by Ian | Sep 11, 2013 | Nepal 2013
Saturday 7th September 2013
The group woke up in Phakding after a good night’s sleep, which made a difference from being hot all night! We had a nice breakfast in a conservatory before leaving for Namche Bazar. We saw the yaks for the first time, the yaks and sherpas head off before us in the morning with our duffel bags. We hiked up the Khumbu valley, crossing the Dudh koshi river, by way of high bouncy bridges, now metal, but were once made of wood… Scary!
The paths were rocky but as a group we managed to keep a good pace. We ascended 400m up Namche hill (across a new bridge opened last month which takes some considerable time of the journey!) which seemed to take forever however once we got to the top we saw great view of Namche Bazar; the Sherpa capital. The houses here reminded us of dolls houses and this place was much colder than before; there had been a lot of cloud in the valley recently. For dinner we had a very nice curry which had to be eaten by torch light as there is no electricity here… Bliss.
Sunday 8th September 2013
Today was a rest day to acclimatise. After breakfast, Lakpa (our head Sherpa who HSX members may remember from 2007) took us up to the Everest view point, in the hope of seeing the highest mountain in the world. Even this short walk was harder than it should be due to the altitude. At the top it was really cloudy so we couldn’t see Everest however we saw a few snowy peaks through the gaps in the clouds which was enough to whet our appetites. We then looked around the National Park HQ Museum about the natural history of Khumbu and the people who live there. Ellis also broke a bench outside…
The rest of the day was spent resting, chilling out and exploring Namche. In the evening everyone got hyper and ran around in the dark. Sam put his stobe head light on and people were pretending to be the weeping angels from Doctor Who! … A symptom of the altitude?
Monday 9th September 2013
We set off for Khumjung and our community project. We were taken via a hill which had a monument dedicated to Sir Edmund Hillary, his wife and daughter at 3900m… The highest place that many of us have ever been. The monument was placed here because it is another view point for Mount Everest and is an apt reminder of Hillary and his contributions to the Sherpa people. The going was hard but we decended for lunch in Khunde before the short walk to Khumjung (our base for the next two weeks). Members of the group have been up early enough to see Ama Dablam when the cloud clears, an awesome way to start the day…
Thankyou for all your comments during our radio silence… Keep them coming, the group love to read them and we hope to give an update on our community project work very soon… Now off to enjoy the sun that has shone all day for the first time since being in the Khumbu
by Ian | Sep 11, 2013 | Nepal 2013
Friday 6th September 2013
A 0930 revised flight was booked for today, and for once we even made it to the airport!
After finally checking in and eventually getting through the security, an area not before reached by us, and a hour wait before our flight in the departures lounge, our flight eventually was announced and we all moved over to the correct gate where a bus awaited us to take us to our plane.
Out the windows we passed planes slowly getting smaller and smaller until we reached ours. It really didn’t look like it would fit us all on, but somehow it did. Up the smallest set of stairs and many of us bumping our head getting through the smallest door, where the smallest air hostess showed us our seats, not like we had many to choose from, but we all fought for the left hand side as you get a spectacular view of the Himalayas.
After the not so bumpy flight, we unloaded in Lukla, the smallest airport many of us had seen or been to, in one piece. After lunch in our first tea house, used by the explorer Team in 2007 on their final night in the Khumbu, we began our trek.
The trail, led by our lovely guide Kasang, followed the river through many ups and down, over many pretty sketchy bridges. We arrived in Phakding and moved our kit into our rooms then retired for some tea in the lodge.
We had some free time before dinner, of which started off with soup and popcorn, followed by curry with dhal – a spicy soup – followed by fruit salad. Before dinner some of the group played catch and ball games with a local girl, of which was fun.
That evening we all went to bed with the sound of the river flowing close to us, we are all thankful to have left Kathmandu and could breath fresh air from the pine trees all around us…
by Ian | Sep 11, 2013 | Nepal 2013
Now that we have a bit of solar power and are able to access the internet occasionally, we can now share our adventures.. From spending 2 extra days in Kathmandu and the start of our trek in the Khumbu.
Wednesday 4th September 2013
Another morning waiting for the plane so far our flight had been delayed until 9:30. We got out the cards and chessboards to kill time. Just before 9:00 we got a phone call explaining the weather was still unsuitable to fly in. the next update was at 11:00 so some of us bought chocolates while others caught up on their diaries.
Just before 11:00 we were informed that all flights to Lukla had been cancelled. We then went for an early lunch and then to our first cultural tour. The guides name was Kedar Temang but we called him Mr Kedar. Our first stop was the Swyambunath Stupa also known as the monkey temple. It was on top of a hill and there were so many prayer flags it was awesome. We saw a monkey drinking out the wishing fountain which was amusing. We walked up many steps taking pictures of monkeys as we went. We were lead through a shop to the roof to take in the spectacular views of the city.
He explained the history of Kathmandu from the rice fields to the Queens Forest, how the valley was once drained from being a vast lake. After taking some photos we returned to the shop where we were taught about the type of art called Thanka. These paintings were used to spread the teachings of Buddha and certain rules must be followed whilst painting. Some of them take up to 24 months for a grand master to paint and use 24 carat gold. Up to 70% of the paintings were done by 1 to 5 hair brushes taken from the neck of a cat. The whole process sounds so complicated.
After the monkey temple we went to Durbar square. Mr Kedar told us about all the different temples most of us got confused about the hundreds of Gods they have. We also got to see the Kumari who is a living Goddess and is currently only 9 years old. Some of us were not happy about this as she was trapped in a building away from her family but this highlighted the differences between our cultures. Once we had been toured out it was time for dinner. It was probably one of the weirdest places we had ever eaten. We ate at funky Buddha and it was techno night!!!
by Ian | Sep 9, 2013 | Nepal 2013
Quick update
The team are all safely in Khumjung their home during the community project which they start tommorow. There is currently no power in any of the local villages due to upgrade works. I had a call from Chris the leader today to say the flight out to Lukla finally came on Saturday morning and the team have all done well during the trekking so far.
If I hear more i will keep you updated..
Dave
In England 🙁
by Ian | Sep 3, 2013 | Nepal 2013
Tuesday the 3rd,
All packed and weighed ready for our flight to
Lukla this morning, an early start for us all, getting up at 5am for breakfast at 5:30 and Asian Trekking to pick us up at 6!
Asian trekking picked us up fine loaded up kit and prepared for a bumpy journey to the airport. We arrived at the domestic terminal at Kathmandu airport shaken but in one piece. We carried on through check-in with our bags and barrels checked in with time to spare. We then sat down and waited for our flight.
After some time the man from Asian Trekking came over looking rather worried and informed us the flight was delayed due to bad weather and we had to be patient. After a long near 6 hour wait the man from Asian Trekking returned and told us the flight was cancelled due to the bad weather in Lukla.
He then consoled us by telling us our flight should leave the next morning without hassle.
The afternoon was spent discovering the city more, with some patrols heading off to the “Garden of Dreams” the, “Presidential Palace” – of which is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays – and the rest of the city.
All in good spirits and looking forward to the rest of the trip!
Now praying for good weather!!!!!
Written by:
Stephen
Louis
Sam
And Stu, kinda…
