In reply to Andy S:
Thanks all. For anyone looking at this for tips themselves, I've done the Annapurna Base Camp trek now. Did early to mid-March. It's a good time to trek in Annapurna Sanctuary (this name refers to the whole area, which is very big), because there are less people. A good number of people - more than enough to be sociable, but not so many to be annoying or fill-up the accommodations.
My preferred kit list is a 2 season sleeping bag, a down jacket, a pair of poles, iodine tablets, approach shoes (but I prefer boots for the ankle support) and enough cash to see you through the trek.
Other tips:
- you can buy great down jackets at a shop called 'Shona's' in Thamel, Kathmandhu, for about £35. They're great quality (down imported from Australia). Amazing value,
- You can hire sleeping bags in Pokhara for 80 rupees a day (48p),
- You can buy knock-off boots in Kathmandhu, or use the genuine North Face shop in Thamel,
- If you want to buy waterproofs, I recommend buying knock-offs from Shona's. They're good enough for what you need them for,
- You can buy decent poles in Kathmandhu or Pokhara,
- Expect to spend maximum £15 a day on food and accommodation whilst trekking (but will usually be less),
- During the day you'll usually wear shorts and t-shirt, even at 4000m. Use your down jacket in the evening and when you set off in the morning. However, I highly recommend having a long-sleeved merino wool base-layer (more of a winter base layer really) for the mornings and evenings. If you also have a warm hat, you don't need to take a fleece with you (mine never got used).
- Take zinc oxide tape to cover-up hot-spots before they turn into blisters,
- Petroleum Jelly lip-balm almost essential. Makes a huge difference. You can buy this is Kathmandhu, Pokhara, and even in the little shops on the trekking route sometimes,
- I still haven't heard of super-secure storage facilities anywhere in Pokhara or Kathmandhu. However, I can recommend Alobar 1000's storage facility in Kathmandhu - it's communal storage but it's well-guarded and they use a proper tagging system (your tag has to match to get your bag back). In Pokhara, for us it was a case of finding guesthouse owners we felt we could trust with our £600 laptops. After talking to them, I really felt I could trust them and had no reservations. Obviously a proper secure storage locker would be better, but they just don't exist in Pokhara. Use your own judgement! Another option is to pay for a room in Pokhara and secure it with your own padlock while you're away trekking. That's pretty secure.
Well that probably covers most things. Hope that's useful for any info-seekers out there.
Final tip - take your time!