We left Namche Bazaar around 8am. After 2 days, I felt quite at home in Namche Bazaar, with the hot shower and 4G internet speed. We would subsequently stay in Namche for another night on the way down.
The morning hike was manageable, along long and winding sandy paths. I made it a point to always greet other trekkers and hikers along the way 'Namaste', with a smile. Like everywhere I go, I would take up some of the local language. I picked up some basic Nepali. I learned from Henry and Din as we trek. It made my teammates wonder what on earth was I speaking to the locals, while my guides smile as I practiced.
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| You could see that it'll be a long day |
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| Passed by a Stupa that commemorates Tenzing Norgay and the Sherpas |
The Sherpas, or in our case, porters were the real heroes in the mountains. They carry more and walk faster than anyone.
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| Of course, our guides would arrive with the last hiker, and are the last to eat |
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| The view was exceptional, and worth all the effort |
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| It's summer season, and it's refreshing to see flowers in blossom |
Not so refreshing to see, was the sight of porters carrying goods and loads most probably as heavy as their frames, over their backs. The 'heaviest' load I saw is most probably zinc roofs, wall tiles and metal tables. A porter for tourist has an average pay of US$ 4-6 per day, and I doubt the normal general porter will get anywhere more than that.
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| A porter for life, most likely till the age of 40, before the body can't take it |
A Malaysian I met at Base Camp correctly pointed out how sad and devastated she would be if her son were to be working like that. We ought to feel grateful, take a better look at ourselves, work harder, do more charity and make the world a better place.
We reached the village of Tengboche around 3pm. Our first sight was Tengboche Monastery, a 100 year-old monastery. Like all monasteries and stupas we've seen, it has very strong Tibetan Buddhism influence.
We chilled at Tengboche Bakery, while waiting for the rest. The village was covered in thick fog.
I felt it's always important to pay homage, or a courtesy call to the 'guardians' everywhere we go, be it a monastery, mosque, church, temple or any local holy sites.
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| Main entrance |
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| Always remove your shoes |
We weren't allowed to take photos inside the monastery. The interior was simple, but you could see that it was well organized, clean and maintained. In the middle was a 2.5 storey high Buddha statue. For the first time in quite awhile, I closed my eyes tightly, pressed my palms together, and prayed to Buddha that the people around me, whom I care would have peace and good health.
Buddhism is most probably the simplest form of religion. In fact, many don't consider it a religion, but a way of life. Karma is the main rule, and there's no holier than thou sentiment. To achieve peace (or enlightenment), you need to rid all of your desire, or basically greed.
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| The misty skyline made the monastery even more surreal |
It was most probably one of the few spiritual moments in my life. The other one I could remember was at Edinburgh Cathedral right after MH370.
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View of Tengboche 'village' from the bakery
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From Tengboche (3800m) we hike for another 25 minutes to reach Debouche (3820), where we stayed in Paradise Hotel.
What a name...
Truth is, Debouche was in the middle of no where, and the owner of Paradise Hotel wasn't the friendliest. Besides the exorbitant prices (full charge phone costs US$4, 1L mineral water costs US$2.5, a small cup of hot water costs US$1), the owner was quite arrogant and unfriendly.
I met 4 Malaysian guys during dinner. They were like 25-26 years old, from KL and had just finished university. I proudly took out my Malaysian flag and marker pen for them to scribble their wishes.
The Hotel did have a nice fire place (yak dung stove). It was very comfortable, especially when it got colder at night.
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| Rooms look like this from this altitude 'upwards', as our guide said: 'Good enough to sleep' |
Neil gave a great tip, that we should 'sleep' with our batteries and power banks, by putting them in our sleeping bags. Phones should be switched off, or put on flight mode. This will conserve the batteries and prevent our electronic devices from getting drained by the sub-zero temperature.
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