Having been to Annapurna Base Camp and Muktinath (both in the Annapurna region), I have always felt that my trip to Nepal is not complete without going to the Mt. Everest region. Moreover, it has always been my dream to see Mt. Everest. I am often fascinated by the mystique and the splendour of the mountain.
Nepal and the Himalaya beckon me.
On the evening of 22 November, I left for the country in search of my dream.
I was joined by 11 others for the trip – six ladies, four men and a fourteen year old boy whom we fondly called Onn chai (son of one of the team members, Leow). Our mission was to scale Kala Pattar at 5,545m in the Mt. Everest region. It was Onn chai’s second trip to Nepal and fifth for Leow. Five of the members were first timers.
The morning after we arrived in Nepal, we flew to Lukla, a half-hour flight from Kathmandu. We started our trekking right from the airport. Destination for the day was Phakding at 2,800m. As for the previous trips, we engaged Krishna as our guide and we had six porters to carry our load of luggage. It was a three-hour walk weaving intermittently through the cobbled-stone paths and steep concrete steps. The trail drops steeply then descends gently and finally climbs again before reaching Phakding. We also crossed the first of the many suspension bridges.
From Phakding, we went on to Namche Bazaar (at 3,440m), the administrative centre for the Khumbu region. It was a 7-hour long and gruelling trek with steep ascent and descent interspersed with the occasional pleasant trails alongside the river. It was cold and windy. There were a lot of people along the trail, both the locals and trekkers.
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