A Place I Have Visited

My Scholarship entry - Of Mountains and Men

NEPAL | Monday, 24 November 2014 | Views [268] | View Larger Image

The climb up to Namche Bazaar on the second day of the trek was probably one of the toughest days for me. By the time we reached our tea lodge, I was already suffering from exhaustion and altitude sickness. Fortunately, we had an extra day to recuperate and acclimatize. I remember times spent gathered around the communal stove for warmth - sipping tea and attempting to read words from books. In retrospect, I think we very much needed these moments of normalcy - however fleeting - because our weary bones had a very long way to go.

The trek to the base camp of Mount Everest is an iconic endeavor. It's one place I've felt that the universe has conspired to create a precarious balance to make this achievement possible. Having embarked on the journey earlier this year, I didn't want to dwell on the place I've visited, but instead the elements and circumstances that got me there.

This is the airport at Lukla - where one flies in from Kathmandu to embark on the trek to EBC. Lukla airport is one of the most dangerous airports in the world. With the tilted runway the size of a bandaid, the pilots have to be skilled enough to ensure that the small planes don't fall off the edge of the cliff on one side, or crash into the mountain wall on the other. This flight proves to be the first of many challenges to come.

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On day five we spent another two nights at Dingboche acclimatizing at 14,800 feet. Cradled in a small valley with a village population of 200, there wasn't much to do there but find inventive ways to play hacky sack with our accompanying sherpas.

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A Place I Have Visited

My Scholarship entry - Of Mountains and Men

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