It was 3pm in the afternoon and I found myself lying on my single wooden bed atop rough wooden floors in the hostel. I rarely lie down in the middle of the afternoon but I found that it is what you sometimes need when you are so emotionally challenged by your environment. Graham and I visited Nepal for the first time, there to hand out running shoes to the children and villagers living in Batase, some 35km outside of Kathmandu over imposing mountain foothills. This assortment of secondhand shoes had been collected by members of our Find Your Feet community and it was an honour to deliver them to the village.

On embarking on this trip I had a vision of mountains, monasteries, prayer flags and wild spaces. I guess that is the Nepal we see clearly in the photographs and yes, it is there for sure. In fact, we spent two nights living in a Buddhist monastery rarely visited by Western travellers. From here we ran into the national parks protected by the Nepalese army, ducked beneath prayer flags stretching across the trail, and even encountered a leopard. But the real Nepal, the one where most people live, is either in Kathmandu or in the outlying villages perched on the sides of the foothills. In Kathmandu the air pollution and dust rising off the congested untarmaced roads is so heavy that I found myself wrapping a scarf over my nose and mouth. It is so hard to think clearly about the imposing Stupa in front of you when you are finding it hard to breathe. Furthermore, the destruction of the earthquake that struck the region just two years previously is still hugely apparent, with cracks extending down buildings and rubble piled amongst the rubbish-strewn sidewalks. Further out into the countryside and the air becomes cleaner. However, the rubbish strewn through the beautiful national parks and farmlands hurt my heart. Added to this were buildings after buildings, and thus livelihoods after livelihoods, destroyed by the earthquake.

Over the course of the week, we ran and hiked through national parks and villages, experiencing a side to Nepal mostly overlooked by most Western travellers to this country. Then at night we would return to Batase and eat with the local children living in this hostel, children who had left their homes as orphans or as ‘one-too-many’ in their families. Dinner was cooked on an open fire in a corrugated iron shed, built as a replacement to the original stone and thatch buildings that crumpled with the tremors of mighty earthquakes. We would eat standing outside under the stars or with a light mizzly rain falling, chatting to fellow travellers or volunteers working in the village whilst the children babbled away over their rice & dhal inside the tin shed.

The children and villagers of Batase are blessed. Whilst life is tough it could be a whole lot tougher. They have people like us with prosperity who care for them. They have shelter and livelihoods and prospects. They can receive some form of education. However, many in the surrounding villages and towns are not so lucky. That is the hardest part and why I closed my eyes at 3pm on my single bed to ‘comprehend’.

Whilst our trip to Nepal raised the question of ‘How can we do more?’, it also made me realise that we need to really, really appreciate and protect what we have here in Tasmania and Australia. We need to stand proud of our natural landscapes and make sure that we protect them with fierce determination. What we have here in Australia is unique but it will need all the help that we can provide to ensure it remains beautiful for our children, and their children and every living species that relies on it.

Here is a further reflection of what we travelled with to help you with packing for your own third-world travels. Please note, Graham and I were able to avoid all sickness despite not drinking one bottle of bottled water. Instead, we used the Cambelbak All Clear UV Purifier which lasted the entire time on one USB charge. We also took our jetboil and our own utensils so that we didn’t have to risk picking up germs from communal kitchen arrangements. Finally, we avoided eating anything fresh and all meat products. The only fresh food we had in our time in Nepal were bananas which are safer to eat due to their skins.

What I wouldn’t leave Australia without: 

• Cambelbak All Clear UV Purifier
• The North Face Base Camp Duffels
• Sea to Summit Travel Locks
• Sea to Summit Micro MCII Sleeping Bag
• Sea to Summit Silk Liner
• Sea to Summit Hand Sanitiser
• Sea to Summit Pocket Towel
• Salomon S-Lab Sense Ultra 8 Set Vestpack
• Petzl Reactive Reactik+ Headtorch

What wasn’t essential but I was stoked to have with me:

• Jetboil Flash Stove
• Sea to Summit X-Bowl
• Sea to Summit X-Mug
• Sea to Summit Alpha Light Cutlery
• Sea to Summit Pillow
• Sea to Summit Wash
• A large supply of nutrition

Foods to avoid sickness:

• All meat
• All dairy
• All fresh fruit unless they have a skin
• All fresh veggies unless they are peeled or well cooked
• Rice that has obviously stood around for some time
• Bakery products that have obviously been sitting exposed for long periods of time
• Any untreated water (please note, we didn't need to buy bottled water using the above methods and it definitely words out cheaper in the long run!)
• Iced beverages including ice cubes

What we ate lots of:

• Boiled rice
• Boiled potatoes
• Dhal
• Boiled greens
• Rice cakes with peanut butter
• Hot tea
• Energy bars brought from home
• Jelly beans brought from home when exercising

Further tips for not getting sick

• Wash your hands with soap and then also use sanitiser:
• After bathrooms
• After showers
• Before dinner
• During dinner
• After dinner
• After exercising
• After shaking someone’s hand
• After sharing communal spaces i.e. rooms, vehicles etc.
• Don’t drink shared water
• Don’t use tap water for washing utensils or brushing teeth - use your own purified water
• Sleep in an inner sheet, even in hotel rooms
• Don’t let your guard down in Western Hotels
• Use UV purifier to wave over your toothbrushes and utensils randomly