30 March 2015
It had been 8 days since
I last had a shower. My hair was so oily and I was dreaming of shampoo and an oh-so-warm
shower. I couldn’t wait to get back to Namche Bazaar!
~07:00. Upon waking
up, we headed towards the Tengboche Monastery, a Buddhist gompa sitting on the panoramic village of Thyangboche. We
quietly slipped inside, unrolled a mat, sat down with our legs crossed, and
listened to the monks chanting. It was an interesting experience, witnessing a
Buddhist meditation. We stayed for around 10 minutes then left as quietly as we
came in. We returned to the tea house and I had chocolate pancake withchocolate syrup for breakfast.
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| Tengboche Monastery with the Himalayan Mountains in the background |
~08:20. It was sunny
but cold when we left Thyangboche. Since the first part of the trail was going
down, I was walking effortlessly and at the same pace as Victor and Madan.
After a while, fog started to envelop the trail. About 10-20 minutes to
Kyanjuma, it started to rain while we were hiking up.
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| A foggy trail |
11:15. By the time we
arrived in Kyanjuma, snow was falling instead of rain. I changed into warmer
clothes and waterproof pants. The last time we were in Kyanjuma, back in Day 3, the view was amazing. So, I was looking forward to taking more photos of the village. However, today, the view was completely covered by the fog (Lesson learned: Take photos when you can--don't expect the same opportunity even if you're returning via the same route). At the teahouse’s dining area, there were Koreans
who had a full Korean meal. Victor and I wondered how they brought all the
Korean food all the way to Kyanjuma. After lunch, we warmed ourselves for a
while with the heater in the dining area.
~13:00. It was snowing
from the time we left Kyanjuma until the time we arrived in Namche Bazaar. At
first, the snow melted when it hit the ground. But after a while, the ground
was just covered with snow. I wasn’t wearing waterproof gloves so my hands were wet and cold inside my soaked gloves. Some parts of the trail were slippery, and some were muddy.
So, I wasn’t skipping my way anymore. Despite the nonstop snow, the weather
(and my mood) didn’t seem as bad as Day 8 (en route to Lobuche and EBC). In
fact, I was pretty much enjoying the snow fall.
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| Leaving Kyanjuma |
~14:15. When we arrived
in Namche Bazaar, the village was covered with snow. I was planning on taking a
photo of the snow-covered village but the snow didn’t stop—it snowed all
afternoon and rained pretty hard that night. On day 2, Victor and I had planned
on taking a photo of the village from the helicopter pad, about two hours away.
But it was just too damn cold and the weather wasn’t cooperating.
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| Namche Bazaar, covered with snow |
Technically, we
could’ve taken warm baths at any point of our trek. However, our free
showers were only up to 3,440 meters above sea level (i.e., Namche
Bazaar and the villages below it). I had opted to spend 8 showerless days in
this trek since 1) hot showers were expensive; 2) it was cold;
and 3) just for the experience. Victor was the first to take a shower.
He spent an hour under the warm shower. He was smiling and shaven when he was
finished, and the bathroom was moist from the mist. I was sooooo excited for my
turn! I placed all my clean clothes and towel in a plastic bag (so it won’t get
moist), stripped off my dirty clothes. I turned the knob and finally…. hot
water started to run… and then it slowly stopped. What?!
I tried again. Nada. Cold
water was running from the other knob but THERE WAS NO MORE HOT WATER!!! F***! I swore loudly. Should I skip
my long-awaited bath or take a cold shower? I was already shivering from
the cold (remember, it was still snowing outside) but I already felt so gross
and I really wanted to wash myself. So, yeah, I took a COLD shower amidst the
cold weather. Talk about luck! Oh well, sh*t happens. That’s life.
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| Selfie amidst the cold trail |
Victor and I spent the
rest of the day online (5$ for WiFi). It had been 11 days since I last
connected with my family. When I checked my messages, I learned that my mum was
in and out of the hospital. Our room was under renovation. And my older sister
was in Turkey. I sent them photos and my mum’s first reaction was that my nose
was red. I haven’t been checking myself in the mirror for the last 11 days and
I hadn’t noticed how red my nose was from all the blowing (I could feel it
hurting though).
18:00. I had springrolls for dinner then continued spending my time online until midnight. That
night, I uploaded photos for the first time. I checked the weather, my email at
work and connected with my friends at home. As I chatted with m family, I
couldn’t believe that two days ago, I was at 5,550 feet, viewing the highest
mountain in the world.
