Travel Footprints

Trek the Himalayas Day #5: Tengboche, Phortse
Pit Stop: Phortse
Elevation: 3,840 m
Relative Oxygen Rate: 60% (assuming sea level at 100%)
Price of Mineral Water Bottle: 200 rupees/USD 2.86

Early morning breakfast was a far cry from the high-spirited conversation in the Trekker’s Inn last night. We gave a warm hug to our Brazilian-American friend who had to trek back down from Tengboche and asked about conditions of people who had various degrees of altitude sickness overnight. Mr. Rono and Chin was really officially down with altitude sickness already but there was one last hope for recovery – take Diamox pills! Desperate times call for desperate measures

After a breakfast of rice porridge and boiled eggs, our Sherpa suggested we pay a visit to Tengboche monastery first before we proceed with our trek towards Dole (4,200 m).

The Tengboche monastery was very pretty! Inside the monastery, I was taught by our Sherpa, Ang Dawa Rai, how to pray the Buddhist way. So I got down on my knees and laid my palms flat while bending my head down towards the floor. All I prayed for on that brief moment inside the monastery were – safety and health! I knew this day will not be easy for our group. And so the trek begins…

From Tengboche, we have to go all the way back down to the Dudh Kosi river again. And then climb back up again! I swear, I lost count how many times we had to do this over and over again the past days already. To trek downhill and cross a bridge…

…just to climb back up again!

At one point, our Sherpa was telling us look over the other side of the mountain –

He was pointing to us where we came from because Tengboche is now on the other mountain from where we were standing!

It was hard for me to trek this leg from Tengboche to Phortse, but I can imagine how much harder it is for Mr. Rono and Chin to do this too considering they have already sought medication to address their altitude sickness. They told me over lunch that they were feeling extremely dizzy already. That’s not a good thing especially if one wrong move on the trail could be fatal –

After more than 3 hours of trekking, we finally saw civilization and we actually met the first persons on the trail. That was how secluded we felt during the trek not seeing any other trekker except for a wild goat that crossed our path near the river.

We finally stopped for lunch in Phortse (3,840 m) and decided to stay there for the rest of the day so Mr. Rono and Chin can cope with their condition. Ang Dawa Rai was also suggesting that some may go ahead (me and a porter) while the rest can stay. But we all agreed that we didn’t want to break our group. I also did not mind an extra day of rest. While the others were sleeping, I caught up with reading the book I bought from Namche Bazar – Eat, Pray, Love. It was really quiet and peaceful in Phortse. There were no other guests in the lodge but us and you barely see anyone passing by. Mainly because this was really not a main trail for trekkers. It was just a quaint, sleepy town located in a valley of Phortse.

We had dinner of hash brown potato and buffalo momo which wasn’t such a good idea. Remembering the stomach cramps of the Brazilian-American lady, we decided to avoid oily food for the rest of the trek. I was fascinated by the food our Sherpa and porters were eating – millet! Ang Dawa Rai jokingly refer to it as ‘yak shit’ because it really does look like one. I mentioned in my previous post that I’ve always felt some resemblance between Nepal and Uganda. This is probably one of the things they have in common. Millet is also a staple food for Ugandans, which they commonly refer to as posho

Trek the Himalayas Day #4: Namche Bazar, Tashinga, Tengboche
Pit Stop: Tengboche
Elevation: 3,860 m
Relative Oxygen Rate: 60% (assuming sea level at 100%)
Price of Mineral Water Bottle: 150 rupees/USD 2.15

Due to the flash snowfall the day before, we were actually rewarded with clear blue skies as we head from Namche Bazar (3,440m) to Tengboche (3,860m).

If you would check our original trekking itinerary, you will notice that we were supposed to go to Dole (4,200m) today. But because Mr. Rono has already started exhibiting some sort of vulnerability to altitude sickness, our Sherpa decided we go to a lesser altitude than Dole first. So, off to Tengboche we go. Along with so many other trekkers because apparently, this is the the pit stop for those heading on to Everest Base Camp as shared by our German friend from the lodge in Namche Bazar.

As we were trekking towards Tengboche, here’s the view that greeted us ‘GOOD MORNING!’

We were rewarded with a majestic view of Mt. Ama Dablam and Mt. Everest very early in the morning! The snow cleared the skies and we were given a rare view of the towering mountains over cloudless skies.

We were such in a positive mood that when we came across a Sherpa who was asking for donations from tourists to help them fix the trail (e.g., smoothing stones and placing them on foot-paths for trekking trails), we gladly gave them a little something from our pocket money. It was fascinating to look at their log book and see the various nationalities that have donated so far – on that page, we’re the only one from Asia!

But our joy was short-lived because the trek today was physically-demanding. It seems like the trekking are getting more complicated (and definitely steeper!) in each day we spend in the Himalayas! After having lunch in Tashinga (3,450m), all we trekked was going up, up, up! These signs along the way aren’t comforting, either –

Two hours? For the locals maybe – it took us 4 freakin’ hours to get to the top of Tengboche!

And finally, a view of Tengboche monastery!

Yey! We stayed in Trekker’s Inn in Tengboche, very near the monastery. We rewarded ourselves with a can of Pringles (300 rupees) and a bottle of Coca-Cola (250 rupees). We arrived at Trekker’s Inn and met with the people already in the lodge. This will turn out to be the night we would all enjoy among all other nights during the trek because of the people we met. There was this Brazilian lady who has now migrated to the US and says she knew we were Filipinos because we have the same ‘aura’ as her neighbors in San Diego, California. We met her in one of her lowest point during the trek because she was afflicted with altitude sickness AND stomach cramps. She would go back down the next day and then straight to Lukla for her flight to Kathmandu. But it’s ok, she says, she can always go back to do the trek again. She was actually expecting (and hoping!) either 3 of us to be medical professionals! ‘My neighbors are both doctors,’ she would share.

Over the fireplace in the dining area, we also had a very long chat with a Spanish fellow who have long wanted to visit the Philippines ‘because of the long history we shared!,’ he says. There was this other couple who we first met drinking whiskey! We were not surprised to eventually learn that they were Russians but we were fascinated that they actually brought their dog with them! ‘She flew all the way from Moscow,’ the Russian gentleman would say. I asked if the dog ever has altitude sickness, and the Russian lady said the dog was actually losing appetite already. And they both agreed that if they see the dog could not make it all the way, they would go back down for its sake. Naks!

There were also this Malaysian fellow, based in India now, who had to leave his wife at Namche Bazar to rest because of altitude sickness. Their group actually started with 6 people on the team but the Canadian couple they were with were too fast so they let them go ahead and the others just started to fall from ranks as they went higher. There were 2 German families as well. All of them were bound for Everest Base Camp. We were the only ones headed for Gokyo Ri, but that’s not surprising since Tengboche was really a detour for us to address altitude sickness issues of our group.

Despite the warm and cozy evening we shared with this happy group of trekkers in Tengboche, we sadly did not enjoy the sleeping time. The temperature in the evenings drop to a freezing 0 degrees celsius and lodges here do not have any heaters! Although I was feeling a bit fine and adjusting well to the altitude, Mr. Rono did not sleep a wink during the night. The altitude sickness has turned from bad to worse while we were in Tengboche.

Trek the Himalayas Day #3: Namche Bazar, Syangboche, Khumjung
Pit Stop: Namche Bazar (2nd night)
Highest Elevation Reached: 3,790 m
Relative Oxygen Rate: 64% (assuming sea level at 100%)
Price of Mineral Water Bottle: 150 rupees/USD 2.15

We started having a bit of trouble sleeping through the night already because of headaches. By dawn, Mr. Rono had to rush to the bathroom to throw up and we all knew these are tell-tale signs of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) or also commonly known as altitude sickness. Before our breakfast of chicken noodle soup and egg, I urged Mr. Rono to do some deep breathing exercises with me (similar to what we do in yoga). In the end, he decided to stay behind in the hotel to rest while Chin and I go out to see the Sherpa Village in Khumjung as part of our ‘acclimatization’ climb.

Although we woke up with frosted hotel windows, the sun was out when we were about to leave for the acclimatization climb and the day was already getting warm.

But after some time, the wind started to pick up. Good thing we brought our windbreakers to wear during the day trek while immersing ourselves more on the Khumbu Region culture.

While in Syangboche, we managed to watch a cargo plane land on an airstrip and see a glimpse of the Mt. Everest peak for the very first time. But the weather has turned for the worse bringing in thick clouds from nowhere that virtually blinded our trail during the trek.

At some point, we had to ask ourselves do we go back to Namche Bazar or proceed to Khumjung?

But we decided we wanted to see more and really go to the Sherpa Village in Khumjung. A few more minutes of trekking uphills and downhills, we wandered into the community of Sherpas –

where we had lunch of vegetable roll (which looked a lot like a big empanada to me) with rice and vegetable soup. During lunch, we saw how cold it really was at 10 degrees Celsius and it’s only noon time!

And then it started to snow…

FRAAAAAAK! It was snowing and we were wearing our half-pants! We decided to wait it out a bit but after one hour there seems to be no stopping in sight –

We had to wait for the snow fall to stop in one of the Nepali houses just in front of the Hillary School where a lot of Sherpas first learned how to speak English. The school was established by Hillary, the first person to ever summit Mt. Everest. Eventually, we decided to just brave the snow and try to go back to Namche as fast as we can lest we end up being stuck in Khumjung for the night.

The sight of snow-capped mountains and pine trees and trail was actually breath-takingly beautiful if only we weren’t soooo cold! The trek back to Namche Bazar wasn’t easy but it sure was fun…and definitely memorable

If you don’t see the video, click here!

Trek the Himalayas Day #2: Phakding, Namche Bazar
Pit Stop: Namche Bazar
Elevation: 3,440 m
Relative Oxygen Rate: 64% (assuming sea level at 100%)
Price of Mineral Water Bottle: 100 rupees/USD 1.40

We left Phakding promptly at 7am today after a breakfast of Tibetan bread, chapati (rotti) and scrambled eggs. We were warned about the length and steepness of today’s climb to Namche Bazar so we wanted an early start. Problem is, that seems to be the idea of every other trekker that was coming from Phakding. Eventually, it got too crowded on the trails with yaks, jopke (cross between yak and buffalo), horses and trekkers all converging at some point.

Since the Westerners (mostly Europeans) were pretty fast by our standards, we decided to let them pass us group by group, and we trudged steadily up and down the mountains with several river crossings on a bridge similar to this video –

We had our lunch break in Jorsaille (2,800m) where we ordered spaghetti and cheese as well as chicken curry and rice. Dawa, our Sherpa, was carrying with him a box with his bag all the way from Kathmandu and we had a pleasant surprise knowing what was inside during lunch break. It was one box-full of fruits! That was such a sweet gesture from him.

Another pleasant surprise was seeing this sign in the lodge/restaurant where we stayed for lunch –

We inched our way slowly up mountains and down to the river to go up again eventually. We had our trekking permit stamped in the Sagarmatha National Park office somewhere in Monjo (2,850 m), evidence of our hard work. Hehe. Didn’t I say there were a lot of trekkers? By past noon, they were way ahead of us on the other mountain when I took this shot –

And we were left trekking side by side with porters that have unbelievable weight on their shoulders!

Imagine how slow we were going? But that snail-pace still managed to get us up to Namche Bazar (3,440 m) by half-past 4 in the afternoon. We absolutely loooooved the vibe of Namche Bazar – it’s like a little marketplace or tiangge that you wouldn’t expect in a mountain! Mr. Rono even had his ‘Trekker’s Massage’ and I bought some books for the rest of the trek – basically everything you need can somehow be found here!

The thought of shopping and logging in the internet again was re-energizing after the long trek! And the place where we stayed, Hotel Snowland, was fairly new opening only 2 months ago. We had our dinner of mixed fried rice and buffalo momo and played cards in the dining hall which we shared with an elderly couple from the US and a young German fellow with his Sherpa.

Our porters also did a good job choosing our room with a view of Namche Bazar!

Trek the Himalayas Day #1: Kathmandu, Lukla, Phakding
Pit Stop: Phakding
Elevation: 2,910 m
Relative Oxygen Rate: 73% (assuming sea level at 100%)
Price of Mineral Water Bottle: 150 rupees/USD 2.15

Straight from the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla, we proceeded to the trekking part of our adventure. All 3 of us (myself, Mr. Rono and Chin) were in high spirits as we marvel at the sights of the first leg of our Himalayan trek.

We stopped for lunch at Tharokosi (2500m) in Solukhumbu where we saw the ad for missing backpacker above. I think it’s scary to venture out alone in this kind of trek but somehow, we still see people trekking alone – without a guide or a Sherpa. Lunch consisted mainly of mixed fried rice (meat, egg and rice) and dal bhat (the Nepali version of our munggo) with rice. After a short break, on we go towards Phakding…

We arrived at Phakding (2,910m) by 3:00pm and we had snacks of cheese momo (Nepali dimsum) and something more familiar you’ll never guess what!

They actually serve San Miguel beer in the Himalayas!

Dinner of roast chicken with macaroni and vegetables were served by 7pm and then it’s bedtime! This was the first night (of many other nights) where we slept cozily inside our sleeping bags in a lodge.

But first…

After 35 minutes in-flight of what seems like the route to ‘Hallelujah mountains’ in the movie Avatar because you see mountain peaks on either side of the plane (except, of course, this is rooted to the ground not floating like in the movies), we made it to the quaint mountain town of Lukla. I will not even talk yet of the extremely exciting landing in the short runway of the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla, I will reserve that for another post because it deserves a whole write-up on its own.

As soon as landing in Lukla, first order of the day for both Mr. Rono and I was to rummage through our bag for our fleece jackets. It was so cooooold! Weather forecast has recorded temperature at 20 degrees Celsius, but real feel must be about 15 degrees!

Mr. Rono poses with our Sherpa, Ang Dawa Rai, in front of 'Starbucks' Lukla

In one of the exhibits we saw during the trek, Lukla was described as the “major point of entry to Sagarmatha National Park Buffer Zone. Its bitumen-surfaced airstrip is particularly busy during the trekking season with more than
50 flights landing per day. Over 90% of the visitors to the area arrive by air at Lukla. The quiet herding village of Lukla has now developed into a bustling town with numerous lodges, restaurants, bakeries and internet cafes.”

You might wonder why only 90% of the visitors arrive via air transportation. We actually met a porter who had to WALK, yes walk, for 3 days to get from Kathmandu to Lukla due to unavailability of seats. Apparently, you can ride a bus from Kathmandu to a town called Jiri and then trek the rest of the way to Lukla…for 3 whole days!

Porters from a big expedition group getting organized

Our trekking team was finally completed after we met our 2 porters in Lukla. The porters and Sherpa got our bags organized while we drink our milk tea and think of the Himalayan adventure slowly unfolding before us.

Mr. Rono and Mrs. Rono for last-minute shopping before the trek begins!

Day 1 of our Himalayan trek started very early in the morning on March 28 (Sunday). We are to be picked up from the hotel by our tour provider, Harkar Pariyar, at 5am to bring us to the domestic airport for our 35-minute flight from Kathmandu to Lukla.

Farewell Hotel Everest! See you in two weeks!

Just yesterday, Harkar introduced us to our Sherpa (guide) throughout the trek while we had our briefing in his office and our group of 3 (Mrs. Rono, Mr. Rono and Chin – a friend) will be flying together with our Sherpa to Lukla in the wee hours of the morning. As soon as we arrived in the airport, there is no mistaking the air of adventure around us. Everyone inside the airport were either a trekker, a porter or a Sherpa! And almost everyone was bound for Lukla too!

After the usual airport check-in process, we were whisked off to pre-boarding. Security checks consists mainly of bag inspection while the officer asks you if you are carrying any lighter or knife. Chin was carrying batteries in her pack and that almost got confiscated if not for our plea that it will be used just for her headlamp. And so we boarded the bus that will take us to our tiny 16-seater plane –

Our twin-otter plane to Lukla!

It would take a lot of patience, and about 5 other planes taking off, before we were finally allowed to board our plane. This airport sure is busy in the morning! Onboard, the stewardess got busy giving us…cotton balls! Haha. We were really amused with the thought, we didn’t even know what to do with it at first and then saw others using the cotton as ear plugs!

Everyone gets a...cotton ball!

And we’re off to Lukla – 2,840 meters above sea level!

We are currently Day 9 of our adventuure holiday in the wonderful Himalayas and thought I’d share with you my Facebook updates so far. I’m currently sending this out to all of you from Namche Bazar, a quaint but very busy, touristy place lying about 3,440m above sea level. Yes, we are high up and we have internet! Isn’t that awesome? Anyway, since they charge an arm and a leg for this kind of connectivity up here, just thought i’d share with you some of my Facebook updates so far –

Posted March 29 at 6:10pm: Day 2 of our Himalayan Trek and we’re here at Namche Bazar at 3,440m – the highest elevation we’ve ever climbed in our lifetime! such a nice surprise to stop over in the commercial center of khumbu region – we even have internet! amazing! 8 more days of trekking to go

Posted March 30 at 5:30pm: Day 3 of our Himalayan Trek is the most interesting so far! Day started out sunny, then windy, then cloudy then finally – snowy!  Chin (my friend( and I were trekking in the winter wonderland that is the Himalayas on our half-pants! Mr. Rono not coping well with the altitude and had to stay behind in Namche Bazar. Highest altitude reached today – 3,720m!

 Posted April 5, 6:44pm: Day 9 of our Himalayan Trek and we’re back in Namche Bazar after 10++ hours of walking today all the way from Machermo. We did it! Mr. Rono and I trekked all the way to Gokyo Ri – our personal best at 5360m! I’m so proud of my hunny for beating the odds – altitude sickness, mental stress, physical fatigue – to be with me til the last leg! Aww…I love the Himalayas (and I think the mountains love me! :p)

It will take us about 2-3 days to get back to Kathmandu. I’m so looking forward to get back to the city comforts, to my laptop and to a serious dose of pampering!