I woke at at around 5am, without the alarm clock. The sky would be filled with light in an hour. For the next 2 weeks, I would sleep in my down-jacket and sleeping bag, supplied by my tour company. The sleeping bag was especially good, as it is designed for -20C.
We all got ready with our backpacks (for our porters, who were fantastic throughout) by 7am for breakfast, and by 8am, we started our treks. I would carry my downjacket with me during my treks, mostly hanging it on my daypack. I basically wore 2 layers of synthetic fabric. My daypack was around 8kg, as I prefer to bring my essentials with me, e.g. my camera, phone charger, documents, cash, power banks, dairy, medicine (which thankfully I didn't touch) and etc. In other words, I could basically leave Nepal with my daypack without feeling lost.
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| My breakfast was normally toasts and boiled eggs |
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| As we climb, the scenery became more breathtaking |
2.5 hours into the hike, we reached the entrance of Sagarmatha National Park, where we were required to register.
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| A World Heritage site |
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| Park entrance, not the most spectacular |
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| Had also started using my walking poles, in order to preserve my knees for the next 10 days. I was also interested to work my biceps |
The hike before lunch was manageable, as it was mostly downhill. The hike after lunch from Jorsoleh on the other hand, was challenging. It was pretty much steep upwards hike. We would cover 11km and a vertical climb of 900m today.
Pat, who had been struggling with a stomach bug since yesterday, was fortunate to hire a 'strong' horse after lunch from Jorsoleh all the way to Namche. Dave and I tried to keep up with the horse, who had lightning speed. The horse ride was US$100, and to be honest, the horse did a fantastic job carrying a 100kg load.
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| Horse riding in the Himalayas wasn't fun. Some parts were dangerous, as it was steep |
It took us 2.5 hours to reach Namche. Namche Bazaar was quite a spectacular town for Himalayan standard. I was impressed at the first sight. It's known as the Sherpa Capital, and is one of the most famous villages in Nepal. There are pubs, numerous bakeries with Wi-Fi, shops, and most importantly, one of the last stops for hot-showers.
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| My first glance of Namche Bazaar |
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| View from our room |
However, like everywhere I looked in the Himalayas, which include Lukla Airport, no sockets were functioning. As an electrical engineer, I felt maybe someday, I could help them generate some much needed electricity.
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| Tried the socket outlets everywhere I go |
Of course, you need to pay if you want to charge your phone.
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| Check out the prices (Rs. 100 = US$ 1) |
Namche was like the last stop you could charge your electronic devices and power bank happily. Above Namche hostels will tell you that they are running low on electricity, and would not allow you to charge your power banks.
I brought 2 power banks, and conserved 1 till EBC.
Went to bed at 9pm after dinner. During the night, I developed a mild fatigue headache, and like all my teammates, didn't sleep too well. This is only normal, as we hiked more that 800 vertical meters during the day. Woke up at around 10.30pm, 3am and 5am for toilet breaks, discarding the fluid I drank.
It was a cold and dry night. But it was still manageable. We still have the next day in Namche, for acclimatization.
I would drink hot tea (which I brought) after dinner from that today onwards, as a reward for the day's work.
Up next:
https://weesertan.blogspot.com/2018/06/from-johor-to-everest-base-camp-day-3.html
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