Sunday, June 7, 2009

Day 87 - June 3 - Dingboche to NamcheBazar

The Sleep was good. It has to be. Well acclimatized and the place not so cold comparatively. But the food was not done yesterday. Morning its difficult to get a proper breakfast in the westernized menu. Order chow min and get a heavy greecy one. Not really helping and cant have full. Start my way back after the group has left. Remembering how though i felt this strech coming up this stretch the last time. IT was nice walk but the vistas gradually getting to normal and get below the tree line. Hardly see anyone going up. We seem to the be the last of the tourists for the season and boy were we blessed with good weather. The stop for lunch is Tengboche i thought but take a couple of stops for light food in between. Most of the hotels are closed down for the season. After pangboche get down to the river to cross it on the bridge and there is a ok walk till Deboche village. Then there is the climb. Man it was getting to be a frustrating climb up. Did not realize it so much coming down a few days back. Tengboche was like ever far away. Slowly make it there for lunch. Order a veg momo and get a leaves momo instead! Yes off season is growing. My fone works here and check on a few mails, calls and updates. Now its time for namche with the imposing climb. Have to get down all the way to the river i see below and up to namche. Start the steep climb down from Tengboche. This is where the shoes starts hurting bad. Not really good while climbing down. Now that my walking has paced up, its troubling a lot. The trail goes steeply down a long way like a 1000 meters. And i thought climbing down was easy. By the end of it, the shoes was hurting my toes so bad that i was kinda looking forwards to the climb to namche! Progress gets slow as its a long way up. As i pass the villages the entire environment is changed. Lot more locals on the path. Kinda felt euforia in thier tone like as if they got back their place. The porters who few days back would stop at their tracks a few days back to let the tourists go are now sticking to their line of walk and i have to get out of their way.

Namche is still quite far way. Its already 4 by the time i am done with the climb. Thought its near by but how wrong i am. To avoid hurt to the toes i was a bit different and the feet around the ankles start hurting now. This is really silly discomfort to undergo after such a fabulous trip. Hoping to reach namche soon but mountain fold by mountain bold i walk and i see only more path to be walked. Finally get to Namche at the fading light of 5.45 pm and i am almost limping by now. Does not look good i still have one more long day of walk left. Get to the same Yak hotel. The owner had arranged for my flight ticket to be rescheduled at lukla. was kinda tempted to rest for a day but with the monsoon the flights gets unreliable and i wanted to get out of their with out getting stuck. Reluctantly i confirmed by reaching to Lukla the next day so that the flight could be booked. I was the only guest in the entire hotel. Take long hot shower after a week. Felt really good and get to my bed early. I am still limping!

Baby yak spotted... so cute!


New wing construction at the hotel... they dont use anything to fill between the stones... they just shape it and place the stones like a jigsaw puzzle and a cardboard layer on the inside.. that it!!


Looks like this when done...


A worker shaping the stone...


One last look at Dingboche...


Some scary path with possible narrow landslide path..





An elderly indian group...


Puffy big yaks...


Baby yak...


The path to walk after crossing the river...


dropoffs beside the path...


me there...


Pretty town of pangboche but most of the hotels are closed for the off season...


So wanted to have lunch here...


A local chanting away...


Going down to the bridge...


stones with prayers carved on them...


Walk under the trees now...


Fraustrating climb up to Tengboche..


Finally get there...


View from the restaurant...


Climbing down from Tengboche...


Have to go down to the river and again climb up the opposite mountain!!


Steep way down...


The bridge to cross...


The stone holding the old bridge seemed to have rolled down!!


Towards namche...





Wood carrying trucks!!


Its all leaves no flowers!


Searching for Namche mountain fold after mountain fold...





It goes on and on...


A PeaHen spotted...


Where is Namche ???


Get there finally...


Namche bazar...


Lot less activity on the streets, hardly any trekkers...

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