Namche – Himalayan Region

We have just made it to Namche Bazaar at 3440m after 8 days trekking in. It has been tiring and we have got fitter each day. The weather has been mainly awesome. We saw Everest today. We are here for a day to aclimitise and then will head up further hopefully to 5000m towards Everest Base Camp.
We are all well, and looking forward to a shower and clean clothes!!

Just to Recap

We bussed from Kathmandu to Shivalaya. Boy was that a day and a trip!! We boarded the bus at 8.00am and travelled with the locals. It was an adventure – with a couple of stops on the way. The last part was totally hair raising!! We got to Jiri at 3.30 and we knew the last part was rough. We have never been so scared in all our lives.

The ride was terrifying and on several ocassions we were balanced on two wheels. Several seats broke on the bus – and we thought trekking may not happen.. But we had a good driver who managed to get (somehow) around the corners and through the river fords and get us there.

Luckily we had met a lovely local girl who helped us and explained things to us initially. Maya was back from Israel to visit her family in a local village after being away for 3 years. She had to walk for 2 1/2 days to reach her elderly parents. Everybody has to walk here – there are no cars.

So our journey began ….

We walked usually 8-4pm most days, so it was quite tiring. We got used to the Nepali Flats – uphill and down. Soon we found our rhythm, and even though we weren’t the fastest trekkers we made it in the end. We were slower than the guide book said but we managed.

We were pleased as we didn’t have a guide or a porter – luxuries lots of people did have. We stayed at local tea houses/hotels on the way. It gave us a good look at local life and how simply people live in this area. We had good weather, with only the odd hail storm and snow one night.

The places we stayed at were Shivalaya,Kinja, Dakchu, Junbesi (2), Nuntarla, Bupsa,  Serke, Monju and then Namche. This was the first part of the trek. Our training so to speak – and at lower altitude. We were pleased to get to Namche – this is a busy little town and the start of the Himalayan Region in earnest. This is also where you see the tourists who take the flight to Lukla and walk to Namche – a bit easier than the 8 days we had done to get there!! However what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger….  We stayed for 2 days to acclimatize – and to take a shower and to do some laundry. All rather badly needed 🙂

Some of the people we met were – Big Aussie David and his guide, the two Dutch ladies, Mr Estonia and Mr Tanzania, Patrick and Jill (England), the American forest ranger, Brenda (Naki lady) and Gary from Hungary, the Irishman, the German P.E. uni student group, 5 Norwegian medical students, the Frenchman (the undertaker), and the art students Whitney and Jonah. Sadly we didn’t always get onto names, but we shared lots of stories and laughs along the trails.