I was up before sunrise - not quite my style. But then we had an early AM flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. Good thing I'm still jetlagged, or it would take an army of gorkhas to get me out of bed at 4:30 am.
The ride to the airport was largely uneventful. Kashyap made a few bad jokes, and there was some conversation about Egyptian belly dancers.
Tribhuvan airport at Kathmandu was quite something. We went through three rounds of increasingly cursory security checks. At the last checkpoint, the guard looked at me and asked if I had cigarettes in my bag. After I replied in the negative, he just nodded and signalled for me to pass through the gate. I can't believe he gets paid to do this. Must be the Nepali government's bid to reduce unemployment.
A small shop was selling tea for Rs. 30 (nepali) and a small packet of Parle-G biscuits for Rs. 40 (about 60 US cents). After muttering 'thieves' and giving the shopkeeper a look of disdain, I proceeded to eat my energy bar which I had purchased for 2 dollars for at Shaw's in Boston. I felt like Gandhi refusing to buy foreign-made goods, but the symbolic significance of my act (as well as the inherent irony) was lost on the shopkeeper.
While waiting for the flight, I stepped into my Montrail boots. I haven't wore them in two years (since Kili), and had a moment when I thought I'd forgotten how to do the laces. The boots feel as good as ever.
The boarding pass was a piece of paper with the flight number (but not my name) scribbled on it. The Agni air plane (it's beyond me why anyone would call an airline 'fire', but the other plane on the tarmac belonged to Yeti airlines, which as Kashyap pointed out could be a myth.) was a 16-seater propellor. It felt like a skydiving expedition, except it would defy conventional wisdom to jump off a plane into the Nepal Himalayas without a parachute. More importantly, one it would be foolish to risk injury before the trek had even begun. So, I stayed wise and strapped-in.
At Tenzing Hillary airport in Lukla, the air is remarkably cleaner than in Kathmandu. After a sumptuous breakfast at Lukla (I chose the 'Everest trekkers' breakfast' - muesli, omelette, toast, potatoes, and fried sausage), our guide - UP - suggested we wait a while. But, eager to get on the trail (something that will no doubt change as the hike progresses), we started hiking almost immediately, around 10:15am.
The first day's walk was pretty easy -- about 5 miles, mostly flat or downhill, passing at least three dozen tea houses on the way. We stopped at one that looked particularly nice (with a valley view and outdoor seating) for ginger tea. As luck would have it, it started to drizzle just as we were finishing our tea, so it was a good time to bring the rain gear out. Kashyap's mom has packed us dry fruits in bite sized ziploc bags, I went through three of the bags, much to Kashyap's despair.
The rain got steadily worse, which didn't help the fever that Rachana had picked up in Delhi. By the time we got to Namaste Lodge in Phakding (our stop for the night) at 1:30pm, we were pretty drenched. Note to self - keep those rain pants in the daypack starting tomorrow. Having learned from Nepali experience thus far (everything in Nepal operates at a snail's pace), we ordered lunch before proceeding to dry ourselves. The fare - hot soup, dal bhaat, and egg fried rice - was very average, but we were hungry and went through most of it pretty quickly. I then ordered and chugged 2 more bowls of dal. Lunch conversation veered around Shahrukh Khan vs. Aamir Khan, as a result of which, everyone wanted to nap after the meal. Meredith and I decided to walk around. We found the local wholesaler who sells water for 60 rupees a litre - a significant discount from the 100 rupees that everyone else seems to charge. I still think 'just one dollar, sir' for a bottle of water in Nepal is a rip-off, and am contemplating switching to river water peppered with iodine tablets.
We walked past a bar with pool tables, where an unmistakably American girl was taking a vanity video screaming 'that's me in the Everest region' into the camera while shaking her hips to 'Sweet home Alabama'. Clearly, Everest beer and high altitude is a potent combination. To be tried on the way back.
After this little adventure, I decided that I didn't really feel like reading 'The Innovator's Dilemma', and in the absence of more inviting literature, I proceeded to nap for most of the afternoon, awoke briefly for dinner, and proceeded to bed again.
The ride to the airport was largely uneventful. Kashyap made a few bad jokes, and there was some conversation about Egyptian belly dancers.
Tribhuvan airport at Kathmandu was quite something. We went through three rounds of increasingly cursory security checks. At the last checkpoint, the guard looked at me and asked if I had cigarettes in my bag. After I replied in the negative, he just nodded and signalled for me to pass through the gate. I can't believe he gets paid to do this. Must be the Nepali government's bid to reduce unemployment.
A small shop was selling tea for Rs. 30 (nepali) and a small packet of Parle-G biscuits for Rs. 40 (about 60 US cents). After muttering 'thieves' and giving the shopkeeper a look of disdain, I proceeded to eat my energy bar which I had purchased for 2 dollars for at Shaw's in Boston. I felt like Gandhi refusing to buy foreign-made goods, but the symbolic significance of my act (as well as the inherent irony) was lost on the shopkeeper.
While waiting for the flight, I stepped into my Montrail boots. I haven't wore them in two years (since Kili), and had a moment when I thought I'd forgotten how to do the laces. The boots feel as good as ever.
The boarding pass was a piece of paper with the flight number (but not my name) scribbled on it. The Agni air plane (it's beyond me why anyone would call an airline 'fire', but the other plane on the tarmac belonged to Yeti airlines, which as Kashyap pointed out could be a myth.) was a 16-seater propellor. It felt like a skydiving expedition, except it would defy conventional wisdom to jump off a plane into the Nepal Himalayas without a parachute. More importantly, one it would be foolish to risk injury before the trek had even begun. So, I stayed wise and strapped-in.
At Tenzing Hillary airport in Lukla, the air is remarkably cleaner than in Kathmandu. After a sumptuous breakfast at Lukla (I chose the 'Everest trekkers' breakfast' - muesli, omelette, toast, potatoes, and fried sausage), our guide - UP - suggested we wait a while. But, eager to get on the trail (something that will no doubt change as the hike progresses), we started hiking almost immediately, around 10:15am.
The first day's walk was pretty easy -- about 5 miles, mostly flat or downhill, passing at least three dozen tea houses on the way. We stopped at one that looked particularly nice (with a valley view and outdoor seating) for ginger tea. As luck would have it, it started to drizzle just as we were finishing our tea, so it was a good time to bring the rain gear out. Kashyap's mom has packed us dry fruits in bite sized ziploc bags, I went through three of the bags, much to Kashyap's despair.
The rain got steadily worse, which didn't help the fever that Rachana had picked up in Delhi. By the time we got to Namaste Lodge in Phakding (our stop for the night) at 1:30pm, we were pretty drenched. Note to self - keep those rain pants in the daypack starting tomorrow. Having learned from Nepali experience thus far (everything in Nepal operates at a snail's pace), we ordered lunch before proceeding to dry ourselves. The fare - hot soup, dal bhaat, and egg fried rice - was very average, but we were hungry and went through most of it pretty quickly. I then ordered and chugged 2 more bowls of dal. Lunch conversation veered around Shahrukh Khan vs. Aamir Khan, as a result of which, everyone wanted to nap after the meal. Meredith and I decided to walk around. We found the local wholesaler who sells water for 60 rupees a litre - a significant discount from the 100 rupees that everyone else seems to charge. I still think 'just one dollar, sir' for a bottle of water in Nepal is a rip-off, and am contemplating switching to river water peppered with iodine tablets.
We walked past a bar with pool tables, where an unmistakably American girl was taking a vanity video screaming 'that's me in the Everest region' into the camera while shaking her hips to 'Sweet home Alabama'. Clearly, Everest beer and high altitude is a potent combination. To be tried on the way back.
After this little adventure, I decided that I didn't really feel like reading 'The Innovator's Dilemma', and in the absence of more inviting literature, I proceeded to nap for most of the afternoon, awoke briefly for dinner, and proceeded to bed again.
