Dingboche to Namche Bazaar - November 10th 1999

A cool night, breakfast at 6:30am, a big bowl of porridge and an omlette. Off at 7:30am up through the birch forest , a very steep trail up to Tengboche. Tengboche is the religious centre of the Khumbu and has a beautiful setting on a hill top plateau between the Imja Khola and Phunki Khola valleys. There are wonderful views of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam to the north. The Everest View Hotel is visible to the south and Thamserku and Kangtaiga loom over the plateau. As if that was not enough there is the monastery itself, rebuilt after the disastrous fire of 1989 caused by an electricity fault.

The main monastery building was being extended, there were piles of steel girders which I carefully avoided when photographing. Shoes off and into the monastery, the walls are covered with small scale intricate paintings depicting the sherpa way of life. Bright colours everywhere, rows of benches with burgundy robes, a huge buddha with small subsiduary figures. Lots of photo opportunities outside, stupas, mani styones. Unfortunately we had a schedule to keep so I couldn't stay as long as I would have liked. A whole day here to soak up teh atmosphere and admire the views would have been well spent. Young monks blwe conch shells presumably a call to prayer. There was a small souvenir shop with flags, tea shirts and religious texts. A notice said that the profit from one tee shirt keeps a monk for a day.

Soon we were on our way again down through the forest on a steep dusty trail. Many tall pine trees with tall standing cones. Down and down, very hot and dusty. Then the worst bit I found out that we would be walking up the opposite side of the valley later on, groan! My knees we hurting when I reached Phunki Tenga where a hot lemon drink at the Thamserku Lodge helped me recover before starting the uphill trail back to Namche. A high swing bridge over the rapidly flowing river, then up and up and up and was I tired! As I was passing a lodge a little girl came out and offered me a stick, I declined but gave her one of the children's books that I had brough with me from England. She was overjoyed and sat down with her mother to look at the book. They laughed when they found that the animals in the book could be moved by pulling tabs. Anyway, back to the drag, eventually reached Sanasa where there were stalls of Tibetan souvenirs along the trail. I had not reached my destination yet as the Ama Dablam Lodge was further along the trail, up and down through the birch forest and the lodge came into view.

I was soon sipping the most welcome lemon tea of the trek. Sat in the kitchen and saw how the Tibetan bread was cooked. The cook (an everest Summiteer!) raked some hot   ashes out of the wood fire and dropped the dough circles into the ash. He turned them after a few seconds, took them off, blew off the ash dust and served them. I had some tinned pilchards with the bread and bought a Snickers bar for later (100Rp).The lodge owner had summited Everest and Ama Dablam both twice, with and without oxygen. Had my photo taken with him and our sirdar with Ama Dablam behind us.

Soon I was back on the trail again, on the last leg back down to Namche. I wasn't as tired as earlier but felt every incline. Got stuck behind our own yak team and the dust was terrible. Many clumps of gentians along the side of the trail here. Soon recognised the viewpoint above Namche where we had stood the previous week and then the outskirts of Namche came into view. The last steep descent into Namche hurt my knees but soon I was sitting in the lounge at the Hotel Tibet sipping a cold grape juice (180Rp!!), my legs were very stiff. After a rest I went down to the Everest Bakery, don't miss it!, where I demolished large pieces of apple pie (125Rp) and chocolate cake (100Rp) washed  down with some real ground coffee. Rested out the rest of the day, I have another long day tomorrow back down to Lukla, no doubt there will be some ups as well as downs to test my legs....