THE Westbury to Everest team welcomed a special guest to the UK last week, when their tour guide from Nepal finally managed to get a visa to come on holiday after 10 years of trying.
Ashok, who owns Adventure Tansen Trek in Nepal, led the team of 26 from Westbury on their Everest expedition in March. He has been applying for a visa to visit the UK for over 10 years and last month was finally successful.
Rab Lundie, who organised the trip said, “I have known Ashok for many years as he has always helped me with my trips to Katmandu. I was so pleased to hear that he was coming to visit and I wanted to organise for the Westbury to Everest group to get together and meet him whilst he was here.
“He was staying with a friend in Basingstoke and had been to London to see all the sights, but for his last few days he came to see us. 22 members of the group were able to come and we met for a meal at The Angel in Upton Scudamore. We gave him gifts to take back to his family and a couple of us made speeches. It was a fantastic evening and it was the first time we had been together since we got back from the trip.
“The next day we took Ashok to the White Horse in Westbury, which he was really excited to see, and then went into Bath. We went on a city tour, which was great for Ashok but also for us locals – we have been to Bath so many times but we still learnt a lot about the history of Bath.
“Ashok had a brilliant time and it was great to get together and talk about the trip and share memories. It was good to give something back to Ashok for all he did for us whilst we were on the trip and I’m so pleased he was finally able to come over. He hopes to bring his family over soon as well, which would be great.”
