Day 6

Day 6 – Judy Lee & Sohee Kim

Compared to other days, we woke up extremely early as we were making our way to Lukla. We were woken up by a morning call at 3:30 am and went down to breakfast at around 4:30 am. As all of us were exhausted due to the early morning rise and the side-effects from the altitude sickness pills. We started plodding our way to the airport after breakfast.

Once we reached the domestic airport of Kathmandu, all of us were full of excited by the though of seeing Mt. Everest and riding the ‘twin engine aircraft’ which is a famous tourist attraction in Nepal. Even though we were full of excitement as we got in the air, we instantly feared the lack of development in Nepal which caused a recent air-crash. Nevertheless we were all engaged by the magnificent views of the mountains which reached high, as we starred out our windows.
The total flight time was 25 minutes. Unlike ordinary air travelling where we eat and play card games, on this short-haul flight, we were so mesmerised by the landscape that people barely spoke. Having the experience to see such spectacular nature made us wonder why we did not attempt to visit Nepal ‘the fairytale land’.

After the overwhelming journey, we finally arrived at Lukla. The moment we stepped out of the plane, we felt the cool breeze of fresh air, which we could never acquire in Hong Kong. All of us instantly wore our down-jackets to keep ourselves warm and we were welcomed by a warm cup of hot chocolate.

As we plodded along the track to Phakding, we knew our adventurous mountain trekking had begun. We trekked up and down, round and round. Having to go against the freezing breeze, we had to tip-toe along the path to avoid stepping in yak excretions. It was a completely new experience for us. Similar to the yak’s inappropriate behaviours, we had to have countless toilet stops. Unlike Hong Kong, posh white toilet seats, the 5-star toilets in Nepal are squat toilets which smell. A common type of toilet we encountered consisted of two wooden planks surrounded by leafs which holes in the middle. This was heaven compared to the toilets at the campsite in Nuwakot.

We continued to plod for 7 hours having several water breaks and lunch. Although most of us were exhausted due to the lack of sleep, we managed to divert our minds off the weariness and enjoyed the extravagant view surrounding us. It was a dream come true!