Nepal #2 : Gokyo, Everest and friends

We have just spent the majority of the last few days sitting on the hard plastic seats of the Kathmandu departure lounge, trying to kill time until the weather improves. Unfortunately it never does. On the 2nd day we managed to get as far as boarding the plane and taxiing out to the runway, before turning around and heading back to the terminal. Today, after another flightless day we headed out to the Bouddhanath stupa for a bit of a change of scenery, and then back again to our 'home from home', the Karma hotel in Thamel. There was a lot of partying going on in the evening as today a peace agreement was signed by both the Maoist leader and the government of this country, hopefully ending the violence here, for a while at least.





23/11/06 Monjo (2860 metres)


We decided last night that if our flight fails us again today, tomorrow we will take the bus to Jiri and walk into the Khumbu. After a 5am start and the usual check in procedure we sat around until 9am when we were rushed out to the plane, loaded our bags into the side compartments and strapped ourselves in, ready to go... still ready to go 10 minutes later as we sat on the tarmac with the engines screaming, a nail biting time, unsure if we would be whisked back to the terminal at any minute. At 10am, however, we were away!

The first part of the 30 minute flight was fantastic - once we were airborne and above the clouds all the windows on the left side of the plane were filled with snow capped peaks. Nearer to Lukla, however the light wispy clouds had turned into big black ones and we were being thrown around in our seats. There were definitely a few people on the plane, myself and Kapil, our guide, included who were silently praying to their respective gods. A few minutes later, after a steep descent, we thudded down on the short runway at Lukla. The memory of the rock face at the end of the runway speeding toward us as the brakes were applied, hard, is one that I think will stay with me for some years. This runway was built by Sir Ed Hillary in 1964, and was originally intended as way of getting supplies into the region. One more plane came in after us, and then that was it for the day.


As I said, we now have a guide travelling with us. The new trekking regulations here state that all trekkers now have to have a government issued 'TRC' permit. In order to get one of these we had to hire a guide/porter from a registered trekking company. As all of these are currently situated in either Kathmandu or Pokhara we had to fly our guide out to Lukla with us - a completely crazy situation. We went back to 'Khris' at Encounters Nepal, the agency that supplied us with Kitap for our Manaslu trip. Kapil, our new 24 year-old guide is very nice. His English is good, and I especially like his single diamond earring. I think he may be a part-time pimp.


After 4 hours walking from Lukla we reached 'Monjo' and checked into the 'Mt Kailash' guesthouse. Mt. Kailash isn't in Nepal at all - I think these people are on crack. This is actually the family home of Kapil's favourite Nepali pop star, Mingma Sherpa.


An hour or so earlier, just outside a place called 'Phakding' we ran into the bleeding Maoists again. Although a peace agreement has now been signed and the Maoist's are now part of the Nepali government, they insisted that we pay their 'tax' of 100RP/day/person. After some heated debate and hand waving we continued after paying them 1000RP each, supposedly for 10 days trekking. Basic theft if you ask me. If our excess wasn't so high I would claim this back on our travel insurance! As before, we were issued with a receipt, only now they now have the cheek to call it a 'permission card'. Wankers.



24/11/06 Kyangjum (3600 metres)


It was nice not to have to get up at 5am this morning, as we have been doing for the last 4 days straight. After breakfast we set off and entered the national park a few minutes later. From this point on it's illegal to burn firewood (for the majority of the year, so we are told). 3 hours later, and a lot of uphill we reached Namche Bazaar, the hub of Sherpa society. We had lunch at the 'Himalaya Lodge', with the huge face of Kongde towering above us. There are some top notch places to stay in Namche. One hotel, high up on the topside can only be reached by chopper and has oxygenated rooms! We decided to continue a little further past the town - as we left Namche we met a couple of kids, one of which kindly gave us some dry noodles from a filthy pocket. His friend/brother 'held us up' with half a plastic gun.


A couple of times during the afternoon we rounded a corner on the trail to find a herd of Yak careering towards us. Yaks have big, sharp, pointy horns and are enormous. They can't use donkeys here as they do in the Annapurna region due to the altitude. You have to keep your wits about you so as not to be gored - death by Yak would not be pretty. Around 2pm we reached the next village on the trail - 'Kyangjuma' (also called 'Sanasa', apparently) where we stopped for the night. Our guesthouse, the 'Good View', as with all the others I have seen so far has a large photo of the Nepali ex-royal family on the wall. I say ex, because they were all gunned down in 2001. The story goes that that oldest son was responsible, but Kapil tells us that many/most Nepali people believe it was the King's brother who ordered the massacre, after which he took the thrown. Either way, the current king isn't very popular around these parts.

We were able to get hold of a big chunk of Yak cheese here, which we ate during the afternoon. We are at 3600 metres now, and it's cold. We spent the evening huddled around the fire, occasionally tossing a fresh, dry piece of poo onto the embers. Amazing how much heat you get off Yak shit.

The husband of our landlady here is a high altitude Sherpa guide and has summitted Everest twice. We were impressed.


Shit on a roof...



25/11/06 Lhafarma (4300 metres)


Didn't sleep too well last night. We both spent half the night trying to convince ourselves that we didn't need the toilet, which was outside in the freezing cold. In the morning we set off around 8am and before long had reached 'Mong-la', with great views of Ama Dablam from the chorten in the village. We are actually at a mini pass here which bisects the Khumbu and Gokyo valleys. Our plan is to trek up to Gokyo and then cross the Cho-la into the Khumbu, 5 days or so from now. A little later in the day we reached 'Dole' (means 'many stones') where we had some lunch - garlic soup, boiled eggs and fried momos. The prices are still pretty reasonable bearing in mind most of the supplies have to be brought up the valley strapped to the back of a porter. 2 boiled eggs will set you back 80RP here. We decided to push on a little further but by the time we reached 'Lhafarma', at 4300 metres Kerry had developed a slight headache so we decided to stop for the night. The helicopter pilots call the Gokyo area 'death valley' as so many people don't acclimatise properly on their way up. We are playing it safe. We checked into the 'View top hill lodge' and 100RP/night where I was able to buy myself a new tube of Vegemite! That will go nicely with the half kilo of Yak cheese we bought earlier today. I never thought I would find Vegemite high up in the Himalaya - we couldn't even find it in Kathmandu.

I've finished my latest book, 'Velocity' by Dean Koontz. In the lodge I managed to swap it for Terry Waite's memoirs, which I am pretty keen to read. In the evening we had great views of Cho Oyo, the world's 6th highest peak, along with Gyachung Kang, Kangtaiga and Thamserku.

On the wall in the dining room here there is a pre-1996 poster for 'Adventure Consultants' - our landlady's husband works as a guide for them. The poster features Rob Hall (one of those who died on Everest during the 1996 disaster), dressed in a day-glow, very 80's down suit. That explains the Vegemite. Adventure Consultants are from New Zealand.


Lhafarma, last sun on Cho Oyu



26/11/06 Gokyo and the Gokyo Ri (5340 metres)

We left around 8am again this morning, stopped for tea in Machero and after 4 hours pretty hard walking we arrived in Gokyo village - a really nice little place located between a large glacial lake and the huge tongue of ice that is the Gokyo glacier. We checked into the 'Gokyo Resort' - a pretty grandiose name for a nice, but pretty standard place. They do have an indoor toilet here, but that doesn't class it as a 'resort', not in my book at least. We rested for a few hours and then set off up the local view point - the Gokyo Ri - a 700 meter high 'hump', by Himalayan standards, across the lake from where we were staying. Hump or no hump, the climb up was really hard. I hadn't been so knackered since Kerry and I climbed Volcan Cotopaxi in Ecuador 4 or so years ago. The sunset views from the top were simply stunning - well worth the pain of the climb. Like the guesthouse owner had told us previously, we saw a myriad of colours, from gold through to purple.. Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse and Makalu were all clearly visible. The photos we took really don't do it justice.


Getting back down in the dark was fun. Our head torch batteries died but luckily I had my blue LED lighter handy. Back at the 'resort', the only other guests were 3 researchers looking into the 'dynamics of glacial ice caves and lakes' for National Geographic magazine. The English guy was a glaciologist, the American an ace caver and the other guy, who was ill in bed at the time is the author of the book 'Glaciers and Glaciation', but more importantly the creator of the food fusion known as the 'Julius Cheeser', the only thing on the menu here that is remotely different from the food served at all the other lodges.



27/11/06 5th Lake, Gokyo, 4990 metres


Neither of of got much sleep last night - I think it's the altitude. It's Kerry's birthday today and this morning she woke up with a cold and the beginnings of the 'Khumbu cough' - typical. Today we headed up the valley, towards the Gokyo lakes and the huge ice fin with Cho Oyo on the left, and Gyachung Kang on the right. With the exception of a local Yak shit collector (someone has to collect up all the fuel) we saw no-one all day - one of the advantages of being here at the very end of the trekking season. On the flip side, one of the disadvantages is that the mornings are absolutely freezing until the sun clears the mountains around us.


Kangtega and Thamserku in the background

After about 2 hours we reached the '5th lake', a frozen pool of incredibly blue glacial water. There are a few very tricky to climb viewpoints in this region, described in our guide book. Kapil and I attempted 'knobby view' - described simply as 'the most outrageous trekking viewpoint there is'. We made it up to about 5200 metres where the wind was so strong we had to turn back (when I reached Kerry, exhausted she called us 'woofters'). From the top of the moraine here the views of Cho Oyo and Everest across the Gokyo (Ngozumpa) glacier are great. At one point we could see the 1st, 2nd and 3rd steps on the north face of Everest, the last point where Mallory and Irvine were seen alive, until Mallory was found again in 1999.


The southeast face of Everest from around the 5th lake

The trek back to the resort took about 2 hours. We immediately ordered the 'Julius Cheeser', which was fantastic. It seems we were diddled out of the 2 fried eggs that it's creator told us it came with though - cutbacks I suppose. Kerry is adamant that eggs were never part of the recipe. I hope and pray that the cook/shit collector man remembered to wash his hands before getting stuck in. We have postponed Kerry's birthday celebrations for the moment.


Sunset over the Renjo-La



28/11/06 Climbing the Renjo La (5417 metres)


We slept much better last night - our acclimatisation is coming on nicely. The frequency of Kerry's toilet visits has decreased from 5 times (!) /night to only 2 last night. Pissing a lot at altitude is normal. According to our guide book, the record is by a Canadian guy - 18 leaks a day. After breakfast (porridge and 'hot grapes') we headed off around the lake and immediately started to ascend. 2 hours later we were above the snow line and walking on ice, real alpine territory. At one point we found some Yeti footprints in the snow - apparently the Gokyo valley is full of them, although I think the beasts only tend to come out after dark.



The views of all the peaks in the region from the top were incredible - exceeding even those from the Gokyo-Ri a couple of days ago. From the pass it is possible to descend the other side into the Bhote valley, but after a few photos we turned around ([a] - we want to head east into the Khumbu valley - Everest BC, Kala Patar etc.., and [b] - the Bhote valley is a restricted trekking zone and we don't have the required permits). The descent was a little tricky - lots of ice and snow to negotiate our way around. We got back to base around 2ish and ordered up lunch - steamed Tibetan momos, veg fried rice and apple pies.

In the evening we hiked up to the top of the glacial moraine behind the resort, to watch the sunset. We arrived half an hour early and began to freeze, so had no choice but to run around in circles like idiots to try and stay warm, much to the amusement of the guests in the lodges below.





29/11/06 Thangnak/Thangnag (4700 metres)


It's only a 2 hour walk to 'Thangnak' today, so I decided to hike up to the top of Gokyo-Ri again in the morning - another mega hard slog up to 5400 metres, but well worth it for the daytime views of Everest (Kapil stayed at the resort - he thinks I am mad). I took a bunch of photos to join together into a panoramic when we get to the necessary software. You never know, it might work. While I was climbing, Kerry sat in the sun room and watched me. She is still not 100%. The descent was far easier in daylight. So easy in fact, that I ran down, reaching the bottom in 25 minutes. Check out the photo of the incredibly tame bird that followed me around on the 'summit'.

The 'Gokyo resort' seems by far the nicest lodge here. It was apparently built for the 1991 'Balloon across Everest' expedition (never heard of it). They also have a pet goat here - a gift from some researchers to the hostel owner, who is very partial to a nice piece of goat meat. Unfortunately these lakes are sacred and they cannot kill the beast here. I'm sure one day in the not to distant future it will be taken down to Namche and chopped into bite sized pieces. I doubt the owner will do it though - he has grown so fat on the profits gained from all the free Yak shit here that it's unlikely he will be able to walk out by himself.



Our bill for the last 3 days here came to just under 6000RP (about 45 quid). After lunch we packed up our bags and set off down the valley with 'Gwen', a french girl and her guide (who is good buddies with Kapil). After about 30 minutes we turned left and ascended the moraine to cross the glacier. Hardly any ice was visible on the glacier itself - we were walking over huge amount of very fine dust. In about an hour we arrived at Thangnak - 2 lodges at the base of the Cho-La pass. We plumped for the 'Cho-La pass resort' - again no swimming pool or sauna, but a building made entirely out of plywood and plastic. Of the 15 rooms here, only Gwen's and ours are occupied (in the peak season this lodge gets 30-40 guests/night).

Our 'landlord' here has sumitted Everest twice, once with Annabelle Bond, the fastest British woman to ever climb the 7 summits.

In the evening, huddled around a Yak shit heater we got talking to Gwen - she speaks English with an outrageous French accent. I had to banish thoughts of 'Ello 'Ello from my head. She recommended zee 3 week trek around the base of Mount Blanc, passing through France, Switzerland and Italy.






30/11/06 The Cho-La (5420 metres)


Today was a killer. We left the guesthouse at 6.30am and started ascending. In about 2 hours we reached a false summit at around 5000 metres and descended into a hidden valley only to have to start ascending up the other side. We could see the sun on the mountainside above us, but we were bitterly cold. This area is full of Tibetan snowcocks, strutting around and making a hell of a noise.

At last, around 11.30am we reached the top of the pass and the sun! It was a very difficult climb - lots of snow and ice. Gwen's trekking pole actually snapped in half during the ascent - quality Kathmandu merchandise!


Kerry and I descended the far side of the pass twice. When we reached the flat ground we had some lunch and then decided that the light had improved and so went back up to the top for some photos of the view into the Khumbu valley. Our 3 companions carried on towards our destination for the day - a place called Dzonglha. We arrived a few hours later (it was nice to have some time to ourselves for a change). Dzonglha consists of 2 plywood 'lodges' (sheds). The 'Green valley lodge and restaurant' is a shit hole. Our room is just big enough for the bed, so we'll be sleeping with our bags tonight. There is also a huge gaping hole in the wall - I hope Gwen dosen't snore...

We had a freezing evening in the 'restaraunt' - it was apparently too windy to light the fire.


01/12/06, Lobuche (4930 metres)



We treated ourselves to a lie-in this morning, until around 9am. By this time Gwen and her guide had left. We got a couple of bowls of hot water for washing (50RP each - amazingly a thermos of water, which contains a little less was priced at 300RP...?). We carried on down the valley, along a hillside and then turned left into the Khumbu. Golden eagles were soaring in the thermals above our heads. On rounding the corner we were presented with a fantastic new vista of white peaks - Pumori, Nuptse (looks like a Cornish pasty, according to Kerry) and Lhotse. We followed the beginnings of the Khumbu glacier up the valley until we reached Loboche and checked into the 'Sagarmatha NP Lodge'. In the afternoon Kerry and I climbed the ridge to the west of the village, upto 5200 metres.


In the evening we were able to watch the sun set over Nuptse outside the dining room window, while warming our hands over the Yak shit stove. A little later a family from Singapore came and joined us. They were wearing the thickest down jackets I have ever seen.
For lunch and dinner today I had Tibetan momos and vegetable curry - an incredibly filling meal of curry and big bread roll-type things - 6 of them!



02/12/06, Gorak Shep, Everest BC (5170 metres)


Nice Signage

Everything frose last night. It wasn't nice getting out of our nice warm sleeping bags and packing up our shit at 7am. Our water filter was frozen and I caused a minor flood trying to defrost it over my cup of tea. I received a few frowns from the owner.



After a bowl of porridge we set off and after about an hour we had left all traces of greenery behind us. We are now in the Khumbu valley, the main trekking motorway upto Everest. However it is winter, and incredibly quiet. We passed 2 other groups today (and caught up with Gwen). Kapil tells us that in peak season this route is very busy - at some points you are almost queueing up!

The temperatures at this altitude, especially in winter are extreme. In the sun it's lovely and warm but the wind is icy, and today it was blowing down the valley at a rate of knots. We followed the moraine on the western bank of the glacier for about 2 hours, trying to ensure our faces didn't freeze up in the wind. We reached Gorak Shep at about 10am and checked into the 'Snowland Inn' - amazingly our room cost us only 100RP - we were expecting much higher prices here. I guess it's because it's now the very end of the trekking season.

After some soup we headed off onto the glacier to visit the EBC. The journey was very windy - much of the time we were being sandblasted by small pieces of grit. We had to pass through a few areas prone to landslides, and a long stretch under a nasty collapsing ridge. At one point a bowling ball sized piece of rock dislodged from the top of the ridge and was heading straight for us. We managed to avoid it, but were a little shaken up - Kapil especially. He was suggesting that we turn back, telling us that 'many people die here'. In the end we ran across the dodgy section, no worries mate. Kapil was off like a rabbit - we managed to catch up with him a little later.


The Everest basecamp - nothing but ice.

Initially I had a few reservations about trekking to the basecamp as a) it's now out of season, so there are no expedition tents, and b) you can't actually see Everest from the BC. When we got there however, it was pretty special. The Khumbu glacier, icefall and part of the South Col are visible, as well as the remains of a helicopter which apparently crashed here a few years ago.


When we arrived back at the guesthouse, around 3pm we decided., on a whim to journey up Kala Patar ('black rock' in Hindi), the local viewpoint and one of the few trekkable peaks in this region from which Everest is visible from. We dismissed Kapil - he looked knackered and so started back drinking tea. Thinking back this was a descision we took pretty lightly - our guidebook says visiting the EBC and Kala Patar in a single day is 'beyond most people' - and that's from Gorak Shep! We made it to the top for a(nother) fantastic sunset and came back down by moonlight. On the way up I had 'So far away from me' by Dire Straits going round and round in my head. The trip took it's toll though. We are both seriously cream crackered - I mean completely destroyed. We will sleep well tonight!



Sunset from the top of Kala Patar

Back at the guesthouse (in a kind of trance-like state) we ate and chatted to the glacial lake researchers (who are here checking out more lakes...) One of the researchers told us he had piles and was trying to get hold of some ointment. I thought we were lugging around every piece of medical kit we could possibly need. Obviously not. This odd conversation took place whilst listening to a CD of Nepali hiphop - actually pretty good; I can imagine the music video of a blinged up Nepali crusing around in a lowered rickshaw, Ganesh hanging from the mirror. Night.



03/12/06 Dingboche, 4250 metres


It's true what they say about sleeping above 5000 metres; It's almost impossible. We are both still knackered after an almost sleepless night. After breakfast we took half an hour or so to go and see the memorials to climbers who have died on Everest. They were all mainly from the 1996 disaster.

We heard from Kapil that yesterday Gwen only made it halfway to the EBC. Her guide apparently got bored with the walk and so told her that they were already there! I think Kapil was a little embarassed as he told her what was what and caused some friction between her and her guide.


At about 11am we packed up and headed south, back down the valley (Gorak Shep is the highest accommodation here). It was nice to be heading downhill for a change. More beautiful weather again today. We passed a large number of other trekkers, mainly in large organised walking groups. At lunchtime we passed through Lobuche and stopped for a bite to eat at the 'Yak Lodge' in Thukla - possibly the best, most unhealthy meal so far, consisting of chips and fried eggs. Lovely.

After another hour or so walking along a hillside on the eastern side of the Khumbu valley we reached a chorten above the village of Dingboche. The village is at the beginning of a side valley, which we are planning to walk up tomorrow. Ama Dablam towers above us here. We checked into the 'Peaceful Lodge', and it sure is. There is one other couple here.



There are streams of porters carrying firewood up the valley here. Kapil tells us that the month long period through which it is legal to cut wood each year has just started.

Dinner far surpassed lunch - Yak steak with roast potatoes and veg, washed down with a large glass of Raksi. What with that and the lower altitude here, I'm sure we will be able to get some sleep tonight. mmmm, sweet breathable air.



04/12/06 Chukhung-Ri, 5400 metres



We set off around 8am this morning, straight up the Chukhung valley, following the mainly frozen Imja river. After about 2 hours we reached the village of Chukhung, next to the black hump that is the 'Chukhung-Ri'. I was amused by one of the guesthouses. "Welcome" was written on the door in front of a huge pile of shit. I wasn't suprised when we discovered there was nobody staying there!

While we were drinking tea and eating 2nd breakfast, we contemplated the stupidity of what we had planned - climbing the equivalent of the highest mountain in England at 5000 metres. Our bodies are showing the strain of almost 2 months of trekking; we both have nasty hacking coughs at the moment. Never the less, we made it to the top, the last strenuous climb we will be doing on this trek. The views from the top were as usual, stunning. The 360 degree panorama included Pumori, Lhotse, Makalu and Island Peak, with 3 different glaciers spilling into the valley below us. The photos really don't do it justice.


From Chhukhung Ri to Cho Oyu (left) and Pumori and Nuptse (right)


The descent wasn't too bad, and after a quick cuppa we headed back down the valley and arrived 'home' around 4ish.

Owning a lodge in the Khumbu valley is big business, due to the sheer number of trekkers who pass through each year. Kapil tells us that each season it's possible to extract enough cash from the punters to buy a house in Kathmandu! Obviously land here is in high demand, but the law says that only the Sherpa people can set up lodges. I think Kapil has his eye in the owner's daughter here. Only problem, she is 10.

We decided to splash out (if 2 and a half quid can be classed as such) on Yak steak with roast potatoes for dinner. While we were waiting for our food we both had more raksi. A saucer containing chunks of fried, chillied Yak meat was brought out (the Nepali equivalent of finger food I guess) - it was the best meat I think i've ever tasted. Dinner was fantastic. Late in the evening an English lady arrived and we got talking about the current trekking situation, TANN fees, the maoists etc.. an interesting discussion. We learnt that the Maoist checkpoint at Phakding has been removed. We are glad we aren't going to have to shell out for the rest of our extended 10 day trek. We learnt later that the lady we had been talking to was the Asian base manager for Exodus travel. That explains her vast experience with treks in Nepal, Buthan, Pakistan etc..



05/12/06 Tengboche, 3860 metres


There was sme sort of ceremony taking place this morning in our guesthouse. Lots of drum banging and chanting. We had a 3 hour walk to Tengboche today, but it was hard going as we were both feeling a bit weary. The route was mainty flat (Nepali 'flat', of course). We stopped for lunch at a small village about 20 minutes below Tengboche and consumed a large block of Yak cheese and vegetite. We spent the afternoon reading and watching a video about the history of the Tengboche monestary (riviting) and then took a quick peak inside the monestary itself.



06/12/06 Monjo, 2860 metres

We left Tengboche around 8am and started out on a rough, very dusty downhill path through forest. An hour or so later we started ascending. This part of the route is a bit of a motorway - huge numbers of wood porters and Yak trains kicking up the dust. The Tibetan 'tat' stalls, which have been distinctly lacking on this trek up until now, are back with a vengance. You can buy everything from huge Pat Butcher esque moonstone ear rings, brass tibetan 'paintpots' to a bell for your own yak back at home.



Eventually we reached Namche and after a apot of lunch at our old favourite, the 'Himalayan Lodge' we took a look around the town. The air here is filled with the constant chipping of a thousand hammers against stone, carving new bricks for building - this place is expanding all the time. Namche is the place to buy Tibetan jewellery, or in fact 'Tibetan' anything. We walked around the Tibetan market - huge bundles of down jackets, t-shirts etc.. dumped on the dusty ground after being (apparently) hauled over the pass from the motherland. Amazing the crap they were trying to sell. Before we left Namche we stopped in at the infamous bakery for some apple strudle and *real* coffee, which was great.

We decided to push on to Monjo so as to reach Lukla tomorrow. After half an hour or so we were below 3000 metres again - so nice to be breathing air with more than just a whiff of oxygen in it again.

At lunchtime we got Kapil to phone Khris and get us booked on the first available flight out of Lukla back to Kathmandu, 2 days from now. Typically, as the afternoon progressed the clouds (some of the we have seem on this entire trip) came in - I pray the weather remains good enough for flying!

At around 4pm after a lot of downhill, and then a bit of up (remember, this is Nepal - nothing is ever 'flat') we reached Monjo and for a bit of variety checked into a different guesthouse to the one we were at before - the 'Summit Lodge', as the only guests. In the evening, sitting around the fire we consumed the rest of our Lindt chocolate and brandy. Kapil produced some whiskey as well. At bedtime Kapil could barely stand.



07/12/06 Lukla, 2850 metres



It took about 4 hours to reach Lukla today. Hopefully out last trekking day in Nepal. We passed through lots of small villages on the way - large sections of the path were in the process of being dug up to make way for electricy cables. We checked into the 'Himalayan Lodge' (another one) for lunch and had some 'buff' chili - thin pieces of buffalo meat shallow fried with onion and tomato - really good. In the evening, after sharing a bottle of red wine with Kapil I noticed they had a DVD player and so enquired as to the availability of any English language films. Things were looking hopeful until the romantic comedy 'Rumour has it' was produced. 2 hours I was practically comatose.

During the night we were woken by some very strange gutteral human-like noises - screams and grunts. It sounded like some deranged person running around outside. I was thinking about the film '28 days later' - a red eyed rabit Nepali crazy, slaughtering tourists in Lukla. I sent Kerry out to investigate... it turned out to be a small puppy in the courtyard below us.

We sat in the guesthouse, waiting for our flight for the entire day, trying to prevent the onset of terminal bordom by playing patience and pairs. We were booked on the 3rd 'Agni Air' flight out of Lukla, but seeing as Agni only own one plane we were in for a long wait. The cloud had come in and was getting worse. I finished reading 'Temple' by Mathew Rilley - possibly the sillyest book I have ever read. By about 5pm we were sitting in a huge white cloud and our spirits were low.

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We flew the next morning, after a night of further human-like screaching from the puppy in the night.



Back in Kathmandu. Our last trek was great but it's a nice feeling not having another one planned fr a while at least. I'm looking forward to finding a nice beach somewhere to lie on for a few weeks. No more cold mornings, Ri's, extremely weak tea, frozen outside toilets in the middle of the night and no more having 'sunny delight' coloured piss (another delightful side-effect of high altitude).

Kapil, our guide was very good - extremely attentive to our needs and most importantly he didn't try to 'guide' us more than necessary. He came with us on all the side trips, even when we told him it wasn't necessary. He also had to put up with me constantly calling him 'Kalip' and even 'Katip' for the first few days of the trip. Until next time....