Road to Namche Bazaar
Sun Oct 15, 2023 : be patient this is a mile long…
Last instructions from lead Sherpa Kalden after dinner in Monjo were simple “Six-Seven-Eight”. Wake up at 6, breakfast at 7, hit the road at 8 and “Sandeep, I expect you to be in pace with the group” - his eyes were not kidding!!
I woke up a lot more rested, headache mild enough that a cup or two of Masala Tea could conquer. We have been religiously drinking a liter of water before heading out for breakfast. 7am sharp b/fast was served: 2 egg omlette, toast, potatoes. downed another liter of water. Sherpa Jiktal doing the rounds to check vitals. Prior to stepping out, we took a pic of our prayer flags. We intent to make this our ritual at every village we stay at.
Meet the team: Beside Jason and I, we have: Harjit & Louise (natives from UK, currently in Singapore), Grayson from Australia on the last part of her trip after visiting India. Brad, Steve, Scott - friends from college, Albert from Indiana and Ben & Kate from Hong Kong. Sherpas ensuring our safety and confort: Lead Sherpa Kalden, Sherpa Jiktal, Sherpa Tenji
Road to Namche: an hour or so after leaving Monjo we entered the Sagarmatha National Park. Permits checked and bags checked from drone, got the all clear and we descended in the valley, the thunder of Dudh Kosi river is starting to sound a but melodious under you see her power and might from the suspension bridges. Our next rest and photo stop was right under the Hilary Bridge suspended 410 feet high.
After rest and pics, we slowly started towards what is perhaps the steepest climb on this trip (supposedly or the sherpas are just trying to keep our morale high, regardless…). The next 2 hrs were straight up following switchback, one foot in front of the other slow and steady, stopping to give way for animals and porters on the path. My MVP award for yesterday goes to the porter who hauled a fridge on his back wearing what looked like shoes turning into sandals. These short breaks, to allow them to passage, also gave me moments to think about life - mine/theirs, jobs, families, priorites…
I noticed Harjit’s feet shuffle in-front which was my sign to break inertia. Scott has been the energy uplifter for sure with his wit and humor. Our fast snail paced movements got us to our next stop Topdanda (elevation: 3140 meter). This would give us our first view of the Mother Goddess of the World, hidden by the trees in our foreground and hidden gently by a veil of cloud. Within seconds she appeared and within moment she disappeared. Its magical to say the least.
News from Sherpa Kalden was that we were close to Namche. Another hour up the mountain gave us the first sight of a blue roof - YES ! we are close. We all stopped at the Namche Gate took pics and entered the town square. My eyes were first met by Buddha’s on his Stupa at the entrance. He is keeping a watch on us. we moseyed to the right with prayer wheels spinning a dizzying speeds powered by the water running downhill. Steve recalled a line from a book he read where the author imagined these spinning wheels were spraying prayers (like a lawn sprinkler back home) in all directions to anyone and everyone, 24x7 without judgement. I could see the visual. We had arriived at Namche - elevation 11211 feet.
Another few hundred feet we arrived at Namche Hotel.
Namche Bazaar was a busy trading town in its days. It is a adorable place with homes/hotels tucked in the hillside. Our hotel offers 7-star’esque resorty amenities: a hot shower in the room, a towel, a western style toilet, heated blankets, a down comforter and AMAZING views.
Upon arrival the hot lemon honey ginger team was welcoming. Between the 11 of us that huge Mt Everest wannabe tea flask was empty. My lunch was Garlic soup, steamed chicken momos and a hot latte to kill that tinny headache. We retired to our rooms for a little horizontal stretch break
We regrouped around 3:30pm. Jason, Brad, Scott, Steve and I walked the town. We found a nice cafe where we all indulged in more masala tea and shared some stories.
Call for dinner was 6pm. I had (you guessed right) Garlic soup and Spaghettti with tomato sauce - it was perfect.
Post dinner: Jason, Kate, Ben, Albert and I did a little more exploring all the way down to the stupa where we also saw a statue in honor of Pemba Doma Sherpa - first Nepalese woman to summit Everest from the North side. The prayer wheels we not glowing with lights continuing to toss good vibes are way.
We walked up the path, back to the room. I surprisingly was still feeling high with energy. Drank more water and laid down.
It was a great day overall. I am happy my attitude is now in-sync with the altitude.
Tomorrow we visit the Sherpa museum and just walk around town.