Day 6 Lukla – Kathmandu flight and day in Kathmandu (Tuesday March 24, 2015)

As I open my eyes and look out of the window this morning I am simply happy: No clouds, clear skies, good visibility – so nothing should hopefully stop us from flying back to Katmandu. To be on the very safe side I leave the lodge with the Germans around 5:30am. The walk to the airport is short and we arrive there even before 6am. As always the Germans are the first ones– there is nobody else so early in the morning. This ‘airport’ is probably half a big as the Walldorf / Wiesloch train station… 20 minutes later more and more trekkers arrive as well as the airport staff. Thank god there are no issues with my ticket (usually you have to confirm it; but I didn’t know this) and shortly after 7:00am the first planes from Kathmandu arrive. We can hear them already minutes before they land as the valley is so narrow and as these propeller planes are as loud as any big aircraft due to the echoes. My Yeti Tara Airlines flight this morning is with an old Dornier Do 228 (another small twin-turboprop) - which is even smaller than the plane we used when flying into Lukla last week.  The aircraft can only carry 12 passengers and the door to the cockpit is open.  As I sit in the second row I can see the pilot and co-pilot from my seat. We start the engine, roll to the runway and then it all goes very fast – within seconds we are up in the air.  

Chaek-in counters at Lukla airport - 6am:

Lukla airport around 6am:

The two departure gates at Lukla airport:

 

Cockpit and captain of our flight from Lokula to Kathmandu:
 

What a view and what a terrific flight: The Great Himalaya Range from my window:

The view this morning is simply fantastic: Loads of fresh snow let the 6000m / 7000m / 8000m high peaks shine in the morning sun. With Everest and Lhotse in the back and Anapurna in front this is certainly one of the most scenic flights on our planet.   The arrival in Kathmandu is straightforward and soon we recollect our luggage at the smallest baggage claim I have ever seen…

Kathmandu airport domestic terminal - 'baggage claim': 

Our Yeti Tara Airlines plane at Kathmandu airport:

Typical traffic chaos on our way into the city:

I catch a taxi and arrive at the Nirvana Garden hotel even before 8am! The day is beautiful and as the hotel staff knows me they guide me directly to ‘my’ room. What a feeling! A big room with a king size bed! A private bathroom with hot water! A western style toilet with toilet paper! Two power plugs that even work (as long as there is no electricity cut)! The rooms that appear a bit rundown now feel like heaven on earth after all these basic trekker lodges. But I truly miss the fresh air and the views of the Himalaya. Kathmandu is so loud and polluted that it’s sometimes difficult to breath. Anyway – I take the first hot shower after 6 days (I just had 2 cold showers within) and start to shave my 5 days beard (which didn’t look too bad J)

After a snap it is time to explore Kathmandu again. I start to buy some souvenirs and visit the superb Garden of Dreams with the wonderful Kaiser Café. They even have Sachertorte here – this will be my birthday cake tomorrow! 

Lovely Garden of Dreams in the heart of Thamel / Kathmandu:

Later I catch a cab that takes me to Swayambhunath – a Buddhist temple up on a hill overlooking Kathmandu. It is a crazy 30 minutes cab right – and again I realize how chaotic the traffic in this city is. The traffic here is far more extreme than in places such as Bangkok, Mexico-City, Bogota or La Paz. The temple (also called “monkey temple” as hoards of ‘holy’ monkeys life in the trees close to it) is stunning with a very steep Nepali “stairway to heaven” leading to it. This is even steeper than the ascent to Namche, mamma mia! But the experience is definitely worth it and I adore the huge stupa, the small temples and the prayer flags weaving in the wind over Kathmandu. What I truly like is the fact that Hindus and Buddhists seem to both use this site in peaceful co-existence. While many Buddhists visit this hill to pray I also see various ceremonies of Hindu people walking and singing around the Stupa. Later I ask a cab driver to drive me back to Thamel where I climb up to the rooftop terrace of “Helena’s Restaurant”.  Thamel is so busy, narrow and sometimes dusty that I feel I need to escape – and the air breeze up here is simply better. Back at the hotel I decide to have dinner at the lovely Dechenling Garden Restaurant. They offer great Bhutanese food and the beer garden is among the nicest of Kathmandu. When I walk back at night to my hotel (which is no issue at all as Kathmandu is a safe city) and pass the nearby “Garden of Dreams”, I am approached by two girls who obviously would like to offer their “services”. Oooops – I didn’t expect this and as I clearly say ‘no’ I realize the bars around. Looks as if the Thamel district is pretty different and changes (partly) into a red light zone at night…

Nepali 'stariway to heaven' to Swayambhunath temple: 

Holy monkey at Swayambhunath temple ('monkey temple'):
 

The big stompa at Swayambhunath temple: 

Prayer flags at Swayambhunath temple: 

 

 When I arrive at the hotel the shock: I check the Internet and read that a Germanwings airplane crashed on its flight from Barcelona to Düsseldorf. Unbelievable! When I lived in Barcelona I flew several times this route to Düsseldorf. And just this morning I flew out of the world’s most dangerous airport in Lukla – one of the few flights where I thought about airline and aircraft safety. And now this horrible news right from the heart of Europe! I remember U2 and one of their lyrics: “I can’t believe the news today…”