Fake Starbucks

A few months ago I put up some pictures of a fake Apple store in Kunming but when I came through Lukla the other day I got reminded that they actually have their own claim to fake fame, a fake Starbucks. The signs and logo are there, it has wicker chairs inside and the coffee and cakes are nice.
I reckon they should start a franchise.

Everest Trek - Day 29 Lukla to Kathmandu

The chaos was as per normal with tour guides and aggressive trekkers (me) fighting at the check in counter then having a good laugh about it afterwards. The planes came in on time and after a hectic thirty minutes of planes landing and taking off everybody was on their way to Kathmandu. The flight itself was uneventful with good views over all the hills that I had spend weeks walking over and at nine o'clock I was back in the Kathmandu Garden House.
Good to be back.

Everest Trek - Day 28 Phakding to Lukla

What i thought was going to be an easy couple of hours walk turned into a bit of an adventure. The earthquake a few weeks ago has caused a number landslides on this section of the trail and has taken out someones house as well as badly damaged one of the main suspension bridges. To get across the ravine that the bridge spanned, caused by a previous landslide, you have to climb up steeply on one side then cross at the top of the slide on a path no wider then your boots while holding some tree roots and not trying to think of the two hundred meter drop below you.
All in all rather eventful.

Landslide in Phakding, most of the buildings on the photos are lodges rather then private dwellings.

A plea for help.

The main bridge to Lukla, or what's left of it.

Everest Trek - Day 27 Namche Bazaar to Phakding

I took a leisurely stroll down Namche hill, cursing the yak trains under my breath. Then had lunch in Jorsale before walking down to Phakding. Not exactly a strenuous day.

A glimpse of Mount Everest from halfway up Namche hill.

Everest Trek - Day 26 Rest day in Namche Bazaar

As the title says a rest day and I did sweet nothing all day long.

Everest Trek - Day 25 Phortse Thenga to Namche Bazaar

I thought that I had gained a bit of fitness but the climb from Phortse Thenga up to Mong still takes a fair bit of effort. Never mind I get there and the walk back down goes quickly enough. Again there are a large number of trekking groups to contend with. In Namche I check back into the Khumbu lodge and arrange a ticket from Lukla to Kathmandu for 4 days from now.

Everest trek - Day 24 Machermo to Phortse Thenga

I walked non stop from Machermo to Phortse Thenga without stopping for so much as a cup of tea. The fact that it's all down hill obviously helped. There is still plenty to see with nice mountain views and beautiful waterfalls, which are really hard to photograph because they are so high. What also is obvious is that the high season has started with lots of people on the trail and several large trekking groups making their way slowly uphill. Shortly after I arrive at my lodge a group from World Expeditions arrive they are tired but talkative and we have a pleasant afternoon together.

Another intermission

I finally got a good night's sleep last night. After watching the Australia vs Wales match I went for a wander up the street and found a dusty hole in the wall drug seller that had Diazepam (Valium) for sale. I got a strip of ten 10 milligram tablets for a dollar and took one last night. Result, great night's sleep!
Tomorrow I will try to post some further updates on my Everest hike but today I am looking for souvenirs as I will be flying back home next Tuesday.

Everest Trek - Day 23 Gokyo to Machermo

A glorious day of snow and sun.

Gokyo looking like a picture postcard alpine village.

Reflections in the second lake.

From the second lake looking towards Machermo.

After taking copious amounts of photos I decided to get out while the going is good, there is more snow forecast for the next week, and started breaking trail back towards Machermo. It's tough going and it actually takes me longer going down the mountain then it took me to get up.

Everest Trek - Day 22 Gokyo

It was snowing this morning when I got up, snowing when I had breakfast, snowing when I had lunch and still snowing when I had dinner. At least thirty centimeters has fallen so far and the lodge staff have been busy most of the day clearing it away from the roof to avoid collapse. And while snow is hardly uncommon out here it is unusual for it to fall this heavy and at this time of the year.

Unhappy Yak in the snow.

Snow clearing Nepalese style.

Everest Trek - Day 21 Gokyo

Slept a great deal better then last night and didn't get up till 7:30. That's downright late when you are hiking but as I will be staying for a few days in Gokyo that's OK.
Helen one of the doctors at the Machermo health post came in today she is doing the rounds of the lodges to spread the word on what's new for the season at the clinic and to hand out information packs that trekkers can read on the dangers of altitude sickness. You would have thought that after all these years of publication in guide books and general awareness amongst trekkers this wouldn't be necessary anymore but there isn't a single day that the rescue helicopter doesn't have to fly to pick up someone dying from going up to fast.
For exercise I walked up to the fourth lake but the weather has changed yet again and continuing rain and sleet eventually drove me back to the lodge. The outside temperature is just above freezing and that's around midday.

Gokyo as seen from the glacial moraine.

The Ngozumba glacier.

Everest Trek - Day 20 Gokyo

I slept badly, most likely because of the altitude and got up at 6:00 am. The sky is clear and there is a light dusting of snow that I decide to climb up Gokyo Ri. At almost 5500 meters this is one of the highest peaks in the area that you can walk up without having to resort to climbing equipment. As expected the views are stunning but even while I slog my way to the top the clouds are moving in and by 9:00 am it's hard to even see the valley below me.

Everest Trek - Day 19 Machermo to Gokyo

Another day, another change in the weather.
We all get up early and Michael, Werner and I are walking before seven in the morning. There are glorious views everywhere and I stop every few minutes to take photos.
It takes about three hours to walk up to Gokyo and we find rooms in the Gokyo Resort, the first lodge that was built here and probably the best of the bunch.

Yours truly at the first lake.

Some yaks parked up and ready to be unloaded. The shiny mirrors in the background are solar cookers.

Everest Trek - Day 17 Dole to Machermo

What a difference a day makes. The weather has cleared and we got our first glimpses of the mountains. The walking was pleasant and we reached Machermo in under three hours including a stop for tea and plenty of stops for photos.
In the afternoon we all went over to get the altitude and AMS lecture and have our SATo2 measured, while far from definitive this gives a measure of how well you are acclimatised. I outscored everybody with 91%! Not that I was really surprised by this I have always done well at altitude but nice to know anyway.

Everest Trek - Day 16 Phortse Thenga to Dole

I was greeted by a dull and grey morning but it was dry and around eight thirty I started my walk to Dole. After a few minutes I ran into the medical team that is going to Machermo to open up the Aid post there for the trekking season. One of them I had met last year and another one was a Dutchwoman living in New Zealand. Small world.
The trek itself was short, only two hours, and with the low clouds not much reason to stop and look at the scenery. So now I am in a lodge again chatting with all and sundry and entertaining the owners young son who is busy playing with the paper airplane I folded for him.

Everest Trek - Day 15 Namche Bazaar to Phortse Thenga

I had only just gone to my room last night and was looking at some photos when everything started to shake. I've been in a few earthquakes before and this was obviously a big one so I jumped out of bed and braced myself under the doorway to the bathroom, The shaking seemed to go on for a long time but it was probably no more then a minute. In the aftermath everybody streamed outside not really a safe place either as all the buildings in Namche are two or three stories high, really close together, and made out of locally mined slate. We milled around a bit and even the elderly owner of the lodge said she had never experienced something like this before. The building was Ok although the kitchen and dining area were a mess and some of the water pipes had come apart. The only casualty of the quake that I could locate was an Englishman who had twisted his knee when he tried to run down the stairs. I gave him some of my Nurofen tablets which I carry around in bulk to treat my own knee problems. As there were no aftershocks we all went back inside after an hour or so but I did sleep fully clothed in case another tremor would hit.
In the morning after a not so good night's sleep I set out for Phortse Thenga and as everywhere in Nepal you start with climbing up. First to the top of Namche then to a small pass at Monjo just under 4000 meters in altitude. It was midday when I finally got there and had my usual lunch of vegetable noodle soup and a pot of tea. While I was having lunch the Danes came by, turned out they were suffering from knee problems as well and had decided to turn around from Dole and go back down probably all the way back to Kathmandu. They also wanted to get back to Namche to ring home and let their family know they were OK.
I dropped down the pass after lunch and an hour later was at my destination. Walking days are getting shorter now because of the altitude and tomorrow I expect to walk no more then three hours.

Everest Trek - Day 13 & 14 - Acclimitisation in Namche Bazaar

They are known as acclimatisation days, time to get used to the altitude, but in reality for me they are rest days with much sitting around drinking tea and eating some of the nice food that they have here. Potato and egg salad as well as salami pizza are high on my list after twelve days of dal bhat.
Tomorrow I will start trekking again up the valley to Gokyo and if I feel up to it crossing the Renjo La to Thame before returning Namche for a few rest days. We'll see how it works out but I expect to be out of contact for between ten days and a fortnight.

Everest Trek - Day 12 - Phakding to Namche Bazaar

The first part of the day is easy enough and the walk to the National Park entrance goes without a hitch and then it's the climb up the Namche hill. It's busy with lots of porters and it's bloody steep! I follow a porter who carries 8 cartons of beer or close enough to 96 kg and I can almost keep up with him. In the end it takes me several hours to get to the top of the hill but when I get there I find a room in the Khumbu Lodge have a nice hot shower and unleash my ravenous appetite on their menu. I'll be enjoying the next few days.

Everest Trek - Day 11 -Puiyan to Phakding

The rain has stopped and it's another glorious day for mountain walking. Up until lunch I am the only trekker around then I come around a Mani stone and all of a sudden I am on the main trail from Lukla to Namche, there are yak trains, trekking groups and porters everywhere and I am stunned by all this activity after ten days of being largely on my own.
The trail now heads for Phakding and a second surprise, there is quite a bit of damage from land slides, non of the lodges has been taken out as far as I can see but some of the larges land slides have come uncomfortably close. I decide that I'll pick a lodge away from the canyon wall and settle on one across the river and away from the land slide area.

Everest Trek - Day 10 - Bupsa to Puiyan

Turned out to be a pretty short walk today. The weather was nice enough when I set out but by the time I got to Puiyan, three hours later, it had started to rain and with no let up in sight I called it a day and spend the afternoon reading a book.