I've only just realised that a fair majority of my clothes are blue! My thermals, jumper, pants, fleece and down jacket all show the aussie colour but I don't have an accent as bogan as the guy from Forbes!
Was a very good sleep for most people in the group. We attricuted it to the fact that there are no dogs up this high barking all night!
Karma had another surpise for us this morning as we began our acclimatisation excursion - we weren't climbing the huge "hill" 600m above Dingboche, instead we were to do a gradual uphill of 300m to a place with a closer but lower view of the mountains. I was a bit pissed off at first as I was keen to climb a himalayan peak, even if well below the tops, but soon realised that Karma was doing it for group safety - Paul and Marjorie as well as some others were feeling the altitude. Thankfully my slow and steady pace hadn't stressed my body and I feel great. I think 4 weeks of banana pancakes in Thamel was a good option - I don't feel like rushing ahead and hence no sickness!
We stopped at a tea house, our destination for the day, sheltering from the freezing wind that was picking up. It really was freezing - Olivia couldn't get the water out of her hydration backpack thing as the tube had frozen! Munching on some "trekkers cookies" from Thamel, Paul and I took some photos as we explored the area. It wasn't a great spot but we found a memorial for deceased trekkers - an ominous warning for those heading up!
The way back to "soman Friendship Lodge" in Dingboche was horrible despite being downhill. The wind was strong and we were running into it, literally to try and keep warm! It didn't help the cold I'd had on/off for the trip but the hot flask of Seabuckthorn juice did! We joked that it looked and tasted like out-of-date Tang but Bir assured us it wasn't! Robyn shared a cold flask with Lisa (she had bumped into us at the teahouse) but I pointed out that the water could be local and not safe! Now they are both worried about their stomachs.
I also tried to plot our trek on the map Karma had given us but I'm not too sure how accurate I was! It it very satisfying to see how far we have climbed and walked! Kathmandu is about 1,300m above sea level. Lukla, the trek start point is 2,800m but Dingboche is 4,343m! I reckon we have climbed higher though as we have been going up and down constantly!
We scouted around Dingboche in our free afternoon and stumbled upon a snooker hall blaring Bob Marley! For a dollar a game we couldn't resist though the tables were a bit rough for wear. Obviously it wouldn't be easy to have them re-felted! I was a bit hesitant to play as we are meant to be trekking but it is a novel thing to say that you've had a game of pool at 4,350m on tables that were helicoptered in! But when they started putting Cher on repeat we though it best to leave. Paul had splurged $7 on a pack of crumbled pringles that he regretted!
I have to stop and take the opportunity to describe the toilets. In Namche Bazaar they were western (with flush!) but we have slowly downgraded to a toilet seat on a wooded box - it is that bad that everyone prefers to use the porter's squat toilet downstairs! the only problem is that the toilet has a great big window facing a bunch of campers!
The other thing i happened to notice is that they use the dried yak poo as fuel for the dining room fire/stove - one lady would break the cakes into smaller pieces to shove them in! We can only hope she wasn't the cook. As they yak poo is used up on the fires they can't fertilize the fields with it - they use our waste instead! I am glad that we are giving back something to the environment...
For dinner I braved the mixed rice, which had everything in it - tuna, egg, veg, meat (?) and something crunchy. I am sure they just chuck the leftover ingredients in! The food has been great though they don't really have a diverse menu up in the mountain lodges. Karma had told me that "swadishta" meant delicious, a more polite term than "mito". I wasn't sure I could trust him, particularly when Bir gave me an odd look when I said it!
After dinner, over a game of shithead, I convinced Paul to try a chocolate pudding as I didn't want to brave it alone! Not entirely sure what to expect, we were presented with a chocolate figure of Yak shit. Paul gave it a 4/10 but I was polite enough to finish mine - not particularly nice but it was still chocolate! I made all the porters laugh when I claimed "mito chai-na" - not sweet!
The basin (hole in ground) for brushing teeth was outside so Paul, Rodger and I had to brave the snowfall to stay hygenic! Someone had left their clothes on the line, giving us a huge laugh as they were all frozen solid!
