Holiday time! I wonder what thoughts those words evoke in you? Visions of sandy beaches, cruise ships, relaxing with a good book? Well our recent holiday was none of those! It was, however, an amazing time of discovery, of exploration, of enjoying the beauty of God’s creation and some unexpected surprises along the way.
With most Nepalis celebrating the Hindu Dashain festival, all the INF offices have been closed for a few days so we took the opportunity to head to the other end of the country to tick off something from Rob’s bucket list – to see Mt Everest, or Sagamartha as it’s known here.
With most Nepalis celebrating the Hindu Dashain festival, all the INF offices have been closed for a few days so we took the opportunity to head to the other end of the country to tick off something from Rob’s bucket list – to see Mt Everest, or Sagamartha as it’s known here.
Kathmandu | We left Nepalgunj on a night bus to Kathmandu along a busy highway with many Nepalis heading in both directions to spend the festival with their family. And not only family – many of the buses were also crowded with goats on the roof (the preferred festival meal). Our trip was uneventful and we arrived in Kathmandu the next morning and then had a couple of days of sightseeing and took the opportunity to extend our visas through until December. We were thrilled to see far more tourists in Kathmandu than when we arrived in August – though still not enough to lift the ailing tourism industry which has suffered this year as a result of April’s earthquakes (read more here). As we walked the crowded streets we saw little to indicate the devastation that was splashed across our TV screens only a few months ago. Life must go on, and so rubble has been removed and neatly stacked – presumably so that bricks can be reused later; signs have been erected at damaged temples and historical buildings with pre and post images and explanations and market stalls are set up amidst the ruins. |
And so to the mountains!
The airport at Lukla is consistently listed in the top 10 most dangerous landings in the world, so it was with some trepidation that we (ok, I – Sue) headed off to the airport to begin our trek to Tengboche. Flights have to get away early from Kathmandu heading for Lukla to be sure they can land and get out again before the weather changes and the wind currents are too strong, and we were turned back a couple of times before we’d even boarded, but we eventually got away and 40 minutes or so later we landed safely on the 527m uphill runway of Tenzing-Hillary Airport. As our bags appeared we were greeted by our guide and porter who were to be our support and companions over the next six days and we were whisked away from the airport. |
After breakfast at a nearby hotel, we were off on our first day of trekking, heading for the village of Phakding some 6km away. This was to be the easiest of our days, following high above the Dudh Koshi (Milk) River as it tumbles down the valley, though the pleasure of the long downhill sections was tempered by the knowledge that these would be long uphill sections on our last day. As we started off, the trail was busy with tired trekkers returning from their journeys, porters carrying food supplies, building materials and trekking equipment and many others like us, just setting out. Arriving at our first hotel was a pleasant surprise, with a large dining room, an extensive menu, a large bedroom with attached bathroom and comfortable beds with warm blankets – much more than we expected! We passed the first afternoon resting (we’d been up since 4am) and a short stroll around the village and were glad we had thermals with us as the evening temperature cooled. |
To Namche Bazaar
After our trekking between training locations in the west with 6am starts and 6pm or later finishes, we were glad to have a much later start to day 2, as we set off for Namche Bazaar. Today we would cross the Dudh Koshi five times as we made our way up the valley. A leisurely morning with some ups and some downs, but nothing too strenuous, our journey interspersed with welcome chiya stops and photographic opportunities as the snow-capped mountains came into view and we and the many mule and yakow (yes, that’s a cross between a yak and cow) trains meandered along through the ever changing landscape. We made our way through villages with their veggie patches bursting with cabbages and carrots, across sections of track destroyed in the April earthquakes and hastily rebuilt, passing villagers rebuilding their homes and lives. And crossing metal suspension bridges that don’t look capable of supporting anybody – until you see the mule train going across. With the final bridge in sight came the end of our leisurely walk and the beginning of a 580m steep climb through the forests to Namche Bazaar. As with our language learning, “bistaraai, bistaraai” slowly, slowly.
Namche Bazaar was a surprise: large and bustling, full of tourists, nestling in a bowl at 3340m, and overshadowed by the stunning ridge of Khongde Ri at over 6000m. As we made our way through to our hotel we were bemused by the Irish Pub, the German bakery, the “we serve Starbucks coffee” sign and the many “free wifi” signs. All this in a remote Himalayan village! It certainly wasn’t what we expected. Namche is clearly growing rapidly, and our hotel was one of the newer ones towards the top of the town; we were very happy to relax with chiya and even happier to find we had our own bathroom with our own hot shower! (Hot showers usually come at an extra charge of 500R to offset the cost of the gas or firewood involved.) Wandering around Namche later in the afternoon we came across the real Namche Bazaar, away from the tourist shops and hype, where the local people buy their spices, flour and butter much as they have done for years. I’m sure not too many of them would be buying the 600R ($7.50) packet of lollies or the $40 bottles of Banrock Station Shiraz. I wonder what the tourism development in this area really means for local people. Their lives are certainly different, but is different necessarily better? |
Everest View
Day 3 dawned bright and early and with clear skies and mountain views we took the opportunity to head to the Everest View point before breakfast. This was what we were here for.
I suggested to Rob that we could go home now, but that wasn’t in his plan, so we headed back to the hotel for breakfast and to pack our bags for a short day to the village of Khumjung. Our first stop was again the lookout where we also enjoyed visiting the informative Sagamartha National Park Museum with its displays of geography, flora and fauna, Sherpa culture and mountain climbing history.
Two monuments sit atop the viewing area: one to commemorate Tenzing Norgay who together with Sir Edmund Hillary made the first successful summit of Mt Everest on 28 May 1953; the second, much smaller monument displays stones from the Dead Sea as a symbol of friendship between the people from the highest and lowest points on earth.
Two monuments sit atop the viewing area: one to commemorate Tenzing Norgay who together with Sir Edmund Hillary made the first successful summit of Mt Everest on 28 May 1953; the second, much smaller monument displays stones from the Dead Sea as a symbol of friendship between the people from the highest and lowest points on earth.
From there it was a 300m climb to the Everest View Hotel where, along with a multi-national crowd, we were awed by the view – not just of Mt Everest, but also the peaks of Nuptse, Lhotse and Ama Dablam. We could have happily stayed for hours but instead, continued on to Khumjung, where we spent a pleasant afternoon exploring the village and resting.
Tengboche
Day 4 began with a brief visit to the local monastery before heading off to Tengboche – a day of down, down, down to meet the Dudh Koshi River again – followed by a long and steep up, up, up, up to Tengboche. Although sections of the trail have stone steps, unfortunately they weren’t made for people with little legs and Sue found the uphill section particularly challenging. Revived with lunch, we enjoyed the afternoon drinking in the views and the unexpected pleasure of cappuccino, latte and cake at the amazing bakery. Certainly not something we expected to find here! |
We were able to visit the Tibetan Buddhist Monastery to observe the monks evening ceremony and as we watched without understanding the significance of any of their actions, I couldn’t help wondering how some of our Christian practices might appear to people who have never been to church. As the monks continued their chanting into the evening and the clouds covered the mountains, the chill of the night air gradually sent most of us back to our lodges for a warming meal and sleep.
Heading home
Over the next two days we slowly retraced our steps to Lukla, but not before an early morning climb to a lookout – with clear skies and the sun just catching the mountain peaks it was hard to leave Tengboche, but Namche Bazaar and a hot shower was calling! Several chiya stops helped us along the way, and at every turn, another view of Ama Dablam or Thamserku kept the camera clicking. There were more interesting characters to meet as we walked: Pasang Sherpa has been working since 1984 to improve sections of the walking trail, raising funds by donation from trekkers. We were glad to contribute!
Fortunately the long day from Namche Bazaar to Lukla was nowhere near as difficult as Sue had been fearing and with a generally downhill trend was a pleasant days walk, though our sore knees were glad to reach Lukla late in the afternoon.
As we returned to Kathmandu the next morning, Prem our porter was meeting his next group to head to Everest Base Camp.
Kathmandu was unexpectedly cold and wet so we passed our day resting before returning to Nepalgunj on the night bus – not quite such a straightforward journey this time as the fuel shortages meant two lengthy stops waiting for fuel giving us a 17hour trip. We have been fortunate not to have been badly affected by the fuel shortages, but other areas are suffering. This article gives a report on the current situation affecting those in Kathmandu, Pokhara and other parts of the country.
As we returned to Kathmandu the next morning, Prem our porter was meeting his next group to head to Everest Base Camp.
Kathmandu was unexpectedly cold and wet so we passed our day resting before returning to Nepalgunj on the night bus – not quite such a straightforward journey this time as the fuel shortages meant two lengthy stops waiting for fuel giving us a 17hour trip. We have been fortunate not to have been badly affected by the fuel shortages, but other areas are suffering. This article gives a report on the current situation affecting those in Kathmandu, Pokhara and other parts of the country.
What's next?
We're into our last few weeks here in Nepalgunj. Rob begins a three week program of motorcycle maintenance and repairs training at Maya Sadan while Sue is continuing with computer training for INF staff at Gorahi (about 3 - 4 hours east) on Monday and Tuesday. Thursday and Friday of this week are festival days - Tihar or Diwali - and then training will resume again next week here in Nepalgunj.
There are more photos from our holiday on our Facebook page.
There are more photos from our holiday on our Facebook page.