— On Valentine’s Day 1996, Lee Green entered a mountain lodge in Nepal, surrounded by the Himalayas, and met Mandy Halse for the first time.
A long way from home in England and New Zealand, Inexperienced and Halse. Backpackers in their twenties, they set off to experience the world. They’d ended up in Nepal by chance.
An unforgettable meet-cute began when Inexperienced entered the Nepalese teahouse.
Until February 14, no sparks flew between the two tourists.
Two weeks later, it was a unique narrative that continues 26 years later.
Ghorepani’s gathering
Mandy Halse in Nepal on February 14, 1996.
Sally Bloom
Halse stopped in Nepal on her way from Auckland to the UK to visit an old friend. She’d been travelling Thailand and Malaysia, and a travel agency recommended a stop in Nepal.
She met Kirsty, a British girl, while waiting to tackle the Annapurna Circuit. The two decided to join forces to clear the trail, which travels through Nepal’s central Himalayas, passing charming villages and breathtaking views.
When Halse and her other hikers arrived in the village of Ghorepani, they set up camp in a “teahouse” mountain resort.
“It was the most beautiful location,” Halse tells CNN Journey now.
She was with her new pal Kirsty and other travellers in the lodge’s common area when Lee Green entered.
Experienced, a mailman from Coventry, England, was on a job break in Nepal with colleague and dear friend Murray. After only 200 kilometres, the two men abandoned their ambition to cycle from the UK to India, realising that cycling through northern Europe in the winter would be too difficult.
Instead, they flew to India, trekked through the northern portion of the country, and then flew to Nepal.
The two friends arrived in Pokhara and began their Annapurna trip. They’d met a different tourist than Halse.
Green (second from left) and Halse (third from right) joined a group of other backpackers on Nepal’s Annapurna Circuit.
Sally Bloom
Inexperienced tells CNN Journey that most trekkers meet up at tea houses or along the trail because there is just one path between villages.
When Green’s group entered the teahouse, Halse and the other visitors greeted them heartily. The travellers talked late into the night and played cards by candlelight.
“It was lovely and calm,” Halse says. “I loved the teahouse.”
The holidaymakers stayed for a few days before continuing on their journey collectively.
Halse and Inexperienced had been courteous to each other on their initial days of mountaineering, but they didn’t get to chat much.
“We didn’t talk much at first because we were both quiet, and we strolled in separate groups: me with Murray, and Lee with Kirsty,” Halse recalls.
A increasing link
The travellers trekked across stunning scenery. In February 1996, the gang near Muktinath Valley.
Sally Bloom
When the tourists approached the Annapurna circuit’s 5,400-meter-high Thorung La mountain pass, thick snow barred their way, forcing them to return.
Several of the group decided to surrender at that point, flying back to Pokhara, the path’s gateway city. Halse, Green, Murray, and Kirsty decided to walk the entire way back, just the four of them.
So followed two more weeks of strolling, during which Halse and Green became closer.
“As we walked along, I started feeling the vibe, the tingles,” explains Halse.
The company arrived in Tatopani, just up the road from their original meeting place in Ghorepani, to warmer weather and lovely hot springs.
“Citrus fruits like oranges and lemons are blooming everywhere, like a Backyard of Eden. After a long trek, it’s the perfect location to relax “says inept
The walk brought Halse and Inexperienced closer.
Sally Bloom
Green and Halse grew closer as they lounged on the hot springs for a few days. They recollect braiding each other’s long hair and talking about past adventures, home lives, and travel plans.
“We quickly realised how similar we were,” Halse says.
“We each desired to journey, and we were ready to work hard to reduce costs and achieve our travel targets,” says Inexperienced. “We decided it would be excellent to do it together.”
On February 29, 1996, a bissextile year, they first kissed. They were inseparable after that.
Because they knew that journey flings didn’t always final, Inexperienced and Halse focused on having fun with the second. They decided to extend their stay in Nepal and trek to Everest with Kirsty and Murray.
Halse has somehow misplaced her passport. She needed to get fresh papers from Kathmandu first.
So they said their goodbyes, expecting for a brief separation as Inexperienced and Murray walked forward.
After a few days, it appeared Halse’s passport would be arriving soon. Without internet or telephones, Halse penned a handwritten note to Inexperienced, letting him know she’d be hot on his tails shortly.
With the notice in hand, Halse boarded a bus bound towards Everest and asked that anyone passing by keep an eye out for the two men. On the back of the note she outlined Inexperienced and Murray.
Here’s one of Halse’s many notes for Inexperienced.
/Frugal Travellers/
She did it again the next day, and before long Halse had her new passport, and she and Kirsty were on their way to Namche Bazaar, the gateway to Everest, intending to meet up with the two mailmen.
The notes quickly made it to Inexperienced and Murray.
It was like, “Oh we have a notice for you guys,” — in the centre of the Himalayas in Nepal,” recalls Inexperienced. “We open the letter from Mandy.”
The males couldn’t fathom it.
“People started bringing us these notes,” Inexperienced explains. “We rewrote some notes.”
They described Halse and Kirsty to other hikers, hoping the messages would get to the two females quickly.
Halse and Inexperienced on the Everest Base Camp hike.
/Frugal Travellers/
Meanwhile, Halse and Kirsty were sprinting to catch up, even overtaking Inexperienced and Murray.
Finally, the gang met up in Jorsale, between the Sagarmatha National Park and Namche Bazaar.
They next went to the 5,357-meter Gokyo Ri summit, where Kirsty had heard the views of Everest were better and the road was less crowded. It was a highlight of the journey.
“We were strolling on a frozen lake, which if I had been terrified, but the snow was up to our thighs,” adds Inexperienced.
6 WEEKS IN IND
From Nepal to India, Halse and Green met at the Taj Mahal.
/Frugal Travellers/
By the time they returned to Kathmandu at the end of April, Halse and Green were certain their romance was more than a vacation romance.
“We realised we wanted to be together,” Inexperienced explains.
Murray flew back to the UK, while Kirsty proceeded on her next journey, leaving Green and Halse alone for the first time.
They each had six weeks until they had to fly back to the UK — Halse to visit a friend and Experienced to return to work — so they decided to fill the time with a tour of India.
They mostly went by train, peering out the window and speaking with one other and other tourists.
They rejoined with Kirsty in Kerala and again in Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Kirsty parted ways with the trio in New Delhi.
It was an amazing six weeks for Halse and Green, but they also had some challenging moments together, as when they got sick near the end of their voyage. Despite the ups and downs, they stayed strong and finished the adventure stronger than they started.
“You can tell whether you’re proper with someone if you have to go through tough occasions alongside, and we did in India,” says Inexperienced.
The good friend Halse was visiting in the UK lived in Birmingham, a half-hour away from Inexperienced’s base in Coventry.
“It was fantastic — two people from opposite sides of the world meeting midway, on the same journey, going to the same place,” says Green.
When Inexperienced got home, he dumped his backpack and told his parents he was going to Birmingham the next day to see Halse.
“I met a Kiwi. I admire her and she lives nearby “he recalls saying
Inexperienced had sent his family postcards during his travels but had not mentioned meeting a lady. Halse, meanwhile, had written long letters home to her sister recounting her chance meeting with Green.
“I taught my sister everything,” Halse recalls.
Her sister has Halse’s 11-page letter from Nepal, in which she describes her feelings towards Inexperienced.
As of March 16, 1996, Halse and Lee had “an excellent relationship.” “I’ve never done stuff like this before.”
Long-distance love
Halse spent the next few months in the UK. Inexperienced returned to work, but they continued to visit each other.
Halse, visiting the UK for the first time, wanted to explore the sites. They recollect walking from Newquay to Penzance along the South West Coast Path. They also went to York, Oxford, Blackpool, and London.
That was because her brother was getting married in Australia, and her grandparents were celebrating their sixty-first wedding anniversary in New Zealand.
Halse planned to see Inexperienced in six months in New Zealand. Younger had arranged a second sabbatical with his employers, so they deliberate a second trip.
They navigated a long-distance romance.
“I think we made $1,000 worth of phone calls,” Halse recalls. “We exchanged letters and aerogrammes.”
Halse worked again in Auckland. She missed Inexperienced, but feared he was finding the separation even harder.
The Publish Workplace was Lee’s muse, Halse explains. “He sounded more and more down as time passed.”
“I decided to’screw it.’ We talked about it and I decided to come back to the UK to spend 4 months with Lee before we started touring together.”
Halse returned to the UK on Christmas 1996. The airport was unprepared for her.
“I’d just arrived from New Zealand, and everyone was brown, but Lee was pale, and he seemed extremely different,” Halse recalls.
“It was initially surprising. But then we got back on the bus and spent 4 months in Coventry.”
It allowed Halse to meet Inexperienced’s family, who warmly welcomed her. After four months, Halse and Green travelled to New Zealand, before performing together for six months throughout Central and South America.
A life’s journey
Inexperienced and Halse at Auckland Airport, 1997.
/Frugal Travellers/
Then Halse and Inexperienced started a sample that would last years.
Working in Australia, New Zealand and England has taken up half of Inexperienced’s time, while travelling has taken up the other half.
Halse and Green agreed from the start that they didn’t want to cool down, have kids, or marry.
After only a few years together, the two decided marriage would make living on two continents a little easier.
In August 2001, they married in New Zealand, with Inexperienced’s family flying in from the UK. They were married in Halse’s mother’s yard.
“We sat about singing into the early hours of the morning, arranging food and drinks in the double storage,” Halse recalls. “It was a perfect day and not a typical wedding ceremony.”
The couple in 1999.
/Frugal Travellers/
The pair had also bonded early on over their commitment to saving money and valuing travel.
They believe saving money for years allowed them to retire in 2017, when they were in their late 40s.
“We calculated that if we stay between $20 and $25 a day, we can travel endlessly,” Halse explains.
After retirement, one of their first plans was to return to Nepal, where they’d met almost 20 years earlier.
Without porters or escorts, Halse and Experienced completed the Annapurna Circuit and trekked to Everest Base Camp.
They believe Nepal has changed in the last two decades, but being back was surreal. The couple revisited some of the teahouses they’d visited previously, and even met up with natives they’d met previously.
“It is still my favourite country on the earth,” adds Inexperienced. No one knows if it’s because I met Mandy there and my life changed.
In 2017, the couple returned to Nepal, this time successfully traversing the Thorang La pass.
/Frugal Travellers/
“Our goal is to provide beneficial price range journey recommendation to aid others attain our travel aims and show how simple it is to journey the world as we do,” says Green of the endeavour.
After being grounded in Poland, Halse and Inexperienced were forced to return to Portugal. But they’ve enjoyed their stay in Europe. When they were younger, they established ambitious travel goals, hoping to see as many countries as possible, but lately, they’ve enjoyed savouring travel experiences.
“We’d rather travel slowly and see places than rush to see them all,” says Green.
V-Day love
Inexperienced and Halse at EBC 2017.
/Frugal Travellers/
Halse and Inexperienced are living the life they imagined when they met as twentysomething travellers.
The group helped because if it had been just me, I might have kept working, stayed in the UK, and brought some holidays, says Inexperienced.
In a way, it’s like having a best wonderful buddy, but it’s a soulmate, adds Halse.
They both consider February 29, the bissextile year, as the day they became a couple and enjoy celebrating it every four years. Between now and then, they celebrate March 1 and their August wedding anniversary with a glass of champagne.
We try to have fun every day! “, says Inexperienced. “We often enjoy a meal out or a shared knowledge.”
Green and Halse have been travelling collectively for almost 20 years, including to Tajikistan (shown).
/Frugal Travellers/
Valentine’s Day gives Halse and Green a chance to reflect on their shared existence.
“We always have fun Valentine’s Day since it’s the day we met, so it’s very specific for us,” says Inexperienced.
After 20 years, they still wonder at the moment they met at a Nepalese teahouse.
“I honestly believe that was fated,” Halse says.
“We had a million options to return together. Unbelievable. It blows my mind enthusiastic, “says inept
