Trekking Day 11: Thyangboche to Namche via Kyanjuma

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 Snowing in Kyanjuma

~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.

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.

 

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.

 

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).

 The view? Fog, fog, fog.

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.