Sunday, May 30, 2010
namche to pakding
5 hours of walking...we were all getting bitchy....we were sick of the food, I couldn't stomach another egg, we were dirty and cold. Ok that's the bad news....the good news is that I was still happy to be in the himalayas and felt so lucky to have been literally dumped with 7 people I didn't know...only to make some really lasting friendships...Team Yak attack ROCKS!!
periche to namche in one day
We decided as a group to walk from Periche back to Namche Bazar in one day...8 hours. Can I just say we walked for 9 and coming down is quite similar to going up. What the Nepalis call the "Nepal flats" are in fact mountain side paths that go up and down, up and down...very little flat. Tina and I were done...we had 20 minutes to go and it took us an hour...glad to get to our little Namche. We had dinner...did some browsing, I bought my scarf map:) and to bed we went....
Kala Pathar is hard
5am May 25th...I am in the dining hall with Marcos, Renee (reney), Sarah and Kristen (krishna) waiting for the others. Its an early morning climb and I am ready. We decided to go and let the others catch up. Kala Pathar (KP) was an optional climb on our itinerary to see the sun rise at 5540m. So we set out..the others ahead...Marcos pretty much running and Sarah close behind. Krishna and up taking up the back. From the beginning it was rough...if it had been any more straight up we would have needed ropes and crampons. About a quarter or less of the way up, I looked back and Krishna had stopped. She said she was feeling crappy and I told her to take her time and I moved on. The next time I looked behind she wasn't there and one of the guides said Tina had come up and they had both gone down. Krishna was not well and it was Tina's 40th b-day...so why the hell would she want to do this brutal climb when it was finally the time in her life to do what the fuck she wanted to!
The climb was hard, the climb was hard, the climb was hard. My legs were heavy from hypoxia, my nail beds were blue from hypoxia, my heart rate was about 140 and resp rate about 40....dammit I wanted to turn around...so many times I wanted to turn around. I don't know...something inside me, a strength I didn't know I had pushed me...I was taking 5 steps and resting, 5 steps and resting. After 2 and a half hours I made the summit where Marcos, Renee and Sarah were waiting....I had done it...I had summited a Himalyan peak! We took some pics and saw Everest rising before us perfectly at 740am. Down was hard too...took me at least 90 minutes.
We got back to the lodge at Gorak Shep to find that our head guide Shankur had sent Gareth, Kristen, Tina and Jen down to Periche to get Gareth to a lower altitude and maybe seek medical attention....a 5 hour walk. We had breakfast, packed up and off we went...Sarah and Marcos ahead and Reney and I making our way. The five hours down rock falls and river beds went from sunny to cloudy to raining...pouring. I had my gortex on and a pack cover but was so tired I couldn't be bothered to take my rain pants out of my pack....by the time we got to Periche...soaked. I sat for a minute, and I couldn't get up....my legs were done. I hobbled down the hill to an internet cafe to update my facebook status and went back. ate dinner and bed.
Kala Pathar was hard.
PS My Whalian friend Gareth was feeling much better:)
The climb was hard, the climb was hard, the climb was hard. My legs were heavy from hypoxia, my nail beds were blue from hypoxia, my heart rate was about 140 and resp rate about 40....dammit I wanted to turn around...so many times I wanted to turn around. I don't know...something inside me, a strength I didn't know I had pushed me...I was taking 5 steps and resting, 5 steps and resting. After 2 and a half hours I made the summit where Marcos, Renee and Sarah were waiting....I had done it...I had summited a Himalyan peak! We took some pics and saw Everest rising before us perfectly at 740am. Down was hard too...took me at least 90 minutes.
We got back to the lodge at Gorak Shep to find that our head guide Shankur had sent Gareth, Kristen, Tina and Jen down to Periche to get Gareth to a lower altitude and maybe seek medical attention....a 5 hour walk. We had breakfast, packed up and off we went...Sarah and Marcos ahead and Reney and I making our way. The five hours down rock falls and river beds went from sunny to cloudy to raining...pouring. I had my gortex on and a pack cover but was so tired I couldn't be bothered to take my rain pants out of my pack....by the time we got to Periche...soaked. I sat for a minute, and I couldn't get up....my legs were done. I hobbled down the hill to an internet cafe to update my facebook status and went back. ate dinner and bed.
Kala Pathar was hard.
PS My Whalian friend Gareth was feeling much better:)
1 whistle for yak attack, 2 whistles for yeti attack
Ok so....I am backtracking a bit here...and its hard....I don't know maybe you get some sort of altitude induced amnesia but I have lost bits and pieces. Where we were at this point I couldn't even remember where we had woken up the day before so bear with:)
I awoke in Lobuche to looking out my window to snow on the tin roof..mmmm...ok then. We had breakfast, my usual of porridge and boiled eggs and milk coffee. I put my gaiters on (I didn't even know what they were til the trek!)....had 2 pairs of long johns and pants and 4 layers on top. It was snowing...probably about 5 cm on the ground already. We walked up through what I would call "rock falls"...rocks ranging from regular rock size to the size of a firetruck. Gareth was unwell, the altitude was getting to him and I had given him a shot of maxeran the night before (I think). He is a tough "Whalian" though:) After climbing and climbing to the top of one of these giant rock waterfalls we came to a memorial to climbers and sherpas who had lost their lives in summit attempts...there were probably around 30 memorials spread out. I found the memorial to Scott Fisher, one of the expedition leaders who lost his life in the 1996 disaster on Everest and tied a prayer flag to the many already waving in the wind. Quite a moment for me. It was snowing wet snow and eventually we were trudging through maybe 10cm all morning til we arrived at Gorak Shep. We had lunch, put our duffles in our rooms and got prepared for the final ascent to Everest Base Camp.
The snow was still there but melting a bit as the sun climbed although it was cloudy. We walked through rocky river beds and around mountain paths until we saw the camp in the distance...the yellow and orange tents of EBC. Gareth was still unwell, vomiting along the way. But this trek is not for the weak and the Himalayas are unforgiving...like I said, he is a tough, but sweet Whalian and he knew that if he stopped we would go on without him...that's just the way of the Himalayas. I knew that we were on the final ascent into BC, so I turned the video on and HERE WE WERE....Everest Base Camp!!!...May 24 around 1515. To some it may be a little anticlimactic but for me this was IT!!! There was a big rock with a sign saying Everest Base Camp with a zillion prayer flags blowing in the wind and I added mine. I could see the tents in the distance and Khombu icefall below me, and a foggy area in the distance where the climbers started. The icefall has taken many in it were tragedy has struck and I thought of those people as I looked down. We could hear the glacier shifting and avalanches high above us...one never forgets a sound like that. It was just like I had read, and beyond words. The sun had come out for us and we were the only group there...the holy mountain was welcoming us! We were surrounded by the mighty Himalayas...what a sight. We were at 5364m, and each and every one of us had a smile. Gareth stepped away from his nausea for a few minutes and stripped naked to run through camp...it was planned but I think I was the only one who believed he would do it....I had 2 cameras ready to go:)
We didn't go to the tents as it was about another 30-60 minute hike, and we were limited in time...light was fading and you DO NOT want to be caught in the dark finding your way back to your lodge. We took pictures and took in what we would probably never see for ourselves again and what few have ever seen.
Down we went, had dinner, and went to bed preparing for a 5am "optional" departure for Kala Pathar....a "small" Himalayan peak.
I awoke in Lobuche to looking out my window to snow on the tin roof..mmmm...ok then. We had breakfast, my usual of porridge and boiled eggs and milk coffee. I put my gaiters on (I didn't even know what they were til the trek!)....had 2 pairs of long johns and pants and 4 layers on top. It was snowing...probably about 5 cm on the ground already. We walked up through what I would call "rock falls"...rocks ranging from regular rock size to the size of a firetruck. Gareth was unwell, the altitude was getting to him and I had given him a shot of maxeran the night before (I think). He is a tough "Whalian" though:) After climbing and climbing to the top of one of these giant rock waterfalls we came to a memorial to climbers and sherpas who had lost their lives in summit attempts...there were probably around 30 memorials spread out. I found the memorial to Scott Fisher, one of the expedition leaders who lost his life in the 1996 disaster on Everest and tied a prayer flag to the many already waving in the wind. Quite a moment for me. It was snowing wet snow and eventually we were trudging through maybe 10cm all morning til we arrived at Gorak Shep. We had lunch, put our duffles in our rooms and got prepared for the final ascent to Everest Base Camp.
The snow was still there but melting a bit as the sun climbed although it was cloudy. We walked through rocky river beds and around mountain paths until we saw the camp in the distance...the yellow and orange tents of EBC. Gareth was still unwell, vomiting along the way. But this trek is not for the weak and the Himalayas are unforgiving...like I said, he is a tough, but sweet Whalian and he knew that if he stopped we would go on without him...that's just the way of the Himalayas. I knew that we were on the final ascent into BC, so I turned the video on and HERE WE WERE....Everest Base Camp!!!...May 24 around 1515. To some it may be a little anticlimactic but for me this was IT!!! There was a big rock with a sign saying Everest Base Camp with a zillion prayer flags blowing in the wind and I added mine. I could see the tents in the distance and Khombu icefall below me, and a foggy area in the distance where the climbers started. The icefall has taken many in it were tragedy has struck and I thought of those people as I looked down. We could hear the glacier shifting and avalanches high above us...one never forgets a sound like that. It was just like I had read, and beyond words. The sun had come out for us and we were the only group there...the holy mountain was welcoming us! We were surrounded by the mighty Himalayas...what a sight. We were at 5364m, and each and every one of us had a smile. Gareth stepped away from his nausea for a few minutes and stripped naked to run through camp...it was planned but I think I was the only one who believed he would do it....I had 2 cameras ready to go:)
We didn't go to the tents as it was about another 30-60 minute hike, and we were limited in time...light was fading and you DO NOT want to be caught in the dark finding your way back to your lodge. We took pictures and took in what we would probably never see for ourselves again and what few have ever seen.
Down we went, had dinner, and went to bed preparing for a 5am "optional" departure for Kala Pathar....a "small" Himalayan peak.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
the rainbow bridge
Dingboche altitude 4410 m
Yesterday when I woke up in Tengboche at 600, I looked out my window and said "looks like a great day to summit Everest"....there was no snow blowing in the jet stream indicating good weather. What a cool thing to wake up, look out your window and see Everest!
We had breakfast and were off to ascend 650 m over 6 hours and 8km. We started out walking through rhodadendrum and coniferous forests, the sun was shining, but that cool himalayan breeze had me with my fleece on. The himalayas are really an untouched paradise. This may be a bit overly dramatic but if you know the poem "Under the Rainbow Bridge"...the landscape reminds me of that. When you lose a pet (as the poem goes) the beloved pet goes to a place called the rainbow bridge where their illnesses are cured, they are young again, it is a perfect place with meadows and hills and streams....when you die you meet them there again. The himalayas are such a paradise that I have expected to see my beloved cat Sammy galloping towards me or my family dog Mackenzie....seriously!
We passed by the Russian climbing team that made summit but lost a team member in the process. Obviously they were moving fast, in a hurry to get down. As we climbed beyond 4000m, trees disappeared, similar to the arctic tundra, low lying juniper shrubs and "tundra" flowers. It was almost like something out of star trek or the old Mad Max movies...beautiful, serene, untouched, yet very isolated with the snow capped peaks of the tallest mountains in the world surrounding you.
We were all moving a bit slower due to the altitude...that and climbing at 45 degree angles for up to 2 hours at a time is what makes this trek a challenge unlike no other. Its probably the most physically demanding thing I have ever done thus far. Gareth and I were talking of trying to summit Everest at some point in our lives....if you were properly trained and got some good mountaineering experience it might be doable. Our team is still great...some are pacing faster than others...i am usually about in the middle. Its not about speed here its about safety. I had to dispense some extra diamox I had (have and extra 2 week supply) to one of the girls, otherwise I am convinced she probably wouldn't make it.
We arrived at Dingboche around 1530 yesterday after what turned out to be an almost 8 hour day, tired. I slept for a bit while the others hung out. We have to pay 380 rupees for a hot shower, which will not even be possible after today. This morning we did our acclimatization hike and climbed 400 m straight up very slowly then down. Gareth and I were straggling on the way down talking about the possibilities for mining in Nepal...the glacier and volcanic rocks are just gorgeous...then we made a plan to write a sci fi book about how nepal becomes a superpower after allowing mining in the Himalayas...maybe we are just altitude crazy! We also tried to collect some yak dung for our guesthouse hosts for fuel for the fire...our assistant guide laughed when he looked in my half full bag I had slung over my shoulder because Gareth and I had actually collected quite a bit of horse poo. Thought that counts!
After descending we ate lunch, some of us did laundry and some showered. I did laundry, as in fill a basin with cold water and hang outside to dry. Then I hiked it up here to the internet cafe which is costing me about $16.00 per hour! Took me about 20 minutes to walk up here breathing heavy all the way. The least little bit of exertion makes one pretty short of breath. I will shower after i get back and prepare to move on tomorrow to Lobuche (altitude 4900 m)tomorrow
WEATHER REPORT FOR DAD
Last night when we went to bed I think it was about +6-8...I had to wear a long sleeve tshirt, s short sleeve, my fleece my lightweight longjohns and hat, socks and snuggle into my -12 sleeping bag
This morning not a cloud in the sky but i added my northface pants to my last nights pyjama ensemble and i was ok...probably about 12-15 i would guess-timate:)
Yesterday when I woke up in Tengboche at 600, I looked out my window and said "looks like a great day to summit Everest"....there was no snow blowing in the jet stream indicating good weather. What a cool thing to wake up, look out your window and see Everest!
We had breakfast and were off to ascend 650 m over 6 hours and 8km. We started out walking through rhodadendrum and coniferous forests, the sun was shining, but that cool himalayan breeze had me with my fleece on. The himalayas are really an untouched paradise. This may be a bit overly dramatic but if you know the poem "Under the Rainbow Bridge"...the landscape reminds me of that. When you lose a pet (as the poem goes) the beloved pet goes to a place called the rainbow bridge where their illnesses are cured, they are young again, it is a perfect place with meadows and hills and streams....when you die you meet them there again. The himalayas are such a paradise that I have expected to see my beloved cat Sammy galloping towards me or my family dog Mackenzie....seriously!
We passed by the Russian climbing team that made summit but lost a team member in the process. Obviously they were moving fast, in a hurry to get down. As we climbed beyond 4000m, trees disappeared, similar to the arctic tundra, low lying juniper shrubs and "tundra" flowers. It was almost like something out of star trek or the old Mad Max movies...beautiful, serene, untouched, yet very isolated with the snow capped peaks of the tallest mountains in the world surrounding you.
We were all moving a bit slower due to the altitude...that and climbing at 45 degree angles for up to 2 hours at a time is what makes this trek a challenge unlike no other. Its probably the most physically demanding thing I have ever done thus far. Gareth and I were talking of trying to summit Everest at some point in our lives....if you were properly trained and got some good mountaineering experience it might be doable. Our team is still great...some are pacing faster than others...i am usually about in the middle. Its not about speed here its about safety. I had to dispense some extra diamox I had (have and extra 2 week supply) to one of the girls, otherwise I am convinced she probably wouldn't make it.
We arrived at Dingboche around 1530 yesterday after what turned out to be an almost 8 hour day, tired. I slept for a bit while the others hung out. We have to pay 380 rupees for a hot shower, which will not even be possible after today. This morning we did our acclimatization hike and climbed 400 m straight up very slowly then down. Gareth and I were straggling on the way down talking about the possibilities for mining in Nepal...the glacier and volcanic rocks are just gorgeous...then we made a plan to write a sci fi book about how nepal becomes a superpower after allowing mining in the Himalayas...maybe we are just altitude crazy! We also tried to collect some yak dung for our guesthouse hosts for fuel for the fire...our assistant guide laughed when he looked in my half full bag I had slung over my shoulder because Gareth and I had actually collected quite a bit of horse poo. Thought that counts!
After descending we ate lunch, some of us did laundry and some showered. I did laundry, as in fill a basin with cold water and hang outside to dry. Then I hiked it up here to the internet cafe which is costing me about $16.00 per hour! Took me about 20 minutes to walk up here breathing heavy all the way. The least little bit of exertion makes one pretty short of breath. I will shower after i get back and prepare to move on tomorrow to Lobuche (altitude 4900 m)tomorrow
WEATHER REPORT FOR DAD
Last night when we went to bed I think it was about +6-8...I had to wear a long sleeve tshirt, s short sleeve, my fleece my lightweight longjohns and hat, socks and snuggle into my -12 sleeping bag
This morning not a cloud in the sky but i added my northface pants to my last nights pyjama ensemble and i was ok...probably about 12-15 i would guess-timate:)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
this is the time of my life
This morning we left Namche Bazar at 0800 to begin our journey to Tengboche....descend 500m, ascend 700 m. I am actually getting used to the high altitude assault on my cardiovascular system or I am having some sort of high altitude euphoria because ascending 700 m over 6 hours and 9k was actually quite pleasant at almost 4km above English Bay. Don't get me wrong it was a challenge, but when I came around a corner and saw EVEREST in full view with the snow blowing off the top with the jet stream, I have to tell you, no words can describe its beauty. I tied a prayer flag to the monument commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Hilary/Norgay Everest summit.
We mostly were walking on switchback paths along mountain edges through coniferous forests and rhododendrons, it was mostly sunny with a cool Himalayan breeze. My trekking poles have been a life saver, I would highly recommend them for any sort of moderate to advanced hiking. I have been able to control my breathing, long breath in , long breath out...just focusing on the breath like yoga has taught me and it has made the most difficult trek in the world very rewarding.
We arrived in Tengboche around 1530, got settled into the lodge...very basic with outdoor bathrooms and shower. We then went to the Tengboche monastery and sat in on a puja with the monks. This place Tencboche is surrounded by the high Himalayas and I can see Everest from my window. It is in a small valley, immediately surrounded by forest and in the middle pasture with grazing horses. Tomorrow, another long day but we will spend 2 days at the next village acclimatizing as we will ascend 700 m to around 4400 m. On "rest" day we will gain 600m and return down.
I am still well...the diamox is making me pee every 3 hours. I even had a beer after we arrived at Tengboche....I said "that is what Canadians do...we work hard then have a nice cold beer!"
We mostly were walking on switchback paths along mountain edges through coniferous forests and rhododendrons, it was mostly sunny with a cool Himalayan breeze. My trekking poles have been a life saver, I would highly recommend them for any sort of moderate to advanced hiking. I have been able to control my breathing, long breath in , long breath out...just focusing on the breath like yoga has taught me and it has made the most difficult trek in the world very rewarding.
We arrived in Tengboche around 1530, got settled into the lodge...very basic with outdoor bathrooms and shower. We then went to the Tengboche monastery and sat in on a puja with the monks. This place Tencboche is surrounded by the high Himalayas and I can see Everest from my window. It is in a small valley, immediately surrounded by forest and in the middle pasture with grazing horses. Tomorrow, another long day but we will spend 2 days at the next village acclimatizing as we will ascend 700 m to around 4400 m. On "rest" day we will gain 600m and return down.
I am still well...the diamox is making me pee every 3 hours. I even had a beer after we arrived at Tengboche....I said "that is what Canadians do...we work hard then have a nice cold beer!"
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
EBC TREK DAY 1-3
We left Kathmandu on Monday, off to the airport at 515 where we got on a little twin otter to fly to Lukla. The flight only took 40 minutes and the views were spectacular. Lukla is the most difficult airport in the world to make landing. If you are coming in, the pilot only has one chance because he can't "pull up" due to the fact that there is a mountain at the end of the short runway. When he does make landing, he taxis uphill to let him slow down. Leaving, the runway is downhill (to help with "momentum") and the end is a drop off, off of a mountain. Kind of like taking off and landing on an aircraft carrier....sort of but harder.
We had breakfast in Lukla and off we went for a 3 hour hike, a mountain edge path...imagine the sea to sky but with a 6 foot or less wide path at the edge. Yaks, porters carrying up to 10 sheets of 1/4 inch plywood sheets and donkeys get the right of way. It was up and down all the way and we actually lost 200 m altitude. We got to Phakding and ate lunch, then I think everyone slept all afternoon pretty much til dinner.
My trekking team group is GREAT! Gareth from Wales with Kevin his stuffed Kiwi bird that sits tied to his backpack, Renee from Van, Kristin and Tina from Toronto, Marcos from Switzerland and Sarah and Jen from the US. We are all getting along really well.
We headed out from Phakding to Namche Bazar on Tuesday morning at 800 for what I knew was going to be one of the most challenging sections of the trek. We had to gain 800m altitude over 9 km and 6 hours. We stopped every 30 minutes to rest and drink water...becoming dehydrated is the kiss of death in altitude and your breathing is heavier and quicker so you lose water much faster. For this section of the trek we were advised that we needed to drink 3L...I drank 4. We got the famous namche bazar, the historical trading post centre between nepal and tibet around 1530...we all slept, got up for dinner and back to bed.
We are spending today again in Namche Bazar as an acclimatization day, and when i woke up at 500 i looked out the window from my bed and through the clear Himalayan morning I saw a peak...not Everest but one of the big ones...so beautiful! As part of our acclimatization we set out at 800 on a 3 hour, 250 m (altitude) straight up trek. We stopped at the Sherpa museum, to see the history of the region. The climb beyond was really a climb, a climb through the fast moving clouds and cool winds...I needed to stop frequently to catch my breath and my trekking poles were a life saver. At the top there was an airstrip, the last before Everest. To the right 45 minutes was Kunde where there was a hospital I really wanted to visit. A physician I work with had worked there and I wanted to stop in and get the lay of the land, as I would love to volunteer my time there at some point. But Kunde is not on the route. We spent about 15 minutes at the top and then down we went....sometimes down is harder than up...hard on the knees.
Once back in Namche we had lunch, the rest of the group went to "shop"...Namche is the last place along the trek to buy supplies. I slept....the altitude is making me sleepy and as soon as my head hits the pillow I am out for hours...in a deep sleep. After I awoke, a few of us decided to go down into the village again and I bought some Free Tibet stickers, EBC patches, post cards, a trekking map and toilet paper. We are now after dinner, around 2000, and I need to pack up for the 6 hour trek that will gain us 350 m altitude to Tengboche. Got some laundry done today, and will take a shower that has a charge of 250 rupees, about $3.50. I am not really feeling any effect of mountain sickness, except exertional shortness of breath and my hands have some edema from my fairly severe sunburn. Am purifying my water and have not used one plastic bottle since I arrived in Nepal! Hopefully we will have views of Everest tomorrow...crossing my fingers! Not sure about Internet access in the villages to come, but will do my best!
We had breakfast in Lukla and off we went for a 3 hour hike, a mountain edge path...imagine the sea to sky but with a 6 foot or less wide path at the edge. Yaks, porters carrying up to 10 sheets of 1/4 inch plywood sheets and donkeys get the right of way. It was up and down all the way and we actually lost 200 m altitude. We got to Phakding and ate lunch, then I think everyone slept all afternoon pretty much til dinner.
My trekking team group is GREAT! Gareth from Wales with Kevin his stuffed Kiwi bird that sits tied to his backpack, Renee from Van, Kristin and Tina from Toronto, Marcos from Switzerland and Sarah and Jen from the US. We are all getting along really well.
We headed out from Phakding to Namche Bazar on Tuesday morning at 800 for what I knew was going to be one of the most challenging sections of the trek. We had to gain 800m altitude over 9 km and 6 hours. We stopped every 30 minutes to rest and drink water...becoming dehydrated is the kiss of death in altitude and your breathing is heavier and quicker so you lose water much faster. For this section of the trek we were advised that we needed to drink 3L...I drank 4. We got the famous namche bazar, the historical trading post centre between nepal and tibet around 1530...we all slept, got up for dinner and back to bed.
We are spending today again in Namche Bazar as an acclimatization day, and when i woke up at 500 i looked out the window from my bed and through the clear Himalayan morning I saw a peak...not Everest but one of the big ones...so beautiful! As part of our acclimatization we set out at 800 on a 3 hour, 250 m (altitude) straight up trek. We stopped at the Sherpa museum, to see the history of the region. The climb beyond was really a climb, a climb through the fast moving clouds and cool winds...I needed to stop frequently to catch my breath and my trekking poles were a life saver. At the top there was an airstrip, the last before Everest. To the right 45 minutes was Kunde where there was a hospital I really wanted to visit. A physician I work with had worked there and I wanted to stop in and get the lay of the land, as I would love to volunteer my time there at some point. But Kunde is not on the route. We spent about 15 minutes at the top and then down we went....sometimes down is harder than up...hard on the knees.
Once back in Namche we had lunch, the rest of the group went to "shop"...Namche is the last place along the trek to buy supplies. I slept....the altitude is making me sleepy and as soon as my head hits the pillow I am out for hours...in a deep sleep. After I awoke, a few of us decided to go down into the village again and I bought some Free Tibet stickers, EBC patches, post cards, a trekking map and toilet paper. We are now after dinner, around 2000, and I need to pack up for the 6 hour trek that will gain us 350 m altitude to Tengboche. Got some laundry done today, and will take a shower that has a charge of 250 rupees, about $3.50. I am not really feeling any effect of mountain sickness, except exertional shortness of breath and my hands have some edema from my fairly severe sunburn. Am purifying my water and have not used one plastic bottle since I arrived in Nepal! Hopefully we will have views of Everest tomorrow...crossing my fingers! Not sure about Internet access in the villages to come, but will do my best!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
there's a lizard in my backpack....
They say that what you dream about at night is your brain's way of reviewing the days events, what and who you thought about and what you did. Last night I dreamt that the Dalai Lama was my friend and I brought him to walk the Bodnath stupa with me at 600...it was such a happy and peaceful dream. Considering what I was really thinking about when I went to sleep, a happy and peaceful dream was not what I was expecting.
I was eating dinner in the garden, with my backpack on the ground, open. I was getting up to leave, closing my pack and i heard a noise like the chirp of a gecko. I put my pack on, went up to my room, and just sat on the bed thinking about my day. I went to pull some books out and I heard what I thought was chirping again, but louder. Creepy things and me...not a good mix...I went downstairs and asked the hostess if there were small lizards in Nepal. She said yes and I said "mmmm I think I have one in my backpack"! She called the monastery gate "security" guy and he came up to find not a gecko but a RAT! It was not chirping I had heard...but a rat squeaking to get the f#$k out of my pack! I was carrying a backpack on my back with a RAT IN IT!!!!! Needless to say it was a scene...every time he said he had gotten it out of my room...I relaxed in for the night, and there it was lurking along the baseboards. 3 times he tried...3 times he failed....I slept in another room. I finally fell asleep around 2am. What can you do...creepy things are just a way of life here. Don't get me wrong I screamed and ran...but seriously what can you do...as they say, when in Rome! I was still up to walk with the pilgrims but may bail on my walk to the Hindu temple today and just pack it up and move into Kathmandu to meet my trekking group. I might even change my clothes today!....have been in the same ones as when I left Vancouver...a hippie skirt and t-shirt are THE best travel clothes I have to say...
I was eating dinner in the garden, with my backpack on the ground, open. I was getting up to leave, closing my pack and i heard a noise like the chirp of a gecko. I put my pack on, went up to my room, and just sat on the bed thinking about my day. I went to pull some books out and I heard what I thought was chirping again, but louder. Creepy things and me...not a good mix...I went downstairs and asked the hostess if there were small lizards in Nepal. She said yes and I said "mmmm I think I have one in my backpack"! She called the monastery gate "security" guy and he came up to find not a gecko but a RAT! It was not chirping I had heard...but a rat squeaking to get the f#$k out of my pack! I was carrying a backpack on my back with a RAT IN IT!!!!! Needless to say it was a scene...every time he said he had gotten it out of my room...I relaxed in for the night, and there it was lurking along the baseboards. 3 times he tried...3 times he failed....I slept in another room. I finally fell asleep around 2am. What can you do...creepy things are just a way of life here. Don't get me wrong I screamed and ran...but seriously what can you do...as they say, when in Rome! I was still up to walk with the pilgrims but may bail on my walk to the Hindu temple today and just pack it up and move into Kathmandu to meet my trekking group. I might even change my clothes today!....have been in the same ones as when I left Vancouver...a hippie skirt and t-shirt are THE best travel clothes I have to say...
a search for nothing
This morning I decided to take my friend Ivan up to Kopan Monastery. We set out around 1100, in the mid day heat. About half way there a boy with a tray of caged birds stopped us and asked us if we would like to buy a cage...it would be good karma to set them free. We paid 500 rupees each for a cage of 4 baby birds and thought it would be nice to set them free at the monastery. So off we went carrying our cages of birds. At the very top of the monastery there was a flat grassy spot...so there we set our caged birds free...and received some good karma for doing so. We sat at the edge and looked out at the stupa below and the northern kathmandu valley. He asked me what I was searching for here in Nepal. I only had to think a minute, and I told him...nothing, absolutely nothing. I told him that I felt if you were searching you would never find and if you were content you wouldn't have to search. Being content doesn't come from searching, just from being. He thought my theory was "interesting". With that, he pulled out a gift he had promised me the first day we met. It was a leaf and a piece of bark from THE Bodhi tree in India where Buddha sat and achieved enlightenment and found peace. Now that in itself is enlightening. A true treasure.
We had lunch at the monastery cafe, really great food, about $4 for both of us. We sat with a "retired" Brazilian ophthalmologist who was searching. He called himself a "vagabond" This old physician told me that going to Everest was "ego" BUT trekking to Kailash (holy mountain in Tibet)was "spirit". That may very well be..."an interesting theory".
We decided to keep going on to another monastery which I thought was about 15 minutes away, but after 15 minutes walking along a hillside footpath we discovered we were an hour away. It was hot, my arms were red from the sun, so we made the "group" decision to go back to Shechen.
We got back to our "neighbourhood" in about 45 minutes, he went to the supermarket and I headed down the familiar alley to the monastery. I found the "tin house" woman in the same spot as this morning. She almost hugged me...not exactly the norm for Hindus in Nepal! Her son translated that she wanted me to come and visit her at her house this evening. My gift of food was completely altruistic, it would be bad karma to take that back so I graciously declined, although I did say i had passed their house and looked for them.
So now its 1833 and I should eat and shower and go to bed...yup early but I have to if I want to be up walking with the pilgrims at 530! My arms are red and my feet are blistered from the stupid decision to hike the dusty roads in my sandals 2 days running. Worth the blisters?...every last one.
We had lunch at the monastery cafe, really great food, about $4 for both of us. We sat with a "retired" Brazilian ophthalmologist who was searching. He called himself a "vagabond" This old physician told me that going to Everest was "ego" BUT trekking to Kailash (holy mountain in Tibet)was "spirit". That may very well be..."an interesting theory".
We decided to keep going on to another monastery which I thought was about 15 minutes away, but after 15 minutes walking along a hillside footpath we discovered we were an hour away. It was hot, my arms were red from the sun, so we made the "group" decision to go back to Shechen.
We got back to our "neighbourhood" in about 45 minutes, he went to the supermarket and I headed down the familiar alley to the monastery. I found the "tin house" woman in the same spot as this morning. She almost hugged me...not exactly the norm for Hindus in Nepal! Her son translated that she wanted me to come and visit her at her house this evening. My gift of food was completely altruistic, it would be bad karma to take that back so I graciously declined, although I did say i had passed their house and looked for them.
So now its 1833 and I should eat and shower and go to bed...yup early but I have to if I want to be up walking with the pilgrims at 530! My arms are red and my feet are blistered from the stupid decision to hike the dusty roads in my sandals 2 days running. Worth the blisters?...every last one.
Friday, May 14, 2010
sunrise at the stupa
I may only have 8 minutes til the power goes out...852. I was up with the pilgrims this morning at 530, but I still didn't beat them to the stupa. I was there at 600 with my malla (prayer beads) in my left hand and I walked with them. I felt more part of the power this morning and even ventured up to the first level of the stupa. It represents the earth and the 4 sides of the terrace represent the 4 states of mindfullness and the four immeasurables-love, compassion, joy and equanimity. It takes about 5 minutes to do one "lap" around the stupa and I walked for an hour with the tibetan buddhist pilgrims. I couldn't leave without a bit of shopping. I bought a "free tibet" t-shirt, a book called "buddhist rules for the laity" some postcards and prayer flags for about $10.
I have decided to stay at the monestary for one more night, another chance to walk with the pilgrims at sunrise.
Yesterday late morning I ventured into Kathmandu to organize my stay at the Murani Jungle lodge in Chitwan Park. Sensory overload!....I could have come to nepal with my daypack and nothing else. You can buy EVERYTHING here from northface socks to tents to trekking pants and gortex jackets. It's fake northface heaven:) I just browsed and headed back to the monestary. Around 1600 I decided to make the trek to Kopan Monestary. Anyone who knows me knows that my sense of direction is minimal at best even with a GPS in my hand I tend to get lost. I got a scribbled map from the guesthouse manager and off I went. Walking through neighbourhoods of Hindus, women in their saris, dusty roads. After about 30 minutes I came to a fork. A young girl said that to the right was shorter but steeper, I chose right. Up steps, through chickens and tethered cows I made it to the top. I entered the gates and there I was, the place I had googled for years one day hoping to visit. I could see the stupa and the whole of the Kathmandu valley. I wandered through bought some white prayer scarves and incense and decided to head back.
My journey back was wonderful, children wanting me to take their picture, hindu women smiling at me, what a contrast to China. I was stopped by a women sitting in front of a tin roofed house about 5ft tall. I gave her a few rupees and took her picture. She then invited me into her tin house. What a sight, a room with a dirt floor about 10ft by 6 ft with a fire in one corner and a sleeping mat in the other and a bare bulb. She and her husband and son had lived here all their lives. The woman through her 14 year old son who translated said she wanted to come back to Canada with me and be my maid. I saw here again this morning outside the monestary gates and for $1.30 I bought her a kg of rice, some cooking oil and some potatoes and onions.
Today I have been invited by my argentinian friend to walk to the mountains for lunch. I was hoping to venture to pashupatinath, Nepal's most important Hindu temple on the banks of the holy Bagmati river. I can't enter the main temple (as a non hindu) but can watch Nepalis being cremated on the river, Nepal's version of the Ganges in India.
The power will be off any moment, hopefully my camera is charged up by now!
I have decided to stay at the monestary for one more night, another chance to walk with the pilgrims at sunrise.
Yesterday late morning I ventured into Kathmandu to organize my stay at the Murani Jungle lodge in Chitwan Park. Sensory overload!....I could have come to nepal with my daypack and nothing else. You can buy EVERYTHING here from northface socks to tents to trekking pants and gortex jackets. It's fake northface heaven:) I just browsed and headed back to the monestary. Around 1600 I decided to make the trek to Kopan Monestary. Anyone who knows me knows that my sense of direction is minimal at best even with a GPS in my hand I tend to get lost. I got a scribbled map from the guesthouse manager and off I went. Walking through neighbourhoods of Hindus, women in their saris, dusty roads. After about 30 minutes I came to a fork. A young girl said that to the right was shorter but steeper, I chose right. Up steps, through chickens and tethered cows I made it to the top. I entered the gates and there I was, the place I had googled for years one day hoping to visit. I could see the stupa and the whole of the Kathmandu valley. I wandered through bought some white prayer scarves and incense and decided to head back.
My journey back was wonderful, children wanting me to take their picture, hindu women smiling at me, what a contrast to China. I was stopped by a women sitting in front of a tin roofed house about 5ft tall. I gave her a few rupees and took her picture. She then invited me into her tin house. What a sight, a room with a dirt floor about 10ft by 6 ft with a fire in one corner and a sleeping mat in the other and a bare bulb. She and her husband and son had lived here all their lives. The woman through her 14 year old son who translated said she wanted to come back to Canada with me and be my maid. I saw here again this morning outside the monestary gates and for $1.30 I bought her a kg of rice, some cooking oil and some potatoes and onions.
Today I have been invited by my argentinian friend to walk to the mountains for lunch. I was hoping to venture to pashupatinath, Nepal's most important Hindu temple on the banks of the holy Bagmati river. I can't enter the main temple (as a non hindu) but can watch Nepalis being cremated on the river, Nepal's version of the Ganges in India.
The power will be off any moment, hopefully my camera is charged up by now!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
OM
What is the first thing you should do after travelling for 35 hours and arriving in a small himalayan kingdom? Find a nice argentinian gentleman to drink beer with ...of course!
I am here... Namaste! What a journey...through China, landed in Lhasa. I never thought I would set foot on Tibetan soil again, but yesterday morning I did. In the airport, the vibe was strange, very quiet, whispering. Show your passport at least 5 times, and told to take a drink from your water bottle...I guess to show it was water? Have your new Irish friend almost get YOUR Lonely Planet to Nepal confiscated. I had left China behind (the country that forces me to take a yoga breath)the chaos, the lack of personal space, the language barrier, the constant low level scam.
For all the trouble it takes to obtain a permit from the Chinese for Tibet...being in transit in the Lhasa airport I had only a curtain separating me from going outside...amazing! I could feel the altitude almost immediately...like my brain was moving like a wave inside my skull.
I arrived in Kathmandu expecting chaos, but the airport was empty, it took maybe 15 minutes to change money, obtain a VISA and clear customs and collect my backpack. My pre-arranged taxi was there, driver holding a sign with my name and off we went. It is as I imagined, bustling, colourful, 3rd worldish. We arrived at the monestary in Boudha, just outside Kathmandu where Tibetans can freely pray. The guesthouse surrounds gardens and beyond the gardens a full functioning monestary. It is quiet. All I hear is birds, chanting monks and prayer bells. I left my backpack and went to the guesthouse restaurant...wasn't hungry so drank beer instead....1056am. I decided to nap. I awoke at around 1700 and decided to walk to the stupa and see the sights. Someone else looked as lost as I did, so I invited him along....we found our way to the Stupa...what a sight, pilgrims walking clockwise with their beads chanting prayers, prayer flags, mangey dogs, beggars....this was the Nepal I wanted to see. We ended up on a rooftop patio overlooking the stupa drinking beer for hours. I had my first Nepali food, a wonderful vegetarian curry. We walked some more, wandered really and made our way back to the monestary where we drank beer until the generator shut down. With my headlamp (I come prepared for the power offloading) I found my way to my room, said goodnight to my friend and sat on my bed with a candle and thought how lucky I was to be HERE, in a monestary in Nepal.
This morning I was up early....earlier than I wanted to be by accident. I thought it was 0800, but somehow I came down to the gardens to discover it was 0600! But a perfect opportunity to share sunrise with the pilgrims at the stupa. I walked with them, but my hands felt empty. I stopped and bought the requisite sandalwood prayer beads and asked the shopkeeper what prayer I should say. He said "om mani pedme hung" I said "oh, I know that one!"...like i had memorized many buddhist chants...! So off I went with my beads in my left hand walking with the crowds of pilgrims in the early morning clockwise around the stupa saying my prayer and spinning the prayer wheels. I circled the stupa for 45 minutes...probably 10 times around and then i headed back to the monestary for a breakfast of instant coffee and a nepalise omlette.
I have been told the power goes out at 1000. I am headed into Kathmandu to meet the man arranging my stay in Chitwan Park. After maybe a walk through the markets of Thamel and off to see Kopan Monestary.
I am here... Namaste! What a journey...through China, landed in Lhasa. I never thought I would set foot on Tibetan soil again, but yesterday morning I did. In the airport, the vibe was strange, very quiet, whispering. Show your passport at least 5 times, and told to take a drink from your water bottle...I guess to show it was water? Have your new Irish friend almost get YOUR Lonely Planet to Nepal confiscated. I had left China behind (the country that forces me to take a yoga breath)the chaos, the lack of personal space, the language barrier, the constant low level scam.
For all the trouble it takes to obtain a permit from the Chinese for Tibet...being in transit in the Lhasa airport I had only a curtain separating me from going outside...amazing! I could feel the altitude almost immediately...like my brain was moving like a wave inside my skull.
I arrived in Kathmandu expecting chaos, but the airport was empty, it took maybe 15 minutes to change money, obtain a VISA and clear customs and collect my backpack. My pre-arranged taxi was there, driver holding a sign with my name and off we went. It is as I imagined, bustling, colourful, 3rd worldish. We arrived at the monestary in Boudha, just outside Kathmandu where Tibetans can freely pray. The guesthouse surrounds gardens and beyond the gardens a full functioning monestary. It is quiet. All I hear is birds, chanting monks and prayer bells. I left my backpack and went to the guesthouse restaurant...wasn't hungry so drank beer instead....1056am. I decided to nap. I awoke at around 1700 and decided to walk to the stupa and see the sights. Someone else looked as lost as I did, so I invited him along....we found our way to the Stupa...what a sight, pilgrims walking clockwise with their beads chanting prayers, prayer flags, mangey dogs, beggars....this was the Nepal I wanted to see. We ended up on a rooftop patio overlooking the stupa drinking beer for hours. I had my first Nepali food, a wonderful vegetarian curry. We walked some more, wandered really and made our way back to the monestary where we drank beer until the generator shut down. With my headlamp (I come prepared for the power offloading) I found my way to my room, said goodnight to my friend and sat on my bed with a candle and thought how lucky I was to be HERE, in a monestary in Nepal.
This morning I was up early....earlier than I wanted to be by accident. I thought it was 0800, but somehow I came down to the gardens to discover it was 0600! But a perfect opportunity to share sunrise with the pilgrims at the stupa. I walked with them, but my hands felt empty. I stopped and bought the requisite sandalwood prayer beads and asked the shopkeeper what prayer I should say. He said "om mani pedme hung" I said "oh, I know that one!"...like i had memorized many buddhist chants...! So off I went with my beads in my left hand walking with the crowds of pilgrims in the early morning clockwise around the stupa saying my prayer and spinning the prayer wheels. I circled the stupa for 45 minutes...probably 10 times around and then i headed back to the monestary for a breakfast of instant coffee and a nepalise omlette.
I have been told the power goes out at 1000. I am headed into Kathmandu to meet the man arranging my stay in Chitwan Park. After maybe a walk through the markets of Thamel and off to see Kopan Monestary.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
pre-trip blog
packing, packing packing...its hard to pack for the lowland jungles and the weather at Everest Base camp in the same backpack. Would you believe i have one pair of northface pants, one hippy skirt and one pair of shorts for a whole month! Along with my layers with include base layers, mid layers and fleece then breathable,wind reisitant layers.
My decicsion to go to Nepal was a easy one. I love the mystery and spirituality of Asia and my trip to Tibet last year solidified that I had to come back to this part of the world and soon.
I find it amazing that i can write this journal for everyone to see. During my first trip to Asia in 1996, all we could do was look through our Lonely Planet guides for semi-reccomended accomodation and take our chances. We could e-mail, but e-mail hadn't quite caught on to everyone, so my parents bore the brunt of my travel blog of the time. I remember calling my sister Vicki from a satellite phone in Thailand, just so excited to be there and back in Eastern Canada they were in a midst of the infamous icestorm...got a bit of info from the newspapers in Thailand but that was it....all i knew that i was safe on this tropical paradise island in the middle of the Indian Ocean having the time of my life!
This trip is starting with me and ending with me. My yoga practice has inspired me to go to my own edge with strength and confidence. I don't expect to return to Vancouver with some secret ancient wisdom, because I already have found a bit of that!
I am excited and nervous at the same time but confident i will accomplish my goal of "just being there".
namaste...
My decicsion to go to Nepal was a easy one. I love the mystery and spirituality of Asia and my trip to Tibet last year solidified that I had to come back to this part of the world and soon.
I find it amazing that i can write this journal for everyone to see. During my first trip to Asia in 1996, all we could do was look through our Lonely Planet guides for semi-reccomended accomodation and take our chances. We could e-mail, but e-mail hadn't quite caught on to everyone, so my parents bore the brunt of my travel blog of the time. I remember calling my sister Vicki from a satellite phone in Thailand, just so excited to be there and back in Eastern Canada they were in a midst of the infamous icestorm...got a bit of info from the newspapers in Thailand but that was it....all i knew that i was safe on this tropical paradise island in the middle of the Indian Ocean having the time of my life!
This trip is starting with me and ending with me. My yoga practice has inspired me to go to my own edge with strength and confidence. I don't expect to return to Vancouver with some secret ancient wisdom, because I already have found a bit of that!
I am excited and nervous at the same time but confident i will accomplish my goal of "just being there".
namaste...
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