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14/14--Day 12--Last Morning at KTM and Return to Chennai--02/10/2022

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Now quite rested and refreshed, Rathika and I went for an early morning walk around Thamel on 2nd October. We saw hordes of young people, many of them drunk or stoned or both, leaving the numerous pubs and discotheques that dot the area. We wandered around the bustling market, already crowded owing to the Dasain shopping, had tea at a roadside shop that sold pooris in dangerous shades of magenta and yellow, bargained for tee shirts at a shop, eventually picked up four of them, and admired the architecture of the buildings and temples around, though sadly, many of them were dilapidated. We came back to Bistro Markham, the restaurant at the Potala Guest House for a delicious breakfast of toast with butter and jam, pooris and potato subzi and-- for the first time in 13 days-- curd. After settling our accounts, all of us packed up and headed for the Tribhuvan International Airport. We took care to wear the EBC Trek Tee shirts that we had got made in Kathmandu.  As the Air India flight took
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13/14--Day 11--Decompressing in Kathmandu--01/10/2022

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We woke up leisurely on the 1st, the first time in the last many days that we had that luxury. I am sure each of us first pinched ourselves to make sure we hadn't all been dreaming, and when we realised we hadn't, we savoured the exquisiteness of the collective achievement of the last 11 days. After breakfast, we set off to tour the city-- visiting Pashupathinathji first and then Buddha Neelkanth temple with its deity reclining in the water filled tank. Then followed by a visit to the massive Buddhist Stupa and a bit of desultory shopping in the numerous shops that lined that area. Post which, we visited the Narayanhiti Palace, the former residence of the King and the Royal family, now called the Palace Museum. We admired the grandeur of the palace and felt sad when we saw the place where the massacre of June 2001 had taken place, killing the King, Queen and most of his immediate family. It was all the more poignant as Rathika and I vividly remembered Queen Aishwarya and Crown
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12/14--Day 10--Lukla to Kathmandu---30/9/2022

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After an early bath (we couldn't get enough of them 😀) and breakfast, we left the Cafe Danphe for Lukla Airport next door. Did some last minute shopping for giveaways and also bought a little yak cheese to take home to make Ema Datshi with.  The flight to KTM was by Summit Air (again a Twin Otter) and it was again delayed by around 2 hours. Security checks at Lukla were all manual, and the cheerful Officer checking our bags took out a few rocks that some of us had collected as keepsakes. Apparently, no rocks are allowed to be taken away from the Everest Region. While waiting for our flight, we hung out of the window of the departure area trying to get a glimpse of the group from Bessie Dreamers (many of whom we knew) who were to land in Lukla that day. Planes came and went; often the same plane and the same pilot; but no signs of our friends from the other group. We were to learn later that evening that their flight out of Kathmandu was cancelled. Added to that, from the next day,
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11/14--Day 9-- Gorakshep--EBC--Gorakshep--Lukla--29/9/2022

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Up bright and early, we set off at around 6 am for the Everest Base Camp. The day was bright and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. Tenzing kept on telling us the need to make good speed as we had to return early to take the helicopters to Lukla. We couldn't have a word with those who had gone to EBC the previous day by pony, as they were sleeping in. Much to our surprise and relief, Rathika was fine in the morning and all raring to get on with it. We progressed through that last distance, awestruck beyond words or even thoughts at the mesmerising beauty all around us, mighty peaks, snow clad, each towering over 7000m-- Pumori, Lingtren, Khumbutse, Nuptse.... the glaciers that we saw on the way....the mini avalanche on the hill opposite the one we were on, reminding us of the risk that we were in as well as to be careful on these slippery slopes...we stopped every so often to take pictures.. admired the robin accentors that were flying around us even at this height, looking for cru
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