|
Nepal TravelogueThe Kingdom of Nepal is a wonderful country. We thoroughly enjoyed the friendly and scenic city of Khatmandu and we will forever treasure the memories of our trek through the Khumbu Valley to Mt. Everest Base Camp. Choose any of the entries below, or simply read through each account in the order of their events. KATHMANDU: March 22, 2000 - March 25, 2000
KATHMANDU: IT BETTER BE WORTH IT, BECAUSE GETTING HERE WAS NOT FUN. Wednesday, March 22, 2000 Well, here we are. Kathmandu, Nepal. It just sounds cool, doesn't it? Well, it had better be cool, because getting here was not fun. We left Varanassi, India yesterday morning at 9:00 a.m. We were on what they call the "Deluxe Tourist Bus". We had seats in the back row, which we shared with 4 other people. The bus was packed. We were wedged in there so tightly that I had to ask permission to the people on each side of me if I wanted to reposition myself. To make matters worse, we did not have air conditioning and the sun came shining in through the back window all day long. Poor Richie did not feel too well halfway into the trip. We had to ask the bus driver to stop at the side of the road so he could get out and relieve himself. Finally, we arrived at the India-Nepal border just as it was getting dark. It was too late to make the trip to Kathmandu, so we were forced to stay at the little border town for the night. The hotel choices were scarce. We found the nicest hotel there, which was overpriced at $5. To give you an idea of how much we wanted to get out of there and how much we wanted to get to Kathmandu, we caught the 4:30 am local bus to Kathmandu. It is supposed to take at least 2 hours longer than the "deluxe tourist bus" that was leaving at 8:00 a.m. However, if Nepal's standards were the same as India when it comes to "Deluxe", we were willing to take our chances with the earlier local bus. We were pleasantly surprised by the local bus. We had nice big seats and the bus was never completely full. Yes, it was bumpy and slow, but still much better than the ride from the previous day. As we got deeper into Nepal, the scenery became more and more breathtaking. There were tall, green mountains and forests and a blue river running through the valley below. We have just checked into the Manaslu Hotel. It is a very nice hotel tucked away in the Lazimplat district, a nice quiet area of Kathmandu. We have decided to stay here because our friend, Mike Dunnahoo is staying here with the Everest 2000-Mountain Link Expedition. This brings us to the reason that we are here in Kathmandu. Mike is making a bid for the summit of Mt. Everest with an expedition led by Robert Link. Mike has dreamed about this opportunity since he was eight years old, and he has years of mountaineering experience to show how serious he is about this challenge. Mike introduced me to the sport of mountaineering years ago when he showed me photographs of his climb to the top of Mt. McKinley. A few years later, Mike came to our house and showed Rich and I slides of his trip to Tibet and his climb to the top of Mt. Cho Oyu, the sixth highest peak in the world. We were so taken and motivated by his photographs, that we decided that we too wanted to climb mountains. Mike suggested that we make a run at Mt. Rainier in Washington state, which stands at 14,400 feet. In fact, he offered to come with us and to have his good friend and accomplished guide, Robert Link be our guide for the trip. For months Rich and I trained for the Mt. Rainier challenge. When we arrived at the base of the mountain, I felt very confident. The weather was beautiful, Robert seemed very experienced and we were with friends. The weather stayed perfect, Robert proved his experience and we had a great time. However, when summit morning came, I fell apart and could not make it past 11,000 feet. Rich, Mike, Robert and our good friend, Andrew, made it to the top. I was thrilled for them, but very disappointed in my defeat. That day Robert told me that we had unfinished business and that, if I wanted, he would be my guide for a Rainier attempt the next year. I made it my mission to train both physically and mentally and to make it to the top that next year. Mike was very supportive in this goal and he helped us to arrange another trip with Robert for that following summer. And so, in July of 1999, Rich, Robert and I reached the summit of Mt. Rainier. I had climbed my mountain. Now, Robert and Mike are preparing to climb theirs. I am so excited to be here and support my good friends in this endeavor. Friday, March 24, 2000 It is very early in the morning and I am returning from saying "good bye" and "good luck" to Mike. He and his roommate, Steve, who is also making a bid for the summit, are leaving with the rest of the expedition team this morning to begin the 10 day trek to Everest Base Camp. It is probably silly that I woke up so early to say farewell, when Rich and I will be leaving in two days to meet them at Base Camp. Furthermore, we are scheduled to meet them several times along the way, so it is only a matter of days before we see them again. Still, I felt compelled to see them off, as this is the first day of a long hard road to the top of the world for them. We had a wonderful time with them yesterday as we toured the Buddhist stupas in Kathmandu and ate a delicious dinner together. Although we just met Steve the day before, we already feel like we are good friends. Mike climbed Mt. Cho Oyo with Steve and has maintained a close friendship with him ever since. He speaks very highly of Steve, and now we know why. We look forward to being able to stay up at Base Camp for 3 nights with our friends, Mike, Steve and Robert.
PHAKDING, KHUMBU VALLEY: FIRST DAY OF TREK. VERY IMPRESSED Sunday, March 26, 2000 Rich and I have been looking forward to our trek to base camp for several months now. I cannot believe that it is here. There are many ways that one can trek through the many trails of the Nepal Himalayas. One can be a hero and carry their own backpack through the mountains and camp or stay at tea houses. This option is very economical and commendable. However, one must be in excellent shape for this option. In addition, one must have a great deal of patience. Needless to say, we are not heroes. Another option is to hire a guide and porter. The porter will carry your bag and you all can stay at tea houses along the way. Many trekkers go this option, as it is not too costly, and you are still contributing to the Sherpa economy. The problem with this option is that you do not choose the tea houses. I do not like this lack of choice, and therefore, I am not fond of this option. The final, and most expensive option is the organized camping trek. This entails a sardar (guide), Sherpa helper (second in command), a cook, 3 kitchen helpers and 7 porters. It also includes a sleeping tent, dining tent, bathroom tent, sleeping bags, and all of the food and tea that your little heart desires. Being the budget travelers that we are, we chose the final option. Mike highly recommended this mode of travel through the Everest region, Additionally, we wanted to be able to meet Mike and his expedition team along the way. Therefore, we organized our trek with Great Escapes, the trekking company which is also organizing the expedition team, thereby allowing us to see our buddies on the trail and stay near them at Everest Base Camp.
Tomorrow we will be getting up at 6:00 a.m. to trek for 5 or 6 hours up to Namche Bazaar which sits at 11,283 feet.
DINGBOCHE: MEETING UP WITH MIKE AND FRIENDS AT 14,464 FEET Friday, March 31, 2000 Well, we have been on the trail now for nearly a week. We have fallen into a wonderful routine. At around 6:00 a.m. we are awoken by the sweet sound of L.G.'s voice (L.G. is one of the kitchen helpers), as he greets, "Morning. Milk Coffee". We crawl out of our sleeping bags just enough to open the tent a crack and reach for the tin cups of delicious, sweet milk coffee. The cups are always filled to the rim and the coffee is piping hot. So we cannot really move until we drink all of the contents. We then have 15 minutes to pack our belongings. During that time, our boiled morning washing water is brought to us in large tin bowls. Sometimes we manage to even wash our hair. Once we are ready to face the day, we exit our tents and head to the dining tent where we enjoy a delicious breakfast of porridge and scrambled or fried eggs on toast. As our team packs up our tents, we get ready for a day of approximately 6 hours of hiking up and down the mountain ranges. The scenery is spectacular. We pass over green terraces, clear, blue rivers and through colorful Sherpa villages. All the while, we look up at tall, snow capped mountain peaks. One could get used to this very easily. Our weather has been wonderful. The mornings are cold; however, by 8:00 a.m., the coats, hats and gloves come off and we are walking in the warm sunshine. It gets cold again in the evenings, and we put on the fleece, coats, gloves and hats once again. The stars in the evening time are plentiful. If only I could remember all of the constellations from my Astronomy class at Michigan State University. For now, I will have to settle with the satisfaction of finding the Big and Little Dipper, the Seven Sisters, the North Star, the Lion (Orien) and the Moon. The stars actually twinkle up here, and occasionally, we see a shooting star. We had a day of snow in Namche, which was a nice crisp change from the hot weather we have lived in for the past several months (not including Hanoi). Today, we met up again with Mike and the rest of the Expedition team. It was great to see our friends once again. They are having a wonderful time. Mike, Steve and Geoff came over to our dining tent tonight and we laughed and told stories until well past our usual bed time of 8:00 p.m. Yes, we now go to sleep very early, as it is nice to cuddle up in our sleeping bags and read in the warm safety of our little tent.
MT. EVEREST BASE CAMP: YOUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME AT OVER 17,500 FEET Tuesday, April 4, 2000 Mt. Everest Base Camp is not even on Mt. Everest. I never knew that until this trip. However, it does sit just at the bottom of the Khumbu Ice Falls, one of the most challenging sections of the Everest Climb and the passage to the actual mountain. Base Camp sits at over 17,500 feet and my aching head has become well aware of that. I have endured the altitude very well until yesterday. However, given the fact that a headache and small cold is my only ailment in this thin air, I feel very fortunate. Before waking up at 5:00 a.m. this morning to march up to Base Camp, we had the fortunate opportunity to climb up to 18,000 feet to the top of Kala Patar (Sherpa for Black Rock) yesterday afternoon for a fabulous view of Mt. Everest. On our way up to Base Camp this morning, we watched the sun come up over the peak of Sagamartha (the Sherpa name for Everest). And now we are here. Everest Base Camp. The exciting town which is set up every Spring for the many expedition teams that have worked so hard to climb up to the top of Everest. The climbers will have to live here for at least a month, and so they set up these little resorts which are well equipped with gourmet kitchens, large Mountain Hardware dome tents, bathroom tents and sophisticated technological equipment for maintaining web sites and communication with the outside world. When one looks around at the rocky terrain, they cannot help but be amazed at the creativity and ingenuity of those who have constructed these camps. That is still not to say that life is easy up here at over 17,500 feet. It can get very cold, the air is thin and dry, there are not any television sets and calls home cost around $5 per minute. Combine this with the nervousness that everyone must suppress in order to keep their minds clear and set on the large task that lays before them, and you can only begin to imagine how difficult it must be for these expedition team members. Lucky for us, we are not talented or strong enough to climb this mountain. In fact, we have already reached our high point. So we can relax and enjoy the excitement and luxuries for the next 3 days. We are already having a wonderful time. We are staying in the same camp as the Expedition 2000-Mountain Link team and we have been welcomed by them. In addition, we just found out via short wave radio that the Michigan State University men's basketball team became the NCAA National Champions just a few hours earlier in the States. We are very excited for our alma matter. Thursday, April 6, 2000 FUN DAY AT BASE CAMP. After a great breakfast, we walked up to the edge of the Khumbu Ice Falls with Mike, Steve and Geoff (nice and funny guy from Mountain Hardware who is working with the expedition team). The afternoon was warm and sunny. Mike and Steve set up a little beach area outside of their tent, equipped with delicious and rare snacks such as Pringles and great music from Steve's portable CD player. We just relaxed and Steve even juggled for us. Before dinner, we began a card game of Hearts, which had to be finished after dinner, and went on until well after our usual bed time. Tomorrow morning is the Puja, the Buddhist ceremony performed by a lama to bless the mountain and the Sherpas and climbing members of the Expedition team. For photos of the great Puja ceremony see: Puja Ceremony.
LUKLA, KHUMBU VALLEY: BITTERSWEET GOODBYES Tuesday, April 11, 2000 After several fun days at Base Camp, we headed down to the valley to return to Lukla, where we will fly back down to Kathmandu and return to the world of automobiles, pavement, hot showers and beds. We took our time going down and stopped for the night at several villages. My favorite place was Tengpoche which is host to a beautiful Buddhist monestary and fabulous views of Everest, Kwangde, Tawachee, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and Kantega mountains. While we were strolling through this small village, I saw a woman with a Wayne State University Law School t-shirt. I told her that I too attended WSU. It was then that I realized that she was the professor in charge of the Legal Research and Writing program. We chatted for a while and it turned out that we were camping right next to each other. It is a small small world. I hope that she does not return and look at my transcripts. We are now in Lukla, the final destination in the Khumbu Valley of our 18 day trek. Tomorrow morning we will wake up and catch a flight in a tiny little plane over the Himalaya back to Kathmandu. Although we are excited to return to modern civilization, we are very sad to say goodbye to our Sherpa staff. They have worked so hard. They are such good people. Tonight we had a small celebration. We drank chang, a rice alcohol drink, they sang traditional fold songs and we all danced. It was very nice. Tomorrow morning will be the last time that I wake up to "Morning milk coffee" unless I can train Richie.
BACK IN KATHMANDU: RELAXING AT THE HOTEL TIBET AND MEETING YOUNG GODDESSES. Sunday, April 16, 2000 Although I really miss life in the Khumbu Valley, I know that I will always have the memories, and good ones they will be. In fact, Rich and I have spent the past few days collecting and organizing our memories from our Everest trip to present to U in 2 Go Global. It has been fun hanging out in the wonderful and relaxing Hotel Tibet. We have also been preparing for our next destination, Egypt, and doing a little sight seeing. The other day we visited Durbar Square, an interesting little area where one can find temples, former royal buildings, beggars, street vendors and the temple and residence of the Kumari Devi, the last living Goddess on Earth. The Kumari Goddess is also known as the Virgin Goddess. The Goddess is chosen from the Newari Shakya social caste when she is around the age of 5 years. She must not have any body marks or injuries and her eyes must be of a certain color. Many young girls may satisfy the requirements; however, the girl who can remain unafraid in a room of screaming ghosts and goblins wins the honors, as a Goddess would not be afraid of demons. When she reaches puberty she is replaced by another Kumari. I was very excited to visit the temple. However, when we entered the courtyard, we were shocked to find it in such disrepair. The Goddess peaked her head out of a balcony window at one point. She looked very uninterested. I am not surprised, as it is no life for a young girl to have to remain inside except for certain days of the year where she is paraded through the city to be honored by well wishers. Oh well, the life of a Goddess is not supposed to be easy. This morning we met up with a few members of the expedition team that climbed Island Peak: Bruce, Marilynn, George and Tim and had breakfast at Mike's. It was a lot of fun to hear about their adventures. And now it is time to say good bye to Central Asia and Hello to the Middle East.
|
|
2 Go Maps / 2 Go Actual Itinerary / 2 Go Photos / 2 Go Home Page
PLEASE E-MAIL US. . . WE WOULD LOVE 2 HEAR FROM YOU!
©1999-2001 Kelly and Rich Willis. All rights reserved. |
So, here we are, our first day of
the trek. We are pleased as punch. The scenery is spectacular.
The weather is beautiful. Our sardar, Dendi is very nice and fun to be
with. Finally, everything is first rate. For example, we arrived at
our camp site this afternoon, and our staff set up the tents. Outside of
the dining tent, they placed a thermos with hot water and a towel, so that
we may clean our hands before meals. Inside the tent was a dining table
covered with a white table cloth. On the table, waiting for us, was our
choice of tea, hot chocolate, coffee, peanut butter and crackers. We sat
in our dining tent and began reading our books. As it grew dark, they
brought us a kerosene lamp, soon to be followed by a delicious dinner.
After dinner, they brought us more tea. Inside our tent, they had already
laid out our thick gortex sleeping bags. We are now getting ready to go to
sleep. I am happy that we are going to Base Camp in style. 