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本帖最后由 IEASTI 于 2013-7-2 13:11 编辑
Nepal Day 4: Road to Namche
Day 4 11/12/2012:
Toilet is not often a topic people really write or talk about. I suppose it's because we mostly live in a modern society where clean toilets and toilet paper is a given. Before you go oh no Anthony don't go there, I personally think it's a topic worth discussing when you are going to remote places like Nepal.
I suppose it is only common sense to anticipate the long drop and accompanying flies and smell. But I also have a tip, bring your own toilet paper before you reach the mountain, they charge Rs.100 for a roll of toilet paper! And remember to train your quads for the sitting in the air pose, while some of the lodges have seated toilets the state of them means that you are better of practicing the sitting in the air pose, and lastly bring a head torch please, you don't want to be going in the dark! Alright I've probably said enough, let's get back to the adventure.
Surprisingly the nights sleep was actually very warm, I guess the sleeping bag we had would allow us to stand sub zero temperature. While I drifted in and out of sleep during the night, going to use the bath ro and writing this blog, I still managed a comfortable sleep.
So as per schedule we woke up and went down for breakfast at 7.30am. I had a fried egg on toast with a white coffee while Bryant had a French toast and masala yea, the total for two meals and two bottle of water came to Rs.2460, c.US$29, pricey I know, but at this point in time food is the only thing feeling between miserable, cold and like a flat battery and a million bucks.
The trip to Namche, our next stop is a tale of two halves, we first hike up a little the continue flat for three hours, then we will reach the checkpoint and ascend 700m for another 3 hours before reaching Namche. We started off at a fairly quick pace, fully recharged on the long night sleep and the fuel from the breakfast kicking in. I also made a conscious effort of conserving memory for the camera since the views and the villages have started to sink in. But the villages do serve good landmarks to measure our pace, we travelled from village to village then take a 5 min break in each of them, the Sherpa even commented we were going at a very good pace and should reach Namche in 4 hours, (tourist usually take 6, while he can do it in 3.5hrs).
It wasn't long before we reached the last village/check point before our ascend to Namche Bazaar, it was 10am and we set out at 8am. Since it was still early the Sherpa suggested we skip lunch and go straight to Namche, at the current pace it would only take 2 more hours.
So we decided to stop for a quick snack of chocolate and water, while we were sitting taking a rest a group of 10 young Europeans was heading back to Lukla, I briefly asked how long is it to Namche and how's the walk, "hell" one girl yelled out, "steep" the other. Alright so it will be steep, at least we are ahead of schedule, worse comes to worse we will just give back some of the lead time right?
How wrong I was, the girls weren't joking when they said steep, and it's not your normal NZ track where it is steep at parts and flat sorta undulating, so your legs get a rest on the flatter parts, this was just one way, up up and away! It didn't take long before my thighs and quads started to tighten up, and I was thinking to myself this is not good, and I tried to take it easier by doing smaller steps. But it goes from bad to worse! During one big step my inner left thigh seized up! The dreaded cramp!!!! Omg! What am I going to do, we barely started ascending!
I signaled the Sherpa that my left leg was seizing up and he quickly gave me some ointment, we took a five min rest and the cramp went away, ok I can do this. So we continued on, albeit at a slower pace. But I knew my legs were still tired and it's only a matter of time before they will seize up again. The one way up terrain certainly wasn't helping our cause. So what was supposed to be a 2hr walked turned out to be hours of torture, both my legs gave in and I could only ascend one or two bends before needing to take a rest because I literally didn't have any legs,the altitude was starting to get to us as well as even small steps up caused massive panting (Sherpa seemed to be fine though).
The pain progressively got bigger until my thighs, quads and back were all aching and we were traveling at snail's pace! Taking rest every 20or so steps! The Sherpa was very supportive though, he gave me a muscle relaxant spray which allowed me to take 100 steps before my legs seized up again. We were traveling at the pace of the food transporters taking rest when they do but they were carrying 90kgs while I was carrying maybe 5kg with my camera gear, sigh!
The pain went on and on, I tried closing my eyes, I tried singing in my mind to divert the pain, I tried concentrating my mind on all the good food I'll have when I get to hong kong, but nothing worked, the pain stayed with me every step, the burning sensation of what feels like my legs are being ripped apart from inside out. Please God, let this go away. I don't know if it was coincidence or the act of God, as I clenched my fist bit down hard for more painful steps there it was! Namche bazaar!
We ended up making it in 3 hours for a total of 5. I suppose it's still below the normal expected tourist time! Although I wished I didn't have to go through all that pain. But the sight of Namche was certainly welcoming! City of its own right at 3450m! To give a perspective The actual Mt Doom (Mt Ngauruhoe in NZ) is only 2291m high! Namche is actually a fairly big city, walking through we saw lots if shops selling all sorts of goods and people washing along the river. But all I wanted to do is to get back to the hotel for some rest!
Somewhat excruciating is that we walked past many hotels climbing further up but none of them were ours, as the pain in my legs continues I was just about to give up! So close yet so far!!! As we reached our hotel (conveniently one of the highest hotel in Namche, all houses are built on a hill) I quickly made way into my room and changed into comfy clothing lying on the bed wondering how the hell I made it!
However, as I lay in bed resting the pain and the tiredness did not go away, in fact I could hear my heart racing away, "dum dum dum dum" as if I was still trekking up the mountain. The tiredness is immense but the racing of the heart makes it hard relax! Perhaps I'm just out of energy? So I waited for Bryant to take a shower and we went to the kitchen for some food.
The menu pretty much looked exactly as the ones we have seen previously (I will try take a photo later). I ordered some local food, lentil soup, with vege curry on rice, while Bryant ordered a egg chow mein, both around Rs.400, interestingly most lodges we stayed in has a rule requiring guests to purchase food from the kitchen, and prohibits people cooking in their room or eating out, else a surcharge of Rs.800 applies, I suppose it's a way for them to lock in some revenue.
We quickly finished our food and decided to call it a day, since we are both extremely tired. Good thing there is not much hiking tomorrow as it is an acclimatization day so we are staying in Namche to get used to the altitude. But as I lie in my sleeping bag my heart continues to race, every little action I took like folding clothes away got the heart racing. The pain was still there, the thighs, the back, the butt with the added headache developing! Then it hit me that I am starting to develop mountain sickness, oh God! Please let me feel better by tomorrow, I lay in bed trying to sleep as the barrage of pain attacks my body and my heart races away. I will survive I tell myself I will survive!
Nepal Day 5: acclimitizing in Namche
Day 5 12/12/12:
When the first ray of light hit my face it was already 6.30am, I peeked out the window, a beautiful day indeed. The racing heartbeat has reduced somewhat and the throbbing headache is now subdued to a slight dull headache. I breathe a sigh of relieve, i think the body is slowly acclimatizing to the high altitude.
Surprisingly it wasn't too cold, I was half expecting it to be freezing given we have climbed another 6-700m vs where we stayed last night. But it feels good lying in bed knowing today is an acclimatization day which means we stay another night at the same altitude such that the body can properly get used to the altitude.
However my plan of lazing in bed soaking in the warm sun came to an abrupt end when the Sherpa pushed open the door with a big smile, "good morning, we will have breakfast then let's some walking ok?" huh!? I thought this is the day where we chill and do nothing!?
We quickly had breakfast, "ra ra noodle soup" for Rs.225, which is just another name for instant noodles lol... The locals seem to love it though, and with it they put a lot of pungent spices in it, does warm the body and stomach though. After breakfast we set out for our walk to the Namche Musuem, which is at the very top of the town.
Namche is built pretty much built on a mountain valley, with houses, lodges and shops lining up the two ridges, and the middle flatter land used as farm land for cabbages and potatoes. The characteristic of such a town is that everywhere you go you are either going uphill or downhill. And you can possibly guess which way we were going.
The museum is around 150m higher than where we were staying, and as we started trekking up the long stairs I felt my tired legs once again, tired but at least I am not cramping! As we moved further up I sucked hard breathing in the cold mountainous air, but no matter how hard I gulped the air in i always seemed to be out of breathe, at around 3500m altitude you are typically only breathing in 60% normal oxygen, and so the body has to work extra hard to pump blood sending oxygen around the body. I seem to feel the dull headache that much more!
Wasn't long until we reached the museum, by the Bryant was complaining about his ankle again. The Musuem showcased some Sherpa history and culture, the Sherpas have come from Tibet some 400 years ago, bringing along their Buddhism religion. There were also information about the mountainous terrain, the wide life and various Mount Everest expeditions which we shower tentative interest to.
As we walked out of the museum a gush of freezing cold wind blew into my face, the whole outdoor seemed to have fogged up completely in the time we spent in the museum. Then we realized it had began snowing! "Merry Christmas!" a Sherpa from another group of tourist shouted. My amusement of live snow did not dull my senses that it was freezing cold, as I shivered in the wind it was clear the layers of merino wool will not save me from sub zero temperature. "let's get out of here" I yelled at our Sherpa and we quickly made haste down the mountain again.
While the initial plans were to explore the town and the market place since we went straight to bed when we arrived yesterday. The downpour of snow and unwelcoming weather made sliding back into the warm down sleeping bag much more appealing. I rolled around in bed struggling to fall asleep in broad daylight, stuff it, I thought to myself let's go outside.
I brought out Sherpa along as we strolled through the town, it was pretty much a ghost city, I might've seen only one or two other tourist the whole way. Our guide said this is pretty much end of the season, as the cold weather and snow closes in you are lucky to find many people willing to make it up to the Everest Basecamp, where during peak season all lodges will be full and the tourists filled the town, our lodge only had Bryant and I as the only guest.
In the end I ended up buying a pair of thick woolen gloves, ounces that can fold back and let the fingers through, perfect for using my camera with. They wanted Rs.350 for it, I ended up paying Rs.300, I know I could've bargained for less but knowing tourism is the only source of income they had I just agreed and paid.
A few hours after we headed back, around 4pm as the sun starts to set the weather cleared up, with blue sky shinning through the white top mountain ranges inviting you to capture its full glory. I wasn't going to let a good photo go to waste! I quickly got changed, grabbed my gear and up the mountain again we go. I hastily hiked up the mountain again along the way to the museum for the vantage point. To my surprise I never puffed, felt short of breathe or felt the slightest hint of headache. I suppose the body is slowing coming around to the thin air, though the true test will be when we make it up to Everest Basecamp and Kalapattar.
The rest of the afternoon I strolled across town on my own walking each small alley taking in the view of such a magnificent places, now that the weather has cleared it really is an amazing place, the whole town is pretty much just surrounded by high mountain ranges, but it also makes you realise how hard and tough of a life the Sherpa people live, farming, and grazin yaks, naks and cows. Interestingly as I walked around town people shouted their language to me, before realizing I was a foreigner and changed to a quick Nemeste, I don't really look like a Sherpa now do I!? It must be the large down jacket and beanie just like how everyone dresses around here.
With the lack of tourist there isn't really much to do since it's very hard to find someone to talk to, as the sun sets and everyone goes indoors you are pretty much confined to your lodge. I pulled out my kindle and read next to the fireplace. It will be a long day ahead of us tomorrow.
Nepal Day 6: Freezing in Tyangboche
Day 6 13/12/2012:
I think I'm finally getting a normal sleeping pattern, we usually sleep around 7.30-8.00pm after dinner (as everything is pitch black by then, and there's not much else to do), and wake up around 7.
As usual we had our breakfast and settled the bill, total came to Rs.4475 for both of us, with my bill coming to Rs.1920 c.US$22. Then we headed out, towards Tyangboche.
The weather today did not play ball, it was snowing and foggy, which pretty much means that all pictures come out all washed out against a grey background. We followed the ridge out from Namche, as usual we saw locals herding yaks and cows along the way. The terrain was somewhat boring with stupas scattered along the way.
About an hour from Namche we saw 3 towns in the distant mountains, we are heading for the furthest. The guide kindly reminded us, it always looks closer than it actually is. And so we continued our journey towards the destination. By then we were probably about 3800m, but the next hour was characterized as a set of rapid descend down the river, the road was steep and I was thinking to myself, why the hell are going down while we are supposed to be heading up? And my nightmare was realized, the answer was simple and clear, how much we descended means how much we are going to go back up.
The next two hours was hard yards going up step by step, and because of the altitude it doesn't take much for you to feel completely out of breathe, by as you slow down to rest the chill winds and snow catches up to you, leaving you shivering and rushing back on the road again. The secret to the hike is to find a pace where you are moving up slowly without having to stop to catch your breathe, an trust me it is a fine balance!
Slowly but surely we made it to Tyangboche, an extremely small town, the main feature of the town is the monastery where during peak season there are around 30 monks stationed. The rest of the small town hood is a a variety of small lodges which are now almost all empty due to the end of tourist season.
I suppose the disappointing feature is the weather, since it's snowing and foggy it means you really can't see much past 10m, let alone the surrounding landscape and mountains, I just hope the weather clears up when we approach Everest basecamp.
We actually made it to the lodge earlier than the porter today. As we waited in our room for our luggage the cold temperature in our room meant our sweaty heated up bodies quickly cooled down until we were shivering uncontrollably. It only takes a few moment to cool down but perhaps hours to warm the body up. So as the luggage arrived we put on as many layers as we can, and in our thick down coats and sleeping bag we still shivered for hours before we started to feel some warmth. It literally felt like being in a fridge.
The cold was too unbearable as we made our way to the dining area for some hot food and heat from the fireplace. And there we weren't the only ones, to night the lounge was somewhat more busy compared to us two being the only guest. There were another two kiwis from Wellington who has just done a month long trip backpacking in India and have crossed the border to do parts of the annapurna track, they will be back in nz on christmas eve so wont have time to make it to basecamp. There was also a man from taiwan who's just came back from basecamp but disappointed that he didnt see much due to the fog and snow, and lastly there was a Austrian woman. The sherpa traveling with the Taiwanese man mentioned how his water froze overnight due to the cold weather, he reckons it is about negative five outdoors at the moment! Yikes!
But yes it certainly feels like being in the fridge outdoors.
We stayed in the lounge exchanging travel stories. I guess that's one of the reason i like traveling because people are usually quite friendly and genuine, I don't know you, you don't know me there is no reason to put up a front or be pretentious. We chatted till well past our normal bed time and the fire slowly burnt out. I guess it is time for bed, so here i am lying in bed with all my warmth gear on, a base layer, a merino layer, a long sleeve shirt, another merino hoodie, a fleece, down jacket, long johns, beanie, gloves, inside sleeping bag, with a thick blanket on top! I think that ought to keep me warm through the night! Good night world!
Nepal Day 7: Hike to Dingboche
Day 7 14/12/2012
You can't really start a day without some toilet stories (no this is not actually a toilet toilet story). It's 5.30am and nature's calling, rushed to the toilet and did the deed but made a few interesting observations on the way. 1) the water in the the toilet bowl has frozen over, 2) you cannot flush the toilet as all running water in the pipes have frozen, 3) there is a big bucket of water next to the toilet, presumably for flushing the toilet manually, and it too has frozen, although a hard knock with the attached cup breaks the surface of the ice. 4) the sink had no running water and the bucket of water to wash your hands with has also frozen.
Just as a generation observation the lack of running water is a big no no, who knows how long that water has been in the bucket and what's been in it, piss water to wash your hands and face or brush your teeth with? No thank you! As I returned to my room, i quickly slid back into the sleeping bag, i reached out for my bottle of water only to find it turned into an ice slushy! (knew I should've ordered the bottle of coke instead at least I'll get a frozen coke ;) haha not funny I know), but that sets the general scene for the day, COLD! Having said that the layers that I piled on did keep me warm through the night despite sleeping through a sub zero temperature.
Surprisingly when we made it to the dining area the fire has already started, a hot Sherpa stew makes for a good breakfast. Although you can order toast and eggs they generally go cold quite quickly and not ideal for freezing days like this. Feeling extremely satisfied with the stew, we made away across to the monastery where the monks start praying at 7pm.
This is actually the first time witnessing a buddhist prayer ritual (recording is prohibited, so ill try my best to describe). There is a head monk who sits in the middle facing everyone and the big Buddha statue who leads the prayer, the prayer sounded like a undertone which repeats itself. Other monks then join in with their own prayers and the whole thing actually sounds like a song, or actually someone rapping. The head monk will then stop praying and everyone will also stop, in the seconds of dead silence the monks then will reach out before them for a cup of hot butter milk tea. The head monk will then start chanting again, and the whole prayer repeats itself, with the added variation of head monk hitting a bell in front of him while chanting in the later iterations.
After visiting the monastery we then set out for our next destination, Dingboche (4343m). Without sounding like a broken record it was another long walk, what had surprised me is that the higher up in altitude we get, the more out of breathe you become and even a taking a few steps makes you feel like you have just sprinted 100m. What made it worse was the extreme cold, in 30min of walking, the water in the water bottle has already began to freeze, signaling that we were walking in sub zero temperature.
By the time we reached the town of Somare, around 11.00am we were already exhausted and decided to stop for lunch, this is in contrast to the previous few days where we would've been ahead of schedule and skipped lunch to arrive at the destination earlier.
Despite multiple warnings of not eating meat we still decided to go for a buffalo curry, the lack of energy levels prompt us to have something more solid and so far we seemed to have fared pretty well. I suppose when you haven't been eating well for the past week anything seems delicious. A short nap in the sun after lunch and we were off again.
I have finally found the secret of hiking without over exerting myself and feeling short of breathe. I started imagining I was a zombie walking very slowly chasing after my shadow. Yes might sound silly but it's a long hard hike and it was always going to be test of endurance. While the scenery is beautiful more often than not you will be focusing on the pain and strain, and having some way to deal with it makes it that much more enjoyable until you reach the next vantage point to take your photo.
By the time we reached Dingboche the headache had returned, bigger than before, the Sherpa suggested I take some painkiller and get some rest, and if I don't get better then he'll give me some diamox (mountain sickness pills). My head pounding and heart racing, didn't take long before I drifted asleep.
Nepal Day 8: Acclimitizing in Dingbuche
Day 8 15/12/2012
I woke up with to a slight headache, I guess the Panadol had worn off and I haven't yet fully acclimatized, at least today is an acclimatization day. The problem with acclimatizing in Dingboche is that there's absolutely nothing to do here! At least Namche was a relatively big town, and most shops are still open and you get bakeries, internet cafes, shops, museums the lot.
Due to the end of hiking season, as we ascend further up the mountain we found a lot of the lodges have shut up shop. Dingboche was the same, we saw a Internet cafe and a bakery both closed, to make matters worst I had no cell phone coverage stuck in a lodge in the middle of nowhere with no one else but bryant and I.
For the sake of acclimatization, our Sherpa guide suggested that we do a day hike up along the Dingboche hill up to 4800m, there we will get a clear view of Mt Makalo (8400m) which you cannot see from basecamp or Kalapattar. I am all for activities that reduces my headaches while Bryant preferred to stay in and sleep. So off to the hills I go.
It was a steep climb, one with many stops and rests, but when we made it to the top (well you can never be at the top because there are always mountains taller than where you are) it was all worth it. The problem was as we got progressively higher the headache got bigger, it was made worse by trying to take lots of photos. Given I was already suffering from mountain sickness, it meant that my hand are not as steady as they are usually, plus I am huffing and puffing trying to squeeze in some extra oxygen. As i come round to take the shots I'd usually breathe in deeply, hold my breathe and take the shot as to keep the camera still, but the problem was holding my breathe wasn't any good for my body, everytime I'd finish taking a shot I'd gasps for more air breathig in and out loudly like a man being released out of a death strangle! And with that came a sharp pain of the pounding head! But I ain't going to let the headache deter me from taking photos am I now!?
By the time we got back to the lodge it had manifested into a full throbbing migraine and I could barely open my eyes, feeling dizzy, nauseous. I gave in and requested taking diamox for the mountain sickness. Within hours I was already feeling better, the sherpa said that the side effect of the drug is that you'd piss more, not much of a problem for guys in the wilderness, but might pose more of a problem for girls.
The rest of the day was spent resting and reading, my advice would be to make sure you bring enough reading material, in a good day you may bump into other travelers to share stories with and kill some time, on others you have nothing but the book to kill your boredom (especially if your Sherpa don't speak much English). Until tomorrow.
Nepal Day 9: Making it to Lobuche
Day 9 16/12/2012:
You know you are feeling the effects of diamox when you wake up 3 times in the night to use the bath room. But to trade a pounding headache with a few toilet runs is definitely a good trade in my books! After a rest day in Dingboche we are ready to make way to Lobuche, the last stop before we hit Everest Basecamp the day after!
I am not sure if it is the effect of the diamox, but I felt really positive today, rarely did I ran out of breathe and I hardly had to stop for rest, this is in contrast to Bryant who is clearly starting to feel the altitude, requesting frequent breaks, complaining of short breathlessness but at the same time denying he is suffering symptoms of mountain sickness and refusing to take diamox.
We made it to Lobuche (4910m) in just under 4 hours at 12.30. Lobuche is one of the smallest towns we been to so far, with only five or six lodges, but what we found as we moved up the mountain is that prices become exponentially expensive, a bottle of water now cost Rs.300 nearly US$4 while meals cost Rs.600+. There were also no running water and the lodge charges for water to brush your teeth or wash your face, else you can fletch freezing river water instead.
It just occurred to me that it has been more than a week since I last showered or properly washed my hair, there's a reason why everyone has a beanie or a cap on on the hiking trips I suppose! (and why every guy you come across looks like a mountain man, including myself) While I can't tell that I smell but I can see my hair looks like a bird nest in dire need for some cleaning, o well. It's just one of the luxuries that people do without on the Everest Base Camp trek, especially in winter when it's literally freezing cold.
Hmm tonight seems like another one of those cold nights, sneaking in bed early. Night night.
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发表于 2013-6-22 16:49:08
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