在新西兰
在2012年年底，我和我弟弟花了3個星期在尼泊爾，其主要目標是到達珠峰大本營，。此行被分為3個部分，1）觀光加德滿都周圍：尼泊爾的首都，2）徒步到珠峰大本營和 3）前往Chitwan奇旺國家公園。 到珠峰大本營無疑是辛苦而艱鉅的，但我們感受到的宏偉而驚人的風景和夏爾巴人的熱情好客回報。當我們爬上我們的旅程的最高點到Kala Pattar的，我們停下來反思的自然之美和人類在大自然奇蹟多麼的渺小。以下是沿途拍下一些照片，希望你們喜歡。
加德滿都周圍：尼泊爾的首都
這是我們在尼泊爾的第二天開始，遊覽帕坦的杜巴廣場（Patan Durban Square)（聯合國教科文組織世界遺產）。廣場對面是尼泊爾的古代宮殿，還有噴泉，寺廟，偶像和開放的公用地。
這不是一張特別好的照片，但很少有弟和我一起拍的，因為我大部分時間都在相機的背後。
廣場內漫步街頭，我特別喜歡長的狹窄的街道和老建築和旅遊店面，特別是電力電纜橫跨在空中晃來晃去。
這是在廣場的寺廟內。他們應該是祭司或某種holy man?
這些鈴鐺綁在一個單一的大鐘上，我猜應該是一個鈴代表特定的願望。在鈴中都有寫了不同的字，其中有不少寫“LOVE”。
現在想起來才覺得自己笨，應該也綁一個LOVE的上去 :P
印度教神濕婆雕像，他把他的手放在一個陽具上面。
當地人坐在寺廟外面。
我弟試圖模仿在廣場對面的牆畫，還蠻像的！
博物館裡邊。
嗯.這難道就是我們常聽到的空即是色，色即是空嗎..如果要你選擇配樂伴這個姿勢，那會是什麼呢？我不覺得會是佛教音樂？
杜巴廣場拍攝的，清晰的在眼前的是各種寺廟，古蹟和偶像。
換一個角度拍。
這是一個尼泊爾印度教的傳統，在那裡死者的屍體都的神聖Bagmati河上火化。在的火化之前開始時，身體要經過古老的的儀式準備，並且必須在燃燒它之前伸進河裡3次。
然後抬起身體運輸到的葬禮柴堆上被燒毀。
莊嚴的等待最後的家庭成員說再見
塵歸塵，土歸土。
男子在保持火繼續燃燒，然後把燒毀的一切掃進巴格馬蒂河裡。
沒膽子的人還是不要逗留這裡啦。火熱的灰搞到我眼睛刺痛，空氣是滿滿是沉重的香火，煙霧和烤肉類的氣味！！！
某種猴子偶像？雖然我想到的第一件事是Peter Jackson的老外星人的電影“Bad Taste”（google一下吧，如果你不知道它是什麼樣子）。
博達哈大佛塔 - 世界上最大的之一。從西藏的難民湧入大量人口已經看到建設超過50的藏族Gompas（寺院）博達哈周圍。博達哈截至1979年，被聯合國教科文組織列為世界遺產。隨著斯瓦揚布納特寺，它是在加德滿都地區最熱門的旅遊景點之一。 （維基百科提供）
廣角再拍一張。
阿弥陀佛
祈祷轮（西藏人称为玛尼轮）是传播精神文明的祝福和福祉的设备。
這是最後一天拍的，巴克塔普爾杜巴廣場。這是陶器廣場有眾多商家在烘乾陶瓷和銷售他們的商品。
徒步到珠峰大本營
我到尼泊爾之前，有人告訴我，千萬不要搭本地航班或公共交通工具，因為事故發生率是非常高的。事實上，在我們出發之前2012年9月就發生過空難。 （即使在今天事故發生率仍然很高，最近的事故發生在2013年5月）。
離開奧克蘭我倒沒在意，但是當我看到飛機時，我倒吸一口涼氣！TMD! 這是什麼？戰前的遺物？
進了機艙內也沒有給我太多的信心！
我們升空了！
我們的夏爾巴人嚮導興奮的指著我“珠穆朗瑪！珠穆朗瑪！” 美麗的珠穆朗瑪峰，在很遙遠的距離，我們就是要來看這個的！
飛進世界上最危險的機場！Tenzing Hillary Airport！我在youtube上看到很多差點發生事故的影片，在這裡擔心死了，因為著陸跑道的結束是一座磚牆！
唷！！！萬歲！我們安全著陸了！！ @2843米！
分秒必爭。拿了我們的包就直接走！開始我們的史詩般的旅程！
去納姆澤的路上，一直看到很多很有特色的夏爾巴人。
夏爾巴人是非常友好的，這個男孩好奇地看著我，我趕緊拍他的照片。
一路上我們看到很多像這些車隊和騾子/驢子隊通過下山。
我們路上經過很多像這樣的橋樑。
年輕的夏爾巴人的孩子，永遠的粗糙和襤褸，但總是不亦樂乎。
上山的路上经过了典型的夏爾巴人村莊，夏爾巴人就是知道怎么挑好地方！
一群僧侣在去纳姆泽的路上休息。
这是纳姆泽巴扎尔，尼泊尔昆布地区的主要贸易中心，有警察局，邮局和银行。我在这发了几个明信片，但很多都寄丢！
我们到达纳姆泽的第二天它开始下雪，好冷哦！
下雪天气冷了。当地人都烧干牛粪。牛粪燃烧非常好，晚上我们都用这个保暖。
对啦，当地人处理粪便的时候都赤手空拳，处理我们的食品也是空手空拳。 0.o“
又来一张我们兄弟的合照！这是纳姆泽的顶部。
这马到底是在幹什么？
很可爱的一个当地女孩。她的表情是在说奇怪，为什么她的窗外有一个陌生阿伯在拍我。
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...人生的第一个白色圣诞，不过这里没有圣诞老人....
隔天气放晴了很好..美丽的纳姆泽铺上了一层薄薄的雪。
Tengboche修道院（3867米），在昆布地区最大的寺院，始建于1923年。
据说，登顶珠穆朗玛峰的第一个夏尔巴人Tenzing Norgay曾被发送到的Tengboche寺出家为僧。
路上许多佛塔之一。
站在Dingboche丘陵上面（4800米），你可以看到下面的小镇。
有趣的是，在珠峰大本营其实不能看到山峰，中间的山其实是西藏的一个山峰。
我弟与我登顶Kala Patthar（5545米），在上面能清楚的看到珠穆朗玛的高峰。
在我身后是珠穆朗玛峰，世界之巅。下面是珠峰大本营，在冬季是什么都没有。但在登峰季节，大本营区域成为大本营城市，会有发电机，照明，酒吧！
回程从卢卡拉飞回加德满都，这是全世界最危险的机场。
由于雾风，我们的航班被延误..因此，我们看了几个小时的飞机起降。
奇旺國家公園
在奇旺国家公园美丽的日落。奇旺国家公园是世界遗产，它曾经是尼泊尔的王族在冬季季节喜爱猎场。
幸运的拍到鸟群飞过黄昏！
在奇旺公园的第一晚导游带我们去看当地人的文化表演。
我弟说看到有美眉，有吗？
我们的导游带我们在游船沿河流国家公园，大雾天因此很难看到动物在哪里，但也看到有不少鳄鱼。我猜应该没人会在这里游泳吧。
当地塔鲁人推船。
刚好看到水牛过河。
野生鹿，这只一看到就狂奔了。
可爱的小象，非常好奇的动物。
年轻的大象在公园训练给人家骑大象旅游。
我这样打扮人家都以为我是当地人呢。
骑大象游，发现了一只年轻的独角犀牛。我们近距离的存在似乎没有打扰到它，大家一起静静地拍照。
不过骑大象拍照是好难哦！
出发路线
其实走珠峰大本营只有两条路可走。。
一个距离比较远，需时比较长 （大概16-18天）
我们走的路线短一些（12天）
主要分别是长的路线经过Gokyo Lakes, Cho Lo Pass
我们走的路线如下
(第一天)飞机到达Lukla 2860m, 暴走到Phakding 2610m -----> (第二天)走到 Namche 3440m，这是到珠峰大本营途中最大的市镇，虽然路途短但超级斜！超级累！ -----> (第三天)在Namche待一天，走到这么高的地方要让身体适应一下，不然会有高山反应 （头痛、头晕、恶心、呼吸困难、心跳加快等症状。也叫山晕，是缺氧的一种。）-----> (第四天)继续走到Tengboche 3867m, 这里有个大佛庙，记得这路也不是一般的陡，走的脚爆疼呀，到这开始下雪，床头放瓶水，隔天都结冰了～！-----> (第五天)到Dingboche 4530m 到这我头疼的要死，又想吐，导游说是高原反应，给了药我吃。。-----> (第六天)继续头疼，睡了一天,基本上如果有高原反应的话是不能继续走的，一定要等身体适应了才能进行，否则会有生命危险！ -----> (第七天) Lobuche 4940m, 到珠峰大本营的最后一个站 -----> (第八天) Everest Base Camp 5364m, 终于到达了，看到珠峰周边大自然的美我真的无语了。。。怎么说了，照片再美也没有亲身看美！！！-----> (第九天) 爬上Kala Patthar 5545m 全程的最高点！ 这峰我花了两个小时!我觉得是我人生最难的两个小时，每走十步就要停一下休息，空气太稀薄了，身体没有足够的氧气活动不了！到了最高峰我们就开始下山-----> (第十到十二天) 回程，下山带来比上山容易得多了，花了九天的时间上山，3天就下来了，当然每天走好长的路，但是肺活量因为有足够的氧气一点都不累呢！！！
以下是我当时写的日记。。。写的是英文希望大家不会介意吧
Nepal Day 1
Day 1 08/12/2012:
We arrived at the airport fairly late, around 10.15pm 8th Dec 2012 (NZT 5.30am, HKT 12.30am) , once we disembarked we got on the connecting bus which moved literally only 100m before we got to the terminal, you wonder why bother with the bus if we could all just walk...
As we made it into immigration my quick packing on the last night before we flew out starts to haunt me... Great! I forgot to bring along my passport photos for the visa!! But no panic, in places like these there are people to provide you service for a fee... US$5 for two passport sized photos... Perfect! The actual visa process took awhile as what turned out to be a highly inefficient system involving 4 officials, 1 to take your US$40 for a 30 day multi entry visa, the rest who hand writes the information on a piece of sticker and stick it into the passport, by the time we got out of immigration 30mins have gone by...
We then met the drivers who picked us up and a lot of randoms posing as part of the group asking for tips trying to help move your luggage, reminds me of china train stations a few years back... The drive from airport to our hotel (Hotel Marshyandi) took around 10-15 minutes, driver told us in normal day traffics could take up to 45min... I was somewhat surprise by the lack of infrastructure, there were no street lights all the way and the roads were very small and narrow and it feels like you are driving offroad for a super bumpy ride... I guess I'll reserve my judgement when i actually see what's outside with there is more light...for the most part it was literally pitch black...
When we got to the hotel, Bryant and I quickly acknowledged it was no luxury resort we are staying in, we climbed two flight of stairs into a small room which the door opened straight into my bed, once we laid down our luggage there was no room to walk so pretty much jumped on each others bed to get on the other side of room...but whatever we are flexible people... It's getting late and the guide is going to meet us 8am at the lobby! Time to call it a night, signing off....
Nepal Day 2: Touring Kathmandu
Day 2 09/12/2012:
I think I am having some jet lag, it's 4am local time but 11.15am in Auckland and I'm rolling in and out of sleep... It doesn't help when your brother is snoring up a storm along with sounds of big massive trucks driving by, random knocking, digging noises, and some weird bird sound, perhaps an owl, hmm i tell myself as i get accustomed to the time difference i should be able to sleep through all this...Slowly but painfully my alarm sounded, it's 7.00am time to wake up...
The first thing that I noticed was, there was no hot water!! As I stand naked in the freezing shower, I shouted to bryant to call reception... The magic was leave the tap on for about 5 minutes, then the hot water will come! Phew I was beginning to think they are trying to train me for the subsequent 12 days of no showering trekking the Himalayan ranges....
The guide came very late, only turned up at nine, while they told us to be ready at 8...perhaps that is Nepalese timing! Just like Malaysian timing lol... So today's plan is to do a tour of some of the city's heritage sites, we are going to visit Patan Durbar Square, Pashupatinath, and Boudhnath...
Our first stop is Patan Durbar Square, i think Kathmandu in day light looks and feel a lot different to my impression last night, although it does feel somewhat like rural India, certainly a large part of the population looks like Indian, with the rest with a bit fairer skin looking like tanned Chinese? Actually I was thinking if I wore their clothes and had similar haircut i could actually blend in... The traffic in the city is chaotic, there are no traffic lights, lots of pedestrians walking in the middle of the road and plenty of motorcycles around... And I suppose as expected most people don't ware a helmet or protective gear, see plenty of people in suits of woman in traditional dresses humming along side our private car... There doesn't seem to be many public transport, although you do see tuk tuks and mini buses, they were all filled to overcapacity with people hanging off the back railings etc, the guide said they are mainly for local people, I'm not sure if I want to travel in one of them.
So we finally got to the Patan Durban Square, a whole bunch of temples temples and more temples (I'll upload pictures after the trip), somewhat surprising is that Chinese tourist often have discounted entry into many tourist sites, we are talking of nearly half price of what others will have to pay, when I asked the rationale they told me it is because China is a neighboring country so Chinese are very welcomes (India enjoys the same discount with the added benefit of open border, there is no visa needed to travel into Nepal for an Indian)...
We whisked in and out of the temples murdering my cameras memory card and battery... But no attraction visits goes without the guide trying to get you to do some tourist priced (read overpriced) shopping, so this time it is singing bowls or medicine bowls, a metallic bowl made from 7 alloys and produces a loud ringing sound that can be specifically tuned to your natural body frequency, apparently it can take away body aches and migraine by putting the bowl on the affected body part and hitting it repetitive times an let the sound and vibration ripple through your body, i don't exactly know the science behind it but bryant said he didn't feel a thing after given a live demonstration... And the price for all that... .... Wait for it, a big US$380!!! A lot of money given average income is less than US$200 a year, we didn't show any interest while the shopkeeper brought out smaller, less flash and cheaper variants, until the whole floor was filled with these singing bowls....
They then realised we are mainly tyre kickers and said good bye, the guide was fairly disappointed of not being able to capture some commission. I told him I needed a travel adaptor instead so he took me to a local electronic store, 50rs (Nepali rupees, US$1 = c.86rs) bargain I'd say considering Mr Dick Smith tried to charge me nearly NZ$20 for it), I later also got a charging cable for 100rs, the guide wasn't with me so I probably overpaid, but small price to pay for my careless packing :)
The next stop is Pashupatinath Temple, it is the first Hindu temple in Kathmandu and is one of the most significant Hindu temples of Lord Shiva in the world according to Wikipedia, somewhat a moot point for us since non Hindu are not allowed to enter, but what we did see definitely made up for it...
Flowing next to the temple is the holy Bagmati river, upon which cremations of the dead is done and ashes poured into the river... And if you were wondering yes we did see a live cremation, from the ritual preparation, washing of the body, cleansing till the subsequent lighting of the fire... I was somewhat coy on taking photos but the guide said it is a common ritual for the people, as long as you respect the culture taking photos is fine... A very weird feeling for myself, I guess I'm just not used to the notion of seeing my dead ancestors prepared publicly and cremated publicly for all to see...
The strangest feeling came as ashes from the previous cremation drifted up upon where I was taking photos until i realized I was covered in it, don't worry the guide said, ashes to ashes, dust to dust... I guess we leave nothing behind in this world takes a literal meaning :0
Our last stop is the Boudhnath, one of the most popular tourist attraction in Kathmandu and one of the largest stupas in the world. Some of you would've seen the photo I've taken at a restaurant but the DSLR photos will have to come a bit later (and i hope they are worth the wait). The structure is actually solid so there is nothing inside, lining the walls prayer wheels which people walk around the structure in clockwise manner spinning the wheels along the way to pray for good luck and good fortunes. We saw many pilgrims that were doing some extensive and serious praying along the way.
Outside the structure there were many Buddhist monasteries, we entered one and surprise surprise it looks extremely familiar with the ones I've seen in HK down to the faces of the statues and decoration (my grandfathers and grandmother are buried right next to a Buddhist monastery so they can "hear" the monks chanting each morning), I suppose just how all churches are similar.
A shopping round 2 was on the cards but our skills of saying no also got better, 5 minutes had passed and they were sure we on our way back to the hotel :) We met our trekking guide back at the hotel and did a last check on the gear we brought along... The idea of 10 days trekking up the mountain still seems daunting, I guess time will tell if my (lack of) training will come back to haunt me. The early flight tmr to Lukla certainly doesn't make it any more appealing...
We did our last minute packing as to be trek ready, and it's now dinner time, time for some free roaming, exchange some money and perhaps some shopping... Food is generally quite expensive on a relative sense to what the local eats, because we are staying at a tourist area each meal would cost you around US$5-6, and everything has a 23% tax on top of it so be sure whether prices quoted are on a incl./excl. tax basis as it does make a difference...
In case you were wondering where I am getting my internet connection from, most restaurants will provide free wifi, but if you want Internet on the move you can get a prepay sim card at one of the local shops, look out for the Ncell sign (their carrier) on the shop front, I got a data only card for 325rs (c. US$4) and a 500mb data pack cost about 450rs (c. US$6), and the shopkeeper said i should have connection all the way to basecamp, not bad for a supposedly third world country, you can get 20gb mobile Internet for roughly US$50, which by my calculation is cheaper than NZ! You should be ashamed NZ!!! As an aside Bryant bought a sim card as well only to find his work blackberry locked to Vodafone lol, reason why I always have a two phone policy despite given a work phone!!!
Anyway it's actually 5:00am and I should be asleep catching some rest for the early flight tmr, signing off... Until next time!
Nepal Day 3: Treking to Phakding
Day 3 10/12/2012:
Big day today, we catching the 8.30 flight to Lukla to start our trekking. As usual I start the morning with a hot shower, got up at 6 but it appears it is still dark outside. I remembered the guide yesterday told us that sun goes up late and down early during winters so people only work 10-4pm during winter hours. So 6am wake up would probably be considered early for the local people.
The morning shower is not without drama, as we began to understand the experiences of the locals. Halfway through the shower the power turned off, a power cut it appears, after 5min the power came back on, but with the lights flickering the whole way through, and none of the power plugs are working, which made sense now why the power aren't working last night when i charged my batteries.
We then reached the domestic airport, another hectic place with local hauling bags and bags of onions, crates of drinks etc to be shipped up the mountain for Trekkers, I got a feeling food up the mountain will be very expensive.
Fog delayed our flight to Lukla for two hours, and the wait in the airport ain't exactly flash, we had kids shitting themselves (literally) next to you people waiting to steal your seat (I stood up to stretch and a man tried to put his bag on my seat as I stretched to claim it) ...
But we got on our way, the plane was very small, old propeller style, with no sound proofing, no wonder the air hostess was handing out cotton like handing out candies as I sheepishly asked her what it's for, "for your ears" she tells me, well I guess I'll stuff some in my ear for good measures... And boy was I glad I did, I sat next to the engine and as it started up a thunderous roar came out of it as the whole plane shakes and hummed... I was beginning to remember the advice my friend gave me, if you want to live don't take local transport, especially buses and planes.... I start to wonder if I'd make it to Lukla alive!!!
I must thank the guide for giving me a heads up, he whispered in my ear before we boarded, sit on the left hand side, up the front that's where you'd get the best views! And the best views i got. The flight to Lukla is absolutely spectacular as you fly close to the mountain ranges over and under the clouds... "There there" the Sherpa guide said as he pointed to mt everest and quickly taking a few snaps himself... I quickly followed with a bunch of shots from the dslr myself! Boy am I glad i brought along a polarizing filter to get rid of the windows reflection.
The flight ended with a dramatic landing as I squint my eyes through the cockpit to see awaits us at the end of the upward slopping runway was a solid brick wall with welcome painted on it... The welcome sign became bigger and bigger as the plane came to a screaming landing and got a bit too big for my comfort, but the pilot skillfully turned right off the main runway... I swear he looked around and gave me cheeky wink although I can't say whether it was the effect of heighten adrenaline pumping through my body... I guess they call it one of the world's most dangerous airport (ironically I should be well versed with dangerous airports as during my childhood we flew by concrete skyscrapers in and hk old Kai Tak airport, another deadly airport in its own right).
By the time we got there it was around 11.30am, the sherpa organized the porter to carry our luggage to the lodge we are staying for the night, as we set out for our trek to everest base camp. We strolled leisurely through Lukla, as the Sherpa stopped for a quick bite, Bryant and I decided to try some local samosas and the equivalent of Nepali naan read (a wheel looking bread)... Both cost 40rs each, cheap, I reckon I could live off that for the next ten days without paying through the nose for pizzas and steaks.
The first part of the trip was quite a delight, as we leisurely strolled through local villages, as we passed through local kids playing, woman farming and planting, local men transporting goods up the mountain for tourist consumption... I am
really feeling quite good, perhaps the trek is not as strenuous as people make it out to be, perhaps my hiking experiences in NZ is carrying me through. I'm actually feeling quite confident about the trip now. We then saw a short skinny man carrying 96kg of goods!!!! Must be nearly twice his weight!!!! A close examination of what he was carrying revealed boxes and boxes and San Miguel lol, and you wonder why food and drinks are so expensive here!!
I snapped heaps of photos on the way, of buildings and people, of donkey convoys and people ridding on horses, it was immensely worrying as the picture counter dropped below 999 photos ( I have a 32gb compact flash card which I have never seen the counter below 999)... I wonder at this rate will I reach base camp before running of memory!
I suppose the novelty of villages and cows quickly wears off and I find my trigger happy finger ease off a little. Or perhaps the wearing off of initial excitement after getting on with the trek, what ever it is I took less and less photos along the way, I started to feel myself panting a bit more, maybe it's just my wearing a bit too much. But taking off the extra layers didn't seem to help strike off the heavy feeling in my legs... I asked the Sherpa how long do we have to go? "one hour" what!? One hour? I was sure he said one hour an hour ago...
Then the dreaded feeling started sink in, I felt stupid for having the false confidence beforehand, how can I even fathom the thought that doing the everest base camp would be easy... It was always going to be hard let alone someone who had sat his fat ass in office all day and night without any physical training...and this was supposed to be the easy day, the porter carried most of my weight, I'm carrying only a day pack we are still at a relatively low altitude and are only covering half the distance we are doing tmr... Sigh... Breathe in breathe out, you can do it!
I guess Bryant is feeling it too, he kept asking is this the village we are staying tonight? And the Sherpa as if taunting us always gave us a resounding no, with a laugh that instinctively sounded like you first world people are a joke we haven't even started! But to our surprise as we were about to give up he pointed "there it is, Phakding, five minutes!" Oh God that's the best news of the day!!!
The plan of eating chocolate and snakes and skim on pricey meals flew out the window, I just want a hot meal thank you!!!! I was warned prior that meat in the mountains would have to be carried up from Lukla, so don't eat the meat here as by the time it gets to the lodges may have spoilt already... But surely if we can get to the lodge in a few hours the meat should still be good? Oh well I don't care I am going to have my chicken drumstick tonight, you can say "told you so" tmr if anything does happen.
So we quickly got changed into comfortable clothing in our room. It is only 4pm so we still have a bit of time before dinner. I suppose there really isn't much to do in a little village like this. This is where a kindle or a book comes in handy. It didnt take long before we started to feel the chill in the room, the sun is starting to set and you can really feel the temperature dropping considerably, if the day time temperature is around 18c, i'd say the room was probably down to 12 degrees while we make haste to the dinning area where heaters are provided. The hot meal idea is even more tempting now.
But yes prices are expensive meals generally cost around Rs.600 and around Rs.80 for a cup of drink. We ordered our dinner for 5.30pm as we sat reading. And as minutes passed we felt colder and colder until we were shivering and cowering next to the heater. The hot dinner couldn't come any quicker.
We sat next to a Canadian Chinese girl who was also going up to base camp, she said she was used to the cold, and it gets to -17degrees where she lived. Hmm... I can entertain the idea of going to base camp and enduring some sub zero temperature for a week, but living in cold for an extended period of time?! That thought scares me, I'd have my summer, beaches and water sports thanks.
Bryant and I both ordered a chicken and macaroni, there were five or six pieces of chicken, dipped into some sorta spices and deep fried, the meat was overcooked but at this point we couldn't care less. I mean I'm eating fried chicken in the middle of no where!! I literally just devoured the meal, eating like we have never eaten before, and when we have finished, we no longer felt the cold. Argh, we suddenly clicked, we were just lacking energy, obviously the bars of chocolate, the samosas and the naan didn't provide us enough energy for the 3 hour trek. I don't think skimping on food is a good idea around here.
After dinner the Sherpa came to explain the plan for tomorrow. We will set out at 8am and trek for 3 hours until we reach xxxxx, sorry the name escapes me, then we stop for rest and lunch before we ascend 700m over another 3 hours to Namche, where we will spend the next day acclimatizing.
We returned to our room after the briefing. Gosh it's only 7.00pm and it's pitch black! Just as well I was feeling quite tired so I slipped into my sleeping bag and call it a night, big mistake... It's 3am now as I lie wide awake typing this out. Oh well, until next time, signing out.
评论
Nepal Day 4: Road to Namche
Day 4 11/12/2012:
Toilet is not often a topic people really write or talk about. I suppose it's because we mostly live in a modern society where clean toilets and toilet paper is a given. Before you go oh no Anthony don't go there, I personally think it's a topic worth discussing when you are going to remote places like Nepal.
I suppose it is only common sense to anticipate the long drop and accompanying flies and smell. But I also have a tip, bring your own toilet paper before you reach the mountain, they charge Rs.100 for a roll of toilet paper! And remember to train your quads for the sitting in the air pose, while some of the lodges have seated toilets the state of them means that you are better of practicing the sitting in the air pose, and lastly bring a head torch please, you don't want to be going in the dark! Alright I've probably said enough, let's get back to the adventure.
Surprisingly the nights sleep was actually very warm, I guess the sleeping bag we had would allow us to stand sub zero temperature. While I drifted in and out of sleep during the night, going to use the bath ro and writing this blog, I still managed a comfortable sleep.
So as per schedule we woke up and went down for breakfast at 7.30am. I had a fried egg on toast with a white coffee while Bryant had a French toast and masala yea, the total for two meals and two bottle of water came to Rs.2460, c.US$29, pricey I know, but at this point in time food is the only thing feeling between miserable, cold and like a flat battery and a million bucks.
The trip to Namche, our next stop is a tale of two halves, we first hike up a little the continue flat for three hours, then we will reach the checkpoint and ascend 700m for another 3 hours before reaching Namche. We started off at a fairly quick pace, fully recharged on the long night sleep and the fuel from the breakfast kicking in. I also made a conscious effort of conserving memory for the camera since the views and the villages have started to sink in. But the villages do serve good landmarks to measure our pace, we travelled from village to village then take a 5 min break in each of them, the Sherpa even commented we were going at a very good pace and should reach Namche in 4 hours, (tourist usually take 6, while he can do it in 3.5hrs).
It wasn't long before we reached the last village/check point before our ascend to Namche Bazaar, it was 10am and we set out at 8am. Since it was still early the Sherpa suggested we skip lunch and go straight to Namche, at the current pace it would only take 2 more hours.
So we decided to stop for a quick snack of chocolate and water, while we were sitting taking a rest a group of 10 young Europeans was heading back to Lukla, I briefly asked how long is it to Namche and how's the walk, "hell" one girl yelled out, "steep" the other. Alright so it will be steep, at least we are ahead of schedule, worse comes to worse we will just give back some of the lead time right?
How wrong I was, the girls weren't joking when they said steep, and it's not your normal NZ track where it is steep at parts and flat sorta undulating, so your legs get a rest on the flatter parts, this was just one way, up up and away! It didn't take long before my thighs and quads started to tighten up, and I was thinking to myself this is not good, and I tried to take it easier by doing smaller steps. But it goes from bad to worse! During one big step my inner left thigh seized up! The dreaded cramp!!!! Omg! What am I going to do, we barely started ascending!
I signaled the Sherpa that my left leg was seizing up and he quickly gave me some ointment, we took a five min rest and the cramp went away, ok I can do this. So we continued on, albeit at a slower pace. But I knew my legs were still tired and it's only a matter of time before they will seize up again. The one way up terrain certainly wasn't helping our cause. So what was supposed to be a 2hr walked turned out to be hours of torture, both my legs gave in and I could only ascend one or two bends before needing to take a rest because I literally didn't have any legs,the altitude was starting to get to us as well as even small steps up caused massive panting (Sherpa seemed to be fine though).
The pain progressively got bigger until my thighs, quads and back were all aching and we were traveling at snail's pace! Taking rest every 20or so steps! The Sherpa was very supportive though, he gave me a muscle relaxant spray which allowed me to take 100 steps before my legs seized up again. We were traveling at the pace of the food transporters taking rest when they do but they were carrying 90kgs while I was carrying maybe 5kg with my camera gear, sigh!
The pain went on and on, I tried closing my eyes, I tried singing in my mind to divert the pain, I tried concentrating my mind on all the good food I'll have when I get to hong kong, but nothing worked, the pain stayed with me every step, the burning sensation of what feels like my legs are being ripped apart from inside out. Please God, let this go away. I don't know if it was coincidence or the act of God, as I clenched my fist bit down hard for more painful steps there it was! Namche bazaar!
We ended up making it in 3 hours for a total of 5. I suppose it's still below the normal expected tourist time! Although I wished I didn't have to go through all that pain. But the sight of Namche was certainly welcoming! City of its own right at 3450m! To give a perspective The actual Mt Doom (Mt Ngauruhoe in NZ) is only 2291m high! Namche is actually a fairly big city, walking through we saw lots if shops selling all sorts of goods and people washing along the river. But all I wanted to do is to get back to the hotel for some rest!
Somewhat excruciating is that we walked past many hotels climbing further up but none of them were ours, as the pain in my legs continues I was just about to give up! So close yet so far!!! As we reached our hotel (conveniently one of the highest hotel in Namche, all houses are built on a hill) I quickly made way into my room and changed into comfy clothing lying on the bed wondering how the hell I made it!
However, as I lay in bed resting the pain and the tiredness did not go away, in fact I could hear my heart racing away, "dum dum dum dum" as if I was still trekking up the mountain. The tiredness is immense but the racing of the heart makes it hard relax! Perhaps I'm just out of energy? So I waited for Bryant to take a shower and we went to the kitchen for some food.
The menu pretty much looked exactly as the ones we have seen previously (I will try take a photo later). I ordered some local food, lentil soup, with vege curry on rice, while Bryant ordered a egg chow mein, both around Rs.400, interestingly most lodges we stayed in has a rule requiring guests to purchase food from the kitchen, and prohibits people cooking in their room or eating out, else a surcharge of Rs.800 applies, I suppose it's a way for them to lock in some revenue.
We quickly finished our food and decided to call it a day, since we are both extremely tired. Good thing there is not much hiking tomorrow as it is an acclimatization day so we are staying in Namche to get used to the altitude. But as I lie in my sleeping bag my heart continues to race, every little action I took like folding clothes away got the heart racing. The pain was still there, the thighs, the back, the butt with the added headache developing! Then it hit me that I am starting to develop mountain sickness, oh God! Please let me feel better by tomorrow, I lay in bed trying to sleep as the barrage of pain attacks my body and my heart races away. I will survive I tell myself I will survive!
Nepal Day 5: acclimitizing in Namche
Day 5 12/12/12:
When the first ray of light hit my face it was already 6.30am, I peeked out the window, a beautiful day indeed. The racing heartbeat has reduced somewhat and the throbbing headache is now subdued to a slight dull headache. I breathe a sigh of relieve, i think the body is slowly acclimatizing to the high altitude.
Surprisingly it wasn't too cold, I was half expecting it to be freezing given we have climbed another 6-700m vs where we stayed last night. But it feels good lying in bed knowing today is an acclimatization day which means we stay another night at the same altitude such that the body can properly get used to the altitude.
However my plan of lazing in bed soaking in the warm sun came to an abrupt end when the Sherpa pushed open the door with a big smile, "good morning, we will have breakfast then let's some walking ok?" huh!? I thought this is the day where we chill and do nothing!?
We quickly had breakfast, "ra ra noodle soup" for Rs.225, which is just another name for instant noodles lol... The locals seem to love it though, and with it they put a lot of pungent spices in it, does warm the body and stomach though. After breakfast we set out for our walk to the Namche Musuem, which is at the very top of the town.
Namche is built pretty much built on a mountain valley, with houses, lodges and shops lining up the two ridges, and the middle flatter land used as farm land for cabbages and potatoes. The characteristic of such a town is that everywhere you go you are either going uphill or downhill. And you can possibly guess which way we were going.
The museum is around 150m higher than where we were staying, and as we started trekking up the long stairs I felt my tired legs once again, tired but at least I am not cramping! As we moved further up I sucked hard breathing in the cold mountainous air, but no matter how hard I gulped the air in i always seemed to be out of breathe, at around 3500m altitude you are typically only breathing in 60% normal oxygen, and so the body has to work extra hard to pump blood sending oxygen around the body. I seem to feel the dull headache that much more!
Wasn't long until we reached the museum, by the Bryant was complaining about his ankle again. The Musuem showcased some Sherpa history and culture, the Sherpas have come from Tibet some 400 years ago, bringing along their Buddhism religion. There were also information about the mountainous terrain, the wide life and various Mount Everest expeditions which we shower tentative interest to.
As we walked out of the museum a gush of freezing cold wind blew into my face, the whole outdoor seemed to have fogged up completely in the time we spent in the museum. Then we realized it had began snowing! "Merry Christmas!" a Sherpa from another group of tourist shouted. My amusement of live snow did not dull my senses that it was freezing cold, as I shivered in the wind it was clear the layers of merino wool will not save me from sub zero temperature. "let's get out of here" I yelled at our Sherpa and we quickly made haste down the mountain again.
While the initial plans were to explore the town and the market place since we went straight to bed when we arrived yesterday. The downpour of snow and unwelcoming weather made sliding back into the warm down sleeping bag much more appealing. I rolled around in bed struggling to fall asleep in broad daylight, stuff it, I thought to myself let's go outside.
I brought out Sherpa along as we strolled through the town, it was pretty much a ghost city, I might've seen only one or two other tourist the whole way. Our guide said this is pretty much end of the season, as the cold weather and snow closes in you are lucky to find many people willing to make it up to the Everest Basecamp, where during peak season all lodges will be full and the tourists filled the town, our lodge only had Bryant and I as the only guest.
In the end I ended up buying a pair of thick woolen gloves, ounces that can fold back and let the fingers through, perfect for using my camera with. They wanted Rs.350 for it, I ended up paying Rs.300, I know I could've bargained for less but knowing tourism is the only source of income they had I just agreed and paid.
A few hours after we headed back, around 4pm as the sun starts to set the weather cleared up, with blue sky shinning through the white top mountain ranges inviting you to capture its full glory. I wasn't going to let a good photo go to waste! I quickly got changed, grabbed my gear and up the mountain again we go. I hastily hiked up the mountain again along the way to the museum for the vantage point. To my surprise I never puffed, felt short of breathe or felt the slightest hint of headache. I suppose the body is slowing coming around to the thin air, though the true test will be when we make it up to Everest Basecamp and Kalapattar.
The rest of the afternoon I strolled across town on my own walking each small alley taking in the view of such a magnificent places, now that the weather has cleared it really is an amazing place, the whole town is pretty much just surrounded by high mountain ranges, but it also makes you realise how hard and tough of a life the Sherpa people live, farming, and grazin yaks, naks and cows. Interestingly as I walked around town people shouted their language to me, before realizing I was a foreigner and changed to a quick Nemeste, I don't really look like a Sherpa now do I!? It must be the large down jacket and beanie just like how everyone dresses around here.
With the lack of tourist there isn't really much to do since it's very hard to find someone to talk to, as the sun sets and everyone goes indoors you are pretty much confined to your lodge. I pulled out my kindle and read next to the fireplace. It will be a long day ahead of us tomorrow.
Nepal Day 6: Freezing in Tyangboche
Day 6 13/12/2012:
I think I'm finally getting a normal sleeping pattern, we usually sleep around 7.30-8.00pm after dinner (as everything is pitch black by then, and there's not much else to do), and wake up around 7.
As usual we had our breakfast and settled the bill, total came to Rs.4475 for both of us, with my bill coming to Rs.1920 c.US$22. Then we headed out, towards Tyangboche.
The weather today did not play ball, it was snowing and foggy, which pretty much means that all pictures come out all washed out against a grey background. We followed the ridge out from Namche, as usual we saw locals herding yaks and cows along the way. The terrain was somewhat boring with stupas scattered along the way.
About an hour from Namche we saw 3 towns in the distant mountains, we are heading for the furthest. The guide kindly reminded us, it always looks closer than it actually is. And so we continued our journey towards the destination. By then we were probably about 3800m, but the next hour was characterized as a set of rapid descend down the river, the road was steep and I was thinking to myself, why the hell are going down while we are supposed to be heading up? And my nightmare was realized, the answer was simple and clear, how much we descended means how much we are going to go back up.
The next two hours was hard yards going up step by step, and because of the altitude it doesn't take much for you to feel completely out of breathe, by as you slow down to rest the chill winds and snow catches up to you, leaving you shivering and rushing back on the road again. The secret to the hike is to find a pace where you are moving up slowly without having to stop to catch your breathe, an trust me it is a fine balance!
Slowly but surely we made it to Tyangboche, an extremely small town, the main feature of the town is the monastery where during peak season there are around 30 monks stationed. The rest of the small town hood is a a variety of small lodges which are now almost all empty due to the end of tourist season.
I suppose the disappointing feature is the weather, since it's snowing and foggy it means you really can't see much past 10m, let alone the surrounding landscape and mountains, I just hope the weather clears up when we approach Everest basecamp.
We actually made it to the lodge earlier than the porter today. As we waited in our room for our luggage the cold temperature in our room meant our sweaty heated up bodies quickly cooled down until we were shivering uncontrollably. It only takes a few moment to cool down but perhaps hours to warm the body up. So as the luggage arrived we put on as many layers as we can, and in our thick down coats and sleeping bag we still shivered for hours before we started to feel some warmth. It literally felt like being in a fridge.
The cold was too unbearable as we made our way to the dining area for some hot food and heat from the fireplace. And there we weren't the only ones, to night the lounge was somewhat more busy compared to us two being the only guest. There were another two kiwis from Wellington who has just done a month long trip backpacking in India and have crossed the border to do parts of the annapurna track, they will be back in nz on christmas eve so wont have time to make it to basecamp. There was also a man from taiwan who's just came back from basecamp but disappointed that he didnt see much due to the fog and snow, and lastly there was a Austrian woman. The sherpa traveling with the Taiwanese man mentioned how his water froze overnight due to the cold weather, he reckons it is about negative five outdoors at the moment! Yikes!
But yes it certainly feels like being in the fridge outdoors.
We stayed in the lounge exchanging travel stories. I guess that's one of the reason i like traveling because people are usually quite friendly and genuine, I don't know you, you don't know me there is no reason to put up a front or be pretentious. We chatted till well past our normal bed time and the fire slowly burnt out. I guess it is time for bed, so here i am lying in bed with all my warmth gear on, a base layer, a merino layer, a long sleeve shirt, another merino hoodie, a fleece, down jacket, long johns, beanie, gloves, inside sleeping bag, with a thick blanket on top! I think that ought to keep me warm through the night! Good night world!
Nepal Day 7: Hike to Dingboche
Day 7 14/12/2012
You can't really start a day without some toilet stories (no this is not actually a toilet toilet story). It's 5.30am and nature's calling, rushed to the toilet and did the deed but made a few interesting observations on the way. 1) the water in the the toilet bowl has frozen over, 2) you cannot flush the toilet as all running water in the pipes have frozen, 3) there is a big bucket of water next to the toilet, presumably for flushing the toilet manually, and it too has frozen, although a hard knock with the attached cup breaks the surface of the ice. 4) the sink had no running water and the bucket of water to wash your hands with has also frozen.
Just as a generation observation the lack of running water is a big no no, who knows how long that water has been in the bucket and what's been in it, piss water to wash your hands and face or brush your teeth with? No thank you! As I returned to my room, i quickly slid back into the sleeping bag, i reached out for my bottle of water only to find it turned into an ice slushy! (knew I should've ordered the bottle of coke instead at least I'll get a frozen coke ;) haha not funny I know), but that sets the general scene for the day, COLD! Having said that the layers that I piled on did keep me warm through the night despite sleeping through a sub zero temperature.
Surprisingly when we made it to the dining area the fire has already started, a hot Sherpa stew makes for a good breakfast. Although you can order toast and eggs they generally go cold quite quickly and not ideal for freezing days like this. Feeling extremely satisfied with the stew, we made away across to the monastery where the monks start praying at 7pm.
This is actually the first time witnessing a buddhist prayer ritual (recording is prohibited, so ill try my best to describe). There is a head monk who sits in the middle facing everyone and the big Buddha statue who leads the prayer, the prayer sounded like a undertone which repeats itself. Other monks then join in with their own prayers and the whole thing actually sounds like a song, or actually someone rapping. The head monk will then stop praying and everyone will also stop, in the seconds of dead silence the monks then will reach out before them for a cup of hot butter milk tea. The head monk will then start chanting again, and the whole prayer repeats itself, with the added variation of head monk hitting a bell in front of him while chanting in the later iterations.
After visiting the monastery we then set out for our next destination, Dingboche (4343m). Without sounding like a broken record it was another long walk, what had surprised me is that the higher up in altitude we get, the more out of breathe you become and even a taking a few steps makes you feel like you have just sprinted 100m. What made it worse was the extreme cold, in 30min of walking, the water in the water bottle has already began to freeze, signaling that we were walking in sub zero temperature.
By the time we reached the town of Somare, around 11.00am we were already exhausted and decided to stop for lunch, this is in contrast to the previous few days where we would've been ahead of schedule and skipped lunch to arrive at the destination earlier.
Despite multiple warnings of not eating meat we still decided to go for a buffalo curry, the lack of energy levels prompt us to have something more solid and so far we seemed to have fared pretty well. I suppose when you haven't been eating well for the past week anything seems delicious. A short nap in the sun after lunch and we were off again.
I have finally found the secret of hiking without over exerting myself and feeling short of breathe. I started imagining I was a zombie walking very slowly chasing after my shadow. Yes might sound silly but it's a long hard hike and it was always going to be test of endurance. While the scenery is beautiful more often than not you will be focusing on the pain and strain, and having some way to deal with it makes it that much more enjoyable until you reach the next vantage point to take your photo.
By the time we reached Dingboche the headache had returned, bigger than before, the Sherpa suggested I take some painkiller and get some rest, and if I don't get better then he'll give me some diamox (mountain sickness pills). My head pounding and heart racing, didn't take long before I drifted asleep.
Nepal Day 8: Acclimitizing in Dingbuche
Day 8 15/12/2012
I woke up with to a slight headache, I guess the Panadol had worn off and I haven't yet fully acclimatized, at least today is an acclimatization day. The problem with acclimatizing in Dingboche is that there's absolutely nothing to do here! At least Namche was a relatively big town, and most shops are still open and you get bakeries, internet cafes, shops, museums the lot.
Due to the end of hiking season, as we ascend further up the mountain we found a lot of the lodges have shut up shop. Dingboche was the same, we saw a Internet cafe and a bakery both closed, to make matters worst I had no cell phone coverage stuck in a lodge in the middle of nowhere with no one else but bryant and I.
For the sake of acclimatization, our Sherpa guide suggested that we do a day hike up along the Dingboche hill up to 4800m, there we will get a clear view of Mt Makalo (8400m) which you cannot see from basecamp or Kalapattar. I am all for activities that reduces my headaches while Bryant preferred to stay in and sleep. So off to the hills I go.
It was a steep climb, one with many stops and rests, but when we made it to the top (well you can never be at the top because there are always mountains taller than where you are) it was all worth it. The problem was as we got progressively higher the headache got bigger, it was made worse by trying to take lots of photos. Given I was already suffering from mountain sickness, it meant that my hand are not as steady as they are usually, plus I am huffing and puffing trying to squeeze in some extra oxygen. As i come round to take the shots I'd usually breathe in deeply, hold my breathe and take the shot as to keep the camera still, but the problem was holding my breathe wasn't any good for my body, everytime I'd finish taking a shot I'd gasps for more air breathig in and out loudly like a man being released out of a death strangle! And with that came a sharp pain of the pounding head! But I ain't going to let the headache deter me from taking photos am I now!?
By the time we got back to the lodge it had manifested into a full throbbing migraine and I could barely open my eyes, feeling dizzy, nauseous. I gave in and requested taking diamox for the mountain sickness. Within hours I was already feeling better, the sherpa said that the side effect of the drug is that you'd piss more, not much of a problem for guys in the wilderness, but might pose more of a problem for girls.
The rest of the day was spent resting and reading, my advice would be to make sure you bring enough reading material, in a good day you may bump into other travelers to share stories with and kill some time, on others you have nothing but the book to kill your boredom (especially if your Sherpa don't speak much English). Until tomorrow.
Nepal Day 9: Making it to Lobuche
Day 9 16/12/2012:
You know you are feeling the effects of diamox when you wake up 3 times in the night to use the bath room. But to trade a pounding headache with a few toilet runs is definitely a good trade in my books! After a rest day in Dingboche we are ready to make way to Lobuche, the last stop before we hit Everest Basecamp the day after!
I am not sure if it is the effect of the diamox, but I felt really positive today, rarely did I ran out of breathe and I hardly had to stop for rest, this is in contrast to Bryant who is clearly starting to feel the altitude, requesting frequent breaks, complaining of short breathlessness but at the same time denying he is suffering symptoms of mountain sickness and refusing to take diamox.
We made it to Lobuche (4910m) in just under 4 hours at 12.30. Lobuche is one of the smallest towns we been to so far, with only five or six lodges, but what we found as we moved up the mountain is that prices become exponentially expensive, a bottle of water now cost Rs.300 nearly US$4 while meals cost Rs.600+. There were also no running water and the lodge charges for water to brush your teeth or wash your face, else you can fletch freezing river water instead.
It just occurred to me that it has been more than a week since I last showered or properly washed my hair, there's a reason why everyone has a beanie or a cap on on the hiking trips I suppose! (and why every guy you come across looks like a mountain man, including myself) While I can't tell that I smell but I can see my hair looks like a bird nest in dire need for some cleaning, o well. It's just one of the luxuries that people do without on the Everest Base Camp trek, especially in winter when it's literally freezing cold.
Hmm tonight seems like another one of those cold nights, sneaking in bed early. Night night.
下面还有更新
评论
楼主敢拍火葬啊，强大!偶是零三年去的，走的常规路线，印象最深的就是在博卡拉乘伞翼机看鱼尾峰，刺激!
评论
那个是Shiva..
他其实是个男的，但我怎么看都像个女的。。。
继续更新
Nepal Day 10: Everest Base Camp!!!
Day 10 17/12/2012:
So today is the big day, the plan is to hit leave Loboche (4910m) early to reach Gorek Shep (5200m, the last township before Everest Base Camp) in 3 hours, have a short break then hit EBC (5364m) straight after (4 hour round trip).
As we had breakfast our guide kindly pointed to us that the dining lounge with all the travelers is currently 2 degrees cold, common sense would say that the outside is even colder, and we could feel it on our face as we made way to Gorek Shep, what was left exposed of my face felt the sharp cold wind like a million small knifes cutting against it.
On my third day of diamox, again I rarely felt breathlessness, staying up with the sherpa's pace but occasionally stopping only to wait for Bryant who is often far far behind, and denying that he is suffering from mountain sickness.
The first hour was relatively easy, as always it involved a bit of climbing but nothing too strenuous compared to what we have before, the Sherpa thought we might even make it in two hours instead of 3. But after the first hour the terrain changed somewhat, from a well trodden trail to loose rocks and boulders where you had to make your own path. I'd always find loose rocks difficult because 1) you need to decide which rock to stand on, and 2) make sure you have a firm footing on the rock, else you could either slip, or twist your ankle. So instead of 2 hours we made it to Gorek Shep in 2.5, still faster than the original 3 scheduled.
Surprisingly the first thing that I noticed apart from that it's a bloody small town is that there is a massive cellphone tower right on the entrance of town, powered by large solar panels. A quick turn off of the flight mode found full reception, even 3G! In the middle of no where lol, but handy non the less, no doubt some of you would've seen the pictures and posts I've put up while at base camp.
We quickly made way to our lodge, had a quick brunch (it's 10.10am), shredded all non essentials and off we go again, the idea was if we made it to EBC earlier than schedule we could fit in Kala Pattar on the same day after returning. The reason for the rush is that you generally get better views of Everest and the surrounding peaks in the afternoon, because the sun will be shinning on them rather than behind them, if we missed Kala Pattar today we will have to view it tmr in the morning, before heading back down the ranges.
With the best intentions we set out for base camp, but it didn't take long until we realized the the track will be a lot harder than we originally thought, the whole way through is loose rocks and boulders, and it illustrates why it is important to get a good pair of boots, ones that give you a firm footing and ankle protection. While we thought we were going to make it ahead of schedule, it took us exactly two hours to make it to base camp, as scheduled.
There isn't really much of a landmark to show that you have arrived at basecamp, aside from some makeshift prayer flags and a canvas sign saying Everest Base Camp 2012. It's certainly hard to imagine during peak climbing season from March to May there are hundreds of tents and thousands of people living here. Our Sherpa guide said there are lights, generators, bars and massive parties during those climbing months. Right now all I see is bare mountains, glaciers, ices and rocks, a feeling of lifelessness.
We hung around for 45 minutes, sipping our hot chocolate and feasting on chocolate cookies that our sherpa has prepared for us beforehand. Then a photo-shoot session ensured. One thing I must say though is that the terrain on the ECB is very awkward, situated at the base of massive mountains it is almost solid glacier and ice covered with sand and loose rocks, if you examined the ice caps that is sticking out of the rocks, you'd find that the ice actually goes all the way below the rocks, there are no easy ways to break the ice off. In fact it is actually quite dangerous, as we walked around the base camp, what we thought of as solid rock and sand which we could safely walk on turns out to be a thin layer of sand covering solid ice, making you slip as you naively step on it, this is speaking from experience and I have a bruised bottom to show for it.
After we all individually posed as heroes it was time to head back out. We noticed the wind picked up, as it blew up dust around us, I just hope it doesn't turn into a full blown storm, for we have yet to climb Kala Pattar, many have failed due to the strong winds. We continued to make our way back.
The loose rocks have really started to take a toll, especially when going down hill, you really have to watch your step. You maybe tempted to go on autopilot mode, and just rush your way down, but more often than not you will trip, slip or get yourself in a nasty situation. It wasn't long before I feel the strain on my knee and my ankles, so what was supposed to be an easy downhill walk again turned out to be harder than we thought.
When we arrived back at the hotel no one mentioned doing Kala Pattar on the same day again. Oh well at least that gives us something to look forward to tomorrow. Alright I've said enough time to relax, sip on my hot milk tea and bask in the achievement today.
Nepal Day 11: The hard hike up Kala Pattar
Day 11 18/12/2012:
The morning got off to a false start, the morning call was supposed to be on 5.30am, but we were waken up at 4.20am. We went back to sleep and the proper morning call never came and when we woke up it was already 5.50am, just as we scrambled to pack our gear.
We skipped breakfast, had a hot coffee and set out for Kala Pattar at 6.30am. The surrounding was still dark, cold, freezing cold as brisk of wind blown across my face. No worries I told myself, when we start climbing we will warm straight up. As we made the base of the mountain I start to realize how steep and tall this beast is!
The first half of the climb was predominantly on loose sand, whilst normally this doesn't pose a problem, when the climb is steep it makes for a very hard climb up, as you feet fails to take a firm hold and you slid backwards making the climb extra hard. But that didn't seem to affect Bryant and our guide, as they rapidly climb up the mountain leaving me for dust (literally as they kick up the sand and dust).
I'm mid way through the climb and they now have stopped waiting for me, the altitude has started to hit me and I only needed to take 10 steps before my heart felt like it was wanting to pound its way out of my chest, but as soon as I stopped for a rest the chilled wind will catch up to me. As I watched them climb higher and higher, my frustration grew, but when I tried to pick up my pace the more I needed to rest, so be it! I'll walk slowly at my own pace even if it takes me all day, I'm going to the top to get my photos.
Traveling at a snails place I finally reached the last part of the climb, and it is literally a climb, the terrains turns to a series of large boulder rocks, where you have to use both you hands and feet to climb on top of them. I'm close, just a few more rocks to climb, and the higher I climb the more I feel the wind as I become more exposed as I travel closer to the top. I can even see Bryant and the Sherpa playing around with my camera trying to take photos.
I finally made it to the top, it had taken me 2 hours! As soon as I arrived i felt the gusty wind blowing against me, the Sherpa laughed at me, pointing at my nose "frozen frozen" he said. As I reached out to wipe my nose I felt indeed it had frozen over. Bryant said, "you can't take good photos here it's too dark", amateur lol.
I scanned the area, framing photos in my my mind, but man it really is cold, as I took of my gloves to work the camera, the wind blows straight through your skin into the bones, it didn't take long before I stopped feeling my fingers, I was seriously worried about getting frostbite. But as we scrambled to find a less windy position, the sun started to shine through the high mountains! Perfect timing to reach the top, Bryant and the Sherpa would've been freezing up here for an extra twenty minutes.
Up here you can see everything, Mt Everest, Everest Base Camp, Nuptse 7861, Pumori 7165, Lobuche and the view is simply breathe taking, many Everest photos you have seen on posters would've been taken from Kala Pattar, that's why many tour guide books would tell you to make Kala Pattar the priority, even if you need to forgo the Everest Base Camp. We spent 45mins up the top taking photos, letting the sun rise further playing around with different lighting, then it was time to make our way down.
Gosh the way down was so much easier, only took us half an hour to come down!! And that pretty much characterized the rest of our day. We made from Gorek Shep back to Lobuche, it took us 2.5hrs to come up, but only 1hr 20min to get down, nearly half the time. We took 3 hours to get from Gorek Shep to our destination Periche, what would've taken us 2 days to go up!
As we made our way to Pheriche, the wind turned into a strong gust, blowing up a big sand storm just as we enter the lodge we are staying at, phew, we've certainly had a good run of weather, the ones going to Kala Pattar and Everest Base Camp now won't fare as well!
总结/心得
- 旅游旺季是秋天，一般人是九月到十月去的。不过那个时候去人会很多，一个月会有一万多的旅客。旅馆那些肯定要先订好。
- 我是十二月底去的，基本上都没什么人了。但是严冬，超级冷！我们走路的时候水瓶里的水都结冰了！我是十几天都没洗澡，女生去的话要有心理准备。
- 导游跟搬运工人都可以到哪才安排，我记得好像是十几块美金一天。不是旺季可以讲价的。其实不用导游跟搬运工人也可以，只是比较辛苦。
- 路上的旅馆不是旺季的话是不用钱的!!!但是有规定要在旅馆吃饭，也不便宜。一顿饭大概10刀美金。
- 走到珠峰最重要是体力要够，如果你可以一天走五六个小时基本上没什么问题的。
- 高原反应是因为身体不适应。千万不要逞强！其实慢慢走一般是不会有问题的。导游说一般女生跟走的比较慢的都不会有问题。男生逞强一天攀太多的话身体肯定受不了！
评论
非常强大！！接续等更新！
评论
去尼泊尔是梦想哦。。。照片真美。。。
穿的是Lowa？
评论
应该加精华
评论
加精华 ......... 太棒了！！！！！！
评论
照片虽然美，但也不比真人去看美
去吧去吧，我以后也会再去的。。
穿的是Garmont Dakota。。
评论
组团去走K2吧
评论
不要。。。
评论
太美了, 有生之年一定要 attempt登珠峰
评论
我也想去
不过这可不是一般的难。。
搞不好命也丢了。。
还有超级贵,好像要美金十万！
评论
有朋友上个月刚登顶珠峰，为此准备了五年，先登了几座五，六千米的山峰备战!
评论
黎叔的朋友是万科总裁郁亮？
评论
同问哦
评论
天维果然爱好户外运动的牛人多啊!只是我们两家人和其他朋友一起去过几个国家旅行。
评论
每年珠峰登顶的人也没几个，登顶的中国人就更少了，google“上个月刚登顶珠峰”，出来的第6条就是结果了吖。。。
真佩服你们！！！我有机会能去次EBC就满足了
能和朋友一起并且带着家人旅行真幸福，再羡慕一下
评论
黎叔交游广泛哦！
我想去旅行的地方家人没几个想去的，结果很多时候硬着头皮自己去。
评论
羡慕楼主~ 看到世界不同的人文风光
评论
顶一下哦
评论
LZ还会继续更新吗？
评论
刚更新了
加了出发路线跟旅行日记！
评论
谢谢分享
评论
再读一遍。。。写得真好！有一点像Joe Bennett。。。
评论
谢谢捧场呢！写了一大堆英文我还以为没人会认真去念的。
其实我平常旅行大多都是光拍照，很少些这么多的。
不过去珠峰大本营实在空闲时间很多，太阳下山就没啥事做，就把自己想的都记录下来咯。
评论
感觉这地方好乱好穷啊。。。。LZ,，我服你的勇气。。。。。。。。。。。。。。
评论
看完楼主的游记，有一种明天就背上行囊，出远门的冲动。
虽然看的时候为你的战前飞机捏把汗，因为我自己有恐高，又极度恐惧飞机（每年飞中国2次都几乎让我心脏吓破），这一段飞行估计是我最恐惧的，我还飞过台湾的小旧飞机到香港，也是我吓到浑身流汗。
感觉自己很想经历像你这样的挑战，不想去奢华的城市和霓虹灯的夜晚，我很想去体验这样双手捡起牛粪，燃烧，然后默默的看着火光，想着这一年不顺利的压抑无比的生活，可以逃离一下。
如果我计划10月份去不知道合不合适呢？ps，我有点洁癖，每天要洗澡2次，鼻子敏感，但是还是很想去
楼主。你的游记是真正感染到我的一篇旅游见闻，感激你！！