Monthly Archives: December 2011

Himalayas Day 20 – The Final Day!

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So today was (I hope, as I write this) my final day in Kathmandu. It is now the 8th November and I have been here for almost what seems like forever. That is no bad thing, it is just because of the delays in Lukla stretched the whole thing out so far that I was almost not sure what reality was like anymore.

I have to say that waking up this morning was so utterly wonderful, for two reasons. Firstly I woke up in a bed, with my head on a pillow! Being that was the first time I did so in about three weeks, I cannot even begin to describe to you how good that feels. Secondly, I could walk into a bathroom, and have a shower! That was also such a novelty that I did it twice! The water in hotels in Kathmandu is a bit yellowy, but no matter, it was warm and wet, and that is a whole lot more than I got in the Himalayas.

At breakfast time we (Tony, Stefan and I) got a phone call from Ngima up in Lukla (they did not manage to escape yesterday) to say that the others had been issued with boarding passes for a flight today, which was great. We didn’t know when, but it was just good to know that they’d be back on terra firma and make their flights back to the UK tomorrow. In the meantime we had a day to kill of just getting used to being out of the mountains, before tomorrow’s long day of flights home.

After breakfast Tony and I had a walk to Durbar Square, the sort of ceremonial/temple end of Kathmandu. The temples were incredible, in fact the whole place was, and I loved it, all of it.

Here are some images of the place:

The start of Durbar Square, Kathmandu

Old Alfred Hitchcock movies, anyone?

One of the many temples around Durbar Square

And another

And the local trader's market

And a plaque describing how it all came about.

One of the many amazing Stupas in Durbar Square

And finally, walking back out into the madness that is Kathmandu traffic.

It was actually quite ridiculous to come into this, an alien and amazing world anyway, after being in the mountains for just under three weeks. I felt a bit like I had just landed from Mars, or Japan, or somewhere, so snap happy was I :).
We returned with Stefan to Thamel at lunchtime and took our hired climbing gear back to ‘The Summit Brothers’ (not I suspect, their real names :)) hire shop, and thereafter had a very nice and large pizza for lunch. It is incredible how much I now need to eat. I have eaten what seems like, erm, mountains of food up there, but when I put my jeans on last night I would estimate that I have lost about two inches around my waist in three weeks.

In the afternoon the rest of the party made it back to Kathmandu, and we arranged for a dinner to round off the trip. Six of us made it for the dinner in the end, as Dave was suffering from sinus pains and Stefan suffering from a bit of ‘Nepal belly’, but the food was great and it was nice to chill and relax as opposed to worrying about helicopters or anything at all. Eating meat again, especially being as carniverous as I am, is a very good thing, believe me!

It then felt very strange that all of a sudden our trip was over. We’d spent altogether three weeks in each other’s company, and tomorrow would be day 22. When you consider that this is a bunch of disparate people almost thrown together, and that we would spend often 15 or more hours with each other in a bunch of sometimes trying and often almost unpleasant (despite the scenery) circumstances, everyone got on great. Really great in fact. I don’t think I saw or heard a crossed word between the eight of us the whole time, which is fantastic.

So tomorrow we will get up at 5am for an early morning flight to Delhi in India. There is then a three hour layover before a ten hour flight to the UK, and all being well I should be back on the ground at about 5.30pm UK time.

It will almost be strange to be back – I think this is the second longest ‘holiday’ (it seems a bit strange to call it that though) that I have ever had, and all of a sudden from it being still fairly warm before I set off, it is now just five or so weeks to Christmas. News just came in also that my friends Darina, Paul, Jason and Ryan just completed the New York Marathon at the weekend, so my congratulations to them. I have a lot of catching up to do, and I suppose that means back to work as well.

All good things come to and end though, or so they say, and despite the frustration of the holdup in Lukla at the end this has been an absolutely fantastic trip, with memories that will simply last forever. I can’t wait to download the photos, relive the memories, and extol the experience and excitement of seeing and experiencing Mount Everest close at hand to people back home. I also can’t wait for my own bed, and another few showers, and also some normality, even, whatever that is.

Himalayas Day 19 – Lukla to Kathmandu!!

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So after last night’s tipping ceremony (it’s now Monday, 7th November, and I have been stuck in Lukla for a ridiculous six days now) for the Sherpas and guides, and a very sore head due to the rum and beer consumed, I woke up at about 5am. Daylight was trying to appear, and I could not tell at first whether it was the customary cloud and fog, or just early morning mountain mist that clouded my view. Determined that somehow I would escape this place somehow today, I decided to get up, pack, and see what the day brought.

Within perhaps 20 minutes or so I was actually greeted with, guess what, a sunrise! Hallelujah! The mountains around us (yes they are still here, despite being entirely invisible for six whole days) had been dusted with a light covering of snow, and we could see right down the valley! It was all too much – would this be the day?

It's a miracle - there is actually a sky up there!

By about 6.15am the dining room of the lodge was full with expectant people, when, lo and behold, a plane flew in to the runway! Out lodge (although we wouldn’t have known it the last few days) actually overlooks the precariously sloped runway, and then the tiny plane landed you would think that everyone had just won the lottery – there was cheering and shouting and jubilation all round, which made it very exciting indeed.

Within about 10 minutes, Val from Exodus told me to have my bag packed and ready for 7am, and said that I ‘might’ get out on a flight if I was lucky. I didn’t need to be told twice, and my bag was duly ready and waiting within minutes. During this time, the sun kept singing and the planes kept coming.

By about 8am, after nervously waiting and watching as certain people began to get called to go the the runway, it was all of a sudden my turn! I could scarcely believe it was happening, and actually and resolutely refused to, until I knew I could actually get on a plane and it had taken off.
The others from my group watched me I suspect somewhat jealously as I made my way out, as I had been given priority over them as I had been on the waiting list for six days. Bidding them goodbye and wishing them good luck to get down during the day also (hopes were high for everyone so good was the weather in fact) off I went.

Waiting excitedly now to escape.....

And we can see the runway - yippee!

I ended up with a group of sixth formers and their teachers who had also been up to Base Camp with Exodus at the same time as us. They too had been in the lodge in Lukla the same amount of time as me, and they had been incredibly patient. After waiting for some time in the departure ‘hall’, the sixth formers got their break – they would all get onto the same plane and fly off down the mountain. How jealous was I then!

Within a matter of a couple of hours of thinking ‘will it or won’t it’, my chance finally came at just after 11am. My Agni Airways Dornier plane came rushing up the runway, and in no time at all I was clambering abroad.

This felt like a winning lottery ticket, believe me.

I almost had no time to be scared at the take off, for when the plane lurches forward down the slope you fear there is no way the thing will lift off at all, never mind get up in time to not hurtle straight into the hillside opposite. But take off it did, and missed crashing into the mountains opposite also, and then I was up in the air – I had escaped!

The plane before us gets ready to hurtle down the hill......

..And finally I get into one too - get out of my way!!

After a slightly bumpy flight, I was so happy to get onto the ground in Kathmandu. What an amazing shock also to see so much traffic and congestion! After 17 or 18 days in the wilderness where the only traffic is the occasional Yak train, to see so may cars and buses was a nightmare, and I (despite wanting to get away for so long) immediately longed to be back in the clear mountain air.

Approaching Kathmandu from the air at last.

After a three quarter of an hour slog through the fumes of Kathmandu in a taxi, I was back in the Royal Singi Hotel. Sadly they didn’t have a room for me, as there was still a backlog of people trying to get up to the mountains as well as away from it, and so I got sent to another hotel temporarily. The shower when I hit my room was even better than the one I had when I went to Kilimanjaro!

I actually managed just one shower in the Himalayas, and whilst I was pretty diligent with the wet wipes on a daily basis, you cannot believe just how good it is to wash your hair and body and stand under hot water for half an hour. Bliss!

About two hours later I was back in the Royal Singi, and delighted to see two of my fellow trekkers, Tony and Stefan, who had also just made it back from Lukla. They had been lucky enough to get two places on a rescue helicopter, having drawn lots with the others for the privilege of doing so. They said the helicopter flight was fantastic, but I would have in the end been glad to leave by camel if it would have got me out of there. The others would unfortunately not make it back today, but hopefully would get a flight out in the morning, the weather forecast now being entirely clear and sunny for the rest of the week.

Having donned shorts and flip flops, the three of us ventured into Thamel, the bustling shopping/market/nightlife side of Kathmandu for some food. We found ‘The Everest Steak House’, and pigged out on meat for the first time in a fortnight (it’s recommended not to eat meat up the mountain even if you do come across it in a lodge, as it won’t be quite digestable to the western palate) in the midst of a three course meal completed with Apple Strudel and ice cream. Mamma Mia!

Back in the welcome but almost shocking bedlam of Kathmandu

On our way home we stopped in for some beers at The Rum Doodle, the famous bar where all Everest Summitteers sign the wall, and where there are many tributes to previous Everest expeditions.

The Rum Doodle - never has a beer been more welcome!

The Everest Summiteers Board in the Rum Doodle - Chris Bonnington's name up there amongst many others

Perhaps the best thing of all was yet to come this day – a proper bed! This was the first time again in 17 days that I would be able to put my head on a pillow, and to not sleep in a (now damp) sleeping bag. Absolute luxury! I went to bed very content indeed, so glad to be out of Lukla, and yet already missing it. I could now reflect on all that had happened to me, which I will share on another occasion.

For now I hoped that the rest of the party would get down safe in the morning, and I began to look forward to my return to ‘civilisation’ in just two days time. Goodnight!