20 October 2005
Day 4: Namche -Tengboche (3870m). 4 Hours
Got up quite early this morning after explaining to everyone last night that the only card games I know involve drinking. On the road by 7:30 with beautiful weather and the sun brightly illuminating Kwongde. Fairly mild hike for the first half, saw my first Japaneese being carried out on a Sherpa's back. Ooops.
At about 9:30 the trail started gaining altitude and I really started feeling the thin air. Pounding heart beat on the hills and short of breath for the first time. Especially when shortcutting switchbacks to pass yaks. Made it to Tengboche before noon and got one of the few rooms. Also beat the clouds/fog/rain and snow though the famous view was nowhere to be seen.
This evening went to the monastry with a nice little kata (white scarf buddhist thingamajig) almost like a real mountaineer. Dipu doubted that I could pull it off, but I still sat through two hours of chanting + prayers + "music" + a lot of other stuff I did not understand. At the end most of the monks took off but the head lama ("rimpoche" if you are being technical) stuck around to do monkly things. I took the kata, gave it to him and he blessed it then put it back on my shoulders. Pretty awesome, blessed by the main guy at the main Buddhist monastery in the Khumbu.
I also penned my first (hopefully of many) Nepali/Western song (sing along now): "Japaneese in front of me, yaks to the back, here I am, stuck in the Khumbu with you..." Also, I have to joy of saying "Hurry Dipu, before ze yaks get here"
At about 9:30 the trail started gaining altitude and I really started feeling the thin air. Pounding heart beat on the hills and short of breath for the first time. Especially when shortcutting switchbacks to pass yaks. Made it to Tengboche before noon and got one of the few rooms. Also beat the clouds/fog/rain and snow though the famous view was nowhere to be seen.This evening went to the monastry with a nice little kata (white scarf buddhist thingamajig) almost like a real mountaineer. Dipu doubted that I could pull it off, but I still sat through two hours of chanting + prayers + "music" + a lot of other stuff I did not understand. At the end most of the monks took off but the head lama ("rimpoche" if you are being technical) stuck around to do monkly things. I took the kata, gave it to him and he blessed it then put it back on my shoulders. Pretty awesome, blessed by the main guy at the main Buddhist monastery in the Khumbu.
I also penned my first (hopefully of many) Nepali/Western song (sing along now): "Japaneese in front of me, yaks to the back, here I am, stuck in the Khumbu with you..." Also, I have to joy of saying "Hurry Dipu, before ze yaks get here"
