Peaks and Quakes

Cairn at Gokyo Ri

We enjoyed our final week at the school and we had lots of fun with our new friend from Birmingham, Colette, who had also come to volunteer at the school. The girls had much fun chatting about Midlands life with Brummie accents! At school all was very busy as we finished the library, computers, resources and covered lessons for an absent teacher, see the charity blog http://classroominthecloudslukla.blogspot.com. Nursery classes, a room with more than 40 little ones that don't speak any English, was challenging and very fun! We came to realise that they were not all sugar and spice and all that is nice, and enjoyed the odd round of WWF wrestling!

We had a party night the evening before leaving for our trek - a splash of Whiskey on the balcony and some final Lukla fun times with Colette singing "what's that coming over the hill?". Guy got annoyed with Emma for being unprepared and tipsy when she should be packing and sober, but she insisted that having fun was most important! We set of late the next day...

Day 1 - Lukla (2800m) to Namche Bazaar (3440m)

Beginning the Trek in Lukla

After packing up our home for the last five weeks we began our trek at around mid day, a little stop at Sangay's shop for a Chocopie and we were set for the familiar route to Namche Bazaar. With Guy's previous weekend record time of 03:40 as the benchmark, we had rainy weather and heavy bags so set a target of five hours to reach Namche. After around 04:40 hours walking we reached Namche and returned to our favorite guest house - Hotel Tibet. We met Mingma, the owner, and again he was very generous - we had many free hot lemon drinks, a free room and as much dhal baat as is possible to eat! He informed us that he owns another guest house in the Khumbu region, Chukkung, where his wife was living and he suggested we should stay there. Though it is not on route to Everest, how could we resist the great hospitality so we agreed to stay there, at the foot of the famously beautiful Ama Dablam mountain in two nights time.

The First Glimpse of Everest on the way to Namche Bazaar

Day 2 - Namche Bazaar to Pangboche (3930m)

Another beautiful morning in Namche, we took a quick trip to the National Park headquarters for the classic Everest view then begun on the walk to Tengboche. We passed a group from the University of Bath down  a big valley after Namche, and pressed on up the steep other side, reaching Tengboche as the weather begun to turn. It an attractive Buddhist village with a significant monastery where most groups rest for the night, but we decided to press on to the next town of Pangboche - a recommendation of Mingma's. So we stopped for a quick Wai Wai noodle and onion campstove lunch and became disturbed by some inquisitive horses who nearly knocked off the pan and a trekking group from Nottingham we previously met in Lukla returning from basecamp. We reached Pangboche in the afternoon and stopped at a lovely little guest house for the night where we chatted to Brendan, a Geologist from a large group studying glacial lakes over near Chukkung. Unfortunately the altitude had got the better of him and he was descending the next day.

The Path to Pangboche

Day 3 Pangboche to Chukkung (4730m)

We set off in the sunny morning and passed through Dingboche - a large village full of guest houses for the Everest trekkers. Guy was allowed to buy two overpriced Marathon bars, as the further you go up into the mountains, the exponentially more everything costs (as it must be carried by porters on their heads)! The weather was good as we proceeded off the Everest path and towards Chukkung and Island Peak. We passed the base of Ama Dablam but it was shrouded in cloud so we could not appreciate its beauty at this point. Reaching Mingma's guest house, we realised we were also staying with about 30 Geologists from Brendan's group. Chindi, Mingma's wife, was as hospitable as usual and we had a jolly good dahl baat followed by an invitation to join the Geologists for a lecture about Glacial Lakes in Bolivia and another about damage to the ecosystem in the Everest region - Emma felt right at home, being back among fellow scientists at a conference!

Day 4 Chukkung to Gorak Shep (5164m)

Guy on a Snowy Chukkung Ri

We awoke early with the intention to Summit Chukkung Ri (5550m) before daybreak. Setting out in all of our layers with our headtorches, the snow was falling fast. We decided some way up that due to the clouds and snow, we would not see summit views of the top of the Himalayas. So with Gorak Shep as the destination, we headed back down, gleefully crunching in the fresh snow. Emma loved the "Christmas Yaks" in the snowy village. We arrived back at the guesthouse for a big breakfast from Chindi and headed on the way to Gorak Shep.Chindi came running out after us and gave us a packed lunch for the journey! Due to the weather we decided not to attempt the high Kumbhu Glacier pass, and returned to Dingboche, where we regained the trail to Everest. The valley cleared up in the morning ant we were presented with stunning views of Ama Dablam emerging through the clouds.

Ama Dablam (6848m)

The weather during the afternoon was good and we were back in shorts and t-shirts as we headed towards Labouche. We met a lovely group of Indians from Chennai (Where we first set foot in India some seven months ago) on the way and were reminded how smiley the Indians are! When we reached Labouche we had to decide whether to press on further - The evening was drawing near and the altitude was compressing our minds. After a decision cup of warm tea, we decided to make the push to the last village on the journey - Gorak Shep. The final two hours were particularly challenging - high icy terrain, river crossings and steep, rocky path but we made it before dusk and settled into our tiny box room for the night after our longest and hardest day yet.

Prayer Flags over the Pass near Dingboche

Day 5 Kala Patthar (5644m) and Everest Base Camp (5364m)

 Everest and Nuptse from Kala Patthar

05:00. We arose early to a misty Gorak Shep and begun the climb up Kala Patthar. In the morning frost, the curious alpine flowers of the highlands of the world amused us with their alien appearances. We took many photos in the short time window before the sun rises behind Everest and then continued our journey to summit. Guy was feeling light headed with the altitude and the last 100m was a struggle, but it was a glorious morning and well worth the early rise.

 Kala Patthar Summit 5644m - Our Highest!

Though it wasn't a crisp clear day it was very atmospheric the way the clouds moved and swirled around uncovering more and more giants in every direction. After a cup of Russian tea at summit (a disputed altitude between 5545 - 5644m) with some friendly folk we descended back to Gorak Shep. We had reached the highest point that we have ever climbed.

Up in the Clouds - Kala Patthar

After double breakfast we set out for Everest base camp. People along the trail had said base camp was a bit like the Effiel tower, boring but you have to go and see it. We felt differently, the views were amazing along the glacial valley. And surprisingly, the sound of the glacier was beautiful also - from complete crystal clear silence to the great rumble of a distant avalanche, the creaking of melting and moving glaciers and grinding of landslides. The ambiance was amazing. Emma discovered that she was not so fond of glaciers as she scrambled on hands and knees around the icy edge of a glacial lake, while guy decided he would like to run the Everest marathon next year as he skipped around the edge!

 The Kumbu Glacier Below, at the Foot of Lhotse - Everest in the Clouds

After about an hour of glacial scrambling we arrived at base camp. Interestingly it was busy for this time of year, there was a Japanese party spending the next month there to acclimatise before climbing Everest (this being his final climb of the highest mountain on each continent without oxygen). After poking around and with Guy admiring the tech gear and tents, we decided all looked rather civil at base camp and returned to Gorak Shep for the evening.

Old Everest Basecamp Rock (it moves constantly as it is on a glacier)

Current Everest Basecamp (5364m)

Day 6 Gorak Shep to Dzongla (4830m)

A Perfect Morning at Gorak Shep

We had been chatting to other trekkers and porters about crossing the Cho La Pass, renowned to be a difficult route requiring ice equipment at certain times in the year to cross the two glaciers. This route would eventually lead us to Gokyo lakes. Hearing that conditions on pass were  looking good we decided to take the pass route. We had a short day of walking from Gorak Shep to Dzongla, aka Hicksville! Dzonglaa was an essential overnight stop close to the Cho La Pass. There was just one guest house and it had all the charm of Royston Vasey! Luckly, after some depressingly misty cold hours we had the company of two great Israeli boys; Omer and David who were to become out Cho La Pass trekking pals.

Guy with Everest in the Morning

Emma Navigates our Route at Gorak Shep

Day 7 Cho La Pass (Highest Point 5420m)  - Dzongla to Gokyo (4750)

After our first good night sleep at lower altitude and feeling better for having half a days rest we were walking by 05.00am with our Israli friends. The route soon became challenging and the four of us struggled to spot cairns or any other signs of a path. So we were reliant on our slightly iffy Nepalise print 1:60000 scale map and a compass (a backward compass at that since Guy kept it near a magnet of the camera case and north became south).

Guy Scaling the Snout of the Glacier at Cho La Pass

We Trekked around one huge glacier and over another to reach the pass. Once again Guy the mountain goat (or mountain bunny to the Isralis) crossed an icy ridge above a frozen lake with ease. Emma almost took a

freezing swim as she landslid down the ice toward the lake, while David and Omer were saved by Guy who had firm footing and could  swing them across with walking poles. With the four of us safely across the snow began to fall, making the next climb up to the top of the pass more difficult. It was a steep, approx grade 3-4 climb but only about 20m high. Feeling wobbly, Emma had a little cry and claimed this was to be the last mountain she would ever climb! We made it to the top by 11.00am and immediately began the decent. Coming down the pass was equally treacherous, a steep and slippery scree, no path and the occasional landslide.

Emma, Omar and David on Top of the Glacier

Final Scramble to the Top of the Cho La Pass (note the icy lake of everyone's near demise)

We reached the village of  Thangna, a potential overnight stop, and used the last of our backpack rations to make a tasty lunch of Wai Wai noodles and boiled potatoes on the campstove. Powered by potatoes, the mountain bunnies were prepared to complete the trek to Gokyo, leaving our new friends to rest for the night at Thangna.

Wai Wai Noodles and Todays Special - Boiled Potato Slices!

The next leg of the Cho La Pass is crossing the enormous Ngozumpa glacier which happens to be the biggest glacier in the Himalayas! We followed our map to where the route across should have started but were confronted by a daunting sight; the glacier has receded considerably, leaving great pools of icy water in it's place. Confused, we headed back to the village to seek the help of locals who pointed us up the valley.

The Daunting Ngozumpa Glacier Crossing

Our map suggested it would take one hour to cross the glacier, but for us without a guide, a map and trying to follow the sporadic and indistinct cairns it took more than two. The great mounds of gravel moraine were a challenge to climb, and there seemed less icy patches than expected. We were quite amazed to see more strange vegetation growing on this hostile land. Our only real bearing was the great scar cliffs of the other side of the glacier so we scrambled in that direction. When we finally reached the other side, we climbed the walls of the glacier through the mists and beyond that we saw what we were looking for - a curious turquoise lake! Knowing that we were in the right direction for Gokyo we stopped for our last celebratory campstove nescafe. The walk to Gokyo from there that afternoon was fairly easy and the misty valley could be likened

to many in the Brecon Beacons. We reached the village of Gokyo, set around the third of six lakes in the region, and felt that we had made the best decision to conquer the infamous pass! We set up in a friendly guest house and spent the evening eating dhal baat with some Bristolian folk and a lovely American couple who were returning to Nepal after 30 years away.

Map reading near Gokyo

Day 8 Gokyo Ri (5483m) to Mong (3900m)

Cho Oyo (8201m) in the Morning from Gokyo

We were up at 4.30am to climb our final peak of the journey, Gokyo Ri (5483m). Although lower in altitude than Kala Patthar it is said to be a steeper climb and the starting altitude is lower. It was a stunning dawn, the full moon was still bright above the turqouise lake and the snowy peaks all around created eery shadows

in the still water. To the east the sky was already pink as the sun was rising and we knew we would have to be swift up the mountain to summit before the sun summits Everest. Unfortunatly we chased the sun  that morning and it won the race, though we still go stunning views photography of the top of the world was over. After 1h 13mins, precisely  we reached the summit. Decorated with rows of prayer flags, a Buddhist shrine and hundreds of cairns it was the most interesting summit we had ever seen, after much deliberation, Guy admitted that he preferred it to his beloved Crinkle Crags in the Lake District! We spent another two hours there after exploring the summit, walking along the top ridge and taking lots of photos, before descending to Gokyo.

Emma at the Summit of Gokyo Ri

Guy Climbs to the Highest Peak of Gokyo Ri

We had planned to take an afternoon rest day, but Emma became emotional about feeling so dirty (it had now been six weeks without a shower) and not sleeping well altitude. So we packed up, had lunch with our friends, including the Isralies who had reached Gokyo in the morning, and headed down...or so we thought!

Gokyo Lake (note the huge Ngozumpa glacier to the left that we crossed the previous eve)

The first few hours of walking we didn't stop, we passes through valleys (that were again comparable to those in Wales or the lakes), past tumbling waterfalls, the shrubs turned to trees and we walked through enchanted forests. The ground was wet and squelchy and we felt very at home. We also passed through quaint little farming villages, far more rural and Nepali than some of the purpose built Trekking villages on the way to base camp.

Yaks are Found all over the Khumbu Region

Emma found the first "missy dog" of the travels, an excitable Lhasa Apso Who followed us with her dingley bell until Guy had to pursuade her to head home with some expert growling.

Missy in the Mountains

We walked into the evening, and proud of our progress on the map we thought we could make it all the way to Namche. The next village was Mong, the only village on the map that strangely didn't have an altitude. The contour lines suggested an uphill climb and it certainly was! We climbed into the dusk, up the biggest hill ever that seemed as if it would never ever end to Mong La (3900) (La meaning hill, had this been written on the map we would have been more prepared!). Very tired and achey we rested at Mong La. Guy met his favorite climber in the little guest house. He was from Korea and stated, to Guy's evening of laughter: "I have a girlfriend - she is very ugly".

Day 9 Mong La to Namche Bazaar (3930m)

Ama Dablam from Mong La

We awoke to a lovely view of  Ama Dablam (Arguably the prettiest mountain of them all), ate breakfast in the morning sunshine and started walking. We passed through the village of Kumjung and within two hours arrived in Namche. Then we had a rest day! We drank real coffee, went shopping and Guy could finally have all the Pepsi and chocolate he needed (Emma put him on serious rations on the mountains as these luxury items cost up to £3 each!). We even went to the "cinema" to watch a true story about an fatal attempt to climb Everest, and came out feeling rather sad! That evening at hotel Tibet although Mingma was not home we did catch up with our friend Bharat from sunny garden in Lukla.

Day 10 Namche Bazaar to Lukla (2800m)

And so we began our final decent to Lukla, a path that we now knew in detail (there are 11 bridges, and 9  advertisements for Waves Pub Lukla which annoy us). The path was busy with "trekking dodo's" (groups of

westerners), their porters (each carrying several Westener backpacks weighing 30kg or more) and Sherpas stacked with supplies for the busy season ahead. We were very glad to be finishing our trek before the route became a motorway of human traffic! "Blooming Trekking Dodo's".

Sometimes you have to duck under the Sherpas huge loads, no pun intended

It turned out that Lukla had not changed much since we left - it was still shrouded in misty fog and raining...

 The Sign Reads; Welcome Back to Sunny Lukla

That afternoon we took a freezing cold shower for the first time in many weeks and headed up to the school to say our farewells. We ended up staying up at the school into the evening using the computers to write this blog. At around 6.30pm the ground began to shake and the power cut out. After so long surrounded by snowy mountains we thought it was an avalanche and darted for the door. The ground swayed beneath us for about 15 seconds and we realised that we were experiencing our first ever earthquake. The school building was creaking eerily and it was all rather exciting  (for Guy). Unfortunately, while running away from the building in the dark, Emma forgot that the playground was on two levels with a flight of steps between and she literally threw herself off the top layer. Guy saw her disappear into the darkness. Fortunately the fall only resulted in bruised and cut knees and a few days of limping to follow.

Emma's Earthquake Injury (She claims that the photo does not do her severe injury justice)

Back in the streets of Lukla, all was busy and the villagers were very frightened, most had never experienced an earthquake before. Although there was damage to some buildings and bridges, no one was seriously hurt (apart from Emma). We later learnt that the quake was 6.9 on the Richter scale at the epicenter in Assam, India. After the earthquake commotion we looked forward to escaping Lukla! The next morning we touched down safely in Kathmandu.

Our Private Plane - We were the Only Passengers!

Bonus Pics

 Christmas Yaks at Chukkung

In the mountains, the locals cook with ingenious methods - Solar cookers and dried yak poo coal predominantly!

Cairn in the Mist - Gokyo. Coming to a postcard near you soon!

The only Eat Natural bars to have ever made Everest Base Camp - Twice! Thanks Astrid - We enjoyed them very much.

Walking Among Giants

   Mani Walls Along the Path to Everest

After yet another cloudy and exceptionally rainy week in the Lukla monsoon, karma was once again on our side at the weekend. The sun was shining and the clouds had cleared to reveal great snowy peaks in the Mera region around the village. We had heard of the Saturday market at Namche Bazaar, and headed out for a long walk to Namche in the morning. However we had also heard that we would need a permit in advance to enter the Sagarmatha National Park – Home of Everest among several other 8000m+ mountains so we were prepared to just walk to the national park gate and return the same day. 

 Emma Loved this White Horse at Phakding

After some 4 hours walk through small local villages, across some terrifyingly high suspension bridges and past some epic waterfalls we reached the gate. Guy attempted to sneak through unnoticed yet Emma had a less deceitful approach and sought out a person to pay. We paid our 1000 rupee ticket and entered the park. Inside Sagarmatha were the most spectacular waterfalls, more incredibly long bridges and “The Hill”. We met a young English man who completed the Everest base camp trek in the week, and he gladly informed us “The Hill” was the biggest hill in the world – Two-and-a-half hours up and around 1000m altitude gained! 

 

One of the Bridges before "The Hill"

Well we surpassed ourselves, ascending in less than two hours, and arrived in a cloudy Namche at around 16:00. We met our friend Astrid from London/Brussels/U.S.A in the same hotel and she donated us several Marathon bars and a pack of Cadburys chocolate raisins as a weight saving exercise.  It was so cold we just had an enormous Dahl Bhat triple serving and went to bed (in which we ate the whole pack of raisins – thank you Astrid).

 Everest, Lhotse, Amadablan - Giants

By morning the sky was crystal clear and we were up and out at 06:00 to catch a sight of Mount Everest. We walked to the National Park Headquarters where there were beautiful sights of Everest, Lhotse and many of the giants of the world. It was the perfect morning and Guy was so excited he nearly exploded. The park rangers, friendly and of course loaded with guns (hopefully not loaded), were excited to see some tourists and were keen that we visit the museum on site. Here, Emma fell in love with Sir Edmund Hilary and Guy fell in love with a Red Panda - see bonus pics. We then hiked up to the area of Khumjung to the Everest View Hotel for the best views. The Hotel was amazing, no less than the worlds highest hotel (3880m) and a 70’s chic masterpiece – it is unchanged since it was built and Guy thought it was the most James Bond place he had ever visited! As it is off season – it was totally deserted making it all the more curious.

 Everest Tourists

We took many photos and enjoyed this perfect morning very much, however, we had school the next day and a huge distance home as we had walked an extra couple of hours north, the opposite way, so we began the decent to Lukla. We briefly stopped in Namche and eyed up some good trekking gear and warm clothes, but we had not prepared to even stay for the night, so we only had enough rupees for some raisin bread and a coffee. We begun our trek back home in blazing sun and arrived at around 18:00 extremely tired after twelve hours on our feet. The last stretch of the journey was only achievable due to the gifts of Astrid – nuts and Marathons kept us going until home. The walking was all the more difficult for Emma due to her old, leaky and too-small boots – and her feet were, well…

Freddy Kruger Feet

So we returned to school the next day and have now sorted out all the computers we can – Eight fully working ones with a new XP OS and Office. We also spent some rainy days recording ‘Audiobooks’ for the children to read and listen in English. Emma spent a couple of days catalouging the library on Excel and making some excellent teaching resources. The children have very much enjoyed the computer lessons this week, and finally have been able to use computers physically, rather than learning about them from a textbook. When we arrived they had taken a computer exam, and never used a computer before. It was interesting to observe their work – they knew what to do, for example Space to make gaps between words, yet they did not know where Space was on the keyboard! The trainee teacher due to join Guy this week received a scholarship to undertake training in Korea, so sadly will not be joining us. Once again, please check out the school blog for more info on our work here:

http://classroominthecloudslukla.blogspot.com

During the week we decided that we would return to Namche the following weekend (which is only Saturday off) to get Emma some boots, and this time, we would take enough money for more than just bread! On Friday, at around 11:00 we left school and made an amazing five hours to Namche during another freak weekend of good weather – we did not stop even for food, just charged on, up “the hill” in one go and arrived at 16:00 in sunny Namche for a spot of boot shopping. Well we ended up with more than just boots; a lovely jumper, t-shirt and long johns for Guy (who has been instructed to give up his Pepsi addiction to compensate for the expense), and some boots, a cow bell and a new bag (containing the presents) for Emma. We had a lovely night with our new friends at the Hotel Tibet and were treated to another triple dhal bhat with the family.

 Namche Bazaar in the Morning

The next morning we set off to try to beat the 5 hours it took to walk here, and made it home in around 4 hours 40. Emma’s new White Tiger boots were surprisingly good and her feet no longer look like a horror movie prop.

The weather this week has improved and now it only rains a little every day, so our current week at school has consisted of painting the new library which has been funded by the charity. Over three days we undercoated and enameled the entire room and ceiling – with brushes only! The paint from Kathmandu is surely not-so-healthy and smells potent so we take a breather looking at the fine valley views. We met Astrid again in our hotel in Lukla, having successfully completed her Everest charity trek. Once again she bestowed us with more incredible gifts and we all had a fun evening with whisky and tea on the balcony. Today is a school holiday for a Nepalise festival, so we are taking some time at the quiet school to organise work for the following few days, along with writing these blogs.

 Undercoating Emma

So we have both felt, for a number of reasons, that our time in Lukla is nearing an end now. It is extremely expensive to eat here and our weekly bill is around 150 GBP, we have finished work as best as we can with the computer room and library for the charity and will no longer have a trainee teacher to assist, so by next week we will take the Everest base camp trek, which should take around 7 days round trip if we move fast. It is approaching Season time and the prices will shoot up even more for tourists, so we will try to beat the crowd. Another volunteer for the charity will be arriving tomorrow, so we will help her out for a few days and perhaps have a few more to spend when we return from the trek.

Bonus Pics:

Guy meets a Red Panda

Emma's New Witch House

Another Week, Another Moth for Mon Papa - This one was Huge!

Farewell India, Namaste Nepal

Tourists at the Taj

Manali – Himachal Pradesh

 Old town Manali

We arrived in Manali to find that the monsoon rains travelling North through India had finally caught up with us, sheets of completely vertical rain lashing down all day. Nevertheless, the mountains were lush and green and after our 20 hour endurance on the “highway to hell” we were happy to stretch our legs while exploring the surrounding valleys. We stayed in the Old Town, narrow winding streets with hobbit-like wooden dwellings, livestock and typical Himachali life going on all around. We enjoyed Manali, preferring old-town life over the busy traveler area of Vashisht - where the smell of chillums fill the air. Manali is infamous for its cannabis – literally growing like a weed! In every garden plants loom some 6-8 ft “high”. Our time in Manali was short as we now had a mission – to be in Nepal within two weeks, still with many stops to make in India along the way.

Being a witch, Emma was excited by the rickety and enchanting old buildings

Chandigarh – Punjab

We have both been looking forward to visiting the Swiss architect designed city of Chandigarh, since meeting our Swiss friends Felix and Mirza back in Mysore. We arrived by bus at 04:00 with Emma feeling unwell (yes again!), five hours later after a mad panic to retrieve a bag we left on the bus and numerous rickshaw/foot journeys to various hotels in order to find one which (a) wasn’t full and (b) wasn’t way above our budget we found our home - in sector 22B! Each sector houses a different type of commerce or residence. This retro-futuristic city is cleverly designed into 48 – 1x1.5km sectors. It is a beautiful crumbling 60’s vision of the future – kind of Bladerunner-esque.

Map of Chandigarh

 Chandigarh Secretariat

Protected by listed building laws, the city is still as it was when it was built, just somewhat more run-down. As it is one of India’s only designed cities, it is home to some welcoming features – underground sewers and pavements on which to walk in particular, along with minimal traffic congestion. While Emma was bound to the toilet, Guy went to investigate this intriguing city. He found the world famous rock garden; a park built entirely of recycled artifacts and building waste with curious statues overlooking the weird place. He also enjoyed the cleanliness and organization of this fascinating city. Being in Punjab, it was predominantly a Sikh city, and as a result the people were friendly and the prices high! We could only afford to spend one night in Chandigarh, and continued our journey South the following day.

Recycled pottery mosaics on a vast scale in the Rock Garden - Chandigarh

Weird deer regiment sculptures – Rock Garden

Haridwar-Rishikesh-Haridwar - Uttrakhand

The next two days were possibly our most stressful time in India to date, but also one of the memorable experiences that make travelling in India so unique. We had left some belongings with our family homestay to go trekking, some two months ago. To get there you have to go via Haridwar (already Emma’s least favorite city) to Rishikesh (known to Guy as Shittikesh). As these cities are on the banks of the Ganges they are important holy sites for Hindus, on a normal day both cities are busy with families on a pilgrimage to the Ganges. We managed to unknowingly arrive on the first day of a huge festival in which thousands of Indian men were roaming the streets, all dressed in orange and making a rawkus noise! For the three train journeys that followed, Haridwar to Rishikesh, Rishikesh to Haridwar and Haridwar to Dehli, we were the only passengers on board with tickets. The trains were swamped – literally thousands of people crammed into each carriage, hundreds more on the roof and about 4-5 layers thick of people clinging on from the outside at doors and windows! Unfortunately, like sardines in a tin, we were unable (and unwilling) to gather photographic evidence, avoiding standing out any more than we did. Emma got very annoyed with some Indian boys who kept taking unwanted pictures of her! We witnessed armed policemen “patrolling” the carriages, sneakily collecting 100 rupee bribes from all ticketless passengers – that being everyone bar us, they pocketed a small fortune. One of the sad corruptions of India; you can pay your way out of most crimes.

 

A typical Indian train – taken from the middle carriage!

Delhi

Dirty, disheveled and almost dead we arrived to the incredibly hot and humid Delhi. Totally hungry, we delved into a McDonalds veggie burger at the train station (both of us had vowed many moons ago to never eat a McDonalds again – oops!) and then made our way to our old hotel in Parhaganj with the smiliest reception man. The humidity in Delhi was so intense that Emma gave up on her “no AC” rule (which is on account of her environmental awareness and the fact that she is a mega-scrooge when it comes to room cost) and we took an air conditioned room. In fact, over the next few days she became the “AC bitch”, darting between AC buildings, stopping only for a 5 rupee Mango Licks (ice lolly) at every corner on the way!

While planning our travels in India, Varanassi (another holy city on the Ganges) and Darjeeling (with its toy train ride through the mountains) were two cities on our “places to visit” list, however we collectively decided that with the ongoing festival and unbearable humidity of the Monsoon, train travel to these destinations would be too much.  So instead, we booked a flight to Kathmandu with plans to visit these places on our way home. We spent the next few days in Delhi organizing our trip to Nepal; shopping for a printer for the school, exchanging money and visiting more AC McDonalds’ (double oops!) along the way. Once again we really enjoyed Delhi, even more so this time as there is something comforting about revisiting a place and not needing to refer to a map every five minutes. We visited Old Delhi for the first time, and as you can see, it was busy…

Old Delhi chaos

Guy enjoyed many “Choala Baturas” – a 35 rupee street food delicacy of Delhi consisting of a greasy chickpea curry with pickled chilies, raw onion and oily bread. (Simon and Caity – This is the new Dosa!). He also convinced Emma to eat at the Hard Rock Café, as he has many fond memories of eating with his Dad many years ago in Washington DC, New York and London – Now Delhi!

Agra – Uttar Pradesh

The Taj Mahal

This hectic city is home to the world wonder – The Taj Mahal. This Muslim monument to love is revered the world round, and no trip to India would be complete without a visit to this famous building. So we booked the AC luxury Shathabi Express train, two hours from Delhi for our day trip. Arriving at 07:00 we made our way directly to the Taj (avoiding numerous tourist scams along the way) in order to beat the crowds. The giant white marble building fully lives up to expectations, beautiful, majestic and calm. Unfortunately, the monsoon skies were grey combined with the pollution from the former capital city surrounding the Taj, and it looked a little bleak against the horizon.

Emma at the Taj Mahal

We spent many hours ambling around the grounds taking obligatory touristy photos, along with amusing ourselves at other tourist antics.

Compulsory snap!

As the afternoon approached, the temperature and humidity became near unbearable and the AC bitch got very hot – even our favorite Coffee Day had broken AC so we just sweated out in a little park by the Red Fort awaiting our return train some five hours later!

Although the Taj Mahal is a wonderful sight, it has become largely an expensive tourist attraction. The ultimate place of worship we visited in India was the auspicious Golden Temple in Amritsar as it is still a flourishing, living temple. The ambience there will remain in our memories forever.

Beautiful architecture in the Mosque adjoining the Taj

Kathmandu – Nepal

Good morning Nepal!

After a beautiful flight giving our first glimpses of the mighty Himalayan range of Nepal above the clouds, we landed in Kathmandu – the capital city of Nepal. The climate here was far more comfortable than that of India currently, being 1200M above sea level and nestled in surrounding foothills of the Himalayas. The difference in culture was immediately obvious, far calmer and more laid back. The Nepalese people are far more peaceful and seemingly westernized than many Indians – not a Sari in sight. We were no longer “celebrities” in family photos, and calls of “Yes, you want rickshaw!” or “Yes friend, look in my shop” were all but a memory.

We headed to Josche (AKA Freak Street) on a recommendation of Cherry. This gained its name due to the Hippie influx of the 1970’s, yet was particularly calm and relaxed, without a hippie in sight! Feeling relaxed, we took to visiting the streets of the city. The buildings are considerably higher than most in India, the majority being 6-8 storeys high. There was is decidedly more oriental influence to the architecture and it is visually more appealing than the concrete boxes of India. We visited the Durbar Square complex (and snuck in a side street to avoid the ridiculous tourist fee – thanks for the tip Cherry), a world heritage site containing many oriental looking temples, a palace and huge Buddhist prayer wheels.

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Durbar Square Temples

We spent just a half day sightseeing before our lunchtime meeting with Dawa, a contact from the school in Lukla. Due to inclement weather conditions, he advised us to fly out to Lukla the next morning! The only other way to reach Lukla is a week trekking from the nearest road and with all our bags and the printer we didn’t fancy that option. So the afternoon was busy buying supplies to last us in the isolated mountain region of Lukla for the next couple of months. We look forward to visiting more of Kathmandu and the surrounding valleys on our return.

Candyfloss and bubblegum boy at Durbar Square

At 06:00 we met with Dawa at the Kathmandu airport and waited to hear if the flight would go ahead. We were a little nervous about the impending 30 minute flight after hearing that we were to be the first flight to leave for Lulka in the past ten days. Conditions were good so we were lead to our plane – a tiny 14 seater twin propeller plane. There was a “dolled-up” air hostess greeting us who directed us to our seats – over a great pile of stuff! (supplies for the village). As instructed by Dawa, we hurried to get a seat on the left to get the best views of the Himalayan range, for on a good day, Mount Everest is visible in the distance.  However it was a little cloudy so we will have to wait until we trek there soon to see it.  The short 30 minute flight was incredible, flying close to the mountains bristling with trees and waterfalls – It reminded us of Jurrassic Park. Having never seen a cockpit before, Emma was excited to be sitting behind the pilot (may I inform you Captain Jeremy Upgrade that our makeshift cockpit aboard “Slag Airways” was somewhat misinformed - a Murder Mystery night hosted on an aeroplane). Coming in for landing in Lukla, Emma’s attention was still focused on the dials whereas Guy looked nervously upon the incredibly short uphill runway jutting out from the side of a mountain. Assisted by the gradient, these planes have a short stopping distance and we landed safely.

Lukla

A rare break in the clouds reveals stunning peaks

On landing in the village, the sky was clear and there were amazing views of three surrounding valleys with Cumulous clouds rising out of the dense forests. We couldn’t wait to explore. However after less than an hour these pretty clouds enveloped the village and we were trapped inside our first of many clouds. The Monsoon rains here are intense and cold, and visibility can be very little. If the door of our room is left open then the clouds sometimes invite themselves in! Still during the intense Monsoon, life goes on for everyone – Sherpas carry enormous loads to neighboring villages and workmen build more guest houses throughout the day. Though we wish we had come a little more prepared for the cold and wet, we have invested in a rather lovely umbrella that comes everywhere with us. Lukla sees many tourists in season (Oct-Nov) as it is the start point for treks to Everest and surrounding Himalayas. To cope with season demand, the main street is lined with guest houses along with a “Scottish Pub” and a convincing-yet-fake Starbucks! None of these attractions are open yet as the season doesn’t begin for another month. We’re the only tourists in the village. The rains have brought regular power cuts and we have spent evenings by candlelight playing our homemade Carcassonne – an invaluable addition to our travelling gear. Emma is also producing jewelry at a fast pace and, at this rate, will soon be out of materials!

 A room with a view

Our first days in Lukla were spent getting to know the area. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anywhere to stay with a kitchen for us to cook for ourselves, but we found a good base to call home. With Lukla being a trekking town and since all supplies have to be flown in the prices are significantly higher than elsewhere in Nepal (100 rupees for an apple, which is about double than in your local ASDA). We have set about hunting down the cheapest goods and hope that in time people will recognise us and we’ll get a more “local price”. We eat with the family at our guest house once a day, usually a grand portion of Dhal bhat (rice and lentil soup with VERY salty veggie curry) or Momo’s. Traditionally Nepalese people eat twice a day – both meals being Dhal bhat, so we will try to adapt to this pattern in time. Guy has found the lack of fizzy drinks, snacks and movie channels quite a challenge, but this is a great opportunity for us to live a more basic lifestyle away from the temptations of the modern world and its conveniences. One of the most rejuvenating feelings is going to collect your own water fresh from the mountain spring. Guy has become a masterchef on the camping stove – creating interesting combinations of noodles and veg, pasta and warming mochas.

Lukla School, literally a Classroom in the Clouds

We started our work at Shree Lukla Primary School on our second day in Lukla. We arrived at the beginning of the children’s exam week and so our first efforts were to get the computer room up and running and fixing the damp-damaged computers. A challenging task with power cuts and surges making running a PC impossible for the first few days, as a result our progress was slow and frustrating. Though we have not taught the children yet, the ones we have met are adorable; calm, polite and very inquisitive about our presence. They even have little flannels pinned to their jumpers for snotty noses! Every morning before exams begin, we have a growing number of little people peeping round the door of the computer room. They shuffle in shyly, one by one, say “Namaste” with their hands in prayer position and have a cheeky look at what is going on. All being said, our first week at the school has been fun and work in the computer room is almost done. We have set up another blog for the charity Classroom in the Clouds to follow our work at the school, so take a look (if we haven’t bored you already) – http://classroominthecloudslukla.blogspot.com

 Guy installing Windows in our room

Many people in Lukla are used to tourists and so speak some English. We are also learning basic Nepali to help us communicate. Today we mastered “Tapii ko naam ke ho” (what is your name?) and the response “Mero naam Guy/Emma ho” (my name is Guy/Emma) – the head teacher was very impressed and we scored our first Brownie points with him! We are aiming for one new phrase a day and have an iphone app to help! It is great to learn some language and culture. In India we were on the move so frequently and with each state having a different dialect, learning more than the basic hello was near impossible.

After one whole week of non-stop rain and clouds (locals tell us that this is the worst Monsoon in Lukla for many years), feeling like it was never going to end, Saturday arrived – our one day off school each week. We must have gained some karma points this week because we awoke to sunshine! Determined not to miss the first opportunity to explore we hurriedly packed a day bag and headed for the mountains. We took the advice of a friend who informed us of a nice walk with good views to the nearby village of Bom. The walk took us through streams, waterfalls and rivers, up steep mountainsides until we reached Bom, a tiny farming village of about ten houses at 3000M. Just before the clouds rolled in we were able to look back and see Lukla in the distance. We are getting quite used to predicting the clouds and so we wasted no time getting back home – arriving about 5 minutes before the rains began. It felt rejuvenating to manage a 5 hour walk and the beautiful scenery made it clear how lucky we are to be in this spectacular place.

A sunny walk – and Emma finally washes her feet (no need to worry now Mum!)

Bonus photos:

Mon Papa – can you identify this colourful moth?

 Little Chandigarh man made of old wires

 Emma can whip up a not-so-tasty cardboard-like porridge in Lukla - Tasty!

(As always - More photos in our Flickr - search username; namasteindia2011) 

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Please E-mail us any fun stuff - we are lonely in the mountains!