Everest Base Camp - Part II

...continued from Everest Base Camp - Part I

Check out this album for some of our best photos from the base camp trek:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/103620108216329120374/albums/5957038928973537057

The Descent 
Coming down from the peak at Kala Pattar was a million times easier than going up. We trotted down the mountain to our lodge, where we were greeted by a warm breakfast. We were cold and starving when we arrived! After breakfast, it was a speedy walk down to Lukla over three days.

Here are my favorite pictures from the descent:

Day 7: On our way down from Gorek Shep, we passed through this long windy valley. By this point we had been walking for at least 8 hours!

Day 8: A beautiful sunny day near Tengbuche

Day 9: Second time crossing these suspension bridges.

Day 9: A rest stop along the trail. We hiked leisurely and rested several times an hour at beautiful stops like this one. 

Day 9: We made it to Namche Bazaar! And celebrated over pizza and cake. 

Day 9: A typical street in Namche Bazaar 

Day 12: The view from our flight back to Kathmandu. We were so glad that it was clear that day. On the previous day, most flights between Kathmandu and Lukla were cancelled because of low clouds. 

Day 12: Back to civilization! An aerial view of Kathmandu. 

Reflections
This trek was the most adventurous part of our trip around the world. We didn't know what the lodges would be like, what we would be eating, or if we would actually enjoy that much hiking.

Well, the lodges were pretty basic - we got private rooms everywhere, but they only had two simple twin beds and nothing else in them. If you go, don’t expect any heating, hot water, or electricity. The food was mediocre. It’s the same boring Nepalese/Chinese/Spaghetti menu in every lodge, with a lack of fresh fruits and limited fresh vegetables. Fresh meat is pretty much non-existent (we both went Vegetarian for the duration). The hiking, though, was absolutely amazing. I looked forward to walking each day, and was never disappointed by the scenery. The pace is pretty relaxed. We took as many breaks as we felt like, and always sat down for an hour during lunch. And hey, it’s pretty cool that we got to do this much hiking without having to carry a heavy pack, set up shelter, or cook.

Plus, a nice perk of hiking in Nepal is how little you have to spend. We averaged $20 per person per day on the mountains, including food, lodging, and drinking water. The guide was another $20 a day and porter $18 a day. This was the cheapest segment of the trip so far!

Along the trail, it was fascinating to get a glimpse of the lives of those who live in the region. A lot of families there had a simple house that served as a little convenience store or a small lodge. Tourism is a major industry in the area. In the more remote villages, you see a bit more farming. Overall though, it's a pretty tough life out there. Since there are no roads anywhere near these places, so food and other supplies have to be carried in. And imagine taking days to get to another village or to the nearest airport!

This picture was taken from our lunch table. It's typical for the lodge owner to have a small vegetable garden, providing the greens for guests' meals. The only three vegetables we saw were potatoes, bak choy, and carrots. 

Everest Base Camp - Part I

The Ascent

Starting from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, we were off to Lukla at 9am on September 15th. Luckla is one of the only town in the Everest Region with an airport. It is pretty much the only option for the Everest Base Camp trek unless one wants to double the length of the trek. It was a clear day in Lukla and the flight was pretty much on time. The trip was so much fun! During the 40 minute flight, we flew over countless mountains and saw dozens of small villages in them, most of them inaccessible by road. As the tiny aircraft approached Lukla, we could clearly see the short runway perched at an angle on the mountainside. Everyone on the plane was holding their breath as we landed. 

After dropping us off at Lukla airport, the plane reloaded and took off for Kathmandu in seven minutes.

The first day of the hike is only two hours and is mostly flat, but I remember one small uphill section. I could barely breath after taking a few steps, and had to stop numerous times to climb about 100m. I was worried about my ability to deal with altitude, but luckily the breathing got easier over the next few days as I acclimated. 

Day 1: Walking down the main (and only) street in Lukla (2843m), the starting point for most trekkers in the Everest Region. 

Day 1: We had lunch at a lodge along the trail. We were pretty happy with the food the first day.

Day 1: This section of the trail is filled with lodges and is frequently traversed by yaks. The trail gets less and less busy in subsequent days. 

In the following days, we gradually climbed higher and higher, walking about 6-7 hours each day. The scenery is beautiful all along the trail and changes every day. Pictures show this best: 

Day 2: The trail follows the beautiful Dudh Kosi River and Dudh Kosi valley for the next few days. 

Day 2: Along the way, stupas and prayer flags were common sights. 

Day 2: We crossed many suspension bridges over the Dudh Kosi River. These often provided excellent views of the valley. Some of the bridges were very high in the air!

Day 2: We arrived at Namche Bazzar (3444m), the largest village on the trek. We spent two nights there on the way up to acclimate. Namche is also the last place where we found internet or a decent bakery. 

Day 3: During our acclimation day, we took a side trip to Khumjung. This was one of my favorite trails - a mostly flat path carved out of the mountainside. 

Day 4: We continued our ascent. The path is fairly steep at times, yet we see yaks (and human porters!) carrying heavy loads.

Day 4: Tengbuche village (3871m). You can see in the picture how simple the buildings are. They all have thin walls and simple construction. Also, mountain views are everywhere!

Day 4: Tengbuche Monastery. It's the largest in the region and certainly the most impressive building in the village. 

Day 5: As we started the walk in the morning, we came across a suspension bridge along the trail that had collapsed just a week ago. Luckily, no one was hurt in the incident. Locals had already built another temporary bridge nearby when we got there. 

Day 5: Mountain views became very dramatic by this point. This was along the walk to Pheriche (4243m), where we spent the night. We were supposed to spend another night at Pheriche to acclimate, but we were feeling so strong that we pushed ahead. 

Day 6: We were greeted with a super clear day and got gorgeous mountain views. 

Day 6: Now well above the tree line. 

Day 6: Inside the dinning room of the lodge at Lobuche (4966m). 

My favorite day of the hike was the day we spent at Gorek Shep, a tiny settlement with a few lodges to serve trekkers and climbers. It was the highest place where we spent the night. We headed out to Everest Base Camp as soon as we arrived at Gorek Shep in the early afternoon. The weather was perfect and we were so eager, even though our legs were exhausted by that point from the cumulative effects of walking for a week. Base Camp is about a two-hour walk from Gorek Shep. Along the walk, there are views of many icefalls, glaciers, and glacial lakes. Even though you can’t actually see Mount Everest from Base Camp, I loved being there! You can really get a sense of the remoteness of the place and imagine what it would be like to camp there for a few months while attempting an Everest summit.

Day 7: We leave Lobuche in the morning for Gorek Shep (5151m). The sun was out and it was surprisingly warm for the altitude. 

Day 7: The very last bit of the trail before reaching Base Camp was tricky. Here, I'm crossing a thin line of ice, with glacial lakes down on both sides. 

Day 7: We made it to Everest Base Camp! In the fall, the place is barren except for a small monument marking the site. In the spring though, it's littered with tents of teams attempting to summit Mt. Everest. You can see the Khumbu Glacier in the background. The infamous Khumbu icefall, right behind and above the glacier, is the first stage of the Everest ascent. 

The next morning, we woke up at 3:30am to climb Kala Patthar. Kala Patthar, at 5550m, was the highest point of our trek and the only place with a direct view of Mount Everest. Luckily, we had perfectly clear skies, and by the time we reached the peak, the sun was growing brilliantly behind Mt. Everest. The view almost makes you forget how cold it was (well below freezing). The climb, though, because of the altitude, was the most difficult part of the trek for me. Any movement at that altitude caused shortness of breath, so I was stopping every few steps to catch my breath.

Day 8: At around 4am, we were climbing up Kala Patthar under the night sky.

Day 8: After a difficult two-hour climb, we reached the top!

Day 8: There's a 360 degree view of mountains from Kala Patthar - one of the most incredible spots I've been to in my life. 

The Descent
Stay tuned for Part II of the Everest Base Camp journey!

The Early Preparations

I include this section mainly for those who may be interested in planning a trek themselves:

Arranging the trek from abroad (especially when we were on the road) was not easy. I had done a lot of reading about it before we left, and knew that we needed at least 11 days for the walk itself. Most of the time is spent going up to Base Camp to allow for gradual acclimation. We would be staying and eating in basic lodges, which are in every town everywhere along the path. 

There are two ways to do the trek - as part of an organized trek or as an independent walk, typically with your own guide. I knew I wanted to organize my own trek with a private guide since it is less than half the price of an organized trek. But it’s hard to find a reliable guide over the internet. Many online blogs suggested waiting until you get to Nepal to interview the guides in person, but I really didn't want to wait until last minute to finalize the trip, especially knowing that flights to the start of the trek are in high demand this season. 

I ended up finding a Kathmandu-based company online (http://www.peacefultrek.com), and through many email exchanges, decided to go with a guide and porter through the company. I was also able to use the company to purchase flights to Lukla, a small mountain village where the trek would begin (forget about online tickets). It was a bit nerve wracking sending money to Nepal before we got there, since there’s no guarantee that we weren't being scammed. What a relief it was when our guide picked us up from the airport in Kathmandu. 

To get cash for our trek (we were warned that there are no ATMs anywhere along the way), we must have visited at least a dozen ATMs in Kathmandu. Half of them didn't work at all, and the rest have a withdrawal maximum of 10,000 Nepalese Rupees (about 100USD) for foreign card holders. We ended up having to withdraw the maximum seven times, incurring a $4 ATM fee each time (luckily my bank does not charge additional ATM fees).

Packing for the trek was fairly straightforward. We got a giant duffle bag to pack for the porter. It ended up being about 18kgs, so we were very glad we didn't have to carry everything ourselves (the porter didn't seem to have much trouble with it). We carried light day-packs during the walk. 

Kathmandu

More photos from Kathmandu!
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/103620108216329120374/albums/5946364848719126017

We came to Nepal to trek to the Base Camp of Mount Everest, an eleven day journey through the Khumbu region of Nepal. In order to prep for the trek and catch international flights into and out of Nepal safely, we gave ourselves some time before and after the trek in Kathmandu, the capital and gateway to trekking in Nepal.

With a total of three days in Kathmandu, we got to see quite a bit of the city. Admittedly, we did spend about half that time in our hotel to prepare for and de-stress from the trek, and also to get away from the chaos of Kathmandu for a bit. What we saw, though, of Kathmandu was very impressive.

The first day, before leaving for the Everest Region the next morning, we went to Thamel to gather last minute supplies for the trek. Thamel is an old neighborhood in Central Kathmandu lined with shops selling outdoor gear, travel agencies, and cafes catering to tourists eagerly awaiting or refueling from their treks. Within an hour, we got everything we were looking for - gloves, hat, socks, water purification tablets, sunscreen, and had a satisfying breakfast of pancakes and eggs.

A street in Thamel

We’re off to exploring historic Kathmandu. Before you know it, we were being shown around by a local guide who was scouting the streets. We saw temples after temples, each dedicated to a different Hindu or Buddhist deity. We ended in Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site filled with temples and palaces, including the old royal palace of the Kathmandu Kingdom.

A roadside temple in Kathmandu

Durbar Square, Kathmandu

At night, we headed to Boudhanath for dinner. The Stupa is one of the largest in the world, and at sunset, many locals and tourists are leisurely walking around the giant monument. We found a great international cafe and devoured a giant meal of burger, fries, pasta, beer, milkshake, and banana split. We’re ready for the big trek!

Boudhanath. We had meals in several of the restaurants surrounding the Stupa. A bunch of them had rooftop terraces overlooking the Stupa. 

The Everest Base Camp Trek was a huge success (I'll blog about it separately). After we returned, we spent another two days in Kathmandu - it’s hard to guarantee flights out of the Everest region because of unpredictable weather, so we built in a two-day leeway in Nepal just in case. The highlight was seeing the historic city of Patan, a short taxi ride from Kathmandu. It's Durbar Square was even bigger than the one in Kathamdu. The view of it from above (rooftop restaurant where we had lunch) is magnificent - you can see so much of the architectural details without the chaos of the streets. The Patan Museum there highly exceeded expectations.

Durbar Square, Patan

Inside the museum at Patan Durbar Square, which has an impressive collection of Hindu and Buddhist artwork, all beautifully displayed in this traditional house

As much as we enjoyed the trek and Kathmand, we are ready to head to the next stop on our trip - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We'll be spending the next three weeks hopping around Malaysia, Hong King, China, and Japan.

Dinner at our hotel, which may one of the few places in Kathmandu with a pool, air conditioning, and reliable electricity.

Dubai

Follow this link for the full Dubai photo album:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/103620108216329120374/albums/5945586755823346433

We decided to stop by Dubai as it was a convenient way to link Turkey and Nepal. The Middle East, in general, is a great for transit, and I was able to find reasonably priced flights from Istanbul and a direct flight to Kathmandu, Nepal. Plus, we wanted to see the extravagances of Dubai for ourselves (tallest building in the world, largest indoor ski slope, mega resorts and malls, etc.). 

It is a unique city. Dubai is located in the middle of the dessert, spread out over two miles along the coast of the Persian Gulf. We stayed in the most luxurious hotel, had the most over-priced meal, and experienced the hottest weather of our trip there. We spent an entire day being blown away by the Dubai Mall, including its spectacular fountain display, the Dubai Aquarium, and 1200 shops. 

Inside the Dubai Mall, the Dubai Aquarium has the world's largest acrylic panel

The Burj Khalifa, world's tallest man-made structure

Dubai has two distinct parts - the old and the new. The small old town mainly developed as a result of international trade and the pearl industry, and nowadays is a lively hub for many immigrant communities. Construction for the new city started in the 1990's, which now houses dozens of luxury hotels, shopping and entertainment complexes, and high-end residences. It was a bit shocking to see the contrast between the two parts of the city. The Dubai Museum, located in a historical Arab style building, provided great documentation of the city’s growth.

The Madinat Jumeirah, which has shops, restaurants, and hotels around it's large canal system

A typical street in Old Dubai

View from our room on the 60th floor of the JW Marriott Dubai. This was as clear as the view got while we were in Dubai. 

On our last morning, we went to the Jumeirah Beach Park. The park had a long sandy beachfront lined with palm trees, and super warm water for swimming. It was nice to see something natural after spending the previous days inside man-made wonders. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed on the beach.

Cappadocia, Pamukkale and Ephesus

For the rest of the photos from this segment, follow this link:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/103620108216329120374/albums/5942301521058107937

In between our days in Istanbul, we flew out to spend a few days among the rock pinnacles of Cappadocia. I had high expectations for Cappadocia, especially after seeing pictures of hot air balloons drifting over strange rock formations.

Well, Cappadocia lived up to the hype. We did experience a sunrise hot air balloon ride, but Cappadocia had so much more to offer. For many centuries settlers (including early Christian religious refugees) have lived in cave dwellings carved out of the soft rocks. A lot of these are still intact and open for visitors to explore. The Byzantine Christian settlers also left remnants of many temples, some with well preserved wall paintings. There are also enormous underground cities left from this time. Some cities extended more than five stories underground, and were capable of housing thousands of residents for extended periods of time. In addition to all that, the region also offers countless walking trails through its valleys, each with different styles of rock formations and landscape.

We went for a walk in Rose Valley and found many abandoned houses. 

Dave and I at the viewpoint in Goreme

Sunrise hot air ballon ride. There were hundreds of ballons up at the same time!

Hot air balloons are huge! It took a whole team of professionals to get one up and running. The basket for this balloon fit about a dozen people. 

We also had our best meal in Turkey in Goreme, the town where we stayed in Cappadocia. An elderly woman made fresh turkish bread right in front of us in an outdoor oven. It was one of the most delicious breads I’ve ever had in my life - warm, chewy, soft, airy...all at the same time. It went perfectly with the hummus and eggplant salad that we ordered. My entree, eggplant with minced pork, was so simple but so tasty. We ate on gorgeous patio with eye-popping views of the Goreme valley.

Yummm...eggplant with minced pork. 

Then in two quick days, we saw two of the highlights of our trip - the white travertine pools of Pamukkale and the ancient ruins of Ephesus. Pamukkale, which literally means cotton castle,  is famous for its white terraced pools filled with hot spring water. Many tourists walk through them bare-footed, and some choose to bath in them. The pools were magical on the warm, sunny day that we were there, especially with the valleys and surrounding mountains in the background. There isn't too much else to do in Pamukkale though, so half a day there is about enough.

Tourists are allowed to walk through the cascade of pools, so I had to do it twice :) It takes about 40 minutes to walk its entire length. 

This gives you a sense of how large the terraces are!

Ephesus is the largest collection ancient Roman ruins in the world, even though it’s only about 15% excavated! Walking down the main street, you can really get a sense of how the city was laid out. It had everything from public baths, town halls, and theaters, to a central district where the upper class lived. The highlight for me was the recently excavated residential area, called the Terrace Houses. You can clearly see the various rooms of each house, and, in many places, decorative details on the floors and walls. These houses were nice! They had large rooms, tall ceilings, and beautiful artwork.

The main street of Ephesus

Initially I was worried about doing Cappadocia, Pamukkale, and Ephesus in five days, but we saw everything we wanted to see and didn't feel rushed at all. It did involve an early morning flight, an overnight bus, and a late night flight. I’m so glad we did it! And because we have a lot of bags with us on this trip, we choose to leave our extra bags at our hotel in Istanbul, and went back for them at the end of our trip in Turkey.