Fifteen hours ago Ben posted on his Facebook page that he and Simone were at Suvarnabhumi Airport about to take their flight to Phuket. The couple then had a couple of hours wait before catching their flight to Phuket, which landed at around midnight.
Ben and Simone were trekking through a snowstorm below Mount Everest, near Gokyo and close to the Tibet border, when the 7.9-Richter-magnitude quake struck near the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, on April 25.
After struggling for three days to get down from the mountain, (April 26) they arrived last Monday at Lukla, a small and relatively undamaged town normally used as an access point for Everest climbers. It had accommodation and an airstrip, but was still a long way from Kathmandu, the only place with international air traffic.
It was while he was in Lukla that Ben first described to The Phuket News how much destruction had been caused by the quake “Pretty grim, ghost towns and collapsed roads, choppers everywhere taking out deceased and wounded,” was how Ben dexcribed it.
Ben and Simone spent a further five days in Lukla before finally getting a flight to Kathmandu on Friday (May 1), “We’ve finally made it,” was the post on Ben’s Facebook page that day.
Early yesterday morning (May 3), Ben posted on his Facebook page, “Our last hours in Nepal, looking forward to fresh food and stable ground. We both ended up with a stomach bug and a throat infection.
“We did a tour through Kathmandu yesterday and the situation is not as bad as TV shows. Thamel is almost completely intact and so are most of the temples.
“It is hard to assume the role of victim and go back to our luxurious but safe hotel, while there are still people sleeping in tents outside.
“Paranoia on aftershocks and bad dreams will linger for a while, but overall we have been extremely lucky.
“We’ve had so many uplifting messages from friends and family following us, rendering it impossible to thank all of you in person, without worsening the tendonitis in my thumb. Thank you. It really helped.”
Ben and Simone are currently tucked up in bed getting some much needed rest.
See the story of Ben and Simonè•s struggle in the mountains here.
http://www.thephuketnews.com/exclusive-phuket-couple-spend-terrifying-72-hours-in-mountains-of-nepal-52085.php