Kathmandu to Namche Bazaar

By some miracle, maybe it was my sincere reverence at the holy sites the day before or some other good karma I had stashed away; we were called at 10 pm and told to meet at 7 am instead. A later wake-up was really nice, but the real miracle was that we were skipping the 5-hour hell of a van ride that was to be followed by a 20-minute airplane ride with a sketchy landing at "the world's most dangerous airport" and taking a 40-minute helicopter instead. My prayers were answered. Well, sort of.

The next morning our guide Laden met us with a driver, and on the way to the airport, Laden warned us that flights are never on time. This turned out to be quite an understatement. First, we checked into security, and then we waited. The head guide for Kandoo Adventures Pimba Tenjing, met us and the last time we saw him was when he met us at the airport at 2 am. Needless to say, there was not much talking during our first meeting. So it was nice to chat, he was super nice, and we noticed that his jacket said he was an IFMGA guide, which is a real undertaking. We later found out there are only around 50 with this rating in Nepal. After our chat, we weighed in like we were preparing for a boxing match.

Then we went through to our gate and then we waited. Then we drove out to the helicopter terminal, and we waited.

By this time, it was past lunch, and after cooking in the sun ourselves, we decided to get something to eat. Laden took us and a couple of tag-along friends, Pete and Steve, to grab something to eat at the employee dining room. There was no menu, and I don't think they were used to having guests. Laden tactfully told us the options and said I think this would be good for you. Put another way, 'don't eat the meat!'. The options came down to boiled eggs or vegetable-fried noodles. They were out of eggs, so noodles it was. I also saw one cook rinse her hand in a water pitcher. Then she poured another straight into her mouth moments later before pouring us glasses of water. I did not drink the water. This made me and other witnesses somewhat anxious. Despite the conditions, we were starving, and the food was good!

Back at the helicopter shack. Pete popped a travelan pill for some protection. We were already anxious as we still had to fly to Lukla and then hike for several miles. Ashley was really concerned because the week earlier, she had sprained her ankle. None of us got sick, and the helicopter arrived at right around 1:30 pm, giving us just enough time to make it to Lukla and complete our hike.

The flight was incredible. First, we flew over Kathmandu, and then it quickly gave way to hills covered with terraced farms. There were a few glimpses of the mountains hidden in the clouds, which only added to our excitement. The farms then gave way to more remote rugged hills.

Landing in Lukla was magical. The mountains and clouds open up to the village, with the only airport, which is perfectly placed on the side of the mountain at 9400 feet. We wasted no time at all and hopped out of the helicopter, then rushed to meet our porters - despite the late flight, we still had hours of hiking to do. We stopped at a teahouse to regroup. This was our first lemon ginger honey tea of many and then we were off.

The beginning of the hike is paved and weaves its way through the jungle. Everyone must pass through this section of the hike, and it was very crowded compared to the rest of our hike.

Animals are used to carry anything and everything, water, propane, bags, rice, beer, etc... In the "lower" areas, you will see donkeys, and dzho, which is a cross between a cow and a yak. In the higher areas, it is mainly yaks. Lower down; you also see many farms.

Coming out of Kathmandu this same day felt like we had stepped into a different world. One filled with animals, farms, and holy script everywhere you look along pathways; there are no roads. But there is an Irish Pub. what!?

We arrived at our first lodge in Paking just after dark, minutes after pulling out headlamps. We played cards and enjoyed the tearoom; it was filled with excited travelers such as ourselves.

The next morning we were headed to Namche Bazaar, the largest village in the region, and given the gain in elevation of 11,300 feet, it would be our first acclimation day. Our hike started around 7 am, and being in the valley, it was a bit chilly but quickly warmed up.

After several hours of hiking, we stopped for tea and we were very surprised at how many nice buildings there were. Shortly after we entered the National Park.

Sagarmatha is the Nepalese word for Mount Everest.

This area was filled with suspension bridges. Many of which just ten years ago were built out of wood. Most of the bridges are shared with all of the livestock. Below is one of the highest and longest we would cross. We are all pretty stoked! We - meaning Ashley and Allix.  

Shortly after this we got our first peek of Everest and in no time we were in Namche Bazaar. It felt very busy compared to the trail we were on. There were many lodges, shops, holy sites, and the locals were playing volleyball!

Laden led us to our lodge, our favorite of the entire trip. The owners were extremely welcoming, and the food was incredible. We were excited to be spending an acclimation day here the next day!

The view from our room was fantastic.

The dinner of champions. Sherpa stew with friend potato momos.