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PART2: Everest Base Camp - Journey to the bottom of the top of the World

Simon Wadsworth
2006-09-04 14:01:46

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goodbye to Everest, and had my final hot lemon by the Dudh Kosi river, singeing my still painful lips. Further fire tragedy was visible in Lukla too - 5 shops/houses went up in flames this morning; clearly Nepal needs some fire prevention awareness sessions. Sad, as most cannot afford insurance, since to obtain, the client must pay for 4 airline tickets so the company can come and inspect the property - sounds fair.
Then on day 14, two weeks later, I have managed t oget on the last flight back to Kathmandu - much better than the 4day wait a few days ago. What of the political situation? I think a good paraphrased quote from Dad will suffice here:

"To summarise (heavily) it looks like you picked the best time to be away from there (riots, demonstrators beaten & killed, more riots, general strike, more riots, more deaths, King abdicated, King brought back in, demos outside Kathmandu, King gives way a little, more riots, King gives way a lot and recalls Parliament for Friday, Tuesday's planned 2million+ demo turns into a celebration, things rapidly returning to normal(ish)...)" Not a moment too soon for the King, as rumours of assassination were spreading.

So where does this leave me? I feel I can be arrogant and say that unlike most, this trek has been harder for me. Most have been planning this trek for months, whereas I have been bumming around in Asia, and only started planning 3 days before leaving. As I said earlier, they have guides and porters, I'm mad and trek alone. They have poles, decent sunglasses and waterproof boots - the only mountaineering equipment I have is a filter bottle and a wooly hat. They spend 1500Rs on food, I spent 300Rs and carry the rest. I guess it's my way of testing myself and seeing if I can get to Everest Base Camp on a piece of string rather than a full-piece orchestra.
Looking back, I'm sure I'll see these 2 weeks as some of the best of my trip, which is pretty stupid seeing as I haven't stopped moaning the entire time. But I'll see them as a time when I overcame many hardships and came out a stronger and more confident person blah blah. I have often wished , on the trek, that I was back home, but have felt really happy at experiencing the good and the bad of these 14 days. Often, only by going through these experiences can I begin to appreciate what we have as a society back home. Anyways, enough soppy philosophy. It was great, it was extremely hard, and I'm glad to be back in the warmth - with the monkey hair finally trimmed off my face.

And for those with attention disorders or don't like reading: I made it! The views were superb. It was tough.

Thanks! No blog will be longer, and enjoy the photos. Love, Simon x