This is the last trekking day
and somehow I am a bit tired now of walking. Unfortunately, the weather has
also changed and it looks as it will start to rain. Therefore I get up, have a
quick breakfast and leave the lodge around 8am to hike to Lukla. The landscape is still pretty but not half as
impressive as in Namche or Tengboche, so I decide to speed up a bit to arrive
in Lukla on time. The hike is uneventful and after 3 hours we already pass the
entry gate of Lukla.
On the hike back from Phakding to Lukla:
Nice restaurant on the way back to Lukla:
DONE! The main gate when entering Lukla:
On the hike back from Phakding to Lukla:
Nice restaurant on the way back to Lukla:
DONE! The main gate when entering Lukla:
Besides of the small airport, Lukla is a sleepy town where
not too much happens. When we arrive at the lodge a guy tells us that there is probably
the possibility to catch a flight back to Kathmandu early this afternoon
instead of tomorrow morning. This would be great! But after some back and forth
more and more rain clouds come in and the airport is closed. At least I was able
to spot and tape the last plane landing and leaving – it’s really impressive
how these pilots manage to land on such a short, uphill runway.
The (in)famous airstrip of the 'airport' in Lukla:
As promised I buy the ‘Starbucks Mug’ for Isabella in Lukla (yes, there is a Starbucks!) and I walk back to the Lodge. The lodge is really nice but today I would prefer to stay in a ‘real hotel’ in Kathmandu with hot shower and a private bathroom and with a ‘western style toilet’ (yes, these things get important here) instead of staying in a trekker lodge Lukla. In the meantime it also started to rain, so no chance to fly out today. Anyway – I start a discussion with the spouse of the owner of the lodge and it turns out that both are quite impressive characters: She was the first girl that finished Ed Hillary’s school in Khumjung and later she worked as interpreter at his hospital. She was a close friend of Hillary and she shows me a picture taken with him approx. 20 years ago. Her husband worked as Sherpa Porter and climbed several times Mount Everest! Now they run the lodge since 25 years in Lukla together with a second Sherpa family.
The (in)famous airstrip of the 'airport' in Lukla:
As promised I buy the ‘Starbucks Mug’ for Isabella in Lukla (yes, there is a Starbucks!) and I walk back to the Lodge. The lodge is really nice but today I would prefer to stay in a ‘real hotel’ in Kathmandu with hot shower and a private bathroom and with a ‘western style toilet’ (yes, these things get important here) instead of staying in a trekker lodge Lukla. In the meantime it also started to rain, so no chance to fly out today. Anyway – I start a discussion with the spouse of the owner of the lodge and it turns out that both are quite impressive characters: She was the first girl that finished Ed Hillary’s school in Khumjung and later she worked as interpreter at his hospital. She was a close friend of Hillary and she shows me a picture taken with him approx. 20 years ago. Her husband worked as Sherpa Porter and climbed several times Mount Everest! Now they run the lodge since 25 years in Lukla together with a second Sherpa family.
All the people up here are really nice
and I love these conversations. Later I meet a girl from Germany who currently
works in Kathmandu as an intern and who is trekking with her father. Both are
also a bit disappointed as they also stranded here in Lukla. But if all goes
well we’ll fly out tomorrow morning; 7am. We just need to hope that the sky
clears up…
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