We got into Namche about 1:30. It is filled with shops and "hotels". If it was a Saturday we would see a lot of people coming into town selling potatoes, meat, canned food, and live animals. Also, Tibetan traders come to sell things. I don't know if they will be able to because I heard the border is closed. That might only apply to westerners. As the schedule is now, we should be coming back down to Namche on Saturday. It will be neat to see.
We are staying at Hotel Namche. It is a very nice and clean place. We have our own toilet and shower. Nar tried the shower but said it was cold. I guess I will skip that. I don't think we will get a place to shower the rest of the way. Oh well, I have gone without showers before.
Laurie, Nar, and I checked out the Namche Bakery. I tried an apple tart and split a donut with Laurie. It was not like home, but it was good.
I saw an internet place across the path. I checked the prices. It was 20 rupees for one minute. Laurie and I paid 30 rupees for a whole hour in Kathmandu. There were people willing to pay, but not me. I am too cheap and I didn't have anything to say that couldn't wait till I got back to Kathmandu. Namche has a lot more conveniences as opposed to the Annapurna region. They have good lighting, refrigerators, microwaves, and electric coffeemakers. I even saw an electric heater.
I also noticed that the young women dress more in the western style than their cultural style. I noticed a style of dress that women wear which was a tunic like dress with a plaid apron in the front. I asked Nar what style that was and he told me it was Sherpa. He said the married women wear the apron. Most of the time you can tell the Sherpas by their faces. Their faces are usually full and their complexion has a rosy color on top of their brown skin. It looks like rouge on their face.
There is one thing I have noticed in Annapurna and here that I have not mentioned. I see people looking through each others hair and head. I said to Laurie they seem to be looking for lice. It was not an appealing thought, picking them out doesn't help and I am sure they don't have shampoo to get rid of them.
I had a good dinner tonight of macaroni and tomato sauce. One of the better ones on the trek. My pizza last night was horrible. I am still hungry. I guess I will have to settle for crackers and Twix.
It is now 7:45. I think I will go to the room and read
May 22, 2003
Nar came to our room about 5:30. we were going to go up to a museum and to hopefully get a glimpse of Everest. As soon as we started walking the clouds and fog started moving in. It was like someone down in the valley turned on the blower and blew the fog right up to the top. It came in so fast. Since we were out we kept on walking. We wanted to see the museum. The museum is very good. In one building it had all kinds of house hold items the Sherpas used, such as urns for making beer and for boiling water. In another building it had a photo gallery. One room was photos of a Sherpa's life and the other room had photos of Sherpas and others who had climbed Mt. Everest. Some climbed once, some climbed several times. There was a picture of a Sherpa woman who was the first Nepalese woman to climb Everst. The thing was, she died two days after she summitted. I still question why people would want to put their bodies through it especially knowing that you could die. I know it would be great too be known for climbing Everest, but I guess my simple, unknown life is more important.
After we walked out of the museum the clouds started to clearout, so we decided to walk up to the point where we could see Everest. We couldn't see it as we first arrived at the top, but it slowly came into view. All the mountains surrounding us were clear for a short time. Everest is so far away that it looked smaller than some of the others. I was happy to get a glimpse of it. We hope that we will be able to get a closer look as we go higher. The other mountains we saw were Lhotse, Chhuking, Island Peak, and Ama Dablam. Ama Dablam is a funny shape and is easy to pick out.
As we were hiking down, all we could hear was clacking of hammer and rock. It goes from morning til evening. Lots of peole are hammering rocks to shape them to build their houses or hotels that they are building. There are at least four going up. Most of the houses and homes are built this way. It must take a long time to build something.
When we got down, Laurie and I ate a big breakfast. We decided to stay in Namche for another night. Our schedule was to stay to acclimitize, but Nar thought maybe we could go up a little higher if we wanted to. Laurie thought it might be better to stay for the day. She didn't want to risk getting sick again. We are at 11,319.
After breakfast Laurie and I went back to our room. I read. I am reading a James Patterson book that I started yesterday. I can't put it down. It is awful when I get into a book because I neglect things that I need to do.
About 11:00 Nar, Laurie, and I went for a hike up the mountain to get a little more acclimitized. I feel good. I don't have a headache like I did in the Annapurna region. We hiked up to 12,795 feet to Syangboche. It was threatening to rain and it finally started. I didn't bring my rain coat because I thought we would be back in time. We quickly made our way back down. Coming down we had good views of the Namche Village.
I meant to mention that on our way we saw a group of young men. One was playing a drum and the others looked like they were learning a dance. I asked Nar what it was all about. He said they were teaching a dance for an upcoming festival. I think it is a dance they do for the Lama.
Laurie and I went to the Everest Bakery and had pizza and soup for lunch. Now I am in my room, I have finished my book, Laurie and Nar are sleeping. Nar doesn't have a room because he has to wait to see if any are left. So Laurie and I told him to take a nap on the floor in our room. So maybe I will take a nap, also.
