As we made our way through the rather rustic “departure lounge” and greeted by the Otter, a couple of nervous flyers grew to a few nervous flyers, which ended up with most of us thinking, “is it too late to turn back!”. As a group there was plenty of nervous chatter. I fed my homeopathic wonder drug (mimulus) to a few nervous flyers, inc Blade who grew a bit of a taste for it.
Walking into the airport we were greeted by a line of rather modest check-in desks, each including a giant set of kitchen-style weighing scales. Through to the departure lounge, and we experienced our first taste of Himalayan pricing. A pack of hob knobs = £4 (they saw us coming!).
Standing next to the small green Yeti on the runway was the point at which it started to sink in. The banter was building to a nervous crescendo. Now or never!
There were 12 on our plane, including the air stewardess, who hunched over to walk down the mini-isle, handing out sweets and cotton wool. I think the sweets were a temporary distraction method (“umm yum sweet” rather than “oh my god I’m going to die”) and the cotton wool was there to drown out the sound of the engines, (and the wailing screams).
Jen and I were brave/stupid and sat at the front of the plane. Blade was next to us, and still smiling – mimulus starting to take effect. As the drone of the engine fired up, looking ahead Jen and I couldn’t help but laugh as we came face to face with “make the most of your time on earth” written on the back of BJ’s t-shirt – a poignant reminder of the adventure that lay ahead of us.
As the mountains started to close in, I remember looking over the pilot’s shoulders to be faced with Lukla’s midget runway. Not only was it a fraction of the size of a standard one, but it also happened to be perched on a mountainside. The smooth landing was a surprising relief.
Most of us were escorted to a teahouse, which was our temporary dumping ground while we waited for our kit to arrive. There were a couple of nervous trekkers, waiting on packs. It was at least 2 hours before everything landed. After an introduction to our team of guides, porters, body guards, chefs and ……. it was trek time.
As we walked through the cobbled streets of Lukla, a small town perched on the mountainside, it was rather surreal to pass Starbucks (Nepal-style). As we left Lukla for the start of our adventure, guides Bill, Nir and Polsan lead us through a prayer tunnel, lined with prayer wheels, spinning them clockwise as we went past.
This was our first official day trekking, and was by no means easy. The trail lead us down, round, up and down the hillsides beyond Lukla. The path was dotted with black and white prayer rocks. As if an obedient group of goats, we made sure to pass each one clockwise. The views were beautiful, and stretched out across the valley. It was hard to believe that we were still relatively low down, and with the ascent, our picture postcard backdrop was only going to get better!
Lunch stop was a small cabin perched on the Cliffside. At this point we witnessed the first ITN interviewing by Mark and Marcus. I said my bit…not sure if I was TV worthy….hair not looking great!
The final part of Day 1, and the trail lead us past more and more intricately carved prayer rocks painted in black and white. Polsan told me that the rocks were engraved with prayers, and are traditionally said as a chant.
Winding up to our teahouse stop, and we were greeted with smiling George and his camera who caught us struggling up the final steps. The hostel was such a pleasant surprise, with twin rooms (not mass dorm sleeping) and actual beds with mattresses (not stone floor). The best bit was discovering a sit-down WC, amazing! We happily over took the dining area that evening, and as the 80’s tracks filled the room, competitive games of cards and Perudo commenced.
With an early start, and the toughest day trekking ahead of us, most of us were lucky in getting a full 10 hours sleep.
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