Left Namche Bazaar and walked up and up lots of stone steps. Quite a gruelling climb, but it gradually evens out towards the Everest View Hotel. This hotel was built by the Japanese with the idea of building an airstrip for tourists so that tourists do not have to trek to see Sagarmatha! The airstrip was never built, but some tourists are dropped by helicopter and because they have not been able to acclimatise to the altititude, are provided with oxygen on arrival at the hotel. What a silly idea!
It rained all day today and there were no views of the mountains at all!
Khumjung is a beautiful Sherpa village which has been helped financially by Sir Edmund Hillary. There is a plaque outside the monastery saying 'thank you'.
The monastery at Khumjung is 300 years old. It contains, what is said to be, a yeti skull. Truly bizarre!
From Khumjung, we walked through rhododendron forests where the lichens hung from the trees like giant spiders' webs.
We arrived at the lodge in the early afternoon. We were surprised that our room had an ensuite bathroom. The shower did not work, the water in the tap was cold and the toilet sistern leaked, but heh, this was luxury! The weather has turned extremely cold, but my wonderful down sleeping bag kept me snug and warm during a rather noisy night. There were rats gnawing behind the wooden partitions and we kept thinking they were were coming into the room.
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