researching on the web when I need or want something, when you put in Mount Everest Base Camp trekking pages of different companies come up, I reached out to 4 or 5 different companies to see what everybody offered and many sounded the same, so why did I decide on Ian Taylor trekking? Well firstly his website is the very best offering everything you could possibly need to know on what you need in gear, what the best way is to train and get fit for the trek. Ian is also available on Skype which is unheard of, I only skyped Ian once but he answered all my questions and put my mind at rest and I know others that Skype Ian multiple times and nothing seemed a problem to him.
Meeting Ian Taylor in Person
Ian also met up with us in Namche Bazaar and spoke to everybody both as a group and individually to make sure we were both happy with the guides and accommodation but also answer any last minute questions.You get met at the airport and taken to your hotel and the next morning you will be met by Kay ,Kay will not only answer all your questions about what to do and where to go in Kathmandu but will actually take you there, I was lucky enough that she spent the whole day with me taking me to the temples and main places to visit, This helped make the first leg of the trip very relaxing and a big shout out must go to Kay and her husband Dawa for making the start and end of the trip an unforgettable experience, You wont get this anywhere else, I spent time looking and talking to other groups as we trekked and Ian’s guides shone when compared to others, they were all very knowledgeable in the region. I asked what the name of the mountains were and they answered every time, I am very interested in the flora and fauna and they again answered my questions. We quickly got to know the guides and they soon became friends.
Quality Guides and Service
Along the way we met with a few people that were suffering from signs of Altitude sickness, one woman I talked was being sick and looked really ill said that she had shared 1.5 litres of water that day with her boyfriend, when we told her we were drinking 5 litres each and at that she was dehydrated she drank 5 litres of water and the next day she was a lot better, her guide had not explained the importance of being hydrated and how dehydration is one of the main reasons of getting Altitude sickness. My Father passed just before my trip and was cremated when I was in Kathmandu, the guides found out and arranged for me to get my prayer flags blessed be a Buddhist Lama which was out of the way. They also arranged with the Buddhist monks to light the candles during the ceremony and helped with the hanging of the prayer flag at base camp (this was done without asking).
Choose Ian Taylor Trekking
You could not have asked for any more, Trekking with Ian Taylor Trekking may not seem the cheapest when you first look, but when you see what you get for your money, he is very competitive and I would give his company 5 Stars-Highly Recommended.
David Courtney, Sleeping at Everest Base Camp 2016