Asia by Hammock

Did an hour of uphill powerwalking to Mong then had an easy two hour glide into Namche. Back in the land of TV, flush toilets and motion detectors. And bakeries, spent the afternoon eating apple + chocolate + flour + butter concoctions, reading Newsweek and talking to a group that did a three week trek just to get to Namche, including three climbs. Really nice views of the terraced city of Phortse in front of Ama Dablam. It was also amazing how much more crowded and wider the trail got as the Gokyo trek merged with the EBC trek.

It is the second day of the Hindu festival of lights. In one of those grand ironies, Hiindus celebrate by arranging candles in the form of swastikas (its an ancient, pre-Hiel symbol). I chose not to try to explain this incongruity to Dipu.