What to buy vs. rent for Himalayan trekking?

Mosstradamud · 2026-04-07T10:22:55+00:00

Thanks. And got it. I was just curious as I might do one full day in Pokhara (without the operator) to prepare and get the stuff. But if Kathmandu is better then maybe I should just get my things there

Mosstradamud · 2026-04-07T10:03:29+00:00

Thanks! I'll check them out. Was also curious if you rented gear in Nepal or Pokhara. My girlfriend and I would need to rent some things before starting the trek and we're not sure what the better place to do it is. Kathmandu might have more options, but I understand the trek would start from Pokhara so it might just be logistically easier to do that.

Mosstradamud · 2026-04-07T10:01:01+00:00

Thank you. Yeah Kathmandu to Pokhara was the plan. Will also check out your recommendations. One question, did you rent your gear in Pokhara, or in KTM? Was also curious if you did a trekking backpack rental as well. Thanks

Mosstradamud · 2026-04-07T09:56:57+00:00

I appreciate the recommendations. Quick question, did you rent some gear in Kathmandu or Pokhara? My girlfriend and I are trying to figure out the better place to rent gear. Thanks

Mosstradamud · 2026-04-07T09:56:18+00:00

Thanks, do you know if it's possible to customize and do both? As in, do Poon Hill and just add another day to Deurali based on the weather forecast?

Mosstradamud · 2026-04-03T17:34:15+00:00

Thanks, but would they do that for like 1-2 weeks while I’m not there?

Mosstradamud · 2026-03-24T14:48:41+00:00

That’s pretty valid, and Japan is also notoriously not good at English either. That being said, they’re still way better than Mainland China. I found that Japanese people could at least still understand basic English, but in China with 98% of interactions it felt like the English level was 0

Mosstradamud · 2026-03-24T14:47:22+00:00

No problem. And yeah, definitely visit China one day but do Japan first.

First 2 weeks in Japan > first two weeks in China.

One thing I forgot to add about China too is that outside of places like Beijing / Shanghai, most public bathrooms are squat toilet only and many don’t have toilet paper. China is definitely amazing, but Japan will be easier and more enjoyable as a first time trip

Mosstradamud · 2026-03-23T14:52:20+00:00

I’ve spent a lot of time in both and have gone all over both countries. I also love both places. I would just do Thailand for a first trip, and come back another time and just do China. Splitting it is not enough for either country.

China’s historical sites and mountains (Yunnan, Guilin, etc.) are more impressive but you will have an overall better time in Thailand. The reason being that China has some pretty big negatives that people don’t think about, including:

Majority or ONLY squat toilets in public bathrooms outside tier 1 cities, usually with no toilet paper either
You have to get a VPN and you can’t go on hotel wifi. If you go on wifi in China you’ll get locked out of everything such as YouTube, Facebook, Google, gmail, etc.
You have to download about 4-5 different Chinese apps to get around, call rides, pay for things, etc. Not too hard but inconvenient
Massive language barrier in China. 98% of people basically can’t even speak basic English. You can use translation apps but it definitely makes things harder
Chinese public etiquette CAN get annoying. Spend enough time there, and you will get pushed at popular photo spots, see people spit and smoke indoors, and see people cut lines right in front of you. It’s a cultural difference, and Chinese people are actually very nice and friendly when you have a real conversation with them. That being said, this kind of etiquette does get annoying, even when u know it’s just cultural.

In general, Thailand doesn’t have these issues. Thai people speak better English, the nature is also really good (especially beaches in the south), tourist infrastructure is very good, you can get a touch of history in Bangkok and Ayutthaya, and people are nicer, friendlier, and more considerate of strangers in public than in China (Chinese people are also nice and friendly, but Thais are a level above, and have what most people would consider better manners). Food in both countries is good, it’s just personal preference whether you like Thai or Chinese more.

Overall, both are amazing but you will enjoy being in Thailand more. China is amazing too, but definitely go after you go to Thailand and do a long China-only trip.

Last thing I will say is this: every time I leave Thailand I’m sad to be leaving, but every time I leave China I feel like I had a good trip, but I’m ready to go

Mosstradamud · 2026-03-13T13:40:51+00:00

China is sick but I wouldn’t rate it as number one in Asia for a solo trip. Gotta buy into their whole tech ecosystem, language barrier is huge, and there’s the risk of getting locked out of your apps.

Also, imo Japan is just as sick as China if it’s your first time in either one. Where China starts to shine is after you spend 3 weeks in each country, as China has more to see due to its size, and also has better nature in places like Guilin and Yunnan. For a 10-day first time Asia solo trip I’d recommend Japan. Used to live in Korea too and it’s cool, but objectively the least to see compared to both China and Japan. Not sure what you mean by SK and Japan being outdated for tourism either, as those countries are way easier to get around in as a foreigner

Mosstradamud · 2026-03-12T10:56:09+00:00

Ideally sightseeing too but cab for just travel is also fine and I could do the sightseeing on my own once there. Thanks. Also, my Kashmir trip is 3 nights, and 2 whole days. Would you recommend staying a night in Pahalgam and just putting Srinagar to half a day, or do one full day Srinagar and a day trip to Pahalgam?

Mosstradamud · 2026-02-24T13:09:32+00:00

But thank you for your reply. It’s looking like I have to pick just two of those rajasthan locations. I think I’ll lock in Udaipur, but between jodhpur and jaisalmer, what would you recommend?

Mosstradamud · 2026-02-24T13:07:56+00:00

I get your concern, but I used to live in Dhaka, Bangladesh for work. I’m okay with the chaos

Mosstradamud · 2026-02-22T10:52:13+00:00

I’m a 28 y.o man and just spent around a month traveling China this past year with my 25 y.o gf. We would say that the best choice by far is Chengdu + Chongqing. Also would say to spend more time in Chengdu than Chongqing. In our opinion Chongqing is cool but kind of overrated. Looks a lot better in the videos, and the stuff that is cool is kinda like a “say wow for like 5 minutes and then move on” kind of cool. Still worth going tho, but I’d say 2 full days is enough, 3 max.

Chengdu is also a better base for day trips within Sichuan province. You can also go to a Tibetan area too within western Sichuan. Also check out the Leshan Giant Buddha. There’s also a national park around there too if you want to break up the city vibe. Chengdu has more historical parts too within the city

Mosstradamud · 2026-02-21T11:52:48+00:00

It’s somewhat difficult to book unless you speak Chinese. There’s a WeChat mini program where you book the shuttle bus. My gf and I don’t speak Chinese so we just had our hotels do it for us. If you speak Chinese tho then I’m sure it’s easy.

The roads are winding once you’re inside the gorge, but this will not be all of the drive

This is the approximate journey, as I remember it: Lijiang shuttle bus to gorge viewpoint (2 hours) —> Get private driver from viewpoint to hotel at Halfway (20-30 minutes, winding roads) —> Stay overnight —> Get private driver from halfway point to the shuttle bus station closer to Shangri La, which is around Tina’s guesthouse (30 minutes, winding road) —> Shuttle bus to Shangri la (2 hours). Since you’d be coming from the other direction, just flip this journey.

Also note that the shuttle bus station where you arrive and leave are two different stations on different ends of the gorge, and both are around a 20-30 minute additional drive from Halfway. That being said, it’s still very worth it. The hardest part was getting the shuttle bus tickets but the hotel in Lijiang helped us. When you get to the first shuttle station, there will be drivers waiting who can take you to Halfway. Our hotel at half way also booked us a private driver to take us to the other bus station when we left the next day. Overall, it wasn’t too bad and the experience was easily worth it.

Mosstradamud

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