Fresh off the plane: Kathmandu
I arrived in the hectic streets of Kathmandu with high hopes. I was definitely wearing too many layers on that humid autumn morning. I expected culture shock to finally hit me, but I felt oddly at ease. Perhaps, it was my twenty-four hours of flying and layovers from Seoul, South Korea, that left me feeling doped up and ready to hibernate. At the same time, I had never felt more anticipation in my life. The dusty, crowded streets of Kathmandu, and the mountains that etched a dramatic storybook skyline initiated the beginning of what would soon be a life changing adventure. I am still processing it.
Flight to Lukla
Flying to Lukla can be a tricky ordeal. Flying 100% on-time will have you feeling like a lottery winner. The weather changes rapidly at the high altitude, so delays tend to happen when it becomes very cloudy in the afternoon. Delays could last from a few hours, to several days. I was very lucky with my flight to Lukla. Preparing for the worst case scenario, I read about the horror stories of waiting days for this turbulent flight. I managed to wait only one hour in the airport runway, on a bus, before boarding my flight. Booking a morning flight to Lukla is always the best bet, and the earlier the better.
Annoying as the coordination of the flight can be, the flight to Lukla is beautiful. The plane’s elevation matches the height of the Himalayan peaks – only on one side though. If you are flying from Kathmandu to Lukla, try to sit on the left side of the plane to catch the best views. The right side is where I sat, and I could see the lush hills and valleys of Nepal – also immaculately picturesque.
Lukla
Lukla is a special village in the Himalayas; it’s really a meeting point of the world. The bright red, blue, and orange houses with tin roofs mark the highly anticipated beginning and ending of an unforgettable journey to the top of the world. Locals and foreigners, corporate dwellers and backpackers, adolescents and empty-nesters, the enlightened and those still searching – virtually every type of person from every walk of life can be found here for one common purpose: to see the sun rise and set behind Mt. Everest. Solo travelers (like myself), may rendezvous with their new friends in Lukla. Cheerful Nepali children in school uniforms skip among foreigners, as a new season of trekking begins. Guides greet their clients for the first time, knowing that the journey ahead will be full of adventure, and a little risk. Lukla is the village I landed in after my forty minute flight from Kathmandu.
Bags Packed
After a mildly bumpy flight and landing, I grabbed my bags from the single conveyor belt, and managed to exit the tiny airport in Lukla. I was a little bit nervous as I entered a small but tight crowd of locals who waited just outside the fenced area. My guide, Lamababu, managed to find me among the fresh batch of foreigners. He had a very kind smile and friendliness about him, the way many Sherpas tend to be. Lamababu was especially genuine, kind-hearted and patient, and from that first day, I could just tell we were going to get along.
It was still morning, just past ten o’clock, so we headed over to one of the lodges for a quick breakfast and prepared our bags and water. I packed about fourteen and a half kilos of warm layers, cameras, and other miscellaneous items for trekking – I was just barely within the allowed fifteen kilos for the Lukla flight. I decided not to hire a porter, so that meant I would carry all of my belongings up to base camp at 5340 meters. Lamababu ended up packing my sleeping bag into his bag to lighten the load a bit, and I was very, very grateful. With my bag packed and a hearty breakfast, my anticipation was at an all time high.
We headed for the gate on the edge of Lukla to begin our trek.
Continue the story!: Trekking To Everest Base Camp (Pt. 1)
NOTE:
“Yak Route”
For many of the locals (and real mountaineers) the trek from Lukla to EBC is considered the “yak route” which means its just a common place for general transportation. After having gone up there one time, I can see the truth to this as the trail is not as difficult as I anticipated, but the high altitude (not considered high altitude for Nepali people) is what makes it challenging for someone like me, who is used to hiking or trekking in a lower altitude that does not require acclimatization.