Nepal Trekking Day 2

Day 2: Phakding (2,610 m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)

Day 2 is a big trekking day for us. We start out early in the morning (7am) to make sure that we get to Namche Bazaar by 1-2 in the afternoon.

For those doing the math, we gain a lot of altitude on this day which is why we will be spending an extra day in Namche. We need to acclimate in order to get our bodies adjusted to the changes in the barometric pressure and reduction of oxygen molecules in the air.

Altitude wasn't really a factor for us in Lukla or Phakding. But today as we gain altitude heading into Namche we really do start feeling the fatigue and need for breaks to catch our breath.

The hike on this day is a lot of ups and downs as we make our way through a river valley and up into Namche. It is filled with a lot of villages and gorgeous views of the foothills into the Himalayas. We have 6 river crossings over suspension bridges, for those of you who know me - I am terrified of bridges, especially ones going over rapid, rocky rivers. The thing that saved me was seeing the big yaks with packs crossing successfully. I figured if they can do it with their heavy weight then the bridge definitely isn't going to snap with me on it:)

Sherpa Village in the early morning

Monastary built on a hillside just outside of Phakding

We have 6 bridge crossings on this day

Our guide tells me this is just a 'hill' ... !!!!

Soakin' up the Himalaya sun ... check out my long sleeve-T tied around my shoulders - what is that about???? I look like I am on vacationing at a resort or something!

Thamserku (6608m) in the background

These pictures are a look back at the trail we had been hiking the past 2 days. It felt excellent to look back at all the progress we had made and to remind ourselves of the amazing scenery around us.

The end of Day 2 is a 300 m climb into Namche. Again, not a huge climb (about 980 ft) but since we are starting to feel a little fatigued and breathing is a little more difficult it is definitely a big challenge.

Once we got into Namche I started getting pissed off, I thought once we got there, we would be done climbing for the day. But we didn't stop - we kept climbing and climbing. Our guide had arranged for us to stay in a very nice tea house but turned out it was at the top of the hill in Namche. About 50m from the hotel I had a sugar crash... I did so well all day!!!! Luckily we had some sugar coated gummy candies which held me over the last few steps. There was another couple hiking along with us, the woman was getting a little shakey also... so we shared our gummies with her -- she was very thankful to get a blood sugar boost ... I believe we saved their marriage :)

Once I was properly fed and happy, we got to get out and explore Namche!!! I think it was one of our favorite stops on the trip.

Namche is built into the mountains and is the Sherpa Capital. Here you will find all sorts of goodies for trekking (equipment, food, maps) as well as handcrafts by the Sherpa people. This is also a major trade route for goods coming through Tibet. We ate a lot of good food, slept a lot and shopped during our time in Namche.

Trail up to Namche

FINALLY we made it, view of Namche Bazaar

Nepal Trekking Day 1

So we start our trekking trip in Nepal. Together, Scott and I have taken more than 500 photos!!! We wont bore you with all of them (we got a bit excited over the yaks) but hopefully some carefully chosen photos and some stories give the picture. To keep it all organized I will do a post for each day of the trip.

To start things off, here are some stats:

Planned Days Trekking: 12

Actual Days Trekking: 8 (Altitude sickness is no joke - more on that later)

Max Altitude Reached: 4700 m

Hours Hiked Each Day: 5-7

Day 1: Domestic flight from Kathmandu to Lukla (2,840 m), hike to Phakding (2,610 m)

Our Journey starts with a domestic flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. There are no busses or cars in Lukla, it is a 9 day walk into this village from Jiri or it can be reached by helicopter / plane. From this point forward in our trek everything is carried further into the villages by people or yaks. The next 2 stopping points for helicopters are Namche Bazaar and Everest Base Camp, but most goods are brought in by people or animals.

Lukla is a crazy village, we loved it. All trekkers come through here at some point to start their journey if they are trekking through the Everest Region. The village is crawling with people from all different nationalities, lodges, teahouses, market stalls selling goods to trekkers and groups of porters and guides waiting to be hired to support a trekking trip into the Himalaya.

I think the best part of the village is the airport. There is not flat land in this area so the airstrip is uphill - no kidding! There are 'parking' spaces for 4 planes (think twin otter) and 2 helicopters to load and unload people, equipment and cargo. The entire space for this is probably the size of half an (American) football field.

Baggage Claim

Lukla Airport

Inside our Plane - Sita Air

View of runway in Lukla from inside the plane

View of Runway in Lukla - a little like a roller coaster ride.


AirTraffic...

From Lukla we hiked into Phakding (about 2.5 hrs) where we had some lunch and settled into the teahouse where we spent the first night. I had a terrible cold at this point, so I pretty much slept but Scott played cards and got to know some of the other people in the teahouse for the night and it turned out that we would see these people on and off over the next several days as they were just starting their trek as well.

Getting started on trail...

Om Mani Padme Hung - The six syllable mantra of compassion of the Buddha Chenrezig. The literal translation is: Oh hail to the jewel in the lotus flower. Of course this translation from Tibetan Buddhism really can't be translated into English, as there are many teachings of the Buddha wrapped into this phrase. Click the link for more description.

This chant is carved into the prayer wheels and rocks along the trail.

Phakding

One of my fave photos of the trip... courtesy of Scott. Phakding in the evening, with the teahouses lit up.

3 Days in Dubai, UAE

Dubai: Our adventure started out with 3 days of rest and relaxation in Dubai before heading off to Nepal.


Day 1: Scott and I slept in, lazed by the pool and I got a massage. Wow, what a life!!!! We were also lucky enough to meet up with one of our friends from work - Ann Perrins. It was great to catch up on life with her new baby and new job in Dubai. It was excellent to see her and her Mom who was in town as well.


Day 2: Who says waterparks are for kids only??? Scott and I went to Wild Wadi Waterpark. I think we had more fun than the kiddos running around the park and going on all the rides and going through the lazy river. Our favorite attraction was the 'Master Blaster' slides ... the force of the water actually shoots you up and down through a maze of slides throughout the park... great fun!

Scott Surfin'


Burj Al-Arab

The Kiddie Pool

Me, posin' in the park

We also went to the Mall of Emirates, for those of you who know western style malls, this isn't so big of an attraction - in fact its a bit sick to see an indoor ski area in the desert. Not only bad for the environment, but an example of spending ridiculous amts of money on something so useless

Day 3... Oh no, I am sick - a combination of stressful job and the fact that every building in Dubai is A/C crazy... it is 90 degrees outside but so cold inside. So I have a bad cold/bronchitis... (self diagnosed).

I did manage to get myself out of bed long enough to go to the Gold Souk! I won't tell you how much I spent, but I did well :)

3 Weeks of Vacation!!! Dubai and Nepal (how opposite can you get?)

Namaste Friends!

While hiking over 7 days in the Himalayas I was trying to figure out how I could share some of this amazing experience and gorgeous scenery with my family and friends... I realized I should set up a blog for this trip and all new adventures to come so I can share pictures and stories with all of you!!!

Scott and I will be leaving Azerbaijan within the next 6 months, so to make the most of our time here we planned a 3 day rest in Dubai and then headed off to Nepal to trek in the Everest Region in the Himalaya's for 12 days. Enjoy the photos and stories in my posts from this trip and more to come....