Their paths first crossed on Valentine’s Day during a hike in the Himalayas

On February 14, 1996, Lee Green arrived at a mountain lodge in Nepal, nestled in the snowy peaks of the Himalayas, where he first met Mandy Halse.

Thousands of miles away from their homes in England and New Zealand, Lee and Mandy were both young backpackers eager to explore the world. They ended up in Nepal through a series of fortunate twists of fate.

As Lee walked into the teahouse in Nepal, little did they know, the stage was set for an unforgettable encounter.

However, on that Valentine’s Day, there was no instant chemistry between the two travelers.

Just two weeks later, their story had taken a surprising turn, one that continues to unfold 26 years later.

A chance encounter in Ghorepani

For Mandy, Nepal was an unexpected stopover on her way from Auckland to the UK, where she was planning to visit an old friend. Having traveled through Thailand and Malaysia, a travel agent suggested she break her journey with a visit to Nepal.

After discovering Nepal’s renowned trekking paths, Mandy met a British traveler, Kirsty, while waiting for a permit to hike the Annapurna Circuit. Together, they decided to take on the trail that winds through Nepal’s central mountains, offering stunning views and charming villages along the way.

Mandy, who had no idea what to expect, was left in awe by the breathtaking scenery, especially when she and the other hikers reached the village of Ghorepani. There, they camped out in a cozy mountain teahouse lodge.

“It was the most stunning setting,” Mandy recalls when speaking to Dinogo Travel today.

Mandy was sitting in the common area of the lodge with Kirsty and other fellow backpackers when Lee Green entered the room.

Lee, a mailman from Coventry in England, was exploring Nepal during a career break with his good friend and colleague, Murray. Originally, the two had planned to cycle from the UK to India on their sabbatical but had abandoned the idea after only 200 miles, realizing that biking through northern Europe in the winter would take far too long.

Instead, they ended up flying to India, trekking through the northern regions before making their way to Nepal.

The two friends reached Pokhara and soon set off on the Annapurna trek. Like Mandy, they had formed friendships with fellow travelers along the way.

“There’s one main trail that connects village after village, so it’s common for trekkers to cross paths and meet at the teahouses along the route,” Lee explains to Dinogo Travel today.

When Lee’s group arrived at the teahouse, they were greeted warmly by Mandy and the other trekkers. The group spent the night chatting and playing cards by candlelight.

“It was a really nice, laid-back evening,” says Mandy. “The teahouse itself was beautiful.”

The travelers stayed for a couple of days before continuing the trek together as a group.

Mandy and Lee were polite and friendly during the first few days of hiking, but they didn’t have many chances to talk one-on-one.

“We didn’t talk much at first, as we were both quite reserved. We walked in separate parts of the group: I was in the middle with Murray, and Lee was at the back with Kirsty,” Mandy recalls.

A deepening bond

Upon reaching the Thorung La mountain pass, standing at 5,400 meters, they encountered deep snow that blocked their path, forcing them to turn back.

Some of the group decided to head back, catching a plane to Pokhara, the gateway town. However, Mandy, Lee, Murray, and Kirsty chose to complete the return trek on foot, just the four of them.

This marked the start of another two weeks of trekking, and it was during this time that Mandy and Lee’s bond began to deepen.

“We had become pretty close friends, and as we walked, I started to feel the connection, the sparks,” Mandy recalls.

When the group reached Tatopani, just a short distance from where they’d first met in Ghorepani, the warmer climate and soothing hot springs offered a refreshing contrast to the snow they’d just left behind.

“There are oranges and lemons growing everywhere, citrus fruits everywhere—it’s like a little Eden. It’s the perfect place to unwind after a tough trek,” says Lee.

During their days spent relaxing at the hot springs, Lee and Mandy grew even closer. They spent time braiding each other’s hair and sharing stories about past adventures, their lives back home, and their travel aspirations.

“We quickly realized how alike we were,” Mandy reflects.

“We both had a love for travel, were willing to work hard and save money, and were determined to reach our travel dreams. We realized it would be wonderful to do it together,” Lee adds.

They shared their first kiss on February 29, 1996, a leap year. From that moment on, they were inseparable.

Despite being swept up in their new romance, both Lee and Mandy remained aware that travel flings don’t always last, so they chose to savor every moment. Along with Kirsty and Murray, they decided to extend their time in Nepal and take on a trek to Everest.

The only problem was that Mandy had somehow misplaced her passport. Before moving forward, she needed to head back to Kathmandu to get a replacement.

So the couple parted ways, thinking it would only be a brief separation, as Lee and Murray moved ahead.

A few days later, it seemed Mandy’s passport would arrive sooner than expected. Without the means to communicate by phone or internet, she wrote Lee a handwritten note, assuring him she’d be catching up with him soon.

With the note in hand, Mandy boarded the bus heading to the Everest trail. She asked if anyone going that way could pass the message along to Lee and Murray, describing the two men on the back of the note.

She repeated this the next day, and the day after that. Eventually, Mandy received her new passport, and she and Kirsty made their way to Namche Bazaar, the gateway to Everest, eager to catch up with the two men.

The notes successfully reached Lee and Murray as they continued their trek.

“As we neared Namche Bazaar, people started approaching us on the trail, saying, ‘We’ve got a note for you guys,’ right there in the middle of the Nepalese mountains,” recalls Lee. “We’d open the note and find it was from Mandy.”

The two men were utterly astonished.

“More and more people kept bringing us these notes,” says Lee. “So, we decided to write some responses.”

They handed their replies to trekkers heading the other direction, describing Mandy and Kirsty, hoping the messages would reach the women successfully.

Meanwhile, Mandy and Kirsty were pushing themselves to catch up, even managing to surpass Lee and Murray on the trail.

Eventually, the group reunited in the tiny village of Jorsale, nestled between the entrance to Sagarmatha National Park and Namche Bazaar.

From there, they made their way to the 5,357-meter Gokyo Ri peak, as Kirsty had read that the view of Everest was even more breathtaking and the trail less crowded. It turned out to be one of the trip's highlights.

“We were walking across a frozen lake, which, had I thought about it, might have been terrifying, but the snow was so deep, it came up to our thighs,” recalls Lee.

Six weeks in India

By the time they returned to Kathmandu at the end of April, both Mandy and Lee were certain that their bond was something deeper than just a holiday romance.

“We came to the realization that we wanted to be together,” says Lee.

After Murray flew back to the UK and Kirsty set off on her next adventure, Lee and Mandy found themselves alone for the first time since meeting.

With six weeks before they were due to fly to the UK – Mandy to visit a friend and Lee to return to work – the two decided to spend the time traveling around India together.

They mostly traveled by train, passing the hours gazing out the windows and engaging in conversations with each other and fellow travelers.

They met up with Kirsty again in Kerala, in southern India, and later at Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. The three of them traveled on to New Delhi before Kirsty continued on her own path.

The six weeks were unforgettable for Mandy and Lee, though not without their challenges. Towards the end of their trip, both fell ill, but they leaned on each other and emerged from the experience even stronger than before.

“You truly discover if you're compatible with someone when you face tough times together, and we went through some rough patches in India. But we came out the other side stronger,” says Lee.

By pure chance, the friend Mandy was planning to visit in the UK lived in Birmingham, which was just a short 30-minute train ride from Lee's home in Coventry.

“It was incredible – two people from opposite sides of the world, meeting halfway, heading in the same direction to the same place,” says Lee.

Upon returning home, Lee dropped off his backpack, visited his parents, and mentioned he’d be heading to Birmingham the next day to meet up with Mandy.

“I met this Kiwi girl, I really like her, and she’s just down the road,” Lee recalls telling them.

Though Lee had sent postcards to his family from his travels, he hadn’t mentioned meeting a girl. Meanwhile, Mandy had written lengthy letters to her sister, recounting the serendipitous meeting with Lee.

“I shared everything with my sister,” Mandy remembers.

Her sister still keeps the 11-page letter Mandy wrote her from Nepal, where she poured out her feelings about Lee in great detail.

“Lee and I gradually built a beautiful connection,” Mandy wrote on March 16, 1996. “This is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.”

A Long-Distance Love

Mandy remained in the UK for the following months, while Lee returned to work. Despite the distance, they made an effort to see each other whenever they could.

It was Mandy’s first visit to the UK, and she was eager to explore. The two fondly remember walking part of England’s South West Coast Path from Newquay to Penzance. They also toured cities like York, Oxford, Blackpool, and London.

Then it was time for Mandy to head back down under—her brother was getting married in Australia, and her grandparents were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary in New Zealand.

Mandy planned to meet up with Lee again in New Zealand six months later. Lee had arranged for another sabbatical from work, and the couple were excited about traveling together once more.

In the meantime, they navigated the challenges of a long-distance relationship.

Back in Auckland, Mandy focused on work. While she missed Lee, she worried that the separation was harder on him than it was on her.

“Lee was feeling down, working long hours at the Post Office,” Mandy recalls. “He seemed more and more despondent as time passed.”

“I thought, ‘Forget it.’ We talked it over, and I decided to fly back to the UK to spend four months with Lee before we started our travels together,” Mandy says.

Mandy returned to the UK on Christmas Day 1996, and Lee was there at the airport to greet her.

“I had just come from New Zealand, and everyone there was tanned, but it was December in the UK, so Lee looked pale and quite different,” Mandy remembers.

“It was a bit of a shock at first. But soon we were on the bus, headed back, and spent four months together in Coventry,” she adds.

During these four months, Mandy had the chance to bond with Lee’s family, who welcomed her with open arms. When their time together ended, they flew to New Zealand before embarking on a six-month journey across Central and South America.

A lifetime of adventure

From there, they began a travel routine that would last for many years to come.

“We’ve split our time between working in places like Australia, New Zealand, and England, and then spending the rest of it backpacking, chasing our dream of exploring the world,” Lee explains.

From the start, Mandy and Lee were in sync – they weren’t interested in settling down, starting a family, or getting married.

However, after a few years together, as an international couple juggling life on two continents, they decided that marriage would help make life easier.

Their wedding took place in New Zealand in August 2001, with Lee’s family traveling from the UK to join the celebration. They tied the knot in Mandy’s mother’s backyard.

“We set up a spread of food and drinks in the double garage, and later family members played guitars while we sat around singing well into the night,” Mandy recalls. “It was an unforgettable day, and definitely not your typical wedding.”

Early on, they bonded over their shared commitment to living simply, focusing on saving money for their travels.

They believe that their years of resisting unnecessary spending allowed them to retire in 2017, both in their late 40s.

“We calculated that if we keep our daily budget between 20 and 25 US dollars, we can keep traveling indefinitely,” says Mandy.

After retiring, one of their first goals was to revisit Nepal, more than 20 years after they had first met there.

This time, Mandy and Lee completed the Annapurna Circuit and trekked to Everest Base Camp, without the assistance of porters or guides.

Nepal had changed over the past two decades, but it was still incredible to return. They revisited some of the teahouses they had stayed at on their first trip and even met local people they had encountered years earlier.

“It’s still my favorite country in the world, out of all the places I’ve been,” says Lee. “I don’t know if it’s because I met Mandy there, and that’s where my life changed.”

In 2018, they launched their YouTube channel, 'Frugal Travellers,' which is also supported by a website and social media accounts.

“Our aim is to provide practical budget travel tips that help others achieve the same travel goals we've reached, and to demonstrate how easy it is to travel the world in our style,” explains Lee about the initiative.

The Covid-19 pandemic temporarily put their travels on hold, first in Poland and now in Portugal. Despite this, they’ve embraced their extended time in Europe. In their younger years, they set ambitious goals to visit as many countries as possible, but now they’ve shifted to savoring their travel experiences.

“We’re happy to take our time and explore places at a relaxed pace, rather than rushing to check off countries,” says Lee.

A love story that began on Valentine’s Day

Today, Mandy and Lee are living the life they envisioned when they were young backpackers in their twenties.

“I think our time together has really shaped who I am today. If I’d been on my own, I might have stayed in the UK, kept working, and just taken occasional vacations,” reflects Lee.

“It’s just so comforting to know that you’ve got someone by your side – like a best friend, but with a deeper connection – a true soulmate,” shares Mandy.

They mark February 29, the leap day, as the day they officially became a couple, celebrating it every four years. In the years in between, they celebrate on March 1 and also toast to their wedding anniversary in August.

“It’s the perfect excuse to have several celebrations, and we try to celebrate life every single day!” says Lee. “We usually mark the occasion with a nice meal or a memorable experience together.”

For Mandy and Lee, Valentine's Day is another opportunity to reflect on their journey together as a couple.

“We always celebrate Valentine’s Day as the day we first met, because it holds such a special meaning for us,” says Lee.

Two decades later, the couple still marvels at the memory of the moment they met in a teahouse in Nepal.

“I truly believe it was destiny, like it was always meant to happen,” says Mandy.

“A million choices and events had to align for us to meet. It’s mind-blowing when I think about it,” says Lee.