Totally untrustworthy
The worst experience on a four-month trip through the Middle east and Asia. What was supposed to be the highlight ended up being the lowest - ironic given that it took place in the Himalayas.
The owner, Rajesh, is right out of the used-car salesman playbook of sleaze, insincerity, and bait-and-switch tactics. Imagine going in to buy a Porsche, paying up in full, only to receive an old Ford. The dealer says sorry, states that there was something wrong with the Porsche, refunds you the difference for the two cars, and leaves you with something you never agreed on. Welcome to life with Raj and Nepal Trekking Experts!
I paid up and planned for a combination trek that included the stock route through Tsum valley and Manaslu, following which we were supposed to go on a new and exciting route through to Nar Phu, totally untried and planned as a replacement for the classic Annapurna route.
Unfortunately, it was crystal clear within days that things were amiss, because it became evident that the guide had no idea about the Nar Phu leg and thought we were on the stock route through Tsum valley and Manaslu. It beggared belief that he would have gone in cold not knowing, because the Nar Phu leg required extensive planning and logistics, not least in having an extra porter lined up to wait for us at the end of Manaslu with the extra camping gear and food. Once we hit the Manaslu leg it became abundantly clear what the planned get-out clause was going to be, because the guide started spouting, day after day, that Raj was having 'problems' lining up the permits for Nar Phu because a major religious holiday was due on the day we finished with Manaslu - with months to plan ahead, and knowing the dates, this 'expert' company would somehow overlook that? Then they tried for another angle, with the guide summarily 'quitting' after agreeing to let me go ahead on my own to the next village so I could find a hot spot to text my daughter on her birthday. He didn't quit on the spot, of course, but said he'd see us through to the end of Manaslu - then quit. Right.
Throw in two extraordinarily self-involved young companions I allowed to join the trek, whose only interest throughout the whole journey was to smoke their brains out on the trailside marijuana, legally endangering the trek and the guide's license. Then add in the toxic atmosphere created by the guide towards the end of the trek. Put it all together, and it could be safely stated that the trek was a disastrous experience. I'd planned on this trek for 30 years, longer than either of my two reprobate companions or guide have been alive, and at my age it was my one and only shot at realizing my dream.
I sat in Raj's office after the trek for close on 90 minutes, and listened to the whole BS routine - I even recorded it in on my phone for posterity just to let him go on record with his mountain of rationalizations and lying. In his eyes, giving me the refund for a Nar Phu leg he never intended to live up to somehow made it alright. Either way, he received his fee, his guides and porters got work - never mind ruining someone's dreams along the way.
I know I'm not the only one who's received the same treatment with Raj - a friend from Australia also planned on the extra leg through Nar Phu, and had it pulled out from under her near the end of Manaslu - slick as ever.
I should have known right from the beginning, because my wife and I agreed to rewrite all the content for Raj's web page in return for a modest discount for the trek, work that amounted to cents on the dollar for all that we put in out of goodwill. Along the way we discovered that most of the content had been plagiarized from other sites - the content for Bhutan had been lifted verbatim from the official sight for the country - and that Raj's 'expertise' only extended to a certain number of treks. It became so ridiculous in some instances that we were becoming the experts from afar, pointing out errors, suggesting changes to itineraries, etc.
The kicker that I also should have heeded is that I spent an entire day, prior to the trip, hunting high and low for a camera he wanted me to bring over for him. Even though I was up to my eyeballs trying to get ready for my trip, I went out of my way to get him the best price possible. Raj's response? On arriving in Kathmandu, I mentioned the need to buy a down jacket, and he quickly whisked me round to a friend for a 'special discount' - too bad I'd already done my homework and realized the price was twice the going rate. Same again when I saw the costing for the trek, including the charge for my porter - Raj had him down at the daily rate for guides of $25! Nice guy, right?
Only days before I left for my trip, he sent us a couple of new trek ideas to try and squeeze out of us writing-wise, complete with the rival web sites he wanted us to use for source material! So be warned!
April 19, 2022
Unprompted review