It’s a crispy morm in Khumjung. From my hotel room I can see Ama Dablam in all its glory.

from my room window

Sherpa Lodge: great hospitality, nice rooms

We have tea and noodles for breakfast and start our journey to Tengboche.As I bid goodbye to Kathlyn she gives me a tibetan herb for good luck. It’s a herb given on auspicious moments when one is undertaking a difficult task.I forget the name….

The gesture makes me feel really good. I have been sick worried by my shoes-I don’t think they will make it. I press ‘Y’ to make a call to the shop and ask someone the shopkeeper knows to bring in the boots. He retorts from the other side ” Can’t be done. students will beat me up.” I am disheartened, even a little mad at ‘Y’ for not suggesting me to carry the boots. So in an upset state I walk around Khumjong and take a few pictures. I tell myself ” There’s nothing I can’t do. It’s not the boots. It’s never the shoes. It’s the person.” I am cured after a while.

The way is beautiful with little stone pathways.Dawa’s in a jolly mood and he makes jokes about each of us.We discuss if the government could have collapsed by now in kathmandu and the appointment of new ministers.Our trekkers could fill in the posts. Dawa appoints each member of the trek a ministry. I am ‘peace and click minister’. The reason being my silence and I can’t help taking photographs. ‘Y’s ‘communication and mobile’ minister. She has three cell phones including one of mine and the calls just don’t stop coming.Dawa appoints himself the president of Nepal and declares “I will take the oath only in Sherpa language”.

Koshi gurgles hundreds of feet below us and the sunny pathway is fun to walk.Climbing upwards to Tengboche,we meet a herd of yaks being shooed upwards by a yak farmer from Okahldhunga . ” syo , syo..”

Recently I was part of a team that visited ‘Khumbu’ to inspect the impacts of climate change in the Himalayas. We were seven youths from different backgrounds.We visited schools, interacted with locals and treked to Everest basecamp,Kala pather and Imja lake.Personally,I joined the campaign because I wanted to do more than support a rally from inside a car or applaud an effort made for climate change.

The trek was inspiring for me in many ways. I am posting my diaries here and maybe I will do a write up very soon. For now, here are some pictures…

our team at basecamp with Dawa Steven Sherpa

entering khumbu

I slept well yesterday night. ‘Y’ left for the pub and I don’t know when she came back. I didn’t lock the door and wasn’t disturbed. We climbed uphill from Namche to Kumjhong at aroung seven. I climbed a few steps and couldn’t do it. So I bought a ‘Chinese Vista’ shoes for Rs 850.My shoe size is 35-36-37 (the size differs now and then). Well, the vista is sized 40. I left my trekking boots in the shoe shop where I bought the shoes. The owner’s promised us to keep it safely.

I can’t explain how light I felt while walking. The way up hill was exhausting but after that the path took a new turn. It was enjoyable and we walked really slowly. There was a yak farm but there were no yaks.

Khumjong’s beautiful . After lunch, we visited Khumjong High School, initially funded by Edmund Hillary and interacted with students of grade eight, nine and ten.Mahendra Bdr Kathet, the principal was an interesting man. All the other teachers also reminded me of my own Nepali gurus.

Bust of Edmund Hillary at Khumjong school

We are now staying at Sherpa Lodge. The rooms are awesome-double blankets and light bulbs above your head. It’s drizzling outside. Our program coordinator ‘Prashant’ has also arrived and the boys are back on their game of cards.

I also did go to see a doctor at Khunde hospital with ‘Y’, Rajan dai and Khasing.The doctor gave me four files of medicine but I plan to take none.

It’s raining outside. There are a group of American treekers here in the dining hall who have returned from Gorak Sheep. Lucky fellas, they didn’t have to face the bad weather. I have been talking to Kathlyn from the other group. I just hope the weather will be good tomorrow.

Something really funny happened last night. I couldn’t get any sleep. We must have gone to bed around nine. I was asleep until 10:30. Then I woke up with a sore throat. I felt as if I had eaten sand. I waited and waited for the feeling to go away but it didn’t. All I longed for was a glass of hot water.It was cold, I didn’t want to get out of bed.Outside, dudkoshi in all its beauty kept gurgling and was company. There was also a water sprinter in the kitchen garden outside my window that kept buzzing. I tossed and turned.I couldn’t swallow or even breathe. Finally at 1:30 a.m I gathered all my spirits and tiptoed down the hallway.

Well, the hallway was a nice one and with each step you took the lights automatically turned on.So I felt as if I was enacting a scene from a movie. I walked down the hallway to the kitchen. Luckily the kitchen door was open and I walked in like a cat. I couldn’t think of turning on the lights. I fumbled around in the darkness and caught hold of a cup. Then I located the thermoses.I poured in one to find out it was ‘milk tea’. I emptied it and took hold of another thermos. It was hot water. I filled my cup and tiptoed back to my room. I gulped the water slowly, opened the curtains slightly, observed the water sprinter and the camp tents and spent the rest of the night. Later, I remembered what had kept me awake-the tumbler of coffee I had drunk in ‘Y’s company.So I promise myself no more coffee. I don’t really enjoy drinking coffee. In face I hate coffee. I only like the ‘idea of drinking coffee’.

We had breakfast at Phakding and started our journey to Monzu. There were two above sixty year old ladies walking ahead of us and it was encouraging enough for me to keep walking.I had also given all the heavy items in my bag to ‘Y’, so it was no problem.We lunched at singer ‘Mingma Sherpa’s house. The food was great and the place is run by his sister. She was kind enough to show me around the house. Mingmas song was playing in the dining hall. It was a remixed version,not bad at all.

The more than a hundred feet tall stream in Toc-toc was gorgeous.

At Toc-toc

just another view of Toctoc stream

While crossing the bridge from toc-toc two Americans noticed our banner and wished us luck.They are the only friendly foreigners I have met so far. At the khumbu tourist centre, an official asked us to stop after we had entered the gates. “Didi! Tapaiko kuire ko ticket khoi ta?he came up to ‘Y’ and questioned. We laughed him off and told him I was not a foreigner.’Ah! I thought you were a tourist and ‘y’ was your guide’ he retorted and walked away. All along the way people have been mistaking me for a foreigner. I don’t know why? Maybe it’s because of my boots.

first views

first view....

horse on the run

stone stream

We reached Namche in about four hours. My boots have been hurting me really bad. So I went around searching for a pair of light, cheap sports shoes. I found none. A branded north face shoes was priced around 2,500 rupees and since I wasn’t carrying any money I let it go.The weather was chilly as we roamed around the tibetan market. I kept sniffing all the while due to my sore throat and suddenly started feeling home sick.

At the moment I am sitting in front of the stove . On the table next to me, there’s a lady who’s quietly reading a book. The guys are playing cards in another corner of the room.The old lady and I are the only quiet ones in the room. I can’t help thinking if this is how I will end up old. I am ill. I don’t want any dinner, only good sleep.

A group of Spaniards in another table are making so much noise , you could mistake them for school children. I envy their fun. But at the moment I feel ill, my nose is running and all I want is some sleep.

P.S: I can’t explain how sad I am to have lost those Namche pictures. It grieves me but it’s my own doing. They might have been lost but I remember each one and can’t help replaying them over and over.

I walk out of home at around 8:10 am. The weather is a little foggy. It’s mighty windy on the motorbike. Our flight to Lukla is scheduled at 9:00 am. At the airport gate I spot Sunil dai, Khasing and Rajandai. ‘Y’s not around. ‘ We walk up to the domestic flight section and I finally spot her.’Hey! I was thinking who was this japanese?’. She comes running towards me and gives me a hug.Mama is grinning.He recharges my phone and bids me good bye. We walk into the waiting lobby. Our bags are weighted and security checked and then begins the waiting…

There are hundreds of individuals waiting eagerly for their flights. Most of them are tourists heading to lukla, bharatpur or pokhara. Theirs a guy on the far corner scribbling on his lokta paper diary.An over weight couple have been making rounds around the lobby since we arrived and can’t get their hands off each other. Besides this, the scenario is fairly interesting.

Our flight is delayed and we finally get on the plane at 10:45 a.m.

about to board

inside the aeroplane

On landing, I notice dozens of potters with their beautiful brown burnt skin swarming the exit section. There are cartoons of ‘carlsberg beer’ stacked on one side.

carlsberg stacked at Lukla airport

aerial view from the aeroplane I

aerial view II

aerial view III

aerial view IV

We dine at ‘Paradise Lodge’. Our lunch menu includes rice, cabbage, dal and bottled pickles of ginger and garlic.Then we head to ‘Chaurikharka school’.Surrounded by rocky mountains, the school has a great view and a huge playground. It has already celebrated its golden jubilee.

golden jubilee gate of Mahendra Higher secondary school, Chaurikharka, Lukla

students attending 'climate change' discussion

students listen attentively

banner display and signature

president of the school eco club signs the banner

The higher secondary school has started running commerce courses, only from this academic year and it has seventy students.

After the program we head to Phakding.On our way we meet dozens of potters on their way to Namche or higher. Their only support is their stick chiseled into the shape of a hammer. It comes in handy when putting their load to rest.I salute each of them for the ease they show when lifting their huge loads.Thanks to ‘y’ I have two sticks to lean on to.

We walk,walk and walk some more. I don’t really like stone pathways, in fact I despise them. We came across a lot of them today. I am told their is more to come tomorrow. My bag is heavy for no reason. I have only packed a trouser, jackets and a few nuts and chocolates.

‘Star lodge’ :the place where we are staying is nice. The dining hall has a new improved cooking stove and the food was not bad. ‘Y’ likes drinking coffee, so I gave her company by gulping down a tumbler. But at the moment my throat feels itchy. Maybe it’s the work of the cold tap water I drank on the way. I don’t know? I hope I don’t catch cold . We plan to walk out at 7:00 am tomorrow. ‘Y’ and Dawa are constantly asking me ‘Are you fine?’. It’s nice in a way. I have not shown any signs of altitude sickness. Today we are at a height of 2800 meters. Tomorrow we go higher……

“Some experiences are life changing”-it’s a cliche. Today I say it and I mean it. I am hanging my boots but I know the memories of Khumbu will haunt me forever. The trek to ‘Everest Base camp’ was beyond my imagination. I never thought I would remember it with so much nostalgia and now that I do I realize how inspirational it was.. I will write about the thirteen day trip and more but for now I must relish in the memories of ‘Dur khema’….

P.S:Thanks to everyone who thought I would make it to Everest Base Camp and those who didn’t.

I am back

Yes, he’s right. He walks into the class and starts lecturing “If you live in Nepal and expect to much,it’s your fault. You are an idiot to expect international teaching standards.” I admit I am an idiot but what name can I give him? Why would a teacher ask his student to compulsorily write a letter to the editor on his article and not dare to mention the connection.

I belong not to this world, not to that
I struggle and stumble
I seek and yet I do not find
I now forget what I seek…
I tempt myself with what I see
I do not search and I do not sense
I now forget what I seek…

Love my friend, is a dangerous thing.