Jet Lag, Happy Pups and Re-acclimation

Upon arrival back in Boise. Amy, in her complete lack of ability of sleeping on a plane, found the floor of our hallway much more desirable. I went for a bike ride and she was going to unpack. I came home and she was asleep on the floor. The puppies were happy to see us, so they accompanied her.

Stop-over in Thailand

The ever frequented and eventually understood... Thamel. "The" tourist center of Nepal. On our way out to the airport. We were not sure we would get out. Our flight was actually five days later, but we decided to wing it and try to get a flight out. Oddly enough, the so called full flight was not full and we were headed to Thailand for five days. Awesome!


Our first meal in Thailand ended up being one of the best. On the beach, fresh seafood and spicy! Oddly enough this was one of the few sunny days in Thailand... Oh well, been there, done that, so rain meant lots of good food, massages and a few Singhas to help gain back the 20 pounds I lost.


Thai cooking class. We were soon dubbed "those who like spicy"


The master of spice... Searing some Basil Chicken Chili. MMM. So hot it brought tears to her eyes.


Yet another spice masterpiece, yellow curry.


CHOP CHOP! BANG BANG! taking advice from Mama of the kitchen.


So much food you could not see straight. Of course we ate the heck out of it.


Although it is not the motorcycle she is used to (in other words it is not 500 CC if power), she is taking full advantage of the Thai 25cc scooter.


Advice to those looking for sun in Thailand, don't go in August. I think it rained about 5 inches a day. Not a huge surprise, but we kept waiting for the opportunity to hit the beach.


Upon arrival back in Boise. Amy, in her complete lack of ability of sleeping on a plane, found the floor of our hallway much more desirable. I went for a bike ride and she was going to unpack. I came home and she was asleep on the floor. The puppies were happy to see us, so they accompanied her.

Siddhartha Village - Ten Friends

Kathmandu

Lukla to Kathmandu WOW we actually got out!

The runway headed out of Lukla. The closest I'll ever be to launching off an aircraft carrier. The plane locks the brakes at the top, revs the RPM to a level where the plane actually shakes and then the pilot unlocks the brakes and you are suddenly accelerating to the edge of the runway. There are no second chances on this runway.

The Lukla custom officers and boarding pass check is what you see. We assumed we would actually be stuck in Lukla for days since the weather was socked in the previous couple of days, but alas, we were headed out. We basically had the plane to ourselves.

Every seat is an aisle, every seat is a window and every seat is in near the cockpit. Too bad it is overexposed, since the view out the pilot's windshield is impressive. Preparing to lock the brakes prior to the extreme take off.

Namche to Lukla... Continuing the long haul

Khumjung and Namche

Our hosts. We stayed at quite a little teahouse, it was more like a home with a spare bedroom. Very hospitable and gracious hosts. We were tired from the long hike from Pheriche so it was nice to have such service. The host climbed Everest on several occasions and his son was now a guide as well. Always amazing the Sherpa continue to be humble and gracious.

Headed down, down, down....

Were taking our time this morning. We were in no rush and we wanted to take a nice morning after the last few days of ass busting work. We woke up to yet another amazing morning. Blue bird skies. We had such a great night of sleep. Amy may have actually slept for 12 or more hours. She could barely make it past 7 pm the previous night. We were rested, happy and enjoyed a big fat breakfast in one of the best teahouses in the Khumbu.


Another morning sunshine. Ready to head out after a much needed rest.


I cannot say it enough times. The sherpas are the toughest people (and the nicest people) on the planet. These guys did nothing but haul rocks, with a smile on their face.


This pile of rocks took 15 days to move from the mountainside. Now they were moving it yet again to build a teahouse wall. These guys were excited an interested to talk to us and they were a hoot. I especially like the guy in the sweater vest. The young guy in the back was actually flexingon purpose as I took the picture.


Apparently it was holiday as we headed through Dingboche. These guys had a fairly long conversation with us about why they were not in school. Their english was pretty good, indicating a fair amount of time in school. They were also pretty adept at the slingshot, clearly not something they perfected at school.


Yet another example of my official slogan "mountain people kick ass"

Leave it to us. Plan for weeks in the mountains, bad weather, short days on the trail and many days to get to our destination - and end up going up every valley, every high point and all we planned, all with more than a week to spare. We got up to Kala Patar, ascended Gokyo Ri twice and saw Thame (shrouded in clouds) but there was not much else to see, so we headed down. We planned on Pheriche to Tengboche, to give time to see the monastery, but the monks were meditating, so women folk were not allowed. The result, push onto Khumjung... Nothing big just 6 more miles and a major climb.