CHAPTER 3

Phadking to Monjo (2835m)

Up the Valley

Out on the track I immediately forget my tiredness and enjoy the scenery.  Walking in the cool mountain air, I realise am breathing quite well at this point and am feeling pretty comfortable as the group makes its way up the beautiful valley.

We stay close by the river and the sound of the water swishing over the rocks is music to the ears.  Everything seems oh! so wonderful.

Dzopkyos crossing the river

Looking down at the Dudh Kosi River I can see the dzopkyos crossing a long metal bridge.  I am looking forward to crossing this long span myself and of course we are all eager to have our photos taken along it, as you do! 

My turn now

We pass by the little villages where the kids watch us like we are a rare species!

The children egg us on

I really can’t describe how picturesque it is.   The blue pine and rhododendron forests surround us.  Picture postcard, glorious and sublime are just few words that spring to mind.

Mike on track

The towering mountains of Thamserku (6623m) and Kusum Kanguru (6369) are now in view.  I love the name of this mountain and easily remember the name as it sounds like Kangaroo.   We can see right down the valley now to imposing snow capped mountains beyond.  What a vision they are looming above the closer valley walls

We cross little stone bridges and beautiful tumbling waters.  After four hours of fairly easily trekking we finally arrive for lunch at our next teahouse in Monjo. 

Mr G in photo mode

This teahouse is really swish and strangely, the track dissects it.  To the left of the track, I see the huge dining room which looks out over the river.  To the right of the track sits the main building.  It is about three storeys high and it looks very impressive, all stone with the usual Nepalese blue doors and windows. 

Gorgeous valley scenes

We spill into the dining area and where our cooks (who arrived ages before us) have already prepared lunch.  Lunch is mostly always the same and not unpleasant that's if you like cabbage and carrot and the endless tins of sardines steeped in tomato paste.  Sardines would not be my first food choice ever, but I figure these guys have worked out the menus so we have enough energy to drag ourselves from one teahouse to the next.  I decide there and then to eat everything provided. 

Mr G and I are then handed the key to our sleeping quarters.  I am really hoping not to be positioned over the river tonight!

Thank goodness Mr G and I have scored main teahouse conditions so we should be warmer.  I say a silent prayer of thanks. The room is small and has just enough room for two narrow built in beds with just enough space to dump our bags.

I am dying to see the lavatory situation here.  The important toilets are located up another flight of stairs and along a dirt path.  They are perched out over a drop in the usual style.  It is interesting, as when I am inside the cubicle, I notice I can actually see through the cracks in the walls to the next one.  Ummmm!  This should be interesting. 

Of course the toilet is just a hole in a timber floor, so the swatting and aiming needs to be perfected.  It is indeed a skill to be learnt and from the previous occupants you can tell they have not yet mastered it!!

Neema summons us together and says he has a plan for the afternoon.  He tells us he has decided to take us up to the top of the hill behind the teahouse.   It is not THAT high but we eagerly follow the leader and scramble up the gravel path.  Of course we are excited because we imagine from this high location we will have a superb view.  Huffing and puffing because this incline is seriously steep, I make it to the top.  Is this the top?  Neema is all smiles.  This is his little joke.  There is no view to be had because it is fairly heavily wooded here. There is nothing to be seen except our group and trees.

His intention of course has been to acclimatise us.  The idea is, if you go higher than the place you sleep, then it will help you acclimatise more easily.  Maybe we would not have bothered doing this walk had we known it was a path to nowhere.  We are not yet wise to the reasons for acclimatising and Neema’s idea to keep mum about these walks to nowhere worked this time.  He got the result he wanted and we are learning the ropes!!!!

The school house

We slip and slide back down the track and walk through our dissected teahouse towards the school house.  Anne is a school teacher and very keen to take a look, but it is a bit disappointing because the kids are not at school today.  We walk up the neat stone stairway up to the typical school house building. We peer through the windows into the class rooms and walk around the school grounds. 

We make our way back to the dining room.  We partake in some tea and biscuits and write up our diaries.  I am feeling tired and happy and proud I have made it this far.

“Who wants a shower” yells Neema.  “Yes” we all scream and clap. That is the girls, I mean.   

Hot water has to be heated by the timber cooking fire so each of us waits for the caldron to be reheated.  Finally my turn arrives and I carry my tracksuit and bits and pieces into the concrete shower room. 

I stand on the freezing concrete slab in bare feet.  The room is freezing.  There is nowhere dry to hang my stuff so I sling it over the doorway.  It is horribly difficult keeping my clothing out of the water. I am trying to be very quick as the air temperature is beyond freezing and my legs are aching from the icy floor.  The shower takes me 1 minute, no longer.  I try to dry myself on my new ‘drytech’ towel which seems too small and fairly useless.  I wonder who decided this towel thing was a winner!  I prize my damp freezing body into my tracksuit.  Ooooooh, that was definitely a horrible experience. 

I race downstairs and cross the track into the dining room where I hope to warm up.  The pot belly stove is not on yet as no-one can start the fire.  I decide to try my hand at it and presto – success.  I get the praised as fire starter extraordinaire after that fluke and get elected to start all future pot bellies!  Great!

This dining room has the exciting benefit of having plastic chairs.  This means you can lean back.  This may not seem like much, but leaning back on a seat will be rare from now on and so I will actually pine and ache for such a thing.  Hunching over your stomach day in day out can really get to you!!!   We drag these chairs around the pot belly stove and cosy up.

After dinner our aluminium water bottles are filled with boiling water and we take them up to bed with us.  Hot water bottle by night – cool boiled drinking water by day!!!

I decide I will always sleep in the bed on the right hand side of the room.  This is because  I like to sleep on my right hand side and the zipper is on my left when I’m in the bag.   This all means once I wriggle into the sleeping bag and I can do up the zipper reasonably easily.   As I curl up my back hits the plywood wall and it bends.  Someone on the other side of the wall bumps the wall and pushes me.  Ummm. This is very intimate.

In the middle of the night I need to go to the toilet.  I get up and locate my plastic opaque Tupperware container.  I whip off the lid and squat down to do a wee.

“Oh no” I hear Mr G moan.   I hear him unzipping his sleeping bag.  “Now I have to go”.

I have gallons of urine and I wonder whether the container is big enough and for a second I am in a major panic.  Fortunately there is adequate room, just!  I shove on the lid while Mr G is dragging on his shoes, beanie and jacket.  This is such a ghastly ordeal!  He grabs his torch and disappears out the door and up the stairs to the faraway outhouse. 

I secretly smile at my incredible foresight of my portable plastic ablutions.

I sleep well this night and wake up with a knock on the door.  Ergon has arrived with a morning cup of tea.  Ten minutes later the bowl of hot washing water arrives.  I splash the water on my face, pack up my duffle bag and walk down to the dining room for breakfast.

Today is very exciting.  Today is a highlight because we will catch our first glimpse of Everest.  Today is the day we will head up to an altitude of 3446m. 

Will I succumb to the dreaded altitude sickness.  Will any of us? 

Today we will reach Namche Bazaar our next stop.

The back packs are on.  I am now out in the crystal clear air, now I feel the adventure really ‘hotting’ up! 

I can’t wait to see you on the road to Namche where the trekking will really sort us out…..

Click here for Day 4