Cox & Kings India — kailash mansarovar yatra, 10th august, 2019 to 23rd august 2019. booking ref:1108455

Address:

Mumbai City, Maharashtra

I (S. B. Nandakumar) here to explain the difficulties faced by me for the trip to kailash & manasarover trip arranged by cox & kings. Giving payment (Rs.283000 for 2 persons), handing over passport for chinese visa and getting only permit, till then everything ran smoothly. On the night of 8/8/19 due to heavy rain cochin airport got closed. My flight tickets were cancelled by indigo. On contacting cox & kings emergency number mrs. Rachna vyas and through email of leena raghav, they informed me that, last moment cancellation, i would not get any refund and they suggested, try to book another flight from kozhikode to kathmandu. I booked ticket on 10th august 19 and reached kathmandu by 11th aug 2019 by 3 pm.in the evening at 4pm the coordinator, manoj kothari and his team of sherpa from fishtail called for a get together in le himalaya hotel. There we got information our visas were not ready. They had changed our itinerary from the original itinerary provided by cox & kings. We were in kathmandu till 13th of august with no sign of visa. Afternoon 12 pm received the news that visa is granted and we have to cross chinese border before 3pm on 15th aug.19. We left from a poorly maintained hotel the amadablam hotel in kathmandu to hotel namaste, syabrubesi (3 sharing basis) near the chinese border on 13th afternoon and travelling on a heavily raining night on a slippery road of nepal by bus was hair raising and dangerous. Total time of travel from syabrubesi was 17 hours (Including 4 hrs. Due to landslide)
On 14th morning with fanfare we left syabrubesi after breakfast and after an hour into the journey, due to landslide we were stuck up for 4 hours. By afternoon, after having lunch on a wayside restaurant, we reached by 3 pm nepal –tibetan border. After crossing the border reached saga by midnight of 15th aug 2019. Had dinner by 2am chinese time or 11.30 pm ist. 5 persons dormitory was given in grand hotel. Total time of travel from syabrubesi was 17 hours (Including 4 hrs. Due to landslide). On 15th aug 2019 high altitude sickness caught up with 60 % of our group. This led to a frenzy and cox & kings coordinator and nepali sherpa from fishtail started using foul and insensitive talking. No loving words only grandmother stories. Then on 16th august we all left for manasorover. Total time of travel from saga to manasorover was 10 hours. 6 person dormitories for rest. After taking bath and doing puja on banks of manasorover lake, we left for manasorover lake parikarma by bus. Reached darchen by night 10 pm on 17th of august. Here dormitory with 14 person with single bathroom and toilet facilty was given. Here again cox & kings coordinator and nepali sherpa from fishtail started using foul and insensitive talking. They declared nobody above age of 60 yrs can go for parikrama and gave frightful experience of earlier pilgrimages. When more than 6 person became stubborn whose age was above 60 yrs rebelled, he told no responsibility will be on him. He told all ponies are sold out and cost of the ponies are rs.35000. (Later on trip we came to know it was only rs. 10000). He gave a fright if you don’t reach derapuk and halfway return back then our accommodation has to be rebooked by us and travel back to darchen is on our own expenditure. Both nepali sherpa was shouting and using derogatory language as if we were refugees in order to get asylum in their country and our coordinator supporting the same. All ladies, many young men fell into the prey of their foul language. Only 50% percent was ready to trek for whole parikrama. If nice soothing words and helpfulness was granted still some more persons could have joined us. Both our cox & kings coordinator as well as lead nepali sherpa was trying to back us out from parikrama. On 18th august my wife and my friend’s wife informed manoj kothari for booking return from tibetan border to kathmandu by helicopter, we are ready to pay for the same but fell on deaf ears. On 18th august left for yam dwar doing our prayers most of the ladies and some men folk went back to darchen. I and my friends started walking 12 kms with a plastic cover given by sherpa containing only an apple, 1 bar chocolate, 1 biscuit packet, 1 gauva juice tetra pack and few wet wipes and reached derapuk by 4 pm.5 person dormitories. There again cox & kings coordinator and nepali sherpa started all have to go for oxygen level test and adding fear factor of the danger for next day travel. I and my many friends were cool under this barrage of fearful experience given by our cox & kings coordinator and nepali sherpa. Many a time i felt whether they are human and why they cannot give good advice. I think lord shiva want to test us. Early in the morning of 19th august, by 6 am, 22 km. Trek with a plastic cover and with eatables, our entire group with sherpa started to move at a great pace wherein it was totally dark with rain and some snowfall.in pitch of night we were able to make our way through the rocks only by torch light. Neither cox & kings coordinator nor nepali sherpa were seen till daylight broke out. These two guys were resting and watching us struggling to reach them. No help on the way. Then again started picking up some members of our group and state that they have to return back. But our will power and religious belief to see mount kailash pulled us along. On the half way mark i and my bengali friends were having good walk but for slight breathlessness this nepali sherpa started using his belligerent shouting but we considered him as a fool who with no manners. Seeing this he walked off. After 5 hours we reached gauri kund. Then travelling down and flat plain reached zutulpuk by 6 pm. All 11 persons including 5 persons above age of 60 reached our resting place in zutulpuk. 6 person dormitories. I found right from manasorover no light was provided. No hot water was provided for cleaning our face and leg in zutulpuk. Neither cox & kings coordinator nor nepali sherpa helped us any way on this trip with kind words but only being hostile and trying to turn us back. On 20th august after 10 km trek bus picked us up and dropped us at darchen. Left darchen by 10 am and reached saga by 4 pm. 4 people in a room. Started from saga by 5.30 am on 21st august and got stuck up in jilong for more than 6 hrs. Again blame is not on the neither cox & kings coordinator nor nepali sherpa but, the group got into the bus late from saga. Again they were sidestepping on the mistakes they made. Left jilong by 1 pm and reached tibet - nepal border by 4.30 pm. The whole group was not provided with lunch or dinner on 21st august, 2019. We had only a small break for tea and biscuits at a way side restaurant. From 9 pm on 21st august till 22nd august 3 pm, all had to spend the entire night in the bus braving heavy rains and landslides. Next day morning, cox & kings coordinator and the nepali sherpa both were missing. No breakfast was provided on 22nd morning too. The coordinator has deliberately skipped on one day’s meals and we were left to fend on our own. All the people in the group and myself had to cancel or change our flight schedule to next day. Again neither cox & kings coordinator was not of any help, as net service was not available. But some members of our group had international roaming facility thus we could contact wife, daughter, sons for rescheduling of tickets but our cox & kings coordinator was absconding. His version was he was trying to book helicopter to lift us off from the mountain but not successful.in between my wife and my friend’s wife was in near exhaustion state so, we tried to book personally a helicopter through a person but no helicopter came due to bad weather. The sherpa from fishtail insisted me to give cancellation charges or they would confiscate my indian passport, again cox & kings coordinator was of no use. It was as if manoj kothari was under the sherpa’s influence totally. Wherein many members started questioning the part of the cox & kings coordinator in the whole trip. His nepali sherpa was also questioned for his foul language and inhuman treatment of an educated lot and highly placed officials as refugees. When they saw that they were being questioned, both of them fled the place. We reached kathmandu by 7 pm. On the way again cox & kings coordinator again informed that hotel charges to be paid by us and breakfast free but lunch and dinner to be paid by us. But later we were informed that we could stay at le himalaya free of charge for one more day. On rescheduling charges he informed that is for us to decide.
What i got the impression is cox & kings coordinator is a passenger and he used to listen only to nepali sherpa from fishtail wherein he used his power to subdue us. If cox & kings which has more than 260 years of experience has to improve their standard of package to kailash manasarovar, then they must not enlist manoj kothari and the nepali sherpa from fishtail for further trips. They will bring shame to the organiser and tourist will lose faith on your capabilities.